Federal:
1) Take action in National Library Legislative Day from home, if you’re not traveling to D.C. for the event next week. Here are the priorities this year:
- House & Senate: Reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act (S. 2271)
- House & Senate: Fully Fund LSTA and IAL for FY 2019
- House & Senate: Visit a library, see broadband access in action
2) Members of Congress have shown support for libraries in recent actions. Two “Dear Appropriator” letters supporting federal library funding for FY19 were signed by as many as or more than the number of Senators who signed last year. Representatives on the Committee on House Administration have approved the Federal Depository Library Program Modernization Act of 2018, which will increase the reach of the FDLP. Senators on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee support the Marrakesh Treaty, which would make 350,000 accessible books available to people in the United States who have print disabilities.
3) Protections afforded by net neutrality are still mostly in place while the FCC seeks approval from the Office of Management and Budget to proceed with their proposed decision. There’s still time to ask your representative to support the Congressional Review Act to overturn the FCC’s ruling.
4) The Trump Administration may use the authority of rescission to require Congress to review their FY18 appropriations budget. If this occurs, funding for library and other programs may be at risk. As yet, Senate Republican leaders oppose this action.
5) Chief of the U.S. EPA, Scott Pruitt, is proposing a policy to limit research used by government scientists when making new “significant” regulations to only using studies whose data are publicly available. An analysis of the proposal by the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests scientists had little input on the crafting of this legislation, and many oppose the action.
Illinois:
Visit Legiscan to see a summary/status for these Illinois Bills currently working their way through the State Legislature: