Action Alert:  
NHPRC 2007 Funding in Jeopardy; You Can Help Restore It!

March 22, 2006 - In February the National Historical Publications and
Records Commission was again "zeroed out" in the President's proposed budget
for FY 2007.  No money at all for grants, no money for the administration of
NHPRC.  The Society of American Archivists (SAA), the Council of State
Archivists (CoSA), and the National Association of Government Archives and
Records Administrators (NAGARA) have discussed how to address this latest
development - and how to address it while moving forward on a national
initiative for formula-based funding directed to states (what we have been
calling the "national initiative" and have now given the more formal name of
the "Partnership for the American Historical Record," or PAHR.)  Based on
our discussions, the three organizations have agreed that we will ask for
funding to both support the full national competitive grants program and
provide funds to initiate PAHR.  

We are, therefore, advocating a new funding level for NHPRC of $20 million.
(See "A Joint Statement on 2007 Funding Levels for NHPRC,"
http://savearchives.pbwiki.com/Joint%20Statement)  We are asking you to
assist with the latter by writing letters, passing resolutions of support,
and visiting with your Senators and House members to ask for their support.
We also ask that you spread the word by identifying and working with
additional groups and individuals who can help in this advocacy effort.   

In the past few weeks we have gathered information and developed materials
to use in reaching out to members of Congress.  While it is beneficial to
send letters to your representatives, particular effort must be made in
those states whose members of Congress are on the key committees and
subcommittees dealing with appropriations:  the House and Senate
Appropriations committees and the House and Senate subcommittees on
Treasury, Transportation, HUD and Related Agencies (T-THUD). 

Your letters will have the most benefit in the next few weeks.  House
testimony is due by April 14, and the testimony that our organizations
submit will be strengthened immeasurably by the stories that you have to
tell.   Letters should come from people who have received NHPRC grants or
from people who have benefited from the projects - genealogists, local
government officials, historians, teachers, etc.  In particular, we'd ask
you or those you know who may have connections to the member of Congress to
seek them out and encourage support for $20 million in funding for NHPRC.
Often we think we can't reach these individuals, but if you don't have a
connection yourself, then just by asking around you may find that someone
you know or with whom you work has a connection to a key staff member or
legislator.  We are all constituents ourselves - and sometimes calling or
making an appointment to visit your Congressperson or a staff member in the
home office can have surprising results.  Give it a try! 
  
Letters FAXED during the weeks of March 13 and March 20 would be perfectly
timed to get their attention.  Email is not given much credence because of
the quantity that comes in, and postal mail is irradiated, adding literally
weeks of time to receipt. The mid-level Fax technology works best for this.

We have prepared several documents to assist you with this effort:

. "Guidelines for Writing Letters to Members of Congress Regarding NHPRC
Funding for 2007" includes information to guide you in developing the
content of your letter(s).
http://savearchives.pbwiki.com/f/LettersToCongress.doc
. "A Partnership for the American Historical Record" describes the new
initiative for state-based formula grants to help preserve and make
accessible essential records.
http://savearchives.pbwiki.com/f/PAHRexplanation.doc
. A Fact Sheet on NHPRC provides more details that may be helpful for
letters, phone calls, and visits.  
http://savearchives.pbwiki.com/f/NHPRCfactsheet.DOC

All of these documents and additional background information are also
available on a "wiki" that we have set up as a temporary information
distribution tool:  http://savearchives.pbwiki.com/  This is a publicly
accessible site to which you can direct others who have an interest in this
issue.  The wiki also includes:

. An Excel table containing contact information (including fax numbers) for
members of the House and Senate appropriations committees and for the
relevant subcommittees.
. Basic "fact sheets" from four states (Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and
Texas) that you can use as models for developing one for your own state.

Our final request is that you update us on your progress.  If you could
forward copies of your letters to us that would be very helpful. At the very
least, we'd like to track how many letters go to each member of Congress and
from whom so that we can be sure there is a good flow of mail to each
person. 

Despite the general budget woes of the world, we have a unique opportunity
to greatly improve the resources available to all of our institutions and
all of our states.  This is a crucial time for us to help ensure that NHPRC
has the appropriate funding for national grants and for formula-based grants
to our states.  Please join us in taking advantage of this opportunity to
strengthen archives throughout our nation.  We appreciate your efforts on
behalf of these important programs. 

Society of American Archivists
Nancy Beaumont, Executive Director
312-922-0140
[log in to unmask]

Council of State Archivists
Kathleen Roe, Chair, CoSA Advocacy Committee
518-473-4254
[log in to unmask]

National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators 
[log in to unmask]

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