Washington DC News
This page features the weekly newsletters of the National Coalition for History, which are produced by Lee White.
The National Coalition for History is a non-profit educational organization that provides leadership in history-related advocacy; it serves as the profession's national voice in the promotion of history and archives, and acts as a clearinghouse of news and information of interest to history-related professionals. Click here for details.
 |
 |
Friday, April 27, 2007
April Headlines
Source: National Coalition for History (4-1-07)
Monday, April 23, 2007
NCH NEW WEBSITE AND WASHINGTON UPDATE
Today I am happy to announce the launching of National Coalition for History's (NCH) new website at www.historycoalition.org
The new website allows us to bring you real-time access to news as it is made in Washington through our new blog postings on the website and an RSS feed. The website also contains up-to-date issue briefs, and links to Congress, federal agencies and NCH member organizations. In addition, you are now able to access our CapWiz electronic congressional grassroots system through the website. As always, we will continue to e-mail our NCH Washington Update on Fridays.
NCH would like to express our appreciation to The History Channel and Chief Historian Dr. Libby O'Connell for their sponsorship of the site. The website was designed, and is being maintained, by the Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University. I would like to thank Dr. Roy Rosenzweig, Dr. Tom Scheinfeldt, and our web designer Laura Veprek for their hard work in launching the new website. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Peter Knupfer and H-NET, hosts of the original NCH website, for their years of support.
Here is a summary of the new NCH Website and Washington Update:
1. NCH and the weekly Washington Update are not going away. We are moving to a new home at www.historycoalition.org
2. CURRENT SUBSCRIBERS The subscriber list that has been maintained by H-NET will be transferred to the new site and you should not see an interruption in service.
3. SPAM FILTERS: Since the NCH Washington Update is being sent from a new e-mail address; initially it may be tagged by your Internet Service Provider or security system as SPAM. During the first weeks after the transition, if you do not receive the NCH Washington Update on Friday, you should check your spam inbox since it may incorrectly being diverted there. You can prevent this by adding: newsletter@historycoalition.org to your browser's "safe list."
4. Both new and current subscribers WILL need to go to the new website to sign-up to receive the RSS feed. To sign up, go to: http://feeds.feedburner.com/
If you are new to RSS feeds, here is a tutorial that will help you take advantage of this exciting technology: http://www.feedburner.com
5. NEW SUBSCRIBERS: A large number of readers receive the NCH Washington Update when it is forwarded from a colleague. We suggest that you consider subscribing yourself. The newsletter is free and your e-mail address will not be shared with anyone. To subscribe, go to http://historycoalition.org/subscribe
6. If you have any questions or problems receiving the newsletter, go to the website and click on the "contact button" at http://historycoalition.org/contact
Friday, April 20, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #13; April 20, 2007)
LOOK FOR AN ALERT ON MONDAY, APRIL 23rd ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW NCH WEBSITE AND WASHINGTON UPDATE!!
1. TELL CONGRESS TO SAVE THE NHPRC!
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)--the grant-making arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)--is targeted in the President's proposed FY 2008 budget for zero funding for grants and zero funding for staff to administer the agency and its programs. For FY 2008, the National Coalition for History supports full funding for national grants at $10 million plus an additional $2 million for staffing and other administrative costs. Now is the critical time to contact Congress and make your voice heard on saving the NHPRC!
The newly created House and Senate Financial Services and General Government appropriations subcommittees have jurisdiction over the NARA appropriation, including the NHPRC. These subcommittees currently are drafting appropriations bills for the programs under their jurisdiction.
If you support funding for the NHPRC grants program, please contact your Congressional representatives now, especially if they are members of the House and Senate subcommittees on Financial Services and General Government.
The two subcommittees can be accessed at: http://appropriations.house.gov and http://appropriations.senate.gov/
To contact your Members of Congress about funding for the NHPRC grants program, go to the Humanities Advocacy Network at http://www.humanitiesadvocacy.org
The website allows you to send a pre-written electronic letter to your Member of Congress or to edit the letter to include your own story and express your own views.
You can also fax letters or call your Congressional representatives and senators asking them to support $10 million for the grant-making arm of the NHPRC, and an additional $2 million for staffing. All Members of Congress can be reached through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. In addition, most Members of Congress list their fax number on their website. Find your representative at http://www.house.gov/ and your senator at: http://www.senate.gov/
If you can, give specific examples of NHPRC funded projects in your congressional district or State. For more information about lists of grants made in your state, visit the National Historical Publications and Records Commission grants program website at: http://www.archives.gov/
The NHPRC is the only grant making organization, public or private, whose mission is to provide national leadership in the effort to promote the preservation and accessibility of historical records and to publish the papers of significant figures and themes in American history.
If Congress allows the NHPRC to be zeroed out of the federal budget, this important program, which has played an essential federal leadership role and has an outstanding success record of using a small amount of federal funds to leverage other contributions, would come to an end. This would be devastating to projects such as editing and publishing the papers of nationally significant individuals and institutions; the development of new archival programs; the promotion of the preservation and use of historical records; regional and national coordination in addressing major archival issues; and a wide range of other activities relating to America's documentary heritage.
Please take a minute to contact the members of these key subcommittees or your Members of Congress and let them know how vital the NHPRC is to the historical and archival communities. Without your help today, the NHPRC may be eliminated!
2. SUPPORT INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE NEH
The Co-Chairs of the Congressional Humanities Caucus, Rep. David Price (D-NC) and Rep. Phil English (R-PA), have prepared a "Dear Colleague" letter, which is currently circulating in the House of Representatives, in support of a $36 million increase for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in FY 2008. The deadline for signing on to this letter is Tuesday, April 24. You can view the text of the letter at http://www.nhalliance.org.
This increase would return funding for the agency to its 1994 nominal level and signal that the Congress is ready to make a significant new investment in the nation's education and research infrastructure through the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Please call, email, or fax your Representative and ask him/her to sign on to this letter today. The easiest way to show your support is through the Humanities Advocacy Network. The website allows you to send a pre-written electronic letter to your Member of Congress or to edit the letter to include your own story and express your own views.
A large number of signatures on the "Dear Colleague letter," particularly if they represent both sides of the aisle, will send a very important message to the leadership of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee http://appropriations.house.gov as they begin to work on the mark-up of the FY 2008 spending bill for NEH. All members of Congress can be reached by phone through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Friday, April 13, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #12; April 13, 2007
1. POLITICAL FIRESTORM ERUPTS OVER MISSING WHITE HOUSE E-MAILS
2. SENATE RULES COMMITTEE HOLDS OVERSIGHT HEARING ON SMITHSONIAN
3. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REFORM BILL CLEARS SENATE PANEL
4. BITS & BYTES: The National History Center continues its Congressional
Briefings Series
1. POLITICAL FIRESTORM ERUPTS OVER MISSING WHITE HOUSE E-MAILS
It was revealed this week that some 22 current Bush administration officials have separate White House and Republican National Committee (RNC) e-mail accounts that were designed to ensure that White House staff did not use government equipment for political purposes in violation of the Hatch Act. However, it is being alleged by congressional Democrats that these political e-mail accounts were improperly used to engage in official government business without leaving an electronic trail behind in an attempt to circumvent the Presidential Records Act. Of particular interest are e-mails sent through these non-governmental accounts concerning the firing of eight U.S. attorneys that is currently under scrutiny by Congress.
The Democrats are particularly concerned that senior White House advisor Karl Rove had the ability, prior to 2005, to delete his e-mails from the RNC server. On Friday, Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin denied that Rove intentionally sought to delete e-mails from the RNC computer system. RNC officials have said that they do not know to what extent e-mails prior to 2005 are retrievable. The RNC instituted new policies after 2005 to prevent such deletions.
On April 12, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) met with Rob Kelner, an attorney for the RNC. Following the briefing, the committee issued a statement that the meeting raised “serious concerns about the White House compliance with the Presidential Records Act.” Representative Waxman had previously sent a letter to RNC Chair Mark Duncan asking, “What agreements, if any, has the RNC entered into with the White House, the National Archives, or other government agencies regarding the e-mail accounts maintained by the RNC that have been used by White House officials?”
Senator Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) stated, “You can't erase e-mails, not today. These e-mails have gone through too many servers. They can't say they have been lost. That is akin to saying the dog ate my homework. It doesn't work that way. Those e-mails are there, the White House just doesn't want to produce them. It is similar to the famous 18-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes.”
In a press briefing, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that she had no indication that any laws had been broken. Later in the briefing she stated “Well, I will admit it, we screwed up and we are trying to fix it.” When asked if President Bush had an RNC e-mail account, she responded, “I don’t think so, no. The President says he doesn’t e-mail.”
Leahy and Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Arlen Specter (R-PA) sent a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding asking what was being done to investigate and remedy the situation. Leahy and Specter specifically cited an anonymous press statement given by a White House lawyer who advised White House staff that if they have a doubt whether an e-mail is political or official that they should use their political account, but also preserve a copy and send it to the counsel’s office for a determination whether the e-mail needs to be saved under the Presidential Records Act. The two Senators asked whether the policy is to apply prospectively or whether staff is now being instructed to forward past e-mails for review.
The Senate and House Judiciary Committees have authorized subpoenas to the Justice Department and the White House for documents related to the firings of the eight U.S. attorneys. However, the subpoenas have not yet been served.
2. SENATE RULES COMMITTEE HOLDS OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE SMITHSONIAN
Despite the departure of controversial Secretary Lawrence Small, the Smithsonian Institution continues to take a beating on Capitol Hill.
The Senate Rules Committee held an oversight hearing this week on the Smithsonian. In her opening statement Rules Committee Chairwoman Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) sharply criticized the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents for their lack of meaningful oversight over the Institution’s operations. Feinstein stated that, “While the Board is well meaning and dedicated, I’m not convinced the current structure has the capacity to perform the fiduciary responsibility required.”
Smithsonian Inspector General Anne Sprightley Ryan stated that her investigation of Secretary Small’s business expenses, led her to “question whether the Regents had adequate information for meaningful oversight.” She cited examples of the lack of clear rules and policies on Small’s expenditures as examples of how dysfunctional the Institution had become. Ryan stated, “We also encountered an attitude that any rules that did exist did not necessarily apply to the Secretary . . .” She did note that in light of the controversy over Small’s expenses that, “the Regents have recently taken significant steps to enhance their oversight and promote accountability and transparency.”
Full video coverage, and written testimony from the hearing, is available here.
3. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REFORM BILL CLEARS SENATE PANEL
The Senate Judiciary Committee this week cleared a Freedom of Information reform bill (S. 849) by voice vote. The bill is similar to one overwhelmingly passed in March by the House of Representatives (H.R. 1309)
S. 849 strengthens the requirement that agencies respond to FOIA requests within 20 days. The bill requires agencies to provide requesters with individualized tracking numbers for each request and access to a telephone or Internet hotline with information about the status of requests. The legislation also strengthens agency reporting requirements to identify excessive delays and creates a new FOIA ombudsman to help FOIA requesters resolve problems without having to resort to litigation.
A similar bill passed the Judiciary Committee during the 109th Congress, but was not acted on by the full Senate.
4. BITS & BYTES
The National History Center continues its Congressional Briefings Series with its "Historical Perspectives on Climate Change", 2:00 p.m.––4:00 p.m. Friday, April 27, 2007, in Room 385 of the Russell Senate Office Building, in Washington, DC.
The briefing features Professor James Rodger Fleming, Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Colby College, Maine. He currently holds the Roger Revelle Fellowship in Global Environmental Stewardship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars where he is completing a book on "Weather and Climate Engineers: Fantasies of Control."
Professor Fleming earned a B.S. in astronomy from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. in atmospheric science from Colorado State University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Princeton University. His books include Meteorology in America, 1800––1870, Historical Perspectives on Climate Change, and The Callendar Effect: The Life and Work of Guy Stewart Callendar.
This briefing is co-sponsored by the History of Science Society.
The National History Center's Congressional Briefings are designed to provide historical context and perspective on current issues for policy makers and members of their staff. The speakers reflect upon historical events and developments that influence the evolution of current policies and provide knowledge pertinent to the consideration of policy alternatives.
A question and answers session will follow the presentation. If you are interested in attending this briefing, please r.s.v.p. to info@nationalhistorycenter.org or 202-544-2422 ext. 103.
Friday, April 6, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #11; April 6, 2007)
NOTE: The NCH Washington Update will be not published next week due to out-of-town travel by the editor. The next edition will be issued the week of April 16.
1. KEY HISTORY POSITIONS AT NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REMAIN UNFILLED
2. NHA 2007 CONFERENCE & HUMANITIES ADVOCACY DAY A SUCCESS
3. HUMANITIES ADVOCATES GATHER AT CAPITOL HILL RECEPTION & EXHIBITS
4. NEH AWARDS FIRST DIGITAL HUMANITIES START-UP GRANTS
5. NAZI AND JAPANESE WAR CRIMES DECLASSIFICATION PROJECT CONCLUDES
6. NEH TO HOST SUMMIT OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES CENTERS
7. “WOMEN IN CONGRESS 1917--2006" PUBLISHED
8. BITS & BYTES–Library of Congress Acquires Caspar Weinberger Papers
9. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: See four articles below.
1. KEY HISTORY POSITIONS AT NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REMAIN UNFILLED
During a session at the Organization of American Historians (OAH) annual meeting last week, it was revealed that both the Chief Historian and Bureau Historian positions at the National Park Service (NPS) remain vacant, with no clear date set for when they will be filled. Dr. Martin Perschler, Acting Manager of the Park History Program at the NPS, provided this update to the OAH Committee on National Park Service Issues. The application period for the Chief Historian position had closed on February 3, however it was reopened with a new closing date of April 3. No reason was given for re-posting the position. Those who applied in the first round remain eligible for consideration. Approximately 45 people applied for the position.
The failure to fill the Chief Historian slot in a timely manner has also impacted the vacant Bureau Historian position. Since the Bureau Historian works closely with the Chief Historian, it is felt by NPS officials that the new Chief Historian should have the prerogative of filling this key position.
2. NHA 2007 CONFERENCE & HUMANITIES ADVOCACY DAY A SUCCESS (Report from Erin Smith of NHA)
The National Humanities Alliance’s (NHA) 2007 Conference was held March 26-27 in Washington, DC. The event began in the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center with a policy forum and roundtable discussion featuring federal agency representatives. Topics included: capacity building and infrastructure support, fellowships and resources for scholars, public programs, collaborative research, preservation, education, international education and cultural exchange, and the humanities and technology.
Dr. Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, addressed the attendees, discussing new initiatives, and answering questions from participants. The morning session concluded with the National Humanities Alliance’s annual business meeting for member representatives.
At a luncheon sponsored by The Phi Beta Kappa Society, Dr. Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, delivered a keynote address to 150 participants. Dr. Weinstein expressed admiration for the work of humanities advocates and answered questions from the audience.
At the conclusion of the afternoon’s legislative briefing and advocacy training, attendees enjoyed a cocktail hour sponsored by The History Channel. Attendees heard remarks from Dr. Libby O’Connell, Chief Historian of the History Channel, and Senior Vice President, Corporate Outreach, A&E Television Networks.
On Tuesday, March 27, 112 humanities advocates visited more than 150 House and Senate offices representing 26 states and the District of Columbia. These grassroots advocates distributed issue briefs and state grant data, and asked members of Congress to support increased funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
The Humanities Advocacy Day 2007 Source Book is online at http://www.nhalliance.org/conference/2007/sourcebook/
Here you will find historical funding data, recent grants by state, and issue briefs prepared by the National Humanities Alliance.
3. HUMANITIES ADVOCATES GATHER AT CAPITOL HILL RECEPTION & EXHIBITS (Report from Erin Smith of NHA)
On the morning of March 27, more than 100 humanities supporters gathered in the Rayburn House Office Building to enjoy humanities exhibits and listen to remarks from National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Bruce Cole, and new Congressional Humanities Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Phil English (R-PA).
This year’s Capitol Hill event was co-sponsored by The History Channel, and its Chief Historian Dr. Libby O’Connell provided brief remarks to attendees before they began their Congressional visits.
The projects showcased the breadth of humanities projects receiving federal funding from agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Historical Publications and Records Commission, National Science Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts. The presentations included:
American Anthropological Association- RACE Project Association of American University Presses- NEH Bookshelf Community College Humanities Association- Landmarks Workshops in American History and Culture Michigan State University- Symposium on Science, Reason and Modern Democracy Rutgers University Libraries, Newark- The Institute of Jazz Studies Society of Biblical Literature- Publishing in the Humanities University of California, Santa Barbara- Pepys Ballad Archive University of California, Santa Cruz- NEH Summer Institute and Seminar University of Tennessee- Marco Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies University of Virginia Press- “The Papers of George Washington”
Photographs from all of the events of March 26-27 are available online at: http://www.nhalliance.org/
4. NEH AWARDS FIRST DIGITAL HUMANITIES START-UP GRANTS
At the NHA conference, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Chairman Bruce Cole announced the first Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants. Chairman Cole said that these new projects are designed to explore and develop innovative uses of technology in humanities education, scholarship, and public programming. Sixteen projects will receive a total of $478,565 in this program, which is one part of NEH's Digital Humanities Initiative. A full list of the award recipients is available at :
5. NAZI AND JAPANESE WAR CRIMES DECLASSIFICATION PROJECT CONCLUDES
The Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group (IWG), the group tasked with locating, declassifying, and making publicly available U.S. records of Nazi and Japanese war crimes, concluded its work on March 31, 2007.
The IWG was formed under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act of 1998 and the Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act of 2000. Its membership consists of representatives of seven Executive Branch agencies and three Presidentially appointed public members. The IWG was extended twice, most recently in March 2005, to complete the largest ever congressionally mandated single-subject declassification effort.
The group’s Final Report to Congress will be issued in mid-April. It will describe the history of the legislation that brought about the declassification effort; agencies’ implementation of the act; the declassification results; and recommendations for future declassification policies.
The seven-year, roughly $30 million declassification effort, resulted in the opening of more than 8 million pages of U.S. records—not all of them directly linked to war crimes. Notably, the records include the entirety of the operational files of the Office of Strategic Services (the predecessor agency of the CIA), and more than 163,000 pages of CIA materials of a type never before opened to the public.
The declassified records also included more than 435,000 pages of FBI files, 20,000 pages from Army Counterintelligence Corps files, 100,000 pages related to Japanese War crimes, and 6 million additional pages of records.
6. NEH TO HOST SUMMIT OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES CENTERS
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) at the University of Maryland have announced a summit meeting to plan a national coalition of digital humanities centers.
The meeting will take place at NEH headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 12-13, 2007. The meeting is part of NEH's Digital Humanities Initiative, which supports projects that use or study the impact of digital technology on the humanities.
The centerpiece of the conference is a day-long discussion of key issues involved in fostering collaboration, developing funding resources, and creating blueprints for future projects. The conference begins at 4:00 p.m. on April 12, with a welcome address by NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. On April 13, the conference attendees will spend the day discussing how to create a framework for a permanent coalition of digital humanities centers. For additional information, go to:
7. “WOMEN IN CONGRESS 1917--2006" PUBLISHED
The Office of History Preservation in the Office of the Clerk of U.S. House of Representatives recently published , “Women in Congress, 1917–2006.” The book is the first in an official four-part series about minorities who have served in Congress. Future volumes will profile African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian-Pacific Islander Americans who have served in Congress. The 229 women profiled range from Jeannette Rankin of Montana—the first woman elected to Congress—to Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House. Written as an authoritative resource, and a teaching tool, the hard copy of the book ends just before Speaker Pelosi and the newly-elected women Members of the 110th Congress were sworn in. But an online version (see link below) provides an updated live resource that takes the research project into the future.
http://womenincongress.house.gov/
8. BITS & BYTES–Library of Congress Acquires Caspar Weinberger Papers–The Library of Congress recently formally accepted a donation of the papers of former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Weinberger served for six years in that post under President Ronald Reagan. Weinberger also served stints as Secretary of Health Education of Welfare (1973--1975) and director of the Office of Management and Budget (1972--1973) in the Nixon and Ford Administrations. Sections of the Weinberger Papers were subpoenaed by the special prosecutor during the Iran-Contra investigation.
9. ARTICLES OF INTEREST:
“Author Suggests Alger Hiss Wasn’t a Spy,” reports on a symposium held this week by New York University on the Alger Hiss spy case. Former-NCH director Dr. Bruce Craig was a participant on the panel. ‘Washington Post’ April 6, 2007. http://www.washingtonpost.com
“Stepping Out of the Shadows,” details the efforts by Hiss’s stepson to clear his name. ‘Washington Post’ April 5, 2007. http://www.washingtonpost.com
“Swept Away By History,” details the financial difficulties facing the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. ‘Washington Post' April 4, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com
“An Upgrade for Ye Olde History Park,” reviews the challenges faced by Colonial Williamsburg in balancing competing interests in its interpretations of history. ‘New York Times' April 13, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com
Friday, March 23, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #10; March 23, 2007)
1. NEH CHAIRMAN COLE TESTIFIES BEFORE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
ON FY '08 BUDGET
2. CHECKING THE "SMALL" PRINT; SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY QUESTIONED ON EXPENSES
3. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND NEH LAUNCH DIGITAL NEWSPAPERS SITE
4. NEH NAMES POLITICAL SCIENTIST HARVEY MANSFIELD AS 2007 JEFFERSON LECTURER
5. LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS DETAILS DIGITIZATION EFFORTS
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "History Lessens," New York Times, March 19, 2007
1. NEH CHAIRMAN COLE TESTIFIES BEFORE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON FY '08 BUDGET
On March 20, 2007, Chairman Bruce Cole testified on the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) before the House Appropriations' Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.
In his prepared testimony, Dr. Cole said that under the President's FY 2008 request, NEH would receive $141.4 million, a slight increase over the amount it received in FY 2007. The NEH's flagship "We the People" program would be flat funded at $15.2 million. Dr. Cole noted the detrimental impact increased costs for overhead and travel were having on NEH's budget.
Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) began the question-and-answer period by asking what NEH could accomplish if it were to receive an increase in base funding. Dr. Cole stated that the current FY '08 budget was lean, but it did allow NEH to fund, "the best of the best." He went on to say that he preferred that the NEH allocate its limited resources to core programs, and to do those programs well. Dr. Cole added that increased funding would allow additional activities under the "We the People" program, the Digital Humanities Initiative, and by State Humanities Councils.
Ranking Minority Member Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) asked whether NEH coordinated with the Library of Congress on its digitization efforts. Dr. Cole highlighted the unveiling this week of the "Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers" web site, an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers. (See related story below)
Representative James Moran (D-VA) began his round of questioning by noting that 13 years ago, before the Republican Party took control of the House, the NEH's budget was actually more than it is today. Moran said that if the NEH's funding had kept up with inflation over that time, its budget would be $265 million, not the current $141 million. Moran sharply criticized the Republicans for spreading "disinformation and prejudice against the humanities" during their tenure and said the cuts NEH had endured over that time "were an embarrassment to our nation." Moran complimented Chairman Cole by saying that he did not know how NEH accomplished as much as it did with the limited funds available to it.
When asked by Representative Moran what he would do with $265 million, Dr. Cole, without specifically supporting an increase, deftly responded that all NEH programs could be scaled up if "in its wisdom" Congress were to provide additional funding. Chairman Dicks quipped that the Office of Management and Budget would be happy with Cole's response.
2. CHECKING THE "SMALL" PRINT; SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY QUESTIONED ON EXPENSES
In a front page story this week, the "Washington Post" continued its expose on questionable expenses incurred by Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small. But perhaps most damaging to Small was an allegation made to the Post by the former Smithsonian inspector general Debra S. Ritt. She alleged that Small tried to steer her audit of Smithsonian financial dealings away from his own compensation, and the controversial Smithsonian Business Ventures operation, towards construction programs. The Post detailed lavish expenditures such as a $13,000 conference table, two $2,000 chairs, and $31,000 for upholstery during renovations of Small's office at the Smithsonian. Small also received over $1 million in reimbursement over a six-year period for use of his home for Smithsonian-related activities.
The "Washington Post" articles can be accessed at:
The Smithsonian Board of Regents this week announced the appointment of an Independent Review Committee to reevaluate the Smithsonian Inspector General's audit of Secretary Small's compensation and expenses. The Review Committee is to report back to the Regents within 60 days.
On Capitol Hill, the response to the revelations in the "Washington Post" articles prompted outrage and swift action. On March 22, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved an amendment to its budget resolution freezing the proposed $17 million increase in federal funding that the Smithsonian was slated to receive in fiscal year 2008. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced the amendment which ties the release of the funds to a series of operational changes at the Smithsonian. First, no employee of the Smithsonian can be compensated more than the $400,000 salary paid to the President of the United States. Currently, Secretary Small's annual compensation is over $900,000, or a half-million dollars more than the president makes. The other requirements are that the Smithsonian follow the same travel expenditure and ethical guidelines as federal employees, and that spending priority be given to repairing and maintaining Smithsonian facilities.
Secretary Small has been called to testify in both the House and Senate in April, so it remains to be seen whether he will be able to survive this firestorm.
3. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND NEH LAUNCH DIGITAL NEWSPAPERS SITE
This week, the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities unveiled their "Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers" joint venture which debuted on-line with more than 226,000 pages of public-domain newspapers from California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Utah, Virginia and the District of Columbia published between 1900 and 1910. The fully-searchable site is available at www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/
"Chronicling America" is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a partnership between the NEH and the Library of Congress created to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with select digitization of historic pages as well as information about newspapers from 1690 to the present. Supported by NEH's "We the People" program and Digital Humanities Initiative, the digital resource will continue to be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress.
Over a period of approximately 20 years, NDNP will create a national, digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1836 and 1922 from all U.S. states and territories. Also on the Web site, an accompanying national newspaper directory of bibliographic and holdings information directs users to newspaper titles in all formats. The information in the directory was created through an earlier NEH initiative. The Library of Congress will also digitize and contribute to the NDNP database a significant number of newspaper pages drawn from its own collections during the course of this partnership. For the initial launch the Library of Congress contributed more than 90,000 pages from 14 different newspaper titles published in the District of Columbia between 1900 and 1910.
4. NEH NAMES POLITICAL SCIENTIST HARVEY MANSFIELD 2007 JEFFERSON LECTURER
Political scientist Harvey Mansfield will deliver the 2007 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced this week. The annual NEH-sponsored Jefferson Lecture is considered the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.
"With a distinguished career of thoughtful, and thought-provoking, discourse on political theory and higher education, Harvey Mansfield has captivated his readers and students with the strength of his convictions and the depth of his courage," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole when announcing the selection. "This prolific author and engaging teacher offers a truly distinctive perspective on political thought and practice."
Mansfield, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Government at Harvard, will present the 36th Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities on Tuesday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C., on "How to Understand Politics: What the Humanities Can Say to Science." Attendance at the lecture is by invitation and free. Those interested in receiving an invitation should call (202) 606-8400 or send an e-mail message to info@neh.gov
5. LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS DETAILS DIGITIZATION EFFORTS
On March 22, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch regarding how the Library is transforming itself to accommodate the digital age. The Librarian's full testimony is available at www.loc.gov/about/welcome/speeches/digital/digitalage.html
Dr. Billington emphasized that digital materials, contrary to some assumptions, are less stable than analog materials, because digital content is easily altered, corrupted, or even lost. He noted that the average Web site's life span is between 44 and 75 days. He used as an example important materials relating to Hurricane Katrina that were used by Congress, which are no longer available on-line.
According to Dr. Billington, the Library of Congress has been preparing for the digital age since the 1960s, when it used early technology to create and share bibliographic information in electronic form. In 2000, Congress asked the Library to lead a national strategic program to collect and preserve the burgeoning amounts of digital content. The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program www.digitalpreservation.gov is building a nationwide network of partners to select and preserve critical materials at risk of loss if they are not saved now. Dr. Billington expressed hope that Congress would continue to support the program.
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "History Lessens," 'New York Times' March 19, 2007. An op-ed by historian Dr. David Kahn in support of increased funding for the National Archives.
Friday, March 16, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #9; March 16, 2007)
1. HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT REFORM BILL
2. FOIA REFORM BILL PASSED BY THE HOUSE
3. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FUNDING DISCLOSURE BILL PASSES HOUSE
4. ARCHIVIST TESTIFIES BEFORE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON FY ‘08
NARA BUDGET
5. OLIVER NORTH vs. THE SMITHSONIAN–ROUND II
6. BITS & BYTES: National Park Service Personnel Appointments
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: Two "Washington Post" editorials on March 12,
2007, endorsing H.R. 1255, the “Presidential Records Act Amendments of
2007,” and H.R. 1254, the “Presidential Donation Reform Act of 2007.”
Anyone who wondered if a Democratically-controlled Congress would make a difference for historians, archivists, and journalists need look no further than what transpired in the House of Representatives on March 14, 2007. On that day three bills mandating increased public disclosure by the federal government all passed the House by substantial margins.
1. HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT REFORM BILL
The most important House action for the historical and archival communities was the passage of H.R. 1255, the “Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007.” The National Coalition for History (NCH) issued a legislative alert to the historical and archival communities that generated nearly 1,700 letters to the House in support of the bill. I would like to thank everyone who responded to the alert!
H.R. 1255 passed the House on March 14, 2007, by a vote of 333-93. It is key to note that 104 Republicans voted for the bill with 93 opposed. Democrats unanimously supported the bill. This overwhelming level of support may prove to be critical down the road since it is well above the two-thirds total that would be required to override a possible presidential veto. On March 13, 2007, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) threatening a presidential veto should the legislation pass the Congress. The SAP alleges that H.R. 1255 would cause a proliferation of lawsuits from those seeking access to presidential records. OMB also asserted that Congress was encroaching on the constitutionally-based prerogative of executive privilege.
The floor debate, and text of the bill, can be found in the Congressional Record beginning at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov
To see how your Member of the House voted on the bill, go to:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov
To view a copy of the OMB’s Statement of Administration Policy in opposition to H.R. 1255, go to:
The same day the legislation passed the House, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a companion bill (S. 886) in the Senate. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Senator Bingaman’s floor speech on the introduction of the bill can be accessed at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov
As passed by the House, H.R. 1255 would require the following:
Overturn Bush Executive Order 13233. Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are supposed to be released to historians and the public 12 years after the end of a presidential administration. In November 2001, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13233, which overturned an executive order issued by President Reagan, and gave current and former presidents and vice presidents broad authority to withhold presidential records or delay their release indefinitely. The "Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007" would nullify the Bush executive order and establish procedures to ensure the timely release of presidential records.
Establish a Deadline for Review of Records. Under the Bush executive order, the Archivist of the United States must wait for both the current and the relevant former president to approve the release of presidential records, meaning that the review process could continue indefinitely. Under the bill, the current and former president would have a set time period of no longer than 40 business days to raise objections to the release of these records by the archivist.
Limit the Authority of Former Presidents to Withhold Presidential Records. Under the Reagan executive order, a former president could request that the incumbent president assert a claim of executive privilege and thereby stop the release of the records. If the incumbent president decided not to assert executive privilege, however, the records would be released unless the former president could persuade a court to uphold the former president’s assertion of the privilege. The Bush executive order reversed this process and required the incumbent president to sustain the executive privilege claim of the former president unless a person seeking access could persuade a court to reject the claim. In effect, the Bush order gave former presidents virtually unlimited authority to withhold presidential records through assertions of executive privilege. The legislation would restore the Reagan approach, giving the incumbent president the discretion to reject ill-founded assertions of executive privilege by former presidents.
Require the President to Make Privilege Claims Personally. Under the Bush executive order, even designees of a former president could assert privilege claims after the death of the president, in effect making the right to assert executive privilege an asset of the former president’s estate. The bill would make clear that the right to claim executive privilege is personal to current and former presidents and cannot be bequeathed to designees, relatives, or descendants.
Eliminate Executive Privilege Claims for Vice Presidents. In an unprecedented step, the Bush executive order authorized former vice presidents to assert executive privilege claims over vice presidential records. The bill restores the long-standing understanding that the right to assert executive privilege over presidential records is held only by presidents.
The bill would also require the Archivist of the United States to deny access to original presidential records to any designated representative of a former president if the designee had been convicted of a crime relating to the review, retention, removal, or destruction of records of the archives. The amendment was inspired by the well-publicized theft of documents from the National Archives by President Clinton’s former National Security Advisor Samuel R. (Sandy) Berger. On April 1, 2005, Berger pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents.
2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REFORM BILL PASSED BY THE HOUSE
On March 14, 2007, the House of Representatives, by a vote of 308-117, approved H.R. 1309, the “Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 2007.” This legislation contains numerous provisions that will increase public access to government information by strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The same day, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a SAP on H.R. 1309, expressing the Administration’s opposition to the bill.
The floor debate, and text of the bill, can be found in the Congressional Record beginning at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov
To see how your Member of the House voted on the bill, go to:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov
To view a copy of the OMB’s Statement of Administration Policy in opposition to H.R. 1309, go to:
The bill reaffirms the presumption that records should be released to the public if disclosure is allowable under law and the agency cannot reasonably foresee harm from such a disclosure. This was the standard that was in effect during the Clinton administration. This provision would effectively rescind the “Ashcroft Memorandum” which was issued on October 12, 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks and restore the “foreseeable harm” standard. The Ashcroft FOIA Memorandum established a “sound legal basis” standard. Under this standard, agencies are required to reach the judgment that their use of a FOIA exemption is on sound footing, both factually and legally, whenever they withhold requested information. This provision was one of the major reasons the Administration opposed the bill.
A copy of the Ashcroft FOIA Memorandum can be accessed at:
The bill also puts teeth into the requirement that agencies respond to FOIA requests within 20 days. H.R. 1309 makes this deadline meaningful by ensuring that the 20-day statutory clock runs immediately upon an agency’s receipt of a request and by imposing consequences on federal agencies for missing the deadline. The bill also requires agencies to provide requesters with individualized tracking numbers for each request and access to a telephone or internet hotline with information about the status of requests.
The bill strengthens agency reporting requirements to identify excessive delays and requires each agency to make the raw data used to compile its annual reports publicly available. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report annually on the Department of Homeland Security’s use of the broad disclosure exemption for “critical infrastructure information.”
H.R. 1309 creates a new FOIA ombudsman to help FOIA requesters resolve problems without having to resort to litigation. The FOIA ombudsman will be located at the National Archives and will help requesters by providing informal guidance and nonbinding opinions regarding rejected or delayed FOIA requests. The FOIA ombudsman will also review agency compliance with FOIA.
H.R. 1309 makes it more feasible for citizen groups to challenge the improper withholding of government information by expanding access to attorneys’ fees for FOIA requesters who successfully challenge an agency’s denial of information. The bill also holds agencies accountable for their decisions by enhancing the authority of the Office of Special Counsel to take disciplinary action against government officials who arbitrarily and capriciously deny disclosure.
The legislation also requires agencies to provide reasons for each redaction in documents that are released in response to a FOIA request.
3. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FUNDING DISCLOSURE BILL PASSES HOUSE
On March 14, 2007, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 1254, the “Presidential Donation Reform Act of 2007,” by a vote of 390-34. Unlike the previous two bills, the administration did not express an opinion on this legislation.
The floor debate, and text of the bill, can be found in the Congressional Record beginning at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov
To see how your Member of the House voted on the bill, go to:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov
Presidential libraries are built using private funds raised by an organization or foundation working on behalf of the president. Under current law, donations for the presidential library can be unlimited in size and are not required to be disclosed. The bill would require that all organizations established for the purpose of raising funds for presidential libraries or their related facilities report on a quarterly basis all contributions of $200 or more.
Organizations that raise funds for presidential libraries typically begin fundraising while the president remains in office. Before the library is turned over to the National Archives, these organizations must raise enough money to build the library and to provide the Archivist with an endowment for the maintenance of the facility. Under the legislation, organizations fundraising for presidential libraries would be required to disclose their donations while the president is in office and during the period before the federal government has taken possession of the library. The bill sets a minimum reporting period of four years after the end of a president’s term.
Under the bill, presidential library fund-raising organizations would be required to disclose to Congress and the Archivist the amount and date of each contribution, the name of the contributor, and if the contributor is an individual, the occupation of the contributor. The National Archives would be required to make the information available to the public through a free, searchable, and downloadable database on the internet.
One of the concerns the bill is designed to remedy is the fact that foreign nationals can make unlimited contributions to a sitting, or former, president’s library foundation. This is in contrast to federal election laws which prohibit contributions by foreign nationals.
4. ARCHIVIST TESTIFIES BEFORE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS ON FY ‘08 NARA BUDGET
On March 15, 2007, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein testified on the fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) before the House Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.
In his prepared testimony, Dr. Weinstein said that under the President’s FY 2008 request, NARA would receive $312.8 million for operating expenses, an increase of $33.5 million over FY 2007. The Electronic Records Archive (ERA), an initiative to preserve and make accessible electronic records, would be funded at a level of $58 million, or an increase of $12.7 million from the current year.
Dr. Weinstein noted that the administration had requested no funding for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
He stated that the operating expenses budget also includes $5.5 million in funding for the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, which will become part of NARA’s presidential library system this year. The proposed budget also includes $5.8 million in funding to continue preparations for the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
Dr. Weinstein informed the subcommittee that in order to meet budgetary levels for FY 2007, NARA enacted a hiring freeze that resulted in a loss of seven percent of the agency’s staff. Budget restrictions also forced NARA to curtail research room and public visitation hours. He warned that without the requested additional $21 million in funding for NARA’s base programs that, “we will be forced to expand upon the cost cutting measures already implemented.”
Subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano (D-NY) began the question-and-answer period by asking if NARA could restore the reductions it had made to the hours of operations of the research rooms if the Archives were to receive the budget it had requested. Dr. Weinstein stated that he had to give a “yes, but” reply. He regretted that NARA been forced to cut down on the hours, but that it would probably take significant multi-year funding increases to allow the Archives to restore the previous hours of operation. He stated that he would supply the subcommittee with a cost estimate of what it would cost to restore the hours.
Both Chairman Serrano and Representative James Moran (D-VA) questioned the Archivist about the elimination of funding for the NHPRC. When asked if he agreed with the zeroing out of NHPRC funding, Dr. Weinstein said that he opposed it. Representative Moran asked how much money should be put back into the program, Dr. Weinstein stated that ideally it would be the fully authorized amount of $10 million, or at least the $7.5 million that the program had received in FY 2007.
A number of subcommittee members raised concerns about last year’s controversy that arose when intelligence agencies within the government sought to reclassify documents that had already been declassified. Dr. Weinstein noted that he had acted swiftly to stop the practice once he had become aware of it. He noted his own personal commitment to making NARA, “an access agency.”
At the end of the hearing, Chairman Serrano expressed concerns that Bush Executive Order 13233 was slowing access for historians to presidential records. The chairman asked the Archivist what NARA’s position was on H.R. 1255, the “Presidential Records Reform Act.” Dr. Weinstein stated that he had given advice, and made his own views on the executive order clear to the Administration. However, he stated he was hesitant to comment publicly on what he had told administration officials in confidence.
5. OLIVER NORTH vs. THE SMITHSONIAN–ROUND II
This week, the Smithsonian Institution and conservative commentator and Fox News personality Oliver North were once again at odds over his use of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center to film a documentary.
North hosts the series “War Stories” on the Fox News Channel and is filming a documentary on the history of nuclear weapons. The show’s producers had requested the opportunity to film North speaking in front of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. The Enola Gay is housed at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
An exclusive deal between the Smithsonian and the Showtime Networks, Inc. allows the joint venture to vet any requests for filming at Smithsonian facilities that go beyond “incidental usage.” The Smithsonian initially denied North’s request which provoked an angry public response by North. Apparently all of the bad publicity caused the Smithsonian to reconsider and they announced in February that North would be allowed to film at the Udvar-Hazy Center after all.
However, this week the Smithsonian sought to limit the use of the material that North would film at the Udvar-Hazy Center and he was denied access to the facility.
In an on-line column, North talked about filming for his series in Vietnam last summer. “As it turns out, it was easier to deal with Ho Chi Minh’s proteges than our own Smithsonian Institution. At least the commies kept their word. Not so with the Smithsonian.”
North’s full commentary can be accessed at:
A “Washington Post” article on the North versus Smithsonian fight can be accessed at:
6. BITS & BYTES: National Park Service Personnel Appointments: The National Park Service (NPS) recently announced the appointment of Daniel N. Wenk as Deputy Director and Dr. Richard J. O’Connor as Chief of the Heritage Documentation Programs Division.
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: Two “Washington Post” editorials on March 12, 2007, endorsing H.R. 1255, the “Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007,” and H.R. 1254, the “Presidential Donation Reform Act of 2007.”
Editorial endorsing H.R. 1255, the “Presidential Records Act Amendments of
2007”
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Editorial endorsing H.R. 1254, the “Presidential Donation Reform Act of 2007”
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Friday, March 9, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #8; March 9, 2007)
1. TELL THE HOUSE TO PASS THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT REFORM BILL!
2. FOIA REFORM BILL CLEARED FOR HOUSE CONSIDERATION
3. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FUNDING DISCLOSURE BILL SET FOR HOUSE FLOOR
4. REGISTER NOW FOR "HUMANITIES ADVOCACY DAY" ON CAPITOL HILL
5. BITS & BYTES: National Archives to host preservation conference
6. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: "Historians Fight Bush on Access to Papers," 'New a
York Times', March 8, 2007
1. TELL THE HOUSE TO PASS THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT REFORM BILL!
On March 8, 2007, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee unanimously approved H.R. 1255, the "Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007." The bill is expected to go to the House floor the week of March 12.
The National Coalition for History is asking everyone in the historical and archival community to contact their House member as soon as possible and ask that they support H.R.1255.
Here is a link to the NCH's CapWiz legislative grassroots website. This website allows you to either send a pre-written electronic letter to your Member of Congress or to edit the letter we have prepared to express your own personal views.
http://www.humanitiesadvocacy.org/action_ctr.html
It is important that you act TODAY, since the bill will likely be considred next week!!
Here is a summary of the bill, as marked up by the committee:
Overturning the Bush Executive Order. Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are supposed to be released to historians and the public 12 years after the end of a presidential administration. In November 2001, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13233, which overturned an executive order issued by President Reagan and gave current and former presidents and vice presidents broad authority to withhold presidential records or delay their release indefinitely. The Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007 would nullify the Bush executive order and establish procedures to ensure the timely release of presidential records.
Establishing a Deadline for Review of Records. Under the Bush executive order, the Archivist must wait for both the current and former president to approve the release of presidential records, a review process that can continue indefinitely. Under the bill, the current and former president would have a set time period of no longer than 40 business days to raise objections to the release of these records by the Archivist.
Limiting the Authority of Former Presidents to Withhold Presidential Records. Under the Reagan executive order, a former president could request that the incumbent president assert a claim of executive privilege and thereby stop the release of the records. If the incumbent president decided not to assert executive privilege, however, the records would be released unless the former president could persuade a court to uphold the former president's assertion of the privilege. The Bush executive order reversed this process and required the incumbent president to sustain the executive privilege claim of the former president unless a person seeking access could persuade a court to reject the claim. In effect, the Bush order gave former presidents virtually unlimited authority to withhold presidential records through assertions of executive privilege. The legislation would restore the Reagan approach, giving the incumbent president the discretion to reject ill-founded assertions of executive privilege by former presidents.
Requiring the President to Make Privilege Claims Personally. Under the Bush executive order, designees of the former president could assert privilege claims after the death of the president, in effect making the right to assert executive privilege an asset of the former president's estate. The bill would make clear that the right to claim executive privilege is personal to current and former presidents and cannot be bequeathed to assistants, relatives, or descendants.
Eliminating Executive Privilege Claims for Vice Presidents. In an unprecedented step, the Bush executive order authorized former vice presidents to assert executive privilege claims over vice presidential records. The bill restores the long-standing understanding that the right to assert executive privilege over presidential records is a right held only by presidents.
During the markup, the Committee approved one amendment which would require the Archivist of the United States to deny access to original presidential records to any designated representative of a former president if the designee had been convicted of a crime relating to the review, retention, removal or destruction of records of the Archives. The amendment was inspired by the well-publicized theft of documents from the National Archives by President Clinton's former National Security Advisor Samuel R. (Sandy) Berger. On April 1, 2005, Berger pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of Unauthorized Removal and Retention of Classified Documents.
Last week we reported on the hearing held by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and the National Archives to consider presidential records. Four NCH member organizations testified at the hearing: Steven L. Hensen, Past President of the Society of American Archivists; Dr. Anna K. Nelson representing the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations; Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive; and Dr. Robert Dallek representing the American Historical Association. Also testifying was Scott Nelson of the Public Citizen Litigation Group, who is the counsel handling AHA's lawsuit in federal district court (American Historical Association, et. al., v. The National Archives). Copies of the testimony from that hearing is now available at: http://republicans.oversight.house.gov
2. FOIA REFORM BILL CLEARED FOR HOUSE CONSIDERATION
On March 8, 2007, the House Oversight and Government Relations Committee unanimously approved H.R. 1309, the "Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Amendments of 2007." This legislation contains numerous provisions that will increase public access to government information by strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). We expect the bill will be considered on the House floor next week in tandem with the Presidential Records Act Reform bill (H.R. 1255).
The bill would reaffirm the presumption that records should be released to the public if disclosure is allowable under law and the agency cannot reasonably foresee a harm from such a disclosure. This was the standard that was in effect during the Clinton administration. This provision would effectively rescind the "Ashcroft Memorandum" which was issued on October 12, 2001, in response to the 9-11 attacks and restore the "foreseeable harm" standard. The Aschroft FOIA Memorandum established a "sound legal basis" standard. Under this standard, agencies are required to reach the judgment that their use of a FOIA exemption is on sound footing, both factually and legally, whenever they withhold requested information.
The bill also puts teeth into the requirement that agencies respond to FOIA requests within 20 days. H.R. 1309 makes this deadline meaningful by ensuring that the 20-day statutory clock runs immediately upon an agency's receipt of a request and by imposing consequences on federal agencies for missing the deadline. The bill also requires agencies to provide requesters with individualized tracking numbers for each request and access to a telephone or internet hotline with information about the status of requests.
The bill strengthens agency reporting requirements to identify excessive delays and requires each agency to make the raw data used to compile its annual reports publicly available. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report annually on the Department of Homeland Security's use of the broad disclosure exemption for "critical infrastructure information."
H.R. 1309 creates a new FOIA ombudsman to help FOIA requesters resolve problems without having to resort to litigation. The FOIA ombudsman will be located at the National Archives and will help requesters by providing informal guidance and nonbinding opinions regarding rejected or delayed FOIA requests. The FOIA ombudsman will also review agency compliance with FOIA.
H.R. 1309 makes it more feasible for citizen groups to challenge the improper withholding of government information by expanding access to attorneys' fees for FOIA requesters who successfully challenge an agency's denial of information. The bill also holds agencies accountable for their decisions by enhancing the authority of the Office of Special Counsel to take disciplinary action against government officials who arbitrarily and capriciously deny disclosure.
At the markup, the Committee also adopted an amendment offered by Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) that would require agencies to provide reasons for each redaction in documents that are released in response to a FOIA request.
3. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FUNDING DISCLOSURE BILL SET FOR HOUSE FLOOR
On March 8, 2007, the House Oversight and Government Relations Committee unanimously approved H.R. 1254, the "Presidential Donation Reform Act of 2007." The bill will likely be considered on the House floor along with the two bills noted above.
Presidential libraries are built using private funds raised by an organization or foundation working on behalf of the president. Under current law, donations for the presidential library can be unlimited in size and are not required to be disclosed. The bill would require that all organizations established for the purpose of raising funds for presidential libraries or their related facilities report on a quarterly basis all contributions of $200 or more.
Organizations that raise funds for presidential libraries typically begin fundraising while the president remains in office. Before the library is turned over to the National Archives, these organizations must raise enough money to build the library and to provide the Archivist with an endowment for the maintenance of the facility. Under the legislation, organizations fundraising for presidential libraries would be required to disclose their donations while the president is in office and during the period before the federal government has taken possession of the library. The bill sets a minimum reporting period of four years after the end of a president's term.
Under the bill, presidential library fundraising organizations would be required to disclose to Congress and the Archivist the amount and date of each contribution, the name of the contributor, and if the contributor is an individual, the occupation of the contributor. The National Archives would be required to make the information available to the public through a free, searchable, and downloadable database on the internet.
One of the concerns the bill is designed to remedy is the fact that foreign nationals can make unlimited contributions to a sitting, or former, president's library foundation. This is in contrast to federal election laws which prohibit contributions by foreign nationals.
An amendment offered by Ranking Minority Member Tom Davis (R-VA), that would have made the law applicable to presidents after President George W. Bush, was defeated.
4. REGISTER NOW FOR "HUMANITIES ADVOCACY DAY" ON CAPITOL HILL
The National Humanities Alliance (NHA) will hold its 2007 conference March 26-27 in Washington DC. The two-day event is a unique meeting ground for members of the Alliance and others interested in humanities policy and advocacy, including higher education leaders, college and university faculty, teachers, museum professionals, librarians, archivists, curators, and independent scholars.
More information and online registration is available at: http://www.nhalliance.org
The opening session on March 26 features a luncheon and keynote address by Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. During the afternoon, Congressional staff and leaders in the field will outline changes in the new 110th Congress, and brief participants on the status of significant policy and funding issues for the humanities community in 2007. Later, "Advocacy Guru" Stephanie Vance will lead a session on effective strategies for communication with elected officials.
All registered participants are encouraged to take part in Humanities Advocacy Day on March 27. The event provides supporters an important opportunity to meet with their representatives in the new Congress, and to work together to communicate the public value of the humanities to policymakers in Washington, DC. Conference activities will be capped by a reception on Capitol Hill featuring exhibits of federally supported humanities projects from around the country.
5. BITS & BYTES: National Archives to host Preservation Conference
The National Archives will host a two-day preservation conference entitled "Managing the Intangible: Creating, Storing and Retrieving Digital Surrogates of Historical Materials," on Monday, April 30, and Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein will provide opening remarks for the event, which will be held at The Inn and Conference Center by Marriott at the University of Maryland's University College in Adelphi, Maryland.
"Managing the Intangible" will give attendees an opportunity to participate in a comprehensive discussion on the essential components of the digital preservation reformatting process at the project or program level. "Managing the Intangible" will benefit individuals and institutions that are contemplating entering, or have just entered the digital arena by providing a forum to examine the reformatting process in its entirety, rather than a single administrative or technical element of the process. It will benefit those involved with any and all media types, with emphases on audio, video, photography, motion pictures, and microfilm reformatting
The fee for the two-day conference is $275 ($175 for full-time students). For details, registration forms, and information on lodging and transport, go to the Preservation Conference web page at:
6. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: "Historians Fight Bush on Access to Papers," 'New York Times', March 8, 2007, A timely discussion of the attempts by historians to fight the Bush Executive Order limiting access to presidential records that was the subject of the legislation passed this week and discussed above.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Legislative Alert on Presidential Records Act
Source: NCH Email (3-8-07)
Please visit our CapWiz electronic grassroots website and support the passage of "The Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007." HR 1255 unanimously passed the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee this afternoon and is expected on the House floor sometime next week. Among other things, the bill would rescind President Bush's Executive Order 13233.
http://www.humanitiesadvocacy.org/action_ctr.html Lee White Executive Director National Coalition for History 202-544-2422 x-116
Friday, March 2, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #7; March 2, 2007)
1. HOUSE ARCHIVES SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS HEARING
2. HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE PROBES PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FUNDING
3. SENATOR ROBERT BYRD RECEIVES OAH “FRIEND OF HISTORY” AWARD
4. NATIONAL ARCHIVES SEEKS COMMENTS ON RULE TO INCREASE COPYING FEES
5. REGISTER NOW FOR "HUMANITIES ADVOCACY DAY” ON CAPITOL HILL
6. NATIONAL COUNCIL ON THE HUMANITIES MEETING
7. PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD MEETING
8. ALERT>>URGE CONGRESS TO SUPPORT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY FUNDING
9. SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY SMALL UNDER SIEGE OVER UNAUTHORIZED EXPENSES
10. BITS & BYTES: Online Collection Presents Oral Histories of U.S. Diplomats
11. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: “As Ethics Panels Expand Grip, No Field Is Off
Limits,” 'New York Times', February 28, 2007
1. HOUSE ARCHIVES SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS HEARING
On March 1, 2007, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and the National Archives held a hearing to consider presidential records, specifically the impact Executive Order (E.O.) 13233 has had on the disposition of those materials. The E.O. was issued in November 2001 by President George W. Bush, and gives not only current and former presidents, but also vice presidents and a former president's family, the authority to withhold presidential records or delay their release indefinitely.
Concurrently with the hearing, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), along with Information Policy, Census, and the National Archives Subcommittee Chair William Lacy Clay (D-MO) as cosponsor, introduced legislation (H.R. 1255) that would nullify the Bush E.O.; establish a 40-day records review period for presidents and former presidents to raise objections to the Archivist on the release of records; limit the reach of claims of executive privilege to the sitting and former president personally and not their heirs or designees; and eliminate claims of executive privilege by former vice presidents.
At the hearing, Chairman Waxman said that the Bush E.O. had eviscerated the Presidential Records Act turning it into “the Presidential Secrecy Act.” Waxman went on to say, “History is not partisan,” and that “Historians and scholars need access to our nation’s history as it happened, not as a former president wished it had happened.” The bill is expected to move quickly and markup by both the subcommittee and the full committee may occur as early as next week.
Four NCH member organizations testified at the hearing: Steven L. Hensen, Past President of the Society of American Archivists; Dr. Anna K. Nelson representing the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations; Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive; and Dr. Robert Dallek representing the American Historical Association. Also testifying was Scott Nelson of the Public Citizen Litigation Group, who is the counsel handling AHA’s lawsuit in federal district court (American Historical Association, et. al., v. The National Archives and Records Administration) to overturn E.O. 13233.
Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and Dr. Harold Relyea of the Congressional Research Service were on the first panel of witnesses. Dr. Relyea provided the subcommittee with a historical perspective on the handling of presidential records. Archivist Weinstein stated that, “The most important measure in evaluating, E.O. 13233 is whether presidential records are being made available to the public. In that regard, I can report to you that, since E.O. 13233 went into effect in November 2001, NARA has opened over 2.1 million pages of presidential records. During this time there has been only one occasion when presidential records were kept closed from the public by an assertion of Executive Privilege under the order. . .Thus, there should be no question that, to date, E.O.13233 has not been used by former Presidents or the incumbent President to prevent the opening of records to the public.”
The public witnesses on the second panel, however, were united in their opposition to E.O.13233.
Dr. Nelson said that, “Supporters of the E.O. argue that it is merely a procedural addition to the Presidential Records Act, but it negates important parts of that Act. While the purpose of the Act was to provide greater and rapid access, the E.O. encourages delay since the incumbent and past president are not bound by the time restrictions as they peruse documents. Finally, broadening the definition of the president’s constitutional privileges and allowing their closure will remove most of the records of the confidential advice a president receives. In other words, it will have the potential to remove the core policy-making documents from the president’s collection.”
Mr. Hensen representing the Society of American Archivists said, “On behalf of the nation’s archivists, I ask your consideration in overturning this six-year old Executive Order that has seriously compromised the basic principles of government accountability, which are underpinned by the people’s right of access to the records of their government. In the case of the records of the office of the President of the United States, it is a right that took a long time for the nation to claim fully, but just a quick stroke of the pen to destroy.”
Dr. Dallek said, “President Bush’s order carries the potential for incomplete and distorted understanding of past presidential decisions, especially about controversial actions with significant consequences. Consider what difference the release of the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon tapes has made in our understanding of the decision-making on Vietnam.” He went on to say, “Access to the fullest possible record in the service of reconstructing the most substantial and honest history of presidencies is not some academic exercise confined to history departments. Rather, it can make a significant difference in shaping the national well-being.” Dallek said that every president, regardless of party, wants the public to think they walk on water, but in his research he has always found both a public and a private face to a president. His fear is that a president’s heirs will attempt to sanitize material that reflects badly on the former president. He concluded that the public is well-served by seeing the whole person.
In his testimony, Mr. Blanton said that the release of presidential records was in crisis. Using the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as an example, Blanton showed that since the E.O. had been issued in 2001, the average response time to Freedom of Information Act and Mandatory Declassification Review requests had gone from 18 months to 6.5 years. Blanton stated, "We are only six years down the road from the initial White House decision in early 2001 to intervene in the Presidential Records Act process, and five years of that turns out to be pure delay.”
Copies of all of the testimony should be available shortly the website below. A copy of the legislation is already accessible at that site. http://oversight.house.gov
2. HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE PROBES PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FUNDING
On February 28, 2007, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on changing the presidential library funding disclosure process. Sharon K. Fawcett, Assistant Archivist for Presidential Libraries, testified on behalf of NARA. Also testifying were Celia Viggo Wexler of Common Cause and Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics.
On March 1, Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) introduced legislation (H.R. 1254) to require presidential library foundations to disclose the identity of their donors to Congress and the National Archives while the President is in office and up to such time as the foundation officially turns the facility over to the National Archives. The minimum reporting period would be four years after the end of a president’s term, and requires the amount and date of each contribution in excess of $200 to be disclosed. If the contributor is an individual, the occupation of the contributor must also be disclosed. Chairman Waxman stated that he plans to markup the bill next week.
Ms. Fawcett, stated that the Administration had no official comment to make on Waxman’s proposal. She said the Archives appreciated Waxman’s requirement to end disclosure at the point when the facility is turned over to the government as opposed to a longer period of time. Ms. Fawcett questioned whether NARA was the proper agency to police the disclosure requirement since it would require additional financial resources and the agency lacks the expertise in this regard. She also expressed concerns about possible conflicts of interest since the presidential libraries are a partnership between NARA and the foundations that support them.
A link to the testimony presented at the hearing, and the legislation, is available at the Committee’s website at: http://oversight.house.gov
3. SENATOR ROBERT BYRD RECEIVES OAH “FRIEND OF HISTORY” AWARD
On March 1, 2007, in a ceremony held in the U.S. Capitol, Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) received the Organization of American Historian’s prestigious “Friend of History” Award from OAH Executive Director Lee Formwalt. Senator Byrd has a long record of supporting history and one of his most lasting contributions has been his sponsorship of the “Teaching American History” grants program awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. The goal of this program for school districts and institutions with expertise in American history to collaborate over a three-year period to help teachers develop the knowledge and skills necessary to teach American history.
In the 1980s, Senator Byrd wrote and delivered a lengthy series of speeches on the history of the United States Senate that was later published in four volumes as “The Senate, 1789––1989: Addresses on the History of the Senate.”
4. NATIONAL ARCHIVES SEEKS COMMENTS ON RULE TO INCREASE COPYING FEES
On February 26, 2007, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) published a proposed rule announcing its intention to raise its fees for reproducing federal records and historical materials in NARA’s holdings. The proposed rule covers Federal records created by other agencies that are in the National Archives, donated historical materials, presidential records, Nixon Presidential historical materials, and records filed with the Office of the Federal Register.
The proposed rule, including the new fee structure are available at the Federal Register’s website at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net
The deadline for submitting comments on the proposed rule is April 27, 2007.
NARA does not receive appropriations from Congress to cover copying costs, and the agency must cover the cost from user fees. This would be the first increase in reproduction fees in seven years. It would apply to everything from self-service copy machines, to mail orders and reproductions. In fiscal year 2006, NARA said its costs for fixed-fee services were more than double the revenue the agency received in copying fees.
Copies made by users at a NARA self-service copier would go from the current 15 cents per-page to a quarter. Paper-to-paper copies made by NARA staff would rise from the current 50 cents to 75 cents per-page. Microfilm to paper copies made by a customer on a NARA self-service machine would increase from the current 30 cents per-page to 50 cents per-page. Certifications would go from the current $6 to $15. There would be a minimum fee of $15 for all mail orders, up from the current $10.
The biggest increase would be in the cost of a complete pension file more than 75 years old that would go from the current $37 to $125. There are also price increases for providing copies of passenger lists, Federal census records, and military records, all of which would be raised to $25.
In a separate interim final rule, NARA determined it was not appropriate to apply fee increases to the reproduction of records of other Federal agencies stored in NARA Federal records centers that are not in their legal custody. This interim rule can be found at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net
The deadline for comments on this interim final rule is April 27, 2007, and it will go into effect on May 29, 2007.
5. REGISTER NOW FOR "HUMANITIES ADVOCACY DAY" ON CAPITOL HILL
The National Humanities Alliance (NHA) will hold its 2007 conference March 26-27 in Washington DC. The two-day event is a unique meeting ground for members of the Alliance and others interested in humanities policy and advocacy, including higher education leaders, college and university faculty, teachers, museum professionals, librarians, archivists, curators and independent scholars.
More information and online registration is available at: http://www.nhalliance.org
The opening session on March 26 features a luncheon and keynote address by Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. During the afternoon, Congressional staff and leaders in the field will outline changes in the new 110th Congress, and brief participants on the status of significant policy and funding issues for the humanities community in 2007. Later, “Advocacy Guru” Stephanie Vance will lead a session on effective strategies for communication with elected officials.
All registered participants are encouraged to take part in Humanities Advocacy Day on March 27. The event provides supporters an important opportunity to meet with their representatives in the new Congress, and to work together to communicate the public value of the humanities to policymakers in Washington, DC. Conference activities will be capped by a reception on Capitol Hill featuring exhibits of federally supported humanities projects from around the country.
6. NATIONAL COUNCIL ON THE HUMANITIES MEETING
On February 22–23, 2007, the National Council on the Humanities held two days of meetings in Washington, D.C. The Council serves as an advisory board to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities on policies and programs and reviews applications for financial support from the NEH. On February 22, the committees on education, federal/state partnerships, preservation and access, public, and research programs held brief public sessions before going into closed session for discussions of specific grants and applications.
On February 23, the full council met and received updates on key NEH programs. Among the highlights was the announcement of the roll-outs later this year of a national digital newspaper program being developed in conjunction with the Library of Congress, and the “Picturing America” program which will provide public and private schools with a collection of posters depicting works of American art. It was reported that the Digital Humanities Initiative, launched last year, already has five programs underway. The Council also heard about a multi-media publicity blitz that will accompany the September debut on the Public Broadcasting Service of “The War,” a 14-hour television series on World War II produced by filmmaker Ken Burns.
7. PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD MEETING
On February 24, 2007, the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) met to discuss declassification program issues. The meeting included presentations from representatives of the public with significant experience in declassification matters and a wide-ranging discussion of potential modifications to current declassification processes and policies. The PIDB was created by statute in 2000, to serve as an advisory board on declassification priorities and policies.
The Honorable David E. Skaggs presided and board members Admiral William O. Studeman, USN (Ret.), Martin Faga, and Joan Vail Grimson were in attendance. Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and Bill Leonard, Director of NARA’s Information Security and Oversight Office (ISOO), were also present. In his opening comments, Dr. Weinstein noted the declassification challenges facing NARA, especially in light of the passage of the December 31, 2006, deadline requiring federal agencies to declassify documents in their holdings more than 25 years old. Weinstein also noted a pilot program to speed the release of the records of the 9-11 Commission.
The Board first heard from Dr. Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant Archivist for the Office of Records Services who reported on NARA’s progress in addressing the backlog of documents that were declassified on December 31, 2006, as a result of Executive Order 12958.
The panel heard comments from public representatives Steve Aftergood from the Federation of American Scientists and publisher of “Secrecy News,” and Bruce Berkowitz, a scholar who has written extensively on government secrecy issues. There was an extensive discussion of whether the total federal expenditures on intelligence should be declassified. There was no consensus reached among the members of the PIDB as to the appropriateness of the suggestion made by Aftergood. There was also much discussion of another recommendation made by Aftergood, to enlist agency Inspectors General in the task of performing their own annual review of classification and declassification to augment the scrutiny provided by the ISOO.
The Board also heard a presentation from William J. Bolsankso, staff for the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel, providing an overview of the panel’s duties and role in the declassification process.
A copy of the first annual report to Congress by the PIDB is available at: http://www.fas.org
8. ALERT: URGE CONGRESS TO SUPPORT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY FUNDING
National History Day (NHD) is a year-long, nonprofit education program dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of history in schools. The program teaches students critical skills that will help them succeed in college, the workplace and make them effective citizens in the 21st century. NHD engages more than 1.5 million people –– students, teachers and parents –– annually. A core of the program is a national contest similar to science fair where students produce performances, exhibits, documentaries and research papers based on in-depth historical research.
Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Thomas Petri (R-WI) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter in support of a $5 million appropriation for the congressionally authorized National History Day program. The funding will be used to reach rural and urban schools and help NHD state programs improve teacher workshops and outreach. The letter is similar to a petition that members of Congress sign in support of funding a program.
NCH has set up an electronic letter that can be sent to your Members of Congress, through our “CAPWIZ” grassroots network, supporting the $5 million in funding for National History Day. Simply go to http://www.humanitiesadvocacy.org/action_ctr.html to contact your Senators and Representative and ask them to sign the Dear Colleague letter in support of National History Day.
9. SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY SMALL UNDER SIEGE OVER UNAUTHORIZED EXPENSES
Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence Small is once again under siege after an internal report done by the Institution’s Inspector General questioned the propriety of nearly $90,000 in unauthorized expenses incurred by Small over the past five years. The report was leaked to the “Washington Post,” which ran the story this week. Small has refused to respond publicly to the report. However, the watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to investigate whether Small has violated federal law by using government funds for the expenses in question. In addition, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has asked the chancellor of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts, Jr. to look into the allegations.
The “Washington Post” issued a scathing editorial critical of both Small and the Smithsonian Board of Regents which it called “more lap dog than watchdog.”
10. ONLINE COLLECTION PRESENTS ORAL HISTORIES OF U.S. DIPLOMATS
A new online collection of interviews with some of the most prominent diplomats of the 20th century is now available from the Library of Congress at http://memory.loc.gov/
Most of the interviews in the collection come from foreign service officers, but there also are some with political appointees and other officials. While some 1920s-, 1930s-, and World War II-era diplomacy is covered, most of the interviews involve post-World War II diplomacy, from the late 1940s to the 1990s. The collection includes extensive personal recollections from luminaries of American 20th century diplomatic history, including Zbigniew Brzezinski (national security adviser under President Carter), Frank Carlucci (a former ambassador to Portugal and secretary of defense under President Reagan), Lawrence Eagleburger (secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush), Averell Harriman (ambassador to the Soviet Union and England under President Franklin Roosevelt), Jeane Kirkpatrick (ambassador to the United Nations), Dean Rusk (secretary of state under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson), and Cyrus Vance (secretary of state under President Carter).
ARTICLE OF INTEREST: “As Ethics Panels Expand Grip, No Field Is Off Limits,” 'New York Times,’ February 28, 2007–The article discusses the impact Institutional Review Boards are having on historical research involving “human subjects.”
Sunday, February 25, 2007
NCH Washington Update (2-23-07)
FYI--There will be no edition of the NCH Washington Update this week due to the congressional recess.
Next week, we will be reporting on two important congressional hearings.
On February 28, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will be holding a hearing on the presidential library funding disclosure process (10 a.m., 2154 Rayburn House Office Building).
On March 1, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and the National Archives will be holding a hearing on the Presidential Records Act (2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn House Office Building). Witnesses from National Coalition for History members the American Historical Association, the Society of American Archivists and the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations will be testifying along with Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein.
We will also be reporting on meetings being held by the Public Interest Declassification Board and the National Council on the Humanities.
Lee White
Executive Director
National Coalition for History
202-544-2422 x-116
Saturday, February 17, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #6; February 16, 2007)
1. CONGRESS FINALLY PASSES FISCAL YEAR 2007 FUNDING BILL
2. NATIONAL ARCHIVES COMPLETES HISTORIC FREEDMEN’S BUREAU RECORDS PROJECT
3. OLIVER NORTH vs. THE SMITHSONIAN
4. NATIONAL ARCHIVES ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL TIMELINE WEBSITE
5. BITS & BYTES: Public Interest Declassification Board announces public
meeting; National Council on the Humanities schedules meetings; Institute
for the Editing of Historical Documents announces annual meeting; U.S.
College Students Display Ignorance of American Presidents.
6. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: “Honest, It Wasn’t Abe’s Comment” February 16,
2007, “Washington Post"
1. CONGRESS FINALLY PASSES FISCAL YEAR 2007 FUNDING BILL
On February 14, the U.S. Senate passed a continuing budget resolution (H.J. Res. 20) to fund most federal government programs through the remainder of the 2007 fiscal year on September 30, 2007. The continuing resolution passed 81-15. Despite this show of bi-partisan support, many Republicans were upset that the new Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) brought the bill to the floor utilizing a parliamentary rule that did not allow amendments. Like the version passed by the House, the bill was also stripped of nearly all specially designated projects known as “earmarks.”
In general, federal agencies and their programs were flat-funded at the same amount they received in fiscal year 2006. However, there were exceptions to this general rule.
One agency that had some bright spots was the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). While the final operating expenses number of $278.2 million was relatively flat, some important programs within the agency received increased funding.
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), which had its budget zeroed out in the Bush administration’s FY ‘07 budget request, was funded at its FY ‘06 level. The NHPRC will receive $5.5 million for grants and $2 million for overhead expenses.
The Electronic Records Archives program received a nearly $10 million increase over the FY 2006 appropriated level of $37.5 million. NARA also received $3 million in mainly reprogrammed money to help repair damage to its Washington, DC headquarters from flooding last summer.
Another winner is the Department of Education's “Teaching American History” initiative which will see a funding level of $121 million –– the amount appropriated to the program in FY 2006. This figure is some $71 million more than recommended by the President in the FY 2007 budget proposal.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) would be allotted $141 million – about what was proposed for the agency in FY 2007 by President Bush. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will experience a significant loss as the agency will not get the $15 million (or 6% percent) increase that the White House supported for the IMLS in its FY 2007 budget proposal; funding for the IMLS will be set at $247 million.
2. NATIONAL ARCHIVES COMPLETES HISTORIC FREEDMEN’S BUREAU RECORDS PROJECT
Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein this week announced that the National Archives has completed a five-year, multi-series project that preserved and microfilmed the field office records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the Freedmen's Bureau). The project was made possible by the U.S. Congress through the Freedmen's Bureau Records Preservation Act of 2000. These microfilm publications consist of nearly 1,000 rolls of microfilm reproducing over one million Bureau field office records from the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia.
All of the microfilm series of the field office records are available free of charge for research at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, and at the NARA's 13 regional archives nationwide. Descriptions of series contents and historical background texts are available online through the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/research/order/orderonline.html or in descriptive pamphlets (available by calling 1-866-325-7208). The microfilm publications can also be purchased for $65 per roll.
3. OLIVER NORTH vs. THE SMITHSONIAN
As if the Smithsonian Institution needed any more bad publicity over its controversial television deal with Showtime Networks, they found themselves embroiled this week in a highly publicized tiff with conservative commentator and Fox News personality Oliver North. The Smithsonian/Showtime exclusive deal allows the joint venture to vet any requests for filming at Smithsonian facilities that go beyond “incidental usage.”
North hosts the series “War Stories” on the Fox News Channel and is filming a documentary on the history of nuclear weapons. The show’s producers had requested the opportunity to film North speaking in front of Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. The Enola Gay is housed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
Two weeks ago, the Smithsonian/Showtime venture initially denied North’s request on the grounds that it constituted more than incidental use. The denial prompted North to write a scathing editorial blasting the Smithsonian, entitled “Selling America’s Heritage” in the “Washington Times.” http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/onorth.htm
Apparently all of the bad publicity caused the Smithsonian to reconsider and they announced on February 13 that North would be allowed to film at the Udvar-Hazy Center after all.
4. NATIONAL ARCHIVES ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL TIMELINE WEBSITE
The National Archives has announced that it is launching a new website, www.presidentialtimeline.org on President's Day, February 19. The website will contain digitized artifacts and historical archives from all of the U.S. presidential libraries. It was created through the efforts of the 12 presidential libraries of the National Archives and Records Administration, the Learning Technology Center of The University of Texas at Austin’’s College of Education and the UT Library system.
The interactive timeline is based on the administrations of 20th century American presidents and is designed to give educators, archivists and the public a single site where the 12 presidential libraries’ digitized assets can be accessed. The presidential libraries contributed primary and secondary source materials, many of which previously were available only to serious scholars. Contributions include audio and video clips, photos and documents, such as diaries.
5. BITS & BYTES:
ITEM# 1--Public Interest Declassification Board announces public meeting–The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) has announced its eleventh meeting to be held at the National Archives main building in Washington, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., on February 24, 2007. The meeting will include a briefing by private sector representatives Steven Aftergood and Bruce Berkowitz on their experiences with the declassification system and a presentation by the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) staff.
This meeting is open to the public. However, due to space limitations and access procedures, the name and telephone number of individuals planning to attend must be submitted to the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO). Information may be submitted electronically to PIDB@nara.gov or by telephone to 202-357-5039 no later than Monday, February 19th. ISOO will provide additional instructions for gaining access to the location of the meeting.
ITEM# 2--National Council on the Humanities schedules meetings--The National Council on the Humanities will meet in Washington, DC on February 22- 23, 2007. The purpose of the meeting is to advise the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities with respect to policies, programs, and procedures and to review applications for financial support from and gifts offered to the Endowment. The meeting will be held in the Old Post Office Building, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. A portion of the morning and afternoon sessions on February 22-23, 2007, will not be open to the public.
The agenda and meeting topics can be accessed through the Federal Register at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net
ITEM#3--Institute for the Editing of Historical Documents announces annual meeting: The 36th annual Institute of Historical Documents will be conducted from June 18 through June 23, 2007, in Madison, Wisconsin. An intensive seminar in all aspects of modern documentary editing techniques, the Institute includes lectures and presentations by experts on various topics related to documentary editing. This year’s topics include: document selection and annotation; transcription; indexing; publishing an edition; fundraising and promoting the edition; and electronic publishing. Applications can be obtained from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) or printed out from the NHPRC website at: http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/partners/editing-institute.html
More information is available at the Wisconsin Historical Society’s website at: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/about/campedit/index.asp
ITEM #4–It is appropriate that we end the President’s Day edition of the NCH Washington Update with news of the ignorance displayed by the nation’s college students about U.S. presidents. A report issued this week by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute showed many of the nation’s college students, including those at some of the most prestigious schools in America, know little about the men being celebrated on President’s Day. The students were asked 60 multiple-choice questions about our nation’s history and institutions, including the presidency, in surveys administered by the University of Connecticut’s Department of Public Policy on behalf of ISI. The average score among seniors on questions related to our nation’s presidents was 57.6 percent. College freshmen asked the same questions about these presidents scored 57.2 percent correct.
The full report, entitled “The Coming Crisis in Citizenship: Higher Education’s Failure to Teach America’s History and Institutions,” can be accessed at: http://www.americancivicliteracy.org
6. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: “Honest, It Wasn’t Abe’s Comment” February 16, 2007, “Washington Post"
It appears that college students are not the only ones with a fuzzy knowledge of our nation’s presidents. It apparently also extends to Members of Congress. During this week’s debate over the Iraq War resolution in the House, Representative Don Young (R-AK) quoted Abraham Lincoln as saying, “Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs, and should be arrested, exiled or hanged.” Unfortunately, Lincoln never said it. Author J. Michael Waller wrote the words in a December 2003 article in Insight magazine, but a copy editor mistakenly placed quotation marks around his words, making it appear as though they were spoken by Lincoln. According to an article in the “Washington Post,” Annenberg Fact Checker has counted 18,000 erroneous references to the supposed Lincoln quote by those who support the war.
Friday, February 9, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #5; February 9, 2007)
1. PRESIDENT’S PROPOSED FY ‘08 BUDGET SENT TO CONGRESS
2. ISOO ASKS ATTORNEY GENERAL TO RULE ON CHENEY'S ROLE
3. BITS & BYTES: Clarification on last week’s story on NARA ‘07 budget;
National History Day reception on Capitol Hill; History Channel accepting applications for ‘07-‘08 “Save Our History” grants; Nominations being accepted for National Trust’s “National Preservation Awards”
4. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: “SMU Pressed to Fight Bush’s Secrecy” February
5, 2007, “Dallas Morning News"
1. PRESIDENT’S PROPOSED FY ‘08 BUDGET SENT TO CONGRESS
On February 5, 2007, the Bush administration sent its proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2008 to Congress. Generally, programs of interest to the historical and archival communities are either flat-lined, cut, or eliminated completely. A full copy of the President's proposed FY 2008 budget is available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/
There is one caveat to begin with in considering the fiscal year 2008 numbers. Last week, the House of Representatives passed a continuing budget resolution (H.J. Res. 20) to fund most federal government programs through the remainder of fiscal year 2007 ending on September 30, 2007. In general, federal agencies and their programs were funded, with some exceptions, at the same amount they received in fiscal year 2006. However, the Senate has yet to consider the House-passed version of the continuing resolution. So comparing the FY ‘08 numbers with the FY ‘07 numbers is not completely accurate until a final budget resolution is passed.
The Senate has until February 15 to pass a budget for FY '07 and work out any changes with the House to avoid a partial federal government shutdown.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: The "Teaching American History" grants program at the Department of Education would be substantially cut under the Bush proposal. In FY ‘06 the program received $120 million and the administration would slash that by over $70 million to $50 million in fiscal year 2008. The administration’s rationale is “the number of quality applications for assistance under this program in recent years does not justify the current level of funding.” Senator Robert C. Byrd, the original sponsor of the program, chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. So one can assume that the proposed cut will not likely stand.
The Academies for American History and Civics, which supports workshops for teachers and students in those subjects, would be see their $2 million budget zeroed out.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION: The Bush administration’s proposed fiscal year 2008 budget calls for $379.5 million for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). This is an increase of $39.5 million over the FY 2007 appropriations of $340 million which is expected to be enacted as a year-long continuing resolution by the Congress.
Under the President’s FY 2008 request, NARA would receive $312.8 million for operating expenses; an increase of $34.6 million over the FY 2007 expected appropriation of $278.2 million. This includes funds to prepare for the George W. Bush Presidential Library, provide oversight by the agency’s Inspector General of the work to develop ways to preserve electronic records, and to continue work on reducing the backlog of unprocessed text records.
The operating expenses also include funds for the operation of the Richard M. Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California, which will become part of the NARA system of presidential libraries this year after being a privately-run institution since 1990.
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) once again had its budget zeroed out in the Bush administration’s FY ‘08 budget request, and our annual battle to restore funding for this vital program begins anew.
The Electronic Records Archives (ERA) program, a key NARA strategic goal aimed at providing a means to preserve electronic records and make them more accessible in the future, is funded in the FY 2008 request at $58 million which is $13 million over the expected FY 2007 appropriation. This higher funding level for ERA will allow NARA to maintain progress on increment 1 of the system, which is scheduled to begin this fall.
For repairs and restoration to facilities owned by NARA, such as the National Archives at College Park, the National Archives Building in downtown Washington, and the presidential libraries, the President's FY
2008 budget requests $8.6 million.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE–HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAMS: Overall, the National Park Service would receive the largest budget increase in its history, an additional $258 million over the amount it received in fiscal year 2006. The centerpiece of the budget is the "National Parks Centennial Initiative," a ten-year effort to improve the nation’s parks prior to the NPS centennial in 2016. In releasing the budget, President Bush announced the “National Parks Centennial Challenge,” which has the potential of providing $3 billion in new funds over the next ten years. It includes a federal commitment of $100 million annually in discretionary funds, and a challenge to the private sector and the public to contribute $100 million, with a match of another $100 million in mandatory federal funding.
The 2008 budget includes $63.7 million for historic preservation programs. The budget allocates $10 million for the "Save America’s Treasures" program, $10 million for "Preserve America," and $43.7 million for historic preservation grants-in-aid to states, territories and Indian tribes. It would also establish a National Inventory of Historic Properties grant program. Matching grants of $4 million would be available to states, tribes, local governments, and federal land management agencies to make inventories more accessible. The budget also provides $10 million for heritage areas. The Heritage Partnership Program provides seed money for congressionally designated, but locally managed, national heritage areas.
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES: The National Endowment for the Humanities would see a small increase of $400,000 over the amount the administration requested last year for total funding of $141 million. The “We the People” initiative that focuses on the teaching and learning of American history and culture would receive $15.2 million. Two new “We the People” programs would be initiated. The “We The People Videoshelf” would distribute American films that focus on historical events and themes to libraries nationwide. The second program would be run in conjunction with the State Department and bring foreign school teachers and humanities practitioners to the U.S. to participate in Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops.
The NEH’s new Digital Humanities Initiative would receive funding of $1.4 million, which will support projects that use, or study the impact of, digital technology on research, education, preservation, and public programming in the humanities.
Funding for NEH’s Federal and State Partnership programs would increase by $133,000, but Education, Preservation and Access, Public Programs, Research, and Challenge Grants would all be cut.
The National Endowment for the Arts would receive $128.4 million or a $4 million increase.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: The budget request for the Smithsonian is $678.4 million. Of that amount, $571.3 million is for salaries and expenses and the facilities capital budget is $107.1 million. Included in the request is nearly $10 million for planning and staffing of the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture, which will eventually be built on the National Mall. The capital budget will help fund the continuing renovation of the National Museum of American History-Behring Center, which is scheduled to reopen in 2008.
INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES: The President’s budget request for the Institute of Museum and Library Services is $271 million, which is
$24 million or almost 10 percent more than it received in 2006. Library grants would be funded at $214 million and museum grants at almost $40 million. These amounts reflect nearly $8 million in new funding for each grant program.
Both the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation would be flat-funded at $9 million and $6 million respectively.
2. ISOO ASKS ATTORNEY GENERAL TO RULE ON CHENEY'S ROLE
The publication “Secrecy News,” authored by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists, revealed this week the story of an intergovernmental effort to force the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to release records concerning its handling of governmental materials.
The Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) has formally petitioned the Attorney General to direct the OVP to comply with a requirement that executive branch organizations disclose statistics on their classification and declassification activity to ISOO.
For the last three years, Vice President Cheney's office has refused to divulge its classification statistics to ISOO, despite a seemingly explicit requirement that it do so. Prior to 2002, such information had routinely been transmitted and reported in ISOO's annual reports to the President.
The disclosure requirement appears in ISOO Directive 1 (at section
2001.80): "Each agency that creates or handles classified information shall report annually to the Director of ISOO statistics related to its security classification program."
Such ISOO directives "shall be binding upon the agencies," President Bush wrote in Executive Order 13292 (section 5.1). Significantly, an "agency"
here means not only a statutorily-defined executive branch agency (which would not include the OVP), but also refers to "any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information”
(which would include the OVP).
Last May, the Federation of American Scientists urged the ISOO to press for the Vice President's compliance. A copy of the FAS letter to the ISOO can be accessed below.
"Since the Office of the Vice President has publicly staked out a position that openly defies the plain language of the executive order, ISOO now has a responsibility to clarify the matter," FAS wrote at that time.
"Otherwise, every agency will feel free to re-interpret the order in idiosyncratic and self-serving ways."
This week ISOO indicated that it was actively pursuing the matter in a response to an inquiry from the FAS concerning the status of the situation. "With respect to the question you raised, I was unsuccessful in achieving a common understanding with OVP," wrote ISOO director J. William Leonard in a February 5 email message.
"Accordingly, in early January, pursuant to section 6.2(b), Executive Order 12958, as amended, I wrote the Attorney General requesting that he render an interpretation on the issue," he said.
(Section 6.2(b) of the executive order states that "The Attorney General, upon request by the head of an agency or the Director of the Information Security Oversight Office, shall render an interpretation of this order with respect to any question arising in the course of its administration.")
"I have not received a reply to this request as of yet," Mr. Leonard wrote. He declined to provide a copy of his January letter to the Attorney General, on the grounds that it is pre-decisional.
