Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has proposed an amendment (No. 2631) to eliminate the National Science Foundation’s political science program. It is an amendment to the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science fiscal year 2010 appropriations bill (H.R. 2847), which is on the Senate floor today. NCH urges anyone who values political science research to contact your Senator’s office TODAY to ask them to vote against Coburn’s amendment.
As part of last week’s confirmation hearing to become Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero provided responses to a pre-hearing questionnaire prepared by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The questions and answers can be accessed by clicking here.
On October 1, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing to consider the nomination of David S. Ferriero to be the next Archivist of the United States.
The National Archives and Records Administration this week submitted a report to Congress detailing alternative models to the current Presidential Library system.
On October 2, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) published a final rule in the Federal Register revising and reorganizing the existing regulations on Federal records management. The rule takes effect on November 2, 2009. The new rule was published just as this was going to press, and a summary will be posted at a later date.
On October 1, President Obama signed into law the Legislative Branch fiscal year 2010 appropriations bill (H.R. 2918, H. Rept. 111-265) which includes language providing one month of stopgap funding for the federal government. Fiscal year 2010 began on October 1. To date, Congress has only passed one of the twelve FY 2010 appropriations bills. As a result, a continuing resolution was needed to keep the Government functioning.
On September 24, the U.S. Senate approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies spending bill (H.R. 2996). The legislation includes funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service. Of particular concern is the fact that the Senate bill provides $161.3 million for NEH, $8.7 million less than the level approved by the House.
This week, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and Footnote.com announced the release of a new Interactive Holocaust Collection. Over one million Holocaust-related records – including millions of names and 26,000 photos from the National Archives- will be available online. The collection can be viewed at: https://www.footnote.com/holocaust.
On October 1, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered the release of records of former Vice President Cheney’s interview with the FBI in the Valerie Plame Wilson leak investigation. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the public-interest group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) had sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking release of the records.
HISTORY, together with the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress, will host a National Teach-In on Veterans History on Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 12pm EST. Educators and students nationwide can tune-in and view this live webcast online at www.veterans.com. The webcast will be broadcast live from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
