ALAWON v4n92 (November 81995, )
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n92

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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 92
                        November 8,1995

In this issue: (140 lines)
     INFORMATION FLOW TO CONGRESS ENDANGERED BY PENDING          LEGISLATION
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 INFORMATION FLOW TO CONGRESS ENDANGERED BY PENDING LEGISLATION

The Istook amendment--which would restrict the advocacy voice of
nonprofit organizations--may come up for a vote today, November
8, when the Continuing Resolution (the spending bill to keep
government running, which needs to pass by midnight on November
13) will be on the House floor.   A group of House freshmen are
demanding that various riders, including the Istook amendment, be
added to the Continuing Resolution.    It is unlikely that the
House leadership would allow a separate vote to kill the Istook
amendment, so most likely there would be an up or down vote on
the CR (with various riders such as the Istook amendment as a
part of it).  Thus, the only way to beat the Istook amendment
will be to defeat the "rule" under which the  CR is considered.
That vote will occur just before the up or down vote on the CR
this afternoon.

The Istook proposal, named for its principal sponsor
Representative Ernest Istook (R-OK), would curb "political
advocacy" by nonprofit organizations that receive federal grants.
The bill would mandate how nonprofits and charities spend their
private funds, require them to file new and extensive reports,
restrict collaboration with other organizations, and offer
incentives for bounty hunters to sue nonprofit organizations.

The American Library Association opposes the Istook amendment
because it believes the effects of the proposal would be
extensive and adverse:

      Congress and other law and policy makers would be shut off
     from information nonprofit organizations provide them to
     help craft good public policy.

     The burden of compliance and enforcement with the
     requirements of the Istook proposal would be onerous.

     Realistically, there is no need for the proposed amendment
     since using federal funds to lobby is prohibited under
     current law.

ACTION NEEDED: Urge your Representative to vote against the rule
on the Continuing Resolution if the Istook amendment is part of
the bill.  The Senate will take up the Continuing Resolution soon
after the House completes its work.  Ask Senators to delete  the
Istook amendment from the CR if the House passes it.

STATE AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS OPPOSE THE ISTOOK AMENDMENT

State and local organizations are signing on to the following
statement opposing the Istook Nonprofit Gag Bill.  The American
Library Association joined several hundred national organizations
last summer in signing a similar statement.  To sign on call OMB
Watch at 202-234-8494.

SERVING THE PUBLIC GOOD

A Position Statement on Advocacy By Nonprofit Organizations

The nonprofit sector plays a key role in our society today.  In
partnership with government, nonprofit organizations are engaged
in service delivery, research, educating the public, and much
more -- in general, they work to build a better world, at home
and abroad.  People across the country use nonprofit
organizations to learn more about key issues of the day, and link
up with other citizens to create a more powerful voice.
Nonprofit organizations themselves also speak to policy makers
and the public on behalf of the people they serve.  Advocacy by
the nonprofit sector has led to significant improvements in
people's lives at the local, state, and federal level.

Because nonprofit organizations do not stand to profit by
lobbying and can provide enormous insight on public policy
issues, Congress has encouraged them to lobby.  However, it has
placed detailed restrictions on nonprofit organizations on the
amount of money that can be used for these purposes.  Nonprofits
also are barred from using any federal funds for lobbying and
partisan politics.

Nonprofit organizations faithfully comply with all these
restrictions and support enforcement of penalties if the rules
are ever violated.  However, some in Congress are proposing to go
beyond current restrictions to silence the advocacy voice of the
nonprofit sector.  They would, for example, expand the lobbying
restrictions to include all advocacy activities, bar certain
organizations that engage in advocacy from receiving any federal
grants, and prohibit federal employees from making workplace
contributions to nonprofits that engage in advocacy.  Such
efforts will have a chilling impact on the democratic process as
well as the rights of individuals and organizations to
participate in public policy debates.

The organizations listed below, which include Independent Sector
members and other groups, oppose any effort to restrict the
advocacy voice of the nonprofit sector.  Curtailing the
historical responsibility to speak to the public and to policy
makers on behalf of the people whom nonprofit organizations serve
would  be a severe blow to our democratic freedoms.
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ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the
American Library Association Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania
Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.  Internet:
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Contributing to this issue: Carol C. Henderson; Editor: Lynne E.
Bradley (leb@alawash.org).

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