3. BITS & BYTES:
ITEM # 1 Clarification on last week's story on NARA FY '07 budget: In our story in last week's edition of the Washington Update, we reported that an earmark of $1.98 million related to moving staff and materials to the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library in California had been stricken from the FY '07 continuing budget resolution (H.J. Res. 20) in the House because of the moratorium imposed on earmarks. We have now learned from officials at the National Archives that the money allocated for the Nixon Presidential Library was removed from the FY 2007 budget because NARA had already received the amount in the FY 2006 budget and was not meant to receive it again as a renewed allocation in the FY 2007 budget. This also applies to the nearly $2 million we reported had been removed from the '07 budget for repairs to the Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy Presidential Libraries.
To summarize these funds were not removed because they were earmarks, but because NARA had already received the funding for these presidential library projects in FY '06 and the specific funding levels were not intended to be carried forward into the next fiscal year.
ITEM #2--National History Day reception on Capitol Hill: This week, National History Day (NHD) hosted a congressional breakfast reception on Capitol Hill to showcase the projects of some winners of the annual competition. NHD is a year-long nonprofit education program dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of history in elementary and secondary schools. Among the dignitaries attending the ceremony were Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD). Those interested in learning more about the program should visit National History Day’s website at www.nhd.org. The History Channel, a member of the NCH, is a major sponsor of the program.
ITEM #3–The History Channel begins accepting applications for “Save Our History” grants: The History Channel has begun accepting applications for its annual “Save Our History” grant program. Under the program, museums, historic sites, historical societies, preservation organizations, libraries, and archives partner with local school or youth groups to help preserve the history of their communities. Each year, The History Channel awards $250,000 in grants of up to $10,000 for these projects. The application deadline for 2007-2008 grants is June 1, 2007. Applications, and more information, are available at:
http://www.saveourhistory.com
ITEM #4–National Preservation Awards: Nominations for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Preservation Awards are now being accepted. The awards recognize individuals and organizations whose contribution demonstrates outstanding achievements in historic preservation. More information can be found at:
http://www.nationaltrust
4. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: “SMU Pressed to Fight Bush’s Secrecy” February
5, 2007, “Dallas Morning News." The article details efforts by archivists and historians to urge Southern Methodist University to refuse to house the George W. Bush presidential library unless the administration revokes Executive Order (EO) 13233. The EO gives the sitting president or the former-president and his heirs the authority to deny access to selected records of the former-president. Bush issued Executive Order 13233 in November 2001. Mark Greene, president-elect of the Society of American Archivists, is quoted in the article.
http://www.dallasnews
Friday, February 2, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #4; February 2, 2007)
1. FY '07 BUDGET RESOLUTION BOOSTS ARCHIVES, BUT CUTS NPS PROGRAMS
2. SMITHSONIAN TV VENTURE ANNOUNCES INITIAL PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
3. HOUSE BILL CREATES DATABASE FOR CIVIL WAR-ERA AFRICAN-AMERICAN RECORDS
4. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AWARDED GRANT TO DIGITIZE AT RISK BOOKS
5. SMITHSONIAN INSPECTOR GENERAL ISSUES REPORT ON SENIOR EXECUTIVE SALARIES
6. BITS & BYTES: NHPRC changes grant submittal procedures; Smithsonian
names new archivist; National History Day reception on Capitol Hill;
President proclaims National African American History Month
7. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: "The Saga of the Lost Space Tapes," January 31,
2007, "Washington Post"
1. FY '07 BUDGET RESOLUTION BOOSTS NATIONAL ARCHIVES, BUT CUTS NPS PROGRAMS
On January 31, the House of Representatives passed a continuing budget resolution (H.J. Res. 20) to fund most federal government programs through the remainder of the 2007 fiscal year on September 30, 2007. The continuing resolution passed 286-140, with the support of fifty-seven Republicans. Despite this show of bi-partisan support, many Republicans were upset that the new Democratic leadership brought the bill to the floor under a rule that did not allow amendments. The bill was also stripped of many specially designated projects known as "earmarks."
In general, federal agencies and their programs were flat-funded at the same amount they received in fiscal year 2006. However, the Democrats did show some flexibility in reshuffling those numbers. One agency that fared better than most was the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Electronic Records Archives program received a $9.9 million increase, which reflected the amount the administration had requested for fiscal 2007. NARA also received $3 million in mainly reprogrammed money to help repair damage to its Washington, DC headquarters from flooding last summer.
One loser because of the deletion of earmarks was the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library. The Nixon Library had been slated to receive a $1.98 million earmark to begin the process of transferring records, materials and staff to the library's site in California. Earmarks to the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson Libraries, totaling almost $2 million, were also stripped from the bill.
It is worth noting that the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), which had its budget zeroed out in the Bush administration's FY '07 budget request, was funded at its FY '06 level. The NHPRC will receive $5.5 million for grants and $2 million for overhead expenses.
The Historic Preservation Fund of the National Park Services (NPS) suffered a $16.5 million cut, down from the FY'06 enacted level of $72.1 million to $55.66 million. The Historic Preservation Fund supports programs administered by state historic preservation offices, including the administration of grants and nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Senate must pass its version of the continuing resolution by February 15 to avoid a shutdown of most of the federal government.
2. SMITHSONIAN TV VENTURE ANNOUNCES INITIAL PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
Smithsonian Networks, the fledgling television channel, has announced an initial slate of more than 60 programs when its Video On Demand service debuts later this spring. This will mark a major milestone in the development of the controversial partnership between the Smithsonian and the Showtime Networks.
In March 2006, the Smithsonian announced that it had entered into a 30-year, semi-exclusive contract with Showtime to create a digital on-demand television channel. Members of Congress and other stakeholders, including the National Coalition for History, raised issues concerning the contract's potential effects on public access to and use of the Smithsonian's collections, its confidential nature, and the process by which the Smithsonian negotiated the agreement. However, in December, the Government Accountability Office issued a report finding that the Smithsonian followed its internal contracting guidelines regarding competition, oversight, and conflicts of interest.
David Royle, executive vice president for programming and production at Smithsonian Networks, was interviewed in the "Washington Post" and said that they were still in negotiations with satellite and cable television companies to make the channel available as an on-demand program. However, he stated that the Smithsonian and Showtime are considering transforming the venture into a traditional network channel such as the Discovery Networks or the National Geographic channel.
A list of the major programs on the new network is available at: http://newsdesk.si.edu
3. HOUSE BILL CREATES DATABASE FOR CIVIL WAR-ERA AFRICAN-AMERICAN RECORDS
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R. 390) directing the National Archives to create an electronically searchable database of historic records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction contained within federal agencies for genealogical and historical research and to assist in the preservation of these records.
H.R. 390 requires the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to provide grants to states, colleges and universities, and genealogical associations to preserve records and establish databases of local records of such information. The bill authorizes $5 million to create the searchable database and $5 million to the NHPRC for the grants.
A companion bill, S. 295, has been introduced by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). H.R. 390 is now awaiting action in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
4. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AWARDED GRANT TO DIGITIZE AT RISK BOOKS
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced this week that the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded the Library of Congress a $2 million grant for a program to digitize thousands of public-domain works, with a major focus on at-risk "brittle books" from the Library's General Collection and U.S. history volumes. Scanning is expected to begin within a few months after an initial startup period to establish logistics, staffing and resources.
The project, "Digitizing American Imprints at the Library of Congress" will include not only the scanning of volumes, but also the development of page-turner display technology, capability to scan and display foldouts, and a pilot program to capture high-level metadata, such as table of contents, chapters/sections and indexes. Past digitization projects have shied away from brittle books because of the condition of the materials, but "Digitizing American Imprints" intends to serve as a demonstration project of best practices for the handling and scanning of such vulnerable works.
The Library of Congress proposal also includes digitization of works in the following categories:
*U.S. genealogy and regimental histories. The former includes county, state and regional histories, while the latter includes histories, memoirs, diaries and other collections from the Civil War period.
*Six collections of Rare Books including the Benjamin Franklin Collection, selections from the Katherine Golden Bitting and the Elizabeth Robins Pennell Collections of Gastronomy, a selection of first editions from the Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division, selections from the Confederate States of America Collection, the Henry Harrisse Collection of Columbiana, and selections from the Jean Hersholt Collection of Hans Christian Andersen.
5. SMITHSONIAN INSPECTOR GENERAL ISSUES REPORT ON SENIOR EXECUTIVE SALARIES
This week, the acting-Inspector General of the Smithsonian Institution issued two reports that investigated compensation practices at the Smithsonian and its income-generating arm, Smithsonian Business Ventures.
The Smithsonian is a unique institution. While it is a federal entity, it also receives funding from a trust from James Smithson that established the Institution in 1846. In fiscal year 2006, the Smithsonian received $615 million in federal appropriations and $274 million from the trust. Because most of Smithsonian's senior executives are funded through the trust, they are not bound by caps placed on federal salaries.
The most startling revelation in the report was that trust executives earn 21 percent more than comparable federal executives at the Institution. The report found that the, "Smithsonian paid 42 of 90 trust executives more than the maximum basic federal pay rate of $165,200 in fiscal year 2006, and 19 of those trust executives were paid salaries greater than the $212,000 salary paid to the Vice President of the United States." Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small's salary in 2006, was $884,733, more than double the $400,000 salary for President Bush.
In the separate report on Smithsonian Business Ventures (SBV), the IG found that since its inception in 2000, its overall inflation-adjusted net gains have declined. In fact, the dollar value of the SBV's contribution to the Smithsonian is lower, in real dollars than the amount Smithsonian businesses contributed in 1999.
Copies of both reports can be found at: http://www.si.edu/oig/
6. BITS & BYTES:
ITEM # 1--NHPRC changes grant submittal procedures: The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) has announced some changes in its grants applications process. While the structure and content of the applications remain largely unchanged, the NHPRC is requiring the electronic submission of grant applications via the federal government's Grants.gov portal.
Beginning with their March 1, 2007, deadline, the NHPRC will only accept applications via Grants.gov and requires that all attachments be submitted in the Adobe PDF format. Step-by-step instructions on creating applications, including links to resources for converting files to Adobe PDF, are available at: http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/apply/grants.html
ITEM #2--Smithsonian names new archivist: The Smithsonian Institution has announced the appointment of Ms. Anne Van Camp as the new Director of the SI's Archives. She will assume her position on March 5, 2007. She most recently served as Director of Member Programs for the Research Libraries Group, Inc. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, holding B.A. and M.A. degrees in American history.
Tom Soapes, who has served as Acting Director of the Smithsonian's Archives since 2005, is retiring at the end of March 2007.
ITEM #3--National History Day reception on Capitol Hill: National History Day is hosting a congressional breakfast reception on February 8, 2007, at 8:15 a.m. in room 385 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Those interested in attending should RSVP at 301-314-9739. The event is being co-sponsored by the History Channel.
ITEM#4--President proclaims National African American History Month; On January 26, 2007, President Bush issued a proclamation proclaiming February 2007 as National African American History Month.
7. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: "The Saga of the Lost Space Tapes," January 31, 2007, "Washington Post"
This article tells the story of NASA's so far futile search for the original video tapes of the first manned moon landing in July 1969. The broadcast images that Americans saw on television in 1969 were actually a technologically inferior version of the live feed from the moon. Somehow after the original tapes were originally stored, they were either misplaced or destroyed. The article details the lengths to which NASA is searching its archives and holdings to try and find the missing tapes.
Friday, January 26, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #3; January 27, 2007)
1. PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD (PIDB) MEETS
2. NATIONAL ARCHIVES OVERSIGHT SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS NAMED
3. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST EASING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS
4. SMITHSONIAN ANNOUNCES DEAL TO MAKE DIGITAL IMAGES AVAILABLE COMMERCIALLY
5. NEH ANNOUNCES GRANT RECIPIENTS
6. CORRECTION: NEH “LANDMARKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE” PROGRAM
7. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: “Group Attempting to Simplify Byzantine
Terror-Alert System” January 24, 2007, “Washington Post"
1. PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD (PIDB) MEETS
On January 19, 2007, the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) met to discuss declassification program issues. The meeting included presentations from representatives of the public with significant experience in declassification matters and a wide-ranging discussion of potential modifications to current declassification processes and policies. The PIDB was created by statute in 2000, to serve as an advisory board on declassification priorities and policies. However, it is only within the last year that the Bush administration made appointments to the board and it received its first appropriation.
Chairman L. Britt Snider presided and board members David E. Skaggs, Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, and Admiral William O. Studeman, USN (Ret.) were in attendance. Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and Bill Leonard, Director of NARA’s Information Security and Oversight Office were also present. In his opening comments, Dr. Weinstein noted the declassification challenges facing NARA, especially in light of the passage of the December 31, 2006, deadline requiring federal agencies to declassify documents in their holdings more than 25 years old. Weinstein reviewed the financial challenges that the Archives was facing across the board.
In his opening comments, Chairman Snider stated that the PIDB had received a request from the Senate Intelligence Committee last fall to review the classification of prewar Iraq intelligence. Snider stated that the PIDB was prohibited from taking action without prior approval of the White House. However, despite requests to the Bush administration to move forward, the board had received no response from the White House. Snider announced that the board was going to proceed unless told not to do so by the administration.
During the public comment period, the panel heard comments and suggestions from Mark Zaid (litigator and executive director of the James Madison Project), Meredith Fuchs (General Counsel to the National Security Archive), and Scott Armstrong (executive director of the Information Trust).
In his testimony, Zaid expressed frustration with the FOIA process. He stated that the current 20 day deadline for a federal agency to respond to a FOIA request was unrealistic and suggested expanding the response time to 120 days. Zaid added that agencies, such as the CIA, are often disingenuous when dealing with their backlog of requests by processing the oldest ones first. In many cases the need for the documents is no longer relevant to the person who requested them and the CIA does not have to release the materials. Zaid said that a large part of his work involved former security agency employees who are trying to publish books or articles. He noted his frustration with the pre-publication process since the documents in question fall into a gray area between classified and declassified. Zaid also suggested that the board find a better way of educating federal judges about classification and declassification procedures. He alleged that judges, because they feel they lack expertise in the intelligence arena, tend to err on the side of keeping documents classified.
Ms. Fuchs began her testimony by calling the current declassification system, “subjective, expensive, and sometimes ridiculous," agreeing that the current system favors over-classification. She suggested one way to counter this predisposition would be to create a non-partisan, non-governmental board of private citizens to represent the interest of professional researchers, historians, and the general public in the declassification process. Such a board could serve as a conduit for public input and oversight. Fuchs cited precedents for such boards as those authorized by the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 or the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act.
Another possibility would be to establish a statutory independent review boards at every agency with declassification authority. Such boards have had great success pushing out important information that no longer requires classification. She cited the State Department's Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation as an example.
Armstrong was candid and blunt in his assessment of the current declassification system, stating that he had given up on it. He alleged that selective declassification has become a tool for shaping and controlling public debate. He noted in recent years there has been an erosion of public confidence in the declassification process. He stated that if the system were not changed, we would likely see something akin to the Church Committee in the U.S. Senate in the mid-1970s that led to an investigation of intelligence practices and major reforms.
2. NATIONAL ARCHIVES OVERSIGHT SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS NAMED
As the new 110th Congress continues to get organized, key subcommittee chairs of interest to the historical and archival communities have recently been named. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has named Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO) to chair the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives. In the Senate, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) has been named chair of Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Management, Government Information and International Security, which has oversight over the National Archives.
3. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST EASING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, has ruled against two groups who sought to ease copyright restrictions on old books and films and academic articles to make them more freely available to the public. The three-judge panel said the case (Kahle v. Gonzales) was essentially an attempt to overturn an earlier lawsuit (Eldred v. Ashcroft) that had challenged the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (PL105-298). The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2003 upheld the act.
Brewster Kahle and Internet Archive, and Prelinger Associates were seeking to offer free access to digitized audio, books, films, academic articles, and websites for free on the internet. The plaintiffs argued that release into the public domain of so-called “orphan works,” those for which ownership is difficult or impossible to ascertain, have been stymied by both the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 (PL 102-307) and the Sonny Bono Act. They argued that these laws transformed copyright law from an “opt-in” system, where copyright holders had to affirmatively renew copyrights, into an “opt-out” system where copyrights are automatically extended.
The plaintiffs expect to appeal the ruling to the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and perhaps to the U.S. Supreme Court if they do not prevail there.
A copy of the court’s decision can be found at: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov
4. SMITHSONIAN ANNOUNCES DEAL TO MAKE DIGITAL IMAGES AVAILABLE COMMERCIALLY
The Smithsonian Institution and Corbis, a digital media provider, have announced a deal to provide digital images from the Smithsonian’s collections for editorial and commercial use at www.corbis.com . The licensing agreement with Corbis will provide hundreds of images from Smithsonian museums, such as historical photographs, images of cultural objects, paintings, prints, sculpture, textiles, scientific instruments, natural specimens, and aircraft and space vehicles. Images will be drawn from Smithsonian museums, including the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Freer Gallery of Art, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
The first of the Smithsonian images have been added to Corbis’ image database with plans to increase the numbers significantly by the end of the year. Users must obtain a license to utilize these images for a fee. Accompanying the images are museum-approved photo credits, which identify the image, its relevance to the museum collection and include historical facts.
Smithsonian spokeswoman Samia Elia was quoted in the “Washington Post” as saying there is no guaranteed annual revenue under the deal. According to Elia, Corbis did not provide any money up front, and fees collected would be designated for the museum's educational programs. The Smithsonian declined to make any additional financial details public.
5. NEH ANNOUNCES GRANT RECIPIENTS
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently announced that 288 successful applicants will receive a total of $10.7 million in grants or offers of matching funds for nine faculty initiatives in the humanities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities; 161 fellowships and faculty research awards to individual scholars; and 118 preservation and access grants for research, education and training, or assistance to help cultural institutions protect and preserve their humanities collections. Of these NEH grants, 58 are designated as “We the People” projects that advance the study, teaching, and understanding of American history and culture. A complete list of the recipients, including a state-by-state breakdown, is available at http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/20070116.html
6. CORRECTION: NEH “LANDMARKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE” PROGRAM
In last week’s edition we reported that the National Endowment for the Humanities was accepting applications for its “Landmarks of American History and Culture" workshops to be held in the summer of 2007. Under the program, educators from across the United States travel to historic landmarks for intensive, week-long workshops to deepen their knowledge-and their students' knowledge-of the nation's history in places where it was made. Twenty-four "Landmarks of American History and Culture" workshops will be held in the summer of 2007. Among the Landmarks workshops, 19 have been developed for K-12 teachers and an additional five have been designed for community college faculty. The initiative is funded under the Endowment’s “We the People” program.
We need to make two corrections to that story.
First we reported that the application deadline for K-12 teachers is March 1, 2007, and March 15, 2007, for community college faculty. The deadline for BOTH K-12 teachers and community college faculty is March 15, 2007.
Second, the headline and lead were misleading. Applications ARE NOT being accepted directly by the NEH. Rather, those interested in applying need to do so directly to the program directors for each individual workshop. A list of the locations, application procedures, and program directors for the workshops is available at the NEH website. K-12 teachers should go to http://www.neh.gov/projects/landmarks-school.html and community college faculty should go to http://www.neh.gov
We apologize for any inconvenience.
7. ARTICLE OF INTEREST:
“Group Attempting to Simplify Byzantine Terror-Alert System” January 24, 2007, “Washington Post”-–The article details the attempt by the Bush administration to untangle a web of executive branch documents that are categorized as “sensitive but unclassified” (SBUs). According to the article there are now 108 different “markers” or ways that documents that are unclassified but not meant for public access can be handled, distributed or stored.
Friday, January 19, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #2; January 18, 2007)
1. NATIONAL ARCHIVES ANNOUNCES DEAL WITH FOOTNOTE.COM TO PROVIDE ON-LINE
ACCESS TO DIGITIZED RECORDS
2. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF APPLICATIONS
FOR FY '07 TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY GRANTS
3. JAPANESE WORLD WAR II WAR CRIMES FILES DECLASSIFIED
4. NEH ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ITS "LANDMARKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND
CULTURE" PROGRAM
5. HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE NAMES SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS
6. ARCHIVIST APPOINTS NEW JFK PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DIRECTOR
7. HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE MINORITY RELEASES
REPORT ON BERGER THEFT OF NATIONAL ARCHIVES PAPERS
8. ARTICLE OF INTEREST:
"How to Bury a Secret: Turn It Into Paperwork," January 16, 2007, "Washington Post"
1. NATIONAL ARCHIVES ANNOUNCES DEAL WITH FOOTNOTE.COM TO PROVIDE ON-LINE ACCESS TO DIGITIZED RECORDS
On January 10, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and Footnote, Inc. CEO Russell Wilding announced an agreement to digitize selected records from the holdings of the National Archives. The 4.5 million pages that have been digitized so far are now available at http://www.footnote.com/nara.php
This non-exclusive agreement, beginning with the sizeable collection of materials currently on microfilm, will enable researchers and the general public to access millions of newly-digitized images of the National Archives historic records on a subscription basis from the Footnote web site. Footnote can charge users on a per-page or on a monthly or annual fee basis. By February 6, the digitized materials will also be available at no charge in National Archives research rooms in Washington, D.C. and regional facilities across the country. After an interval of five years, all images digitized through this agreement will be available at no charge through the National Archives web site.
The first set of collections available are the Papers of the Continental Congress (1774-89); the Matthew B. Brady Collection of Civil War Photographs; the files of the post-Civil War Southern Claims Commission; a Name Index to Civil War and Later Pension Files, and Investigative Case Files of the Bureau of Investigation from 1908-22.
2. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF APPLICATIONS FOR FY '07 "TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY" GRANTS
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it has begun accepting applications for grants under the agency's "Teaching American History" program for fiscal year 2007. The deadline for the submission of applications to DOEd is March 9, 2007, and the deadline for interagency review of applications is May 8, 2007. The agency also announced it will be holding a technical assistance workshop to help prospective applicants in preparing their applications. The workshop will be held on January 31, 2007, in Washington, D.C. Complete information on the program, the application process and the workshop can be found at http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory/applicant.html . The Federal Register notice announcing the opening of the application process can be found at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2007-1/010807a.pdf
The "Teaching American History" Grant program supports competitive grants to local educational agencies. The purpose of these grants is to promote the teaching of traditional American history in elementary and secondary schools. Grants are used to improve the quality of history instruction by supporting professional development for teachers of American history. Grants assist local educational agencies (LEAs), in partnership with entities that have extensive content expertise, to design, implement, and demonstrate effective, research-based professional development programs.
3. JAPANESE WORLD WAR II WAR CRIMES FILES DECLASSIFIED
Last week, the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group (IWG) announced the availability of 100,000 pages of recently declassified records as a result of a search for files relevant to Japanese war crimes. In addition, the IWG released a new reference book and electronic records finding aid that will help researchers locate and use the thousands of new and extant files in the National Archives related to the war in the Pacific. These research aids can be found at http://www.archives.gov/iwg/japanese-war-crimes/
The declassification is a result of an investigation by several U.S. government agencies for classified records remaining in their files, pursuant to the requirements of the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Disclosure Acts. The declassified records include a range of materials from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), CIA, the State Department, Army Intelligence, FBI, and other agencies, and cover many aspects of the Pacific conflict and postwar relations between the United States and Japan. In general, however, only a small portion of these records specifically pertains to Japanese war crimes. The records are open and available at the research room of the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
4. NEH ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ITS "LANDMARKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE" PROGRAM
The National Endowment for the Humanities is now accepting applications for it "Landmarks of American History and Culture" workshops to be held in the summer of 2007. Under the program, educators from across the United States travel to historic landmarks for intensive, week-long workshops to deepen their knowledge--and their students' knowledge--of the nation's history in places where it was made. Twenty-four "Landmarks of American History and Culture" workshops will be held in the summer of 2007. Among the Landmarks workshops, 19 have been developed for K-12 teachers and an additional five have been designed for community college faculty. The initiative is funded under the Endowment's "We the People" program.
Those interested in applying should visit the NEH Website at http://www.neh.gov/projects/index.html . The application deadline for K-12 teachers is March 1, 2007, and March 15, 2007, for community college faculty.
5. HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE NAMES SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS
As we reported last week, the House and Senate Appropriations Committee will have common subcommittee structures for the first time since 1994. In the new 110th Congress, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will each have 12 subcommittees.
Previously, we provided the names of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee chairmen. This week, the House Appropriations Committee released a list of subcommittee chairs and the Representatives are as follows (key federal agencies of interest to the history and archival communities are noted in parentheses): Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies: Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: Alan B. Mollohan, West Virginia Defense: John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Energy and Water Development: Peter Visclosky, Indiana Financial Services and General Government (National Archives and Records Administration) : Jose Serrano, New York Homeland Security: David E. Price, North Carolina Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (National Park Service and National Endowment for the Humanities, Smithsonian Institution): Norm Dicks, Washington Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Department of Education): David R. Obey, Wisconsin Legislative Branch (Library of Congress): Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Florida Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: Chet Edwards, Texas State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: Nita M. Lowey, New York Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies: John Olver, Massachusetts
6. ARCHIVIST APPOINTS NEW JFK PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DIRECTOR
Last week, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein, announced the appointment of Thomas J. Putnam as Director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Putnam is the fifth director of the John F. Kennedy Library since it was dedicated in 1979. Mr. Putnam first joined the Kennedy Presidential Library in 1999 as Director of Education and was appointed Deputy Director of the Library in 2003.
7. HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE MINORITY RELEASES REPORT ON BERGER THEFT OF NATIONAL ARCHIVES PAPERS
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Thomas M. Davis III (R-VA) has released a report raising allegations that the extent of the theft of documents from the National Archives by President Clinton's former National Security Advisor Samuel R. (Sandy) Berger may never be known. In a press release issued in conjunction with the release of the report, Davis stated, "My staff's investigation reveals that President Clinton's former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger compromised national security much more than originally disclosed. . . .The 9/11 Commission relied on incomplete and misleading information regarding its access to documents Mr. Berger reviewed. No one ever told the Commission that Mr. Berger had access to original documents that he could have taken without detection."
On April 1, 2005, Berger pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of Unauthorized Removal and Retention of Classified Documents.
Davis initiated the investigation last year when he chaired the committee before the Democratic takeover. In October, then Ranking Member, and now Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) criticized the timing of the probe as politically motivated to embarrass Democrats right before the fall elections.
8. ARTICLE OF INTEREST:
"How to Bury a Secret: Turn It Into Paperwork," This "Washington Post" article details the challenges researchers face in accessing the hundreds of millions of pages of declassified documents released by the National Archives on December 31, 2006, under Executive Order 12958. http://www.washingtonpost.com
Thursday, January 11, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #1; January 12, 2007)
1. REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING
2. 110th CONGRESS CONVENES
3. SENATE AND HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES ANNOUNCE RESTRUCTURING
4. FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT MARKED WITH CALL FOR
REAUTHORIZATION
5. ARCHIVIST OF THE U.S. CHAIRS AHA SESSION ON THE LIFE CYCLE OF
PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES
6. EPA ANNOUNCES FREEZE ON LIBRARY CLOSURES
7. BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1--NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INTERVIEW WITH ARCHIVIST OF THE
U.S. ON THE DECEMBER 31, 2006, RELEASE OF DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS
8. ARTICLE OF INTEREST:
“SMU Faculty Complains About Bush Library”--New York Times
1. REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING
The 121st meeting of the American Historical Society (AHA) was held last week in Atlanta with nearly 5,000 in attendance. The National Coalition for History’s Policy Board met on January 6, 2007, and approved a fiscal year 2007 budget and work plan. The FY ’07 work plan will be posted on the NCH Website at http://www.h-net.org/~nch
At its annual business meeting on January 6, 2007, members of the AHA adopted a resolution on the war which urges its members, “To take a public stand as citizens on behalf of the values necessary to the practice of our profession, and to do whatever they can to bring the Iraq war to a speedy conclusion.” During its January 7, 2007, meeting, the AHA Council accepted the resolution, but because the resolution came into the Association too late to be published in the December 2006 issue of "Perspectives" prior to the business meeting where it was passed, and because of its intrinsic importance, the AHA Council believes its acceptance should be ratified by a majority of those voting in an email ballot of the membership.
2. 110th CONGRESS CONVENES
The 110th Congress convened on January 4, 2007, with the Democratic Party in control for the first time in over a decade. The 110th Congress will have 233 Democrats and 202 Republicans in the House and a 51-49 Democratic majority in the Senate. As expected, Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was elected as the first woman Speaker of the House. The early part of the year in the House will be spent on what the Democrats are calling their “100-Hours—A New Direction” initiative addressing such issues as lobbying and budget reform, raising the minimum wage, stem cell research and ending federal subsidies for oil companies. Action on all-important appropriations bills will not begin until after the president’s State of the Union address and fiscal year 2008 budget submission towards the end of January.
3. SENATE AND HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES ANNOUNCE RESTRUCTURING
In the new 110th Congress, the House and Senate Appropriations Committee will have common subcommittee structures, a move that the incoming Appropriations chairmen hope will help to complete action on each of the government funding bills on time, by the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2007.
The last time each of the appropriations bills was approved by Congress and signed into law by the start of the federal fiscal year was 1994 -- the last time that current chairmen Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Representative Obey (D-WI) led the Senate and House Appropriations Committees. In recent years under Republican rule, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have had a different number of subcommittees -- 10 in the House, 12 in the Senate -- with different jurisdictions. This complicated matters when trying to reconcile funding bills between the House and Senate for the various federal agencies.
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees will each have 12 subcommittees, including a new Financial Services and General Government panel. That new subcommittee will have jurisdiction over federal agencies such as the Treasury Department, the federal Judiciary, and the National Archives and Records Administration. The House Appropriations subcommittee chairs in the House are unavailable at this time. The 12 Senate Appropriations subcommittee chairmen are as follows (key federal agencies of interest to the history and archival communities are noted in parentheses):
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies: Senator Herb Kohl, Wisconsin Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: Senator Barbara Mikulski, Maryland Defense: Senator Daniel Inouye, Hawaii Energy and Water Development: Senator Byron Dorgan, North Dakota Financial Services and General Government (National Archives and Records Administration) : Senator Dick Durbin, Illinois Homeland Security: Senator Robert Byrd, West Virginia Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (National Park Service and National Endowment for the Humanities): Senator Dianne Feinstein, California Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Department of Education): Senator Tom Harkin, Iowa Legislative Branch (Library of Congress): Senator Mary Landrieu, Louisiana Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: Senator Tim Johnson, South Dakota State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: Senator Pat Leahy, Vermont Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies: Senator Patty Murray, Washington
4. FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT MARKED WITH CALL FOR REAUTHORIZATION
On January 8, 2007, President Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) by meeting with the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over NCLB, and urged them to act quickly to reauthorize the education law. Joining the President in the meeting were Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) the chair and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the chair and ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
In a speech this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said, “Renewing NCLB is one of the President’s top priorities.” In a joint statement released to the press, Chairmen Kennedy and Miller agreed that changes were needed to the NCLB, but did not give a time frame for reauthorization. One of the key issues for the Democrats will be increased funding to implement NCLB. While the NCLB Act expires this year, many expect Kennedy and Miller to hold preliminary hearings on the law, but to postpone actual reauthorization until 2009 by passing a short-term extension.
In related news, at its recent annual meeting, the American Historical Association’s governing board passed the following resolution:
"Resolved that the American Historical Association supports the addition of history (both U.S. and world history) to the areas of assessment and accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act and calls for systematic efforts, including professional development of in-service teachers, to improve the quality of history teaching at elementary and secondary levels. To bring about these changes, the AHA seeks to work in cooperation with the National Council for History Education, the National Council for Social Studies, and other groups of educators."
5. ARCHIVIST OF THE U.S. CHAIRS AHA SESSION ON THE LIFE CYCLE OF PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES
At last week’s AHA meeting in Atlanta, a session was jointly sponsored with the National History Center to assess the health of the presidential library system. The session was held at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and was chaired by Allen Weinstein, the Archivist of the United States. Also on the panel were Allida Black, Director of the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project; Sharon Fawcett, Assistant Archivist for Presidential Libraries at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Jay Hakes, Director of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum; Timothy Naftali, Director of the Richard Nixon Library and Museum; and Anna Nelson, Professor of History at American University.
The wide-ranging discussion touched on a number of subjects. Among the topics discussed were the need for improved public education programs, greater accessibility to archival material and more inter-library coordination on joint seminar topics such as a recent one on the Vietnam War. All agreed that it is a constant struggle to present exhibits in the museums as objectively as possible despite the fact that the facility is dedicated to preserving the memory of a particular president. There was also broad consensus on the need for more funding and staffing to facilitate the processing and release of presidential materials. This challenge will only increase in future presidential libraries with the need to process electronic records.
6. EPA ANNOUNCES FREEZE ON LIBRARY CLOSURES
As we reported last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been under siege from key Democrats for beginning the process last fall of closing down its nationwide network of scientific libraries and destroying documents or shipping them to repositories where they are inaccessible to scientists and the general public. To date, five libraries have been closed. According to “OMB Watch,” in response to congressional criticism, EPA has put on hold its plans to close any additional libraries until Congress has had a chance to review its plans.
7. BITS AND BYTES: Item #1—NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INTERVIEW WITH ARCHIVIST OF THE U.S. ON THE DECEMBER 31, 2006, RELEASE OF DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS—U.S. Archivist Allen Weinstein and J. William Leonard, Director of the NARA's Information Security Oversight Office were interviewed on National Public Radio concerning the passing of the December 31, 2006, deadline for federal agencies to declassify documents 25 years old or older. The full interview can be accessed on NPR’s Website.
8. ARTICLE OF INTEREST: “SMU Faculty Complains About Bush Library,” This “New York Times” article details the controversy that has arisen between school administrators and faculty over Southern Methodist University’s efforts to be selected as the home for the George W. Bush Presidential Library. NYT
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #50; 31 December 2006)
Editor's Note: What follows is the annual report for the National Coalition for History for 2006. Happy New Year to one and all! Bruce Craig
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NATIONAL COALITION FOR HISTORY ACCOMPLISHMENTS FY-2006 (Prepared 31 December 2006)
I. ADVOCACY AND POLICY Appropriations: When the 109th Congress adjourned sine die in December, Republican control of Congress came to an end. Left unfinished were eleven outstanding FY 2007 appropriation bills – bills that fund virtually all domestic federal agencies. In December 2006, the incoming Democratic leadership decided to extend the current levels of federal agency funding through the rest of the fiscal year, thus allowing lawmakers to focus attention on the FY 2008 budget. As a consequence, much of the National Coalition for History's (NCH) work (as well as that of all other stakeholder communities) in the realm of appropriations for 2007 went unrealized as all federal agencies whose budgets were not approved by the close of the 109th Congress – including all those of key concern to the history and archives communities – in FY 2006, will operate within the fiscal confines of 2006 levels. Hence, the history coalition's appropriation's work in 2006, in essence, served double duty for FY 2007.
FY 2006 funding levels, for the most part, are lower than what was proposed in FY 2007. For the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) the agency will receive an operating budget of $325.535 million – some $12 million less than the $338 million that was requested by the president for FY 2007. In the NARA budget, there is one winner – the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The commission budget is slotted at $7.425 million -- $5.5 million for grants and $2 million for administrative costs; this represents a half million increase over what most insiders expected the House and Senate would have agreed to for the NHPRC in FY 2007. Another winner is the Department of Education's Teaching American History" initiative, which will see a funding level of $121 million – the amount appropriated to the program in FY 2006 and the same as proposed by Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) in the Senate for FY 2007; this figure is some $71 million more than recommended by President Bush in his FY 2007 budget proposal. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is slotted to receive $140.949 million about what was proposed for the agency in FY 2007 by President Bush; this will probably mean some moderate belt-tightening for the agency.
With the control of Congress now squarely in the hands of the Democrats, and with the fiscally conservative decision by the incoming Democratic appropriation chiefs, President Bush realized his overall budget recommendation for FY 2007 – that being "level funding" for most domestic agencies. Ironically, it took a change in control of Congress from the Republicans to the Democrats to achieve the fiscally-conservative goal that the president all along sought for domestic agencies in FY 2007.
Testimony Submissions/Congressional and Agency Advocacy: This year, the history coalition as well as several of its member organizations, submitted written testimony to Congress on behalf of many federal agencies and programs, including the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
The history coalition also continued its tradition of providing Congressional staff, lawmakers, and agency policy makers advice and at times constructive criticism of various legislative measures and regulatory actions under consideration. Of particular note this year was the history coalition's work on the Higher Education Act (S. 609), preliminary discussions on amendments to the "No Child Left Behind" reauthorization, and an ill-conceived proposal (H.R. 4846) titled, "To Authorize Grants for Contributions Toward the Establishment of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library."
The membership of the House Humanities Caucus that was initiated in 2005 grew to more than sixty members; in 2006, due to the leadership of Representatives David Price (D-NC) and James Leach (R-IA), the caucus became a vehicle to build Congressional support for increasing the funding levels for the NEH and the NHPRC. Once again, during the National Humanities Alliance annual lobby day event, history coalition representatives played an important role in securing member "sign-ons" to the new caucus.
Formula Grant Initiatives: This year the archival community launched its "Partnership for the American Historical Record" (PAHR) initiative – a major new legislative effort designed to increase the authorization and appropriation of the NHPRC to a figure in excess of $10 million (the NHPRC's current authorization); new monies would be used to fund the start-up of a state-based formula grant program for archives.
Similarly, work continued on a second state-based formula grant program that two years ago was initiated by several history coalition member organizations to benefit the museum community. The history coalition is a founding member of the "Federal Formula Grant Coalition." In these two advocacy efforts special recognition goes to NCH member organizations the Society of American Archivists, Council of State Archivists, the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators and the American Association for State and Local History.
"Teaching American History" Initiative: When the 110th Congress convenes, Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) will become Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Byrd, the prime mover behind the "Teaching American History" (TAH) that is administered through the Department of Education (ED) continues to provide leadership and direction for this initiative. Once again this year history coalition and member organization representatives met with Senator Byrd's staff to insure that the initiative would continue to be funded at about $121 million and to address other program-related concerns.
Following up on one of last year's major advocacy accomplishments of seeing language inserted into the FY-2005 ED appropriation bill setting aside a portion of the TAH appropriation go to the support of "national programs" (approximately $3.6 million). n June, the history coalition and several member organizations representatives were part of a technical working group that participated in an ED-sponsored planning workshop designed to lay the foundation for one of the programs being funded out of this special set-aside – a national clearinghouse to support teaching American history. The clearinghouse will assist the field in promoting high-quality, content-rich professional development to teachers of American history.
Advocacy Partnering: Through its partnerships with various humanities and preservation organizations and coalitions (especially the National Humanities Alliance, Americans for National Parks, and OpentheGovernment.org) the NCH also continued its long-term support of National Park Service historic preservation programs (including the Historic Preservation Fund, "Save America Treasures" program), the Library of Congress, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. This year, during its April 2006 meeting, the NCH Policy Board voted to have the history coalition become a founding member the Federal Formula Grant Coalition – a coalition advocating a state formula grant program for museums. During this meeting, the Policy Board also passed a resolution in support of the proposed state formula grant program for archives (PAHR). The NCH also joined the "Net Neutrality Coalition," a group of organizations with an interest in the "net neutrality" issue. To that end, the NCH co-signed letters with other members of the coalition a number of communications to members of Congress on this issue.
Freedom of Information Authorizing Legislation and Public Access Declassification Board: During the 109th Congress several legislative measures were introduced and considered relating to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and government openness. Congress, however, failed to enact any meaningful reform in the realm of government openness.
On the positive side, the Public Access Declassification Board (PIDB) – the board envisioned by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to provide oversight and public involvement in matters relating to government openness – became a reality and began meeting on a routine basis in 2006. NCH Executive Director Bruce Craig served as a panelist in the opening session of the PIDB and provided comments and suggestions to the board on its direction and potential future.
History Education Authorizing Legislation: While 2005 saw a number of legislative issues relating to history education become a reality (i.e. Senator Lamar Alexander's Presidential and Congressional academies). Several bills were introduced in this first session of the 109th Congress: i.e. a re-authorization of the Higher Education Act (S. 609); "American History Achievement Act" (S. 860); "American History for Freedom" Act (S. 1614 / H.R. 2858) – the latter legislation is the first bill in recent years to provide funding for American history education at the post-secondary school level. With the exception of a temporary extension of the Higher Education Act, none of these measures were enacted during the 109th Congress.
With the anticipated consideration of the "No Child Left Behind" reauthorization in 2007-08, NCH member organization the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) began assembling a working-group of interested parties to begin discussion focusing on constructive reform of the NCLB measure. NCH representatives have attended several of these meetings and will continue to do so in 2007.
Legislative and Policy Interventions on Behalf of the National Parks and Historic Sites: The NCH continued its support of the Heritage Area Partnership Act (S. 760 and related versions S. 203 / S. 243) – legislation that seeks to establish a national policy on the creation and establishment of national heritage areas. Unfortunately, Congress did not enact this legislation during the 109th Congress.
In December 2005 the history coalition provided critical comments in a detailed 7-page assessment (which also served as a model letter for member organization comment submissions) of the draft rewrite of NPS Management Policies. In 2006, the NPS announced changes to the document, generally consistent with NCH and its member organization's positions.
Staff continued to coordinate meetings between NCH member organizations and NPS officials in an effort to prod the bureau along to fill the NPS Chief Historian position vacancy that came open last year following the retirement of veteran Chief Historian, Dwight Pitcaithley. Late in 2006, shortly after the appointment of Mary Bomar as the new NPS Director, a vacancy announcement was posted on USA JOBS seeking qualified applicants from "all sources." The NCH continues to monitor developments as the bureau moves forward in filling this critical agency position.
Other Legislative Initiatives: In toto, the history coalition monitored the developments of over 80 history/archives related bills and reported on their progress to readers of our weekly publication the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE. Of particular interest to the history and archives communities were: the "Artists Contribution to American Heritage Act" (S. 372 and similar version of the "Artists Museum Partnership Act" -- H.R. 1120 / S.372) – a measure that sought to provide tax incentives for artists, scholars and writers to donate their work to non-profit entities; the "Presidential Sites Improvement Bill" (S. 431 / H.R. 927) – legislation designed to provide a funding stream for these unique historic sites; and "To Authorize Grants for Contributions Toward the Establishment of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library (H.R. 4846) – a bill the NCH opposed that sets a dangerous precedent of funding private presidential sites with NARA funds. In part due to the NCH objections, in the closing hours of the 109th Congress, the Senate did not act on the bill and let it die.
