Subject: Re: Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations
Jason Boehlert (nadojmb@sso.org)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 16:45:27 -0400
To: ROUNDTABLE@CNI.ORG From: nadojmb@sso.org (Jason Boehlert) Subject: Re: Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Message-Id: <98Jul23.164539edt.32262@gateway.sso.org> Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 16:45:27 -0400
I would like to thank everyone who signed on to the letter in suppot of
the TIIAP program. Today the senate approved an amendment offered by
Senator Kerrey (D-NE) restoring $9 million in funding for the program
and lifting prohibtions on E-rate eligible schools and libraries from
receiving TIIAP grants. A copy of the letter is enclosed for your
records.
Thanks
Jason
***********
July 21, 1998
Attn.: Appropriations and Telecommunications Staff
Dear Senator:
On behalf of a diverse coalition of economic and community development,
health care, education, cultural, disability, civil liberties, and other
civic organizations, we urge you to vote for an amendment to restore
funding for the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure
Assistance Program (TIIAP). Senator Robert Kerrey will offer a
bipartisan amendment to the Senate Commerce, Justice, State, and
Judiciary Appropriations Bill (S 2260) will be offered when it comes to
the floor supporting the TIIAP program. The Administration requested
$22 million for TIIAP for FY 1999, and the current Senate Appropriations
Committee mark is $9 million less than last year's level of $20 million
and prohibits E-rate eligible schools and libraries -- even in
partnerships with other community entities -- from applying for TIIAP
grants.
TIIAP, which is administered by the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA), matches private contributions with
government funds to promote the widespread availability of advanced
telecommunication technologies. Without TIIAP projects, many
communities would not have the resources or opportunity -- like citizens
in rural and low income regions and those with disabilities -- to access
advanced telecommunications technologies used for essential health care,
public safety, and educational services. TIIAP provides funds to
purchase equipment used to build networks, to link networks together and
to the Internet, and to provide sophisticated technology training.
TIIAP is the only federal program which supports information and
telecommunications technology that promotes innovation and collaboration
at the local level. Resources such as the Universal Service Fund do
provide discounts for telecommunications costs. However, these
resources do not emphasize innovation nor do they support evaluation and
sharing of information. And while some federal agencies may fund
computer and telecommunications costs for limited purposes, TIIAP is the
only program that encourages community driven projects that cut across
program boundaries and that enable, for instance, health care providers
to collaborate with law enforcement organizations, schools, libraries
and social service organizations.
A common misconception is that the need for TIIAP funding could be
reduced because the Universal Service Fund has been established as
required by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The new Universal
Service Fund does not duplicate TIIAP and does not diminish the need for
TIIAP grants. The Universal Service Fund subsidizes merely a fraction
of the telecommunications-related costs associated with connecting to
the Internet and other telecommunications services; typically a total of
10-15 percent of the actual costs associated with using such technology
efficiently. Currently, only K-12 schools, libraries, and non-profit
rural health care providers are eligible for discount under the
Universal Service Fund. In addition, E-rate eligible schools and
libraries would be prohibited from applying for TIIAP grants under
currently proposed legislation.
TIIAP supports the use of information and telecommunications
technologies through personal computers, modems, end user training,
software, network design and system maintenance, as well as costs
associated with project evaluation and dissemination of project results.
Most, if not all of these costs, are ineligible under the Universal
Service Fund.
Telecommunications resources such as the Internet play an ever
increasing role in all facets of the lives of all Americans. But to
fully realize the benefits of telecommunications technologies, every
American must have the opportunity to utilize these resources. TIIAP
helps to realize this goal by extending advanced telecommunications
capabilities, in concert with the private sector, to people and regions
that would otherwise be left behind.
Recipients of TIIAP grants have included local governments, police
districts, fire stations, community colleges, school districts, museums,
health organizations, and other non-profits. Attached is a list of just
a few examples of how TIIAP has helped these groups use
telecommunications systems for education, economic and community
development, job training and health care.
All of the activities described in the attached listing, funded by
TIIAP, would not have been eligible for universal service funding.
Furthermore, proposed language would limit the access of school children
to essential social services as well as prohibiting adult access to
government information, job retraining, and other online services
through their public libraries.
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
community services, health care delivery, civic participation, and much
more. The TIIAP is a modestly funded program that contributes
significantly to the development of a national information
infrastructure, accessible to all Americans.
We urge you to support the Kerrey amendment which will appropriate
critical funding for the TIIAP program for fiscal year 1999.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Community Media
Alliance for Public Technology
American Arts Alliance
American Association of Museums
American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
American Library Association
American Symphony Orchestra League
American Telemedicine Association (ATA)
Appalachian Center for Economic Networks
ArtsGloucester (Gloucester, MA)
Association of Art Museum Directors
Association of Performing Arts Presenters
Association of Research Libraries
Association of Science-Technology Centers
Birmingham Urban League
Cambridge Community Television
Center for Media Education
Circle of Nations, Inc.
