[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[NCCmailings] NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, VOl. 8, #27, July 3, 2002



From: rbcraig@nccph.org [mailto:rbcraig@nccph.org]
Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2002 7:17 AM
To: NCCmailings List Member
Subject: [NCCmailings] NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, VOl. 8, #27, July 3, 2002


NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #27, July 3, 2002
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig@nccph.org>
National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCCPH)
*****************

1.  House Creates Office of History and Preservation
2.  E-Government Bill Heads to the House for Action
3.  Appropriations Update: NEH
4.  Bush Vice-Presidential Papers Release Listing
5.  News Bits and Bytes: Group Opposes Barn Bill; Tennessee May Zero Out
SHPO; NARA Proposed Rule on Electronic Records Transfer; On the Web: NPS
Books Online; Lewis and Clark Journey of Discovery
6.  Articles of Interest: "Textbook Publishers Learn to Avoid Messing with
Texas (New York Times); "He Was A Man Of Action" (Christian Science Monitor)

1.   HOUSE CREATES OFFICE OF HISTORY AND PRESERVATION
The House Administration Committee has approved a proposal by Clerk of the
House Jeff Trandahl to create an Office of History and Preservation.  Under
the plan current Historical Services Manager Kenneth Kato will become chief
of the new office.  Kato will report to the Clerk but will head a
department separate from the Legislative Resources Center where, until
Trandahl's action, Kato's House Historical Office was placed. According to
Trandahl, the new office arrangement not only eliminates one layer of
bureaucracy but it "more closely mirrors the organizational status of its
counterparts in the U.S. Senate, which reside under the Secretary of the
Senate....Such departmental status is critical to earning credibility with
other governmental entities, relevant professional groups, and the general
public."

The establishment of the office is but another step in Trandahl's quiet yet
persistent efforts to rebuild the capabilities of the "Historian of the
House" position that was abolished in 1995 by Speaker Newt Gingrich.  Under
the reorganization, Kato's eight-person office will continue to provide
archival services, courtesy consultations for members of the House, and
attend to public inquiries.  But in addition, Trandahl envisions that the
revamped office will provide curatorial services in support of the Clerk's
responsibilities to the House Fine Arts Board which oversees the House art
collection. With the creation of the Capitol Visitor Center it is also
anticipated that demands on the maintenance of the House collections of
historical records will increase. According to House Administration
Committee sources, the establishment of an "historian" position under
Kato's supervision is also being considered.

A provision in the rules of the House of Representatives authorizes the
position (presently vacant) "Historian of the House."  On paper, this
individual reports to the Speaker and not to the Clerk of the House.  Hill
insiders report that Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is contemplating
fashioning the position into something akin to "Historian Laureate of the
House" (loosely modeled after the Poet Laureate position that rests in the
Library of Congress).  The position would be given to prominent historians
who would hold the honorific title for a period of years.  It is unclear
what the duties of this position would be.

2.   E-GOVERNMENT BILL HEADS TO THE HOUSE FOR ACTION
On June 27 the Senate unanimously passed legislation (S. 803) that
authorizes $345 million for E-government initiatives during the next four
years. Introduced May 1, 2001 and co-sponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman
(D-Conn.) and Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), the measure calls for coordinating
access to information and overseeing implementation of statutes relating to
access to, dissemination of, and preservation of Government
information.  The bill had bipartisan support in the Senate as well as the
support of the Bush administration.  According to Lieberman, in passing
this legislation, "we come a step closer to achieving the important goal of
providing Americans the same 24/7 access to government information and
services that is now available to them from the private sector."

Hill insiders report that the bill's future is in limbo as it heads to the
House. In coming weeks, that body will be focusing attention on the
creation of a Homeland Security Department and appropriations bills and
consequently, the E-government bill may never get on the House's
agenda.  Dave Marin, spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) the Chair of the
Government Reform Committee's Technology and Procurement Policy
Subcommittee said, "The Senate deserves kudos for putting together a
comprehensive structure for management of information technology," but
before addressing the E-Government bill the Congressman will first have to
deal with the Homeland Security Department.

