In the coming weeks, the House Appropriations Committee will consider fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations bills for federal agencies and programs. It is critical for you to contact your Members of Congress now to urge them to support increased funding for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

In collaboration with the National Humanities Alliance (NHA), we have created a legislative alert that makes it simple for you to make your voice heard. Please follow this link to send an electronic email. The system uses your zip code to identify your Member of Congress.

NCH recently submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government which has jurisdiction over the budgets for NARA and NHPRC.

NCH supports the Biden administration’s recommended funding level of $426.5 million for NARA’s Operating Expenses (OE) budget in FY 23, which is an increase of $38.2 million (approximately10 percent) from the FY 22 level of $388.3 million. Over the past three years NCH, in conjunction with our colleagues at the NHA, have been aggressively advocating for increased funding for NARA. This is the first time we have seen a significant increase in appropriations proposed for NARA in over a decade.

NCH also supports the Administration’s proposed base funding level of $9.5 million in FY 23 for the NHPRC grants program. That represents an increase of $2.5 million over the FY 22 base level of $7 million. The NHPRC received a total of $12.3 million in funding in FY 22. However, $5.3 million of that was the result of congressionally directed funding which we expect will fluctuate from year to year.

It is vital that Members of Congress understand the importance of NARA and the NHPRC to your members and that of your colleagues in the many constituencies represented by NCH. Please share this with your members and urge them to act today!