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(FWD) NCC Washington Update, vol 6, #23, July 12, 2000



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol 6, #23, July 12, 2000
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of the National Coordinating
Committee
for the Promotion of History

1.   Byrd Amendment Provides $50 million for American History Education
2.   Appropriations Update: Senate Continues to Debate Interior
Department
Appropriation Bill; House Subcommittee Acts on National Archives FY 2001

Budget
3.   Report on the Department of State, Advisory Committee on Historical

Diplomatic Documentation Meeting
4.   News Bits and Bytes -- Position Announcement: Director State
Department
Office of the Historian; Library of Congress Publishes Cumulative Index

1.   BYRD AMENDMENT PROVIDES $50 MILLION FOR AMERICAN HISTORY EDUCATION
On June 30 Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Slade Gorton (R-WA), Gordon

Smith (R-OR), Max Cleland (D-GA), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Kent Conrad
(D-ND),
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT), and Rod Grams (R-MN) together with
Representatives
Thomas E. Petri (R-WI), George Miller (D-CA), Joe Skeen (R-NM), Sherwood

Boehlert (R-NY), Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), and Matthew G. Martinez
(D-CA)
introduced a Congressional concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 129; H.
Con.
Res. 366) "Expressing the Sense of Congress Regarding Value of Education
in
U.S. History."  The resolution decried the sad state of American history

education in the nation's schools (see NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol 6,
#22,
June 30, 2000).  As a follow-up to the resolution, Senator Byrd offered
an
amendment (Amendment no. 3731) to the FY 2001 Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Appropriation bill (H.R. 4577), to provide $50
million to the Secretary of Education to award grants to states "to
develop,
implement, and strengthen programs that teach American history (not
social
studies) as a separate subject within school curricula."

The amendment was approved by a 98-0 margin and is supported by the
Clinton
Administration. As currently drafted, the grant money would be earmarked
for
states to support the development of history programs in secondary
schools.
According to Senate sources, however, the amendment is written broadly
enough to give the Secretary of Education discretion to use funds for
the
support of post-secondary history education programs as well.  Since
there
is no similar language in the House passed version of the
Labor/HHS/Education bill, funding is not assured but will be addressed
by
conferees when they resolve differences between the House and Senate
versions of the appropriations bill.

2.  APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE: SENATE CONTINUES TO DEBATE INTERIOR
DEPARTMENT
APPROPRIATION BILL; HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ACTS ON NATIONAL ARCHIVES FY 2001

BUDGET
This week the full Senate continues to debate the Interior Department
and
Related Agencies Appropriations bill.  This bill will include
recommended
funding levels for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Park Service (NPS)
and
other preservation agencies. Numerous amendments have yet to be acted on
by
the Senate; a final vote is expected by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, on the House side, during an evening session on July 11, the
Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriation
Subcommittee
made its proposed recommendations for the FY 2001 budget for the
National
Archives and grants programs of the National Historical Publications and

Records Commission (NHPRC). The House subcommittee proposed that the
National Archives receive $201.171 million with the NHPRC being allotted
$6
million, the same as the President's proposal.

President Clinton had proposed a FY 2001 total budget request of
$309.355
million for the National Archives, a $86.733 million increase over the
FY
2000 level of $222.622 million. He requested $6 million, the current
level,
for competitive grants for the NHPRC.  The major new spending initiative
in
the President's budget was $88 million for the renovation of Archives I
on
the Mall. The proposed work would include correcting mechanical,
electrical,
plumbing, and fire safety deficiencies, upgrading storage conditions to
meet
modern archival standards, providing increased exhibit and public
meeting
spaces, and constructing new encasements for the Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The House
subcommittee did not allot any funds for the proposed renovation. The
House
subcommittee recommendation did, however, cover all the Archives fixed
costs
and provided sufficient funds to transfer President Clinton's papers to
the
Clinton Library in Little Rock.  The House also earmarked funds to
accelerate the processing of veterans records and provided start up
monies
for the electronic records project.

Funding for the renovation may yet materialize at the end of the
appropriations process once the House and Senate conferees meet to iron
out
differences between the House and Senate versions of the appropriations
bill.  Depending on how fast the full House acts on the appropriations
bill,
the Senate may be able to consider legislation as early as next week.

3.  REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HISTORICAL
DIPLOMATIC DOCUMENTATION
On July 10, during its scheduled two-day meeting, the State Department's

Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation met in open
session for two hours. During the public session, the minutes of the
December meeting were approved with the provision that the discussion of
the
CIA matters remain "non-public," hence they would not be included as
part of
the official minutes which would be made available to the public via the

State Department web site.  The Committee expressed its skepticism with
this
arrangement and requested that the Executive Secretary enter into
discussions with representatives of the CIA to modify the reporting
procedure.

In what was his final report as the Executive Secretary of the Advisory
Committee, William Slany, retiring head of the State Department's Office
of
the Historian, gave an update on the current status of the Foreign
Relations
Series (FRUS). He stated that the history office was behind schedule in
issuing certain letter press versions of the series that are scheduled
for
release this year.  He also stated that there was no technical reason
preventing the electronic publication (E-publishing) of certain volumes
of
the FRUS series, except that certain documents have yet to clear various

agencies (with E-publishing, these yet to be released documents could be

added in at a later time and eventually issued as a letter-press
version).
Discussion centered on the need for the historian's office to prioritize

those volumes recommended for electronic publishing. It was the general
sense of the Committee that "openness" (via electronic publishing)
should
take priority over the completion of letter-press versions which could
be
issued once all documentation had been cleared by withholding agencies.

Finally, the Committee heard a report on the progress being made on the
prototype compilations of the Foreign Relations series.  Two volumes are

currently being assembled: "Intellectual Framework of Nixon
Administration
Foreign Policy" and a second, "The Soviet Union and the Cold War: Moscow

Summit, 1971-1972." These volumes differ from past editions as they are
"thematic compilations." The Committee expressed its satisfaction with
the
work completed to date.

5.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES
Item #1: In order to fill in behind retiring William Slany, the
Department
of State is seeking applicants to fill the position, Director Office of
the
Historian; salary range $115,811 to $130,200.  In addition to other
duties,
the Director oversees the publication of the "Foreign Relations of the
United States" documentary series. The position is not being announced
in
the usual historical journals, hence we saw the necessity to post it
here.
Closing date for applications is July 28, 2000.  For more information
and
application materials, call Jeni Mallios (202) 663-2166.

Item #2: The Library of Congress has just published a cumulative index
to
its 25-volume Congressional Correspondence series.  The series contains
the
surviving correspondence of the 344 delegates who attended the
Continental
Congresses during and after the American Revolution. A digital version
is
also available on CD-ROM.  For more information contact Helen Dalrymple
at
(202) 707-1940.

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