Publication Date

December 16, 2011

UPDATE (3:30 p.m. 12/12/11): Lee White, Executive Director of the National Coalition for History has now posted a complete report on the Fiscal Year ’12 funding bill and how it will affect the historical community.

Original Post:

Latest information on the federal budget pertaining to funding for specific high visibility History-related activities:

The House Appropriations Committee has released its version of an omnibus spending bill for fiscal year (FY) 2012 that would fund the federal government until September 30, 2012.  As of Friday morning, Dec. 16, this is what we know:

National Endowment for the Humanities: Under the House version, which we expect is what will ultimately be passed, the NEH will be funded at $146.5 million (vs. $155 million in FY 2011).

National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC): Will be funded at $5 million in the current bill (vs. $7 million in FY 2011).

Teaching American History:  This bill allots no funds for TAH grants.

Title VI/Fulbright-Hays:  $74.1 million (vs.  $75.7 million in  FY 2011, but well below FY 2010 and only half of the President’s FY 2012 funding request)

Domestic Programs: $66.7 million
Overseas Programs:  $ 7.465 million
Institute for International Public Policy:  zero (from $1.552 million in FY 2011)

We wish we could be more definitive, not to mention more optimistic.  Lee White, the Executive Director of the National Coalition for History, continues to monitor the situation and we will post revisions at our web site as we learn more.  For full details, see the National Coalition for History web site.

Whatever happens, the AHA is grateful to our members for their efforts on behalf of these important programs.  We also thank the members and staff of all of the many other history and history-related organizations that have put time and energy into this work.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.

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