NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 11, #48; 16 DECEMBER 2005)

by Bruce Craig (editor) with Nathaniel Kulyk (contributor)

1. HISTORY COALITION GETS NARA GRANT TO MONITOR AND HELP RECOVER, MISSING, STOLEN, OR ALIENATED DOCUMENTS
2. HOUSE NARROWLY PASSES EDUCATION BILL
3. SENATORS BYRD AND FRIST SPAR OVER SENATE HISTORY AND TRADITION
4. "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" IS TOPIC OF NATIONAL HISTORY CENTER CONGRESSIONAL SEMINAR EVENT
5. WHITE HOUSE ISSUES NEW FOIA EXECUTIVE ORDER
6. NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY
7. PASSING OF THE AARDVARK: A MORATORY TO EUGENE MCCARTHY
8. BITS AND BYTES: History Coalition Files Comments on NPS Management Policies; Paintings Lost in WW II Found, Recovered
9. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "Regarding Antiques, Some Changes Please" (New
York Times)

1. HISTORY COALITION GETS NARA GRANT TO MONITOR AND HELP RECOVER, MISSING, STOLEN, OR ALIENATED DOCUMENTS
The National Coalition for History (NCH) has signed a memorandum of understanding and received a $20,000 grant from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for the support of a pilot project to systematically search manuscript auction and sales Internet web sites, listings, and print catalogs to identify missing or stolen federal, state, local, and international government records. Once identified these documents are brought to the attention of NARA officials (if the document appears to be a federal record) or referred to officials at other appropriate repositories (i.e. state or other governmental archives), which in turn decide whether to seek recovery through donation, replevin, or other legal means.

According to Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, "I am pleased that the National Archives is partnering with the National Coalition for History on this critical issue. It is imperative that the entire historical and archival community remain vigilant in identifying and reclaiming materials that have been stolen from our nation''s repositories. This agreement is a step forward in helping the National Archives recover unique historical documents that we hold in trust for our citizens."

In fact, the history coalition has informally and rather haphazardly monitored such sites over the last three years, but until now has not had the staff or resources to systematically monitor the sale of documents and other manuscript materials. As part of this initiative, already history coalition contract staff have looked at 7800 items and brought nearly 150 items that appear to be federal, state, and foreign government archival documents from over two dozen websites and auction catalogs to the attention of NARA, State Department, Homeland Security, and state officials. This is not to say that all the items identified have gone missing or are stolen. Many documents that at first appear to be from governmental archival holdings (indeed, the vast majority) turn out to have been legitimately acquired, or are not part of NARA's scope of collections, and are legally being offered for sale by manuscript, autograph, and document dealers and collectors.

Other actions that the National Archives has taken to protect and recover historical records besides the NCH/NARA partnership include: launching the "Recover Lost and Stolen Documents" web page (here), which provides instructions to researchers and the general public on what to do if they suspect an item has been stolen; the site also lists missing records.

NARA has also hosted a meeting of international institutions to discuss issues of document security; placed additional security controls in National Archives research rooms nationwide; published a pamphlet to educate the public about how to identify Federal documents and is giving public recognition to individuals who help the National Archives recover alienated documents.


2. HOUSE NARROWLY PASSES EDUCATION BILL
By a narrow vote of 215 to 213 on the evening of 14 December 2005, the House of Representatives passed the FY 2006 spending bill for health, human service and education programs. The conference report the House approved (Conf. Rept. 109-337) is almost identical to a version that was rejected by the House last month. There are, however, a couple of revisions: spending for health programs for the underprivileged populations is increased by $90 million, and a controversial provision that prohibited expenditure of federal prescription drug funds for erectile dysfunctions was dropped.

In the revised conference report, the House did not make any changes to higher-education programs that were in the earlier bill. The maximum Pell Grant award is set at $4,050, the same level as the previous three years.

Of greatest interest to the history community is the provision that sets aside approximately $121 million for the "Teaching American History" initiative, including a new provision that authorizes up to 3% of the total for "national activities." The bill now goes to the Senate for action.


3. SENATORS BYRD AND FRIST SPAR OVER SENATE HISTORY AND TRADITION On 12 December 2005, visitors to the Senate gallery and viewers of C-SPAN 2 learned about the history of filibusters in the United States Senate by witnessing a spirited exchange between Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) who sparred on the practices and procedures of the United States Senate.

The senators were discussing the use of the filibuster and its relationship to judicial nominations when Frist remarked that Samuel Alito (President Bush's most recent selection for the Supreme Court) deserves an up-or-down vote. Frist stated, "it has been very tough the last 3 years working through this process, where for 214 years, for judicial nominees coming from the executive branch, coming from the President of the United States, coming here is the tool of a filibuster being used routinely; 10 times, 10 times, in the last 3 years, where for the 214 years before that, rare, rare, rare, rare." Shortly thereafter, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) echoed Frist''s line of reasoning stating, "The precedent in the Senate for 214 years prior to the last Congress was the judges who came to the floor got an up- or-down vote."