In summary, the 109th Congress was not exactly stellar in terms of enacting legislation of interest to the history and archive communities. Congress did extend the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group (P.L. 109-05), it established the Sand Creek Massacre site as a national park unit (P.L. 109-45), it authorized the creation of a statue of Rosa Parks for placement in the Capitol (P.L. 109-116), and it created a number of new National Heritage Areas (109-338). We can only hope that the 110th Congress will be more productive in enacting history/archives related measures.
II. HISTORY COALITION INITIATIVES AND ISSUES OF CONCERN ADDRESSED Lost/Stolen/Missing Documents Initiative: Since 2003 the NCH has informally monitored various on-line auction sites for lost, stolen, or missing artifacts and manuscript materials. With a grant of $20,000 provided by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), in 2004, the NCH began systematic monitoring of auction sites. That work continued throughout 2006.
To date, though its contractor and principal investigator, the NCH has systematically monitored over sixty auction sites. Well over 40,000 documents have been surveyed and over 1,000 questionable documents have been referred to NARA for action. Of those, as of 1 October 2006, 938 document cases have been closed; 51 items remain under investigation; 12 previously unaccessioned documents have been retrieved and 7 stolen items have been returned to NARA. In addition to referring documents to NARA documentary items originating from state archives (i.e. New York, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, and West Virginia) as well as documents originating from several foreign countries (i.e. the Russian Federation, Bolivia, and Peru) were referred to appropriate officials for action. Through the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE and articles that appeared in national publications and news websites, a concerted effort was made to raise public awareness of the stolen and mishandled documents issue. This year the contractor, principal investigator, and NARA representatives attended the PADA autograph show in New York as well as the new York Antiquarian Book Fair where brochures were distributed to dealers.
National History Center and Congressional Breakfast Seminars: A number of years back the NCH initiated efforts to hold a series of Congressional breakfast seminars designed to inject a historical contextual dimension into policy discussions on Capitol Hill. In 2004 that activity was transferred to the National History Center to administer. This year, the history coalition continued to provide support for this important Congressional outreach effort. The history coalition's executive director continues to serve as a member of the planning committee of the National History Center.
Human Subjects Review and Oral History: For several years the NCH has supported the activities of member organization's the American Historical Association (AHA) and the Oral History Association (OHA) in their ongoing effort to negotiate an agreement with the federal Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) to exclude oral history from regulatory oversight and review by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). This year, the NCH continued to provide input and assistance to these member organizations in their ongoing effort to clarify the OHRP's position on oral history.
Presidential Records Executive Order and Presidential Library Issues: Presidential libraries and records have long been an interest to the NCH. On 1 November 2001, President Bush issued Executive Order (EO) 13233 entitled, "Further Implementation of the Presidential Records Act." The order replaces President Reagan's Executive Order 12667 (issued 18 January 1989) and reinterprets aspects of the Presidential Records Act of 1978 (PRA). At that time several history coalition members filed suit in a federal court in Washington, D.C. seeking to overturn the Bush EO.
This year the legal battle over presidential records continued without court resolution. NCH continued working with agency and White House officials and the lawsuit plaintiffs to see the legal challenge to its conclusion. On 24 September 2005 federal Judge Kollar-Kotelly issued a second ruling (decided in the government's favor) relating to the lawsuit. Yet to be addressed is the final and most important contested issue relating to the constitutionality of certain provisions of the PRA. To this end, Public Citizen Litigation Group filed briefs in October 2005; a decision on this last remaining (and most important) count of the plaintiffs original filing is still pending. In addition, through periodic meetings with White House and administration officials efforts are ongoing to see that especially offensive provisions are modified in a future amended reissue of the E.O.
This year the Reagan Presidential Library continued to release of certain presidential documents (exemption P-2, P-5 records) as did the George Bush Presidential Library. The history coalition monitored these releases with a particular eye toward library redactions and reported findings in the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE.
In 2005, the NCH Executive Director participated on a task force on presidential libraries that examined the museum/public outreach aspects of presidential libraries sponsored by the Princeton Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies. The conference resulted in the issuance this year of a report entitled "Museums in Presidential Libraries: A First Report on Policies, Practices and Performance." This year, the Executive Director assisted in the review and pre-publication details of a special issue of The Public Historian (Summer 2006) devoted to the topic of presidential libraries. In addition, NCH Executive Director Bruce Craig's article titled "Presidential Libraries and Museums: Opportunities for Genuine Reform" (an article in response to the special-issue publication) appeared in the fall issue of The Public Historian (Fall 2006). He also assisted the National Park Service on a steering committee in planning the bi-annual conference on presidential sites that took place in June 2006.
Throughout 2006 the NCH's work relating to the designation of the Nixon Library and Birthplace as a presidential library continued. For several years, the Nixon Foundation has advanced plans for the private museum to become a full-fledged NARA presidential library. Consistent with the terms of an agreement between NARA and the Nixon Foundation, in 2006 the Nixon library was brought into the NARA presidential library system. However, the foundation's effort to have the federal government pay for the construction of archival repository (an action that is contrary to the spirit if not letter of law as outlined in the Presidential Library Act) also continued, as did the NCH's opposition to the foundation's plan. Because of the failure of FY 2007 Treasury/Transportation federal appropriations bill to be enacted, it remains unclear whether the special appropriation discussed in the House report for that bill relating to the construction of the archival facility will materialize.
Finally, for the fourth year in a row, the history coalition submitted nominations for the Paul Peck Presidential Awards for "Service to the President" and "Portrayal of a President." After three years of submissions in 2006 our nominee - Arthur Schlesinger Jr. – was among the selected award winners. A number of NCH Policy Board members represented the history coalition at the gala award dinner.
Records Declassification: This year, history coalition staff continued to attend and monitor the activities of the State Department's Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation, the Department of Defense Historical Records Declassification Advisory Panel, the Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Periodic reports of the activities of these entities was communicated broadly through the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE.
The declassification event of the year was the discovery of a secret reclassification effort by NARA of documents previously open to the public that was exposed by independent researcher Matthew M. Aid. The history coalition played a key role in meetings with NARA and other government officials that resulted in the secret program being terminated. As a result of the publicity generated by this issue, the House of Representatives conducted a hearing on records declassification. NCH member organization The National Security Archive deserves special recognition for its aggressive pursuit of this issue throughout the year.
House Historian: After several years of meetings, direct and indirect advocacy efforts with Congressional staff, in 2005 the Speaker of the House appointed an official House Historian, professor Robert Remini, formerly with the University of Illinois at Chicago. This year, the Executive Director met with Professor Remini on several occasions to discuss the working relationship between the House Historian's office and the Clerk of the House's companion entity, the Office of History and Preservation. This year, professor Remini's Congressionally-sanctioned history of the House of Representatives was published.
Proposed Closing of Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Reading Room: Late this year the Library of Congress (LC) announced its intention to consolidate the African and Middle Eastern Readings Rooms in order to make room for a new exhibit. Concerns were raised by the history coalition and others. In the end, the LC reversed its position and abandoned the planned consolidation.
Smithsonian's Showtime Agreement: In 2006, the Smithsonian Institution (SI) entered into a semi-exclusive agreement with the Showtime Network to produce a series of pay-for-view television programs that deal with the SI. Concern was raised by documentary film makers, historians, scholars, archivists and others over certain provisions in the contract that grants Showtime in some instances exclusive access to Smithsonian collections, resources, and staff. The NCH joined with other concerned parties to form an informal coalition that sought to raise public and Congressional concern over the terms of the agreement. While there is Congressional interest in the agreement, and a GAO report has been issued, at this writing, the contract remains in place.
III. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH Conferences and Presentations: The history coalition's education and outreach program was scaled back somewhat due to the busy Congressional calendar. Nevertheless, the executive director made presentations during the National Humanities Alliance's Lobby Day event and in a "Special Humanities Briefing" sponsored by the National Humanities Alliance that targeted Congressional staff. Update presentations were made to the American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, Society of American Archivists, and National Council on Public History boards of directors.
Three presentations were made to introductory public history courses at the American University and at the George Washington University. The Executive Director taught a policy history course at American University and delivered the David E. Brandenburg Memorial Lecture titled, "The Future of History" during American University's Phi Alpha Theta awards dinner.
Publications and Action Alerts: Throughout the year the NCH continued to provide its supporters with the weekly electronic communication, the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE. Currently, direct H-Net subscriptions to the UPDATE remains steady at around 1,500 direct subscribers with secondary distribution to 600-plus H-net editors, to the SEDIT list of documentary editors, as well as through a weekly posting on George Mason University's History News Network webpage.
The program that was launched three years ago in which NCH ACTION ALERTS were issued separate from the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE continued throughout 2006. This year a half dozen ALERTS sought to motivate readers of the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE to contact congressional representatives urging them to support programs that benefit history. Most of the alerts focused on the funding needs of the National Archives and Records Administration (including the NHPRC) and the NEH. Some NHPRC alerts were transmitted to targeted e-mail lists of AHA/OAH/SAA members who resided in the targeted states and Congressional districts.
NCH columns continue to reach a broad but targeted audience of historians (30,000), museum professionals (10,000), and archivists (4,000) through the newsletters of professional organizations. These include the American Historical Association Perspectives , the Organization of American Historians OAH Newsletter, the Society of American Archivists Archival Outlook, the National Council on Public History Public History News, and the American Association for State and Local History AASLH Dispatch. Articles and news briefs were also reprinted in institutional supporter newsletters and online via the History News Network.
The Executive Director's article titled "Presidential Libraries and Museums: Opportunities for Genuine Reform" appeared in the fall issue of The Public Historian (Fall 2006).
IV. ORGANIZATION BUILDING Selection of New Executive Director: This year, Bruce Craig who has served as NCH Executive Director for the last seven years informed the Policy Board that as of 1 January 2007 he was moving to Prince Edward Island, Canada, where he will begin teaching at the University of Prince Edward Island and pursuing long-neglected independent research interests.
Following the announcement a Search Committee chaired by Arnita Jones of the American Historical Association conducted a nationwide search for Craig's successor. Other members of the committee (in alphabetical order) were: Nancy Beaumont (Society of American Archivists), Charlene Bickford (Association for Documentary Editors), Lee Formwalt (Organization of American Historians), James Gardner (National Council on Public History), Martha Kumar (American Political Science Association) and Brian Martin (History Associates). Lee White was selected as Executive Director. White, whose most recent position was that of Director of Government Relations for the National Society of Professional Engineers; he possesses a degree in law and a Masters degree in History from the George Mason University.
Strategic Planning: Last year, a Strategic Planning Committee was authorized to begin work on an update to the plan originally devised in 2001. The board committee chaired by National Council for Public History NCH representative James Gardner assisted by History Associates's Brian Martin and with input from additional contributors from the history coalition's diverse membership completed its work and reported out a revised strategic plan that was approved by the NCH Policy Board in December 2006. The plan was posted to the NCH web page.
Internships: The history coalition's student intern program continued with the part-time assistance of two student interns –– Nathaniel Kulyk and Emily Weisner (both from The American University) assisted the executive director in the totality of the NCH operations.
Grant and Other Special Funding: A grant application was approved by NARA for the second year in a row to support of the Stolen Documents Monitoring initiative. Once again the National Coalition for History was accepted into the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) for the 2007 work-place fund-raising drive. The history coalition participates in that campaign as a member of the Conservation, Preservation Federation of America (CPCA). Partly as a result of the annual internet solicitation posting by the Society for History in the Federal Government in the 2006 CFC campaign pledges to the NCH topped $9,000.
Audit: In the effort to comply with federal regulations requiring an annual audit, independent auditor Jeff Secker of Secker and Associates P.C. was engaged for the second year in a row to perform the annual audit. In order to facilitate the audit and better maintain the history coalition's financial records a contract bookkeeper was hired in 2006.
Membership Update: The history coalition is pleased to welcome several new members: The National History Center and the Florida Council for the Social Studies. Also, a number of member organizations also raised their contribution levels; they include: ABC CLIO, American Historical Association, Association for Documentary Editing, Center for History and New Media, The History Channel, Mid-Atlantic Archives Conference, and the Society for Military History. To date, several member organizations have yet to submit their annual donation, have not meet donation targets, or have reduced their annual contribution: American Society for Legal History, Conference Group for Central European History, H-NET Humanities On-line, Phi Alpha Theta, Polish American Historical Association, Society of Southwest Archivists, National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, The Manuscript Society, and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers.
Respectfully Submitted: Bruce Craig, Executive Director
Thursday, December 21, 2006
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #49; 21 December 2006)
1. MESSAGE FROM THE NEW NCH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEE WHITE
2. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE ISSUES REVIEW OF SMITHSONIAN/SHOWTIME
VENTURE
3. HISTORIANS AWARDED PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM
4. HOUSE GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE REORGANIZATION INCREASES ARCHIVES
AND INFORMATION POLICY FOCUS
5. EPA LIBRARY STATUS REPORT QUESTIONED BY AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
6. BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1--State Department Issues Latest Volumes in Foreign
Relations of the United States series
Item #2--Senate Confirms NEA Chair
Item #3--Library of Congress and U.S. Copyright Office Issue
Notice of Public Roundtable on Exceptions in Copyright Law for Libraries
and Archives
Item #4--Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to Proceed with
Protected Sale of Carter’s Grove Plantation
Item #5--FBI Releases Last of its Files on John Lennon
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST:
“Berger Hid Archives Papers Under a Trailer, Probe Reports”
(Washington Post)
“U.S. to Declassify Secrets at Age 25" (New York Times)
“Civic Literacy on Display” (Washington Times)
NOTE: The will be a two-week holiday hiatus for the NCH newsletter. You
will receive the next issue the week of 8 January 2007. Happy Holidays!
1. MESSAGE FROM THE NEW NCH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEE WHITE
For the last seven years, Bruce Craig has served as Executive Director of the National Coalition for History and editor of this newsletter. Since December 1st, Bruce has helped me transition into the executive director position. Over the past few weeks, I have come to appreciate the high regard in which Bruce is held in Washington, DC and in the historical and archival community. It has also made me realize what big shoes I have to fill!
Bruce has left for the holidays and with this edition he has turned over the editorship of the NCH Washington Update to me. I went back in the newsletter files to see what Bruce wrote in his first edition as editor. His statement then reflects my views for the immediate future as I assume my new position. Bruce wrote, “Please be assured that I have no intention of ‘fixing something that ain’t broken.’”
I think Bruce’s words still ring true today. He has done a remarkable job as an advocate and in providing timely information to the historical and archival communities. That said, I do anticipate that in time I will recommend some changes in the operation of the NCH and in the newsletter. My two top priorities will be to improve the appearance and content of our current website and to put the organization on firmer financial footing.
As I begin what I hope will be a long relationship with NCH and readers of this publication, I hope that you will feel free to comment and provide feedback on the newsletter. This organization and the newsletter exist to serve the needs of the historical and archival community and I welcome your input as to whether we are meeting those needs.
2. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE ISSUES REVIEW OF SMITHSONIAN/SHOWTIME VENTURE
The saga of the Smithsonian Institution’s controversial partnership with the Showtime Network continued this week as the long-awaited review of the deal was issued on 15 December 2006 by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The GAO report came at the request of House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Chairman Charles H. Taylor (R-NC) and Ranking Member Norm Dicks (D-WA) who control federal funding of the Smithsonian. A full copy of the report can be accessed online at: http://www.gao.gov
In March 2006, the Smithsonian Institution announced that it had entered into a 30-year, semi-exclusive contract with Showtime Networks Inc. to create a digital on-demand television channel. Members of Congress and other stakeholders, including the National Coalition for History, raised issues concerning the contract’s potential effects on public access to and use of the Smithsonian’s collections, its confidential nature, and the process by which the Smithsonian negotiated the agreement. The GAO found that the Smithsonian followed its internal contracting guidelines regarding competition, oversight, and conflicts of interest. The GAO revealed that when the Smithsonian began exploring a television venture in 2002, it approached 18 major media companies and negotiated with two before reaching a deal with Showtime. The process was overseen by the Board of Directors of the Smithsonian Business Ventures (SBV) and the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents, who approved the contract in November 2005.
The GAO stated that the Smithsonian has been working to implement policies and procedures necessary under the contract since it became effective in January 2006. However, thus far the information that the Smithsonian has provided to interested parties such as filmmakers and historians, has been insufficient. The Smithsonian and Showtime waited until March 2006 to publicly announce the new venture and did not implement internal processes to review filming requests for compliance with the contract until after the public announcement. The GAO was critical of the fact that while the Smithsonian has created a committee to review filming requests, it does not document in detail its rationale for key decisions or attempt to synthesize these decisions over time. The GAO also felt the “Frequently Asked Questions” section on the Smithsonian’s web site provides little information for filmmakers about the new contract and procedures.
The GAO concluded that it is too early to determine the long-term impact of the contract. The GAO felt access to the Smithsonian’s collections and staff for research purposes remains unchanged, but the direct impact on filmmakers will depend largely on how many request permission to use a substantial amount of Smithsonian content. So far, 6 of 117 filming requests have involved a substantial amount of Smithsonian content——2 were denied and 4 were approved as exceptions. (Note: The joint venture may grant up to 6 exceptions annually to those requesting access). The Smithsonian contends that it will be able to accommodate the same level of filming activity as it has in the past based on its historical analysis of filming contracts. However, the GAO found that this analysis was unreliable because it was based on incomplete data and oversimplified criteria. The report also noted that concerns have been raised about damage to the Smithsonian’s image and the appropriateness of limiting the use of the collections held in trust for the American public.
In response to the GAO Report, Sheila Burke, the Smithsonian’s Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, issued a statement saying, “The Smithsonian fully intends to implement both of the recommendations cited in the report’s conclusion: documenting in more detail the reasons for accepting and declining requests from filmmakers and updating the web site to provide filmmakers and other interested parties with more information about the contract.”
A staffer on Capitol Hill told us that the GAO report is considered a thorough study that provides greater clarity to the deal. The staffer said it was reassuring that there were “no red flags” in the report, but it does leave questions unanswered as to how the Smithsonian/Showtime venture will affect filmmakers and historians over the long term. Finally, the staffer said that the Smithsonian needs to take seriously the concerns that GAO raised over its public image and the perception that the Smithsonian is limiting public access to its collection. It is unclear at this point what, if any action, the new Congress will take in response to the report.
Carl Malamud, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who has in the past been a critic of the Smithsonian/Showtime venture stated, “The GAO report dealt with many issues in the Showtime deal. But, we're still waiting for the Smithsonian Inspector General's report on excessive compensation and revenue recognition. Historians have uncovered real problems at Smithsonian Books, and there are several other tempests brewing. Congress will certainly be paying close attention next year.”
3. HISTORIANS AWARDED PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM
At a recent White House ceremony, President George W. Bush honored this year’s recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award. Established by Executive Order 11085 in 1963, the medal may be awarded by the president “to any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
Among this year’s ten recipients were two noted historians. David McCullough is one of the best known historians in America and is the author of numerous history bestsellers. McCullough has won two Pulitzer Prizes for his works “Truman” (1993) and “John Adams” (2002). He has also won two Parkman Prizes, awarded annually by the Society of American Historians (SAH) for the best non-fiction book on an American theme. He won the Parkman Prize for “Truman” (1993) and “The Path Between the Seas” (1978), his book on the construction of the Panama Canal. McCullough has also served as a narrator on such noted Public Broadcasting Service programs such as The American Experience and Ken Burns’s The Civil War. McCullough is also a past president of the SAH.
The other recipient was historian and journalist Paul Johnson. Among his most notable works are “Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the 1980s,” which has since been updated in a new edition (2005). He is also the author of “The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830" (1991) and “A History of the American People” (1997). Johnson has also had a notable career as a conservative columnist writing for “The Spectator” and “The Daily Mail,” among many other publications.
4. HOUSE GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE REORGANIZATION INCREASES ARCHIVES AND INFORMATION POLICY FOCUS
Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), the incoming chair of the House Government Reform Committee, has announced a reorganization of the subcommittee structure and jurisdiction when Congress reconvenes under Democratic control in January. “My goal is to consolidate the jurisdictions of some of the subcommittees so that the jurisdiction of each subcommittee will have broad appeal and will engage the attention of the subcommittee members,” Waxman stated. As part of the restructuring, there will be a new Information Policy, Census and National Archives Subcommittee. The reorganization will give increased visibility to the National Archives. Waxman has been a long-standing critic of the Bush administration’s policies on access to documents and declassification. The creation of a subcommittee with a focus on information policy signifies the importance the new chairman places on these issue.
5. EPA LIBRARY STATUS REPORT QUESTIONED BY AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
As we reported a few weeks ago, there has been a firestorm of opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) effort to close its nationwide network of scientific libraries. EPA began closing some of its regional branch libraries and one at its Washington, DC, headquarters earlier this fall. The agency is not only closing the facilities, but has also reportedly begun destroying documents or shipping them to repositories where they are uncataloged and inaccessible to EPA employees, scientists, and the general public.
On December 11, EPA held a public teleconference to provide a status report on their library system. EPA’s position is that it is providing broader access to a larger audience by making agency library materials available through its public web site. EPA asserts that retrieving materials will be more efficient and easier to locate by using its online collection and reference services.
