by Page Putnam Miller, Director of the National Coordinating
Committee for the Promotion of History <pagem@CapAccess.org>
1. House Strongly Defeats Amendment to End $$ This Year for NEH
2. Senate Committee to Consider NEH Reauthorization Bill on July 19
1. House Strongly Defeats Amendment to Eliminate Funding This Year for
NEH --
Shortly after noon on July 18, the House resumed consideration of H.R.
1977, the $12 billion Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation
bill. By a vote of 277 nays to 148 yeas, the amendment introduced by
Steve Chabot (R-OH), amendment number 11, to eliminate funds in FY'96
for NEH was defeated. Only 12 Democrats voted for the amendment. The
Republican vote was fairly evenly divided with 136 voting for the
amendment and 93 against.
Since debate on the Chabot amendment took place on Monday evening,
the Chair allowed only a brief introduction prior to the vote.
Representative Yates (D-IL) made a stirring plea for NEH calling it a
powerful educational force in this country and noting that it had
already been cut too much by this bill which reduces its budget from
$177 million this year to $99.5 million for next year. The opponents
of NEH and the supporters of this amendment viewed NEH as non-
essential and emphasized the need for deficit reduction.
Several points made by the supporters of NEH in the Monday evening
debate included: Williams's (D-MT) plea that reflection,
publications, translations, and history matter and they matter more
than bridges, highways, and bombers; Skaggs' (D-CO) discussion of the
contributions of the NEH newspaper and documentary edition projects;
Fowler (R-FL) as a former chair of the Florida State Humanities
Council testimony to the contributions of state councils; Johnson (R-
CT) refutation of the argument calling for private funding and
insistence that no private sector funds will be available for much of
NEH's work; and Goodling's (R-PA) recommendation that there be an
orderly phase out of NEH over 3 years and not immediate elimination,
and he further noted that while some people had been upset over the
history standards, the problem was not with the standards but with the
booklet of illustrations and that steps had been taken to deal with
those problems.
Defeat of the Chabot amendment means that the language in H.R.
1977 will stand, which provides for $99.5 million for NEH in FY'96 and
calls for a two year phase out of the agency.
2. Senate Committee to Consider NEH Reauthorization Bill on July 19 --
At 9:30 am on July 19 the Senate Labor and Human Resources
Committee will markup S. 856, the reauthorization bill for NEH, NEA
and the Institute of Museum Services. Although an early draft of this
bill called for reduction in the appropriation ceilings of 2% for each
of the next four years, it appears that there is a movement to call
for 5% reductions each year. Other amendments are also expected.
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