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NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #8, February 23, 2001



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #8, February 23, 2001
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of  the National Coordinating Committee
for the Promotion of History
*****************

1.  President Pledges Boost for Education Funding
2   Byrd Takes to Senate Floor to Push for Additional Funding for History
Education.
3.  Controversial State Department Advisory Board Minutes Posted
4.  Clinton National Monument Orders To Stand
5.  News Bits and Bytes: Bush Notes Black History Month in Talk; Garfinkel
Appointment; National Park Service Budget News; NEH Budget News.

1.  PRESIDENT PLEDGES BOOST FOR EDUCATION FUNDING
Following up on his campaign pledge to increase education spending by $47.5
billion over ten years, on February 21, 2001, President George W. Bush
announced that he will ask Congress for an increase of $4.6 billion in
education spending in his FY-2002 budget proposal.  This represents the
largest proposed increase (more than 11%) for any Cabinet department.  The
increases include $1.6 billion for elementary and secondary education and
$44.5 billion in discretionary spending.  "I am confident," the President
told a small gathering of teachers and students in Blount County, Tennessee,
"that the combination of an increase in spending, coupled with education
reform that holds people accountable, is the right path for America to
take." Neither Bush nor administration officials would say exactly how the
money would be spent, but budget lines focusing on teacher training, aid to
disadvantaged students, reading enhancement, and programs that focus on
English fluency are expected to receive special attention in the President's
budget proposal.

In response to the President's plans, both the Republican chairman and the
ranking Democrat on the House appropriations subcommittees expressed their
reservations that there would be room in Congress's version of the budget
for all the President's initiatives. Representatives Ralph Regula (R-Ohio)
and David R. Obey (D-Wis) both expressed skepticism whether such massive
increases could be realized if the administration wants to enact its highly
publicized $1.6 trillion tax cut proposal. On the other hand, some
congressional Democrats have characterized the Bush plan as "inadequate" and
state that it is about $10 billion short of the actual needs.

Details relating to the President's plan were also sparse when Secretary of
Education Roderick Paige made his first appearance before the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on February 15.  Paige
outlined for the senators the "core principles" of the Bush education plan.
Increased accountability at the local level, reduction of bureaucracy,
support for statewide reading programs (the Bush program is dubbed "Reading
First") and renewed emphasis on student math skills were all talking points.
While Paige and some senators disagreed over the President's fiscal
commitment to education, the Senate committee did agree to use the Bush plan
(rather than the Democratic proposal) as the framework for a bill they hope
to craft by the end of the month. That measure would then be taken up by the
full Senate in early March.

ACTION ITEM! For history advocates, right now there is a window of
opportunity in the appropriations cycle for those who are willing to act
fast. Please contact your members of Congress and ask them to add funding
for history education (see Senator Robert Byrd's (D-WV) suggestions in
related story below) in the legislation to be reported out of the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The U.S. Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. Calls from history
advocates who live in Vermont and Massachusetts (Senator James M. Jeffords
(R-VT) chairs the committee and Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MASS) is the
ranking Democrat) would be particularly useful. Other members of the Senate
committee who should be contacted and urged to support special funding for
history education include: Republican senators Judd Gregg (R-NH), William
Frist (R-TN), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), John Warner (R-VA),
Christopher Bond (R-MO), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeff
Sessions (R-AL); Democrats who sit on the committee are: Christopher Dodd
(D-CT), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM),
Paul Wellstone (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), John Edwards
(D-NC), and Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

2.  BYRD TAKES TO THE SENATE FLOOR TO PUSH FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR
HISTORY EDUCATION
On February 15, 2001, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) used the opportunity of the
President's Day holiday to remind his Senate colleagues about the sorry
state of historical awareness on the part of America's youth.  In his speech
Byrd said that as the nation celebrates the birth of two of our most revered
presidents (George Washington and Abraham Lincoln) many school children "do
not fully appreciate the lives and accomplishments of these two American
giants of history."  He lamented that students "have been robbed by a school
system that no longer stresses a knowledge of American history. . .What a
waste. What a shame."

