[OPLINLIST] FW: [ALA-WO:74] Omnibus Goes to President, Updates on Intelligence Reform andE-Rate

[Kent Oliver]

Federal Budget and E-Rate update.  Kent

Kent Oliver, Library Director
Stark County District Library
715 Market Ave., N., Canton, OH 44702
W: 330 458 2710 FAX: 330 455 9596
KOliver@starklibrary.org
"Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby
can't chew it."  Mark Twain


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ala-wo@ala.org [mailto:owner-ala-wo@ala.org] On Behalf Of
ALAWASH E-MAIL
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 2:00 PM
To: ALA Washington Office Newsline
Subject: [ALA-WO:74] Omnibus Goes to President, Updates on Intelligence
Reform andE-Rate


ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume
13, Number 102=20
December 7, 2004

In This Issue: 1) HOUSE SENDS OMNIBUS TO PRESIDENT FOR SIGNATURE;
REMOVES CONTROVERSIAL TAX PROVISION; 2) INTELLIGENCE REFORM UPDATE; 3)
E-RATE UPDATE

1) HOUSE SENDS OMNIBUS TO PRESIDENT FOR SIGNATURE=20

The House of Representatives voted 381-0 to pass a resolution Monday
stripping from the omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 4818; H. Rept.
108-792) a tax provision that set off a fiery jurisdictional dispute,
sending the omnibus bill to the president for signature.  The provision,
inserted by House appropriations aides, would have given appropriators
access to confidential IRS tax returns. Passage of the resolution allows
the omnibus appropriations bill to go to President Bush for signature
into law.

As you know, Congress had passed the FY 2005 Consolidated (Omnibus)
Appropriations bill on Nov. 20.  The Senate voted to clear the
3,016-page conference agreement on a 65-30 vote, but discovered a
provision that would allow the chairmen of the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees, or their staff, to view taxpayers' individual
tax returns.  Democrats forced Republican leaders to pass a separate
resolution to strip the provision.=20
With the new fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1, and with the omnibus in
limbo for at least a few more days, the Congress also cleared a new
continuing resolution (HJ Res 115) to keep the government operating
through Dec. 8.

For more information on the omnibus appropriations bill, please visit
our website:
<http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/washfunding/funding.htm>


2) INTELLIGENCE REFORM UPDATE
The negotiated bill on Intelligence Reform is scheduled for passage
sometime today. Several provisions in the bill are of interest to the
library community. The first of these has to do with national standards
for driver's licenses. We sent ALAWONs in the past months on this
concern and the potential for the creation of a "national ID." The
conference language (which will be voted up or down) contains provisions
for national standards; it does not take the step that an earlier House
version did of creating a federal database of driver license
information. The fact that driver's licenses (or personal identification
cards) issued by the states will have standardized fields, however, lays
the groundwork for expansion of collection of information nationwide.

The conference language has retained a Civil Liberties and Privacy
Oversight Board within the Executive Office of the President that would
ensure that privacy and civil liberties concerns "are appropriately
considered" in the implementation of laws, regulations, and executive
branch policies related to efforts to protect the Nation against
terrorism.  The Board's responsibilities encompass both advice and
counsel and oversight and would include reviewing regulations and
policies, including information-sharing guidelines, and providing advice
to the President and departments and agencies in the Executive branch.=20
The Board would be required to report at least annually to Congress on
its major activities. In the Senate version of the bill, this Board had
subpoena authority; that has been lost. The Board is authorized,
however, to have access to information from departments and agencies.
The Board is also authorized to make written requests to persons outside
of government to produce information, documents and other evidence.=20

The conference language does not provide that the aggregate amount of
the overall intelligence budget be unclassified.=20

3) E-Rate Update
The E-rate "fix" reported in previous ALAWONs (v. 13 numbers 100 and 98,
and others) is apparently not attached to either the appropriations or
the intelligence reform bills.  There is a slight possibility that a
stand alone bill could be passed by the Senate, perhaps on Wednesday
morning.  Unfortunately, it is more likely that it will stay "locked up"
by disputes over unrelated proposals causing disputes between key
senators.

E-rate supporters are asked to continue their calls into Senate
leadership including Senators Frist, McConnell, Byrd, McCain and Reid.

=20

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