Moderator's note: I have been asked to distribute this message to the list.
Please bear in mind that any reduction in funding for NEH may affect H-Net.
The original sender is: Frank Whigham (ffw@uts.cc.utexas.edu).


Subject: NEH /NEA/PBS funding cuts

Here is the news re Republican efforts to kill all funding for these 
(NEH/NEA/PBS) agencies by a simple majority vote on the Senate floor --
without going through a hearing process.

My source for this information is Carl Woodring, who received a call with
this news from Tom O'Brien, in the Grants office of NEH.  He called
Gingrich's office to find out what the hearing schedule would be and
learned this news.  O'Brien is less concerned wth House deliberations,
where he believes it will be possible to work out an agreement for
funding, though probably reduced, than he is with the Senate, where
funding could disappear without anything more than a floor vote.

If only for the record and possible future funding, I urge all to write
appropriate senators to protest this plana to kill this funding without a
hearing.

In Texas, write:

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson
SR 370
Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Hutchinson has e-mail:  senator@hutchinson.senate.gov

Senator Phil Gramm
703 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510


Please distribute this news as widely as possible.


Theresa M. Kelley
Associate Professor
University of Texas, Austin

==================


          Obviously we must all be extremely concerned at this news. It is
crucial that we make our collective voice heard in support of the
institutions which contribute so much to our disciplines. (This matter will
bring us as close to unanimity as we'll ever get.) We in the academy have
done badly at making our case to those in authority, especially in recent
years. There has been much failure of the will. We need to write, not only
to protest the funding cuts (though cuts will surely be made), but to
protest the absence of open discussion on this crucial matter. This is a
procedural scandal, and might well be pre-emptive for much that we care
about, for years to come.

          If anyone who receives this mailing has a list of congressional
e-mail addresses, it would be very useful to distribute it for the rest of
us. We need to begin to be much more vocal with the new administration. (I'm
sure that many would welcome all federal and state addresses as well; I
would.)

          In addition to Kay Bailey Hutchinson's address above, I can
contribute GEORGIA6@HR.HOUSE.GOV (specify Newt Gingrich at the beginning of
the message).

          Please distribute this message.
===========================
Frank Whigham
Department of English, Parlin 108
University of Texas at Austin
Austin TX 78712-1164
512-471-8794
ffw@uts.cc.utexas.edu