The National Archives & Records Administration’s (NARA) budget would increase by $10 million to $457 million under the fiscal year (FY) 2010 funding bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee. NARA’s budget would mirror the Obama administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 budget request, with the exception of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) which would receive an additional $3 million (see related story).

Please note below that for comparison purposes, the FY ‘09 budget number will be included in parentheses after the FY 2010 proposed amount.

Operating Expenses (OE)
$339.8 million ($327.3 million) +$12.5 million

OE funds cover general operating expenses such as energy and security costs, rents and building operations for NARA facilities around the country, increased technology costs, and salaries for NARA staff.

Electronic Records Archives (ERA) project–$85.5 million ($67 million) +$18.5 million

For FY 2010, the Budget requests an increase of $18.5 million to develop the capability for providing online public access to NARA’s electronic holdings, expand preservation capabilities, increase system capacity, and provide backup and restore functions. The increase would bring ERA total funding to $85 million. Use of the ERA will be made mandatory for all federal agencies beginning in January 2011.

Repairs and Restoration
$27.5 million ($50.7 million) -$23.2 million

The bill provides $27.5 million for repairs and restoration of NARA facilities.