This came to me via another list, but is important. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Instructions for Writing to NARA By Sue Axton The 7 March 2007 issue of the Review discusses the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) proposal to increase its fees for photocopying records; notably, it mentions their proposal to increase fees for copies of Civil War pension files from $37 to $125. I went to the NARA site to find a place to make a comment on the fee increase, but the site is almost impossible to figure out. Maybe you could give step-by-step instructions in a future newsletter. Also, maybe you could encourage people to write their representatives. I am not against a reasonable fee to cover the cost of paper and ink, but $125 for Civil War pension records is way out of line. That puts the cost out of reach for most researchers. I would pay an extra fee if the records I request would be put online for everyone to access. As long as they are going to the trouble of copying them once, how hard would it be to put them on the website? [Editor's Note: Comments on the NARA proposal for a photocopying fee increase must be made by 27 April, so if you have comments submit them soon. The following are step-by-step instructions for submitting your comments: 1. Go to www.regulations.gov. 2. Under "Search for," select "Documents Open for Public Comment." 3. Under "Agency," select "National Archives and Records Administration*." 4. Under "Document Type," select "All Document Types." 5. In the "Keyword or ID" field, type "NARA-07-0001-0001." 6. Select "Exact Phrase." 7. Click the "Submit" button. You can read the proposed rule by clicking the PDF icon in the "Views" column. You can add your comments by clicking the yellow balloon icon in the "Comments" column. Also, you can e-mail comments to your government representative at: http://www.house.gov/writerep/.] To view the 7 March 2007 Review announcement about the proposed NARA fee increase, visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0307.txt PLEASE, PLEASE WRITE TO THEM TODAY!!!!!! Liz Stookesberry Myers ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

Julia, I got thru the instructions and submitted my comments. One note of interest the increase from $37 to $125 is for the full civil war pension file; the cost for the civil war pension document packet (selected documents) went down from $37 to $25. The info in the federal register from NARA states that this latter pension file is what is ordered by most researchers. Don't know why that would be true, unless a genealogical researcher wasn't aware of the distinction when ordering. There is more likely to be more genealogical info in the full pension file. Jim Gilmer -------Original Message------- From: JULIAFWOOD@aol.com Date: 4/18/2007 3:21:24 PM To: FRENCH@rootsweb.com; hancock@rootsweb.com; sharp@rootsweb.com; martin@rootsweb.com; BRIDGES@rootsweb.com; rust@rootsweb.com; Moore@rootsweb com Subject: [MARTIN] NARA to raise the cost of Mililtary records & Pensions This came to me via another list, but is important. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Instructions for Writing to NARA By Sue Axton The 7 March 2007 issue of the Review discusses the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) proposal to increase its fees for photocopying records; notably, it mentions their proposal to increase fees for copies of Civil War pension files from $37 to $125. I went to the NARA site to find a place to make a comment on the fee increase, but the site is almost impossible to figure out. Maybe you could give step-by-step instructions in a future newsletter. Also, maybe you could encourage people to write their representatives. I am not against a reasonable fee to cover the cost of paper and ink, but $125 for Civil War pension records is way out of line. That puts the cost out of reach for most researchers. I would pay an extra fee if the records I request would be put online for everyone to access. As long as they are going to the trouble of copying them once, how hard would it be to put them on the website? [Editor's Note: Comments on the NARA proposal for a photocopying fee increase must be made by 27 April, so if you have comments submit them soon. The following are step-by-step instructions for submitting your comments: 1. Go to www.regulations.gov. 2. Under "Search for," select "Documents Open for Public Comment." 3. Under "Agency," select "National Archives and Records Administration*." 4. Under "Document Type," select "All Document Types." 5. In the "Keyword or ID" field, type "NARA-07-0001-0001." 6. Select "Exact Phrase." 7. Click the "Submit" button. You can read the proposed rule by clicking the PDF icon in the "Views" column. You can add your comments by clicking the yellow balloon icon in the "Comments" column. Also, you can e-mail comments to your government representative at: http://www.house.gov/writerep/.] To view the 7 March 2007 Review announcement about the proposed NARA fee increase, visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0307.txt PLEASE, PLEASE WRITE TO THEM TODAY!!!!!! Liz Stookesberry Myers ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MARTIN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message