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(FWD) NCC Washington Update, Vol 6, #27, August 10, 2000



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol 6, #27, August 10, 2000
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of  the National Coordinating
Committee for the Promotion of History

1.    Inside Washington Politics: A Look at the Vice-Presidential
Candidates
2.    Congressman Introduces Federal Information Policy Act of 2000
3.    News Bits and Bytes: NHPRC Editing Institute; World History
Website Proposals Sought; Rare Films to get New Home

1.  INSIDE WASHINGTON POLITICS: A LOOK AT THE VICE-PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATES
Now that the Republican and Democratic Vice-Presidential candidates have
been selected, what can be expected from them and their respective
parties in terms of their positions on matters relating to history,
education, government secrecy, and other related areas of interest to
historians and archivists?  In relation to Republican nominee Richard B.
Cheney, he is no newcomer to academe - Cheney left a Ph.D. program in
political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison to pursue a
political career in Washington.  As a member of the House of
Representatives from Wyoming, his voting record was solidly
conservative.  According to Sheldon E. Steinbach, Vice President and
General Counsel of the American Council on Education, Cheney "has not
spearheaded any educational initiatives of note," but then "he hasn't
sponsored any measures deemed objectionable to the higher-education
community either."

In terms of the governmental secrecy system, according to Steven
Aftergood (Project on Government Secrecy; Federation of American
Scientists), as Secretary of Defense, Cheney did tangle with the secrecy
establishment during the controversy surrounding the A-12 naval attack
bomber program.  Cheney became infuriated when he learned that the
special "black program" (an unacknowledged defense expenditure) went
significantly over budget; he ordered the program canceled even though
the government had invested billions in the secret bomber.  His action
sent a clear message to the military and their contractors that they
could expect to see their "black" programs questioned if not entirely
canceled should they fail to live up to promises and expectations.
According to Aftergood, as a result of his A-12 attack bomber
experience, "Cheney is familiar with the potential for abuse of the
classification system."

Considerable controversy focuses on his wife, Lynne V. Cheney.  Over the
years, Lynne Cheney, who has a doctorate in English, has left her own
distinctive mark in the world of ideas and culture.  In 1986, President
Ronald Reagan appointed her Chairwoman of the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH) - a position she held until 1993.  During her
controversial tenure, she imposed new rules on the scrutiny of some
grants at the NEH, and thereby (according to a report in a recent
Washington Post article) "imposed her political views on the agency."
After leaving the NEH she began arguing that the agency ought to be
abolished as it was in thrall to the forces of "political correctness."
She also mounted the campaign against the National History Standards - a
project originally commissioned by the NEH during her tenure. More
recently, however, the organization she started after leaving the NEH -
the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) - has been in the
limelight by forcefully decrying "historical illiteracy" in the American
student population. ACTA's report (see NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 6.,
#22, June 30, 2000) in part was responsible for pushing Senator Robert
Byrd and Senator (now Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee) Joe
Lieberman to insert language in the massive FY 2001 Labor, Health and
Human Services, and Education appropriation bill calling for the
expenditure of $50 million for "history (not social studies) education."

Prior to her husband's selection as the Republican VP nominee, insider
Capital Hill sources believed that by being a vocal supporter of the
need to combat historical illiteracy, Mrs. Cheney was positioning
herself to become Secretary of Education in a Bush Administration. With
the selection of her husband as VP, however, some informed sources now
feel this seems less likely to occur.  Nevertheless, Republican
Presidential candidate George Bush, at a recent news conference,
described Mrs. Cheney as a "leader in education reform" thus sending a
message that she may again gain a platform for her strong views on
academe.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, Democratic Party
Vice-Presidential nominee Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is
"viewed by many in academe as that rare politician who truly takes the
time to understand higher-education issues."   He has a strong track
record as a supporter of research funding.  Like Mrs. Cheney, he is also
an outspoken critic of political correctness (also like Mrs. Cheney, he
is one of the founders of ACTA) and he has denounced colleges for doing
little to control the rising costs of tuition.  Lieberman is a vocal
supporter of the proposed $50 million appropriation designed to raise
historical literacy among students.