The frail but stalwart Senator Byrd rose to deliver one of his famous lessons on Senate history and tradition with respect to the filibuster, freedom of speech, and the process the Senate has historically used in considering judicial nominations. "That is not history" he told Frist, "That is not even recent history....Our forefathers did not deign to stoop to a King or a President....this Senate is a forum, probably the only forum that is left in the country where freedom of speech reigns...I see nothing in the Constitution that requires an up-or-down vote on any nominee."

As the debate grew more heated, Byrd blasted Frist and chided his Republican colleagues, ".... I am 88 years old, but I can still fight and fight I will for freedom of speech...I haven't been here for 47 years to see that freedom of speech whittled away and undermined." Byrd then stated, Frist "is wrong when he cites history. History is not on his side...Not all nominees have had up-or-down votes." The West Virginia senator then went on to state that over the years a number of judicial nominees were bottled up in the Judiciary Committee, denying the right to an up-or-down vote. "The Republicans have killed lots of nominees in committees....At least 61 nominees did not get out of committee" he said. Byrd went on to state that the proposed "nuclear" option that many Senators support is unconstitutional, and that Frist's view "flies in the face of history, flies in the face of our forefathers, flies in the face of the Constitution, and the right to freedom of speech."

The debate continued for the better part of an hour. Senator Frist, noting Byrd's intensity of feeling, consistent with his gentlemanly and respectful manner backed off and stated that the discussion concerns "one of the most fundamental responsibilities in this body" and that he was merely seeking to see "a process that is fair, that is dignified, that is respectful and gives people the opportunity to give advice and consent."

It was Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) who signaled the conclusion of the exchange by stating, "I know that many of our colleagues are here at this time, but I certainly hope a number of Americans have been listening to a very important history lesson and a real lesson about the rules and some fundamental issues and rights that have been debated over the last hour in the Senate...I thank my friend from West Virginia...I know I speak for all of us, I think pretty generally across both sides of the aisle, in saying there is no individual who is more dedicated to the preservation of this institutions and the magnificent framework in which our Founding Fathers had conceived of it."

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to begin confirmation hearings on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court in early January 2006. Those interested in reading the entire exchange, can go go to the Library of Congress's webpage, THOMAS.loc.gov and tap into the Government Printing Office PDF version of the Congressional Record (Senate) for 12 December 2005; pages S13427 - S13436.


4. "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" IS TOPIC OF NATIONAL HISTORY CENTER CONGRESSIONAL SEMINAR EVENT On 9 December 2005, the National History Center held its final Congressional Seminar Series event of 2005. Some thirty Congressional aides, think-tank policy analysts, and others braved the snow and ice to hear professor Maris Vinovskis deliver a talk entitled, "From a Nation at Risk to No Child Left
Behind: Federal Compensatory Education Policies from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush."

Vinovskis is the Bentley Professor of History, Research Professor at ISR, and Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He served as deputy staff director to the U.S. House Select Committee on Population in
1978 and worked in the 1990s in the U.S. Department of Education on questions of educational policy and research, in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

In his informative talk, Vinovskis traced the history of federal education policy over the past twenty_five years that gave rise and culminated in President Bush''s "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) initiative in January 2002. Vinovskis noted that NCLB is a continuation of decades of education reform efforts, including one initiated in the early years of the Reagan Administration when a special panel that was appointed to assess the state of education in America. In 1983, that panel issued a report entitled, "A Nation a Risk," which led to the "America 2000" initiative, the largest education reform effort in the history of the nation. Vinovskis noted that the report served as the catalyst for three major changes in education policy: a focus on student achievement rather than on resources provided for schools; an new expectation that all children can and should be able to reach high academic standards; and the belief at the national and state levels that there is a need to set ambitious goals and hold educators and policymakers accountable for reaching those objectives.

Toward the end of the speech, Vinovskis made some general observations about efforts that have been made in the past and what future policymakers might do if they want their legislative initiatives to yield better results. He said that history shows that education policy makers generally "tend to set unrealistic expectations for achieving results and the then become frustrated when we can not reach them as promised." Furthermore, programs like NCLB are appealing and can be useful "but they often suffer from inadequate implementation and coordination." He also noted that "inadequate research and development is a major obstacle to providing effective federal assistance to states and local communities." The entire presentation will shortly be available on the National History Center webpage here.

The National History Center and the House Humanities Caucus, a bipartisan group of over 60 members of Congress, cosponsored the event as part of the National History Center's Congressional Seminar Series. The series is targeted to members of Congress, committee and member staff, think tank analysts and others policy makers. The presentations that bring historians of note to Capitol Hill seek to inject into policy discussions the contextual dimension that history can bring to discussions of federal foreign and domestic policy issues of concern.

