TLA TEXLINE NO. 162 Posted: August 21, 2003 LEGISLATIVE ISSUES NETWORK

Announcement: 
Alert Senators of Library Funding Opportunities

The American Library Association has sent out the following information. Please call your Senators while they're home for the August recess and ask them to support Senator Jack Reed's amendment to the FY2004 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations bill to add $35,956,000 for libraries.

This amendment to the Senate Subcommittee's bill would be voted on the floor, so we need a lot of co-sponsors!

The amendment would add $15 million to Improving Literacy Through School Libraries for the President's request of $27.5 million total.

It would also add $18 million to LSTA state grants, so the new LSTA formula could kick in and add back the law's $3,055,000 for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians.

If your Senator agrees to co-sponsor, HIS STAFF should call Elyse Wasch at 224-4642. (Only Senate staff should call Elyse).

Timing on this could be as early as September 3 for Senate floor action, so please call today. Thank you in advance for your help.

ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff.

Texas Senators

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison: phone (202)224-5922; fax (202) 224-0776

Senator John Cornyn: phone (202)224-2934; fax (202)228-2856

TLA-Texline is an irregular publication of the Texas Library Association mailed directly to members interested in legislative and governmental issues affecting libraries. To subscribe--or to offer comments or suggestions-- contact Gloria Meraz, Director of Communications, Texas Library Association. Previous issues of Texline are archived on the TLA website.