Lieberman appears not to shy away from unpopular stands or positions.
Early in the Clinton Administration, for example, he was the sole
Democrat to oppose the nomination of Sheldon Hackney who was the
President's choice to serve as chairman of the NEH.  Lieberman held
Hackney accountable for allegedly "wavering" in the protection of the
free-speech rights of those on campus who held conservative views while
Hackney was President of the University of Pennsylvania.  Some
Washington insiders consider Democratic Presidential candidate Albert
Gore's selection of Lieberman for the VP slot as "brilliant" - having
him on the ticket will serve to counter attacks that the Republicans
could make about the Democratic ticket's positions relating to education
reform.

Lieberman is also a strong supporter of declassification.  During the
recent Senate hearing held on the proposed Moynihan Declassification
Board (see WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 6, #25, July 27, 2000) Lieberman
stated: "How our government classifies and declassifies
information...really speaks to the essence of our democracy...the
arguments for the least possible secrecy in government consistent with
our security are, to me, very powerful...the public's right to know and
the enrichment of informed public disclosure on issues is of vital
importance to the health and future of our country" (for the full text
of Lieberman's statement, see
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2000/lieberman.html). Lieberman is a
strong supporter of the pending legislation designed to create a
declassification board.   But according to Steven Aftergood, in
practice, Lieberman has been an opponent of secrecy reform on several
occasions - for example, he voted to oppose declassification of the
aggregate intelligence budget in June of 1997.

Irrespective of which Party manages to capture the White House, it
appears that both Vice-Presidential candidates and those close to them
are not ignorant of the interests and needs of the historical and
archival community. While much of the work in Congress and the Executive
branch of government entails establishing close working relationships
with staff, it is always easier to get one's views across if their
bosses are familiar with the issues.  With both Cheney and Lieberman,
the historical/archival community may be able to cultivate meaningful
working relationships.

2.   CONGRESSMAN INTRODUCES FEDERAL INFORMATION POLICY ACT OF 2000
On July 27, shortly before the Congressional recess, Congressman Tom
Davis (R-VA) introduced legislation (H.R. 5024) that would empower the
Federal government with tools the Congressman thinks are necessary to
better coordinate and manage information technology policies
government-wide. The Federal Information Policy Act of 2000 (FIPA),
creates an Office of Information Policy within the Executive Office of
the President.  It is the Congressman's hope that the collective result
of his 128-page bill will "force the Federal government to put its act
in order and become a reliable public partner for protecting America's
information highways."

Among other things, the legislation establishes a Federal Chief
Information Officer and charges this individual to establish a
comprehensive framework for implementing mandatory information security
standards. The legislation has been referred to the House Government
Reform Committee; no significant action on the legislation is expected
until the next Congress. To view the legislation, log into the Library
of Congress's website THOMAS at <http://thomas.loc.gov/ and on the home
page enter H.R. 5024 at the "by bill number" prompt.

3.   NEWS BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1: The National Historical Publications and Records Commission
will be holding its 13th annual Institute for Editing of Historical
Documents, June 18-23, 2001, in Madison, Wisconsin. There is no tuition
charge but competition for one of the 18 slots is likely to be stiff.
The deadline for applications is March 15, 2001.  For more information
and application forms, call (202) 501-5610.

Item #2: The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has issued a
"Request for Proposals" (RFP) for the construction of a "world history
website." The website will need to be designed to support those who are
called upon to teach world history classes in schools and colleges.
Traditional NEH grantee institutions (colleges, non-profits,
institutions of higher learning etc...) are invited to submit proposals
by October 15, 2000. The RFP may be viewed at
<http://www.neh.gov/pdf/guidelines/edd_worldhistory.html> for more
information, contact Bruce Robinson at (202) 606-8213.

Item #3: The Washington Times (August 8, 2000; p. C-8) reports that the
Library of Congress (LC) is creating a National Audio Visual
Conservation Center in an underground building previously owned by the
Federal Reserve.  Some 25-30,000 classic movies will be transferred from
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to the new facility
located in Culpeper, Virginia.  The new center will enable the LC to
consolidate its film storage and preservation operations and is
anticipated to take care of future storage needs for upwards of 25
years.

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