\(^ TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL
GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS FOR
nSCAL YEAR 1994
Y 4.AP 6/1; T 71/994/PT,4 ;
Treasurg, Postal Service^ and Gener. .
RINGS
BEFORE A
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL
GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
STENY H. HOYER, Maryland, Chairman
PETER J. VTSCLOSKY, Indiana JIM LIGHTFOOT, Iowa
GEORGE (BUDDY) DARDEN, Georgia FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia
JOHN W. OLVER, Massachusetts ERNEST J. ISTOOK, Jr., OUahoma
TOM BEVILL, Alabama
MARTIN OLAV SABO, Minnesota
C. WiLUAM Smith, Elizabeth A. Philups, Robyn C. Bason, and Jennifer Mummert,
Staff Assistants
PART 6
TESTIMONY OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND OTHER
INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
^^H-M!^.
Printed for the use of „_ _ ,,„
TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL
GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 1994
HEARINGS
BEFORE A
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPKOPRIATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL
GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
STENY H. HOYER, Maryland, Chairman
PETER J. VISCLOSKY, Indiana JIM LIGHTFOOT, Iowa
GEORGE (BUDDY) DARDEN, Georgia FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia
JOHN W. OLVER, Massachusetts ERNEST J. ISTOOK, Jr., Oklahoma
TOM BEVILL, Alabama
MARTIN OLAV SABO, Minnesota
C. WiLUAM Smith, Euzabeth A. Philups, Robyn C. Bason, and Jennifer Mummert,
Staff Assistants
PART 6
TESTIMONY OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND OTHER
INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
6&-723 WASHINGTON : 1993
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-040769-9
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
WILLIAM H. NATCHER, Kentucky, Chairman
JAMIE L. WHITTEN, Mississippi,
Vice Chairman
NEAL SMITH, Iowa
SIDNEY R. YATES, Illinois
DAVID R. OBEY, Wisconsin
LOUIS STOKES, Ohio
TOM BEVILL, Alabama
JOHN P. MURTHA, Pennsylvania
CHARLES WILSON, Texas
NORMAN D. DICKS, Washington
MARTIN OLAV SABO, Minnesota
JULIAN C. DIXON, California
VIC FAZIO, California
W. G. (BILL) HEFNER, North Carolina
STENY H. HOYER, Maryland
BOB CARR, Michigan
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
RONALD D. COLEMAN, Texas
ALAN B. MOLLOHAN, West Virginia
JIM CHAPMAN, Texas
MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio
DAVID E. SKAGGS, Colorado
DAVID E. PRICE, North Carolina
NANCY PELOSI, California
PETER J. VISCLOSKY, Indiana
THOMAS M. FOGLIETTA, Pennsylvania
ESTEBAN EDWARD TORRES, California
GEORGE (BUDDY) DARDEN, Georgia
NITA M. LOWEY, New York
RAY THORNTON, Arkansas
JOS£ E. SERRANO, New York
ROSA L. DeLAURO, Connecticut
JAMES P. MORAN, Virginia
DOUGLAS "PETE" PETERSON, Florida
JOHN W. OLVER, Massachusetts
ED PASTOR, Arizona
CARRIE P. MEEK, Florida
JOSEPH M. McDADE, Pennsylvania
JOHN T. MYERS, Indiana
C. W. BILL YOUNG, Florida
RALPH REGULA, Ohio
BOB LIVINGSTON, Louisiana
JERRY LEWIS, California
JOHN EDWARD PORTER, Illinois
HAROLD ROGERS, Kentucky
JOE SKEEN, New Mexico
FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia
TOM Delay, Texas
JIM KOLBE, Arizona
DEAN A. GALLO, New Jersey
BARBARA F. VUCANOVICH, Nevada
JIM LIGHTFOOT, Iowa
RON PACKARD, California
SONNY CALLAHAN, Alabama
HELEN DELICH BENTLEY, Maryland
JAMES T. WALSH, New York
CHARLES H. TAYLOR, North Carolina
DAVID L. HOBSON, Ohio
ERNEST J. ISTOOK, Jr., Oklahoma
HENRY BONILLA, Texas
Frederick G. Mohrman, Clerk and Staff Director
(II)
TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL
GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1994
TESTIMONY OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND OTHER
INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Thursday, March 25, 1993.
NATIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE FOR THE
PROMOTION OF HISTORY
WITNESS
PAGE PUTNAM MILLER
Introduction
Mr. Hoyer. The Committee will come to order. We are going to
limit, unfortunately, your testimony to five minutes. We also
expect to have other Members here from time to time.
