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[OER-Discovery] Congress Introduces Language to Strip OER from Dept. of Labor Funding

From: Cable Green <cable AT creativecommons.org>
To: Educause Openness Constituent Group <OPENNESS AT listserv.educause.edu>, "CC Open Ed (list)" <open-ed AT lists.ibiblio.org>, Open Access Working Group <SPARC-OAGROUP AT arl.org>, "CC OER Discovery (list)" <oer-discovery AT lists.ibiblio.org>, OER Forum <oer-forum AT lists.esn.org.za>, oer course collaboratory <oer-course-collaboratory AT googlegroups.com>
Subject: [OER-Discovery] Congress Introduces Language to Strip OER from Dept. of Labor Funding
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2011 22:43:37 -0700

The House Appropriations Committee just released the draft fiscal year 2012 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) funding bill. The legislation includes funding for programs within the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and other related agencies. Included in this bill is the following provision, which would appear to strip the ability of the DOL to support any further OER investments:

"SEC. 124. None of the funds made available by this Act for the
Department of Labor may be used to develop new courses, modules, learning
materials, or projects in carrying out education or career job training
grant programs unless the Secretary of Labor certifies, after a
comprehensive market-based analysis, that such courses, modules, learning
materials, or projects are not otherwise available for purchase or
licensing in the marketplace or under development for students who require
them to participate in such education or career job training grant
programs."

The text of the bill and accompanying announcement can be found online at:

http://appropriations.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=262231

The language can be found on page 37 of the bill.

There are several steps that Congress would have to take before this language would be approved, but first it has to move through the subcommittee and full committee. A subcommittee markup has not yet been scheduled.

Current subcommittee members include:

Republicans
• Denny Rehberg, Montana, Subcommittee Chair
• Jerry Lewis, California
• Rodney Alexander, Louisiana
• Jack Kingston, Georgia
• Kay Granger, Texas
• Michael K. Simpson, Idaho
• Jeff Flake, Arizona
• Cynthia M. Lummis, Wyoming

Democrats
• Rosa L. DeLauro, Connecticut
• Nita M. Lowey, New York
• Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Illinois
• Lucille Roybal-Allard, California
• Barbara Lee, California

==================

Cable Green, PhD
Director of Global Learning

Creative Commons

(e) cable AT creativecommons.org / (m) +01 360-790-3114 / (s) cable.green

(t) @cgreen / (b) OER
(b) power of open

[OER-Discovery] Congress Introduces Language to Strip OER from Dept. of Labor Funding, Cable Green, 10/04/2011