C&RL News October 2018 520

Shawnda Hines is assistant director of communications, 
email: shines@ala.org, in ALA’s Washington Office

W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n eShawnda Hines

Premidterm election priorities in 
Washington
With just weeks to go before midterm elec-
tions, Congress is both making and delay-
ing decisions on issues that are important 
to libraries. 

On September 13, the U.S. House and 
Senate Appropriations Committees released 
a conference committee report on fiscal year 
2019 funding for programs under the Labor, 
Health and Human Services, Education, and 
Related Agencies Subcommittee, which con-
trols spending levels for many federal library 
programs. 

The news is good. 
The conference committee recommended 

increasing funding levels for many library 
programs, including a $2 million increase for 
the Institute of Museum and Library Services 
and a $13 million increase for the National 
Library of Medicine. The committee also ap-
proved a $70 million increase for career and 
technical education state grants and a $25 
million increase for adult education state 
grants, all of which provide additional fund-
ing opportunities for libraries. 

It’s not a done deal, but the positive 
news from the conference committee is a 
good sign that library advocates once again 
have demonstrated the value of libraries in 
every community and congressional district. 
We hope the next appropriations alert will 
be a call to say thank you to senators and 
representatives for their support of federal 
funding for libraries. 

The Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, 
passed by the full Senate in June, is in a hold-
ing pattern. If the bill is passed and signed 
by the president, it will increase access to 

content for English speakers with print dis-
abilities, especially in developing countries, 
where less than 1% of all published print 
material is accessible. It will also allow U.S. 
residents to obtain foreign-language content. 

The legislation now awaits action in the 
full House, which must vote on the bill be-
cause it impacts domestic copyright law. As 
House staff have indicated that the bill will 
not be considered for a vote until after the 
midterms, ALA is launching a grassroots advo-
cacy campaign to bring the Marrakesh Treaty 
Implementation Act to a floor vote before 
the midterms. To help this bill cross the fin-
ish line, visit the legislative action center on 
ALA’s advocacy website at ala.org/advocacy. 

Meanwhile, we at ALA have our own 
premidterm election agenda: providing 
resources that library professionals need 
to inform patrons. The League of Women 
Voters hosted a webinar for ALA mem-
bers and wrote a blog post for American 
Libraries to share nonpartisan ways that 
libraries can get involved and prepare pa-
trons for election season. Both are available at  
americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/. 

ALA is also collaborating with the Campus 
Vote Project (CVP), which works with college 
administrators, faculty, and staff to establish 
plans to educate students not only on voter 
registration, but also on the options and re-
quirements for casting a ballot. 

“Young people ages 18–24 are an increas-
ingly large block of eligible voters in the 
country, but they vote at rates that are half 
of those of older generations,” writes CVP’s 
Kristen Muthig for ACRL Insider. 

“The potential for young people to partici-
pate in the midterms and make a difference in 
their communities is there. . . . Libraries and 
their staff can be a contributing influence and 
help students participate in November.” 

mailto:%20shines%40ala.org?subject=
http://ala.org/advocacy
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/