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FW: [NCCmailings] NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #28, July 11, 20 02



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From: rbcraig@nccph.org [mailto:rbcraig@nccph.org]
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2002 11:44 AM
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Subject: [NCCmailings] NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #28, July 11, 2002


NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #28, July 11, 2002
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig@nccph.org>
National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCCPH)
*****************

1.   House Appropriation Committee Takes Smithsonian to Task
2.   Senate Interior Appropriations Bill Details
3.   Update: Pending House Action on Presidential Records Bill: More P-5
Reagan Records in Limbo
3.   Flight 93 Memorial Bill Gets Hearing
4.   NHPRC Executive Director -- Applications Sought
5.   News Bits and Bytes:  Lynne V. Cheney's National Press Club Remarks;
First Gov Search Engine
6.   Articles of Interest: "Do Libraries Really Need Books" (Chronicle of
Higher Education)


1.   HOUSE APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE TAKES SMITHSONIAN TO TASK
On July 9, 2002, while considering FY 2003 Department of the Interior and
Related Agencies appropriations bill, members of the House Appropriations
Committee expressed displeasure over high salaries being paid to top
officials, singling out the $588,000 annual salary paid to Smithsonian
Secretary Lawrence Small. The salary well exceeds that of the President of
the United States. The committee also called upon the Smithsonian
Institution (SI) Board of Regents to reconsider the decision to drop the
name of aviation pioneer and one-time Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P.
Langley from the movie theater at the National Air and Space Museum
Theater. While the theater has borne the name of Langley since 1981, the
current administration at the Smithsonian agreed to rename it for a major
donor, the Lockheed Martin Corporation.  Lockheed Martin donated $10
million for the Air and Space Museum Annex at Dulles International Airport
in northern Virginia in return for having the heavily-visited theater
located on the National Mall named for the corporation.

According to Representative David R. Obey (D-WI), the ranking Democrat on
the Committee, members of the committee are growing weary hearing about the
shortage of funds for Smithsonian operations and stated, "we need an
attitude change at the Smithsonian."   In addition, Representative Norman
Dicks (D-WA) stated that he found the idea of dropping Langley's name in
favor of a corporate sponsor "incomprehensible."

Rep. Dicks added that the theater renaming was "by no means the only such
controversy," and noted that "confidence in the Smithsonian by many members
of Congress and the general public has been shaken."  The committee then
adopted an amendment offered by Rep. Dicks calling on the Smithsonian Board
of Regents to review the salary scales of top officials and also to conduct
a systematic review of all agreements with donors such as the Lockheed
Martin.  Another agreement that has brought criticism seeks to rename the
Hall of Transportation at the National Museum of American History for
General Motors Corporation in appreciation for a $10 million contribution
toward the museum's renovation.  The Regents are to report back to the
Committee by February 1, 2003.

In other related House Interior bill action, as expected, the full
committee adopted the Interior Subcommittee recommendation of $126 million
for the National Endowment for the Humanities and $116 million for the
National Endowment for the Arts.

2.  SENATE INTERIOR APPROPRIATION BILL DETAILS
On June 27, 2002, by a unanimous vote of  the Senate Appropriations
Committee chaired by Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), recommendations have
been approved on the FY 2003 budget proposal for the Department of the
Interior and Related Agencies (S. 2708/S. Report 107-201).  The following
are some highlights of the report that is expected to be advanced to the
Senate floor for action in the near future.

For the National Endowment for the Humanities, the committee recommends
$111.632 million for grants and administration -- an increase of $2 million
above President Bush's request.  The additional funds are to enhance the
activities of the State Humanities Councils.  The committee also
recommended $16.122 million for challenge and matching grants.

For the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, an appropriation of $4
million is recommended -- an increase of $333,000 above the
administration's budget request.  The additional funding is to assist in
covering fixed costs.

For the National Park Service, $1.585 million is recommended for the
operation of the National Park System -- an increase of $97.990 million
above the FY 2002 enacted level and a half million above the Bush
administration request.  The increased funds cover fixed costs and
associated expenses basic park operations.  Highlights of specific site
authorizations include: $500,000 for the acquisition of the Rapuzzi
historic gold rush collection at Klondike Goldrush NHP and funding for
special resource studies of the Baranof Museum and certain historic sites
in Beaufort, South Carolina (this is Senator Hollings' (D-SC) S. 2388 bill
-- the Beaufort special resource study and Reconstruction Era theme study).
Construction funds are set aside for visitor centers at Adams NP, and Fort
McHenry.  Restorations, renovations, and site rehabilitations are proposed
for Independence NHP, Harpers Ferry NHP, Thomas Stone NHP, U.S.S. Grant
NHS, Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, and Keweenaw NHP; a cultural resource center is
proposed at Fort Stanwix as are other improvements at Arlington House and
George Washington Carver NM.  Funding is provided for collections
protection at Colonial NP.

