NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #13; 24 March 2006)
2. SENATE APPROVES BUDGET RESOLUTION
3. OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM DOCUMENTS RELEASED
4. FINALLY! -- NARA RELEASES STATE DEPARTMENT DIGITAL RECORDS
5. BITS AND BYTES: Fulbright Scholarships; FOIA-related website redesign
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: OpentheGovernment.org cartoon
1. HISTORY COALITION SUBMITS TESTIMONY ON FY 2007 NEH FUNDING The National Coalition for History (NCH) has officially submitted testimony to the House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee recommending a funding level of $156 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to carry out its various programs in FY 2007.
The submission states that while the history coalition is cognizant "that Congress faces unusually difficult fiscal choices this year" the proposed increase represents only "a modest increase" above the FY 2006 level that was appropriated by Congress last year and which is the figure reflected in the President's proposed budget for FY 2007. The testimony is consistent with that of other national NEH advocacy and support organizations, though the coalition version does provide Congress with some specific recommendations for prioritization of programmatic funds.
In his budget proposal for the NEH, President Bush recommended "flat funding" for the agency. In actuality though, level funding amounts to a cut in funds available to the NEH to carry out programs. For example, factors such as inflation and mandated administrative costs will cost program activity centers some $1.32 million this year. The testimony also notes how the White House has failed to live up to its promise to support the "We the People" American history initiative to the tune of $100 million over three years. The testimony also urges Congress to "restore and broaden the reach of NEH core programs" so that "not just American history receives emphasis but world and comparative history as well."
The testimony makes specific supportive references to the federal-state partnership where "the 56 state humanities councils have been doing such good work with very limited funding from the NEH." The testimony also expresses support for several specific NEH programmatic initiatives within the "We the People" initiative, including the National Digital Newspaper Program which seeks to digitize historically important newspapers into fully searchable files and make these files available on the Internet.
The testimony raises concerns about the President's call for funding a new initiative to transcribe, digitize, and mount on the Internet the collected editions of the papers and writings of the first four American
presidents: Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison. The testimony states that "there are other documentary edition projects of equal or more importance that also deserve funding." Consequently, the coalition recommends "a significant portion of the $15 million proposed increase be directed to the Research Division for support of the preparation and posting of historical and scholarly editions (a programmatic activity center that the National Archives' National Historical Publications and Records Commission currently does not fund to any significant degree). The coalition envisions that the NEH should play a much more important role in making documentary editions accessible via the Internet to the general public for study and research.
For a copy of the testimony visit the NCH website at http://www.h-net.org/~nch/ .
2. SENATE APPROVES BUDGET RESOLUTION By a largely partisan vote of 52 - 48, late last week the Senate approved its version of a FY 2007 budget resolution. The Senate-endorsed resolution is considered by many to be a"significant departure" from the President's proposed budget that was submitted to Congress for its consideration earlier this year. After some 50 hours of debate and consideration of over 33 amendments, the Senate gave its blessing to only nine of them and added over $16 billion in discretionary spending above Bush's request. The increases in discretionary spending would benefit a variety of programs including energy, education, veteran health benefits and national security.
Of particular concern to the environmental community was a resolution designed to authorize drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) which is viewed by many as one of the last untouched natural areas in the United States. Several senators noted during debates that the ANWR provision has absolutely nothing to do with the federal budget process but nevertheless, it passed. Senate Republicans attempted to open ANWR last year but the effort was foiled when the amendment language was struck from the conference bill by Congressional managers.
The House of Representatives has yet to approve its budget blueprint but Hill insiders expect it will differ sharply from the Senate version. The House version is expected to reflect deep cuts to domestic programs and will seek to extend tax cuts; it may even include a provision granting the President a form of a line-item veto.
It should be remembered that the budget resolution is a non-binding resolution and that appropriations committees can develop their own spending levels, provided negotiations on a a budget resolution carries on beyond 15 May, or if Congress fails to agree to a compromise which, at this writing, appears to be a likely prognostication.
3. OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM DOCUMENTS RELEASED The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has processed and released the initial batch of documents and media captured in Iraq and Afghanistan during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The materials have been posted to the U.S. Army Foreign Studies Office website where they can be viewed at: http://fmso.leavenworth . Additional materials will be regularly uploaded as they are cleared for public release.
According to the ODNI press release, the files have been reviewed based on"limiting criteria to minimize the chance of releasing information which may damage U.S. national security, the privacy of Americans, or innocent foreign nationals." The statement also asserts that"the U.S. government has made no determination regarding the authenticity of the documents, validity or factual accuracy of the information contained therein, or the quality of any translations, when available."
4. FINALLY! -- NARA RELEASES STATE DEPARTMENT DIGITAL RECORDS On 22 March 2006, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) released for online access an unusual and significant collection of diplomatic records: more than 400,000 State Department telegrams and other records from a collection titled"Central Foreign Policy Files, 1973-1974."
The Central Foreign Policy files consist of State Department telegrams determined to have permanent historical value from 1973-74, index references to paper documents created in 1974, and withdrawal notices for permanently valuable telegrams and index references which could not be released for national security or other reasons. Items released include a report of a TV interview with former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan concerning the West Bank, a report of an interview with the Syrian Defense Minister discussing Israeli nuclear weapons, and a summary of possible French reactions to Indian nuclear testing. As the State Department continues its declassification review, files for later years will be added to the on- line collection.
Beginning in mid-1973, the State Department replaced its paper-based Central Foreign Policy Files, begun in 1906, with digitally based files. The department began with recorded telegram traffic from the various Foreign Service Posts and then, in 1974, added to the telegram database indexing information on paper documents which were then microfilmed.
State and NARA signed an agreement to agree to the transfer these important records in an electronic format on 7 June 2004 but it took years to make the State Department records compatible to NARA's systems. Once technical bugs were worked out additional delays resulted -- in part caused by an unseemly complex and duplicative process of reviewing, re-reviewing, and re-re-reviewing documents by high-level State Department officials -- a cumbersome process that, because of national security concerns, was believed necessary by both State and NARA officials in order for officials to be comfortable in making these records public. The scholarly community owes a debt of gratitude to the persistent efforts of the Department of State Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation for its key role in monitoring developments and urging the two agencies to execute the transfer. Although these microfilmed documents are not now available online, paper copies can be obtained from the National Archives (for documents filmed in 1974 and 1975).
NARA reports that access to these newly released electronic records is enhanced by the recent redesign of the National Archives Access to Archival Databases (AAD) system, a research tool that makes a selection of the Archives' most popular electronic records available to the public over the Internet. AAD currently includes over 86 million electronic records from 48 series in some 29 record groups and three collections of donated historical materials. These long-awaited digital records are publicly accessible at the National Archives website at www.archives.gov/aad.
5. BITS AND BYTES Item #1 -- Fulbright Scholarships: The Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program is offering several awards open to senior faculty in American Studies for the 2007-2008 academic year in Australia, Brazil, France, Finland, and Denmark. U.S.citizenship is required. Complete award descriptions, other eligibility requirements, and application materials are available at http://www.cies.org. The deadline for applying for a Fulbright Distinguished Chair award is 1 May 2006. Numerous additional opportunities to lecture, conduct research, or do both in 150 countries around the world during the 2007- 2008 academic year are available through the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program. Register to receive information and application materials on the website at http://www.cies.org .
Item #2 -- Freedominfo.org Website Redesigned: Four years after its initial launch and more than a million hits later the website Freedominfo.org has a whole new look! The site now includes a comprehensive country-by-country section that gives users access to resources about Freedom of Information laws in more than 60 countries. The site also continues to give researchers, advocates, journalists, government officials, and the public vital tools necessary to stay informed about the progress of the right to information around the world and in their own backyards. For the updated site visit http://www.freedominfo.org.
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: One posting this week: If you missed Sunshine Week, you haven't totally lost out! OpenTheGovernment.org has released a short animation piece that takes, as the group claims is"a fun look at government secrecy." According to a press announcement, the cartoon"reminds us of the need to demand more openness in our government to protect ourselves and make our communities safer." To view"Are We Safer in the Dark?" go to http://inthedark.openthegovernment.org .