I will probably not be asking a lot of questions, that is not be-
cause of a disinterest, it is because of the time constraints we have.
I will say, for those in the room so I do not repeat every time,
that we will include your full statement in the record at the time
you testify. It will appear seriatim, one after another as the wit-
nesses testify.
Miss Miller, we are going to start with you. If you will just give a
brief explanation of who you are for the record and then proceed
for five minutes as you see appropriate.
Statement of Page Miller
Ms. Miller. Thank you. I am Page Miller. I am the director of
the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History.
This is a coalition of 50 historical and archival organizations. We
represent th 3 broad spectrum of the community and we have been
very concerned, as you know, about the National Archives and the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission for a
long time.
I have had an opportunity to appear before you before to talk
about this agency. This is really a very pivotal time for this agency
as you know. Don Wilson's last day in the office was last Friday
and the Clinton administration is undertaking a very comprehen-
sive search for a new archivist. There is also, as you know, a strate-
gic planning initiative going on at the National Archives. You re-
ceived this in the agency hearing report. I think this is an extreme-
CD
ly important report because it states of mission, it states some very
critical success factors that they are working on, and I think the
point is that they haven't done anjrthing Uke this for decades. And
so here you really have an agency that is taking the time to begin
to take a hard look at what its mandate is.
And then of course we have the opening of Archives II, which we
are extremely excited about and I drive by there frequently and
keep tabs on the progress of that building and we are pleased about
that. But we have all of these things coming together now and so
there is a concern, and I am sure many other agencies have of spe-
cial needs at this time, but I think that these three factors, the
postponed leadership of the Archives and many deferred projects,
the move to Archives II, then undertaking the strategic plan and a
new archivist, there really needs to be funding to carry this out
now. And so what we are asking for, if you notice in the third para-
graph there, is an additional $74 million over what the operating
expenses were for last year.
Sometimes the Archive's budget is sort of hard to figure out be-
cause as money for a boat dock or a presidential library or some-
thing like that thrown in, but I am really talking about the base-
line of the hard core operating expenses in figuring out the needs
for Archives II, and that is extremely important that it be — that it
really be a successful operation, so we are worried about that.
We know that the mortgage itself is going to be about $29 mil-
lion. Then you are going to need additional money for about $13
million for the utilities, for the maintenance, for just keeping the
building open, the security. Then you need about an additional $25
million to facilitate the move. Now, that is the cost of actual
moving of the records, the cost of the furniture, a lot of the com-
puter equipment, developing the computerized system that will in-
clude management and finding aid capabilities, that will be a part
of Archives II.
So all of those things are critical factors for the Archives II
building to really be up and operating. We realize this is a big
chunk of new money to have to come in this budget time, so we are
concerned about that. I am sure you are concerned about that too,
and I know agencies are being asked to cut back, but, you know,
when you had the hearing with the agency head, and a point was
made about funding levels and staffing levels and the Archives,
you know, is already at the 4 percent reduction because they have
been — what they frequently have to do, which is rob Peter to pay
Paul.
They have been robbing from of staff that would have been doing
some of of crucial things like describing records and working with
agencies to prepare for Archives II. So that is really the reason
that they had a 4 percent less in their level of staffing than the
ceiling that they could have had was because some of that money
had to be diverted to planning for the move for Archives II.
I just give this as an illustration that they are already an agency
that is really starved and is so used to already robbing from Peter
to pay Paul, that I am really concerned about additional cuts for
them. If I could just add one other thing.
The area that we are concerned about in addition to the move to
Archives II is the work with agencies on scheduling, the records
that should be saved, and the records that should be destroyed, and
only about 2 percent of the records that are created should be kept,
but it is vitally important that the Archives have adequate staff to
work with agencies to work this out, particularly in an era of elec-
tronic records.
This was part of the problem with the Proff case is that the Na-
tional Security Council at the time this case started really did not
have a carefully worked out records disposition and retention
schedule. And so we are really worried about the records that are
being lost, both for historical reasons and for accountability of gov-
ernment, if the Archives does not have adequate staff to work with
agencies. And so in this request, we have a $3 million request more
for NHPRC, $3 million request more to work with agencies on
records disposition, and the retention schedule, then the money for
Archives II.
Thank you very much.
Mr. HoYER. Thank you very much, Ms. Miller. I know that five
minutes is a short time. I again apologize. We have a lot of people
we want to hear from. We thank you for your testimony. It is going
to be very important to us.