The Congressional Seminar series will begin its second year in March 2006 with what promises to be a lively program featuring historians John Hope Franklin and Eric Foner who will discuss race and justice issues in America.

5. WHITE HOUSE ISSUES NEW FOIA EXECUTIVE ORDER On 14 December 2005 the Bush Administration issued a new Executive Order on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (see <http://www.whitehouse.gov;).

According to a White House press statement, the order seeks to improve and heighten responsiveness to members of the public who are seeking information through the FOIA. With the release being so recent, open government advocates have not yet been able to fully assess the contents and impact of the new E.O. But according to Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists and publisher of the online publication "Secrecy News", the new EO is a "welcomed and unexpected statement" though it "changes little of substance in the processing of requests but does set some new guidelines for agencies that will enable them to do their work more efficiently."

According to Aftergood, the EO''s refinements in administrative procedures do not grapple with root FOIA problems inherent at the agency level that hinder the expeditious precessing of requests. But the new directive charges agency FOIA processors to "respond courteously and appropriately" to FOIA requesters (no penalties are spelled out, however, should a requester be treated rudely) and agencies are also mandated to create a FOIA Requester Service Center in an effort to streamline and centralize the processing of requests. Also, while many have already done so, agencies must now establish a high level position (Assistant Secretary or higher) titled, "Chief FOIA Officer"; this person being responsible for overseeing an agency's compliance with the law. The elevation of the FOIA officer position in title and status within an agency''s bureaucracy may have the effect of giving greater importance to government openness.

While the impact of the new EO on the filing and processing of FOIA requests is minimal, according to Hill insiders, the changes requested by the Bush White House at the agency level may be an indication that the White House "is feeling some pressure to do something positive on the FOIA front" in light of the pending Cornyn/Leahy FOAI reform bill -- a measure that has garnered considerable bi-partisan interest by some members of the Senate. Issuance of the EO is being viewed by government openness watchdogs as a "preemptive strike against real reform" -- the White House's most recent effort to derail the reform bill. According to Meredith Fuchs, General Counsel of the National Security Archive, "Up until now this administration has strongly resisted transparency and accountability. We can only hope that this is a sign that it intends to start being more responsive to the public."


6. NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY On 9 December 2005, history coalition member organization the National Security Archive celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a special event held at George Washington University. The archive is an independent non_governmental research institute and library located at the George Washington University in Washington D.C. that collects and releases documents that have been declassified and acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A keynote address was delivered by journalist Bill Moyers and two separate panels focused on the topics of "Debating National Security Policy" and "Journalism, Sources and Secrecy." The event was broadcast over C-SPAN television and radio.

In his thoughtful and entertaining address Moyers discribed his use of National Security Archive resources in his documentary journalism work. He also traced his participation in several NSA research and litigation projects. Panelists who subsequently spoke included Morton H. Halperin, Walter Slocombe, Scott Armstrong, Symour Hersh, and Tina Rosenberg.

To mark 20 years of opening governments both at home and abroad, the National Security Archive posted twenty of its "greatest hits" declassified documents with the headlines that were made around the world, including Pentagon photographs of Iraq War causalities, the secret archive of Guatemala''s "Bureaucracy of Murder," and a memorandum between Henry Kissinger and the Argentine Foreign Minister. For more information about the 20th anniversary, as well as links to video of Moyers'
keynote address and images of the "greatest hits" documents, please click here.

In a related matter, we congratulate the National Security Archives for its recent citing for "outstanding achievement in news and documentary research" when it won a 2005 Emmy Award for the documentary, "Declassified: Nixon in China."


7. PASSING OF THE AARDVARK: A MORATORY TO EUGENE MCCARTHY Visitors who venture into my office on the third floor of the American Historical Association building on Capitol Hill often comment on a framed, signed print of a poem entitled "The Aardvark" written by former Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy who died 10 December. Below the poem is a frayed photograph that shows a very young Bruce Craig standing in a row next to the vigorous, smiling McCarthy. It was taken in 1976 when I worked on what was the then "former"
Minnesota senator's second independent campaign for the presidency.

As a politician McCarthy was a strange duck -- as one commentator has characterized him, "a mysterious and frustrating figure," and indeed he was. But irrespective of his shortcomings as a politician, he was a statesman like no other that Washington D.C. has known, past or present. For those of us who knew him, or opted to work for him on one or more of what we often knew were to be losing campaigns, news of his death brought back vivid memories.

