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Archiver > WILHITE > 1997-08 > 0871191403


From: (Linda K Morgan-Clark) (by way of "George W. Durman" <>
Subject: FYI and forwarding
Date: Sun, 10 Aug 1997 01:36:43 -0400


NCC Washington Update, vol. 3, # 34, August 6, 1997 by Page Putnam Miller,
Director of the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History
<>

2. House Report on National Archives and NHPRC

3. The Annual Report of the State Department Advisory Committee Identifies
Barriers To opening the Historical Record

2. House Report on National Archives and NHPRC -- Although the House
Appropriations Committee Report on the Treasury Appropriations bill has not
yet been filed and printed, the Committee endorsed the report language that
had been approved by the Treasury, General Government and Postal Service
Appropriations Subcommittee. The report, accompanying the recommendation
for FY'98 funding for the National Archives and the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission, deals with the management of the
National Archives, preservation funding, classification reform, repairs and
restorations, and NHPRC grants.

The House Subcommittee expressed concern about the Archives' management in
several areas. The report states: "that NARA is showing reluctance in
adapting to more modern, and less costly, alternatives to maintaining
documents in paper form." Additionally the committee noted that the
Archives' strategic plan "did not go far enough in developing milestones,
conforming to new Government Performance and Results Act guidelines, and
providing specifics about NARA's future." On preservation, the subcommittee
urged the Archives to develop a five-year funding plan for preservation.
The subcommittee repeated concerns expressed last year about classification
reform and directed that Archivist to submit by February 1, 1998 an update
of agency compliance with the declassification requirements of Executive
Order 12958.

The section focusing on the grants program of the NHPRC stated: "Recently,
there has erupted a controversy over whether or not to emphasize
prioritizing grants to Founding Father's' projects or preserving electronic
records. The committee has provided sufficient funding to ensure the
priorities of NHPRC are met. Within the funds provided, the NHPRC should
maintain its historical funding prioritization of Founding Fathers' and
documentary editing."

3. The Annual Report of the State Department Advisory Committee Identifies
Barriers To Opening the Historical Record -- On July 28 Warren Kimball, the
Chair of the State Department Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic
Documentation, submitted to Secretary Madeleine Albright and to House and
Senate Committees the committee's annual report. The report states that the
Committee is "unconvinced by arguments from some agencies that secrecy for
30-year old information takes precedence over the value for the democracy of
openness." The primary causes for the delays in publishing volumes 30 years
after events must, the committee asserted "be laid at the doorstep of the
intelligence community, primarily the Central Intelligence Agency."

The report makes clear that the Committee does not advocate revealing
secrets that would jeopardize national security or the safety of
individuals; however, the report states that the CIA has failed to
declassify documents pertaining to activities that have been revealed in
Congressional hearings and in memoirs by CIA agents. This fall the
Committee will consider the possibility of withholding from publication some
compiled volumes that do not include relevant intelligence involvement and
would thus "fall grossly short of a complete record." While the Committee
acknowledges that efforts are underway to develop a better working
relationship with the CIA, the Committee remains skeptical as to whether new
procedures will improve the situation.

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NCC invites you to redistribute the NCC Washington Updates. A complete
backfile of these reports is maintained by H-Net. See World Wide Web:
http://h-net.msu.edu/~ncc/
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