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NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #25; 1 JUNE 2006)
by Bruce Craig (editor)
NATIONAL COALITION FOR HISTORY (NCH)
Website at http://www.h-net.org/~nch/
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1. SMITHSONIAN OFFICIALS TESTIFY BEFORE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
2. THE EMBATTLED SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY – SMALL LINKED TO FANNIE MAE 
SCANDAL
3. HOUSE COMMITTEE TO ANNOUNCE NARA/NHPRC BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS NEXT 
TUESDAY
4. BILLS INTRODUCED – MEASURE INTRODUCED TO FACILITATE LANDSCAPE 
RESTORATION IN NATIONAL PARK UNITS
5. LAWMAKERS MOVE TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OVER THE HISTORY CURRICULUM IN 
FLORIDA SCHOOLS
6. BITS AND BYTES: NCH Member Organization Dues Reminder; “The Capitol” 
Focus for C-SPAN Special; NMAH Donor’s Name to Be Inscribed in Stone; 
Recent NSA Releases
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: “Two Thousand Ancient Relics Confiscated From 
Smugglers”

1. SMITHSONIAN OFFICIALS TESTIFY BEFORE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Summoned by the House Administration Committee, Smithsonian Institution 
(SI) Secretary Lawrence Small and members of his senior staff testified 
before a House oversight committee on 25 May 2006 on the controversial 
agreement recently entered into between the Smithsonian and 
CBS/Showtime Networks Inc. Among other revelations, Small stated that 
the Smithsonian is locked into its semi-exclusive contract for 30 
years, unless (for a variety of undisclosed reasons) either party 
decides to cancel the agreement. Small’s testimony did little to 
mollify critics; in fact, his appearance raised new and more serious 
questions about the long-term ramifications of the deal.

Smithsonian officials provided two versions of the 170-plus page 
contract to Representative Vernon J. Ehlers’s (R-MI) oversight 
committee. According to insiders, the first version was “heavily 
redacted,” and only after congressional complaints did SI officials 
provide the committee with clear text version. For “proprietary 
reasons,” neither version was made public. Nevertheless, in his 
testimony and during the question and answer period that followed, 
Small confirmed details that many have long suspected were present in 
the contract – that the term of the agreement is thirty years, and that 
the Smithsonian has only six opportunities a year to “opt-out” of 
commercial productions with Showtime.

Small stated that he personally did not take part in drafting the 
contract – that task fell to Gary M. Beer, chief executive of 
Smithsonian Business Ventures. With flaying hands that nearly knocked 
over his microphone several times, Small passionately tried to defend 
the benefits that he insisted the agreement will accrue to the 
Smithsonian. He explained that the Smithsonian was trying to bring in 
extra revenue; that in spite of a $800 million endowment and some $1 
billion raised since 2000, there is still a backlog of repairs that, 
unless funded privately, would cost Congress “billions” of dollars to 
finance. Repeatedly, he asserted that out of over 900 media agreements 
in the last five years, there have been only 17 instances of 
“substantial use” of Smithsonian resources. Thus, the activities of 
over 95 percent of potential users would not be impacted by the 
provisions of the contract.

Small asserted that a contracting procedure that closely mirrored 
federal procedures was employed by his Business Ventures division; 
however, his explanation of how the contract was awarded bore no 
resemblance to any known species of federal contract procedures. But 
what flabbergasted hearing attendees was Small’s matter-of-fact 
statement that while “Showtime...has invested millions of dollars up 
front” (no details were provided of what Showtime has actually invested 
to date) the Smithsonian is “guaranteed” only $500,000 a year from 
Showtime. He explained though that the SI can earn additional money 
(perhaps as much as $99 million or $3 million a year) if “Smithsonian 
on Demand” is popular and profitable with cable subscribers. The 
disclosure of this staggeringly low guaranteed figure ($15 million over 
30 years with presumably no provision for adjustments for inflation) 
deeply troubled several members of the committee and took critics of 
the deal by surprise.