Byrd summarized the findings of a 1994 National Assessment of Educational
Progress study, and last year's study released by the American Council of
Trustees and Alumni.  The results of both studies he found to be "deeply
disturbing" as they demonstrate that students from elementary school through
college levels, "lack even the most rudimentary grounding in U.S. history."
Byrd said that every American student, "must know the history of the land to
which they pledge allegiance. They should be taught about the Founding
Fathers of this nation, the battles that they fought, the ideals that they
championed, and the enduring effects of their accomplishments. They should
be taught about our Nation's failures, our mistakes, and the inequities of
our past.  Without this knowledge, they cannot appreciate the hard won
freedoms that are our birthright."

Byrd then explained his rationale for adding an amendment in last year's
Education Department appropriations act that earmarked $50 million for
history (not social studies) education for local school districts that
devise programs to teach history as a distinct discipline (See NCC
Washington Update, Vol 6., #45; December 21, 2000).  Byrd characterized his
funding effort as "a starting point for a partial solution to this egregious
failure of the American educational system."  Byrd expressed his hope that
with this money, "schools that have previously sought to teach American
history should be commended, and schools that wish to add this critical area
of learning to their curricula should be helped to do so."

Byrd indicated that he is supportive of additional funding for history
education.  "It is my hope that this money will serve as seed corn, and that
future spending will be dedicated to the improvement and expansion of
courses dedicated to teaching American history on its own, unencumbered by
the lump sum approaches of "social studies" or "civics."  The senator then
concluded his remarks with an except from the famous funeral oration of
Pericles as reported by Thucydides in his "History of the Peloponnesian War"
(the excerpt emphasizes the need to remember the deeds of great people and
nations).

Senator Byrd's speech reflects his deeply held belief that the nation's
failure to adequately teach American history will "ultimately mean a failure
to perpetuate this wonderful experiment in representative democracy."  To
keep this from happening, he appears committed to history education and is
urging his Senate colleagues to set aside still more federal funds to
address the problem of historical illiteracy. "The history of our Nation,"
Byrd stated, "is too important to be swept under the bed, locked in a closet
or distorted beyond all recognition. The corridors of time are lined with
the mistakes of societies that lost their way, cultures that forgot their
purpose, and Nations that took no heed of the lessons of their past.  I hope
that this Nation, having studied their failures of those before it would not
endeavor to test fate's nerve."

The full text of Senator's Byrd's comments appears in the Congressional
Record (Senate - February 15, 2001; pages S1455-56) and may be accessed
through the Library of Congress's "THOMAS" Internet legislative information
system at <http:www/thomas.loc.gov/>.

ACTION ITEM!  Readers (particularly those living in West Virginia) are urged
to call or write Senator Byrd to thank him for his continuing support of
funding for history education. The Senator's phone number is (202) 224-3954;
he may also be contacted by e-mail at: <senator_byrd@byrd.senate.gov>.

3.  CONTROVERSIAL STATE DEPARTMENT ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES POSTED
Minutes for the April (updated version), July, September, and December 2000
meetings of the State Department Historical Advisory Committee (this
advisory body oversees the production of the official Foreign Relations of
the United States series), are now posted on the Internet.

The minutes of the April 2000 meeting includes an account of the closed
session on "The CIA and the Foreign Relations Series."  One topic that
captured considerable attention in the nation's press (see, for example,
Vernon Loeb's article in on page A-31 of the February 19, 2001, issue of the
Washington Post, "CIA Blocks History's Access to Briefings") was the
discussion about the CIA's categorical refusal to declassify any issues of
the President's Daily Brief even though they are in excess of 25-years old.
In the July 2000 meeting, it is reported that "Director of Central
Intelligence Tenet remains firm in his position that the President's Daily
Brief may not be released for publication "no matter how old or historically
significant it may be."

