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Congress maintaining history budgets

  • Funding for the U.S. Department of Education’s Teaching American History (TAH) program would remain at $119 million under the fiscal year 2010 omnibus spending bill passed by Congress on December 13. Funding for the program has remained relatively constant since FY 2004, fluctuating annually between $120 million and $118 million.

  • The National Historical Publications and Records Commission’s (NHPRC) budget would increase from the current fiscal year’s $11.25 million to $13 million under the fiscal year (FY) 2010 omnibus funding bill passed by Congress on December 13. Most importantly, the NHPRC would receive the entire $13 million in funding for grants; the highest appropriations level in its history. This is a sizeable increase of $3.75 million over the $9.25 million in grant money NHPRC received in FY 2009.

  • The National Archives & Records Administration’s (NARA) budget will increase by $9 million to $457 million under the fiscal year (FY) 2010 omnibus spending bill that cleared the Congress on December 13. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) will receive $13 million in grant funding, the highest level in its history. (see related story).

  • On December 11, Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE) introduced legislation (S. 2872) to reauthorize the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for five years. The bill would increase the NHPRC’s authorized spending level by $500,000 each year beginning at $13 million in fiscal year (FY) 2010 and ending at $15 million in FY 2014. The NHPRC’s most recent authorization expired at the end of FY 2009, and was at a level of $10 million.
Read entire article at Lee White at the website of the National Coalition for History (NCH)