I am forwarding the following information on Clinton's budget for historic
preservation to Histarch. It comes from the Publhist list, and may be of
interest to some of you on Histarch whose income depends on some of these
numbers.
Tom Wheaton
NCC Washington Update - Vol. 1, #6 - February 5, 1995
by Page Putnam Miller, Director of the National
Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History
1. Selection of U.S. Archivist
2. President Submits Budget for FY'96 --
1. Selection of U.S. Archivist
--There seems to be renewed commitment at the White House
Personnel Office for the task of selecting a nominee for U.S.
Archivist. It appears that the leading candidate is a former
Democratic governor of Kansas, John Carlin, who holds a B.S.
degree is dairy science. Dr. Trudy Huskamp Peterson will soon be
completing her second full year as Acting Archivist; and several
earlier attempts to fill the position stalled for various
reasons. During the last two months the Administration has
considered several other possibilities for this position and
interviewed in addition to Carlin, Raymond W. Smock, former
Historian of the House of Representatives, and Nicholas C.
Burckel, assistant dean for collections and services at the
Washington University Libraries in St. Louis. There is
considerable concern in the historical and archival communities
about Carlin's lack of professional qualifications. The law
specifies that the U.S. Archivist should be a non-partisan
professional.
2. President Submits Budget for FY'96 --
The President has recommended for the National Endowment for the
Humanities a budget of $182 million for FY'96. This is a $5
million increase over the current funding level. Most of the
increase, $4 million, will go toward a special, new NEH
initiative, "Technology and the Humanities," which will support
humanities projects and programs that employ electronic
technologies.
For the National Archives, the President has recommended a
FY'96 budget of $195.291 million, which is very close to the
current budget. This budget proposes increases in FY'96 for fire
and safety improvements at the Johnson Library and for more staff
for processing the papers of George Bush. Additionally there are
increases slated for rent and facility related expenditures.
Most of these increases are to come from the $4.1 million saved
from not replacing those employees who took advantage of the
government's buy-out and retired early.
The grants program of the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), which is an
earmarked portion of the National Archives' budget, is designated
to have $4 million in FY'96 for competitive grants. Although
NHPRC had $9 million appropriated in FY'95, a large part of that
was for non-competitive grants that dealt with the papers of
former Minority Leader Robert Michel and former Majority leader
Thomas P. O'Neill. The President's proposal would decrease by
$750,000 the amount for competitive grants in FY'96.
Funding for the Historic Preservation Fund in the
President's budget for FY'96 is $43 million, a small increase
over the current level of $41.5 million. In the breakdown of
this fund, the state historic preservation programs are to
receive $32 million a $1 million increase. The National Trust for
Historic Preservation would remain at the same level of $7
million.
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