As you may have seen from the ALA Washington Office and via our very own ILA, net neutrality is on the precipice of extinction. The five FCC commissioners will vote on the matter on December 14, 2017. Let your voice be heard! Email your elected Congressperson using the form available from ALA here.
Author: Kirstin Duffin
Legislative Update, 10/12/2017
Federal: The MLA encourages sending thanks to those senators who are members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Their FY2018 bill funds the NLM at $420.9 million, more than the “at least $412 million” recommended by the MLA/AAHSL Legislative Task Force. Contact Illinois Senator Dick Durbin to thank him for his work on the FY2018 bill. The MLA…
RFI from NLM: Next-Generation Data Science Challenges in Health and Biomedicine
The NLM has released a request for information regarding Next-Generation Data Science Challenges in Health and Biomedicine. From the RFI, the NLM, “seeks community input on new data science research initiatives that could address key challenges currently faced by researchers, clinicians, administrators, and others, in all areas of biomedical, social/behavioral and health-related research.” The deadline…
Legislative Update, 8/30/2017
Federal: New legislation in the Senate and House would have a positive impact, if passed, on libraries. The Marijuana Justice Act of 2017, S. 1689, would shift drug enforcement away from marijuana prosecution. Funds saved would, in part, be channeled to community grant funding opportunities for public library programming. The Educator Preparation Reform Act, S….
Legislative Update, 7/21/2017
Federal: The Trump Administration’s proposed elimination of (which was later amended to a 90% cut to) IMLS funding for FY18 may not be realized. House appropriations committees voted on July 13 and July 19 for level funding of IMLS in FY18. Funding for additional library programs, namely the Library Services and Technology Act and Innovative Approaches to Literacy, are…
Legislative Action Item: Today — Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality
On July 12, 2017, ALA is joining almost 200 organizations in a Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality in response to the FCC’s vote to roll back net neutrality regulations established in 2015. Resources to participate in the Day of Action are available from ALA’s website. You can also send an email to the…
Legislative Update, 06/19/2017
Federal: Curious about what’s on the table with the American Health Care Act of 2017? The act narrowly passed in the House on May 4, 2017, with a vote of 217 – 213. Now, Republicans in the Senate have hopes to get a health care bill passed by July 4. Read about H.R. 1628 AHCA…
Legislative Update, 04/26/2017
Federal: National Library Legislative Day is right around the corner: May 1-2, 2017. Registration to participate in the Virtual Library Legislative Day is open! You’ll be emailed a reminder and talking points on May 1. Sign up today. Many library supporters contacted their House representatives over the past few weeks to encourage the signing of…
Legislative Action Item: Support NIH and Library Funding
A “Dear Colleague” letter is being circulated by Reps. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.), Peter King (R-N.Y.), and Susan Davis (D-Calif.) to support funding the NIH (at least $2 billion above the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 enacted level) for FY18. As reported in yesterday’s HSLI legislative blog post, the proposed FY18 budget would decrease NIH funding 18%,…
Legislative Update, 03/21/2017
Federal: The Trump administration’s proposed 2018 budget includes major cuts to most executive departments, while defense-related departments would see an increase in allocations. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) faces a 17.9% decrease in funding, from $84.1 billion in 2017 to $69.0 billion in 2018. Federal allocations to the NIH would be reduced…