According to the Center for American Progress’s Carl Malamud, whose 
organization has been at the forefront of criticism of the Showtime 
deal, $500,000 a year plus a profit sharing provision in which the 
dominant party has a 90% equity stake is a “pretty cheap price to sell 
our archives.” Furthermore stated Malamud, in his professional opinion, 
a thirty-year contract “is impractical...In this Internet era, even 
three-year distribution contracts can be considered long.”

During the hearing Small also confirmed that the Smithsonian Regents 
were not (and apparently they never are) provided actual copies of 
proposed Showtime agreement. He explained that the Regents were 
provided only briefing sheets and were informed by Smithsonian 
officials of the complex contract provisions. By thwarting the Regents’ 
ability to make a detailed and critical review of the contract, Small’s 
statement raises questions about the quality of the Regents oversight 
over the management of the Smithsonian, an issue that is particularly 
troubling in light of the recent announcement that the SI’s 
Investigator General was looking into questionable executive 
compensation and accounting practices of the Smithsonian Business 
Ventures division.

During the hearing, critics of the Showtime deal from within the ranks 
of the House Administration Committee as well as outside witnesses made 
their views known. Margaret Drain, Vice-President for national 
programming at Boston PBS affiliate WGBH (a leading producer of PBS 
documentaries) stated, “the resources of the Smithsonian should not be 
made exclusive to anyone.” Her view was echoed in written testimony 
introduced into the hearing record on behalf of the American Historical 
Association (AHA). In her statement, AHA President Kerber asserted that 
because the Smithsonian is a tax-supported public institution, “access 
for everyone seeking to create and disseminate history” should not be 
denied. Kerber also reiterated the history and archival profession’s 
commitment to “open access” to the materials of history; she 
underscored the importance of being able “to disseminate freely the 
results of [their research] findings.” Emily Sheketoff, executive 
director of the American Library Association’s Washington office, was 
even more forthright in her criticism; she called for the agreement to 
be annulled.

2. THE EMBATTLED SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY – SMALL LINKED TO FANNIE MAE 
SCANDAL
Not that Lawrence Small already does not have has enough problems with 
Congress and critics of the Showtime agreement, but now the Smithsonian 
Secretary is under investigation for his role in a recently discovered 
accounting scandal at the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie 
Mae). From 1991 until 2000 when he became Smithsonian Secretary, Small 
served as president, chief operating officer, and board member of that 
association.

Small is no newcomer to criminal investigations. After a four-year 
investigation conducted by the Fish and Wildlife Service ending in 
2004, he pleaded guilty to a technical violation of the Migratory Bird 
Treaty Act for purchasing a collection of Amazonian tribal artifacts 
that was added to his own collection of similar cultural objects. The 
collection he purchased helped to bolster what appeared to critics as 
his rather thin credentials for serving as head of the Smithsonian 
complex of museums. The current charges, however, are potentially far 
more serious.
   According to a report issued by the Office of Federal Housing 
Enterprise Oversight, Small was among a handful of senior Fannie Mae 
officials who set an improper “tone at the top.” These actions, the 
report claims, served to encourage employees to doctor earnings by 
$10.6 billion, thus enabling senior officials to collect tens of 
millions in salary bonuses. The report also states that over a six-year 
period the company engaged in “extensive financial fraud.” The 
investigation is now focusing on assessing the role that senior 
officials, including Small, played in what the regulators characterize 
as “ill-gotten” bonuses.

There is little doubt that Small has had a rough time of it during his 
six years serving at the helm of the Smithsonian. Should the Senate 
agree with the House and punish Small for “failing to consult 
adequately with Congress” in awarding the Showtime contract by reducing 
the Smithsonian budget by $20 million in its proposed 2007 budget, the 
Regents will have to consider in the near future whether Small’s 
effectiveness as the Smithsonian’s leader has been compromised to the 
extent that dismissal is warranted. His resignation, together with a 
promise by the Regents to tighten their administrative oversight over 
the SI, could serve as the catalytic event leading to a restoration of 
the $20 million cut and renewed Congressional confidence in the 
management and leadership of that embattled institution.

