>From: Helene Pockrus <txphlp44@enol.com> >Reply-To: HANCOCK-L@rootsweb.com >To: HANCOCK-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: [HANCOCK-L] Important message regarding NARA Fees >Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 22:14:13 -0600 > > > The NARA proposal to revamp the system and fees for providing copies of > Military Service Records, Bounty-Land Warrant Applications >Files, and Pension Application Files has been published in the 25 April >2000 issue of the Federal Register. Public comment is invited and should >be directed to: > > NARA Regulation Comment Desk > 8601 Adelphi Road > College Park, MD 20740-6001 > Fax: 301 713-7270 > > The comment period closes on 26 June 2000. NARA prefers >that you use either the postal address or fax number to submit our >comments rather than e-mail. > A complete copy of the Federal Register notice is available >from the NARA Web site at http://www.nara.gov/nara/fees-pro.html > > The proposed Reproduction Fee Schedule covers a number of >items, but the Military Service Records, and the Pension and Bounty-Land >Warrants are of the greatest concern to genealogists. NARA proposes >three >major changes: > > 1. The NATF Form 80 would be discontinued, to be replaced by >two new forms: NATF Form 85 to request both Bounty-Land Warrant >application files and Pension files (more than 75 years old), and NATF > >From 86 to request Military Service Records (more than 75 years old). > > 2. For all three types of files, NARA would no longer send a >selection of pages, but would send the complete file. This would >eliminate the two-step process currently used and should be beneficial >to >most genealogists. > > 3. The fees for all three types of files would be raised. For >Military Service Records the new fee would be $17.00, regardless of the >number of pages included in the file. For Bounty-land Warrants the fee >would be $17.25, again without regard to the number of pages. For >Pension Files the fee would be $40.00, regardless of the number of >pages. > > Finally, the proposal would go into effect on 1 September 2000, >if approved. > > Many genealogists may consider the proposed fees to be excessive. >NARA specifically invites comment on the proposed fee schedule. The >FGS/NGS Records Preservation and Access Committee urges everyone >who wants to comment to carefully read the full proposal before >submitting >comments. > The proposed fees are intended to cover the actual cost of >locating, copying and mailing the records, plus 10% as authorized by >law, and are based on the average size of the files. NARA states that >the >average for Military Service Records and Bounty-land Applications is >somewhere under 20 pages, while the average for full Pension Files is >105 pages. > > The FGS/NGS Records Preservation and Access Committee will >be looking at the NARA proposal carefully, and will submit comments as >appropriate. > Individuals who would like to provide input to the Committee's > evaluation are welcome to do so but are also encouraged to comment > direct to NARA at the address given above. Comments for Committee > consideration should be e-mailed to fgs-access@fgs.org, or >mailed to Federation of Genealogical Societies, Attention: RPAC, PO >Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940. In order for the Records Preservation >and Access Committee to adequately evaluate such input it must be >received by 26 May 2000. The deadline for comment to NARA, however, >is still 26 June 2000. > >Posting of this message to other mail lists is encouraged. A copy >of this message will also be available on the Records Preservation >and Access page of the FGS Web site: >http://www.fgs.org/fgs-recordsnews.htm> >and on the NGS Web site <http://www.ngsgenealogy.org> > > >==== HANCOCK Mailing List ==== >Where to send messages to the list..... >HANCOCK-L@rootsweb.com > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com