[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ANNUAL REPORT OF NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES--MESSAGE FROM 
                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce:

To the Congress of the United States:
  I am pleased to present to you the 1996 annual report of the National 
Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Federal agency charged with 
fostering scholarship and enriching the ideas and wisdom born of the 
humanities. The agency supports an impressive range of projects 
encompassing the worlds of history, literature, philosophy, and 
culture. Through these projects, Americans of all walks of life are 
able to explore and share in the uniqueness of our Nation's democratic 
experience.
  The activities of the NEH touch tens of millions of our citizens--
from the youngest students to the most veteran professors, to men and 
women who simply strive for a greater appreciation of our Nation's 
past, present, and future. The NEH has supported projects as diverse as 
the widely viewed documentary, The West, and research as specialized as 
that conducted on the Lakota Tribe. Small historical societies have 
received support, as have some of the Nation's largest cultural 
institutions.
  Throughout our history, the humanities have provided Americans with 
the knowledge, insights, and perspectives needed to move ourselves and 
our civilization forward. Today, the NEH remains vitally important to 
promoting our Nation's culture. Not only does its work continue to add 
immeasurably to our civic life, it strengthens the democratic spirit so 
essential to our country and our world on the eve of a new century.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, February 5, 1998.

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