Greetings to all: Having read some conflicting information on a variety of list, I made queries to the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and officers in some genealogical organizations where I hold membership. The following from the FGS website answers my queries: --------------------- Proposed Fee Increase for Copies of Military Service and Pension Records By Jack Brissee, Chair Records Preservation and Access Committee (RP&AC) Released: 6 March 2000 There have been postings on a number of mail lists recently about an increase in the fees the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) charges for copies of compiled military service records and pension records. While NARA is considering a change to the fee structure for these documents, the information that has been posted is both premature and somewhat inaccurate. The Records Preservation and Access Committee, a joint endeavor of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society, has contacted NARA officials for clarification. The following is the "official NARA statement" issued in response to our inquiry: NARA Statement The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will be issuing a proposed rule within the next few weeks that will revise fees for reproduction, including the "fixed-fee" orders in the NATF 80 series. The proposed rule will have a 60-day public comment period, during which time we will actively seek the comments of the user community. The proposed rule is presently undergoing internal government review. When it is released for publication in the Federal Register, NARA will notify the national genealogical organizations and post a copy of the proposed rule on its web site. The message will include the exact URL and the address for sending comments. The Records Preservation and Access Committee will continue to monitor this proposal, and will post relevant information on the Records Preservation and Access pages of the Federation of Genealogical Societies' Web site <http://www.fgs.org> and on the National Genealogical Society Web site <http://www.ngsgenealogy.org> when it is available. Please feel free to forward this posting to other mail lists on which the original posting may have appeared. Sincerly, Jonelle Ellis Russell