3. HOUSE COMMITTEE TO ANNOUNCE NARA/NHPRC BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS NEXT 
TUESDAY
The full House Appropriations Committee will announce and vote on its 
recommendations for the National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA) budget for FY 2007 this next Tuesday, 6 June 2006.

The full committee will act on the proposal formulated by the 
Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban 
Development, The Judiciary, District of Columbia. The committee 
recommendations will include the long-awaited totals for what many 
consider “underfunded” programs advanced in the President’s FY 2007 
budget proposal that are administered by NARA, including the Electronic 
Records Archives (ERA) and the National Historical Publications and 
Records Commission (NHPRC).

Hill insiders are not predicting any surprises or miracles; it is a 
tough fiscal environment. Committee budget allocations will make any 
new programs a tough sell. The general prognostication is that overall 
NARA will realize a budget total that will approximate what Congress 
allocated last year. According to informed sources, there may be some 
shifting of program funds and priorities in order to enable NARA to 
accomplish what it can with its very limited funds.

4. BILLS INTRODUCED – MEASURE INTRODUCED TO FACILITATE LANDSCAPE 
RESTORATION IN NATIONAL PARK UNITS
Legislation (H.R. 5411) was introduced on 17 May 2006 by Representative 
Steve Pearce (R-NM) to establish a “demonstration program to facilitate 
landscape restorations within certain units of the National Park System 
established by law to preserve and interpret resources associated with 
American history.” The measure seeks to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish the demonstration program within those units 
established by statute to preserve and interpret “resources associated 
with American military history.”

The bill envisions that each of the 24 National Battlefields and other 
NPS administered battlefield units would be able to keep funds provided 
by receipts from the sale of timber cut in such units. Timber sales 
would be used to fund a variety of activities including: landscape 
restoration within the unit, interpretive services, eradication of 
invasive species, and fuel load reduction within such units. No timber 
cutting would be permitted unless a park had an approved resource 
management plan that recommends “specific timber removal for purposes 
of cultural or historic landscape restoration or fuel load reduction.”

The legislation has been crafted with substantial input from several 
environmental organizations, including National Parks Conservation 
Association, which is supportive of the bill “as introduced.” The 
measure has been referred to the House Committee on Resources for 
consideration. The committee has requested official comment from the 
Interior department.

5. LAWMAKERS MOVE TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OVER THE HISTORY CURRICULUM IN 
FLORIDA SCHOOLS
Florida Governor Jeb Bush has signed into law a new comprehensive 
K-12th grade education bill – the Florida Education Omnibus Bill (H.B. 
7087e3). Buried in the 160-page bill are new provisions designed to 
“meet the highest standards for professionalism and historic accuracy.” 
Some Florida history teachers, though, question the philosophical 
underpinnings of the law.

The most controversial passage states: “American history shall be 
viewed as factual, not constructed, shall be viewed as knowable, 
teachable, and testable, and shall be defined as the creation of a new 
nation based largely on the universal principles stated in the 
Declaration of Independence.” To that end teachers are charged not only 
to focus on the history and content of the Declaration but are also 
instructed to teach the “history, meaning, significance and effect of 
the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and the 
amendments thereto...” Other bill provisions place new emphasis on 
“flag education, including proper flag display and flag salute” and on 
the need to teach “the nature and importance of free enterprise to the 
United States economy.”

Unlike U.S. Senate version of the proposed new federal “Higher 
Education Act” (S. 1614) that seeks to define “traditional” American 
history, the Florida statute does not specifically define American 
history at all, rather, it describes what it is to include: “the period 
of discovery, early colonies, the War for Independence, the Civil War, 
the expansion of the United States to its present boundaries, the world 
wars, and the civil rights movement to the present.” Special provisions 
mandate the teaching of the history of the Holocaust, the history of 
African Americans, and Hispanic “contributions” to the United States. 
The role that Native Americans played in American history escapes 
mention. In highly prescriptive language students are to be taught “the 
arguments in support of adopting our republican form of government” as 
embodied in the Federalist Papers. The proscriptive language causes 
thoughtful teachers to wonder whether they are permitted to teach the 
line of reasoning advanced by the anti-federalists.

