IF . . . the Omnibus Spending Bill

The National Coalition for History Washington Update for February 27, 2009 offers a comprehensive summary of the financial implications of the FY '09 Omnibus Funding Bill to the field of history and historians.

Who benefits? While figures are not final until the bill is signed into law, funding increases above 2008 allocations would be in store for the National Archives (NARA), National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), Teaching American History Grants (TAH), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Smithsonian (SI).

The Coalition's newsletter update provides detailed summaries on an organization-by-organization basis. Particularly worth a cheer: funding for NHPRC has been an ongoing battle and President Bush had proposed zero funding for this critical agency in 2009. The current budget proposal brings NHPRC closer than ever before to its full authorization of $10 million per year.

The Coalition newsletter explains, "If enacted, the omnibus package will finalize spending levels for the current fiscal year that began on October 1, 2008. Most federal programs have been operating at the previous year's levels under a continuing resolution that will end on March 6, 2009."