>From: [log in to unmask] (Jill Lesser)
>To: [log in to unmask] ('smtp:[log in to unmask]),
>        [log in to unmask] ('smtp:[log in to unmask])
>Mime-Version: 1.0
>Organization: People For the American Way
>Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 17:08:25 -0400
>Subject: TIIAP Funding
>Sender: [log in to unmask]
>Precedence: bulk
>
>
>PLEASE REDISTRIBUTE WIDELY
>
>SIGN-ON REQUEST
>
>
>To:  Interested Persons
>
>From:     Jill Lesser
>
>Re:  Funding for the Telecommunications and Information 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 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 [log in to unmask]
>
>
>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,
>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:
>
>ï   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.
>
>ï   In New Hampshire, TIIAP funds gave many of the state*s neediest
>families increased access to public and private assistance programs.  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.
>
>ï   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.
>
>ï   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.
>
>ï   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.
>
>ï   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,