NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol 6, #23, July 12, 2000 by Bruce Craig <[email protected]> of the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History 1. Byrd Amendment Provides $50 million for American History Education 2. Appropriations Update: Senate Continues to Debate Interior Department Appropriation Bill; House Subcommittee Acts on National Archives FY 2001 Budget 3. Report on the Department of State, Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation Meeting 4. News Bits and Bytes -- Position Announcement: Director State Department Office of the Historian; Library of Congress Publishes Cumulative Index 1. BYRD AMENDMENT PROVIDES $50 MILLION FOR AMERICAN HISTORY EDUCATION On June 30 Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Slade Gorton (R-WA), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Max Cleland (D-GA), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Robert F. Bennett (R-UT), and Rod Grams (R-MN) together with Representatives Thomas E. Petri (R-WI), George Miller (D-CA), Joe Skeen (R-NM), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), and Matthew G. Martinez (D-CA) introduced a Congressional concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 129; H. Con. Res. 366) "Expressing the Sense of Congress Regarding Value of Education in U.S. History." The resolution decried the sad state of American history education in the nation's schools (see NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol 6, #22, June 30, 2000). As a follow-up to the resolution, Senator Byrd offered an amendment (Amendment no. 3731) to the FY 2001 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriation bill (H.R. 4577), to provide $50 million to the Secretary of Education to award grants to states "to develop, implement, and strengthen programs that teach American history (not social studies) as a separate subject within school curricula." The amendment was approved by a 98-0 margin and is supported by the Clinton Administration. As currently drafted, the grant money would be earmarked for states to support the development of history programs in secondary schools. According to Senate sources, however, the amendment is written broadly enough to give the Secretary of Education discretion to use funds for the support of post-secondary history education programs as well. Since there is no similar language in the House passed version of the Labor/HHS/Education bill, funding is not assured but will be addressed by conferees when they resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the appropriations bill. 2. APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE: SENATE CONTINUES TO DEBATE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT APPROPRIATION BILL; HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ACTS ON NATIONAL ARCHIVES FY 2001 BUDGET This week the full Senate continues to debate the Interior Department and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. This bill will include recommended funding levels for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Park Service (NPS) and other preservation agencies. Numerous amendments have yet to be acted on by the Senate; a final vote is expected by the end of the week. Meanwhile, on the House side, during an evening session on July 11, the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriation Subcommittee made its proposed recommendations for the FY 2001 budget for the National Archives and grants programs of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The House subcommittee proposed that the National Archives receive $201.171 million with the NHPRC being allotted $6 million, the same as the President's proposal. President Clinton had proposed a FY 2001 total budget request of $309.355 million for the National Archives, a $86.733 million increase over the FY 2000 level of $222.622 million. He requested $6 million, the current level, for competitive grants for the NHPRC. The major new spending initiative in the President's budget was $88 million for the renovation of Archives I on the Mall. The proposed work would include correcting mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire safety deficiencies, upgrading storage conditions to meet modern archival standards, providing increased exhibit and public meeting spaces, and constructing new encasements for the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The House subcommittee did not allot any funds for the proposed renovation. The House subcommittee recommendation did, however, cover all the Archives fixed costs and provided sufficient funds to transfer President Clinton's papers to the Clinton Library in Little Rock. The House also earmarked funds to accelerate the processing of veterans records and provided start up monies for the electronic records project. Funding for the renovation may yet materialize at the end of the appropriations process once the House and Senate conferees meet to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions of the appropriations bill. Depending on how fast the full House acts on the appropriations bill, the Senate may be able to consider legislation as early as next week. 3. REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HISTORICAL DIPLOMATIC DOCUMENTATION On July 10, during its scheduled two-day meeting, the State Department's Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation met in open session for two hours. During the public session, the minutes of the December meeting were approved with the provision that the discussion of the CIA matters remain "non-public," hence they would not be included as part of the official minutes which would be made available to the public via the State Department web site. The Committee expressed its skepticism with this arrangement and requested that the Executive Secretary enter into discussions with representatives of the CIA to modify the reporting procedure. In what was his final report as the Executive Secretary of the Advisory Committee, William Slany, retiring head of the State Department's Office of the Historian, gave an update on the current status of the Foreign Relations Series (FRUS). He stated that the history office was behind schedule in issuing certain letter press versions of the series that are scheduled for release this year. He also stated that there was no technical reason preventing the electronic publication (E-publishing) of certain volumes of the FRUS series, except that certain documents have yet to clear various agencies (with E-publishing, these yet to be released documents could be added in at a later time and eventually issued as a letter-press version). Discussion centered on the need for the historian's office to prioritize those volumes recommended for electronic publishing. It was the general sense of the Committee that "openness" (via electronic publishing) should take priority over the completion of letter-press versions which could be issued once all documentation had been cleared by withholding agencies. Finally, the Committee heard a report on the progress being made on the prototype compilations of the Foreign Relations series. Two volumes are currently being assembled: "Intellectual Framework of Nixon Administration Foreign Policy" and a second, "The Soviet Union and the Cold War: Moscow Summit, 1971-1972." These volumes differ from past editions as they are "thematic compilations." The Committee expressed its satisfaction with the work completed to date. 5. NEWS BITS AND BYTES Item #1: In order to fill in behind retiring William Slany, the Department of State is seeking applicants to fill the position, Director Office of the Historian; salary range $115,811 to $130,200. In addition to other duties, the Director oversees the publication of the "Foreign Relations of the United States" documentary series. The position is not being announced in the usual historical journals, hence we saw the necessity to post it here. Closing date for applications is July 28, 2000. For more information and application materials, call Jeni Mallios (202) 663-2166. Item #2: The Library of Congress has just published a cumulative index to its 25-volume Congressional Correspondence series. The series contains the surviving correspondence of the 344 delegates who attended the Continental Congresses during and after the American Revolution. A digital version is also available on CD-ROM. For more information contact Helen Dalrymple at (202) 707-1940. Bright Star