The E-government bill is similar to Lieberman's measure introduced last
year but strengthens public access, includes several new privacy
protections. It also reauthorizes the Government Information Security
Reform Act and makes it permanent.

3.  APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE: NEH
During the week of June 24, the House Interior Subcommittee and the Senate
full Appropriations Committees marked up their respective versions of the
Department of the Interior and Related Agencies appropriations measures.
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill call for small increases for
the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) but funding for the
competitive grants program are being held at last year's funding level.

The Senate version calls for an overall appropriation of $127,754,000,
including a $2 million increase (to $33,829,000) for the federal/state
partnership (state humanities councils). The House version calls for an
overall appropriation of $126,054,000 with an extra $300,000 for web site
development. Both House and Senate bills include $1.25 million to cover
mandatory increases in administrative costs and both accept the President's
Budget recommendation to transfer $1,686,000 from Regional Humanities
Centers to "Treasury Funds" (a discretionary account for the agency).
Allocations for other NEH programs/divisions in both the House and Senate
bills are as follows: Education Programs $12,624,000; Preservation and
Access $18,905,000; Public Programs $13,114,000; Research Programs
$13,063,000; Program Development $397,000; Challenge Grants $10,436,000.

While the numbers for NEH could still change either prior to or on the
House floor (a full House Appropriations Committee mark-up has yet to be
scheduled) shortly after Congress returns from the July 4 recess (July 8
2002) there may be some final tweaking of numbers before the Senate bill
goes to the floor for a vote.  Most Hill insiders feel these appropriation
levels will probably remain close to these numbers.
In a related area, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) received an
appropriation from the House of $116 million, and an appropriation of
$118,489,000 from the Senate (which includes a $2 million increase for
Challenge America funds).

4.  BUSH VICE-PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS RELEASE LISTING
As reported in a recent NCC  posting (see "White House Clears First Release
of Bush P-5 Vice-Presidential Records," NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #25,
June 20, 2002), on June 17, 2002 the White House authorized the release of
some 844 pages of the records of President Bush's father when he was
Vice-President during the 1980s.  Still under review are some 40 pages
pertaining to federal office appointments.

At the request of the NCC, the Bush Presidential Library culled some 322
withdrawal sheets that reflect the contents of the release. They have been
summarized in a 37-page transmission to the NCC.

The records in this release are diverse.  There are materials relating to
the Vice-President's Task Force on Combating Terrorism, a large number of
memoranda and meeting notes relating to NASA (especially the space station
and space communications) and the American space program; memos relating to
the EPA and the Commerce and Energy departments, Iranian hostage Jimmy
Lopez, AIDS related issues (including Domestic Policy Council meeting
notes, drafts of speeches to the Third International Conference on AIDS),
Political prisoners in Cuba and Nicaragua; and a wide variety of so-called
"Country files" (Germany, Lebanon, Guatemala, India, Pakistan, South
Africa, and Taiwan); notes on the hijacking of TWA Flight 847, a number of
speeches, and a large collection of staff and "Hill files" relating to
various legislative initiatives.

Copies of the list of documents may be obtained from the George Bush
Library.  Contact archivist Deborah Wheeler at debbie.wheeler@nara.gov or
call (979) 260-9552 ext. 270.

5.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 -- Group Opposes Barn Bill:  Following up on a recent story in this
publication ("Preservationists Seek Initial Historic Barn Funding," in NCC
WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #24, June `14, 2002) the organization Citizens
Against Government Waste (CAGW) is up-in-arms over Senator James Jeffords
(I-VT) success in obtaining a funding authorization for the historic barn
renovation program in the recently passed farm bill. According to CAGW head
Tom Schatz, "Here we are at war, in an economic malaise and facing
deficits, and Senator Jeffords wants millions of dollars to spruce up old
barns. Could this politician be any more detached from the nation's
priorities?"  According to the Vermont Historic Preservation Office, there
are 10,000 barns in Vermont alone  in need of repair and renovation and
many of them are historic.  Jeffords' bill authorizes a total of $25
million over the next five years for historic barn renovation and the
Senator is seeking $5 million in start-up funds for the program in FY
2003.  Readers may wish to let their Senators know their views on this
funding proposal; the Capitol switchboard telephone number is (202)
224-3121.

