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NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #28; 23 JUNE 2006)
by Bruce Craig (editor)
NATIONAL COALITION FOR HISTORY (NCH)
Website at http://www.h-net.org/~nch/
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1. HOUSE CUTS NARA FUNDING BY $8 MILLION
2. NARA IN FISCAL TROUBLE – HIRING FREEZE AND OTHER MEASURES PLANNED
3. BILLS INTRODUCED: REPRESENTATIVE DEGETTE INTRODUCES HUMAN SUBJECT
RESEARCH LEGISLATION
4. READEX NEWSPAPER PROJECT COMPLETED
5. BITS AND BYTES: History Coalition Weighs in on Net Neutrality; PIDB
Member Named
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "American Express Announces $10 Million
Commitment for Historic Preservation” (PR Newswire)

1. HOUSE CUTS NARA FUNDING BY $8 MILLION
In a surprise move on the floor of the House of Representatives, on 14
June 2006, the lower chamber cut the proposed budget for the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) by $8 million. A higher
level budget had been approved by the House Appropriations Committee
and its Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban
Development, the Judiciary, and the District of Columbia. If the Senate
agrees with the House the net result would signal (to quote a
“dismayed” Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein) “a very
austere year” in FY 2007 for NARA – one that would mean a reduction of
hours of operations, partial closings of researcher reading rooms on
nights and weekends, and even possible furloughing of employees.

The cut took National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
legislative staff and the House Appropriations Members and staff by
surprise; there was no advance notice of the proposed amendment. The
amendment, sponsored by Representatives Darlene Hooley (D-OR) and
joined by Kenny C. Hulshof (R-MO) and Ike Skelton (D-MO) sought to
restore funding (including $8 million from the NARA budget) for a drug
interdiction initiative that had been zeroed out of the federal budget.
The initiative seeks to help curb the extensive abuse of crystal
methamphetamine.

The congresswoman recommended taking the money from NARA’s budget as
she needed to find an “offset” (when Congress adds money to a bill, an
“offset” must be found and the budget for that program reduced by an
equal amount) in order to fund the interdiction program.

While the funding plight of the interdiction program was recognized by
Congressman Knollenberg (R-MI), Chairman of the Transportation/Treasury
Appropriations Subcommittee, he vigorously opposed funding proposal at
the expense of NARA’s budget. The chairman told his colleagues that the
National Archives was already struggling to fund a $12 million
shortfall, and that the agency is considering other measures to save
money in addition to the hiring freeze (see related story below).
During the first vote the amendment was defeated, but Rep. Hooley
demanded a roll call vote; the final vote on the amendment was 348 yeas
to 76 nays, with 8 members not voting. As a result, NARA’s proposed
funding shortfall in FY 2007 is now over $20 million.

In conversations between the National Coalition for History and Senate
appropriations staff and others on Capitol Hill, most insiders believe
the Senate will not agree to the proposed offset and that the $8
million will be restored by the Senate in conference when the bill is
reconsidered by representatives of both houses.

Insiders also report that when the Senate takes up the NARA funding
bill (probably after the July 4 recess) the Senate is likely to agree
with the House on the need to provide some level of funding for the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). While
the president proposed zero funds for the NHPRC, the House approved
funding at $7.5 million ($5.5 for grants; $2 million for administration
and staffing). The Senate is expected to provide funding for the NHPRC
at a level consistent with the House.

Constituents of Representatives Hooley, Hulshof, and Skelton may wish
to contact their member (write, e-mail, or call -- the capitol
switchboard number is (202) 224-3121 and express their views on the
amendment that was offered and let them know about the devastating
impact it conceivably would have on NARA’s ability to serve the public.

2. NARA IN FISCAL TROUBLE – HIRING FREEZE AND OTHER MEASURES PLANNED
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) plans on
instituting a hiring freeze and other steps – including an early
retirement buy-out program for qualified employees – in order to
minimized an anticipated budget shortfall for this and next year.

While Congressionally-mandated pay raises, higher facility rents, and
increases in energy costs in facilities nationwide account for some of
the projected funding shortfall, the fact is that personnel costs make
up the largest part of NARA’s operational expenses. According to NARA
officials “these costs must be reduced.” Consequently, a hiring freeze
is set to begin 3 July. It will effect only those positions funded by
the agency’s core operational funds and will not effect positions
funded from NARA’s Revolving Fund, Trust Fund, through the ERA
appropriation, or through most reimbursable programs.

In addition to instituting the hiring freeze, NARA anticipates taking
additional action to reduce the budget: there will be opportunities for
employees to take an early retirement, and a reduction of hours of
operation for both the research and exhibition sides of NARA – that
move is anticipated to hit the genealogical community and other
researchers, as well as the visiting public especially hard.

3. BILLS INTRODUCED: REPRESENTATIVE DEGETTE INTRODUCES HUMAN SUBJECT
RESEARCH LEGISLATION
On 9 June 2006, Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) introduced the
“Protection for Participants in Research Act of 2006" (H.R. 5578) –
legislation seeking to insure that all human subject research is
conducted in accordance with the Common Rule and other provisions in
law that are designed to insure that human subject research poses
minimal risk to research participants. The bill also seeks to insure
“informed consent” by all research participants.

