[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1281 Reported in House (RH)]





                                                 Union Calendar No. 447

104th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1281

                      [Report No. 104-819, Part I]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, and the National Security Act of 
  1947 to require disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 
information regarding certain individuals who participated in Nazi war 
  crimes during the period in which the United States was involved in 
                             World War II.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 24, 1996

  Reported from the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight with 
                               amendments

                           September 24, 1996

  Referral to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the 
Committee on the Judiciary extended for a period ending not later than 
                           September 24, 1996

                           September 24, 1996

The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the 
Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed





                                                 Union Calendar No. 447
104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1281

                      [Report No. 104-819, Part I]

To amend title 5, United States Code, and the National Security Act of 
  1947 to require disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 
information regarding certain individuals who participated in Nazi war 
  crimes during the period in which the United States was involved in 
                             World War II.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 21, 1995

 Mrs. Maloney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to the 
  Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

                           September 24, 1996

Additional sponsors: Mr. Saxton, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Gejdenson, Mr. Frost, 
  Mr. Berman, Mr. Porter, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Torres, Mr. 
 Serrano, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Yates, Mr. McHale, 
Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Filner, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Manton, Mrs. Meek of 
 Florida, Mr. Towns, Mr. Owens, Mr. Waxman, Mrs. Lowey, Mrs. Morella, 
      Mr. Vento, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Hastings of Florida, and Ms. Furse

                           September 24, 1996

  Reported from the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight with 
                               amendments
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

                           September 24, 1996

  Referral to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the 
Committee on the Judiciary extended for a period ending not later than 
                           September 24, 1996

                           September 24, 1996

The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the 
Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 
                               21, 1995]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 5, United States Code, and the National Security Act of 
  1947 to require disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 
information regarding certain individuals who participated in Nazi war 
  crimes during the period in which the United States was involved in 
                             World War II.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``War Crimes Disclosure Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT OF DISCLOSURE UNDER FOIA OF INFORMATION REGARDING 
              INDIVIDUALS WHO COMMITTED NAZI WAR CRIMES.

    (a) In General.--Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and (f) as 
        subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(d)(1)(A) Notwithstanding subsection (b), this section shall 
apply to any matter, in the possession or control of a specified 
agency, that relates to any individual as to whom there exist 
reasonable grounds to believe that such individual, during the period 
beginning on March 23, 1933, and ending on May 8, 1945, under the 
direction of, or in association with--
            ``(i) the Nazi government of Germany,
            ``(ii) any government in any area occupied by the military 
        forces of the Nazi government of Germany,
            ``(iii) any government established with the assistance or 
        cooperation of the Nazi government of Germany, or
            ``(iv) any government which was an ally of the Nazi 
        government of Germany,
ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the 
persecution of any person because of race, religion, national origin, 
or political opinion.
    ``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `specified agency' 
means the following entities, any predecessor of such an entity, and 
any component of such an entity (or of such a predecessor):
            ``(i) The Central Intelligence Agency.
            ``(ii) The Department of Defense.
            ``(iii) The National Security Agency.
            ``(iv) The National Security Council.
            ``(v) The Department of State.
            ``(vi) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
            ``(vii) The United States Information Agency.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
            ``(A) any matter that is referred to in subsection (b)(6);
            ``(B) any matter the disclosure of which would--
                    ``(i) reveal an intelligence agent regarding whom 
                there is clear and convincing evidence that the 
                identity of such agent currently requires protection;
                    ``(ii) by revealing the name or identity of a 
                living person who provided confidential information to 
                the United States, constitute a substantial risk of 
                harm to such person (as determined by clear and 
                convincing evidence); or
                    ``(iii) compromise the existence of an 
                understanding of confidentiality currently requiring 
                protection between an agent of the Government and a 
                cooperating individual or a foreign government, and (as 
                determined by clear and convincing evidence) cause harm 
                that substantially outweighs the public interest in the 
                disclosure;
            ``(C) any matter regarding which there is clear and 
        convincing evidence that the current or future threat to 
        national security, military defense, intelligence operations, 
        or the conduct of foreign relations of the United States 
        substantially outweighs the public interest in disclosure of 
        the matter;
            ``(D) any matter created (by any person) in connection with 
        an investigation, inquiry, or prosecution by the Office of 
        Special Investigations of the Department of Justice; or
            ``(E) any portion, of any matter, that--
                    ``(i) does not relate to any individual referred to 
                in paragraph (1); and
                    ``(ii) is reasonably segregable from any other 
                portions of the matter that relate to an individual 
                referred to in paragraph (1).
    ``(3) Any reasonably segregable portion of a matter referred to in 
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (2) shall be provided, after 
deletion of all portions of the matter that are referred to in such 
subparagraph, to any person requesting the matter under this section if 
the reasonably segregable portion would otherwise be required to be 
disclosed under this section.
    ``(4) In the case of a request under this section for any matter 
required to be disclosed under this subsection, if the agency receiving 
such request is unable to locate the records so requested, such agency 
shall promptly supply, to the person making such request, a description 
of the steps which were taken by such agency to search the indices and 
other locator systems of the agency to determine whether such records 
are in the possession or control of the agency.''.
    (b) Inapplicability of National Security Act of 1947 Exemption.--
Section 701 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 431) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(e) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any operational file, or 
any portion of any operational file, required to be disclosed under 
section 552(d) of title 5, United States Code (Freedom of Information 
Act).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply to requests made after 
the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to amend title 5, 
        United States Code, and the National Security Act of 1947 to 
        require disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 
        information regarding certain individuals who participated in 
        Nazi war crimes.''.