Heritage Partnership Programs received $13.384 million for nearly two dozen
national heritage area partnership projects. The Urban Parks and Recreation
Fund is slotted to take a $20 million decrease below the FY 2002 level; the
Committee recommended $10 million for FY 2003. A total of $67 million is
recommended for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) -- a decrease of $7.5
million below the FY 2002 level.  Of these HPF funds, $34 million is for
Grants in Aid to States, $3 million for Native American Tribes, and $30
million for the Save America's Treasures Program.

For the Smithsonian Institution, $436.660 million is recommended for
salaries and expenses -- $2 million over the administration request.  The
Committee noted a "discrepancy" in trust fund expenditures due to "the lack
of coherent and comprehensive budget proposals for the Institutions's trust
funded activities." The Committee was pleased to learn that the SI will
develop a plan to address this issue. For repair and "restoration of
facilities," $81.3 million is recommended -- "a beginning to the $1.5
billion that is needed over the next 10 years." Some $20 million is set
aside  for construction including $10 million for the National Museum of
the American Indian.

For the Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Committee recommended
$8.488 million -- the funding level recommended in the administration's
request.

Miscellaneous "general provisions" language always give some interesting
insights into the committee's thought processes, issues of concern, and
priorities. For example, this year report language establishes that public
appropriations cannot be used to provide a cook, chauffeur, or other
personal servants to officials; that within the National Endowment for the
Arts account, grants to individuals may be made "only for literature
fellowships, national heritage fellowships, or American jazz masters
fellowships." There is enabling language for both the NEA and NEH to
deposit gifts into interest-bearing accounts to "further the functions of
the respective Endowments in accordance with the specific intent of the
donors." Finally, the committee inserted language that prohibits the use of
funds to make improvements to Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White
House without Committee approval.

Action on the Interior appropriations bill by the full Senate is expected
in coming weeks.

3.  UPDATE: PENDING HOUSE ACTION ON PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS BILL; MORE P-5
REAGAN RECORDS IN LIMBO
According to Hill sources, Representative Dan Burton (R-CA), Chair of the
House Committee on Government Reform, is "undeterred" to challenge
Executive Order 13233 that establishes new administrative procedures for
implementing the 1978 Presidential Records Act (PRA). Inside sources report
that the long-delayed mark-up of the Committee substitute bill to
Congressman Stephen Horn's (R-CA) measure, "The Presidential Records Act
Amendments of 2002" (H.R. 4187), will probably take place shortly after the
Government Reform Committee completes work on the Homeland Security
Department legislation -- probably in mid-July. Burton could be deterred,
however, if the President agrees to amend his executive order "to restore
greater public access to presidential papers."

In a related development, attorneys for Public Citizen Litigation Group
(the organization bringing suit on behalf of numerous historical, archival,
and media organizations to overturn the EO) received notification from the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) that some 1,654 pages
of previously unknown Reagan era P-5 (confidential advice) papers are now
"under review" by the White House subject to provisions in the Bush
executive order.

Apparently, when President Reagan's representatives reviewed various
presidential materials months ago, "questions" were raised with respect to
some 1600 pages of Reagan-era presidential records. NARA representatives
have now formally notified the former and incumbent Presidents of the
proposed opening of these 1,654 pages.  The release of these papers is now
in limbo because with the extended review provisions in the current
executive order, it is unclear when these papers will be made public.  NARA
officials promised Public Citizen's attorneys that they will be informed
"as soon as practicable" after "the review of these records is
complete...and whether a constitutional privilege was asserted over any of
these records."

4.   FLIGHT 93 MEMORIAL BILL GETS HEARING
On September 11, 2001 terrorists hijacked four passenger planes with the
intent to use them as weapons to destroy targets in New York City and
Washington D.C.  Three of the four planes hit their mark, destroying the
World Trade Center twin towers in New York and a portion of the Pentagon in
Virginia.  A fourth plane -- United Airlines Flight 93 -- was also on its
way to Washington D.C. to slam into yet another target believed to be
either the White House or the Capitol building. That plane, however, did
not reach its target. A preliminary investigation suggested that it was the
passengers and crew that stopped the planned attack and caused the crash of
the plane in a remote field in rural Pennsylvania.

On March 7, 2002 Representative John Murtha (D-PA) introduced legislation,
the Flight 93 National Memorial Act" (H.R. 3917), which seeks to establish
a national  memorial  at the crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and
to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight  93  who,
"sacrificed  their  lives on September 11th"  to thwart a planned attack on
the nation's Capital.

