Appropriations, Budgets, and Continuing Resolutions: what you need to know about the Congressional Appropriations Process

Confused about the $1 trillion Federal Appropriations process? Does talk of the FY 17 budget, FY 18 budget, the President’s “Skinny” budget, Continuing Resolutions and Omnibus budgeting leave you a tad confused? You are not alone!

To help answer some of these questions, ALA is hosting a webinar on April 13, 2017, 2:30pm eastern to provide an overview of the Federal budget and appropriations process, its impact on libraries throughout the country and the importance of front line advocacy efforts on behalf of libraries.

Join the ALA Washington Office Appropriations expert Kevin Maher and the Penn Hill lobbying group’s Aissa Canchola for an hour-long discussion of the ABCs of the budget process in Washington. These budget experts will help explain how Congress can be working on last year’s budget AND this year’s budget at the same time, what the President’s proposal to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services could mean for more than $213 million in federal library funding and how Congress is expected to proceed in the coming weeks and months.

The stakes are high this year and all federal library funding is on the chopping block after the President effectively proposed eliminating these important programs. Your calls, emails, tweets to Members of the House of Representatives in support of the annual “Dear Appropriator” letters for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program proved highly successful this year, but we’re only at the start of a year-long FY 2018 appropriations. What’s next on the funding front?

You will walk away from this session with a clearer idea of how Congress’ budget and appropriations machine works and, perhaps most importantly, how YOU can get involved in saving critical library funding for LSTA and IAL.

Here is your chance to hear from the experts and ask questions of how it all works (or doesn’t). No registration is required – just join us on YouTube on April 13, 2017 at 2:30pm eastern and use the #SaveIMLS to ask a question.