[Libs-Or] Ask Sen. Wyden to sign onto the Reed-Collins "Dear Colleague" Letter

[Diedre Conkling]

I received a message from the ALA Washington Office a little while ago saying that Senator Wyden still has not signed this letter.  The letter needs to be signed by the end of business today, that is Eastern Standard time so it is about 1 hour from now.  Please call (202) 224-5244 and ask him to sign.  It takes less than 30 seconds.

--
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
   

---- Diedre Conkling <diedrec at charter.net> wrote: 

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Below is a message about contacting Sen. Wyden.  I am contacting him but hope you will join me in contacting him.

Sen. Ron Wyden   Phone:  (202) 224-5244,  Fax:  (202) 228-2717,  web site:  
http://wyden.senate.gov/

Or go to and use the information provided by ALA's Washington office to submit an email message:  http://www.capwiz.com/ala/home/ .

--
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
   

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Subject: Ask Sen. Wyden to  sign onto the Reed-Collins "Dear Colleague" Letter
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 14:13:40 -0500
From: "Erin M. Haggerty" <ehaggerty at alawash.org>
To: <diedre at beachbooks.org>

Hi Diedre, 

 

Senators Reed and Collins are circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter,
requesting that the Senate Appropriations Committee support $171.5
million for Grants to State Library Agencies, the level recommended by
the President and provided by the House of Representatives in its
version of the FY 2007 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Appropriations bill.  Senators Reed and Collins circulated a "Dear
Colleague" letter supporting library funding earlier this year that
Senator Wyden signed on to. As of today, Senator Wyden has not signed
the second letter. 

 

This year it is critical that Senators hear from their constituents to
support funding for libraries because Members of Congress are more
reluctant to sign support letters-- they need to hear from their
constituents about the needs of libraries.  This is any easy to call to
make. Remind Senator Wyden that they signed the first Reed-Collins "Dear
Colleague" letter in March, and it is critical that they sign again.
Programs that don't have a vocal support network are in danger in an
omnibus appropriations bill. 

 

Thank you for your  help, Diedre. Please let me know what response you
receive from your communications with Senator Wyden's office, and please
feel free to contact me if you need more information.

 

 

Reed-Collins "Dear Colleague" Letter

November XX, 2006

Senator Arlen Specter
Chairman
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Committee on Appropriations 

Senator Tom Harkin 
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Committee on Appropriations

Dear Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Harkin:

As you work to finalize FY07 appropriations, we respectfully urge you to
include $171.5 million for Grants to State Library Agencies, the level
recommended by the President and provided by the House of
Representatives in its version of the FY07 Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Appropriations bill.

This funding level will allow for the first time full implementation of
a key provision of the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 to
provide a more equitable distribution of state formula grants. By so
doing, smaller states would finally have the resources to implement and
benefit from valuable library services and programs that have been put
in place in larger states. The 2003 law struck a careful balance to
ensure any increases for smaller states would not come at the expense of
funding for larger states.

States are required to match funds received under the Grants to State
Library Agencies, meaning that every federal dollar invested stimulates
upwards of $3 in state commitments to libraries. As a result, libraries
across the country are providing library patrons young and old with
essential literacy, educational, and career development services; access
to federal, state and local e-government; narrowing the "digital divide"
by offering no fee, public access to computers; and offering information
and other vital resources to residents and localities striving to
recover from natural disasters big and small. Our nation's libraries are
so much more than places to borrow books; they are hubs for our
communities and portals to the world.

Only a strong, continued investment by Congress will enable libraries to
undertake exciting projects that help library users of all ages and
backgrounds improve their skills, expand their knowledge base to master
challenges, increase student academic achievement, and encourage
lifelong learning.

For these reasons, we respectfully request that the Senate agree to a
level of no less than $171.5 million for Grants to State Library
Agencies in the final version of the FY07 Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Appropriations bill. 

We are cognizant of the difficult constraints you face, and thank you
for your support for libraries.

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Erin Haggerty
Government Relations Specialist, ALA-WO
(202) 628-8410
ehaggerty at alawash.org
 
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