ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 222 / C&RL News ■ A p ril 2004 W a s h i n g t o n H o t l i n e Bernadette Murphy During this contentious election year, Congress is not e xp ected to com plete m uch legislation. But while few bills are being passed, this is a very busy time for hearings, debates, and som e other threatened actions on key library issues. The fol­ lowing are highlights o f recent activities o n key library issues. C o p y r ig h t an d d a ta b a se Get out a scorecard because keeping track of the “dueling database bills” and how the House Energy and Commerce and Judiciary Committees are re­ spectively dealing with these two bills takes some attention to detail. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and 18 cosponsors introduced H.R. 3872, the Consumer Access to Information Act o f 2004, a narrower alternative version o f H.R. 3 2 6 1, the Database and Collec­ tions o f Inform ation M isappropriation Act. S te a m s w o rk ed c lo s e ly w ith Rep. J a n ic e Schakowsky (D-IL) to develop the bill. H.R. 3872 was introduced on March 2, in the House Energy and C om m erce Com m ittee, follow ing on the heels o f the House Judiciary Committee’s favor­ able referral o f H.R. 3261 to Energy and Com­ m erce. A lthough H.R. 3261 w as the result o f years o f negotiation, it continued to b e opposed by libraries becau se it would fundamentally al­ low database producers to lock up facts through copyright-like law. Oversimplified, the Com m erce Committee didn’t like the Judiciary C om m ittee’s bill, H.R. 3261, so Energy and Commerce Committee mem­ b er Stearns introduced another bill, H.R. 3872. Stearns stated at th e M arch 2 hearing that he opposed H.R. 3261 because the bill could lead to costly litigation and “put a chill on the use o f information b ecau se o f the fear o f litigation.” New Energy and Com m erce Chairman J o e Barton (R-TX) and ranking member John Dingell, (D-M I), supported the bill and op p o sed H.R. 3261. H.R. 3872 narrowly defines the definition o f misappropriation o f a database and calls for Federal Trade Commission oversight and enforce­ m ent while prohibiting private parties the right to sue. The Commerce Committee approved the Bernadette Murphy is communications specialist at ALA’s Washington Office, e-mail: bmurphy@alawash.org bill with no amendments. Moreover, the commit­ tee reported H.R. 3261 (the Judiciary Committee’s bill) with “an unfavorable recommendation.” T he introduction o f H.R. 3872 is considered a positive political step by libraries and other opponents o f database legislation because it con­ tinues to emphasize the fundamental rift between the stakeholders and will likely m ake it m ore difficult for any bill to pass this year. Libraries continue to maintain that any database legisla­ tion is unnecessary but are grateful to those rep­ resentatives who, recognizing the deep flaws in H.R. 3261, proposed an alternative. A ction n eeded: Anyone in a state whose repre­ sentative cosponsored H .R.3872 should thank him or her for voting against a favorable recom­ mendation o f H.R. 3261 and for developing an alternative in H.R. 3872. For a list o f th e c o ­ sponsors and for the text o f b o th bills, go to: thom as.loc.gov. T o con tact the cosponsors o f H .R . 3 8 7 2 , g o to C o n ta c t C o n g r e s s at capwiz.com/ala. B ills a m e n d in g th e U SA PATRIOT A c t A ren ew ed grassroots push is on to get m ore cosp o n so rs for the SAFE (Secu rity and F ree­ dom E n su red ) A ct— H.R. 3 3 5 2 and S. 1709. ALA, in conjunction with other coalition m em ­ bers, is seeking to increase the num ber o f con­ gressional cosponsors, particularly Republican m em bers. ALA wants to target library support­ ers in key states. It is particularly important to press this Con­ gress to support the SAFE bills, to build a base for the next Congress and to “inoculate” any mem­ bers against voting for any expansion o f the PA­ TRIO T Act. Seek in g am endm ents to the USA PATRIOT Act is a long-term battle, and each step along the way is necessary. National Lib ra ry Le g isla tive D ay (NLLD) With such a difficult year to get proposals passed, this is an extremely important grassroots lobby­ ing opportunity to see our positions o n bills pre­ vail. We h o p e that you will com e to NLLD on May 3 and 4. If you have not already contacted your respective state delegations, check out the NLLD W eb page at http://www.ala.org/ala/ washoff/washingtonoffice.htm. ■ mailto:bmurphy@aiawash.org http://www.ala.org/ala/