The National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) budget will increase by $9 million to $457 million under the fiscal year (FY) 2010 omnibus spending bill that cleared the Congress on December 13. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) will receive $13 million in grant funding, the level in its history (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
$339.7 million ($327.3 million) +$12.4 million

Operating Expenses funds cover general overhead 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.

The conferees directed NARA to report to Congress within 30 days of enactment of the bill on information security improvements it has made or planned. In March 2009, NARA discovered an external hard drive containing copies of Clinton Administration Executive Office of the President (EOP) data was missing from a NARA processing room. Despite the posting of a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the hard drive, it remains missing.

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. Of this amount, $16.7 million is available until September 30, 2012.

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. The bulk of the funding, $17.5 million is targeted for completion of the renovations underway at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.