roundtable: TIIAP funding

roundtable: TIIAP funding

TIIAP funding

Jill Lesser -- Media Access Project - Washington (jlessern@counsel.com)
Thu, 28 Sep 95 11:38:16 EDT 

Date: Thu, 28 Sep 95 11:38:16 EDT
From: jlessern@counsel.com (Jill Lesser -- Media Access Project - Washington )
Message-Id: <9509281538.AA15001@ad0.reach.com>
To: Roundtable@cni.org
Subject: TIIAP funding


ALERT:
The Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary Appropriations bill
may come up on the floor of the Senate tonight.  Senator Kerrey
will definately offer his amendment to restore funding for FY 96
for the TIIAP program.  The amendment is being co-sponsored by
Senator Snowe (R-ME), Leahy (D-VT), Lieberman (D-CT) and perhaps
Jeffords (R-VT)  and Cochran (R-MS).  Any calls therefore should
be made today to ensure that the amendment passes.

Also, thanks to everyone who signed on to the letter to support
the amendment.  The letter was delivered this morning to all
offices, please refer to it when you make calls. 


Here is the final letter:

                                                Attn: Telecommunications
                                                and Appropriations Staff
September 28, 1995


Dear Senator :

     We write on behalf of a diverse coalition of education, library,
arts, disability, civil liberties, trade unions and other civic
organizations to urge you to vote for the Amendment to restore
$18.9 million of funding for the Telecommunications and
Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) to be
offered by Senators Bob Kerrey (D-NE), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and
others, with bipartisan support, to the Senate Appropriations bill
for Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary (H.R. 2076).

     TIIAP, a program administered by the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA), matches private
contributions with government funds to promote the development and
widespread availability of advanced telecommunications
technologies.  Through TIIAP projects, people who may not
otherwise have the means or opportunity -- like citizens in rural
and low income areas and citizens with disabilities -- are able to
tap into the wealth of information that is accessible via advanced
telecommunications technologies.  TIIAP dollars are used to
purchase equipment for connection to communications networks such
as the Internet, train people in the use of equipment and
software, and to purchase telephone links and access to commercial
on-line services.

     Resources such as the Internet play an increasing role in many
facets of the lives of all Americans.  Schoolchildren are able to
benefit from a wealth of educational information not otherwise
available to them.  Citizens are able to engage in an active
discussion of public issues.  And Americans in rural areas are
able to access health care-related and other important information
without having to travel far distances.  To fully realize the
benefits of advanced technologies, however, every American must
have the opportunity to access these resources.  TIIAP-funded
support helps to realize this goal by extending advanced
telecommunications capabilities, in conjunction with the private
sector, to people and places that would otherwise be left out.  

     Recipients of the grants have included local governments,
universities, schools, and libraries.  Listed below are just a few
examples of how TIIAP has helped these groups utilize
telecommunications systems for education, community development
and ultimately for economic empowerment:

The University of Oregon, along with fifteen other educational,
governmental, health care, community and industrial partners, has
received funds for equipment necessary to complete construction of
the Lane Education Network.  This Network will be fully accessible
by the community, and will be the conduit for such educational
programs as network mentoring among high schools and on -line
training.

In West Virginia, TIIAP funds served to help complete a computer
network infrastructure at the College of Human Resources and
Education at West Virginia University.  This network would both
provide the Professional Development Schools with access to the
Internet, as well as allow the College of Human Resources to
provide information via the Internet on professional development
for teachers.

In Montana, TIIAP funds have enabled the Hall Elementary School
District to install the town's first Internet connection in the
school building which will give the entire town and the students
access to Montana statewide information, as well as national
services.

     In a time of significant budget cutting, TIIAP provides the seeds
to help forge partnerships with the private sector to ensure that
telecommunications technologies live up to their potential to
enhance education, library services, health care, community
services, civic participation and much more.  The TIIAP is a
modest program which can contribute significantly to the
development of a truly National Information Infrastructure.

     We urge you to support the Kerrey/Snowe Amendment to H.R. 2076 
and restore partial funding to the TIIAP program for fiscal year
1996.  


Very truly yours,

AFL/CIO Department for Professional Employees
Alliance for Community Media
Alliance for Public Technology
American Arts Alliance
American Association of Community Colleges
American Association of Law Libraries
American Association of School Administrators
American Association of School Libraries
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of Teachers
American Library Association
American Psychological Association
Association for Educational Communications and Technology
Association of Art Museum Directors
Association of Research Libraries
Berinstein Research
Catalyst Project
Center for Democracy & Technology
Center for Information, Technology & Society
Center for Media Education
Civic Access, Bellingham Washington
Communications Workers of America
Computing Research Association
Consortium for School Networking
Consortium of Distance Education 
Consumer Interest Research Institute
Council for Advancement and Support of Education 
Council for American Private Education
Council of the Great City Schools
Davis Community Network 
Davis Community Television
Delaware Association of Non Profit Agencies
Delaware Service Provider Network/Diamond.Net
Educational Products Information Exchange (EPIE)
Educational Teleconsortium of Michigan
Florida Community College Television Consortium
Higher Education Telecommunications Association of Oklahoma
Independent Sector
Instructional Telecommunications Council
Instructional Telecommunications Foundation
International Society for Technology in Education
Intelecom Maryland College of the Air Teleconsortium
International Telecomputing Consortium
Learning and Information Networking for Community Telecomputing
(LINCT) Coalition
Libraries for the Future
Media Access Project
Media Consortium - Media Democracy in Action
Museum Computer Network
National Association of Independent Schools
National Association of Secondary School Principals 
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
National Association of State Arts Agencies
National Campaign for Free Expression 
National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History
National Education Association
National Federation of Community Broadcasters
National School Boards Association
National Writers' Union (UAW Local 1981)
NILRC - A Consortium of Midwestern Community Colleges &
Universities
OMB Watch
Oregon Community College Telecommunications Consortium
Organizations Concerned about Rural Education 
People For the American Way Action Fund
Playing to Win Network 
Public Service Telecommunications Corporation
Texas Consortium for Educational Telecommunications
United Cerebral Palsy Association
United Church of Christ, Office of Communication
United Way of Delaware
Urban Libraries Council 
Western Consortium for Distance Education
World Institute on Disability

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