Archives budget would drop 10 percent
The National Archives and Records Administration would get $423 million under the president's budget proposal, a 10 percent cut.
President Barack Obama has recommended trimming the National Archives and Records Administration’s budget by $47 million in fiscal 2012, mostly through canceling future development of its huge digital archive development program, the agency said.
Under Obama's proposed budget released Feb. 14, NARA would receive $423 million, a drop of 10 percent from the fiscal 2010 enacted level of $470 million, according to a news release.
The proposed cuts include $36 million from canceling the Electronic Records Archive development program. The program, which began in 2001, has been troubled by changing requirements, schedule changes and an expanding budget.
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Development costs for the digital archive have more than doubled, and the costs to complete the current phase rose from $317 million to $567 million and are likely to go higher, according to a Feb. 4 report from the Government Accountability Office. The total cost could go as high as $1.4 billion over its life cyle.
Obama also proposed a $5 million budget for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant program.