Regards,
Norm
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
To: Interested Persons
From: Jill Lesser (jlesser@pfaw.org)
Re: Funding for the Telecommunications and Information=20
Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP)
Date: August 14, 1995
**********************************************************************
As many of you know, the Senate Appropriations Committee only
provided $4 million in funding for FY 1997 for the TIIAP program in
the Commerce, Justice State and the Judiciary Appropriations bill that
was approved by the Committee on August 1st. This money is just a
place holder and if the Senate bill is not amended, the TIIAP program
will likely die.
Senator Kerrey (D-NE) is planning on introducing an amendment on
the Senate floor to bring the funding level up to $21.5 million for FY
1997 which is the amount that was appropriated by the House. The bill
is likely to come up in early September and Senator Kerrey needs our
help. Therefore, we have drafted the attached letter to go to all
members of the Senate. We hope everyone will be able to sign on. It
is important that all organizations that have been involved in the
fight to promote universal access to advanced telecommunications
systems weigh in here!
Because we don't know exactly when the bill will be on the=20
floor, we would like to collect signatures for the letter by the time
Congress gets back the first week of September. If your organization
cannot sign on to this letter, please send letters to any and all
members of the Senate urging them to support and fund the TIIAP
program. To sign on please call Jill Lesser at (202) 467-2308 or
e-mail me at jlesser@pfaw.org.
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 add 17.5
million of funding for the Telecommunications and Information
Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) to be offered by Senator Bob
Kerrey (D-NE), [and others], to the Senate Appropriations bill for
Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary, H.R. 3814.
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,=20
universities, schools, and libraries. Listed below are just a=20
few examples of how TIIAP has helped these groups utilize=20
telecommunications systems for education, community development and
ultimately for economic empowerment:
o TIIAP grants in Oregon helped develop a community network
designed
to electronically link Native American tribes in the Columbia River
basin. The network will help the tribes manage the economically and
culturally important fisheries of the Columbia River System by
providing access to and communication with the Fish Commission, and
the State and Federal government.
o In New Hampshire, TIIAP funds gave many of the state's neediest
families increased access to public and private assistance programs.=20
Due to a lack of public transportation, simple application forms, and
awareness of existing programs, the rural residents of Concord were
previously unable to receive the help they needed. Sites for the
SafetyNet network were installed in various ideal locations, such as
near a central fire station, in a Head Start center, and in a
transitional shelter for families.
o In Montana, Big Horn Telecommunications Project received TIIAP
funds to provide teachers, students, library patrons, medical
patients, business people and government officials in the poorest
county in Montana access to information via the Internet. The Project
will, for example, enable students from kindergarten to college to
have access to a "virtual library collection" by linking area
libraries with those at universities in Billings.
o The very rural and remote Piedmont region of South Carolina
received TIIAP funds to create a high-tech fiber optic network linking
high schools, the technical college, and area businesses. This network
will allow more than 6,000 students to benefit from advanced placement
courses, access to the Internet, and numerous other educational
opportunities which would have been impossible without the TIIAP
funding.
o A public school system in Nebraska used TIIAP funds to create an
electronic community within a rural impoverished community. The
Metropolitan Area Network will link the city of Beatrice, its local
community college, and its public schools. Members of the community
will receive Internet training so that they can access both local and
statewide information.
o TIIAP funding in West Virginia helped enable isolated, rural
mountain communities access much needed information services through
their local libraries. Project InfoMine links local libraries with the
resources of larger college libraries. It also enables unemployed
miners to find off-site work information or retraining opportunities
and gives expectant mothers important health, diet, and childcare
information.
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 Amendment to H.R. 3814 that
will appropriate critical funding for the TIIAP program for fiscal
year 1997.
Very truly yours,