“When libraries go digital, everyone benefits,” said Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock. “By modernizing our libraries, EPA is bringing our cutting edge science to your fingertips, whether you live across the street, or on the other side of the world.”
EPA claims that, to date, more than 22,000 of 51,000 EPA documents have been made available through the agency's public web site and all EPA unique documents will be online within two years. Documents from libraries within the network that no longer have physical space will be available online as of January 2007.
EPA’s claims triggered a swift response from American Library Association’s (ALA) President Leslie Burger. “The teleconference December 11 raised more questions that it answered. It is a gross oversimplification to state that everyone benefits when libraries go digital. This is only true when there is a thoughtful digitization plan that ensures valuable information is not lost and public access is retained. We are still waiting for the EPA to disclose its digitization plan and budget,” Burger said.
6. BITS AND BYTES
Item #1--State Department Issues Latest Volumes in Foreign Relations of the United States series: The U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian recently announced the release of the three latest volumes in the Foreign Relations of the United States series. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XII, Soviet Union, January 1969-October 1970, is the first of five volumes in the Nixon-Ford subseries, which document U.S.-Soviet relations worldwide and reflect the global nature of the Cold War. The volume and a press release are available on the Office of the Historian website at http://www.state.gov
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XIV, Soviet Union, October 1971-May 1972. This, the third of five Nixon-Ford volumes to be published, is also focused on the Soviet Union. The volume begins with the announcement in October 1971 of President Nixon's visit to the Soviet Union and ends with the Moscow summit in May 1972. Volume XIV and a press release are available on the Office of the Historian website at http://www.state.gov
The third volume is Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XX, Southeast Asia, 1969-1972. This volume presents documentation on U.S. relations with Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, three nations that were key U.S. allies during the Vietnam war. Volume XX and a press release are available on the Office of the Historian website at http://www.state.gov
Item #2–Senate Reconfirms NEA Chair: Before adjourning for the year, the Senate unanimously confirmed National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia for reappointment as head of the NEA, marking the beginning of the chairman's second, four-year term. The U.S. Senate also confirmed the appointment of six new members nominated by President George W. Bush to serve on the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Item #3--Library of Congress and U.S. Copyright Office Issue Notice for Public Roundtable on Exceptions in Copyright Law for Libraries and Archives: The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) (www.digitalpreservation.gov) and the U.S. Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov), both part of the Library of Congress, are sponsoring the Section 108 Study Group. Its mission is to study how section 108 of the Copyright Act may need to be amended to address the issues and concerns of libraries and archives, as well as of creators and other copyright holders, when dealing with digital media. The group will provide findings and recommendations on how to revise the copyright law in order to ensure an appropriate balance among the interests of creators and other copyright holders, libraries and archives in a manner that best serves the national interest. The findings and recommendations will be submitted by mid-2007 to the Librarian of Congress.
The U.S. Copyright Office and the Office of Strategic Initiatives of the Library of Congress have placed a notice in the Federal Register titled “Notice of a Public Roundtable with Request for Comments.” A copy of the notice and additional information can be found at www.loc.gov/section108/.
The roundtable discussion will be held in Chicago on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST, at DePaul University College of Law, Lewis Building, 10th Floor, Room 1001, 25 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604.
The notice details how to make a request to participate in the roundtable; requests must be received by 5 p.m. EST, Friday, Jan. 12, 2007. The notice also provides information on how interested parties can submit written comments on the issues presented in the notice. Comments must be received by 5 p.m. EST, Friday, March 9, 2007.
Item #4--Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to Proceed with Protected Sale of Carter’s Grove Plantation: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has announced it will proceed with the sale of the Carter’s Grove Plantation but will seek to ensure its preservation by offering it for sale on a fully protected basis. The restrictions will prohibit residential and commercial development of the property. In addition, any sale of the Carter’s Grove property will include a “right of first offer” back to the foundation, should the purchaser seek to resell the property.
The Carter's Grove site comprises 400 acres located along the James River, eight miles southeast of Williamsburg, Virginia. It includes Carter's Grove Mansion, the Wolstenholme Towne site, the Winthrop Rockefeller Archaeology Museum and the first slave quarters reconstructed by the foundation.
Item #5–FBI Releases Last of its Files on John Lennon: On 20 December 2006, the "Los Angeles Times" reported that the FBI has released the final 10 documents detailing the Bureau’s surveillance of former-Beatle John Lennon. University of California, Irvine, historian Dr. Jonathan W. Wiener has been engaged in a legal battle in the U.S. court system since 1981 to force the release of the documents in Lennon’s FBI files. According to the Times article, the FBI had resisted releasing all of the files by claiming they could result in “military retaliation against the United States.” Wiener was quoted in the article as saying, “I doubt that Tony Blair’s government will launch a military strike against the U.S. in retaliation for the release of these documents. Today, we can see that the national security claims that the FBI has been making for 25 years were absurd from the beginning.” The documents are posted at http://www.LennonFBIfiles.com.
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST
A "Washington Post" article entitled,"Berger Hid Archives Papers Under a Trailer, Probe Shows." The article details the misadventures of how former White House national security adviser Samuel R. “Sandy” Berger managed to smuggle classified Clinton era documents out of the National Archives in 2003. http://www.washingtonpost.com
A “New York Times” article entitled “U.S. to Declassify Secrets at Age 25,” details the effect that the upcoming December 31, 2006, release of millions of pages of declassified documents by the federal government will have on historians and researchers. Under an Executive Order, federal agencies will have to release previously classified documents once they exceed a 25-year limit. http://www.nytimes.com/
A “Washington Times” article entitled “‘Civic Literacy’ on Display,” details Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein’s outreach effort to help Americans appreciate their democracy. The article profiles a recent event in New York City where some 80 immigrants took their oath of allegiance next to a parchment copy of the Bill of Rights as ratified by the New York state legislature in 1790. http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Friday, December 15, 2006
NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #48; 15 December 2006)
1. 109th CONGRESS ADJOURNS SINE DIE -- REPUBLICAN CONTROL OF CONGRESS
ENDS
2. NEW APPROPRIATIONS LEADERS ANNOUNCE FY 2007 BUDGET PLANS -- AGENCY
BUDGETS FROZEN AT FY 2006 LEVELS
3. PIDB BOARD REQUESTS ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FROM CONGRESS
4. BIG BOOST FOR MUSEUM FORMULA GRANT INITIATIVE -- IMLS TO EXPLORE
FEASIBILITY OF STATE FORMULA GRANT PROGRAM
5. FINALLY -- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE POSTS VACANT CHIEF HISTORIAN
POSITION
6. BITS AND BYTES: Humanities Alliance Conference and Advocacy Day
Registration; Pachter to Retire; Correction
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "Microsoft Offers Book Search" (PC World)
A DEPARTING NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: For the last seven years I have served as Executive Director of the National Coalition for History and editor of this newsletter. Throughout these years, it has been my privilege to bring readers timely and informative news about developments impacting the history and archive professions on Capitol Hill. With this posting though, I write my last NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE. The newsletter is in good hands as beginning next week, my successor, Lee White, will carry on the history coalition's tradition of keeping you informed through weekly postings.
As I pack the last of my boxes in anticipation for my move to Prince Edward Island, Canada, which is now home for the Craig family, I depart the history coalition with a certain amount of regret. I do however, look forward to my new teaching responsibilities at the University of Prince Edward Island, to assisting my wife in operating our bed and breakfast, and to begin working in earnest on several research and writing projects that have languished in various piles on my home office desk for far too long. I especially look forward to what I hope will be a more relaxed and quieter lifestyle than the hustle and bustle of the nation's capitol. For those who wish to contact me in the future, I can be reached at rbcraig84@hotmail.com .
1. 109th CONGRESS ADJOURNS SINE DIE -- REPUBLICAN CONTROL OF CONGRESS ENDS Republican control of the House and Senate came to an end on 9 December as the 109th Congress adjourned Sine Die at 5 AM in the morning with but a handful of members in attendance. However, just prior to the end of the session both the House and Senate took action (or in some cases opted not to act) on a number of bills impacting history and archives.
First, the House agreed to the Senate amendments to legislation (H.R. 1492) to provide for the preservation of historic confinement sites where Japanese-Americans were detained during World War II. The bill seeks to provide federal funds (with a partial private match) to preserve and protect surviving internment sites. According to Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA), who spoke in support of the bill on the House floor, "Preserving these internment sites is a solemn task we all bear..In the process it will help to demonstrate our country's commitment to equality, justice, and liberty for all."
The House also approved legislation (S. 1378) to amend the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) to provide appropriation authorization and improve the operations of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Both the confinement site and NHPA measures now go to the president for signature.
Equally significant are a number of legislative measures that Congress opted not to enact, chief of which was a proposal titled, "To Authorize Grants for Contributions Toward the Establishment of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library" (H.R. 4846). The bill was introduced by Congressman Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) and supported by eleven members of the Virginia Congressional delegation. The bill sought to authorize the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to make a grant contribution of an undisclosed amount at some future undisclosed date toward the establishment of the "Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library" in Staunton, Virginia.
This legislation was never subjected to the scrutiny of a congressional hearing. It was rammed through the House in late September in an effort to enact the measure and provide federal funding for a private museum in Virginia prior to the 150th anniversary of the birth of President Woodrow Wilson on 10 December 2006. If enacted the bill would have diverted NARA funds to a private museum that has neither any significant library holdings nor any archival collection associated with President Wilson (the Wilson papers, for example, are housed at Princeton University). The measure specified that federal money would be channeled to the site by NARA to "provide interpretive and educational services that communicate the meaning of the life of Woodrow Wilson," with the proviso that "the Archivist shall have no involvement in the actual operations of the library, except at the request of the non-Federal entity responsible for the operation of the library."
National Archives insiders report strong opposition to the legislation by professional staff. According to one source, had the measure come to hearing, NARA would have opposed the bill for a variety of reasons, perhaps chief of which would be that the bill would have set a dangerous precedent in which other private presidential museums and historic sites would feel at liberty to pursue special earmarked funding for their private institutions as well. With NARA running a $10-$12 million projected shortfall in FY 2007, the agency clearly cannot afford a diversion of limited funds to such special-interest purposes. In addition, designations by small historic sites and museums claiming to be "presidential libraries" add to the already confusing miscellany of nomenclature relating to presidential libraries, thus making it that much harder for the general public to understand what is and what is not a true presidential library.
For the reasons cited above, the National Coalition for History opposed enactment of this measure and communicated that opposition to Virginia senators and key members of the Senate, including members of the Homeland Security Committee to which the bill was referred for consideration.
While the measure was not acted on in the 109th Congress, according to a spokesperson for Representative Goodlatte, the Congressman plans to reintroduce the bill and hopes to see the measure enacted early in the 110th Congress.
Readers who reside in Virginia who wish to make their voices heard on this measure are encouraged to contact their House member or senator and express your views on the proposed legislation. Member offices can be reached via the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
2. NEW APPROPRIATIONS LEADERS ANNOUNCE FY 2007 BUDGET PLANS - AGENCY BUDGETS FROZEN AT FY 2006 LEVELS As regular readers of this publication are aware, the Republican controlled 109th Congress adjourned last week without finishing the eleven remaining appropriation bills for FY 2007. On 11 December the new Democratic leaders of the House and Senate appropriation committees who will assume the key positions in January - Representative David Obey (D-WI) and Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) - announced that they will not attempt to cope with the budget crisis left by the outgoing Republican-controlled Congress. Instead, they will recommend extending the current levels of federal agency funding until the beginning of FY 2008 next October 1.
According to Rep. Obey, "While the results will be far from ideal, this path provides the best way to dispose of the unfinished business quickly..and allows [officials] to plan for the coming year with some knowledge of what the federal government is funding." The decision translates into a mixed blessing for history and archives.
The leaders' announcement is considered a victory for fiscal conservatives, as all federal agencies will operate at funding levels that Congress approved for FY 2006, which for the most part is lower than what was proposed in FY 2007. There will be no new funds to cover the standard agency administrative costs that escalate each year such as mandatory increases in personnel (cost of living increases) and facility rental costs. In essence, every agency will realize a sizable cut, ranging (in most cases) from three to nine percent of their total operating budget as had been proposed for FY 2007.
For the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) the decision made by the appropriation chairs means the agency will receive an operating budget of $325.535 million - some $12 million less than the $338 million that was requested by the president for FY 2007. In the NARA budget, the only winner is the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The commission budget is slotted to be set at $7.425 million -- $5.5 million for grants and $2 million for administrative costs; this represents a half million increase over what most insiders expected the House and Senate would have agreed to for the NHPRC in FY 2007.
Another winner is the Department of Education "Teaching American History" initiative, which will see a funding level of $121 million -- the amount appropriated to the program in FY 2006 and the same as proposed by Senator Byrd in the Senate for FY 2007; this figure is some $71 million more than recommended by the president in the FY 2007 budget proposal.
Under the proposed funding scenario, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) would be allotted $140.949 million - about what was proposed for the agency in FY 2007 by President Bush; this translates into some moderate belt-tightening for the agency. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will experience a significant loss as the agency will not get the $15 million (or 6% percent) increase that the White House supported for the IMLS in its FY 2007 budget proposal; funding for the IMLS will be set at $247.100 million.
The new appropriation chiefs also have announced that they would place a "temporary moratorium" on special interest provisions (i.e. earmarks) that have been affixed to various FY 2007 appropriation measures by the Republican-controlled Congress. At this writing, appropriation committee staff in the Senate assert that it has "yet to be decided" how various appropriation subcommittees of jurisdiction will reconcile the 2006 budget numbers with language found in House and Senate reports for FY 2007.
With the control of Congress now squarely in the hands of the Democrats, and with the fiscally conservative decision by Obey and Byrd, the president will see his overall budget recommendation for FY 2007 realized -- that being "flat funding" for most domestic agencies. It is ironic though that it took a change in control of Congress from the Republicans to the Democrats to achieve the fiscally-conservative goal that the president has all along sought for domestic agencies in FY 2007.
3. PIDB BOARD REQUESTS ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FROM CONGRESS According to a report from the Cox News Service (see http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/159482), the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) - a body established six years ago by Congress "to promote the fullest possible public access to a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of significant United States national security decisions" (FY 2001 Intelligence Authorization Act, Section 703) -- has yet "to recommend declassifying a single page." However, the PIDB is now seeking Congressional authority to review documents without White House approval.
According to the news report that was also posted by Steven Aftergood in the Federation of American Scientists'' newsletter "Secrecy News," the board's charter requires it to seek permission from the White House before it can review a classified document, let alone actually recommend disclosing it. But according to the Cox News report, the board has now asked Congress to modify its charter to make clear that White House approval is not required for this purpose.
Recently, we reported (see "Public Interest Declassification Board Unable to Act" in NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE Vol. 12, #24 3 November 2006) that Members of Congress asked the board to review the classification of two recent reports on pre-war Iraq intelligence to determine if more of the text could be disclosed. The board concluded that it did not possess the authority to do so without White House approval, which has yet to be granted.
4. BIG BOOST FOR MUSEUM FORMULA GRANT INITIATIVE -- IMLS TO EXPLORE FEASIBILITY OF STATE FORMULA GRANT PROGRAM On 11 December 2006, Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), announced that her agency will undertake an effort to explore the feasibility of formula grants to the states to support museum services. The IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
Radice said, "For fifty years there has been a population-based formula grant to each state and the territories to support library services. In recent years the museum community has been engaged in discussions about the feasibility of a similar program for museum services, and the agency has received several requests from members of Congress to explore the issue. This is a serious issue and must be fully examined by bringing a variety of voices to the table. I have asked Celeste Colgan to lead this effort. Celeste is an outstanding strategist and policy advisor with a passion for education and a keen interest in the role of cultural institutions in the United States. I am delighted that she has agreed to take on this important task."
Colgan is a consultant on higher education academic matters and is the intermountain coordinator for the American Council of Trustees and Alumni for teacher preparation reform. Her academic and policy roles have included senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA), director of the State of Wyoming Department of Commerce, and deputy chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. She was also an adjunct professor at the University of Wyoming and the chairman of the Division of Language and Literature at Casper College. Colgan received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Wyoming and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
The announcement was good news for member organizations of the "Federal Formula Grant Coalition" (of which the National Coalition for History is a member), which for several years has been advancing a museum formula grant program for the states. A separate coalition -- comprised largely of archival organizations that is spearheaded by the Council of State Archivists (COSA) -- is working on a similar proposal for archives titled the "Partnership for the American Historical Record" (PAHR). The PAHR proposal, however, would be funded through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission or as a separate line-item in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) budget, and not the IMLS.
In the coming year plans call for Colgan to review for the IMLS relevant funding models and work with community leaders, museum professionals, and educators across the country to convene local hearings to investigate the public's needs for museum services and the potential for meeting these needs through federal grants to the states. She will also convene national leaders to discuss her findings. A report will be published in December 2007.
5. FINALLY - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE POSTS VACANT CHIEF HISTORIAN POSITION As regular readers of this publication are aware, we rarely post vacancy announcements. Once in a great while, however, an announcement of such importance comes to our attention that we break our own rule. This is one such occasion.
Since the retirement over a year ago of Dwight Pitcaithley, Chief Historian of the National Park Service (NPS), this key history position has remained vacant. Upper level management at the NPS redescribed the position several times in an effort to downgrade it to a lower salary level and status. That effort failed. Thanks to the persistence of the selecting official and others, the position has finally been properly described and is advertised to be filled at the same target level as the position was when Pitcaithley occupied it -- at the GS-14/15 level.
According to the position announcement (NPS/WASO-06-128), "The purpose of this position is to serve as the Chief Historian of the National Park Service. As such, the selectee provides expert advice and guidance on all NPS historical programs and oversees the development of policy and guidelines to govern these programs."
The basic eligibility requirement is a "Bachelor's degree in history, historic preservation, or related field that includes at least 18 semester hours in history or a combination of experience and education with courses equivalent to a major in history, or major in a related field with at least 18 semester hours in history, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Additionally, to qualify for the GS-15, applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-14 level; to qualify for the GS-14, applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-13 level. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position and involves overseeing and directing an American history program." Closing date for applications is 19 January 2007.
The position is being advertised as what amounts to be an "all sources" posting - that meaning that not just NPS employees may apply, but any and all qualified federal historians (persons employed in the historian series 170 who currently are at the GS-13 pay level will easily qualify for the position) as well as public historians, and historians employed in universities and outside federal service. While a BA in history is the minimum requirement specified in the announcement, it is expected that the position will be filled with a qualified person possessing at least a Masters degree, and in all likelihood with a person possessing a Ph.D. If interested in this key federal position, please visit the USA Jobs announcement at: http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/getjob
6. BITS AND BYTES Item #1 - Humanities Alliance Conference and Advocacy Day Registration: Registration forms are now available from the National Humanities Alliance for its 2007 conference and Humanities Advocacy Day event to be held 26-27 March 2007 in Washington, D.C. The two-day event is a unique meeting ground for members of the alliance and others interested in humanities policy and advocacy, including higher education leaders, college and university faculty, teachers, museum professionals, librarians, archivists, curators, and independent scholars. The opening session on March 26 features a luncheon and keynote address by Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. In the afternoon, Congressional staff and leaders in the field will outline changes in the newly-elected 110th Congress, and brief participants on the status of significant policy and funding issues for the humanities community in 2007. Later, "Advocacy Guru" Stephanie Vance will lead an informative and energizing session on effective strategies for communication with elected officials. For registration forms, visit: http://www.nhalliance.org/conference/2007/RegForm07.pdf. Completed forms can be mailed or faxed to the National Humanities Alliance office.
All registered conference participants are encouraged to take part in Humanities Advocacy Day on 27 March 2007. The event provides supporters an important opportunity to meet with their representatives in the new Congress, and to work together to communicate the public value of the humanities to policymakers in Washington, DC. Conference activities will be capped by a reception on Capitol Hill featuring exhibits of federally-supported humanities projects from around the country. For the event website, visit: http://www.nhalliance.org/conference/2007/ .
Item #2 -- Pachter to Retire: National Portrait Gallery Director Marc Pachter, who has served as the gallery's head since 2000, has announced his intention to step down from his position in October 2007. After leaving the position he intends to write about themes and personalities in American cultural history. In his over 33 year tenure at the Smithsonian Institution (SI), Pachter has served in a number of high-ranking positions, including acting director of the National Museum of American History and chair of the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary committee. Pachter is the second SI museum director to announce his retirement this year - in October, Richard West, director of the National Museum of the American Indian announced his intention to leave in November 2007.
Item #3 -- Correction: In "New Members Confirmed to Sit on Humanities Council" that appeared in the 29 November 2006 issue of the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE there was an error in reporting the name of one of the new Council members -- the correct name is Josiah Bunting II rather than Jean Bunting. Also, two other members of the Council mentioned in the article-- Jean Bethke Elshtain and Allen C. Guelzo -- began their terms in July 2006, not 2007.
7. ARTICLE OF THE WEEK One Posting this week: In "Microsoft Offers Book Search" (PC World; 6 December 2006), Microsoft announces plans to launch a beta version of Live Search Books, which, like Google Book Search, is a service that indexes and makes searchable the full text of books. For the article, tap into: http://www.pcworld.com/
