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(FWD) NCC Washington Update, Vol 6, #12, April 7, 2000



NCC Washington Update, Vol 6, #12, April 7, 2000
   by Page Putnam Miller, Director of the National Coordinating
      Committee for the Promotion of History <pagem@capaccess.org>

1.  Subcommittee Recommends NHPRC
          Reauthorization Legislation
2.  Witnesses testify on NEH Budget
3.  Department of Energy's Re-Review of
          Records Already Declassified
4.  National Archives Requests Comments on
          Appraisal and Scheduling Of Federal Records
5.  Department of Education Releases 1999
          Digest of Education Statistics

1.  Subcommittee Recommends NHPRC Reauthorization Legislation - On April
5 the House Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on Government
Management, Information, and Technology voted unanimously by voice vote
to recommend to the full committee HR 4110, a bill to reauthorize the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission for the fiscal
years 2002 through 2005 with an appropriations ceiling of $10 million.
Representative Steve Horn (R-CA), the Chair of the subcommittee, and
Representative Jim Turner (D-TX), the ranking minority member, both
spoke very favorably about the NHPRC's work and urged support of its
reauthorization.  Parallel legislation has not yet been introduced in
the Senate.

2.  Witnesses testify on NEH Budget - On April 6 the House
Appropriations Interior Subcommittee heard from 55 witnesses speaking in
support of a wide variety of agencies and programs that come under the
subcommittee's jurisdiction.  Over one-third of the witnesses spoke in
support of various Department of Energy programs that deal with natural
resources.  Four witnesses testified on behalf of the National Endowment
for the Humanities.  In addition to Representative Ralph Regula (R-OH),
the Chair, other representatives participating in the portion of the
hearing that focused on the NEH were Norman Dicks (D-WA), ranking
minority member, James Moran (D-VA), and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY).

All of the witnesses for NEH supported the Administration's request of
an increase from $115.26 million to $150 million, which would partially
restore NEH to its funding level prior to the 1996 cuts. Professor
Stephen Greenblatt, Professor of English at Harvard, speaking on behalf
of the National Humanities Alliance, stressed that the humanities
"transmit crucial values, ask difficult questions, and contribute to the
pursuit of happiness that we claim as part of our national birthright."
Jack Faris, a Board member of the Washington Commission for the
Humanities, represented the Federation of State Humanities Councils and
talked about the ways state councils enrich education and bring
communities together for shared experiences.  Regula was most interested
in Faris' description of the traveling exhibit, "Barn Again," that
showcases the richness of our agricultural and architectural heritage.
Edward Able, the President of the American Association of Museums,
testified on behalf of the Office of Museum Services as well as NEA and
NEH.  Michael Halleran, Dean of Humanities at Washington State
University, testified on behalf of the Association of American
Universities and the National Association of State Universities and Land
Grant Colleges.  He emphasized NEH's support of long term projects and
programs that foster better teaching.  Both Representative Dicks and
Hinchey made very strong statements about the importance of NEH and the
need to raise the funding level.

3.  Department of Energy's Re-Review of Records Already Declassified -
In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee's Energy and
Water Development Subcommittee on the FY 2001 appropriation for the
Department of Energy's Office of Security and Emergency Operations,
General (ret.) Eugene Habiger highlighted the Administration's request
for a $4.2 million increase for declassification.  The majority of this
money he said would go to re-reviewing 450 million pages of other
agencies' documents that have already been reviewed and declassified.
The effort is mandated by laws passed in 1998 and 1999 that are designed
to prevent the inadvertent release of significant amounts of sensitive
nuclear weapon design information.

4.  National Archives Requests Comments on Appraisal and Scheduling Of
Federal Records - The National Archives began last year a major project
of reviewing the policies and processes for the scheduling and appraisal
of federal records.  The current policies are based primarily on
paper-based record keeping systems.  However, Archivist John Carlin has
noted that now at the beginning of the 21st century most records are
created electronically and agencies need to know how to manage records
in all media, not just paper.  The National Archives is seeking comment
on the draft work plan for evaluating and analyzing current policies and
making recommendations for new policies appropriate for the context of
the new digital environment.  The work plan includes a 7 step process
that includes the hiring of a public policy consultant who will provide
support for much of the work.  The project team hopes to present to the
Archivist by the summer of 2001 options of alternative models for a new
approach to appraising and scheduling federal records.  The redesign
process will conclude in about 18 months with the selection of a model
that will include implementation plans and training plans.  The draft
work plan may be reviewed at the National Archives' web site at
<http://www.nara.gov/records/sap/>

5.  Department of Education Releases 1999 Digest of Education Statistics
- On March 28 the Department of Education released it "Digest of
Education Statistics 1999."  Published annually by the National Center
for Education Statistics, the Digest includes more than 400 tables,
charts, and graphs based on data from a variety of government and
private sources and on a wide range of topics.  The section on higher
education notes that college enrollment in the United States hit a new
high of 14.9 million in 1999 after falling slightly in the mid-90s, and
since 1990, the report states, the number of full-time students has
generally increased at a faster rate than part-time students.  The
complete Digest is available at  http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch> and
search under the publications number 2000031.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** *  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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