NHPRC Budget Zeroed Out for FY2006!
February 22, 2005—More than 150 federal programs
are slated to be slashed or eliminated in the FY2006 budget recommendations
released by the White House
on February 7. In that proposed budget, the National Historical Publications
and Records Commission (NHPRC) has been targeted to receive NO funding. This
will mean no funds for the grants program and no funds for staffing to support
NHPRC programs. In addition, the overall budget for the National Archives and
Records Administration has significant decreases in other areas of importance.
The relevant section for NHPRC specifically states:
"National Historical Publications
and Records Commission Grants.—This
program provides funding for grants that the Commission makes, nationwide,
to preserve and publish records that document American history. The Budget
proposes no new grants funding for the National Historical Publications and
Records Commission in 2006."
The full budget document is available at
www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy06/. See pages 1188-1192.
SAA, the Council of State
Historical Records Coordinators (COSHRC), and the National Association of Government
Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA)
have formed a Joint Task Force on Advocacy to take action collaboratively on
appropriate issues. The first work of the group is to save NHPRC funding, an
effort on which it is coordinating efforts with the National Coalition for
History and the Association for Documentary
Editing.
An action
plan will be implemented throughout the coming months.
What can you do to help?
Take the first step. Fax letters to the House and
Senate Appropriations committees, their individual members, and staff, urging
them to restore funding for NHPRC.
(Email is given less credence because congressional offices are deluged by
it, and regular mail is being slowed by irradiation procedures. Faxing is the
best long-distance means for getting your message to Congress. Of course, if
one of your Senators and/or your Representative serve on an Appropriations
committee and you have a chance to pay a visit to his or her Washington or
home office, that’s the very best way to communicate!)
The committees
begin meeting on March 1, so it’s important to fax your
letter(s) soon. One key message to present to Congress is that the exceptional
benefits afforded by NHPRC come at a very low cost and have long-lasting effects.
Specific stories of the impact that NHPRC has had on local institutions and
programs can be especially effective.
Here are some items to assist you with
this effort:
Check out www.humanitiesadvocacy.org,
a new Web site that includes easy-to-use links to Congressional offices and
more information about archives-related
issues. SAA, COSHRC, and NAGARA are members of the National Coalition for History,
which co-sponsors the site.
Let us know who you know. Do you or your repository
have a long-standing relationship with a member of one of the Appropriations
committees? Or with someone else
who may have influence in helping to save NHPRC? Please let us know. Contact
SAA Executive Director Nancy Beaumont at nbeaumont@archivists.org or
312/922-0140. We’ll keep a record of contacts so that we can call on
you if needed.
Let
us know about your progress. We’d like to track the flow of information
to Congress. If possible, please forward a copy of your correspondence or a
note about your contact to Nancy Beaumont at nbeaumont@archivists.org or to
any member of the Joint Task Force (listed below).
Keep your eye on the SAA
Web site. We’ll update you regularly on the
status of the budget discussions.
Thank you for your help!
David Carmicheal (dcarmicheal@sos.state.ga.us)
(COSHRC)
Sandra Clark (clarkss@michigan.gov) (COSHRC)
Kathleen Roe (kroe@coshrc.org) (COSHRC)
Tim Slavin (timothy.slavin@state.de.us) (NAGARA)
Peter Gottlieb (pgottlieb@whs.wisc.edu) (SAA)
Joan Krizack (j.krizack@neu.edu) (SAA)
Richard Pearce-Moses (pearce-moses@cox.net)
(SAA)
Nancy Beaumont (nbeaumont@archivists.org)
(SAA)
See also: NARA Press Release (February 7, 2005)
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