On July 10, the Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations’ Subcommittee approved its fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill. The bill includes $313.9 million ($1.1 million above the President’s request, $1.1 million less than the House recently approved in its bill (H.R. 2829) and $34.6 million above fiscal year 2007 budget) for operating expenses of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

As approved, the bill also includes $10 million for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), for grants to states, local governments, universities, local historical societies, and others to help preserve and archive materials of historic significance. This is the same amount as in the House bill approved last month. This is a major victory for historians and archivists, since the Administration had targeted NHPRC for elimination in the President’s FY ‘08 budget request.