1. House Appropriations Subcommittee On NEH Postpones Mark-up
2. World History Panel To Review History Standards
3. Senate To Consider the Reauthorization Bill for NEH on June 28
4. Mark-up for National Archives and NHPRC Budget set for June 22
5. House Historian's Office
1. House Appropriations Subcommittee On NEH Postpones Mark-up -
The House appropriations subcommittee with responsibility for the
budget for NEH, the National Park Service, and historic preservation
had scheduled a mark-up of its FY'96 budget for June 15 . However,
Representative Ralph Regula (R-OH), the chair of the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies,
rescheduled the mark-up for the morning of June 20. Although the
immediate action on the NEH budget will be in the House, supporters
of NEH see the need to focus attention on the Senate Appropriations
Committee's Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies. Senator
Slade Gorton (R-WA), chair of this subcommittee, is a key player in
the upcoming decision on the NEH budget for FY'96. Supporters of NEH
recommend two strategies at this point: One strategy is to urge
all Senators to write to Gorton expressing support for NEH at the
level recommended in Senator James Jeffords' (R-VT) reauthorization
bill, S. 856, which is $168.5 million for FY'96. The other is to
contact members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on
Interior. Members of this committee are: Chair, Slade Gorton (R-
WA); Ted Stevens (R-AK); Thad Cochran (R-MS); Pete Domenici (R-NM);
Mark Hatfield (R-OR); Conrad Burns (R-MT); Robert Bennett (R-UT);
Connie Mack (R-FL); Robert Byrd (D-WV); Bennett Johnston (D-LA);
Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Dale Bumpers (D-AR); Ernest Hollings (D-SC);
Harry Reid (D-NV); Patty Murray (D-WA).
2. World History Panel To Review History Standards-
At the time of preparing the June 8, NCC Washington Update, I did
not have the list of members of the World History Panel appointed by
the Council on Basic Education and funded by a number of
foundations. The committee will be headed by Steven Muller,
President Emeritus of Johns Hopkins University . Other members of
the committee are: Hilary Ainger, U.N. International School in New
York City; Robert Bain, Beachwood High School in Cleveland Heights,
Ohio; Allison Blakely, Howard University; A. Lee Blitch, AT&T;
Philip Curtin, Johns Hopkins University; Prasenjit Duara, University
of Chicago; Michael Francis Jimenez, University of Pittsburgh;
Ramsay MacMullen, Yale University; Marjorie Malley, Rogers State
College; Joan Scott, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; and
John Voll, University of New Hampshire. This prestigious panel has
as its task to review and make recommendations regarding the
National History Standards for World History.
3. Senate To Consider Reauthorization Bill for NEH on June 28 -
The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, chaired by Senator
Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS), will probably be meeting on June 28 to
consider S. 856, Senator James Jeffords' (R-VT) reauthorization bill
for NEH and NEA. Indications are that several changes may be
considered at that time.
4. Mark-up for National Archives and NHPRC Budgets Set for June 22 -
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Treasury, Postal
Service, and General Government, chaired by Jim Lightfoot (R-IA),
will be making its recommendation on the FY'96 budgets o f the
National Archives and the National Historical Publications and
Records Commission's grants program at a mark-up on June 22.
5. House Historian's Office -
In May the House Oversight Committee approved Clerk Robin Carle's
plan to fold the House Historian's office into a new Legislative
Resources Center, which will also include the former Office of
Records and Registration, the Document Room, and the House Library.
The reorganization has involved a major reduction in staff. It
appears that there may be only one full time employee in the new
Legislative Resources Center who will be focusing on the history
function. According to House sources, House Speaker Newt Gingrich
(R-GA) has selected John Kornacki, the former Executive Director of
the Dirksen Congressional Center in Pekin, Illinois, to head the new
Legislative Resources Center. Kornacki will begin work on July 1,
the date when the consolidation is to take effect.
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