While the goal of the bill’s designers is “to raise historical 
literacy” concerning the documents, people, and events that shaped the 
nation, some history educators question the emphasis on teaching only 
“facts.” State Representative Shelley Vana, who also serves as the West 
Palm Beach teachers union president wonders “whose facts would they be, 
Christopher Columbus’s or the Indians?”

Theron Trimble, executive director of the Florida Council for the 
Social Studies, also questions the bill’s provisions that declares that 
teachers are not to “construct” history. Trimble asserts that “American 
history tends to get reinterpreted and re-reviewed in cycles...It’s a 
natural evolution, history is as changeable as the law.” Perhaps 
Jennifer Morely, an American history and government teacher, best 
summarized the concerns of her colleagues: “If you just require 
students to memorize information, that’s not the best way to create 
active citizens...we’re just creating little robots.”

The new law takes effect 1 July. Shortly thereafter, the state 
department of education will begin reviewing their standards and 
textbooks in 2007.

6. BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 – NCH Member Organization Dues Reminder: Second notices will be 
sent out next week to NCH member organizations that have yet to forward 
their 2006 member dues to the National Coalition for History. Prompt 
payment of dues facilitates the history coalition’s various advocacy 
and educational activities. To that end the NCH Policy Board wishes to 
recognize the generous increase in support being provided this year by 
the Society for Military History, that, at its last board meeting, 
voted to increase its annual support of the NCH from $5,000 to $7,000 a 
year. Thank you Society for Military History! Individual readers who 
wish to support the history coalition may do so by following the 
donation instructions in the “Who We Are” box (see below).

Item #2 – “The Capitol” Focus for C-SPAN Special: The story of the U.S. 
Capitol – its public and private spaces – as well as an exploration of 
its history and architecture will be the topic of a series of programs 
on C-SPAN television, radio, and online, starting 31 May. The 
three-night special will combine taped and live segments enabling 
viewers to get an insider’s view of the Capitol from 1800 to today. For 
additional information visit the C-SPAN special website 
www.The-Capitol.org .

Item #3 – NMAH Donor’s Name to Be Inscribed in Stone: Regular readers 
of the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE may recall that some years back the 
Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) 
received a $80 million donation from businessman/philanthropist Kenneth 
E. Behring. Behring was promised that he was to be recognized for his 
generous gift by adding his name to the nation’s history museum. For 
several years, a temporary blue banner fluttered above the doorway to 
of the museum and proclaimed the “new” official name of the museum: 
“National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center.” At 
long last, Behring will see the promise fulfilled. During the month of 
June 2006 contractors will install a new permanent stone sign with 
Behring’s name inscribed. The work on the signs should be completed by 
first week of July. According to Smithsonian officials summer visitors 
to the museum should not be substantively inconvenienced by the work.

Item #4 – Recent NSA Releases: The National Security Archive has 
announced the release of a large collection of Henry Kissinger's 
Memoranda of Conversation (memcons), that thanks to the editorial 
skills of the Archive’s William Burr, provide a “detailed and candid 
record” of his diplomatic exploits and contacts with world leaders from 
1969 to 1977. To access the collection go to: 
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB193/press.htm . Also of 
possible interest to readers will be the second and final installment 
of declassified National Security Agency records on Vietnam and the 
Tonkin Gulf Incident that were published earlier this week by the other 
NSA (National Security Agency) on their web site. To access the 
documents go to: http://www.nsa.gov/vietnam/ .

7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST:
One posting this week: In “Two Thousand Ancient Relics Confiscated From 
Smugglers” (Cultural Heritage News Agency; 17 May 2006) readers will 
learn that smugglers in Iran are selling antiquities and antiques to 
museums and collectors outside the country. Iran’s government has asked 
an international court to intervene. For the article, go to: 
http://www.chn.ir/en/news/?section=2&id=6378 .

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