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1. Senate Acts on National Archives Budget 2. UNESCO Funding in Trouble 3. Public Interest Declassification Board -- An Update 4. Historians to Protest Enola Gay Exhibit 5. Legislative Update: Bills Passed ("Graduate Opportunities in Higher Education Act of 2003"); Bills Introduced (Presidential Sites Improvement Act) 6. Bits and Bytes: Battlefield Protection Grants; Editorial Position Available 7. Articles of Interest: "You Are There" (National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" 27 October 2003)
1. SENATE ACTS ON NATIONAL ARCHIVES BUDGET On 23 October 2003, by a vote of 91-3, the Senate approved its version of the Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies appropriations bill (H.R. 2989) that includes funding for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). As expected, the Senate approved the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury and General Government recommendation of zero funding for the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) and only $5 million for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The measure now will go to conference where House and Senate managers will decide the future of the ERA and the FY 2004 funding level for the NHPRC.
As previously reported ("Historians, Archivists, and Librarians Join Hands to Advocate for FY-2004 National Archives Budget" NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 9. #40; 16 October 2003) history and archive supporters have been contacting members of Congress in an effort to see that funding for the ERA is restored and to increase funding levels for the NHPRC.
In acting on the Transportation/Treasury bill the Senate also voted itself a pay raise to an average annual salary of $158,000 -- an increase of about 2.2 percent. Senate Appropriations Chair Ted Stevens (R-AK) stated that it was a mistake to call it a pay raise, rather it was a cost-of-living increase. The Senate passed measure also provides for a 4.1 percent raise for Federal civilian employees.
In considering the bill, the Senate narrowly defeated (48 to 47) an amendment sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) to rescind newly revised Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations (A-76 Circular) relating to competitive outsourcing of federal jobs. Earlier, the House passed language similar to Mikulski's that addressed the competitive outsourcing issue. Hill insiders expect that the House-Senate conference will have to address the contentious issue in their report.
2. UNESCO FUNDING IN TROUBLE As readers may recall ("US Rejoins UNESCO" NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 9 #38; 1 October 2003) on 1 October 2003, the United States reentered the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after a nineteen-year absence. UNESCO's mission is to advance human rights and tolerance, improve education, preserve the cultural heritage of all peoples, and facilitate scientific cooperation among nations. Mrs. Laura Bush, traveling in Europe at the time, made the reentry announcement and stated that American participation was expected to add about $60 million to UNESCO's current annual budget of $544 million.
While the House allocated the funds as requested by the president ($71 million in FY 2004) and funding for UNESCO has the support of several powerful House and Senate members, the Senate Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Subcommittee on appropriations zeroed out the UNESCO payment from the State department's FY 2004 budget. This means that unless funding is restored, the U.S. will be in immediate arrears.
The NCH has learned that Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), chair of the Senate committee of jurisdiction, was "personally" responsible for deleting the entire budget amount requested by the president. Gregg has several reasons for not wanting the U.S. to reenter UNESCO. First, it is not a well-known let alone a popular agency with the American public; second, the administration made little if any effort to engage Congress in considering whether the U.S. should reenter UNESCO; and third, in the opinion of Gregg, neither UNESCO's policies nor bureaucracy has been sufficiently reformed (i.e. the central issue that led President Reagan to pull U.S. participation in 1984 remains unchanged). In a nutshell, Gregg thinks the U.S. has little to gain by reentering UNESCO at this time.
Representatives of several national humanities-based organizations concerned about US participation have been meeting in an effort to coordinate a legislative effort to mobilize public support for funding UNESCO at the level requested by the president. On 14 October 2003, the 90-member National Humanities Alliance (NHA) sent a letter to Gregg urging the senator to "take appropriate steps to assure that we pay our share in the revival and reentry [into UNESCO]."