Human subject research – including certain oral history research
activities – has been interpreted by some federal officials in the
Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and some university
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to be governed by provisions in the
Public Health Service Act. The law, which originally was designed to
protect the human subjects from abuse by bio-medical researchers,
remains vague if not totally mute with respect to oral history
research. This, however, has not stopped some university IRB’s to (in
the words of critics) “overreach” their authority when applying OHRP
regulations to oral history research. Some university IRB’s grant an
exemption to oral history research while others (especially those that
do not have historians or social scientists sitting on the IRB) demand
that historians seek IRB approval for any oral history research that
may be undertaken in the process of conducting historical research.

In recent months there have been several new IRB horror stories
relating to oral history. For example, at one major research university
a doctoral dissertation that had been approved by the Dean of the
Graduate School, was withdrawn just weeks prior to the student’s
anticipated graduation. In what appears to have been a communication
problem between the student’s graduate advisor, the graduate school,
and the university IRB, the doctoral candidate was ordered to take back
his dissertation, strike all references to his oral history
interviewees and destroy the tapes he made, even though he had secured
signed releases from all his oral history interviewees. The student’s
graduation and future – including a job offer (his position is
conditioned on having the Ph.D. in hand prior to appointment) – at this
writing remains in jeopardy.

DeGette’s bill does not speak directly to the issue of oral history
research and would do little to address the specific concerns relating
to such research activities. There is a provision in the bill that
directs the Health and Human Service’s Secretary to consider whether
the list of exemptions should be modified or whether “new categories of
exemptions [should be] established.” The bill also mandates that local
IRBs are to consist of at least two persons whose expertise is in
“nonscientific areas” and an additional two persons from outside the
research institution.

While the DeGette bill does little to resolve the controversy over oral
history, the American Historical Association, the Oral History
Association, and other history-related organizations have formally
requested that the OHRP (which in the past has sent contradictory
messages to the historical community) clarify their regulations and
policies regarding the applicability of oral history in IRB review.

4. READEX NEWSPAPER PROJECT COMPLETED
On 21 June 2006, Readex, a leading publisher of online historical
collections, announced the completion of Early American Newspapers,
Series I, 1690-1876. An integral part of Readex’s Web-based Archive of
Americana, this digital edition offers fully searchable, cover-to-cover
reproductions of nearly 350,000 issues from over 700 historical
American newspapers, totaling more than 1.5 million pages. Digitized
primarily from the extensive historical newspaper holdings of the
American Antiquarian Society (AAS) and published in cooperation with
the AAS, Early American Newspapers, Series I is a collection of great
significance for historical researchers at all levels.

Early American Newspapers, Series I provides unprecedented access to
America's past by documenting daily life, popular issues and events and
both majority and minority views in hundreds of communities. The
collection Focuses largely on the 18th century and offers titles from
23 states and the District of Columbia. This comprehensive resource is
based on Clarence S. Brigham's "History and Bibliography of American
Newspapers, 1690-1820" and other authoritative bibliographies. Users
can easily view, magnify, print and save items and limit searches to
items that fall into such categories as news/opinion, election returns,
letters, poetry, legislative acts or legal proceedings, prices,
advertisements, matrimony notices, and death notices.

"The joint effort of Readex and the American Antiquarian Society has
led to the creation of a digital historical newspaper collection of
unparalleled breadth and depth," said Ellen S. Dunlap, President of the
American Antiquarian Society. "We are pleased to see our vast newspaper
holdings serve to further contribute to fresh understandings of our
nation's past."
"Now, Web-based access to one of the most valuable sources for 18th-
and 19th-century historical research is enabling students and scholars
at hundreds of institutions worldwide to explore nearly every aspect of
early America," said Remmel Nunn, Readex Vice President of New Product
Development.

As part of the America's Historical Newspapers collection, Early
American Newspapers, Series I, 1690-1876 shares a common interface with
Early American Newspapers, Series II, 1758-1900 and Early American
Newspapers, Series III, 1829-1922.

For more information on the digital edition of Early American
Newspapers, Series I, 1690-1876, the Archive of Americana or other
Readex products, visit www.readex.com.

5. BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 – History Coalition Weighs in on Net Neutrality: Two weeks back
the National Coalition for History voted to join the Net Neutrality
Coalition. This last week the history coalition submitted two letters
of support for pending legislation designed to retain an open Internet.
Letters of support for The Communications Consumers Choice and
Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 (S. 2686) were sent to the Senate and
letters in support of an amendment to the Communications Opportunity
Promotion and Enhancement Act (H.R. 5252) were submitted to the House.
Member organizations seeking copies of the letters should contact the
Executive Director at [log in to unmask] .

Item #2 – PIDB Member Named: Admiral William O. Studeman, a resident of
Great Falls Virginia, has been named by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives as his representative on the Public Interest
Declassification Board (PIDB). Admiral Studman is a former director of
the National Security Agency (NSA). At this time, only the Minority
Leader of the Senate – Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) – has yet to name his
representative. To that end several weeks ago, the National Coalition
for History contacted Senator Reid’s office and advanced the names of
three highly qualified candidates for the Senator’s consideration.

6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST
One posting this week. In "American Express Announces $10 Million
Commitment for Historic Preservation Through 'Partners in Preservation'
Program” (PR Newswire; 6/14/2006) details are announced of a new
multi-million dollar five-year commitment to historic preservation
through the establishment of a partnership with the National Trust for
Historic Preservation. The program is dedicated to preserving sites
both in the U.S. and around the world. For details of the program
visit:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06
-14-2006/0004380325&EDATE=

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