Senate and House subcommittees are now setting dates for hearings on the President’s proposed budget. NCC will be coordinating efforts to assure that the concerns of the historical and archival community will be presented at these hearings. In addition to having public witnesses, it is very helpful if individuals and organizations contact the subcommittees and request that written statements, which may be in the form of a letter, be added to hearing record. Target the receipt of statements for just prior to the hearing or for the two or three weeks following the hearing date. Four upcoming hearings of particular concern to historians are: March 20—Hearing for public witnesses on FY’86 appropriation for the National Endowment for the Humanities by House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies. The President has requested a 12 percent cut for NEH which would mean a reduction from the FY’85 level of $139.478 million to $126 million. Of particular concern is the recommended cut for state programs, a reduction from the current $21.4 level to $16.8 million. To have a statement added to the hearing record write: Representative Sidney R. Yates, Chairman, Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. April 23—Hearing for public witnesses on FY’86 appropriation for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission’s grants program by Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government. Although Congress passed reauthorization legislation for NHPRC grants program last year which called for a $5 million ceiling for 1986, the President has recommended zero funding. The NHPRC has an outstanding record of using federal funds to stimulate private contributions for records preservation and documentary editing projects. Small programs are particularly susceptible to reductions and even elimination. Constituent work in the past on behalf of NHPRC has illustrated that with some education, legislative aides and Congressional members quickly become supporters of this small but important program. To have a statement added to the hearing record write: Senator James Abdnor, Chairman of Senate Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510. A date has not yet been set for the House hearing, but a letter could also be written to Representative Edward R. Roybal, Chairman, House Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. April 30–May 16 in the House and May 1–14 in the Senate—Hearings for public witnesses on FY’86 appropriation for the Department of Education by Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education. Two items of particular concern to historians are the zero funding for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) and the sharp reduction recommended in student aid programs. FIPSE was established in 1972 to provide grants to stimulate improvements in higher education. Although the Administration concedes that FIPSE has been a successful program, the President has recommended elimination of the program. The Administration position is that colleges can now undertake these projects on their own. In FY’85 the appropriation for FIPSE was $12.7 million. In 1984 the Administration tried to cut the FIPSE budget in half, a move that Congress rejected. The higher education community must turn again to Congress for the necessary support for continuing this program. Indications are that there is considerable opposition in Congress to the sharp cuts proposed in student aid. Senator Robert Stafford (R-VT) who chairs the oversight subcommittee responsible for the Department of Education has called the Administration’s recommended cuts “absolutely ridiculous,” and stated that “our middle-income families have not asked for a free ride from the federal government, only limited assistance which the student will repay after leaving school.” To register concern over these appropriations and to have your statement included in the hearing records, write: Representative William H. Natcher, Chairman, House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
