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NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #16, April 18, 2001



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #16, April 18, 2001
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of  the National Coordinating Committee
for the Promotion of History
*****************

1.  Byrd Seeks to Earmark $100 Million for History Education in FY 2002
Appropriation
2   Budget Update: NARA; NEH
3.  Action Needed: NHPRC Appropriation
4.  News Bits and Bytes: NCC Welcomes New Member; New FRUS volume

1. BYRD SEEKS TO EARMARK $100 MILLION FOR HISTORY EDUCATION IN FY 2002
APPROPRIATION
When the Senate considered House Con. Res. 83 that established the
non-binding framework for the Congressional budget for the U.S. government
in FY 2002, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) introduced amendment #205 - "Purpose:
Increase discretionary education funding be $100 million to improve the
teaching of American History in America's public schools."  According to a
spokesperson for the Senator, Byrd wants to continue his American History
initiative for at least another year (currently, a $50 million history
education grant program, sponsored by Senator Byrd, is being administered by
the Department of Education). It is also expected that the West Virginia
Senator will introduce authorization language next week when the Senate
reconvenes and begins its consideration of the President's education bill.

2. BUDGET UPDATE - PORTIONS OF NARA "OPERATIONAL" BUDGET NUMBERS REALIZE
INCREASE
Now that the dust has begun to settle and with Congress out on a Spring
recess, Hill watchers are beginning to study in greater detail the
President's budget proposal. For example, as it turns out, while the total
"discretionary" dollars President Bush  has proposed in his budget lays out
cuts for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) over
present funding levels, when adjusted for last fiscal year's $88 million
earmarked for the Archives I renovation, NARA actually realizes an
operational increase in some line items in the President's FY 2002 budget.

Present funding for the agency is $316.7 million (of which $88 million is
for the Archives I renovation) and the President's FY 2002 budget allocates
a total of  $259,326,000 in all accounts which breaks down as follows:
Operating expenses $244,247,000
Facility repairs and restorations $10,643,000
NHPRC grants $ 4,436,000.
If adopted as crafted, the operational budget shows an increase of $35.301
million (or 17%) which would protect NARA's base funding needs for mandated
staff salary increases, provide for anticipated higher costs for facility
rent and utilities and for some programmatic increases.  Most importantly,
the budget would enable NARA to take the next steps to build the electronic
records archives of the future and advance initiatives under NARA's
Strategic Plan.

NEH BUDGET DETAILS ANNOUNCED
Under the President's proposal, the National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH) will see its spending levels frozen at FY 2001 levels. The President
has requested $120.5 million for the NEH. Though budget hearings on the
House side have already been concluded for the NEH (see NCC WASHINGTON
UPDATE, Vol 7, # 14, April 6, 2001), humanities advocates are sending
letters to members of Congress encouraging them to pass a FY 2002 budget of
$150 million for the NEH - the same amount requested last year for the FY
2001 budget.

In the NEH budget, every division of the humanities council would maintain
flat spending levels under the President's request.  Here is how the
appropriation request beaks down:
$86.432 million for grant programs an for the projects and programs of the
56 state humanities councils;
$10.436 million for NEH Challenge grants programs;
$1.186 million in special Challenge grants to support the establishment of
Regional Humanities Centers around the country;
$4 million to stimulate non-federal contributions to humanities projects
supported by the Endowment;
$18.45 million for administrative expenses necessary to operate the agency.

The request also includes $30.6 million for the state humanities councils,
$12.1 million for education programs, $18.3 million for preservation, $12.6
million for public programs and $12.5 million for research.

3. ACTION NEEDED - NHPRC APPROPRIATION
As reported in last week's NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 7, #15 April 11,
2001) a deep funding cut is proposed in the President's budget proposal for
the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) which
NARA administers.  The President's proposal is for a funding level of
$4,436,000 - dramatically down (31%) from the $6.436 million funding level
in the current FY 2001 budget. While NARA originally requested full funding
for the NHPRC ($10 million) which was reauthorized up to that level by the
Republican controlled Congress last year, the numbers in the proposed budget
are not good.

