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(FWD) NCC Washington Update, Vol, 6, #33, September 29, 2000



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 6, #33, September 29, 2000
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of the National Coordinating Committee for
the Promotion of History

NEWS FLASH: NHPRC Reauthorization Clears Senate Committee
1.   Appropriation Update: Little Progress in Passing Bills
2.   NPS "Discovery 2000" Conference: Report on Proceedings
3.   WWII Memorial for National Mall Gets Approval
4.   News Bits and Bytes: Senate Energy Committee Mega-mark-up; Report on
Gap in Nixon White House Tapes; National Constitution Center Groundbreaking

NEWS FLASH: NHPRC REAUTHORIZATION CLEARS SENATE COMMITTEE
Thanks in large part to your letters, e-MAIL communications, and phone calls
to Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) and other members of Congress (see "Action
Item" in NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 6, #25, July 27, 2000), the Senate
Committee on Governmental Affairs just passed H.R. 4110 - a bill to
reauthorize the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
(NHPRC) for the fiscal years 2002 through 2005 with a federal appropriations
ceiling of $10 million. While the bill passed the House of Representatives on
July 24, because the NHPRC still has a year to run in its current
authorization cycle, the Senate was reluctant to push for enactment this
year.  Now that the legislation has passed out of committee, the full Senate
is expected to quickly take up and pass the measure. It no longer seems to be
a question of whether the measure will pass once it is taken up by the
Senate, but when will it be enacted into law.

1.  APPROPRIATION UPDATE: LITTLE PROGRESS IN PASSING BILLS
The budget impasse discussed in last week's NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 6,
#32, September 21, 2000) continues.  While Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott
(R-MISS) believes that  "the tempo has picked up a bit," the fact remains
that President Clinton has signed into law only two of the 13 spending bills.
The House has passed its version of all the various appropriations bills, but
the Senate has yet to begin its consideration of three of them.

Clearly, Capitol Hill appropriators are frustrated.  Some - especially those
with fervent needs to return home to campaign for re-election -  are weary of
the slow pace of Congressional action. Others (especially fiscal
conservatives) are frustrated with the Republican leadership because they
have been unable to adhere to their own budget blueprint - for example, GOP
officials acknowledge that it could take an additional $3 billion to move the
Interior bill and perhaps as much as $13 billion to get the President to sign
off of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education measure.  In spite
of the rhetoric calling for fiscal conservatism the sentiment of both
Democrats and rank and file Republicans is frustration with the budget caps
and the appropriation process.  Representative David R. Obey (D-WIS) - the
House Appropriation Committee's ranking Democrat - summed up the feeling of
many lawmakers: "we proceeded for 10 months under a set of GOP budget
assumptions that were patently ridiculous."

In other appropriations news, in the House, action on the massive Interior
Department and Related Agencies bill (which includes the National Endowments
for the Arts and Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution and the National
Park Service), was set aside on September 27 in deference to Congress taking
up the Energy Department bill.  Last night (September 28) House and Senate
negotiators reached agreement on an $18.6 billion Interior bill thus bringing
weeks of discussion over dozens of environmental riders to a close.  The bill
will probably be voted on early next week.

The massive $100 billion Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill
(H.R. 4577 and S. 2553) - legislation that includes funding for education and
library programs funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services
and also contains the amendment that earmarks $50 million for the Secretary
of Education, "to award grants to develop, implement and strengthen programs
to teach American history (not social studies) as a separate subject within
school curricula." (For related stories see NCC WASHINGTON UPDATES, Vol. 6
nos. 22, 23, 26, and 30.) - remains stalled because of continuing
disagreements with the White House over spending for school construction and
several other controversial provisions in the bill.
Capitol Hill insiders report that House and Senate conferees have begun
direct negotiations with the White House in order to avoid a major public
confrontation.

The Treasury/Postal bill that includes funding for the National Archives and
Records Administration, is expected to come to a vote again next week;
whether it will again be tied together with an other appropriation bill -
such as the Legislative Branch appropriations (this includes the Library of
Congress appropriation) - as a "minibus" has yet to be determined (See NCC
WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 6, #32, September 21, 2000).

2.  NPS "DISCOVERY 2000" CONFERENCE:  REPORT ON PROCEEDINGS