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- Subject: ALAWON, Vol. 3, No. 11 - Telecommunications
- From: Peter Milbury <pmilbur@EIS.CALSTATE.EDU>
- Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 05:54:09 -0800
Wow!!!!!!!
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILL - ACTION NEEDED
See below
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 15:13:56 -0500
From: ALA Washington Office <alawash@alawash.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list ALA-WO <ALA-WO%UICVM.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Subject: ALAWON, Vol. 3, No. 11
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ISSN 1069-7799
ALAWON
ALA Washington Office Newsline
An electronic publication of the
American Library Association Washington Office
Volume 3, Number 11
March 8, 1994
In this issue: (224 lines)
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILL - ACTION NEEDED
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HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILL - ACTION NEEDED
The House Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee on March 1 approved
an amended version of HR 3636, the National Communications Competition and
Information Infrastructure Act of 1993. Chairman Edward Markey's (D-MA)
substitute includes a new section that promotes the development of advanced
telecommunications services for schools, public libraries, and health care
facilities. The section could result in interstate preferential rates for
such institutions.
However, the section needs adjustment to include postsecondary
institutions, to include the full range of public library service, to
clarify that school library media centers should be connected, and to
permit intrastate preferential rates. ALA and the Association of Research
Libraries have recommended four strengthening and clarifying amendments in
order to fully achieve the intent of the new Section 103,
Telecommunications Services for Educational Institutions, Health Care
Facilities, and Libraries:
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Add a definition of public libraries: The term means public libraries
as defined in the Library Services and Construction Act, state library
agencies, and the libraries, library-related entities, cooperatives,
and consortia through which library services are delivered.
Rationale: The library community has evolved creative, cooperative
mechanisms to deliver services to all sectors of our diverse population.
Congress must clarify that it intends the FCC to look at and encompass the
full interconnected system of libraries and levels of service involved in
public library service delivery.
2. Revise the definition of educational institutions to include
postsecondary educational institutions, and track well-established
federal definitions: The term "educational institutions" means
elementary schools and secondary schools as defined in the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act, and institutions of higher education as
defined in the Higher Education Act.
Rationale: One of the goals of connecting schools to the information
superhighway is to connect students to larger libraries. By excluding
libraries in postsecondary educational institutions from preferential
rates, the bill sets up inefficient and unworkable distinctions among the
conditions available to different parts of a resource sharing arrangement.
3. Clarify that the term "classroom" encompasses all areas and facilities
where student learning takes place, including school library media
centers.
Rationale: School library media centers support the curriculum with
information resources in all formats. Students learn through a variety of
approaches and with a variety of learning materials and supplementary
resources. The school library media center is an extension of the
classroom and requires advanced telecommunications capability and
equipment.
4. Specify that states may offer preferential rates, terms, and
conditions for the intrastate provision of advanced telecommunications
services for educational institutions, public libraries, and health
care institutions.
Rationale: Intrastate provision of advanced telecommunications services
will be handled at the state public utility commission level. Some
telephone companies or state PUCs have claimed to have no authority to
provide preferential rates for educational institutions or libraries.
Clarification on this point in the bill would stimulate provision of
similar treatment at the state level.
ACTION NEEDED: The parent House Energy and Commerce Committee will take up
this bill the week of March 14. Other organizations and individual
constituents of these members are urged to contact them immediately and ask
them to support inclusion of the strengthening and clarifying amendments
recommended by ALA/ARL. Representatives can be reached through the House
telephone operator at 202-225-3121.
HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE
Democrats Republicans
John D. Dingell, MI, Chairman Carlos J. Moorhead, CA
Henry A. Waxman, CA Thomas J. Bliley, Jr., VA
Philip R. Sharp, IN Jack Fields, TX
Edward J. Markey, MA Michael G. Oxley, OH
Al Swift, WA Michael Bilirakis, FL
Cardiss Collins, IL Dan Schaefer, CO
Mike Synar, OK Joe Barton, TX
W. J. (Billy) Tauzin, LA J. Alex McMillan, NC
Ron Wyden, OR J. Dennis Hastert, IL
Ralph M. Hall, TX Fred Upton, MI
Bill Richardson, NM Cliff Stearns, FL
Jim Slattery, KS Bill Paxon, NY
John Bryant, Tx Paul E. Gillmor, OH
Rick Boucher, VA Scott L. Klug, WI
Jim Cooper, TN Gary A. Franks, CT
J. Roy Rowland, GA James C. Greenwood, PA
Thomas J. Manton, NY Michael D. Crapo, ID
Edolphus Towns, NY
Gerry E. Studds, MA
Richard H. Lehman, CA
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Craig A. Washington, TX
Lynn Schenk, CA
Sherrrod Brown, OH
Mike Kreidler, WA
Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, PA
Blanche M. Lambert, AR
TEXT OF SECTION. As approved by the subcommittee, the new section is as
follows:
Sec. 103. TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS,
HEALTH CARE FACILITIES, AND LIBRARIES.
Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
"Sec. 229. TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS,
HEALTH CARE FACILITIES, AND LIBRARIES.
"(a) PROMOTION OF DELIVERY OF ADVANCED SERVICES.--In fulfillment
of its obligation under section 1 to make available to all the people
of the United States a rapid, efficient, nationwide, and worldwide
communications service, the Commission shall promote the provision of
advanced telecommunications services by wire, wireless, cable, and
satellite technologies to--
"(1) educational institutions;
"(2) health care institutions; and
"(3) public libraries.
"(b) INQUIRY REQUIRED.--The National Telecommunications and
Information Administration shall, within 180 days of enactment of this
section, issue a notice of inquiry into the availability of advanced
telecommunications services to educational institutions, health care
institutions, and public libraries. The Administration shall
complete proceedings on the notice of inquiry not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this section. The Administration's
inquiry shall seek to develop information concerning the availability
of advanced telecommunications services. Such information shall
include--
"(1) the number of educational institutions and classrooms,
health care institutions, and public libraries;
"(2) the number of educational institutions and classrooms,
health care institutions, and public libraries that have access to
advanced telecommunications services; and
"(3) the nature of the telecommunications facilities through
which such educational institutions, health care institutions, and
public libraries obtain access to advanced telecommunications
services.
"(c) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.--Following completion of the inquiry
proceeding required under subsection (b), the Commission shall
prescribe regulations that--
"(1) enhance, to the extent technically feasible and
economically reasonable, the availability of advanced
telecommunications services to all educational institutions and
classrooms, health care institutions, and public libraries by the year
2000;
"(2) ensure that appropriate functional requirements or
performance standards, or both, including interoperability standards,
are established for telecommunications systems or facilities that
interconnect educational institutions, health care institutions, and
public libraries with the public switched telecommunications network;
"(3) provide for the tariffing at preferential rates for
interstate services used in the provision of advanced
telecommunications services for educational institutions, health care
institutions, and public libraries; and
"(4) address such other related matters as the Commission
may determine.
"(d) DEFINITIONS.--For purposes of this section--
"(1) the term 'educational institutions' means elementary
and secondary educational institutions; and
"(2) the term 'health care institutions' means
not-for-profit health care institutions, including hospitals and
clinics.".
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