ALAWON v4n29 (March 27, 1995)
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n29

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                                                             ISSN 1069-7799
                                  ALAWON
                      ALA Washington Office Newsline
                     An electronic publication of the
              American Library Association Washington Office
 
                            Volume 4, Number 29
                              March 27, 1995
 
   In this issue: (109 lines)
     SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE RESTORES LIBRARY FUNDS -
          ACTION MOVES TO SENATE FLOOR
     NII SECURITY FORUM SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 28
 
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         SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE RESTORES LIBRARY FUNDS -
                       ACTION MOVES TO SENATE FLOOR
 
On Friday, March 24, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported out S.
617, (S. Rep. 104-117), its version of the FY95 rescission bill.  Report
language states the total rescissions to be $13,323,068,976.  The report
further details that the bill is being reported out as a Senate bill in
order "to expedite Senate consideration."  Calling the bill a "work in
progress", the report further states that reduction in discretionary
spending will be necessary in the consideration of FY96 appropriations.
"These actions will continue a steady decline in discretionary funding
which has decreased from 14.4 percent of GDP in fiscal year 1968 to less
than 7.7 percent of GDP in fiscal year 1995."
 
The Senate Appropriations Committee restored Library Services and
Construction Act title II--Library Construction, and did not concur with
House action.  The Committee restored $2,000,000 for the Higher Education
Act title II fellowship program, providing funding for continuation of
doctoral students.  The Committee also did not concur with House cuts in
HEA II-research and demonstrations.
 
The Senate committee sustained the House cuts in the National Endowment for
the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities at $5 million each
and recommended a rescission of FY96 funds of $26,360,000, and for FY97,
$29,360,000, for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  Many of the
education programs cut severely by the House were also cut by the Senate,
but in a less severe manner.
 
The bill is scheduled to be voted on in the Senate this week, and
conference may occur either before or after the Easter holiday which begins
after April 7.  Library supporters should continue to let their senators
know about the importance of maintaining the library program funds and
explain why such funds should not be rescinded.  ALAWON will report more as
information becomes available.
 
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                 NII SECURITY FORUM SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 28
 
The March 21, 1995 _Federal Register_ announced a public meeting of the
National Information Infrastructure Security Issues Forum to be held on
March 28, 1995.  The meeting has been titled "The NII:  Will It Be There
When You Need It? Will It Be Safe To Use."  The location will be Room 4830
of the Department of Commerce.
 
Two panels from the public will be assembled to address specific issues
during the meeting.  While the March 20th deadline for requesting to appear
as part of one of these to panels had passed before this _Federal Register_
announcement was made, the Forum will accept written statements through
April 21, 1995.  Statements should be sent to the National Communications
Systems, 701 South Court House Road, Arlington, VA 22204 to the attention
of Mr. Mark Centra.  Position statements may also be submitted via fax to
(703)746-4960 or through E-mail to centram@cc.ims.disa.mil.  Text sent
electronically should be in unencoded, unformatted, ASCII text.
 
The first of the two panels, "Experiences and Expectations," will be asked
to address questions such as the following:
  1) What are your expectations and needs regarding the availability
     of services and information on the NII?
  2) How does your organization plan to ensure that information and
     underlying systems are available to legitimate users?
  3) How should government support the reliability and availability
     of the NII?  What government policies or guidance would
     bolster you confidence in the NII?
 
The second panel will be called "Current State of Affairs and Future
Challenges," and will consist of communications providers of all types;
cable, wireless, satellite, Internet.  This panel will address the
following questions:
  1) What are the security risks faced by industry providers of
     communications services today?  As networks evolve from a
     closed status to a more open one, how will the
     interoperability of systems and the expansion of universal
     access affect availability and reliability?  How so you plan to
     address potential threats such as network disruptions and
     outages or degradation of services as new services are
     implemented?
  2) Do you feel that end-users are aware of the level of
     availability and reliability associated with various
     components of the NII?  What steps have you taken to educate or meet
     the expectations of the user in the areas of availability and
     reliability of the NII?
  3) How should government support availability and reliability in
     the NII?
 
For further information on the meeting or submitting a position statement
contact Mark Centra of National Communications System at (703) 607-6183 or
centram@cc.ims.disa.mil.
 
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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:  Mary R. Costabile and Anne
A. Heanue; Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@alawash.org).
 
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