RMRT Report of Legislation Assembly Meeting
June 23, 2017 Chicago
As the Chair of the RMRT Legislation/Advocacy Committee I am the liaison to the ALA Legislation Assembly.
Most of this meeting was spent in updates from the Washington Office staff on issues that are most important for ALA members. As RMRT members we should be aware of these issues and how we can lobby our federal representatives about our concerns.
- While President Trump has sent Congress his preliminary Budget proposal, it is not a full budget and the expectation is that Congress will be working on a Continuing Resolution for next year’s budget. ALA President Jim Neal is continuing to send emails with the status of IMLS funding. I will forward these messages as they come in.
- A new organization called Corporate Committee for Library Investment has just been formed. Their website www.fundlibraries.com has more information.
- The President’s budget also proposes loss for funding for federal libraries. The US Geological Survey libraries are in particular danger. There is also an issue of the loss of data on federal websites. A new initiative around the country has been formed “Preserving Data from Federal websites.” School library funding is also threaten.
- There has been no action taken on the passing of the Marrakech Treaty on the accessibility of library materials for blind and disabled patrons.
- The FISA Section 702 on surveillance is due to sunset in December 2017. Watch for more information during the fall.
- The Congressional Research Service reports are now available at www.everycrsreport.com
- The FCC repeal of Net Neutrality is ongoing. I will forward WO notifications on this issue as well.
If you haven’t signed up for Washington Office District Dispatch reports here is the link: http://www.districtdispatch.org/
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Ma’lis Wendt
mwendt@nyc.rr.com