The Nation - News from Sept. 10, 1986

Democrats on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, sharply questioned John T. Agresto about whether his loyalty to the Reagan Administration played a role in his selection to head the National Archives, an agency Congress has tried to insulate from political influence. Agresto sought to discount any partisan considerations in his nomination for the $73,600-a-year post, and stressed his scholarly and administrative credentials as a senior official of National Endowment for the Humanities since 1982. The National Archives is responsible for cataloguing and preserving important government records, including such sensitive materials as Richard M. Nixon’s presidential tapes and documents.