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(FWD) NCC Washington Update, Vol. 7, #26, June 22, 2001



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #26, June 22, 2001
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of  the National Coordinating Committee
for the Promotion of History
*****************

1.   Full House Raises and Passes NEA/NEH/IMLS FY-02 Funding
2.   Representatives of Historical Community Meet with Smithsonian Official
3.   Ellis Cancels NEH 35th Anniversary Talk
4.   Report: Meeting of Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic
Documentation-Department of State
5.   News Bits and Bytes: Request to Open HUAC Records

1.  FULL HOUSE RAISES AND PASSES NEA/NEH/IMLS FY-02 FUNDING
The marked-up version of the FY-2002 Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 2217)
that was approved by the House Appropriations Committee (See NCC WASHINGTON
UPDATE, Vol. 7, # 24, June 15, 2001) went to the full House on June 21.  By a
vote of 221 to 193, a $15 million floor amendment offered by Representatives
Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Norm Dicks (D-WA), Steve Horn (R-CA), and Nancy
Johnson (R-CONN) resulted in a modest $3 million increase for the National
Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), an additional $10 million for the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and $2 million more for the Institute
of Museum and Library Service (IMLS). Arts endowment supporters were able to
beat back an attempt by Rep. Clifford Sterns (R-FL) to take away the $10
million for the NEA; the Stern amendment was defeated by 145 to 264.  In
making these budget adjustments, the sponsors believe there is a need to
create greater parity between the budgets for the NEA and NEH (hence, the
more significant increase for the NEA).

To offset the funds, the House took $6 million from the Administration
account for the U.S. Forest Service and $9 million from the general Interior
Department Administration account. As approved by the House, funding for the
NEH is now pegged at $123.5 million, $115.2 million for the NEA, and $126.9
million for the IMLS.

The House has yet to approve the overall Interior and Related Agencies bill -
that probably will occur sometime next week.  The Senate may take action on
the House bill before the June 30th recess.

EDITOR'S  NOTE: A special thanks to all who responded with telephone calls
and E-mails to their Congressional representatives as a result of the June
20th NCC SPECIAL ACTION ALERT posting on the upcoming House vote (NCC
WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, # 25, June 20, 2001).

2. REPRESENTATIVES OF HISTORICAL COMMUNITY MEET WITH SMITHSONIAN OFFICIAL
On June 19, American Historical Association Executive Director Arnita Jones
and NCC Director Bruce Craig met with the Smithsonian Institution's Sheila
Burke, Under Secretary for American Museums and National Programs to discuss
recent developments relating to the concerns of the scholarly and
professional community.  The meeting came on the heels of the passage of a
resolution approved by the AHA Council on June 17 in which the Association
reiterated its defense of intellectual integrity and scholarly rigor in the
public presentation of history at the Smithsonian (the AHA resolution is
expected to be posted on the AHA web page in the near future -
http://www.theaha.org).

During the hour long meeting a variety of topics were addressed.  The need
for the Smithsonian to have regular input from the scholarly and professional
community was discussed.  Jones/Craig urged that the Center for Materials
Research and Education not be closed; that social scientists should be named
to the so-called "Science Panel" that is being formulated to consider various
proposed closings of scientific centers; that the Reynolds gift should be
renegotiated to see the donor's control over the "Achievers selection
committee" is reduced from 10 to five members of the fifteen member panel,
and that the donor agreement (as well as all future Smithsonian donation
agreements) should be made public. Burke declined to concede that in
accepting the Reynolds gift the Smithsonian was following inappropriate or
even flawed procedures - the parties agreed to disagree on this point.

Discussion focused on the Smithsonian's plans for a "Blue Ribbon Panel" being
created to assist in the overall planning of the National Museum of American
History; according to Burke, the names of the panelists will be announced
next week. Jones/Craig called for greater input from the professional
community and suggested the need for significant public involvement in the
museum planning effort for the National Museum of American History.  Burke
stated that the existing "blue-print" for the museum would be the basis for
discussion on the part of the panel and that some public involvement
component was being contemplated. Jones/Craig suggested that the museum plan
developed by the panel should serve as the framework document for inviting
future donors to contribute to museum projects; furthermore, what was
characterized as "opportunistic fund-raising" practices should be curtailed
at least until a strategic plan identifying the legitimate funding needs and
opportunities is in place.

In light of recent press accounts detailing widespread dissatisfaction within
professional ranks with the current top Smithsonian leadership, Jones/Craig
urged that an employee survey be conducted in the near future and that the
survey findings be widely shared throughout the Smithsonian including with
the Regents.  Finally, Jones/Craig urged that the views, concerns, and
recommendations of the Smithsonian Council relating to the proposed
separation of research from exhibitions should be given thoughtful
consideration.

The conversation was cordial and professional. Burke stated the views of the
Smithsonian Secretariate cogently and politely though there was disagreement
over various specific points and on how best to address the issues raised.
Burke stated that "Congress will do what Congress will do" when asked about
the possibility of a Congressional oversight hearing sometime after the
upcoming Congressional recess.

3.  ELLIS CANCELS NEH 35th ANNIVERSARY TALK
Mount Holyoke College's early American history scholar, Joseph J. Ellis,
author of "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" (a national best
seller for 26-weeks) who recently confessed to making false claims about his
service record during the Vietnam War, canceled his appearance to deliver the
keynote address for a special celebration commemorating the 35th anniversary
of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The event took place on June
21 as scheduled with historian John Hope Franklin delivering a thoughtful and
reflective keynote presentation in Ellis's place.

