This week, a federal district court judge ruled that the White House’s Office of Administration (OA) is not an “agency” and therefore is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). D.C. District Court Judge Kollar-Kotelly found that OA is not an “agency” on the grounds that it does not exercise substantial independent authority.
Professor Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, and Dr. Mark Myers, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), recently signed an agreement creating a cooperative framework for how the two Federal agencies will work together. This agreement will ensure the preservation and access of the earth imagery and geospatial data resources currently archived by the USGS at its Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently announced that 86 successful applicants will receive $17,879,985 million in awards and offers. This funding will support the production and development of media projects, the planning and implementation of museum exhibitions and library-based projects, educators’ professional development, collaborative research, and the preparation of texts and documents that are currently inaccessible or available in inadequate editions.
In a letter to Representative Henry A. Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the National Coalition for History this week endorsed the “Electronic Message Preservation Act” (H.R. 5811, H. Rept. 110-709). The bill would direct the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to establish standards for the capture, management, preservation and retrieval of federal agency and presidential electronic messages that are records in an electronic format.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Park Service would receive major boosts in funding under the House Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies fiscal year (FY) 2009 “Chairman’s Mark” that was approved on June 11. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up the bill on June 18.
We need your help in securing cosponsors in the House of Representatives for the “Preserving the American Historical Record Act (PAHR)” (H.R. 6056). The PAHR legislation would establish a new federal program of formula grants to the states and territories to support archives and historical records at the state and local level. Please go to the Humanities Advocacy Network and ask your Member of Congress to cosponsor the PAHR bill (H.R. 6056).
This week the National Park Service released a “Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States.” The study is the broadest federal effort ever undertaken to determine the status of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 resources. The report reflects the results of years of study and was successful in identifying the sites of almost 3,000 events associated with the two wars, including 60 sites within the National Park System.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is now accepting nominations for the 2008 National Humanities Medals. The National Humanities Medal honors individuals and organizations whose work has strengthened Americans’ understanding of or engagement with history, literature, philosophy, or other humanities subjects.
On June 11, 2008, the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information, and Terrorism Risk Assessment passed a series of bills designed to facilitate public access to unclassified records. One of the bills (H.R. 6193) is designed to implement and expand upon the Bush administration’s directive on the use of “Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).”
On June 11, 2008, the House Natural Resources Committee by voice vote cleared legislation (H.R. 3981) to permanently authorize both the Preserve America and Save America’s Treasures historic preservation programs. The bill as adopted would cap the authorization for the Save America’s Treasure’s program at $50 million and the Preserve America program at $25 million.
