[Libs-Or] Fwd: [ALA-WO:253] 1) Budget Update; 2) Support Library Funding

Tue Mar 28 11:56:28 PST 2006

FYI

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Subject: [ALA-WO:253] 1) Budget Update; 2) Support Library Funding
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:56:42 -0500
From: "ALAWASH E-MAIL" <ALAWASH at alawash.org>
To: ALA Washington Office Newsline <ala-wo at ala.org>

ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
Volume 15, Number 40
Date: March 28, 2006

In This Issue: 1)BUDGET UPDATE: SENATE PASSES FY 2007 BUDGET; FACES
UPHILL BATTLE IN THE HOUSE; 2)ENCOURAGE MEMBERS TO SUPPORT LIBRARY
FUNDING 

1)SENATE PASSES FY 2006 BUDGET; FACES UPHILL BATTLE IN THE HOUSE

On Thursday, March 16, the Senate narrowly passed its $2.8 trillion
fiscal year 2007 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95), by a 51-49 vote.
Five Republicans voted against the budget resolution while Democratic
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) supported the budget resolution. The
congressional budget resolution is a blueprint that outlines Congress's
spending priorities for the year and dictates the amount of spending the
Appropriations Committee is allowed to allocate for specific departments
and programs like LSTA and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries.

While there are no specific funding levels included in the FY 2007
budget resolution, Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Subcommittee
Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) won adoption of an amendment with by a
vote of 73-27 adding $7 billion for programs under the jurisdiction of
the Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Subcommittee. The Specter/Harkin
amendment passed only because of an unprecedented grassroots effort.
Chairman Specter said he also won commitments from Majority Leader Bill
Frist (R-TN) and Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) that the
Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Subcommittee would receive an extra
$10 billion - $3 billion added by the Budget Committee and $7 billion by
his amendment.    

The House Budget Committee is expected to mark up the FY 2007 budget
resolution on Wednesday March 29.  Despite its passage in the Senate,
the FY 2007 budget resolution faces an uphill battle in the House of
Representatives as Republican leaders in the House are not going to
support a funding level that high.  Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
will offer an amendment that matches the Specter/Harkin amendment.  The
DeLauro amendment will add $7 billion to education and health programs
to prevent the devastating cuts and program eliminations proposed in the
FY 2007 budget.  Without the DeLauro amendment, the Labor/HHS/Education
Appropriations Subcommittee is likely to go after larger programs to
restore the program eliminations proposed in the
President's budget.  It is crucial that members of the House be put on
notice that an FY 2007 budget resolution that does not restore cuts or
provides significant increase for programs under the Labor/HHS/Education
Appropriations bills is unacceptable.

ALA strongly supports the DeLauro amendment to the FY 2007 budget
resolution. ALA urges you to contact your Congressman if they are on the
Budget Committee and ask them support the $7 billion DeLauro amendment.

Budget Committee Republican Members

Jim Nussle (IA) 
Jim Ryun (KS) 
Ander Crenshaw (FL)
Adam Putnam (FL)
Roger Wicker (MS)
Kenny Hulshof (MO) 
Scott Garrett (NJ)
Gresham Barrett (SC)
Thaddeus McCotter (MI)
Mario Diaz-Balart (FL)
Jeb Hensarling (TX)
Dan Lungren (CA)
Pete Sessions (TX)
Paul Ryan (WI)
Mike Simpson (ID)
Jeb Bradley (NH)
Patrick McHenry (NC) 
Connie Mack (FL)
Michael Conaway (TX)
Chris Chocola (IN)
John Campbell (CA) 

2)Encourage members to support library funding

Please contact your Senator today and ask him or her to please sign the
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) letter in the
Senate that supports federal library programs.  PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT
SEN. REED OR SEN. COLLINS DIRECTLY.  INSTEAD, ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE'S
STAFF TO CONTACT SEN. REED OR SEN. COLLINS' STAFF TO ADD THEIR MEMBER'S
SIGNATURE.  

The Senators are circulating a letter of support for the Library
Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through
School Libraries program to the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees.  The letter is addressed to the Senate Labor, Health and
Human Services and Education Appropriation Subcommittees and requests
that the House and Senate include President Bush's request of $220.855
million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and increased
funding for the Improving Literary Through School Libraries program for
FY 2007.

If the number of signatures does not significantly increase, the letter
will not be taken seriously.  If your Senator is not on the letter, it
is critical that you contact them immediately.  Programs that don't have
a vocal support network are in danger of being cut. In a recent
Congressional Quarterly article Rep. Michael Castle (R-NJ) said, " What
suffers disproportionately are the smaller programs that don't have a
lot of protectors out there." 

Whether your Senator is up for reelection this year or not, we need to
hold Senators who claims to support libraries accountable. Signing the
Reed-Collins letter is a great way to demonstrate support for libraries.

Deadline for signing the Senate letter is MARCH 29. Current signers in
the Senate (11): Akaka, Bayh, Clinton, Dodd, Kennedy, Kerry, Jeffords,
Lautenberg, Lincoln, Stabenow, and Rockefeller.

Use ALA's Washington Office Legislative Action Center at
<http://capwiz.com/ala/home> to identify and fax your Senator. 

You can also call your Senator directly using the U.S. Capitol
switchboard at: (202) 225-3121 

******
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ALA Washington Office, 1615 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., First Floor,
Washington, D.C. 20009-2520; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478
toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff.
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Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Carrie Lowe, Kathy Mitchell, Carrie
Russell. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.

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Diedre Conkling

  Lincoln County Library District
  P.O. Box 2027, Newport, OR  97365
  Phone & Fax:  541-265-3066
  http://lcld.library-blogs.net/
  Work:  diedre at beachbooks.org
  Home:  diedrec at charter.net