NCC Washington Update, vol. 3, # 34, August 6, 1997 by Page Putnam Miller, Director of the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History <[email protected]> 2. House Report on National Archives and NHPRC 3. The Annual Report of the State Department Advisory Committee Identifies Barriers To opening the Historical Record 2. House Report on National Archives and NHPRC -- Although the House Appropriations Committee Report on the Treasury Appropriations bill has not yet been filed and printed, the Committee endorsed the report language that had been approved by the Treasury, General Government and Postal Service Appropriations Subcommittee. The report, accompanying the recommendation for FY'98 funding for the National Archives and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, deals with the management of the National Archives, preservation funding, classification reform, repairs and restorations, and NHPRC grants. The House Subcommittee expressed concern about the Archives' management in several areas. The report states: "that NARA is showing reluctance in adapting to more modern, and less costly, alternatives to maintaining documents in paper form." Additionally the committee noted that the Archives' strategic plan "did not go far enough in developing milestones, conforming to new Government Performance and Results Act guidelines, and providing specifics about NARA's future." On preservation, the subcommittee urged the Archives to develop a five-year funding plan for preservation. The subcommittee repeated concerns expressed last year about classification reform and directed that Archivist to submit by February 1, 1998 an update of agency compliance with the declassification requirements of Executive Order 12958. The section focusing on the grants program of the NHPRC stated: "Recently, there has erupted a controversy over whether or not to emphasize prioritizing grants to Founding Father's' projects or preserving electronic records. The committee has provided sufficient funding to ensure the priorities of NHPRC are met. Within the funds provided, the NHPRC should maintain its historical funding prioritization of Founding Fathers' and documentary editing." 3. The Annual Report of the State Department Advisory Committee Identifies Barriers To Opening the Historical Record -- On July 28 Warren Kimball, the Chair of the State Department Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation, submitted to Secretary Madeleine Albright and to House and Senate Committees the committee's annual report. The report states that the Committee is "unconvinced by arguments from some agencies that secrecy for 30-year old information takes precedence over the value for the democracy of openness." The primary causes for the delays in publishing volumes 30 years after events must, the committee asserted "be laid at the doorstep of the intelligence community, primarily the Central Intelligence Agency." The report makes clear that the Committee does not advocate revealing secrets that would jeopardize national security or the safety of individuals; however, the report states that the CIA has failed to declassify documents pertaining to activities that have been revealed in Congressional hearings and in memoirs by CIA agents. This fall the Committee will consider the possibility of withholding from publication some compiled volumes that do not include relevant intelligence involvement and would thus "fall grossly short of a complete record." While the Committee acknowledges that efforts are underway to develop a better working relationship with the CIA, the Committee remains skeptical as to whether new procedures will improve the situation. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NCC invites you to redistribute the NCC Washington Updates. A complete backfile of these reports is maintained by H-Net. See World Wide Web: http://h-net.msu.edu/~ncc/ * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *