Executive Director Transition Completed

In mid-June, former NCC Director Page Putnam Miller and I completed a multi-week executive director "transition" by finishing the chore of culling the NCC files, packing the last of Page's books, and, in my case, learning the intricacies of the NCC's computer systems. This week, here in the NCC's cozy office on the top floor of the Capitol Hill Victorian house that serves as headquarters for the American Historical Association in Washington, D.C., I am writing this—my first installment of "NCC Advocacy Update" for the AHA's Perspectives.

In the coming weeks and months, as the NCC Board of Directors begins to review the NCC's past activities and prepares to meet the challenges of the future, you probably will notice some modest changes in the way the NCC conducts its activities and delivers its services. For example, the NCC's web pages (http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~ncc) will be updated and hopefully will evolve into a cyber center for our advocacy efforts. Plans are also in the works for the creation of an "advocacy network" where recipients of our "Legislative Alerts" (which are sent to those of you who subscribe to the NCC online newsletter "NCC Washington Update"), may be asked to take rapid action by calling, emailing, or writing senators or representatives to advance the cause of history. And, you will notice some changes in what is reported in the "NCC Advocacy Update"—for example, cultural resource and archival issues may figure a little more prominently than they have in the past.

But rest assured that the NCC's mission is not changing. It continues to focus on advocacy—the support of historical programs, teaching, research, and public programming; the promotion of greater access to historical records and government information; and support for federal humanities programs. We will also continue to address issues relating to copyright and historic preservation. As always, I invite your comments, responses, and suggestions; contact me at rbcraig3@juno.com.

Interior Department Appropriation Bill Ready for Conference

On July 18 the Senate passed a $15.51 billion Interior and Related Agencies appropriation bill that includes recommended funding levels for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) of $120.26 million; for the Office of Museum Services, $24.9 million; for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), $105 million; and approximately $44.3 million the Historic Preservation Fund. The Senate-recommended funding levels are approximately $1 billion less than the president's request of $16.32 billion but more than the House-passed appropriations bill. The Senate measure passed by a vote of 97 to 2. Senators Paul Wells tone (D-Minn.) and Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.) voted against the bill; while the then-ailing Senator Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) did not vote. As of this writing, if either the House- or Senate-passed versions of the Interior appropriations bill is sent on to the White House, the legislation faces a possible presidential veto because both versions contain less than the Clinton administration wanted for parklands and certain Bureau of Indian Affairs programs.

During the Senate debate, which stretched over several days, numerous amendments were offered. Senator James Inhofe's (R-Okla.) attempt to transfer proposed NEA increase funds to another Interior agency was defeated 73 to 27. The climax of the amendment debate occurred on the morning of July 18 when a proposal by Senate Majority Whip Don Nickles (R-Okla.) that sought to bar the president from protecting more federal land by designating new national monuments was defeated by a 50-49 vote. Had the measure passed, the president would have also been barred from declaring any historic sites (such as the recently designated Lincoln and Soldiers Home National Monument in Washington, D.C.) as national monuments as well.

Passage of the Senate version of the Interior appropriations bill follows on the heels of many long months of work by the Senate appropriations staff and supporters of the NEH, the National Park Service, and other cultural institutions. The Senate-approved legislation includes modest increases over both the House-passed version of the Interior appropriations bill and current fiscal 2000 funding levels, which stand at $98 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and $115.3 for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The Senate recommended a $7.4 million increase for the NEA, a $5 million increase for the NEH and a $0.6 million increase for the Office of Museum Service at the Institute of Museum and Library Services. If the proposed increases survive the House-Senate conference, the NEH budget will become $120.3 million. According to the Senate report, the $5 million in additional funds allocated to the NEH would be divided as follows: $1.5 million for state humanities councils, $1 million to the public programs division, $800,000 to regional humanities centers, $1 million for research programs, $500,000 for administrative support, and $200,000 for the challenge grant program.

The Senate pegged the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) at $44.35 million some $30.4 million below fiscal 2000 levels and $27.7 million below the president's fiscal 2001 request of $72.07 million. The House bill allocates $41.35 million for the HPF. To the chagrin of many, no funding was provided in the Senate measure for the "Save America’s Treasures Program." Historic preservationists, however, vow to attempt to restore some funding for this program when representatives from the House and Senate meet in conference later this fall to reconcile the differences between their respective appropriations bills.

Full House and Senate Subcommittee Act on National Archives Budget Proposal

On Thursday July 20, the House of Representatives passed a $29.1 billion Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government appropriation bill. The measure makes no significant changes to the appropriation subcommittee recommendations for the fiscal 2001 budget for the National Archives and the grants programs of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The subcommittee had proposed that the National Archives receive $201.17 million with the NHPRC being allotted $6 million, the same as the president's proposal. The House-passed measure provides sufficient money to cover all the National Archives fixed costs and provides funds to transfer President Clinton's papers to the Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. The House also earmarked money to accelerate the processing of veterans records and provided start up monies for the electronic records project.

