NCC Washington Update, Vol. 1, #62, December 21, 1995
by Page Putnam Miller, Director of the National Coordinating Committee
for the Promotion of History <pagem@CapAccess.org>
1. Government Decides Not to Appeal AHA v. Carlin
2. IRS Historian Resigns in Protest of Records Policies
3. National Archives Reviews IRS Records Policies
4. Library of Congress Dismantles Exhibit on Slavery
5. Government to Pay Plaintiffs' Attorney Fees in PROFS Case
6. President States Support of NEH in Veto Message
1. Government Decides Not to Appeal American Historical Association v.
Carlin -- The government defendants in the litigation of American
Historical Association v. Carlin decided on December 15 to dismiss their
appeal. This case focused on the efforts of the AHA and other
plaintiffs, including the Organization of American Historians and the
American Library Association, to block the implementation of an agreement
made in 1993 between former President George Bush and former U.S.
Archivist Don Wilson. That agreement gave former President Bush
considerable control over the computer backup tapes that had been at
issue in the case of Armstrong v. the Office of the President, also known
as the PROFS case. On February 27, 1995, Judge Charles Richey ruled in
favor of the plaintiffs stating that the Bush-Wilson agreement violated
the Presidential Records Act. The government appealed the case in May.
The Appeals Court was moving forward on the case and announced in early
fall that December 16 was the deadline for the filing of the government's
brief. As a result of the decision to dismiss the appeal, Judge Richey's
decision will be the final judgement in this case.
Commenting on the government's decision not to appeal the case, Archivist
of the United States John W. Carlin stated: "On behalf of the National
Archives, I strongly support the decision of the Solicitor General and I
am pleased that this litigation is finally behind us." During his
confirmation hearing in May, John Carlin indicated in response to
Senators' questions about the Bush-Wilson agreement that he had problems
with it. In the week prior to Carlin becoming U.S. Archivist, the
government decided to appeal Judge Richey's decision.
2. IRS Historian Resigns in Protest of Records Policies -- On December 8,
Shelley Davis, the Internal Revenue Service Historian, sent IRS
Commissioner Margaret Richardson a letter of resignation noting the
unwillingness of the IRS to deal with serious record keeping
deficiencies. "Our record keeping policies," she wrote, "do not ensure
that information about our policies, actions, procedures and plans will
ever be available to the American public." In 1993 Davis prepared a
report stressing that there have been virtually no accessions of
permanent IRS records into the National Archives in the 20th century.
Lack of response to her 1993 report, indications of attempts by IRS
records management to destroy significant collections of documents, and
the inability to find any internal channels for dealing with records
problems led Davis to resign in protest. A front page article in the
December 15 Wall Street Journal provides an in depth analysis of Davis'
resignation.
3. National Archives Reviews IRS Records Policies -- On December 20
representatives of the National Archives met with managers at IRS to
discuss a 50 page evaluation and report prepared by the National Archives
on IRS record keeping practices. Although there is no direct connection
between the resignation of the IRS historian and this report, work on
which began many months ago, the historian's resignation letter and the
report both emphasize serious records management problems. The National
Archives' report stressed the importance of identifying, scheduling, and
transferring to the National Archives records that document the mission
and role in our government of the IRS. The report stated: "Numerous
records that document both policy-making and high profile programs of the
agency either are not scheduled or have not been located and identified."
A recent letter from U.S. Archivist John Carlin to the head of IRS
requests that IRS submit within 90 days an action plan indicating how the
recommendations in the report will implemented.
At the heart of the IRS records management problems is a long standing
controversy over the interpretation of federal disclosure laws passed in
the 1970s. The IRS interprets very broadly its mandate not to disclose
information that relates to tax returns and tax related documents. The
National Archives argues that these disclosure restrictions were not
intended to bar the National Archives from viewing unscheduled IRS
records to determine their permanent and historical value. The IRS is
currently the only federal agency that will not allow National Archives'
staff to review its records. It appears that the IRS has taken the need
to protect the privacy of individual tax payers to an extreme which has
engulfed the agency in secrecy and allowed no citizen access to the
agency's 20th century administrative and policy files.
4. Library of Congress Dismantles Exhibit on Slavery --On December 18 the
Library of Congress dismantled "Back of the Big House: The Cultural
Landscape of the Plantation" following criticism by some employees who
felt the exhibit was offensive. The exhibit which used the Library's
photographs and documents to depict plantation slave life had been on
exhibit earlier this year at five university and historic houses with no
criticism voiced. Outside consultants, including two black scholars, had
been involved in the development of the exhibit. However, less than
three hours after completing the installation of the exhibit, Librarian
of Congress James Billington had it taken down. He noted that the
exhibit was located in a hallway of the sixth floor of the Madison
Building and that mainly employees would have seen it. The first week of
December the Library decided to postponed a planned exhibition on Sigmund
Freud. Many believe the protests of some who say Freud's theories have
been discredited were a key factor in the decision.
5. Government to Pay Plaintiff's Attorneys' fees in PROFS Case -- On
December 5 the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
issued a ruling agreed to by the lawyers for the Department of Justice
and the Public Citizen Litigation Group. It stipulates that the
government will pay the plaintiffs in the Armstrong v. Executive Office
of the President (Civil Action No. 89-0142) -- often called the PROFS
case --$585,803 for attorneys' fees and expenses. This case which began
in 1989 and has dealt with many electronic records issues has focused on
the preservation of the National Security Council's e-mail.
6. President States Supports for NEH in Veto Message -- On December 18
the President vetoed the Interior Appropriations Bill, which includes
funding for the endowments. In his communication to the House which
accompanied the veto and which dealt with a wide range of issues, he
concluded by stating: "Finally the bill represents a dramatic departure
from our commitment of support for the arts and humanities. It cuts
funding of the National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities so deeply
as to jeopardize their capacity to keep providing the cultural,
educational and artistic programs that enrich American's communities,
large and small."
The NEH has been closed since Monday, December 18, awaiting passage of a
third temporary spending bill. The second continuing resolution that
expired on December 15 had funded NEH at 75% of its FY'95 budget. This
amounted to around $134 million which is above the $110 million in the
Interior Bill which the President vetoed. It is unclear what funding
level will be in the third continuing resolution.
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