Congress reaches agreement on budget, avoids federal government shutdown

Late Friday night, Congress reached an agreement on the federal budget for FY 2011.  Congress passed another Continuing Resolution (CR) that will last through most of next week.   President Obama signed this CR that avoided a government shutdown that would have begun when the previous CR expired at midnight on Friday, April 8th.  This new CR will give Congress enough time to finalize the budget for the rest of the fiscal year.  It is unclear at this time if this compromise budget impacts libraries.

Continuing Resolution keeps federal government funded until April 8th

On Friday, President Obama signed another Continuing Resolution (CR) that was passed earlier in the week by the House and then the Senate.  This bill will fund the federal government until April 8^th and is the sixth CR for the FY 2011 budget year.  The bill includes $6 billion in cuts, but it does not appear that the cuts impact the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) or Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding.  Both houses of Congress are in recess for the next week.

Continuing Resolution extends federal budget until March 18th

A Continuing Resolution (CR) passed in both the House and the Senate and was signed into law by the president on Wednesday.  The CR keeps the federal government funded for another two weeks until March 18^th, avoiding a federal government shut down and allowing more time for Congress to pass a budget for the rest of FY 2011.  The CR does include $4 billion in cuts, but they do not affect funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) or Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

The Senate is still working on their own verso i the CR that was passed by the House to fund the federal government until September 30^th, the end of FY 2011.  It is still important to contact Senators and ask them to maintain the 2010 funding for both LSTA and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (ILTSL) program.  See the earlier blog posting for information on the Action Alert.

Action Alert! Ask Senate to maintain LSTA and ILTSL funding

Last week, the House passed a Continuing Resolution (HR 1) to fund the rest of FY 2011.  While the Continuing Resolution does include a continuation of funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), it zeroed out funding for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (ILTSL) program.

The Senate is now drafting their own version of the Continuing Resolution.  Please contact Senator Mikulski and Senator Cardin and ask them to maintain the 2010 funding for both LSTA and ILTSL.  A list of how LSTA funding is used in Maryland is available.  For additional talking points, and to take advantage of the pre-written letter, check out the Capwiz Action Alert.

If you prefer to call, the phone numbers are:

• Senator Mikulski – 202-224-4654
• Senator Cardin – 202-224-4524

The current Continuing Resolution is set to expire on March 4^th, so this will likely move quickly.  Thank you in advance for your advocacy efforts with the Senate on these important issues!

House passes Continuing Resolution for FY2011 budget; bill moves to Senate

On Friday, the House passed a Continuing Resolution for the budget for the rest of FY 2011.  This includes funding for the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) and the Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA).  Maryland legislators all voted against the entire Continuing Resolution, except for Congressmen Bartlett and Harris, who voted for the bill. 

The Continuing Resolution is now in the hands of the Senate.  The Senate is on recess this week, but will pick this up on Monday, February 28^th.  The current Continuing Resolution is set to expire on March 4^th.

PATRIOT Act amendment fails, sunset extended

On Friday, the House defeated Conyers Amendment #524 to HR 1, the Continuing Resolution for the FY2011 Budget.  It would have made improvements to reader privacy in Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act.

Additionally, both the House and Senate passed a bill to extend the sunset of three provisions of the PATRIOT Act that were set to expire soon.  These provisions, one of which is Section 215, will now expire at the end of May 2011.  The president is expected to sign the bill.  This will allow another three months of debate over improvements, such as those in Amendment #524.

For a few more details, see the District Dispatch posting.

Amendment #35 to cut IMLS & LSTA defeated in House!

The Amendment #35 to HR 1, the Continuing Resolution to the FY2011 budget, was defeated!  Representative Garrett (R-NJ), who introduced the amendment has indicated that he will not push for a vote on the amendment.  This means that funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds, will remain intact for the rest of FY2011.  For more details, please see the District Dispatch posting.

Thank you to everyone who contacted their representative to voice your opinion about this critical cut!

Action Alert! URGENT: Action needed on IMLS funding & FISA orders for libraries

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2/17/2011 UPDATE – Amendment #35 (IMLS & LSTA budget cut) defeated!  View the update.

2/18/2011 UPDATE – Conyers Amendment (#524, PATRIOT Act revision to halt funding to FISA orders for library and bookstore records) was also defeated.  View the update.

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Congress is now working on a Continuing Resolution for the FY2011 budget.  The current Continuing Resolution for the FY2011 budget is set to expire on March 4^th.  There are two amendments that impact libraries that require action: 

1. IMLS & LSTA funding – Amendment #35 would eliminate all funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding.  Please contact your representative in the House and ask him/her to OPPOSE Amendment #35.  What does a total loss of LSTA funding mean for Maryland?  The staff at the Division of Library Development and Services (DLDS) will be cut in half.  There will be no grant money for the Summer Reading Club and AskUsNow.  You can view a complete list of what Maryland will lose.



2. Funding for FISA orders seeking library and bookstore records – Conyers’ amendment would halt all funding for these Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders.  Please contact your representative in the House and ask him/her to SUPPORT this amendment.

Please contact your representative regarding these two amendments.  A Capwiz Action Alert is available, including more details and talking points.  It also includes a pre-written letter that you may edit to personalize the message.  Feel free to use the complete list to show the impact a total loss of LSTA funding would have on Maryland’s libraries.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide!

Continuing Resolution maintains federal budget until March 4th

A Continuing Resolution passed by the 111^th Congress at the end of December will allow the federal government to continue running on FY 2010’s spending levels until March 4^th.  The 112^th Congress, which just convened on January 5^th, has not yet taken any measures to establish a budget for the remaining portion of the fiscal year.

House passes continuing resolution on funding through the end of FY 2011

The House has passed a continuing resolution for Appropriations to maintain FY 2010 spending through the end of FY 2011.  The overall funding would remain the same, although there would be shifts in funding between programs.  The current continuing resolution runs until December 18^th.  At this time, it is unclear whether the Senate will take up the measure.