Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing for Don Wilson to Be Archivist of the US
On October 20 the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee met to consider the nomination of Don W. Wilson for the position of Archivist of the United States.
A historian and archivist, Don Wilson received his PhD in history from the University of Cincinnati. He has held positions as archivist of the Kansas State Historical Society, historian and later deputy director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, and associate director of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Currently he is the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
Senator Jim Sasser (D-TN), the chair of the subcommittee with oversight responsibility for the National Archives, presided over the hearing. Senator Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) introduced Wilson, a native of Kansas, and applauded his qualifications, stating she was “sure his tenure will reflect his devotion to preserving the past.” Senator Sasser, in his opening remarks, stressed that Wilson “brings to this position a solid academic background, a distinguished career in archival administration, a first-hand knowledge of the National Archives, and an understanding of the many issues facing the archival professional today.” Emphasizing the need for a nonpartisan professional, such as Wilson, for Archivist, Sasser asserted that the National Archives must be neutral, impartial, balanced, and professional. “Because this is the first appointment of an Archivist to lead the independent National Archives,” Sasser said “the qualifications of this nominee will set a precedent for further appointments.”
The ranking minority member of the Governmental Affairs Committee and the only other member of the committee present, William Roth (R-DE) noted the nominee’s strong qualifications and commented that the committee “had not received any negative correspondence on the nomination.” Because of time constraints there were no outside witnesses, but Sasser noted the receipt of supportive statements from numerous organizations including the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Society of American Archivists, and the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History. “These letters of endorsement,” Sasser stated, “will be made an official part of today’s hearing record.”
In his written statement to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, Wilson said that he believes deeply in the mission of the National Archives and is “committed to seeing the institution take its rightful place as the nation’s preeminent archival organization.” In addressing the major issues and needs of the National Archives, Wilson identified as a growing problem the fact that significant quantities of federal records have not come under National Archives control. He discussed the challenge of preserving electronic records and then turned to the persistent disparity at the National Archives between the responsibility and the resources for fulfilling its mission as the federal government’s central repository for valuable records. Wilson specified as one of the first orders of business, a “review of existing legislation and authorities for the National Archives’ oversight responsibilities for federal records and information management programs.” He concluded his testimony, which he did not read at the hearing but which was entered in the record, by saying, “At no time in the history of the National Archives has there been both a greater awareness of its needs and more concerted collective support of its mission by users, constituent groups, the White House, and especially Congress. It is a time of opportunity as well as great responsibility for the next Archivist. I am prepared to commit myself fully to these challenges and responsibilities, if I am confirmed. …”
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee is expected to vote on the nomination in mid-November with a vote by the full Senate a few days later.
National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Authorization for the NHPRC grants program ends with the FY’88 budget. Thus, it is once again time to secure reauthorization legislation for NHPRC. Senator Jim Sasser, mentioned above, chair of the subcommittee with responsibility for NHPRC (Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Federalism, and the District of Columbia of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee), will introduce the reauthorization legislation. And Senator John Heinz (R-PA), the ranking minority member of the subcommittee, has agreed to cosponsor the bill.
Senate Opposes Nominee to NEH Council
In October the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee voted not to recommend Senate confirmation of Charles A. Moser to serve on the Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities. During the previous Congress, while the Republicans controlled the Senate, the Committee had also considered Moser for the NEH Council and had tabled the nomination because of the controversy surrounding his conservative positions. Moser, a professor of Slavic languages at George Washington University, was involved in 1974 in a bitter battle in West Virginia over textbook censorship. Moser participated in a group that worked to ban textbooks approved by the school board that the group considered “anti-Christian, anti-American, depressing, and negative.” Moser is currently director of Accuracy in Media, a conservative organization that monitors the news media, and publicly supports Accuracy in Academia, an organization that monitors the classroom presentations of university faculty for liberal bias. Opposition to Moser arose from concern that he would not be fair-minded in his consideration of NEH grants.
