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(FWD) NCC Washington Update, Vol 6, #37, October 26, 2000



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 6, #37, October 26, 2000
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of the National Coordinating Committee for
the Promotion of History


1.   NCC Annual Request for Contributions
2.   Appropriation Update: $50 million History Earmark in Labor, H&HS, and
Education Bill Still Pending
3.   Bills Pending the President's Signature or Recently Enacted
4.   House Passes Freedman's Bureau Records Preservation Act
5.   News Bits and Bytes: CIA to Release Chile Documents; New Report on
Government Secrecy; Nixon Tape Release; Air and Space Museum Breaks Ground

1.  NCC ANNUAL REQUEST FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
The NCCPH is supported by the voluntary donations of the 59 member
organizations which collectively provide most of the NCC's annual operating
budget.  This falls short of the amount needed to sustain the operation.
Consequently, for the last couple of years, the NCC has relied on income from
organizational reserves to make up the needed shortfall.  This year, with the
retirement of Page Miller and the transition costs associated with Bruce
Craig's arrival, there is a larger than ususal deficit.  In appreciation of
NCC's work including its timely NCC WASHINGTON UPDATES and other advocacy
activities designed to advance the interests of the historical and archival
community, please consider making a contribution of $10, $25, $50 or whatever
you deem fitting in this once-a-year appeal.

Send your checks - payable to "NCCPH" to the National Coordinating Committee,
400 A Street SE, Washington D.C. 20003.  Please note that as a educational
institution organized under Section 501-(c)-4 of the Internal Revenue Code,
contributions to the NCCPH are NOT deductible as charitable contributions for
federal income tax purposes.

2.  APPROPRIATION UPDATE: $50 MILLION HISTORY EARMARK IN LABOR, HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES AND EDUCATION BILL STILL PENDING
The Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill (H.R. 4577 and S.
2553) that includes funding for education and library programs funded through
the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Senator Robert Byrd's (D-WV)
earmark of $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" has yet to be
formally considered by Congress.

Earlier in the week, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss) expressed his
hope that a final compromise on the massive $108.5 billion plus
appropriations bill could be ironed out by Friday - that no longer seems
possible.  The Republican leadership has, however, taken away responsibility
for negotiating a compromise on the bill from Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)
who had primary responsibility for drafting of the Senate version of the
bill.  At this writing, Congress and the White House still seem miles apart
from resolving their differences.  The conference report that reportedly
contains language earmarking $50 million for "history education" still has
yet to be formally released, and consequently, it is unclear what Congress
has decided to do with respect to the $50 million teaching history amendment.

3.  BILLS PENDING THE PRESIDENT'S SIGNATURE OR RECENTLY ENACTED
As often is the case, the end of a congressional session generates a flurry
of last-minute activity.  Several bills have worked their way through various
committees, have passed both houses of Congress and are either on their way
or presently are on the President's desk awaiting his signature. The
President is expected to sign all of the following bills:

*Rosie the Riveter-World War II Home Front National Historical Park:
This legislation establishes the Rosie the Riveter-World War II Home Front
National Historical Park  in Richmond, California.  Introduced by
Representative George Miller (D-CA) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the
new historical park that will be made part of the National Park System seeks
to preserve sites, structures, and areas located in the vicinity of Richmond,
California, that are associated with the industrial, governmental, and
citizen efforts that led to victory in World War II.  According to the
National Park Service (NPS), Richmond is an ideal spot for the park as it
"has a critical mass of intact historical structures....and its home front
experience is nationally recognized and is well-documented."

The legislation empowers the NPS to hold lands in fee and less-than fee
simple (including leaseholds).  The NPS would also be able to accept
donations of certain lands and structures but it also could administer much
of the site through cooperative agreement with other entities.  The NPS is
also charged to operate an education center for the purpose of educating the
American public on the significance of the site and on the broader story of
the WW II home front.  The legislation recognizes that survivors who worked
on the home front are in their seventies and eighties and hence an oral
history program is authorized: Section 5 of the legislation authorizes "such
funds as may be necessary to conduct oral histories" and to carry out other
provisions of the act.

*Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site:
Introduced by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Sand Creek Massacre
Historic Site in Colorado is designed to recognize and memorialize "the
hallowed ground on which hundreds of peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians
were massacred by members of the Colorado militia" in 1864.  The legislation
authorizes the National Park Service to enter into agreement with willing
sellers in an effort to secure lands within a 12,480 acre boundary. Without
condemnation authority acquisition of land could take years, but several
willing sellers who own property within the core of the site's proposed
legislative boundary have offered to sell in recent months. Once the NPS has
purchased a sufficient land base to memorialize and commemorate the massacre,
the site will be formally established. Special provisions are found in this
legislation that provide tribal access for traditional cultural and
historical observances.