When I came to know McCarthy, his unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1968 that had galvanized anti-Vietnam war sentiment and mobilized thousands of young people under his banner of peace was long over. He had retreated to the backwoods of Virginia where he was writing poetry, thoughtful and contemplative books on the nature of American history, and political commentary; among them was my favorite, a slim but brilliantly insightful volume, "Frontiers of American Democracy." The 1976 campaign that brought him out of retirement and me into the political fray for the first time was even more of a shoe-string volunteer effort than was his 1968 bid that had rallied legions of activists. This time around his central campaign issue was not a war but campaign finance reform, and his position seemed more in line with the views of his conservative Woodville Virginia neighbor James Kilpatrick than the liberals who McCarthy is generally lumped together with. In any event, I volunteered to work on his behalf and was selected by the campaign manager to serve as McCarthy''s chauffeur, press secretary, and general all around gofer for a few days during a campaign swing in southern California.

Between long hauls and grueling driving that took us from the Biltmore Hotel where he breakfasted with Gore Vidal to a noon fund-raiser at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, then on to several campaign stops at various universities that wound up at an evening fund-raising party being held at his daughter and Peter Yarrow's seaside home in Malibu, I had the opportunity to have several long conversations with him. We discussed a variety of topics -- not just his reflections on history and politics but such topics as Catholicism, Irishness, and even omelets. I shall never forget his soft-spoken manner, his wry wit and thoughtful consideration, and treatment of one wide-eyed volunteer who had squeezed him into the back seat of a Fiat sedan that was far too cramped a vehicle for his long legs.

Since its publication, I have been unable to bring myself to read Dominic Sandbrook's biography that McCarthy characterized as "nearly libelous" and I doubt that I ever will. Instead, I intend to add the last title to what is my nearly complete first edition signed run of virtually every one of McCarthy''s 20 some books. I deliberately put off purchasing "Parting Shots From My Brittle Bow: Reflections on American Political Life,", a collection of essays and poems that was published just this last January knowing that McCarthy was nearly 90 and not in the best of health, and obviously was aware of his own pending mortality. I figure that given its title, the Aardvark would have wanted me to wait to read the book until he had passed, so that I too would be able to reflect on his life. "I am alone, in the land of the aardvarks...I am looking for you."

8. BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 -- History Coalition Files Comments on NPS Management Policies: On 14 December 2005, the National Coalition for History (NCH) forwarded a letter to the National Park Service''s Office of Policy, offering comments to the proposed changes to the "NPS Management Policies" under consideration by the National Park Service (NPS). The NCH is of the opinion that the current 2001 edition of the document is adequate and there is no imperative need to issue a new edition. Additionally, the coalition''s comments state that it is clear that the proposed changes reinterpret the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916; they disregard provisions of amendments to that legislation that provide for conservation and preservation above visitor use and ignore current judicial interpretation of standing case law. Of particular concern is the new definition of "impairment," which would changes from "an impact to any park resource of value (that) may constitute impairment" to one that can be proved to "irreversibly harm" resources.

The NCH first received word of the proposed changes to the "NPS Management Policies" in September 2005. Paul Hoffman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the Department of the Interior, authored a preliminary first draft that was intended to be an internal document for review and revision by senior agency personnel when it was leaked to the media and environmental organizations. The NCH filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for a final side-by-side comparison document that shows changes between the 2001 edition of the NPS Management Policies and the revised draft in October as soon as the Federal Register posted an announcement about the public comment period. The FOIA request was granted, allowing the coalition to draft a letter urging the NPS to withdraw the proposal from further consideration and offer specific comments on the changes in case the draft moves forward. The NCH comments, should be on our webpage at http://www.h-net.org/~nch/ by early next week.

Item #2 -- Paintings Lost in WW II Found, Recovered: Three paintings were discovered at a Pennsylvania art auction and have been returned to their home at the Pirmasens Museum in Germany after sixty years. The recovered art work was among fifty paintings by Heinrich Burkel, a famous 19th century landscape artist, that were removed in 1942 from the museum because of the threat of Allied bombings and placed in an air raid shelter in a nearby school. When the curators went to recover them in 1945, they found they had vanished. This fall, three of the missing paintings appeared on a website advertisement of an auction house located in Concordville, Pennsylvania.
The German government and the FBI's Art Crime Team were notified (the FBI's Art Crime Team was created early last year as a response to what is believed to be a growing market for stolen artwork) and auction of the items halted. No charges brought against anyone, as any guilty party is long since deceased though an FBI spokesperson commented, "It is somewhat miraculous, but it does show the power of the Internet, even in things like this." Thus far the FBI Art Crime Team team has recovered about 100 items worth approximately $40 million and made 10 arrests.


9. ARTICLES OF INTEREST
One posting this week: In "Regarding Antiques, Some Changes Please" (New York Times) a story focuses on how American museums pretend to be taken aback when they learn what they have acquired may not have been legally imported as if there weren't a longstanding though tacit "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. Go to:
<nytimes.com;.