On the Senate side, the Senate Appropriations Treasury and General Government Subcommittee marked up its version of the proposed National Archives and NHPRC budget on July 20. The Senate version includes full funding of the president's request-$209.39 million for National Archives "operations" and base level funding of $4.95 million for "repairs and restoration." While the Senate subcommittee did not provide any funds for the Archives I renovation proposed in the president's budget, the subcommittee did provide "forward funding" of $88 million, thus allocating funds for the renovation in fiscal 2002. (The president's proposed fiscal 2001 budget had included $88 million for the renovation of Archives I on the Mall. The proposed work would include correcting mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire safety deficiencies; upgrading storage conditions to meet modern archival standards; providing increased exhibit and public meeting spaces; and constructing new encasements for the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights .) Because language relating to the renovation is in the Senate bill, the item is conferenceable, and, since Representatives Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)-two key conferees on the House side-have made their support for funding the Archives I renovation widely known, sources inside the archives are hopeful that the resulting bill sent to the president will include funding for the renovation in the fiscal2001 appropriation bill. Should funding for the renovation not be allocated this year, some historians are concerned that funds for the electronic records project (perhaps more than $100 million will be needed) anticipated to be part of a fiscal 2002 appropriation request may be delayed for another year.

The Senate subcommittee also earmarked funds for two NHPRC directed grants-$200,000 to the Three Tribes Museum in North Dakota for cataloging·of records and artifacts and $250,000 for the Heritage Harbor Museum in Rhode Island for a cataloging project relating to the museum's Native American exhibit. Because of these earmarks, the Senate bill provides for $6.450 million for the NHPRC versus $6 million that was recommended in the president's budget and passed in the House version.

In general, National Archives officials are pleased with the Senate measure though they hope to see the "forward funding" of $88 million for the Archives I renovation in fiscal2002 added to the fiscal 2001 appropriation during conference. Because controversial provisions relating to gun control and a congressional pay increase are in the Treasury bill, inside sources think it unlikely that the full Senate will want to take up the massive appropriation bill until after the Republican National Convention. Thus, it is expected that the full Senate will wait until after the August recess. A conference is expected to be held shortly thereafter

Byrd Amendment May Provide $50 Million for American History Education

On June 27 Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) together with Representatives Thomas E. Petri (R-Wisc.) and George Miller (D-Calif.) unveiled a Congressional concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 129; H. Con. Res. 366) designed to draw attention to what Congressman Petri characterized as "the troubling historical illiteracy of our next generation of leaders."

Based on findings contained in "Losing America's Memory: Historical Illiteracy in the 21st Century," a report recently released by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), the resolution expresses "the sense of Congress regarding the importance and value of United States history." It calls upon boards of trustees, college administrators, and state officials to strengthen American history requirements in the nation's schools, colleges, and universities.

At a press conference roughly coinciding with the introduction of the resolution, historic preservationists and several historians, including Brown University Professor of History Gordon Wood and Distinguished Professor of History at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, John Patrick Diggins, commented on the survey findings. According to the ACTA report, students are not required to take any history at 78 percent of the institutions surveyed, and it is now possible for students to graduate from 100 percent of the top colleges without taking a single course in American history. During the press conference Senator Lieberman stated that the concurrent resolution is designed to "call attention to this national problem and hopefully begin mobilizing a national response" in order to "rebuild our historical literacy."

As a follow-up to the resolution, on June 30, Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) offered an amendment (Amendment no. 3731) to the fiscal 2001 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriation bill (H.R. 4577), to provide $50 million to the Secretary of Education to award grants to states "to develop, implement, and strengthen programs that teach American history (not social studies) as a separate subject within school curricula."

The amendment was approved by a 98-0 margin and is supported by the Clinton Administration. As currently drafted, the grant money would be earmarked for states to support the development of history programs in secondary schools.

According to Senate sources, however, the amendment is written broadly enough to give the Secretary of Education discretion to use funds for the support of post-secondary history education programs as well. Since there is no similar language in the House-passed version of the Labor/HHS/Education bill, funding is not assured but will be addressed by conferees when they resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the appropriations bill. On July 20, conferees were appointed; a letter over the signatures of the executive directors of the Organization of American Historians, the AHA, and the NCC were sent to all the conferees expressing the support for the amendment by the historical community.

Historic Preservation Fund Reauthorized

On May 26 President Clinton signed H.R. 834 into law (PL 106-208) thus extending the reauthorization of the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation through fiscal 2005. The HPF is the mechanism used by the federal government to channel grant money to the states and certified local governments for a wide variety of historic preservation related activities. The Advisory Council, in cooperation with other federal and nonfederal entities, provides leadership in the preservation of the nation's historic and prehistoric resources.

The HPF had been without an authorization since fiscal 1997, which served to create a cloud of uncertainty over the federal governments continued commitment to historic preservation activities. The new law authorizes $150 million a1mually for the HPF and $4 million for the Advisory Council. The legislation also clarifies that the National Trust for Historic Preservation may receive grants from the Department of the Interior "consistent with the purposes of its charter and this Act."

"Peopling" Theme Study Receives Senate Hearing

On April 27, Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), for himself and Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.), introduced legislation S. 2478, "The Peopling of America Theme Study Act," authorizing the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a theme study to identify, interpret, and preserve sites relating to the migration, immigration, and settling of America. On May 11, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee conducted a hearing on the legislation.

During the hearing, Akaka noted that "all Americans were originally travelers from other lands. Whether we came to this country as native peoples, English colonists or African slaves, or as Mexican ranchers, or Chinese merchants, the process by which our nation was peopled transformed us from strangers from different shores into neighbors unified in our inimitable diversity—Americans all." Akaka stressed that it is essential for all Americans to understand this process. The legislation recognizes that only one National Park unit now focuses on the peopling of America: Ellis Island, a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Akaka expressed his hope that the study will serve as a springboard for the preservation and interpretation of several significant properties.

During the hearing, Mr. Denis Galvin, deputy director of the National Park Service, declared the NPS's support for the study. According to Galvin, "If the peopling of America theme study is authorized and funded, we anticipate that the National Park Service would partner with experts in the history of immigration to the United States and migration within the country." In preparing the thesis study, the legislation calls on the NPS to establish linkages with "organizations, societies and cultures" and to enter into a cooperative agreements with educational institutions, professional or local historical organizations, or other entities. These entities would assist the NPS to prepare the theme study in accordance with generally accepted scholarly standards.

Senator Moynihan's Declassification Bill

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's (D-N.Y.) legislative efforts to reform the national security classification and declassification system have diminished from an initial effort at bold reform two years ago to a new draft bill, which would establish an advisory board with relatively little authority. Moynihan first introduced the Government Secrecy Reform Act. (S. 712) in the 105th Congress. When it didn't pass, he reintroduced it in the 106th Congress and it became S. 22. This legislation built on his work as chair of the Commission for Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy. It called for all but the most sensitive information to be declassified after 25 years and established an appeals process. Following considerable opposition to this from several major federal agencies, he shifted his focus and in October 1999 introduced S. 1801, the Public Interest Declassification Act of 1999. This legislation called for the creation of a Public Interest Declassification Board to oversee and manage the special requests for declassification and to provide agencies with the funding necessary for the "special searches." However, this bill also ran into opposition from those inside and outside of the government, partly because of its emphasis on the declassification of targeted records and not entire record groups, which is the usual archival procedure for systematically declassifying files.

Against this backdrop, Moynihan's third and most recent effort is quite modest. The latest version (S. 1801) received a Senate hearing on July 26. It would create an advisory board to promote openness, to support congress in its oversight of declassification, and to make recommendations to the president on declassification practices and procedures. The president would appoint the advisory board members. The board would undertake tasks very similar to those set forth for the Information Security Policy Advisory Council in Section 5.5 of Clinton's Executive Order 12958 on classification and declassification policy. Since Clinton never made the appointments to this council, it has not functioned. Unlike the Executive Order's council, the Moynihan proposal does not include a prohibition against government employees serving on the advisory board. If the president appoints qualified people, the board could foster increased openness. Because there are few costs and no authorities associated with this bill and since it would honor a retiring senator who has been a champion of declassification, it may pass despite the few legislative days left in this Congress. Inside sources believe that a House hearing is unlikely, but the measure could be attached to other pending legislation and be enacted by this Congress.

U.S. and Nixon Estate Settle over Seized Records

On June 12, the Justice Department and the estate of former President Richard M. Nixon reached an out-of-court settlement and concluded over 20 years of litigation relating to the White House tapes and papers that the government seized from Nixon shortly after his resignation in 1974. The government agreed to pay $18 million for the collection. While this is a fraction of what Nixon's estate had originally sought-more than $200 million when adjusted for 25 year's worth of interest-nevertheless, it is more than the government initially had hoped to pay. The government took possession of Nixon's presidential materials in 1974 and placed them under the custody of the National Archives. Nixon brought suit in 1980 claiming that he deserved compensation for his tapes and records. Government lawyers originally contended that because the documents had been created by public officials, at public expense, on public equipment for the public's benefit, the Nixon Estate should receive no compensation.

It is expected that more than half of the $18 million will go to lawyers' fees, estate taxes and unpaid interest on back taxes with the remaining amount probably going to the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California. The records of the Nixon presidency will remain as a special collection at the National Archives facility in College Park.

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