To view the minutes discussed above, tap into the Federation of American
Scientist's "Project on Government Secrecy" website index for the Advisory
Committee Meeting Minutes at:
<http://www.fas.org/sgp/advisory/state/index.html>

4.  CLINTON NATIONAL MONUMENT ORDERS TO STAND
Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton said on February 19, 2001, that the Bush
administration will not seek to overturn any of President Bill Clinton's
designations of some 5 million of acres of federal lands as national
monuments. Under the authority of the 1906 Antiquities Act (this law
provides a means for a sitting president to protect unique or historically
significant lands without congressional approval).  Clinton designated a
total of 19 new national monuments - 18 of them during his last year in
office. While there may be some special legislation introduced to modify
boundaries of some of the new monuments, Norton said that there would be no
comprehensive roll back of Clinton's designations. Norton did, however,
criticize the Clinton administration for its haste in designating the
monuments and in not taking into account the cost of producing management
plans for the new areas.

In the meantime, House Resources Committee Chairman James V. Hanson (R-Utah)
who is a severe critic of the Antiquities Act provision that grants a
president national monument designation authority, sent letters to House
members urging them to introduce legislation challenging Clinton's
designations if they are unhappy with them. While neither Congress nor a
newly sitting president has the authority to override a designation order,
Hansen's committee is making a comprehensive review of all of Clinton's
designations to determine whether the actions "are popular with local
communities and to correct other problems." One monument set aside by
President Clinton specifically for its historical importance - the President
Lincoln and Soldiers Home National Monument in Washington D.C. (See NCC
Washington Update, Vol. 6., # 24; July 19, 2000) - is not expected to garner
significant post-designation community opposition.

In the past, Congress has been reluctant to curb presidential powers
established in the Antiquities Act.  Representative Mike Simpson (R-Idaho),
however, reportedly is drafting legislation that would require congressional
approval of any monument larger than 50,000 acres.

5.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1 - President's Visit:  On February 9, 2001, President Bush visited a
Washington D.C. elementary school in celebration of Black History Month.
His visit was primarily designed to promote reading. The President told the
students that "reading is the beginnings of the ability to be a good
student" and read to the third-graders about Booker T. Washington.  "What's
important about Black History Month," the President said, "is to read about
different heros who have made a difference in making history, and to realize
they're fantastic role models."

Item #2 - Garfinkel Appointment: Steven Garfinkel, current Director of the
Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), has been named chair of the
Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working
Group (IWG) by U.S. Archivist John Carlin. Garfinkel replaces Acting
Archivist Michael J. Kurtz in that role.

The former Nazi War Crimes Interagency Working Group was expanded by
legislation last year to encompass declassification and release of documents
concerning Japanese Imperial Army war crimes during World War II. Garfinkel
will continue to serve as ISOO director, a post he has held for over 20
years. A National Archives press release announcing his new appointment by
the Archivist of the United States is posted at:
<http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2001/02/iwg.html>.

Item #3 - National Park Service Budget News: In a speech to Interior
Department employees on February 14, 2001, Interior Secretary Gale A Norton
stated that she would honor President Bush's campaign promise to boost
spending for national park maintenance and restoration though the rest of
her agency's budget is likely to experience cuts in other areas. During the
presidential campaign, Bush publicly committed his administration to a $5
billion increase over five years to restore what he described as the
nation's "crumbling" national park system.

Item #4 - NEH Budget News: In contrast to the controversy relating to the
National Park Service budget needs, little was said about the National
Endowment for the Humanities budget during the recent presidential campaign.
Senator Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss) and Thad Cochran (R- Miss) who
is a high-ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, both
recently proclaimed their strong support for President Clinton's 1997
selection to chair the NEH, William R. Ferris, to continue in his position
after his term expires in September. Under Ferris's leadership the NEH has
experienced a $5 million budget increase in each of the last two federal
budgets.

With respect to the NEH budget, the Office of Management and Budget has sent
out a preliminary budget call from all agencies. Hill insiders report that
the NEH (like many other federal agencies) will probably see flat funding at
FY-01 levels in the President's budget proposal. The NEH, however,
apparently has requested "reconsideration" on its budget request, meaning,
the agency is seeking an increase. An administration budget detailed enough
to identify the NEH budget line is not expected until April.

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