Federal: Congressional Research Service reports, prepared for members and committees of Congress, will soon be available on a free public website within 90 days of creation. Prior to the FY18 omnibus appropriations bill that was signed into law on March 23, 2018, the CRS was not mandated to make this publicly-funded research openly available, although…
Author: Carmen Howard
Legislative Update, 11/10/2017
Federal News: ALA submitted comments to the Department of Homeland Security regarding the Department’s plans to monitor and collect information from U.S. immigrants’ social media accounts. In the letter, ALA representatives write that the proposal is “quite excessive and thus an invasion of privacy.” For more details, visit the District Dispatch. In national, but not strictly legislative, news…
Legislative Update – 09/22/17
Federal: The Senate Committee on Appropriations’ FY18 Labor, HHS, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill was approved earlier this month. Of note, NIH funding would increase $2.0 billion, to $36.1 billion. Funding for the National Library of Medicine would increase $21 million to $420.9 million. The IMLS budget would increase $4 million, to $235…
Legislative Update, 08/09/2017
Federal: Bills promoting open access to federally funded research and electronic communications privacy have been introduced in Congress. Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act, or FASTR, H.R. 3427, would provide public access to research published from every federal agency that significantly funds research. This bill strengthens and expands previous legislation, requiring online access…
Legislative Update, 07/07/2017
Federal: The American Health Care Act of 2017 is still under debate. Recent news coverage explores the costs of health care. Read this story on premiums and beyond from Politico, and look at this opinion piece comparing health-care spending across ten countries, including the U.S., from Bloomberg View. Continuing the discussion surrounding the authority of appointing the Register…
Legislative Update, 06/05/2017
Federal News: Recently, both medical and library professional associations made statements regarding federal funding. The Medical Library Association (MLA) and Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) recommended funding the NLM at levels of at least $412.1 million in FY18. Their justifications for these recommendations are outlined in this Statement, submitted to the Senate Subcommittee on…
Legislative Update, 05/16/2017
Federal: Take action to support federal library funding! Contact your senators to sign each of the Reed/Collins LSTA and Reed/Grassley/Stabenow IAL “Dear Appropriator” letters. Senators have until May 19 to sign. President Trump has proposed elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and most all other library funding sources. Read the full story on the District…
Legislative Update, 04/05/2017
Federal: Updates to the FCC privacy rules approved under the Obama administration in October 2016 were repealed last week in Congress. The new resolution allows internet service providers to collect user information and sell it to advertisers without having to obtain the user’s consent. Suggestions to aid librarians in protecting their patrons’ privacy may be…
Legislative Update 03/06/2017
Federal: ALA and ARL are among 50 organizations that have signed a statement supporting privacy protection of transnational travelers from undue search of personal electronic devices. The American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation both report an increase in complaints filed within the past month regarding U.S. border official searches of laptops and smart phones. In a recent…
Legislative Update 01/25/2017
Federal: FY17 appropriations will proceed through April 28 with the passage of H.R. 2028, the Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act. This bill includes appropriations for the FDA Innovation Account and NIH Innovation Account, as funded by H.R. 34, the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in Dec 2016. Review…