ALAWON v4n64 (July 13, 1995) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n64 ****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 4, Number 64 July 13, 1995 In this issue: (90 lines) HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ACTS ON LIBRARY/EDUCATION FUNDING ACTION NEEDED: CONTACT CONGRESSMEN TO EXPRESS IMPORTANCE OF LIBRARY PROGRAMS *************************************************************************** HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ACTS ON LIBRARY/EDUCATION FUNDING The first step in the appropriations process for FY96 took place late on July 11 when the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education met to recommend funding levels for library, education, and other programs. The result for Department of Education library programs is a 29.8 percent cut from FY95 funding. Only LSCA I and III were recommended for funding-- LSCA I at the current level and LSCA III with a 23 percent cut. LSCA construction and literacy programs would be zeroed out, as would all Higher Education Act library programs. Education Department programs overall were cut by 28 percent. Certain House Budget Resolution assumptions were followed as the subcommittee cut drastically or abolished altogether such programs as the Goals 2000 education reform effort, and the AmeriCorps national service program. ESEA I would be cut by $1.1 billion, with over 20 percent of the cuts occurring in urban areas. The library program cuts are substantial but should be looked at in context in this budget-cutting session. The first context is the one the subcommittee itself is using in its summary sheet. For libraries, this sheet shows a 100 percent cut in "library construction and categoricals," and a 5.3 percent cut in "library services and cooperation." Clearly, smaller and single-purpose library programs are at much greater risk. This is not new, as these programs have lost funding or been recommended for no funding consistently in recent years. The House subcommittee markup for FY96 is not drastically different from the House subcommittee recommendations of the last few years under the previous leadership. Subcommittee recommendations for selected library and related programs are shown below. PROGRAM FY95 ADMIN. HOUSE (amounts in housands) APPROP. REQUEST SUBCOM. LSCA I--Public Library Services $83,227 $89,135 $83,227 LSCA II--Library Construction 17,792 17,792 -0- LSCA III--Interlibrary Cooperation 23,700 -0- 18,000 LSCA VI--Library Literacy programs 8,000 -0- -0- HEA II-B--Library Education and Training 4,916 -0- -0- HEA II-B--Library Research and Demonstrations 6,500 -0- -0- NCLIS 901 901 450 Natl. Library of Medicine 128,694 139,473 141,439 School improvement programs (Chapter 2 and prof. dev.) 598,548 735,000 500,000 ESEA Education technology 22,500 83,000 25,000 College Work-Study 616,508 616,508 616,508 Educ. statistics 48,153 57,000 48,153 It is expected that the full Appropriations Committee will act on these recommendations on July 20 (after which the legislation will have a bill number), and the House will complete action before the August recess. The Senate Appropriations Committee will take up the bill in September. ACTION NEEDED: Library supporters have a few weeks to contact House members to express the importance of library programs, and the month of August to contact Senators in their home districts. It will be particularly important in this budget climate to continue to stress the importance of library programs, since so many large programs were cut in House action. Senate appropriators will be hard pressed to find dollars to restore cuts, considering extremely tight allocations and competing programs. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. Contributing to this issue: Claudette W. Tennant; Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@alawash.org). 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