On July 9, 2002, in testimony before the House Subcommittee on National
Parks, Recreation and Public Lands, the National Park Service (NPS)
deviated from its traditional stance with respect to the establishment of
new national park areas in which the bureau requires the completion of a
"Special Resource Study" prior to designation, and testified in support of
Rep. Murtha's bill.

Testifying on behalf of the Administration, NPS Special Assistant P. Daniel
Smith stated that the events of September 11th are so clearly important to
contemporary America that "some kind of national recognition is appropriate
now."  According to Smith, "It  is  appropriate  that  the  crash site of
Flight 93 be designated as a national  memorial....Establishing a permanent
memorial would serve as a meaningful way to honor those who
sacrificed  their lives on September 11th and would provide an
appropriately respectful setting for family members and other visitors."

Smith added that "in the
case  of  enormous  national  tragedies,  we  have  found  that
commemoration  seems  most  appropriate  at the site of the tragedy
itself."  Typically  a  unit of the National Park System is not created
until a  sufficient  interval of  time has passed allowing for historical
judgment.  In this case, the NPS conducted a reconnaissance and analysis of
the crash site, but the Service has not prepared the special resource study
required by Public Law 105-391.

In addition, a final "Incident Report" relating to Flight 93 has not been
issued by either the National Transportation Safety Board or the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (the lead investigatory agency because in this
instance the incident involved a hijacking).  A report is not expected to
be released until after ongoing criminal prosecutions have been concluded,
hence, officially there has yet to be a definitive finding that the
passengers and crew indeed did take deliberate action to cause Flight 93 to
crash.  But according to an FBI spokesman contacted by the NCC for comment,
based on the current evidence it appears that "the passengers did cause the
plane to crash" and therefore, the underlying rationale for the
establishment of the memorial appears justified.

The House is expected to move the legislation quickly. Action is pending in
the Senate on similar legislation (S. 2136) introduced by Senator Arlen
Specter (R-PA).

5.  NHPRC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR -- APPLICATIONS SOUGHT
As a consequence of the recent resignation of Anne C. Newhall, the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) invites applications for the
position of Executive Director of the National Historical Publications and
Records Commission (NHPRC).  The NHPRC promotes the preservation and
publication of American historical records by non-Federal public and
private institutions through its grants and educational programs.  This
Commission is composed of representatives of the legislative, executive,
and judicial branches of the Federal government as well as representatives
of national professional associations of historians, archivists, and
documentary editors.

Candidates for the position must possess extensive knowledge of American
history, professional research practices, and current trends in historical
research and records usage; archival, records management, electronic
records management, and documentary editing principles and methods; and
Federal and non-Federal grant programs which support archival activity or
historical research and education efforts.  Candidates also must have
supervisory experience and excellent oral and written communication skills.

The salary range for this position is $92,000 to $119,000 p/a.  For a copy
of the complete vacancy announcement  (#N 02-186B) visit the NARA web site
at: http://www.archives.gov/careers/employment/how_to_apply.html or call
1-800-827-4898. Completed applications must be postmarked by September 3,
2002.

6.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 -- Lynne V. Cheney's National Press Club Remarks:  On July 2, 2002,
Lynne V. Cheney, author of a new book "America: A Patriotic Primer," spoke
to the National Press Club in Washington D.C.  Her speech entitled, "Why
History Shouldn't Be a Mystery: The Importance of Teaching Our Kids About
the American Past" touched upon a number of themes that the
Vice-President's wife has been dedicated to for some number of years.  In
the speech, Mrs. Cheney stated, "Provocative ideas ought to be welcome on
our campuses because they encourage debate. But provocative ideas are not
enough.  Students need basic knowledge about the American past in order for
there to be real discussion."  For Cheney's full address, tap into:
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/mrscheney/news/20020702.html>.

Item #2 -- First Gov Search Engine
Last month, the General Services Administration (GSA) launched its new
search engine for its FirstGov.gov portal.  The site now has capabilities
such as searching Adobe Portable Document Format or Microsoft Word
documents. Users can also access documents in PDF, Microsoft Word and Excel
as well as HTML.  To access the site, tap into:<http://www.FirstGov.gov>.


7.   ARTICLES OF INTEREST
One posting this week: An article by Scott Carlson "Do Libraries Really
Need Books?" (Chronicle of Higher Education; 07/12/02).  The article
considers whether books will soon be outdated; many college administrators
and trustees are "saying outright that the book will soon be the
information medium of the past, if it isn't already." Consequently, campus
libraries are changing to give new media and defined spaces for study the
most prominent place in library construction and renovation. Tap into:
<http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i44/44a03101.htm>.

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