*First Ladies National Historic Site:
Legislation creating the First Ladies National Historic Site was enacted
without benefit of any congressional hearings by authorizing committees. This
National Park unit established at the home of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley
in Canton, Ohio, was achieved through its inclusion as Section 145. (a) in
the Interior Appropriations bill (PL 106-291). The mover of the legislation
was Congressman Ralph Regula, Chairman of the House Interior Department
Appropriations Subcommittee. The purpose of the new unit is to preserve and
interpret the role and history of the First Ladies in American history.

While the legislation empowers the NPS to own and operate the site, it also
authorizes the NPS to  enter into a cooperative agreement with the National
First Ladies Library which can also help operate and maintain the site;
entrance fees collected would be retained by the Library for the historic
site's upkeep. In the past, establishment of historic areas as units of the
National Park Service without the benefit of authorizing committee hearings
have been controversial.  National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA)
vigorously opposed one such historic site to be created in this manner -
Steamtown National Historical Park in Scranton, Pennsylvania. With respect to
the First Ladies site, NPCA has not expressed an opinion on the merits of the
new NPS unit, but the organization has sent a letter to Congressman Regula
objecting to the manner in which it was established.

Several years ago, the National Park Service did study the McKinley home for
possible inclusion in the NPS system but did not find it nationally
significant.  A second NPS report found that the Park Service did not
administer any historic site specifically focusing on the First Ladies and
because of outstanding interpretive and educational program possibilities
that inclusion of such a site focusing on the First Ladies in the NPS system
could be justified.

*Abraham Lincoln Interpretive Center/Underground Railroad "Freedom Center":
Several other pending legislative measures were also included in the Interior
bill but all of them had been considered by Congress through one or more
hearings and had passed one or both houses of Congress.  Section 146 of the
Interior bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make grants and
contribute funds for the establishment of an Abraham Lincoln Interpretive
Center in Springfield, Illinois, to "preserve and make available to the
public materials related to the life of President Abraham Lincoln."  Section
150 authorizes federal funds (up to 20% of the total project cost) for the
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Once
constructed, the Freedom Center will serve as a centralized facility for
exhibits, collections, and  research relating to the history of the
Underground Railroad.

4.  HOUSE PASSES FREEDMAN'S BUREAU RECORDS PRESERVATION ACT
On October 19, the House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 5157)
authorizing the expenditure of $3 million for fiscal years 2001 through 2005
to safeguard the records of the Freedman's Bureau - a federal agency that
from 1865 to 1872 attempted to help better the lives of former slaves after
the American Civil War.  The records of the Bureau document one of the
greatest social undertakings in this country's history.

The legislation requires that the National Archives take action to preserve
the Bureau records through microfilming and through establishing partnerships
with educational institutions including Howard University in Washington D.C.
and the University of Florida.  The partners are to assist NARA in making the
records "more easily accessible to the public, including historians,
genealogists and students."  The bill is expected to pass the Senate before
the end of the congressional session.

5.   NEWS BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1: CIA to Release Chile Documents: The CIA has reversed course and has
agreed to release 700 documents next month about CIA covert operations in
Chile that undermined socialist President Salvadore Allende and helped set
the stage for the 1973 coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power.
Last August, CIA Director George Tenet announced the agency's decision to
withhold the documents in order to safeguard CIA intelligence methods. The
White House, however, strongly advocated a release of documents and favored
maximum disclosure.  The release will include all but about two dozen covert
action documents. The National Security Archive - which has long advocated
the release of the Chile documents - views Tenent's decision as a "partial
victory for openness over secrecy."

Item #2: New Report of Government Secrecy: A new report -  "Secrecy in
International and Domestic Policy Making: The Case for More Sunshine" -
surveys the pervasive secrecy in international institutions (i.e. the World
Trade Organization, the International Olympic Committee etc.) and examines
the failure of various "Sunshine Acts" (two laws crafted over 25 years ago
that require open business meetings of all collegially-headed federal boards
and commissions) with respect to several U.S. government agencies such as the
Federal Reserve Board. The report, issued by Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan
(D-NY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), recommends numerous revisions to the Sunshine
Acts.  The report is posted on the Federation of American Scientists, Project
on Government Secrecy website: http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/wyden.html

Item #3: Nixon Tape Release: On October 26 the National Archives and Records
Administration released another 420 hours (some 4140 conversations) of White
House tape recordings from the Nixon Presidency from August - December 1971.
The tapes cover a wide range of domestic and foreign topics including
discussions relating to the President's February 1972 trip to the Peoples
Republic of China. A free finding aid is available from NARA; for more
information call (301) 713-6950.

Item #4: Air and Space Museum Breaks Ground: On October 25 the Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum held a groundbreaking ceremony at Dulles
International Airport - the planned 176-acre new home for 200 aircraft and
100 space relics that have been in storage for the past 25 years. The 710,000
square-foot, $238 million facility will open December 17, 2003, the 100th
anniversary of the Wright Brother's historic first flight. The facility will
be the size of two and a half football fields and ten stories high.
Smithsonian officials estimate that once completed the facility will be
visited by 3 to 4 million annual visitors.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * * *
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