The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) plans on instituting a hiring freeze and other steps – including an early retirement buy-out program for qualified employees – in order to minimized an anticipated budget shortfall for this and next year.

While Congressionally-mandated pay raises, higher facility rents, and increases in energy costs in facilities nationwide account for some of the projected funding shortfall, the fact is that personnel costs make up the largest part of NARA’s operational expenses. According to NARA officials “these costs must be reduced.” Consequently, a hiring freeze is set to begin 3 July. It will effect only those positions funded by the agency’s core operational funds and will not effect positions funded from NARA’s Revolving Fund, Trust Fund, through the ERA appropriation, or through most reimbursable programs.

In addition to instituting the hiring freeze, NARA anticipates taking additional action to reduce the budget: there will be opportunities for employees to take an early retirement, and a reduction of hours of operation for both the research and exhibition sides of NARA – that move is anticipated to hit the genealogical community and other researchers, as well as the visiting public especially hard.