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[NCCmailings] NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #19, May 17, 2002



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From: rbcraig@nccph.org [mailto:rbcraig@nccph.org]
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Subject: [NCCmailings] NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #19, May 17, 2002


NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #19, May 17, 2002
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig@nccph.org>
National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCCPH)
*****************

1.   A Landmark NHPRC Meeting
2.   Historic Barn Legislation Signed Into Law
3.   Recent Legislative Action: Fort Gaines/Fort Morgan Study Act; Fort
Presque Isle NHS; National Reconstruction Study Act; Muscle Shoals Study Act
4.   News Bits and Bytes: Abandoned Historic Pipeline Ruling: New ISOO
Director Announced
5.   Articles of Interest: Commencement Speech by Smithsonian Secretary
Lawrence Small

1.  A LANDMARK NHPRC MEETING
On May 14-15, 2002 the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission (NHPRC)  met at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol
Hill.  In addition to taking action on nearly 100 grant proposals,
Commission members learned of the resignation of Executive Director Ann C.
Newhall and lamented the departure of Commission member Marvin "Bud" Moss
whose successor is expected to be soon named by the Bush White House.

As readers may recall, in FY 2002, $6.436 million was appropriated to the
NHPRC for the competitive grant program.  A total of 95 eligible grant
applications were submitted against the October 1, 2002 deadline. This year
the Commission divided appropriated funds equally between publication and
records related projects. A total of $3.63 million in grant funding (about
41% of the requested funds) was awarded as a result of the
deliberations.  During the meeting the Commission decided to an
across-the-board 12.7% cut for publications.  However, returned project
funds and deobligations (about $77,000) would be redirected to a variety of
edition projects. Any new returned funds will be channeled into selected
documentary edition projects that are especially close to completion.

In addition to acting on the grant proposals, the Commission adopted a
number of resolutions. Not only did the Commission decide to divide
appropriated funds through the 50/50 split formula but in a separate motion
they resolved to urge the City of New York Fire Department to resubmit a
grant proposal after reworking it with the State Board and Commission
staff.  In one last resolution the Commission decided to adopt a new OMB
standardized budget submission form.

During the meeting it was announced that Ann C. Newhall, who has served as
NHPRC Executive Director since 1998, will be leaving in July.  Following a
very long executive session meeting, Archivist of the United States and
Chair of the Commission, John Carlin, announced that "in short order" a
nationwide search for a new Executive Director will begin.  In the
meantime, longtime NHPRC staffer, Roger A. Bruns will serve as "acting"
Executive Director. The Commission formally extended its "heartfelt
appreciation" to Newhall for her contributions over the last few years and
praised her as a "persuasive and unrelenting advocate" for the NHPRC.

In addition to the news about Newhall, the members of the Commission
learned that Bud Moss, the Executive Department representative for the
Clinton Administration will be replaced by a Commission member of the Bush
Administration's choosing in the near future. During the meeting and at a
lunch honoring Moss, the Commission expressed its "gratitude and sincere
thanks" to him for his years of service.

On Tuesday night a dinner hosted by the new NHPRC Commission member
representing the U.S. Senate, Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT).  John
W. Brademas, a former Congressman and staunch supporter of the NHPRC and
history and archives in general received the NHPRC 2002 Distinguished
Service Award.  In attendance were a number of members of both the House
and Senate including Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD) and Representatives
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Tim Roemer (D-IN). In his gracious and at times
humorous comments, Brademas emphasized the importance of the work of the
NHPRC.  He commented that it was a unique institution and that Commission
meetings were one of the few instances where members of all three branches
of government got together and actually made decisions.

The next meeting of the Commission is scheduled for November 2002.

2.  HISTORIC BARN LEGISLATION SIGNED INTO LAW
On May 13, 2002 President Bush signed the $190 billion Farm Security and
Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171).  That legislation provides
funding for farm subsidies and conservation programs, however, the
legislation also wrapped in historic barn legislation originally introduced
by Senator James Jeffords (I-VT) as a stand alone bill entitled, the
"National Historic Barn Preservation Act of 2001 (S. 1604)."  When the
House and Senate passed the farm bill, Jeffords' historic barn legislation
was enacted into law with certain modifications (see p. 246-47 of the
conference report to accompany H.R. 2646, Section 6023, Sec. 379A.
"Historic Barn Preservation").

The Jeffords measure is designed to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to
make grants and to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with
eligible applicants (a state department of agriculture, a national or state
nonprofit organization, or a state historic preservation office) to
preserve,  rehabilitate, or repair historic barns.  The law also calls on
the Secretary to identify, document, and conduct research on historic barns
to develop and evaluate appropriate techniques or best practices for
protecting historic barns. The Senate-passed version of the measure
included a $25 million authorization over a five year period but the agreed
to conference report merely authorized "such sums as are necessary to carry
out this section for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007."  Jeffords'
office was pleased that the Senator's measure was included in the farm bill
but expressed disappointment that the $25 million appropriation was not
included in the conference report. Efforts are now underway to ask
appropriators to begin funding the historic barn program in fiscal year
2003.


