E-Rate Takes a One-Two Punch

Staff -- School Library Journal, 8/1/1998

E-rate, the discount program to connect schools and libraries to the Internet, suffered two blows this summer-one from the long-distance telecommunications industry, the other from Congress.

Despite the fact that all telecommunications companies must contribute to the Universal Service Fund to support the e-rate program, three major companies said they would pass along their e-rate costs to consumers as a separate charge-from 93 cents at AT&T to 4.5 percent and 5 percent on interstate and international calls at Sprint and MCI, respectively.

The other blow came from members of Congress who want to scuttle the program, which they call the "Gore tax" because of the vice president's advocacy for the program, or require Internet filtering in schools and libraries that receive e-rate funding.

In early August, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was expected to bring his Internet School Filtering Act (S. 1619) to the Senate floor for debate. If passed, the act would require schools that receive e-rate discounts to filter all computers with Internet access. Libraries serving minors would also need to filter at least one computer used for Internet access.

An alternative bill, proposed by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), would require e-rate recipients to have Internet use policies.