October 2000 Contents
Congress and White House Postpone Budget Negotiations
House Republican leaders stepped away from a tentative agreement between Congressional
and White House negotiators on the Labor, Health, Human Services and Education
Appropriations bill (H.R. 4577) because of concerns about the overall
funding level and a dispute over an ergonomics rule from the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration. The new workforce ergonomics rule, opposed by business
groups, is meant to reduce repetitive-motion and other work-related injuries.
The tentative deal would have increased education funding by $7.4
billion
dollars to a total of $43 billion. This would have translated into a
21% funding
increase over the FY00 budget. Education technology would have
received more
than $860 million, an increase of more than $80 million from FY00.
With this latest failure to reach agreement, Congress and the White
House
have reached an impasse. The President and Congressional leaders now
indicate
that they will wait until after the election to resume negotiations.
The “lame-duck”
session is expected to begin on November 14th.
On November 1, the Senate unanimously passed a long-term continuing
resolution
keeping government funding at the FY00 funding level. House leaders
have rejected
the Senate’s proposal to a long-term continuing resolution. The
House is
expected to pass one-day continuing resolutions through the election.
Meanwhile,
the Senate is expected to pass continuing resolution by voice vote or
unanimous
consent.
Filtering Mandate Shelved with Budget Bill
With Congress postponing consideration of the Labor HHS
Appropriations bill
until Nov. 14th, the future of the federal filtering mandate contained
therein
has also been placed on hold. The delay has given hope to groups
opposing the
filtering mandate that it may yet be removed or its language replaced
with more
conciliatory language. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jack Reed (D-RI)
and Jim
Jeffords (R-VT) have been outspoken critics of the bill, and
circulated a “Dear
Colleague” letter urging appropriators to not support its
inclusion in
the spending bill. Also, a broad coalition of civil liberties,
education, technology
(including ISTE), parent and conservative organizations, continues to
fight
against the amendment, sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Rick
Santorum
(R-PA), and Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK). The bill combines the language
of three
formerly competing bills the members introduced separately and
mandates the
use of filtering software by all schools and libraries receiving
E-rate funding
or ESEA support.
Ruling on Digital Copyright Act Endangers Digital Fair
Use
One of the provisions in the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act
most opposed
by educators and librarians was Sec. 1201, which criminalized
circumvention
of a technological protection measure to view copyrighted content on
the Internet.
Opponents of the measure warned that the new law would lock up digital
content
and undermine fair use. Lawmakers promised a review of the impact of
the provision
on fair use and, if necessary, further exemptions to protect fair use.
Now,
after an extensive rulemaking at the U.S. Copyright Office, it appears
that
there will in fact be little protection for fair use of digital works.
The Office
recommended only two exceptions from the law, only for compiling lists
of Web
sites blocked by protection software and for computer or software
malfunction.
This decision is a grave disappointment to educators, researchers,
and librarians
who had strongly urged broader exemptions from the Digital Millennium
Copyright
Act’s restrictions against accessing copyright works protected by
technological
means. However, with the Copyright Office’s ruling, it appears
that fair
use will face further roadblocks online, paving the way for the
undesirable
“pay-per-use” environment that school and library groups
have long
fought. At least one group, the American Library Association, is
considering
requesting that the ruling be reconsidered and pursuing litigation.
As it stands now, the ruling is effective until October 28, 2003,
when new
rules will be enacted. Prior to October 2003, the Register of
Copyrights will
consider what classes of copyright works, if any, should be made
exempt from
the 1201 provision from October 2003 onwards.
For more information on the ruling and rulemaking process, please
visit the
Federal Register Web site: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=00-27714-filed
COPA Commission Reports to Congress
On October 20, the Commission on Child Online Protection (the COPA
Commission)
delivered a report to Congress that unanimously approves a series of
recommendations,
including significant improvements in both on- and offline public
education
aimed at making the Internet safe for children. The report also
recommends increased
enforcement of existing child pornography and obscenity laws and
improved consumer
resources, including an independent testing facility to evaluate
various technological
tools.
Additionally, the Commission cited and encouraged several “best
practices”
for both the adult online industry and the Internet Service Provider
(ISP) industry.
Significantly, the COPA Commission did not recommend that Congress
enact any
new legislation with respect to children and the Internet, and did not
call
for the mandatory use of Internet filtering and blocking technology in
schools
or libraries.
For further details, copies of the COPA Commission report, or
information
about the hearings the Commission held, go to www.copacommission.org.
E-Rate Update:
Funding Year 4 Window Opening
The Form 471 filing window for Funding Year 4 (July 1,
2001–June 30,
2002) opened on Monday, November 6, at noon EST. The window will close
Thursday,
January 18, 2001 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
- All manually submitted applications must meet the Jan. 18 postmark
deadline.
- Unlike Funding Year 3, all materials associated with Form 471 must
also
meet the Jan. 18 postmark deadline, including:
- Form 471
- Block 6 Certification for Form 471, with original signature by
authorized
person
- All Item 21 attachments
- Block 6 Certification of Form 470 filed for Funding Year 4
Funding Wave Update: Wave 26 Released Oct.
27
Funding Wave 26 was released October 27, bringing the total amount
dispensed
in Funding Year 3 to more than $2 billion in 26,041 awards. For a full
breakdown
of discount awards through Wave 26, visit: www.sl.universalservice.org/funding/y3/national.asp#quick.
Eligible Services List Updated
Clarifications of services eligible for funding have been added to the Eligible
Services List. A new list reflecting additional changes will be posted early
in the Form 471 application window for Funding Year 4.
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