3.  RECENT LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Several new bills have been introduced into the House and Senate and one
measure has been passed by the House under "suspension of the rules" -- the
Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area Study Act. First, the bills introduced:

FORT GAINES/FORT MORGAN STUDY ACT:  On May 9, 2002 Representative Sonny
Callahan (R-AL) introduced legislation (H.R. 4695) to direct the Secretary
of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating
Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan in Alabama as units of the National Park
System.  Fort Gaines was constructed in 1850; it was bombarded during the
American Civil War.  Fort Morgan was constructed in 1819-1834 and figured
prominently in the naval campaigns of the Civil War. The bill was referred
to the House Subcommittee on National Parks Recreation and Public Lands for
action.

FORT PRESQUE ISLE NHS: On May 8, 2002 Representative Phil English (R-PA)
and 22 cosponsors introduced legislation (H.R. 4681) to establish the Fort
Presque Isle National Historic Site in Pennsylvania as a unit of the
National Park Service. The fort was a frontier outpost near present-day
Erie, Pennsylvania and is associated with the American Revolution and the
War of 1812.  The blockhouse in the study area has been deemed eligible for
listing on the National Register of Historic Places by the Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission. The measure has been referred to the
House Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands for
consideration.

NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION STUDY AREA ACT: On April 29, 2002 Senator Ernest F.
Hollings (D-SC) introduced legislation  (S. 2388) to direct the Secretary
of the Interior to study and assess certain sites in the historic district
of Beaufort, South Carolina relating to the Reconstruction Era for possible
designation as a unit of the National Park System. The legislation states
that the National Park Service does not have a park or historic site that
focuses primarily on the preservation and interpretation of the
Reconstruction Era, and that the vicinity of Beaufort (including the
surrounding sea islands) offers a unique opportunity to for preservation
and interpretation. The measure has been referred to the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee for action.

MUSCLE SHOALS NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA STUDY ACT: On April 30, 2002, under
"suspension of the rules," the House of Representatives passed legislation
(H.R. 2628), introduced by Representative Robert E. Cramer (D-AL), to
direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the
suitability and feasibility of establishing the Muscle Shoals National
Heritage Area in northwest Alabama.  The bill seeks to examine the area's
long history relating to Native Americans, industry, transportation and
music. When the measure was considered by the House earlier in the year,
the bill was supported by the National Park Service.  The measure was
shepherded through the House by Representative James Hansen (R-UT), Chair
of the House parks subcommittee; it was agreed to without
objection.  Having passed the House, the bill now goes to the Senate where
it will be considered by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

4.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 -- Abandoned Historic Pipe Line Ruling: On April 5, the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation issued a Notice of Final Exemption
regarding historic natural gas pipelines. The regulatory action seeks to
balance historic preservation concerns with the nation's energy needs and
was the culmination of a long negotiation between the Council and the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As a result the Council has
established a formalized process for exemptions from Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act regarding abandoned historic natural gas
pipelines.

Preservationists were concerned that historic pipelines would be
categorically excluded as a cultural resource from National Register
designation based on language that was previously included in both the
House and Senate versions of the energy bill (H.R. 4 and S. 517); the
offensive language was subsequently removed. Instead, the regulatory
language worked out between the Council and FERC allows for federal
agencies to qualify for the exemption provided that the agency has
documented the historic natural gas pipeline through a variety of means,
including as-built drawings, historic photographs, maps, and annotated
bibliography. The exemption, however, does not apply to those portions of
federal agency undertakings that take place on tribal lands and neither is
it intended to amend, invalidate, or otherwise modify already existing
Section 106 Programmatic Agreements.  For additional information including
the ruling itself, tap into: <http://www.achp.gov/news-pipelines.html>.

Item #2 - New ISOO Director Announced:  The National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) has announced the appointment of J. William Leonard
to succeed Steven Garfinkle (who retired last January) as the new Director
of the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO). The ISOO is a small
but influential office that oversees the implementation of government-wide
national security classification and declassification policy.  While housed
at NARA the office takes policy direction from the National Security
Council.  Leonard will assume the position effective June 3.

According to Secrecy News, the publication of the Federation of American
Scientists Project on Government Secrecy (FAS), the new director is "a
longtime Department of Defense security official and is widely respected as
an advocate of sensible and cost-effective security policies. . . . He is
attuned to the concerns of those who advocate increased public access to
government information."  Mr. Leonard's views on secrecy policy can be
discerned up to a point from testimony he presented to the Senate
Governmental Affairs Committee at a March 1998 hearing that, thanks to FAS,
is available at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/hr032598/leonard.html

5.  ARTICLES OF INTEREST
On May 12, 2002 Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small received an honorary
doctorate from the American University Kogod School of Business and School
of Public Affairs.  The comments he made during the commencement will be of
interest.  The Secretary describes how he came to be selected as
Smithsonian Secretary, and, as he says, "the rest is history."  For the
speech, tap into: http://www.american.edu/media/


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