[OPLINLIST] FW: [IFCFCC:585] Fwd: [ALA-WO:274] IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED on NetworkNeutrality Amendment

[Kent Oliver]

FYI, please call today!  Kent
 
 

Kent Oliver, Executive Director 
Stark County District Library 
715 Market Ave., N., Canton, OH 44702 
W: 330 458 2710 FAX: 330 455 9596 
KOliver at starklibrary.org <mailto:KOliver at starklibrary.org>  
"The America I loved still exists in the front desks of public
libraries."  Kurt Vonnegut 



ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline 
Volume 15, Number 60
Date: June 8, 2006

In This Issue: IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED on Network Neutrality amendment
in H.R. 5252 -- the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and
Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE).

ACTION NEEDED:
TODAY, ALL library advocates are asked to take immediate action and
call, fax, or email their members of the U.S. House of Representatives
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, as Congress is getting set to vote TOMORROW on an
important network neutrality amendment to H.R. 5252.

Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Jay
Inslee (D-WA) will be allowed to introduce their amendment on network
neutrality to H.R. 5252 when the bill comes to debate and vote on the
House floor tomorrow.  H.R. 5252, the Communications Opportunity,
Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE), is a complex bill that
seeks to "reform" the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  The bill
currently has inadequate language on network neutrality providing only a
"wait and see" approach to the neutrality issues. It is critical that
the Markey/Boucher/Eshoo/Inslee (MBEI) amendment be passed.

ALA asks ALL library advocates to contact their respective House members
and urge them to vote YES on the MBEI amendment. Capitol Switchboard
number is: 202-224-3121 - or visit http://www.onlineadvocacy.net/ to
email your Member of Congress.

MESSAGE:
Network neutrality legislation is civil rights for the Internet.
Telephone, cable and ISPs should not be able to create fast lanes for
wealthy or preferred content providers while others are put in slower
lanes.  Some content providers could receive preferential access to
consumers and library users while denying or slowing down access to
other sources of information, especially for public, school, and
academic library services or other educational and nonprofit uses. We
must assure that all providers and users of information on the Internet
have equal access.  This is especially important to library users, since
our libraries are both collectors, distributors, aggregators and
creators of information and Internet content of all types.

BACKGROUND:
ALA supports the concept of network neutrality that keeps an open and
unregulated Internet where all information providers have equal access
to distribute their content and products via the Internet. Passing the
Markey net neutrality amendment would prohibit ISPs, telephone and cable
companies from creating a tiered system giving preference to some
information providers who are willing and able to pay more while
"lesser" providers, who cannot pay higher fees for uploading content,
would be relegated to slower lanes of the Internet.  While subscribers
pay different rates for DSL vs. T-1 lines, all are able to access the
Internet comparably without ISPs serving as gatekeepers for the content
going out to the Internet.  In order to keep  diverse and rich courses
of information on the Internet, content contributors must not be
discriminated against nor have to pay more to assure access.

******
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ALA Washington Office, 1615 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., First Floor,
Washington, D.C. 20009-2520; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478
toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff ;
Contact the Washington Office: alawash at alawash.org ; Executive Director:
Emily Sheketoff. Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley,
Director; Don Essex, Melanie Anderson, Erin Haggerty, Patrice McDermott
and Miriam Nisbet. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick
Weingarten, Director; Carrie Lowe, Kathy Mitchell, Carrie Russell.
Andrew Bridges, Communications Specialist. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette
Murphy.


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