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House Appropriations Committee Restores NHPRC Funding; Next Step Is Senate!
June 21, 2005—The House of Representatives has restored
funding for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission in
its budget bill—with $5.5 million for competitive grants and $2 million
for program administration! The House Subcommittee on Treasury, Transportation,
HUD, and the Judiciary (T-THUD) approved that addition on June 21. This is
a very positive result—and the organizations and individuals who raised
their voices to request restoration of funding can be very pleased.
But there's more to be done—now in the Senate—to preserve this
funding or to raise it to the $8 million in grants and $2 million in administration
that the archives, records management, history, and research community has
identified as the essential level of funding.
To ensure that this funding survives through the next stages of the budget
process, the following steps must be taken:
Send letters to your senators. If your senator is on the Senate
Appropriations Committee and the Senate Subcommittee on Treasury, Transportation,
HUD, and the Judiciary, ask him or her to propose that the funding recommended
by the House be increased to $8 million for competitive grants and $2 million
for staff and administration in the National Archives budget. (For a
list of committee and subcommittee members, see www.savearchives.org.
If your senator is not on the Appropriations Committee or the Senate T-THUD
Subcommittee, ask him or her to contact Senator Kit Bond, chair of the T-THUD
Subcommittee (if your senator is a Republican), or Senator Patty Murray, ranking
member of the T-THUD Subcommittee (if your senator is a Democrat), with a request
that the funding recommended by the House be increased to $8 million for competitive
grants and $2 million for staff and administration in the National Archives
budget.
Make a visit to the home offices of your senators or representative. Or,
if you or your constituents are going to be in Washington, DC, plan to
visit your members' DC offices. If you can't talk with the senator
or representative, talk to his or her staff members—and specifically
the staff member who handles appropriations issues. Again, urge
them to contact their colleagues on both the Senate and House Appropriations
Committee and the Subcommittees on Treasury, Transportation, HUD and the
Judiciary to voice their support for the restoration of funding for NHPRC.
Where to go for more information and to keep current on this issue:
- Society of American Archivists: www.archivists.org
- Council of State Historical Records Coordinators: www.coshrc.org
- SaveArchives.org, a Web site dedicated to preserving our nation's archival
heritage: www.savearchives.org
These sites contain:
- Guidelines for writing letters to Congress.
- Name/address/fax for House and Senate committee members.
- Background information on NHPRC and its contributions, including a
comparison of the funding levels for NHPRC and related federal programs.
As always, our success this year will depend on the level of coordination,
involvement, and commitment of those archivists, historians, documentary editors,
and others who care about NHPRC. Please forward this update to others who may
be interested or able to help. There is strength in numbers!
Questions? Suggestions? Contact:
Members of the Joint Task Force on Advocacy:
- Council of State Historical Records Coordinators: David Carmicheal,
Sandra Clark, Kathleen Roe
- SAA: Peter Gottlieb, Joan Krizack, Rand Jimerson, Richard Pearce-Moses,
Nancy Beaumont
- National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators: Tim
Slavin
- ARMA International: Stacey Moye
See also:
House Subcommittee Restores NHPRC
Funding; Next Step Is Senate! (June 15, 2005)
Update on Efforts to Save NHPRC Funding for FY06 (May
2005)
Update on Efforts to Save NHPRC Funding for
FY06 (April 2005)
Providing Public Testimony on NHPRC (April 2005)
NHPRC Budget Zeroed Out for FY2006! (February
22, 2005)
NARA Press Release (February 7,
2005)
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