National Coalition for History

“History Lessens,” ‘New York Times’ March 19, 2007. An op-ed by historian Dr. David Kahn in support of increased funding for the National Archives.

On March 22, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch regarding how the Library is transforming itself to accommodate the digital age. (Full Testimony) Read the full article »

Political scientist Harvey Mansfield will deliver the 2007 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced this week. The annual NEH-sponsored Jefferson Lecture is considered the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities. Read the full article »

This week, the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities unveiled their “Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers” joint venture which debuted on-line with more than 226,000 pages of public-domain newspapers from California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Utah, Virginia and the District of Columbia published between 1900 and 1910. The site is fully searchable. Read the full article »

In a front page story this week, the “Washington Post” continued its expose on questionable expenses incurred by Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small. But perhaps most damaging to Small was an allegation made to the Post by the former Smithsonian inspector general Debra S. Ritt. She alleged that Small tried to steer her audit of Smithsonian financial dealings away from his own compensation, and the controversial Smithsonian Business Ventures operation, towards construction programs. Read the full article »

On March 20, 2007, Chairman Bruce Cole testified on the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) before the House Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.

In his prepared testimony, Dr. Cole said that under the President’s FY 2008 request, NEH would receive $141.4 million, a slight increase over the amount it received in FY 2007. Read the full article »

The most important House action for the historical and archival communities was the passage of H.R. 1255, the “Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007.” The National Coalition for History (NCH) issued a legislative alert to the historical and archival communities that generated nearly 1,700 letters to the House in support of the bill. I would like to thank everyone who responded to the alert! Read the full article »

On March 14, 2007, the House of Representatives, by a vote of 308-117, approved H.R. 1309, the “Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 2007.” This legislation contains numerous provisions that will increase public access to government information by strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The same day, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a SAP on H.R. 1309, expressing the Administration’s opposition to the bill. Read the full article »

On March 14, 2007, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 1254, the “Presidential Donation Reform Act of 2007,” by a vote of 390-34. Unlike the previous two bills, the administration did not express an opinion on this legislation. Read the full article »

On March 15, 2007, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein testified on the fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) before the House Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

In his prepared testimony, Dr. Weinstein said that under the President’s FY 2008 request, NARA would receive $312.8 million for operating expenses, an increase of $33.5 million over FY 2007. The Electronic Records Archive (ERA), an initiative to preserve and make accessible electronic records, would be funded at a level of $58 million, or an increase of $12.7 million from the current year. Read the full article »