Ellis's cancellation came as a result of a recent editorial in the Boston
Globe that reported his fabrications and criticized him for "disillusioning"
his students. Ellis admitted to making false claims relating to his war
record and offered "his deepest apologies" for "distortions about my personal
life."  The story has been picked up by several television networks and the
print media.  In Washington Post, for example, the editorial staff reflected:
"If this is a fable of the pitfalls of fame, which strips away pretenses that
might pass unnoticed in quieter lives, it's a particularly strange one to
befall a biographer, whose work is to sift through past lives and determine
the truth of what happened and what was said." What disciplinary action, if
any, that Mount Holyoke College plans to take against Ellis has yet to be
determined.

4.   REPORT: MEETING OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HISTORICAL DIPLOMATIC
DOCUMENTATION - DEPARTMENT OF STATE
On June 19, 2001, the open session of the Advisory Committee on Historical
Diplomatic Documentation convened at the Department of State. The minutes of
the previous meeting were approved (to view tap into:
<http://www.fas.org/sgp/advisory/state/hac0201.html>).  The Committee's
Executive Secretary, Departmental Historian Marc Susser reported that three
new historians had been hired, that three more were going through the final
security clearance process, and that a joint historian position between State
and the CIA was in the process of being filled.  He announced that plans were
also in the works for hiring another declassification specialist.  Susser
expressed his hope that by filling these new positions that the work load for
the preparation of the FRUS series would be somewhat eased.

Susser stated that various Cold War era volumes were on their way through the
declassification process and that departmental historians would be surveying
the holdings of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in the coming weeks.
He reported that to date three volumes of the FRUS series had been published
in 2001 and that two more - Cyprus, Greece, Turkey (1964-1968) and Indonesia,
Malaysia-Singapore, Philippines (1964-1968) - were fully cleared for
publishing and should be released in August and September 2001.

The E-publications initiative was discussed.  The decision to produce
E-publications via internal State Department contractors was announced for
the Global Issues volume; production costs are anticipated to be between
$12-15,000 (significantly less than the cost to produce print volumes).
Susser also discussed current public outreach efforts including modifications
to web pages, upcoming conferences, and a proposal to repackage some
publications and make them available to a commercial publisher for broader
distribution (especially for classroom purposes). Members of the Advisory
Committee suggested that a trust account should be set up so  that the
department could recapture the revenue from sales of such outreach efforts.

The report of the electronic records subcommittee followed. Committee Chair,
Frank H. Mackaman expressed disappointment that the pilot project involving
10,000 State Department cables (1975-76 records) had not been transferred to
NARA.  He reported that the cables are ready to be transmitted, that
formatting issues had been largely resolved but that the transfer to NARA
had not yet occurred and it was not anticipated to take place in the
immediate future. NARA officials pledged to see what
could be done to expedite the transfer.

There was considerable discussion on the impact that the Kyl and Lott
amendments were having on the release of State Department records. Several
years back, Congress passed these two amendments out of fear that information
of use to nations seeking to develop nuclear weapons could be inadvertently
released under Executive Order 12958, either through automatic
declassification or by inexperienced and poorly trained staff. Thus far,
government wide, some 30 million documents (some15% of the total of relevant
documents) have been set aside for a page-by-page review. In reports to
Congress, the Department of Energy (DOE) reviewers have found only 40 pages
out of 52 million reviewed that should have not been declassified.

Members of the Committee were informed that approximately 31,600 cubic feet
of State Department records held by NARA are subject to the Executive Order.
NARA has released 17,5600 cubic feet (c.f.) of those records but all are
subject to the Kyl/Lott review. In addition there is some 208 c.f. of State
department records in storage awaiting audits and an additional 344 c.f. of
records that the DOE  feels need to be reviewed. In fact, DOE reviewers have
been performing very few audits and they have filled most available storage
space at Archives II in College Park with declassified records.  NARA staff
is working with the DOE to more narrowly define the records that require
audit. [NOTE TO READERS: The NCC is interested in learning of other bureaus
and agencies problems and concerns over implementation of the Kly/Lott
amendments.  Please contact the editor at rbcraig3@juno.com if you have
information to share.]

A presentation by Brian Dowling, Office of IRM Programs and Services focused
on the progress being made on State Department records relating to the Nazi
War Crimes initiative.  Dowling reported that 93% of the project is now
complete, that there are only 600 boxes left to review, and that the goal is
to complete the project by September and then begin reviewing State
Department records relating to Japanese War crimes.

Finally, Committee member Anne Van Camp was recognized for ten-years service
on the Committee and was presented with a plaque.

5.  BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1- HUAC Records: A letter signed by the Executive Directors of the
American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and
the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History has been
sent to Representative F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Chairman of the House
Committee on the Judiciary.  The letter urges the release of some 1,245 feet
of records of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).  Records of
the Special Committee on Un-American Activities (the so-called Dies
Committee; 1938 -1944) already have been released, but HUAC records of
1934-1977 (Record Group 233) remain closed to researchers. The records are
currently stored at the National Archives, Center for Legislative Archives
and remain under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. For a copy of
the letter sent to the Judiciary Committee contact the editor at
<rbcraig3@juno.com>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * *
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