President Bush made the UNESCO announcement over a year ago when he was trying to build international support for the war on Iraq. Most Hill insiders believe that Bush's announcement was calculated to demonstrate to the international community that his administration realized that military force is not sufficient to win the war against terrorism and that there was a need to address the roots of social ills. According to Bush's critics, the president has not made any substantive effort to uphold his commitment. In a communication with the NCH, spokesperson for Senator Gregg stated that repeated requests have been made of the administration for answers to questions about UNESCO posed by the Senator. According to staff, thus far there has been "no energetic response" [from the State Department] to the Senator's request for information.
While the State Department (and hence the administration) is officially on record supporting the funding request, exactly where the White House stands on the funding issue remains something of a mystery. On one hand the White House budget request is for $71 million (actually closer to $85 million when the devalued American dollar is taken into account) and Mrs. Bush, reportedly, continues to have a personal interest in the issue. Yet, sources close to the Senate committee of jurisdiction report that the zeroing out was done with the knowledge of the White House. White House press spokespersons declined to comment when contacted by the NCH for a clarification statement.
Former U.S. Senator Tim Wirth, president of the UN Foundation/Better World Fund is leading the effort to see to it that the Senate allocates funds. If the United States "is to triumph against global terrorism," says Wirth, "the U.S. must prevail in the war of ideals...It's time for Congress to honor Bush's commitment."
Persons interested in communicating their views on this issue may wish to contact Senator Gregg's office at (202) 224-3324 or by e-mail at: <mailbox@gregg.senate.gov. In the House, Congressman Frank R. Wolf (R-VA) is the chair of the House subcommittee of jurisdiction, and, reportedly, supports the president's funding proposal. Wolf may be contacted at: (202) 225-5136 or via e-mail through a link at the Congressman's website at: <http://www.house.gov/wolf;. As always, members of Congress are especially interested in hearing the views of constituents.
3. PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD -- AN UPDATE This last week, word filtered down from informed sources on Capitol Hill that the White House is finally considering making appointments to the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB). The so-called "Moynihan Board" was established by law in the 2001 Intelligence Authorization Act but members have never been named. The viability of the move to make the appointments apparently depends on statements of interest from the Congressional leadership.
The PIDB was the brainchild of the late Senator Patrick D. Moynihan (D-NY) who during his years in the Senate spearheaded efforts for greater government openness. According to Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists's Project on Government Secrecy, the PIDB "is practically the only surviving remnant of the secrecy reform agenda proposed by his 1997 Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy." The law provides for the appointment of a nine-member board (five members are to be appointed by the president with the remaining four named by the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate). PIDB is charged to "advise the President...and other executive branch officials...on the systematic [declassification]... of records of archival value... including records and materials of extraordinary public interest."
According to Aftergood, the PIDB concept did not generate great enthusiasm among declassification advocates because it was to be purely advisory and without independent authority to compel declassification. However, supporters, including several members of the NCH, contend that it still could provide a valuable official venue for debate and deliberation on declassification policy.
The NCH and representatives of several other organizations that have been meeting with White House officials on a periodic basis for over a year have been urging officials to move forward with the appointments. Letters urging the appointment have also been sent to Administration officials from the State Department's Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation.
ACTION ITEM! It now appears that organizational and constituent communications with Congressional leadership, each of whom is entitled to appoint one member to the PIDB, is needed. They include: Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN; website at: <http://www.frist.senate.gov;) and Minority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-SD; website at: <www.daschle@senate.gov"http://www.daschle@senate.gov;) in the Senate; and Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-IL; webpage at: <http://www.house.gov/hastert;) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA; webpage at: http://www.//house.gov/pelosi;) in the House. Also, communications with Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL; website at: http://www.portergoss.house.gov), who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and played a key role in advancing the Moynihan amendment when Congress attached the provision to the 2001 Intelligence Authorization Act, are in order.
In communications, emphasize the importance of appointing members to the declassification board. Suggest that Members communicate their interest in the board with other Members; and suggest the Members urge the White House to move forward with appointments to the board consistent with the Act.
Persons making calls to member offices should be familiar with the key provisions of the enabling legislation. The functions and authorities of the PIDB are spelled out in Title VII of the 2001 Intelligence Authorization Act. For the Act tap into: <http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2000_rpt/hr5630e.html#pida;.
