Flannery, 'Washington Report', LITA Newsletter v15n02
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/lita/lita-v15n02-flannery-washington

V15N2.WASHREP LITANEWS
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Washington Report
Patrick Flannery
 
A MAJOR EFFORT to fundamentally alter the nation's telecommunications
infrastructure was launched on February 3, 1994, with the introduction
by Sen. Hollings (D.-S.C.) of S. 1822 (the Communications Act of
1994). The Clinton administration had been hinting that it would seek
legislation this year that would radically overhaul the 1934
Communications Act, but was evidently surprised by the sudden
introduction of this major (90 pages) piece of legislation. The bill
in many ways complements two House bills (H.R. 3626 and H.R. 3636),
but goes much further in describing a vision for the National
Information Infrastructure (NII) and attempts to develop mechanisms
for guaranteeing such concepts as universal access, concepts long
advocated by ALA and other public interest organizations. The bill was
referred to the Committee on Commerce, which held hearings on February
23.
   The introduction of the Hollings bill was the centerpiece of a talk
by Andrew Blau, coordinator of the Communications Policy Project,
jointly funded by the MacArthur and Benton Foundations. The talk, part
of a forum at Midwinter sponsored by ALA's Telecommunications
Subcommittee, conveyed the speed with which telecommunications policy
is being altered. The amount of commercial interest in the NII, Blau
stressed, is enormous, and this interest is driving events much faster
than predicted. At present, the Administration seems willing to work
with the Hollings bill in order to get something through Congress
before the introduction of health care legislation later this spring.
Blau said in closing that the window of opportunity for ALA and other
organizations to influence the NII is small, and getting smaller daily.
   The American Library Association has gone on record as officially
endorsing Principles for the Development of the National Information
Infrastructure, a pamphlet developed at a September forum on
telecommunications policy. These principles, developed in conjunction
with numerous other national library organizations, are ALA's official
tool in the NII debate. LITA was a primary participant in the forum.