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Advocacy Alert:
What's Happening This Week
Here's a brief update on a few of the issues that the Washington Office is working on and information about how you can get involved.
#FundLibraries Update:
Over the next few weeks, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will begin making decisions about which programs will receive funding for Fiscal Year 2019, including the programs that provide federal funding for libraries.
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In the House, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee (Labor HHS), which oversees funds for library programs, received flat funding. This means it will receive an allocation of $177.1 billion, the same allocation it received for Fiscal
Year 2018, despite being the second largest of the bills coming from the Appropriations subcommittees. This will be a challenge for library funding, particularly given comments from Republicans that they intend to spend more money on non-education priorities
in Labor HHS.
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In the Senate, the Labor HHS allocation is $179 billion, which is a $2 million increase from FY 2018. That puts us in a better position in the Senate bill, though Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO) commented last week that he also intends to use that increase
for other priorities.
Clearly, last year's increases for LSTA and many other education programs are not guaranteed for FY 2019. Stay tuned - we'll have more updates soon.
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Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act:
After many years of hard work, we are one step closer to seeing the
Marrakesh Treaty implemented in the United States. The Marrakesh Treaty is an international copyright treaty that was adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization and signed by the U.S. in October 2013. It provides a copyright exception - the
first ever in an international treaty - for libraries as authorized entities to make accessible copies of articles and books for people with print disabilities and distribute those copies across borders. If the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act is passed
the U.S. will be able to provide a wealth of new accessible content to Americans with print disabilities, including those who speak English as a second language. In many ways, this is a civil rights law. It affirms that access to information is a universal
right for all people regardless of circumstance.
So far, both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have voted unanimously to send the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S.2559)
to the full Senate for a vote. If passed by two-thirds of the Senate, the legislation will go to the President for final signature.
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MLSA Reauthorization
The
Museum and Library Services Act of 2017 (S.
2271) has been introduced by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). MLSA reauthorizes the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), showing congressional support
for the federal agency. IMLS administers funding through the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA), the only federal program that exclusively covers services and funding for libraries. The LSTA provides more than $183 million for libraries through the Grants
to States program, the National Leadership Grants for Libraries, the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, and Native American Library Services. Since introduction, S.2271 has gained 13 new co-sponsors. You can find the
full list here.
Please call your Senators and ask them to show their support of libraries by cosponsoring MLSA. For more information, check out the latest
District Dispatch post or read about the
history of MLSA.
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Net Neutrality
This past December, the FCC voted to gut the
net neutrality protections that limit the power of Internet Service Providers to slow websites, block mobile apps, or control the information we access. This 3-2 vote to roll back enforceable net neutrality protections was made amid widespread protests,
millions of public comments, and overwhelming opposition from across the political spectrum. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) gives Congress the ability and authority to nullify the FCC's actions. This month, the Senate voted to pass legislation under the
CRA to block the FCC's rollback, but our fight doesn't end there. The action moves to the House, which must also vote on the CRA. Call and email your Representative and ask them to use the CRA to overturn the FCC's rulemaking.
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FDLP Modernization Act of 2018
The bipartisan Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) Modernization Act of 2018 (H.R.
5305) was introduced on March 15 following months of effort by the Committee on House Administration. The bill would modernize the FDLP and related programs that provide public access to government information. The FDLP Modernization Act was developed
with input from the library community following a series of public hearings, in the Committee on House Administration in 2017, which included testimony from librarians. ALA welcomes the legislation and sent a letter of support, along with the American Association
of Law Libraries and the Association of Research Libraries, following the bill's introduction. Prior to this process, it had been 20 years since Congress last held hearings or introduced legislation regarding the FDLP. You can learn more about the bill on
District Dispatch.
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