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NCC Washington Update, Vol. 7, #5, February 1, 2001



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #5, February 1, 2001
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of the National Coordinating Committee
for the Promotion of History
*****************

1.  Senate Approves Norton to Head Interior Department
2.  Fire Hazards Documented at Library of Congress
3.  "History of the House" Advisory Committee Meets
4.  Hefley to Chair House Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and
Public Lands
5.  News Bits and Bytes: NHPRC Fellowships Suspended; Comments Sought for
IRB Report

1.  SENATE APPROVES NORTON TO HEAD INTERIOR DEPARTMENT
On January 30, 2001, the Senate voted 75 to 24 to confirm Gale A. Norton as
Secretary of the Interior. Twenty-five Democrats joined all fifty
Republicans in support of the 46-year-old former Colorado attorney general
and one-time protege of President Ronald Reagan's controversial Interior
Secretary, James Watt.  During her two-day confirmation hearing, Norton
managed to fend off objections from the environmental community largely by
distancing herself from the policies of her former boss and the other
controversial Interior Secretary she worked under, Donald Hodel.  Hill
insiders who attended her confirmation hearing also noted that her effective
testimony that "separated fact from fiction" served to disarm many of her
original opponents.

Among Norton's initial charges from George W. Bush is to prepare a budget
that will allow the President to pursue his top priority: tax cuts. When
questioned by reporters, Norton said that clearing the $5 billion backlog of
work needed to improve the national parks, "will be a budgetary
challenge."

During her confirmation hearing, Norton also mentioned her support for full
funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), thus raising the
hopes of supporters of last year's failed congressional initiative - the
Conservation Reinvestment Act (CARA) - that the new Administration may be
supportive of  a revived LWCF reform initiative.  If enacted, CARA would
have fully funded major various conservation and historic preservation
programs for up to 15 years.

Following her confirmation, Norton, the first women to head Interior, was
sworn into office during a private ceremony at the White House. "I am both
honored and gratified by the strong bipartisan vote of confidence I have
received," Norton stated. Leaders of environmental groups, however, noted
that twice as many senators voted against Norton as voted against James Watt
during his confirmation.

Norton will have overall responsibility for the stewardship of a vast amount
of America's public lands including 80 million acres of national park lands,
92 million acres comprising the National Wildlife Refuge System, and
hundreds of national monuments and historic sites. She also will oversee
several of the federal government's most important historic preservation
programs.

2.  FIRE HAZARDS DOCUMENTED AT LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

The Office of Compliance has issued a 20-page report that identifies various
fire hazards in the Adams, Jefferson, and Madison buildings at the Library
of Congress that pose a "serious potential threat to human life and to the
valuable Library collections."  The report was made in response to a
complaint filed by the Library of Congress Professional Guild (AFSCME, Local
2910) on April 2, 1999.

While many of the conditions documented in the report can be remedied
relatively quickly, safety hazards in the Library's Jefferson building (the
103-year old domed structure that houses the Library's Main Reading Room)
may take years to bring up to modern fire code standards. The Main Reading
Room, for example, lacks both sprinklers and modern smoke-removal systems.

The report documents that smoke detectors in the miles of books stacks are
35 years old and for the most part, untested. Library spokesmen state that
"most issues identified [in the report] can be remedied in an expeditious
manner with existing resources. However. . .some hazards will require. .
.additional funding."

3.  "HISTORY OF THE HOUSE" ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETS

On January 25, 2001, the first meeting of the History of the House Advisory
Board was held at the Library of Congress. The Board was formed pursuant to
Congressman John B. Larson's (D-CONN) legislation (P. L. 106-99) that
directs the Library of Congress to write a comprehensive history of the U.S.
House of Representatives. Larson represents the First Congressional District
in Connecticut and is a former high school history teacher.

Attending the meeting in addition to Representative Larson were several
congressional members of the Board, James Billington (Librarian of Congress)
and historians Barbara Sinclair (University of California), Robert V. Remini
(University of Illinois), Joel Sibley (Cornell University), and G. Edward
White (University of Virginia).  The group discussed a number of matters
including the number of authors needed to write such a book, who the author
or authors would be, the general thrust of the book, matters relating to
cost, and prospects for publishing.

This initial meeting of the Board was not open to the public.  A spokesman
for Representative Larson, however, stated that while discussions were very
"preliminary," the general consensus of those attending was that the book
probably would take a minimum of two years to research and write.
Reportedly, the Board members concluded that the book must tell the
"mega-story" of the history of the House by bringing together both people
and events. Rather than engage multiple authors, various members of the
group stated their views that the book ought to be written by a single
author, backed by a competent research team. Finally, discussion led to the
conclusion that the book should not be specifically targeted just to new
House members but should be written in such a way as to be appealing to both
a scholarly and general audience.

4.  HEFLEY TO CHAIR HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, RECREATION AND
PUBLIC LANDS

House Resources Committee Chair, Jim Hansen (R-UT) announced his committee's
various subcommittee chairs. Selected to head the Subcommittee on National
Parks, Recreation and Public Lands (the subcommittee with authorizing
authority over national parks and historical preservation issues) is
Representative Joel Hefley (R-CO). Hefley represents the Fifth Congressional
District in Colorado and has been a member of Congress since 1987.  He is
the author of H.R. 107 - a bill to authorize a study to identify sites and
resources for commemorating and interpreting the Cold War. It is expected
that Hefley will provide a sympathetic ear to the needs and interests of the
historical community.

5.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1 - NHPRC Fellowships: The National Historical Publications and
Records Commission (NHPRC) has suspended its Fellowships in Archival
Administration and Historical Documentary Editing for fiscal 2001-2002. Due
to financial constraints, the NHPRC voted last November to suspend the
fellowship program. Applications are not being accepted.  For additional
information, contact dane.hartgrove@ARCH1.NARA.GOV.

Item #2 -  Report Comments Sought: The American Association of University
Professors (AAUP) invites comments on its recently released 37-page draft
report, "Protecting Human Beings: Institutional Review Boards and Social
Science Research."  Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are campus based
bodies charged with implementing federal regulations relating to research in
the clinical/biomedical and social science fields. Recently, concern has
been expressed, particularly by practitioners of oral history, that these
review boards often do not adequately take into account unique circumstances
revolving around non-biomedical research and all too frequently, neither do
they adequately take into account the pluralistic nature of academic
research. The report is designed to help rethink the system so that it
protects research participants, promotes ethical treatment of these
individuals, and insures excellent research. The report may be found at
http://www.aaup.org  Comments are due by February 15, 2001, and should be
sent to Jonathan Knight, AAUP, 1012 14th Street, NW, Washington D.C., 20005
or jknight@aaup.org

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