Providing Public Testimony on NHPRC
The House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Treasury, Transportation,
Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary and District of Columbia (T-THUD)
will be accepting written public testimony on the National Archives and Records
Administration, National Historical Publications and Records Commission until
April 26, 2005.
Who should submit testimony?
Testimony should be submitted on behalf of an
organization. It is important that the testimony is submitted by the most senior
member of the organization.
For example, for a university archives, it is best to have the archives director—or
ideally the university president or dean to whom the archives reports—submit
the testimony. For state archives, consider submission by the state archivist
or the head of a larger department to which the archives reports. Although
letters from individuals (ie, not on behalf of an organization) are valuable,
these should be directed to the individual members of the subcommittee rather
than submitted as public testimony.
How to submit testimony:
Written testimony should be concise and focused on
the issue. It should not exceed the equivalent of 4 single-spaced, typed pages
(2 pages would be ideal),
and should be in 12-point type. Testimony can be submitted in writing via email
to: approp.transpo-treas@mail.house.gov
What to include in your testimony:
At the top of the page indicate: name, title,
and institutional affiliation.
In the first paragraph, refer to the agency,
program, and amount of money involved in the request [National Archives, National
Historical Publications and Records Commission, $8 million in competitive grants,
$2 million for program administration].
In the remainder of your message, be
sure to include the following:
- Explain the mission/purpose of your organization, its geographical coverage
(if relevant), and its membership or service numbers.
- Explain why NHPRC is
of value to your organization and your constituents. Stress positive
benefits to users, society, government, democracy. Note what
will
be lost if NHPRC is not funded.
- Provide arguments about why NHPRC provides
unique services and benefits that no other agency offers. (See sample
arguments below, as well as fact
sheets available on this Web site.)
- Thank the Subcommittee members for their attention
to this issue.
Some points to make in your testimony:
NHPRC has an outstanding record of success
in providing grants each year to institutions across the country to preserve
historical records, publish
historical
papers, and make historical materials more accessible. Its grants help
state and local organizations
- Edit and publish historical documents
- Develop archival programs
- Promote the preservation and use of historical
records
- Promote regional and national coordination in addressing major archival
issues
NHPRC leads the nation in supporting research and implementing
scalable solutions to the challenges of electronic records. This work ensures
that records created
today will be usable with tomorrow's technology.
Although the
National Archives concentrates on federal records, the NHPRC helps archivists,
documentary editors, and historians
by making
available
non-federal
records that are also essential to our national story and to
the daily functioning of our democracy and our economy (for
example, records
of corporate organizations
and real estate transactions).
NHPRC reaches a wide audience.
Grants preserve and make accessible records and documentary editions that
sustain the work of biographers,
classroom
teachers, documentary filmmakers, journalists, lawyers, land
surveyors, historians, genealogists,
community historians, museum exhibit designers, and many
others.
NHPRC grants are a good investment. The average non-federal
contribution is almost 50%. Federal funds ensure potential
backers that the
projects are of
genuine significance and have capable staffing.
Loss of
NHPRC funds to projects will have a domino effect, causing funding from other
sources to be withdrawn or reduced.
See also:
Update on Efforts to Save NHPRC Funding
for FY06 (April 2005)
NHPRC Budget Zeroed Out for FY2006! (February
22, 2005)
NARA Press Release (February 7, 2005)
|