4. HISTORIANS TO PROTEST ENOLA GAY EXHIBIT In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the first powered flight, in December the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) will open its new facility, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport. Over 200 aircraft and 135 space artifacts will be displayed. The centerpiece of the new exhibit will be the Enola Gay -- the B-29 super-fortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Fully restored, the Enola Gay will be displayed as a "magnificent technological achievement." Some scholars contend that, given its role in the 6 August 1945 attack, the B-29 has gained notoriety and has a symbolic meaning that extends beyond its significance as an example of the technological advances in aviation in the 1940s.
A coalition of scholars, religious leaders, veterans, scientists, and citizen activists plan to protest the exhibit in its current form. They claim that it lacks historical context and fails to address the controversy surrounding the bombings or information on casualties. Arguing that the "celebratory nature of the exhibit gives legitimacy to the 1945 bombing," the coalition joins other groups that have already objected to the exhibit. According to Peter Kuznick, professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, who drafted the committee's statement, "We are not opposed to exhibiting the Enola Gay...we welcome any exhibition that will spur an honest and balanced discussion of the atomic bombings in 1945 and of current U.S. nuclear policy."
The coalition, called the "Committee for a National Discussion of Nuclear History and Current Policy," has issued a statement of principles to which several prominent historians have already added their signatures of endorsement. Those interested in this issue, tap into: <http://www.enola-gay.org;.
5. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: BILLS PASSED/BILLS INTRODUCED "Graduate Opportunities in Higher Education Act of 2003": On 21 October 2003, Rep. Peter Hoeskstra's (R-MI) legislation (H.R. 3076) that amends title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to ensure graduate opportunities in post-secondary education, passed the House. Section 5 of the measure authorizes $10 million for the "establishment of academic programs including graduate and undergraduate courses, seminars and lectures, support of research, and development of teaching materials for the purpose of supporting faculty and academic programs that teach traditional American history." The measure has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for consideration.
Presidential Sites Improvement Act: On 16 October 2003, Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) introduced legislation (S. 1748) to establish a program to award grants to improve and maintain sites honoring Presidents of the United States. The bill creates a grants commission that would award up to $5 million a year in support of "major maintenance and improvement projects at Presidential sites to owners or operators of Presidential sites." Such capital improvements include new construction, installation of heating and air conditions systems, interpretive exhibits, and improvements. The measure was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for consideration.
6. BITS AND BYTES Item #1 -- Battlefield Protection Grants The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) of the National Park Service invites Federal agencies, tribal, state, and local governments, educational institutions, and nonprofit historical preservation and other private sector organizations to submit applications for grants. The purpose of this grant program is to provide seed money for projects that lead directly to the identification, preservation and interpretation of battlefield land and/or associated properties. In recent years grants have averaged about $25,000 per award. Applications must be received in the ABPP office by 9 January 2004. For additional information, visit the ABPP website at: http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/2004grants.htm for details, or contact Kristen Stevens, grants manager, at (202) 354-2037, or by e-mail at: <Kristen_Stevens@nps.gov.
Item #2 -- Editorial Position Available: National Coalition for History member organization The American Society for Environmental History and the Forest History Society have launched a search for an editor of the quarterly journal, ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY, to replace Adam Rome in 2006. For information on the position, tap into: <http://www.h-net.org/jobs/display_job.php?jobID=25330;.
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST One posting this week -- not a print article but an audio feature: In a 27 October story on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" commentator Walter Cronkite discussed his involvement in "You Are There," a history-based program that he hosted in the 1950s. In the broadcast Cronkite states that not only did the program teach history, but it had a secrete history of its own: All the writers were on the McCarthy-ear blacklist. Tap into: <http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1480691;. You'll need an audio player to hear it, and you can find the right one for your computer at: <http://www.npr.org/audiohelp/audioplayers.html;. If you have any problems, please visit the NPR audio help page at: <http://www.npr.org/audiohelp/index.html;.
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by editor on October 30, 2003 at 4:23 PM