Capitol CommentaryBruce Craig, Director of the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History |
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Jeffords Defection Gives Democrats Control of the Senate When Republican Senator James M. Jeffords (R-VT) left the Republican party to become an independent, control of the Senate fell to the Democrats for the first time since 1994. As the new majority party, the Democrats now control the flow of legislation in committee and on the Senate floor. South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) displaces Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) as the new Majority Leader. Every current Republican committee and subcommittee chair was replaced. History champion Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) became chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee. $100 Million Amendment for History Grants in Senate Version of Education Bill On 10 May 2001, the Senate approved Senator Byrd's amendment to the Senate version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act authorizing $100 million for history education in FY-2002. Byrd wants to continue his American History initiative for at least another year (currently, a $50 million history education grant program, sponsored by Senator Byrd, is being administered by the Department of Education). While the language of the Senate bill authorizes the appropriation of funds for Teaching American History grants, the House version of the education bill does not contain similar language. In fact, some House Republicans have vowed to strip the Senate bill of various expensive Democratic amendments when the two education bills are conferenced and reconciled. However, because of Byrd's influential position on the Senate Appropriations Committee, its likely the current grant program will be expanded. House/Senate Pass Interior Appropriations Bills which includes increases for NEH, NEA Both Houses of Congress have now passed different versions of FY-2002 Interior Appropriations bills (H.R. 2217). On 21 June 2001, by a vote of 221 to 193, the House approved a $15 million floor amendment that resulted in a modest $3 million increase for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), an additional $10 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and $2 million more for the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS). In making these budget adjustments, sponsors believe there is a need to create greater parity between the budgets for the NEA and NEH (hence, the more significant increase for the NEA). As approved by the House, funding for the NEH is pegged at $123.5 million, $115.2 million for the NEA, and $126.9 million for the IMLS. On 28 June 2001, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its version of the FY-02 Interior Appropriations bill. NEH received an increase of $2 million over the House passed measure of $3 million thereby bringing the NEH budget line to $125.5 million. The $5 million total increase would be allocated as follows:
The $10 million increase provided by the House for NEA as well as the $2 million increase for the IMLS (a total of $26.9 million) were both left undisturbed, meaning that these items will not be conferenceable and therefore not vulnerable to further attempts by House conservatives to reduce funding for these entities. The Historic Preservation Fund, however, lost ground: $39 million for the States ($7.4 million below this year's funding level), $3 million for tribal governments ($2 million less that this year's funding level), $30 million for the Save America's Treasures initiative, and $2 million for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Sites Fund. Preservationists are hopeful that a floor amendment may raise these numbers. Senate Passes Copyright Harmonization Act By voice vote on 8 June 2001, the United States Senate passed the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001 (S. 487). The objective of the bill (along with its House companion legislation—H.R. 2100 introduced by Representative Rick Boucher [D-VA]) is to make it easier to use copyrighted material in online instruction. The bill incorporates the recommendations made by the United States Copyright Office in a 1999 report and suggestions advanced by the Congressional Web-based Education Commission. If approved by the House and signed by the President, the legislation would extend for classroom use "dramatic literary and musical works"--such as movie clips and popular songs to nonprofit distance-education courses. The legislation relies on safeguards (such as passwords) to ensure that only students have access to the copyrighted material. New Bush Administration Appointments On 4 June 2001, President Bush named Florida's Director of the Division of Recreation and Parks, Fran Mainella, to be the new Director of the National Park Service. Mainella has been head of the Florida state parks for twelve years and is a seasoned professional with more than thirty years of park-related experience. She has served as past president of both the National Association of State Park Directors and the National Recreation and Park Association. On 6 June 2001, the White House nominated and shortly thereafter the Senate confirmed Robert S. Martin as Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Martin is the first Director of the IMLS who comes from the Library community. Martin is a professor and interim Director of the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman's University in Denton. Previously he served as Professor and as Associate Dean of Special Collections at Louisiana State University (1991 to 1995) and as Director and Librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (1995 to 1999). Finally, on 31 May 2001, President Bush announced his intention to nominate Bruce Cole, Professor of Fine Arts and Comparative Literature at Indiana University Bloomington to lead the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Cole was appointed to the National Council on the Humanities by President George Bush, Sr. in 1991 and served until 1999. If confirmed by the Senate, Cole will succeed William Ferris who has served at the NEH helm since November 1997. Panel Appointed to Scrutinize Smithsonian Museum of American History Plans The Smithsonian Institution has appointed a special blue ribbon commission of historians and other scholars to advise on strategic exhibition planning at the National Museum of American History. Appointed by the Smithsonian Board of Regents, the special twenty-six member commission will report early next year. The commission is charged to assist the museum director and his staff in planning exhibitions for the museum and will offer recommendations on the most timely and relevant themes and methods of presentation for the museum in the twenty-first century. At present, the museum does not have an up-to-date strategic plan. Specifically charged to correct this situation, the group will examine the content and presentation formats of exhibits in the museum, identify new themes not yet incorporated in exhibitions, examine the ways in which the museum reflects the nation's past and present, assess the museum's role as a national as well as a local institution, assess the strengths of the three-million-object collection and the museum experience as a whole, and examine the museum's role in educating young people. According to a Smithsonian spokesperson, the panel might review the controversial Reynolds gift and exhibition agreement. The first meeting of the panel took place on 29 June 2001, and was designed to acquaint members of the panel with the museum and its educational mission. Administration Delays Release of Reagan Papers The White House counsel's office has asked the National Archives to delay the release of thousands of pages of historical records relating to the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Confidential memos, letters, and briefing papers are among the 68,000 pages of records requested to be withheld. Hill insiders believe the White House is worried about what some of President Reagan's top aides (some of whom are in the Bush administration today) might have written in the 1980s. According to some historians, Reagan's Executive Order, in essence, provides for a "presidential nullification" of the Presidential Records Act. Should President Bush ultimately invoke executive privilege for any or all of the records, according to the Reagan Executive Order, "the Archivist shall abide by any instructions given him by the incumbent President or his designee unless otherwise directed by a court order." Supreme Court Decides Tasini Case On 26 June 2001, the United States Supreme Court ruled seven to two in favor of freelance authors and artists who had petitioned for the right to control electronic reproduction of articles. The decision is a major pronouncement on issues relating to copyright law in the digital age. As a result of the ruling, some publishers plan to remove tens of thousands of articles from online databases rather than pay royalties or face exposure to copyright infringement claims. The New York Times, for example, has announced that it will remove 115,000 articles written by 27,000 free-lancers from its database. In addition, the ruling will present libraries with significant challenges because of the possibility for incomplete archival databases. The decision is limited in scope and involves only articles written before 1993, when most publishers changed their standard agreements with authors to take into account rights to electronic reproduction. The Supreme Court's decision can be viewed online at: <http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/opinions.html>. The NCC invites you to redistribute the NCC Washington Updates. A complete backfile of these reports is maintained at H-Net at <http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~ncc>. To subscribe to the "NCC Washington Update," send an e-mail message to listserv@H-net.msu.edu according to the following model: SUBSCRIBE H-NCC firstname lastname, institution |
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