President Signs Reauthorization Legislation for the NHPRC Grants Program
On July 13 President Reagan signed Public Law 100-865 which reauthorizes for the next five years the National Historical Publications and Records Commission’s grants program. This law establishes funding ceilings of $6 million for FY’89, $8 million for FY’90, and$10 million for FY’91, ’92, and ’93. The legislation also modifies the composition of the Commission by adding the Association of Documentary Editors and the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators. Currently, the Commission includes two representatives from four organizations: the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Society of American Archivists, and the American Association for State and Local History. This legislation adds two new organizations but reduces the number of representatives for each organization from two to one. Additionally, this legislation has clarified the authority of the NHPRC with provisions that specifically state a role for it in conducting institutes, training and education programs, and disseminating of information.
Frank Burke to Leave NHPRC
On September 1 Frank Burke left the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to accept a position at the University of Maryland College Park. For the past thirteen years he has served as the Executive Director of the NHPRC and for over two years of that time he served as Acting Archivist of the United States. Under his leadership, the NHPRC was responsible for the development of a guide to manuscript repositories and archives, a national records program to provide assistance to the states for archives preservation, and a large-scale program to assess the condition of records in the United States. Burke’s new position at the University of Maryland, entails teaching in the College of Library and Information Services as well as coordinating its History-Library Science Joint Degree Program. A national search is under way for a new Executive Director and the deadline for applications is October 1. Roger A. Bruns, the head of the NHPRC Publications Program, is currently Acting Executive Director of NHPRC.
Access to Records of the House of Representatives
On June 15, the Subcommittee on the Rules of the House held a hearing to consider H. Res. 419, which would amend the Rules of the House to make noncurrent House records available to scholars after thirty years. Currently, House records are closed for fifty years. Four witnesses presented testimony: Don W. Wilson, the US Archivist; Donald Anderson, the Clerk of the House; Raymond Smock, Historian of the House of Representatives; and Bernard Weisberger, a public historian who has recently written a script for a film on the history of Congress and who represented the NCC. Three of the four supported the adoption of a twenty-year rule, which has been the practice in the Senate for almost a decade. Only the C!erk of the House supported the thirty-year rule. Provisions in the Senate and House procedures give adequate protection for national security and privacy; and thus a twenty-year rule could provide a balance be tween the needs for openness and confidentiality. Weisberger stressed that “Where access to records is denied, reputable scholars are reluctant to venture because their professional standing depends on their objectivity and accuracy.” Immediately following the hearing the committee voted unanimously, without any discussion, to recommend a thirty-year rule. The fact that there are fifty-two members of the House who have served for over twenty years and who may prefer their earlier views not be scrutinized seemed to have been the underlying reason for the unanimous support by the Subcommittee of Rules for the thirty-year rule.
Freedom of Information Act Hearing
On August 2 the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology and the Law chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy {D-VT) held a hearing to consider the current procedures and administration of the FOIA. Senator Leahy opened the hearing by stating that for “the past eight years, this Administration has waged an assault on the FOIA with every weapon in its arsenal—executive orders, budget cuts, fee guidelines, and legislative proposals clearly designed to gut the FOIA.” For scholars one of the most disturbing issues is a fee waiver provision adopted in 1986. To qualify for a fee waiver, educational or scientific researchers must prove that a request “is being made under the auspices of a qualifying institution.” Individual historians initiate their own research projects. Generally academic institutions have no role in a historian’s selection of topics, research, or conclusions. The requirement that scholars make their requests on behalf of their universities reflects a lack of understanding of much historical research. During questioning of the agency representatives from the Justice Department, State Department, and the Central Intelligence Agency, Senator Leahy addressed issues of the subjective interpretations by agency personnel of whether fee waiver requests are “in the public interest” and explored a variety of bureaucratic obstacles designed to discourage use of the FOIA. Although no new FOIA legislation is expected any time soon, this hearing served to put the agencies on notice that Congress has serious reservations about current handling of the FOIA.
Librarians Oppose FBI Monitoring of Libraries
Recently the House Civil and Constitutional Rights Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Don Edwards (D-CA), held a hearing on the FBI’s “Library Awareness Program,” which seeks the voluntary cooperation of librarians in identifying foreign intelligence agents and in monitoring the use of technical and scientific information. All of the witnesses of the library community criticized this program which threatens the loss of basic rights of privacy and of access to unclassified, public material.
NEH Council
This summer the Senate confirmed five nominees for membership on the National Council on the Humanities: Alvin Bernstein, professor of history, Naval War Collegej Charles R. Ritchison, historian and university librarian at the University of Southern California; Patrick Butler, vice president of the Times Mirror; William P. Wright, businessman and chair, Texas Committee on the Humanities; and Edwin Delattre, former president of St. John’s College and Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center. The three pending nominations awaiting con sideration by the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources are Gary McDowell, historian and former NEH employee who is a fellow at the Wilson Center; Hillel Fradkin, a foundation executive and scholar of Near Eastern languages and literature; and Donald Kagan, professor of history and classics, Yale University. Six Council members whose terms expired last January will continue to serve until replacements are confirmed. The National Council advises the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities on policies, programs, and procedures and makes recommendations on grant applications.
Foreign Relations of the United States
Since 1861 the Department of State has published the official records of American diplomacy in a respected documentary series, The Foreign Relations of the United States. For many years volumes in the series were published twenty years after the historical events. Now there is little hope for meeting a thirty-year target. The NCC is working with leaders in the historical community to draw congressional attention to the problems currently facing this series. Concerns focus not only on the delays but also on problems in the declassification process and on the appropriate role of the Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation.
Status Report FY’89 on Appropriations
Congress is working on appropriations bills, but none are yet ready to be sent to the President. Nevertheless, at this mid-point stage in the appropriation process, there are some interesting developments to report.
Although the administration recommended $118 million for the National Archives and zero funding for the NHPRC grants program, the House passed a bill that calls for $126 million for the National Archives. This includes $4 million for the NHPRC grants program, $4 million for construction at the Kennedy Library, and $118 million for the National Archives’ operational budget. The Senate passed a bill that provides a total of $118 mil lion for the National Archives, which $4 million is earmarked for the grants program of the NHPRC. A Conference Committee will reconcile the differences. Bath the House and the Senate bills authorize the Archivist to enter into contracts for construction of a new archival building. Negotiations are proceeding for locating it adjacent to the University of Maryland College Park.
Rep. Sidney Yates (D-IL) has been instrumental in securing a significant increase in the House budget for NEH for FY’89. The House bill would increase the current budget of $140 million to $154 million. Concerted attention to the needs of preserving brittle books boosted the line item for the NEH Preservation Office from its current level of $4 million to $12.5 million. The budget for the State Programs increased from $21 million to $25 million. If passed into law these increases would help to close the gap between funding far NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts. This year NEA’s budget is 16 percent larger than that of NEH. The budget approved by the House would reduce the gap to 10 percent. The Senate Appropriations Committee has recommended $144 million for NEH for FY’89, with almost all of the increase earmarked for State Programs.
The House has approved a budget for FY’89 for the Historic Preservation Fund at $30 million with $24.7 million for the states and $5.25 million for the National Trust. The Senate Appropriations Committee has recommended $24.75 million for the states, $1 million for the special lighthouse project, and $4.5 million for the National Trust.