NHPRC supports initiatives to preserve, publish, and encourage the use of
many documentary sources, including the papers of Washington, Adams, and
Franklin, and those of Emma Goldman, Samuel Gompers, Jane Addams, Marcus
Garvey, Robert A. Taft, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Thomas Edison, and Martin
Luther King, Jr., among many others. Far from being pork for professors,
these documentary editions and other NHPRC efforts ultimately bring primary
source material to thousands of libraries and their millions of visitors.

Documentary editing projects preserve and help us interpret for generations
the contributions of great Americans.

NHPRC supporters are urged to contact their Congressional representatives
(the Capitol switchboard telephone number is 202. 224-3121) immediately, and
urge them to support full-funding ($10 million) for the NHPRC. Furthermore,
state that these funds should not be taken out of the existing NARA program
base. Communication with Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Richard C.
Shelby, Mike DeWine, Byron L. Dorgan, Barbara A. Mikulski and Mary L.
Landrieu (all of whom sit on the Senate appropriation subcommittee of
jurisdiction) and House members Ernest J. Istook, Frank Wolf, Anne Meagher
Northup, John E. Sununu, John Peterson, Todd Tiahrt, John Sweeney, Don
Sherwood, Steny H. Hoyer, Carrie Meek, David E. Price, Steven R. Rothman,
and Peter J. Visclosky (all of whom sit on the House appropriation
subcommittee of jurisdiction) would be particularly useful.  If you are
represented by any of the individuals mentioned above, PLEASE WRITE OR CALL.

Letters from historical and archival organizations are especially important
right now and should be sent to chairs of the following committees of
jurisdiction:

For the Senate, address communications to:
The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Chairman, Subcommittee on the Treasury, General Government, and Civil
Service
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
SD-190 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510-6038

For the House of Representatives, address communications to:
The Honorable Ernest J. Istook
Chairman, Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
B-307 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515-6028

4.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 - NCC WELCOMES NEW MEMBER ORGANIZATION:
The NCC welcomes the American Social History Project/Center for History and
New Media as its newest member/supporter. Founded in 1981, the
Project/Center focuses on public history and faculty development and is
dedicated to revitalizing history by challenging by the traditional ways
that people learn about the past. It is affiliated with the Graduate Center
of the City University of New York. The Center for History and New Media is
associated with the George Mason University in Virginia.  ASHP/ produces a
wide range of accessible and innovative materials that convey a rich sense
of the historical process while encouraging critical thinking and analysis.
The Project focuses on "ordinary" Americans - working men and women whose
actions and beliefs have shaped the nation's development.   ASHP's print,
visual, and multi-media materials include the "Who Built America" textbooks,
CD ROMS and documentaries that provide flexible educational tools that help
teachers, students, and working adults understand the importance of studying
the past. For more information, tap in the ASHP web page at:
http://www.ashp.cuny.edu
For the Center for History and New Media web page, tap into:
http://www.chnm.gmu.edu
For information about how your organization can support the mission and
programs of the NCC contact Bruce Craig at: <rbcraig84@juno.com>.

Item #2 - FRUS VOLUME RELEASE:
Office of the Historian Bureau of Public Affairs Department of State has
released a  documentary record of America's relations with its Western
European allies as presented in Foreign Relations of the United States,
1964-1968, Volume XII, Western Europe.  This volume focuses on serious
differences between France and the United States, and includes information
relating to the French withdrawal from the military side of NATO and
France's determination to build a separate nuclear force (force de frappe)

The volume also includes documentation on a problem that arose with Denmark
in January 1968, when a nuclear-armed U.S. B-52 bomber crashed in Thule,
Greenland, and raised the thorny issue of nuclear overflights and the
storage of nuclear weapons. U.S. interest in the internal political scene
relating to Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Vatican's (with respect to Vietnam),
Britain and Canada (including Canadian criticism of President Johnson's
Vietnam policy) are also addressed. The Office of the Historian has prepared
a summary of this volume. For further information contact David. S.
Patterson, General Editor of the Foreign Relations series at (202) 663-1127;
fax: (202) 663-1289. Printed copies can be ordered from the Government
Printing Office (http://bookstore.gpo.gov). Reference stock number
044-000-02522 or ISBN 0-16-050633-6.

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