[The statement of Ms. Miller follows:]
NATIONAL COORCMNATINQ COMMITTEE
FOR THE PROMOTION OF HISTORY
Dr. Page Putnam Mfllar
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Testimony of
Page Putrwm Miller, Director of the
National Coordinating Conmittee for the Promotion of History
Before the
Subcoaaittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General
Government of the Appropriations Connittee
of the
U.S. House of Representatives
on
March 25, 1993
I am Page Putnam Miller, Director of the National Coordinating
Conmittee for the Promotion of History, a consortium of fifty
historical and archival organizations. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of
the NCC member organizations and particularly the American
Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and
the Society of American Archivists, I thank you for the opportunity
to come before this committee.
I am here today to request funding to enable the National
Archives to fulfill its legislative mandates and to open the new
research facility in College Park, Maryland, (Archives II). We are
all aware that the President is calling on all federal agencies to
trim their budgets in an effort to bring the mounting budget deficit
under control. These cuts come at a most unfortunate time for the
National Archives. The National Archives has for the past decade
postponed addressing many problems in its ability to accomplish its
core mission of identifying, accessioning, describing and servicing
the historical records of the federal government. In addition to
many neglected problems, there is an urgent need for the National
Archives to provide leadership to federal agencies that are
increasingly relying on computer instead of paper records. And to
further complicate the situation for the National Archives,
additional funds are required to ooen Archives II.
In the coming year the National Archives needs $74 million in
additional funding - $68 million will be required if the National
Archives is to open Archives II; $3 million more to provide its
appraisal office with staff needed to work with federal agencies on
identification and preservation of historically significant records.
Finally, $3 million more is needed for the arants program of the
NHPRC.
We are all eager for the opening of Archives II. For almost
three decades the National Archives has suffered from inadequate
space and the decision to build Archives II was long overdue. The
1.76 million square foot building will be the largest, most
technically advanced archives in the world. The National Archives
building in Washington will continue to serve as the principal
location for public programs and genealogical research, but Archives
II will become the orimary research facility. Most aqency records.
as well as maps, photographs, sound recordinqs, and computer tapes will be
located at Archives II, which will have spacious research rooms. Old
military records, records relating to genealogy, and judicial and
congressional records will remain in the Washington building. As you know
the National Archives plans to begin moving records into Archives II this
fall and the opening of the building will be next spring. This is a major
development for the National Archives and we thank you for your oart in
making this happen.
In your budget negotiations I urge you to consider particularly the
budget needs in three areas: the opening of Archives II, work with federal
agencies on retention and disposition schedules; and funding for the grants
program of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
First, for the National Archives to open and successfully operate
Archives II, an additional $68 million will be required, $25 million of
which will be a one time expenditure. This additional $68 million includes
four categories of funding: $29 million for payment on the loan for
construction of Archives II; $13 million for the operation, maintenance,
security and custodial staff, and utilities; $1 million for additional
archivists to service the records; and $25 million for the cost of the
move, furniture, equipment for the preservation laboratories, computers, and
establishment of a comprehensive new computerized system that will include
management and finding aid capabilities.
Second, I urge adequate funding for one of NARA's most important
tasks, the appraisal of records to determine which records merit
preservation and which should be destroyed. Unless increased staff are
added to enable NARA to work more closely with agencies, records that
provide adequate and proper documentation of federal policies and activities
will be lost. Currently only forty NARA staff work on records appraisal.
At least 56 more staff are needed for this crucial work at a cost of $3
million. Currently NARA has only nominal contact with federal agencies and
provides little support in identifying , scheduling and transferring
records.
Records appraisal efforts are even more crucial in the modern
electronic recordkeeping environment. The National Academy of Public
Administration's recent study, "The Effects of Electronic Recordkeeping on
the Historical Records of the U.S. Government" contains seventeen
recommendations which include the need for the National Archives to direct
considerably more resources, staff, and attention to electronic records and
to working with federal agencies to guarantee the preservation and
accessibility of electronic records. Many state archives fund this key
function at a proportionately higher level than NARA. For example, in
Alabama there are seven state archives staff people working with state
agencies, while the National Archives has less than twenty staff people
working with all the federal agencies.
A key part of the work of National Archives' staff with federal agency
staff will focus on electronic records. In order to provide this leadership
the National Archives must take the lead for the federal government in
developing and implementing a strategic plan for the preservation of
electronic records of enduring value. A recent report of the HOuse
Committee on Government Operations, "Taking a Byte Out of History: The
Archival Preservation of Federal Computer Records," makes eight recommenda-
tions, all of which included increased commitment and leadership from NARA.