Consortium for School Networking
Dance/USA
Education Technology Think Tank
Hawaii Internet Caucus (Hawaii State Legislature)
LatinoNet (Mountain View, CA)
LibertyNet (Philadelphia, PA)
Lowell Telecommunications Corporation
Minnesota Information and Referral Alliance (MIRA)
Madison County Urban League (IL)
Media Access Project
National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)
National Association of Independent Schools
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA)
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
National Education Association
National Farmers Union
National Grange
National Rural Education Association (NREA)
National Rural Health Association
National School Boards Association
National Trust for the Development of African American Men
National Urban League
Neighborhood Learning Network (Chicago, IL)
NET at TWO RIVERS (Sacramento, CA)
North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center
North Central Kansas Distance Learning Network
OMB Watch
People for the American Way
Twin Cities Free-Net
United Neighborhood Houses of New York (New York City)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urban League of Essex County (NJ)
Virtually Wired Educational Foundation (Boston, MA)
West Town Learning Network (Chicago, IL)
Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications
A Sampling of TIIAP Funded Projects
o In Oregon, the Lane County Council of Governments is developing a
telecommunications system, ChildLink, that will integrate information
dealing with family crises from more than twenty agencies that are
housed in eight different computer systems. In many child abuse
fatalities, case workers could have intervened in time if they had
access to all the relevant information in the case. For example,
at-risk families often have multiple contacts with various public
agencies, such as police, school administrators, domestic violence
shelters, and state services but these agencies do not share the
information with each other. Therefore, no single agency ever has a
complete picture of the at-risk child's life. ChildLink is designed to
make sure that authorities have access to critical information about an
at-risk child so the appropriate agency can intervene before it's too
late. Again, current legislative language may prohibit K12 schools from
participating in child abuse prevention projects such as this one.
o In Oklahoma, a unique program at the University of Oklahoma has
graduated its first class of local emergency managers trained to detect
and respond to severe weather patterns. The "OK-FIRST" program, funded
in part by TIIAP, promises to pay off in preserving human life and
property by making the detection of threatening weather more
site-specific. OK-FIRST relies on the state's "Mesonet" system of 114
automated weather stations and 14 NEXRAD Doppler radars in and around
the state. The weather information is transmitted by computer to
emergency managers from the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. Satellite
data, the latest computer forecast model of the atmosphere, and other
information from the National Weather Service are also available.
According to the Project Director, "Other states are beginning to look
to us as the model system for response to weather emergencies."
o TIIAP funding will help the City of Philadelphia Community Services
Network to link agencies that deliver services in low income
communities. The primary objective of the network is to give direct
service staff the information needed to provide effective client
services, in part through integrated case management. Numerous
non-profit providers and government agencies will be connected in a
pilot test combining technical and case management training, the
operation of an electronic services locator, a universal eligibility
screening system, and a client registry to link and coordinate services.
o In South Carolina, the MEDED project is using TIIAP funding to create
a distance learning program at six South Carolina technical colleges for
degrees in two health science programs. Rural students enrolled in
pharmacy and medical information technician courses are learning through
a combination of Internet and interactive television based technologies.
The project affords access to advanced training for those who otherwise
would be unable to afford travel to lectures and labs.
o The University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville is developing,
with assistance from a TIIAP grant, an integrated trauma telemedicine
system, which will provide initial patient care by putting technology in
ambulances, rural emergency departments, and a Level 1 Trauma Center.
Emergency medical service (EMS) providers will use the system to take
still photos at the accident scene and then transmit the photos via
cellular telephone connections to emergency room personnel. For many
accident victims, time is critical; this project will give EMS personnel
in Tennessee access to onsite physician guidance. As a result, faster
diagnoses and intervention are possible to save lives.
o In Illinois, the State Museum Society is developing MuseumLink, a
network providing state specific information on art, cultures, and
nature to its citizens. Citizens, including students and teachers, use
the network to research Illinois history and culture, collaborate
electronically, query regional experts, and examine historical
collections online. MuseumLink is accessible through public terminals
and museum facilities.
o In West Virginia, the West Virginia OnLine Outreach project is
promoting the development of small businesses, while concurrently
increasing the computer skills of rural community members and displaced
workers. The project unites the efforts of small businesses,
institutions of higher education, libraries, government agencies,
foundations, and local community organizations in promoting technology
to increase economic development in the state.
o TINCAN, a community network serving both rural and urban areas in
northeast Washington State, is using the network to increase community
efforts to cope with issues of economic need such as welfare reform, and
the need for small business development. The focus of this TIIAP funded
project is on rural areas and inner city neighborhoods, and on
economically disadvantaged or otherwise disenfranchised individuals who
need job skills training and career guidance. TINCAN is using the Web
to link small startup businesses, job skills, and training opportunities
with real, marketable outcomes.
o Several communities in the Salt Lake Valley region of central Utah are
using TIIAP funds to link their public safety agencies through a
wireless, secure communications system. The Valley Emergency
Communications Center (VECC) has created an integrated data network that
links mobile laptop computers in police, fire, and ambulance vehicles.
VECC is improving response time in emergency situations to the benefit
of citizens affected by crime and domestic violence. For example, since
the grant, there has been a 300% increase in the recovery of stolen
vehicles.
o The National Urban League's Technology Access Center project will
bring access to advanced information technology to community residents
and community-based organizations in four targeted communities:
Baltimore, Maryland; Binghamton, New York; Roxbury, Massachusetts; and
Newark, New Jersey. The intent of the project is to plan, implement,
and evaluate pilot technology centers. These centers are to serve as
models for the other 115 Urban League affiliates and similar community
based organizations nationally. Each center will provide a variety of
programs, including literacy training, workforce development, and
computer literacy. National partners include Bell Atlantic, Microsoft,
and Educational Testing Services.
o In Hawaii, where distance and water separate the various islands, a
TIIAP-sponsored project has made keeping track of juvenile offenders a
lot easier. A Juvenile Justice Information System (JIIS) connects law
enforcement agencies on the islands in order to share information about
juvenile offenders who cross jurisdictions.
Jason Boehlert
Legislative Representative
National Association of Development Organizations
444 North Capitol St., NW, Suite 630
(202) 624-7806
FAX (202) 624-8813
http://www.nado.org/
<nadojmb@sso.org>
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