Page 176 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Education Policy 18:0
which runs from a half dollar to a dollar per solicitation, with a response
rate to Congress of 10 percent or less. Because their technology bro-
kered mail coming from citizens, the coalition knew precisely how many
messages each public official was receiving, and from whom – informa-
tion not available to members of Congress or the media. This helped
coalition lobbyists fine-tune their pitches to members of Congress. 121
When at one point FCC officials and some members asked the lobbyists
to stop the incoming messages from citizens, coalition members knew
they had officials’ attention. 122 By early June, at the time of the exchange
between members of Congress and Chairman Kennard, the coalition
had successfully demonstrated to members of Congress that E-Rate had
a public constituency.
On June 12, under pressure from the coalition and industry, and after
a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee with both sides ag-
gressively represented, the FCC voted to “save” but also curtail E-Rate.
The commission reduced federal funding from $1.67 billion to $1 billion,
restricted qualifications for schools, and extended the initial distribution
of funds from 12 months to 18 months. This move satisfied the bulk of
the telecommunications firms, who withdrew their opposition, as well
as the Save the E-Rate Coalition. The group had won what organizers
called a “glass half full.” Their program had survived, but was diminished
in the process, at least in the short run. By all accounts, the capacity of
the coalition to produce a large, active public constituency for E-Rate on
short notice had been a key part of the outcome, more for its influence
on members of Congress than the FCC itself.
In the longer run, the compromise by FCC worked to the advantage
of the coalition. As the number of schools actually receiving discounts
grew, E-Rate’s natural constituency consolidated. According to a report
by the Department of Education in September 2000, about 13,000 public
school districts and 70,000 schools had applied for funds by the second
year of the program, along with 5,000 private schools and 4,500 library
systems. These applications represented about 75 percent of all public
schools and districts in the United States, 15 percent of private schools,
and 50 percent of libraries. 123 Not only was this constituency large, but

121
Roger Stone, Vice President, Juno Advocacy Network, telephone interview by Eric
Patterson for the author, May 16, 2000.
122
Anonymous staff member, American Association of School Administrators, tele-
phone interview by Eric Patterson for the author, June 20, 2000.
123
Department of Education, “E-Rate and the Digital Divide: A Preliminary Analysis
from the Integrated Studies of Educational Technology,” prepared by the Urban
159