Few agencies currently have policies in place for dealing with the special
characteristics of documents produced or stored electronically. Thus, the
potential for loss of electronic records is great. NARA's research and
development in electronic records has tremendous implications for state and
local archives. This crucial leadership role is not now being fulfilled.
The third issue I wish to discuss is funding for t-he grants program of
the National Historical Publications and Records Commission's grants
program. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission has a
significant task and yet they had not had needed funds to accomplish their
mandate. While the National Archives concentrates on federal records, the
NHPRC helps archivists, documentary editors, and historians all over the
country who are preserving and making available non-Federal records of
exceptional historical significance. Since NHPRC has been funded at about
this level for the last 15 years, inflation has dramatically curtailed its
important work. NHPRC needs at least a $3 million increase.
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission, created in
1934 as part of the National Archives, makes more than 100 grants each year
to institutions across the country to preserve historical records, publish
historical papers, and make historical materials more accessible. Many
records that document our history are deteriorating for want of adequate
care. Others go unsurveyed and hence disappear. Numerous collections are
minimally accessible for want of descriptive cataloging and finding aids.
NHPRC has an outstanding record of making grants to edit and publish
historical documents, to develop archival programs, to promote the
preservation and use of historical records, and to support a wide range of
other activities relating to America's documentary heritage. While the
National Archives concentrates on federal records, the NHPRC helps
archivists, documentary editors, and historians all over the country who are
preserving and making available non-Federal records of exceptional
historical significance.
Although the NHPRC grants program is authorized at a level up to
$10 million, it is currently receiving $5 million. While the demand for
NHPRC grants is increasing with 21t more applications in 1991 than 1990.
NHPRC grants have resulted in major matching funds from private sources
which would not have been available otherwise. Federal funds ensure
potential backers that the projects are of genuine significance and capably
staffed and organized. Through this model cost-sharing program in which the
average non-Federal contribution is almost 50%, NHPRC has used federal
leverage to preserve our documentary heritage.
The use of documentary editions by historians, film makers, and
biographers transmits to a wide audience historical documents that help to
provide the framework for a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of
this nation's past. A review of the footnotes of two widely acclaimed
books - Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson and Eric Foner's
Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution — reveals substantial use
of the NHPRC sponsored Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation .
Based on documents from the holdiTigs of the National ArcTTives, the Freedom
volumes make available to scholars selected documents from our past that had
previously been buried within twenty enormous record groups at the National
Archives. These volumes have a most important multiplier effect. For all
of these reasons, I hope that you will be able to increase the funding of
NHPRC grants to $8 million in FY'94.
In closing, let me restate that in FY'94 the National Archives needs $74
million in additional funding - $68 million will be required if the
National Archives is to open Archives II; $3 million more to provide its
appraisal office with staff needed to work with federal agencies on
identification and preservation of historically significant records.
Finally, $3 million more is needed for the grants program of the NHPRC.
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you some of the concerns of
the historical community about the FY'94 budget of the National Archives.
8
Thursday, March 25, 1993.
WITNESS
HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF NEW YORK
INTRODUCTION
Mr. HoYER. Congressman Schumer, a critically important
Member of the Congress, who came here at a very opportune time.
He is my good friend, and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime
of the Judiciary Committee. Mr. Schumer.
Mr. Schumer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know the Commit-
tee's time is limited so I would ask permission to put my entire
statement in the record.
Mr. HoYER. Without objection.
Statement of Congressman Schumer
Mr. Schumer. Let me outline the highlights of it. Number one is
the BATF appropriation, it was $366 million last year. They do a
great job. They need all the support and help they can get. I just
hope they will be funded to keep the same number of personnel
and programs that they have now.
There are three riders that are — were in last year's appropria-
tions bill relating to guns that I would hope the Committee could
examine and maybe knock out. None of them seem to me to make
any rational sense at a time when we have a whole lot of violence
coming from guns. The first prohibits BATF from consolidating or
centralizing the records and dispositions of firearms maintained by
firearms licenses.
In other words, they record them over there in the gun dealers.
Then they can't be put on any central record, so our poor police
and law enforcement people have to go visit the place. That is a
bad idea.
Second, the World Trade Center explosion highlighted the need
to do tagging research on explosives, but that was prohibited in
last year's appropriation bill. I think it should be knocked out. Let
them go ahead and do the research.
Finally, is one that requires BATF to go through lengthy and
time consuming and expensive examinations to give convicted
felons who are out of jail, give them back guns, costs them $4 mil-