House Approves Budget For National Archives and Records Administration
Press Release · Wednesday, July 24, 2002

Washington, DC

The House of Representatives has approved HR 5120, The Treasury, Postal Service, General Government Appropriations Bill for 2003 which funds the National Archives and Records Administration at a total of $267,189,000. The measure includes $249,731,000 in operating expenses, an increase of $3,884,000 from FY 2002.

Archivist of the United States, John W. Carlin said, "This Bill reflects the continued support of the Congress and the President in the important work that the National Archives performs in documenting the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and the national experience. Thanks to their generosity, we have made significant gains this year in information technology and electronic government and expect to build on that momentum in the coming year."

The measure allotted $11,837,000 for FY 2003, for the Electronic Records Archives (ERA), which will allow the National Archives to continue to work on building the ERA so that the Federal Government can preserve and make accessible to the public permanently valuable electronic records. The funds will also enable the National Archives to extend the life of existing electronic records systems until the ERA is fully developed.

The House has also recognized the important work of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), by allocating an additional $2,000,000 for grants, bringing the total to $7,000,000.

The Bill also includes $10,458,000 for Repairs and Restoration of archives facilities and to provide adequate storage for holdings. Specifically, $1,250,000 is allotted for the Military Personnel Records Center preliminary design studies to determine appropriate options for preserving and providing access to 20th century military service records. $3,250,000 is budgeted for repairs to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library Plaza in Austin, Texas.

In addition, $2.9 million was approved to support increased security costs at NARA facilities nationwide in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In support of the next steps in the NARA's efforts to reinvent records management in the Federal Government, HR 5120 designates $1,500,000 for the re-engineering of the Federal records scheduling and appraisal processes.

For PRESS information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700 or by e-mail.

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