Item #2 -- Tennessee May Zero Out SHPO
Owing to a crisis relating to the state budget, Tennessee is on the verge
of virtually abolishing the state's Historical Commission to save
funds.  Over the last 26 years the Commission has dispersed nearly a half a
billion dollars in federal and state funds.  This last year the Tennessee
Historical Commission received $1.5 million.  The proposal currently under
consideration by the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee would not
officially abolish the commission, but would leave it with just one staff
member and no state funding.  Proposed staffing cuts would make it nearly
impossible for any Tennessee counties to get funding from the National Park
Service, which distributes federal grants through state historical
commissions. Along with the loss of preservation funds, tax write-offs for
the renovation of historic buildings would disappear. For more information
on the desperate state of affairs in this state tap into:
<http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/tnpreserv.htm>.

Item #3 -- NARA Proposed Rule on Electronic Records Transfer:  In order to
reduce the media and shipping costs of electronic records transferred from
Government agencies, improve record and file integrity, and expand the
options for transfer methods, the National Archives and Records
Administration proposes to amend its regulations for the transfer of
permanent records to NARA by permitting two additional electronic records
transfer methods, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Digital Linear Tape IV
(DLTtape IV). It is expected that the rule will affect Government agencies
transferring permanent electronic records to the National Archives of the
United States.  The proposed rule appeared in the June 26 2002 Federal
Register (page 43069).  Comments are due on August 26, 2002. For the
proposed rule, tap into:
http://www.archives.gov/about_us/opportunities_for_comment/opportunities_for
_comment.html



Item  #4 -- On the Web: Two sites to take a look at: First, "National Park
Service Online Books" provides the text of out-of-print publications
related to the history of the National Parks and how they have evolved to
the present day; tap into: <http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/books/>.  Second,
"The Lewis & Clark Journey of Discovery" is targeted to children.  It
provides games, quizzes,
profiles of members of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, & lesson ideas and
teacher resources. Tap into:
<http://www.nps.gov/jeff/LewisClark2/Activities&Kids/ActivitiesAndKidsMain.h
tm>.

6.   ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Two postings this week: "Textbook Publishers Learn to Avoid Messing With
Texas" (The New York Times (29 June 2002) by Alexander Stille assesses the
power of conservative groups in Texas and other states over the adoption of
American history and other textbooks. Tap into:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/29/arts/29TEXT.html?todaysheadlines>.
Second,  "He Was A Man of Action" a PBS documentary on George Washington
(broadcast date July 4, 2002) is reviewed by M.S. Mason television critic
of The Christian Science Monitor.  Mason states the production is "full of
amazing moments." Tap into:
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0628/p17s01-altv.htm>.


***********************************************************
NCC invites you to subscribe to this FREE weekly newsletter! You are also
encouraged to redistribute the NCC Washington Updates to colleagues,
friends, teachers, students and others who are interested in history and
archives issues. A complete backfile of these reports is maintained by
H-Net on the NCC's web page at <http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~ncc>. To
subscribe to the "NCC Washington Update," send an e-mail message to
listserv@h-net.msu.edu according to the following model: SUBSCRIBE H-NCC
firstname lastname, institution.  To unsubscribe send an e-mail message to
listserv@h-net.msu.edu according to the following model: SIGNOFF H-NCC or
tap into the web interface at:
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/lists/subscribe.cgi and at the "network" prompt,
scroll down and select H-NCC; enter your name and affiliation and "submit".
*************************************************

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>