[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1379 Reported in Senate (RS)]




                                                       Calendar No. 323



105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1379

 To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and the National 
    Security Act of 1947 to require disclosure under the Freedom of 
 Information Act regarding certain persons, disclose Nazi war criminal 
records without impairing any investigation or prosecution conducted by 
  the Department of Justice or certain intelligence matters, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 5, 1997

  Mr. DeWine (for himself, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Hatch, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. 
Dodd, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Lieberman, 
 Ms. Snowe, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. McCain, Mr. Shelby, Mr. 
   Campbell, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Specter, Mr. Abraham, and Mr. Kyl) introduced the following bill; which 
     was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

                             March 5, 1998

                Reported by Mr. Hatch, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and the National 
    Security Act of 1947 to require disclosure under the Freedom of 
 Information Act regarding certain persons, disclose Nazi war criminal 
records without impairing any investigation or prosecution conducted by 
  the Department of Justice or certain intelligence matters, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Nazi War Crimes Disclosure 
Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT OF DISCLOSURE UNDER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 
              REGARDING PERSONS WHO COMMITTED NAZI WAR 
              CRIMES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subsection (a)(4)(B) in the second 
        sentence, by inserting ``or subsection (h)'' after ``subsection 
        (b)''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the 
        following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(h)(1) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 
`Nazi war criminal records' means records or portions of records that--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) pertain to any person as to whom the United 
        States Government, in its sole discretion, has determined there 
        exists reasonable grounds to believe that such person, during 
        the period beginning on March 23, 1933, and ending on May 8, 
        1945, under the direction of, or in association with--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(i) the Nazi government of 
                Germany;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) any government in any area occupied 
                by the military forces of the Nazi government of 
                Germany;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iii) any government established with 
                the assistance or cooperation of the Nazi government of 
                Germany; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iv) any government which was an ally of 
                the Nazi government of Germany,</DELETED>
        <DELETED>ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated 
        in the persecution of any person because of race, religion, 
        national origin, or political opinion; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) pertain to any transaction as to which the 
        United States Government, in its sole discretion, has 
        determined there exists reasonable grounds to believe--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(i) involved assets taken from 
                persecuted persons during the period beginning on March 
                23, 1933, and ending on May 8, 1945, by, under the 
                direction of, on behalf of, or under authority granted 
                by the Nazi government of Germany or any nation then 
                allied with that government; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) such transaction was completed 
                without the assent of the owners of those assets or 
                their heirs or assigns or other legitimate 
                representatives.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(2)(A) Notwithstanding subsection (b), this subsection 
shall apply to Nazi war criminal records.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(B) Subject to subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), Nazi war 
criminal records that are responsive to a request for records made in 
accordance with subsection (a) shall be released in their 
entirety.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(C) An agency head may exempt from release under 
subparagraph (B) specific information, the release of which should be 
expected to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(i) constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 
        personal privacy;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(ii) reveal the identity of a confidential human 
        source, or reveal information about the application of an 
        intelligence source or method, or reveal the identity of a 
        human intelligence source when the unauthorized disclosure of 
        that source would clearly and demonstrably damage the national 
        security interests of the United States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(iii) reveal information that would assist in 
        the development or use of weapons of mass 
        destruction;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(iv) reveal information that would impair United 
        States cryptologic systems or activities;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(v) reveal information that would impair the 
        application of state-of-the-art technology within a United 
        States weapon system;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(vi) reveal actual United States military war 
        plans that remain in effect;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(vii) reveal information that would seriously 
        and demonstrably impair relations between the United States and 
        a foreign government, or seriously and demonstrably undermine 
        ongoing diplomatic activities of the United States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(viii) reveal information that would clearly and 
        demonstrably impair the current ability of United States 
        Government officials to protect the President, Vice President, 
        and other officials for whom protection services, in the 
        interest of national security, are authorized;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(ix) reveal information that would seriously and 
        demonstrably impair current national security emergency 
        preparedness plans; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(x) violate a statute, treaty, or international 
        agreement.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(D) In applying exemptions (ii) through (x) of 
subparagraph (C), there shall be a presumption that the public interest 
in the release of Nazi war criminal records outweighs the damage to 
national security that might reasonably be expected to result from 
disclosure. The agency head, as an exercise of discretion, may rebut 
this presumption with respect to a Nazi war criminal record, or portion 
thereof, based on an exemption listed in subparagraph (C). The exercise 
of this discretion shall be promptly reported to the committees of 
Congress with appropriate jurisdiction.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(E) This subsection shall not apply to records--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(i) related to or supporting any active or 
        inactive investigation, inquiry, or prosecution by the Office 
        of Special Investigations of the Department of Justice; 
        or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(ii) in the possession, custody or control of 
        that office.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 
        subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the 
        following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any operational 
file, or any portion of any operational file, that constitutes a Nazi 
war criminal record under section 552(h) of title 5, United States 
Code.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY INVENTORY OF NAZI WAR CRIMINAL 
              RECORDS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Definitions.--In this section the term--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) ``agency'' has the meaning given such term 
        under section 551 of title 5, United States Code;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) ``Interagency Group'' means the Nazi War 
        Criminal Records Interagency Working Group established under 
        subsection (b);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) ``Nazi war criminal records'' has the meaning 
        given such term under section 552(h)(1) of title 5, United 
        States Code (as added by section 2(a)(2) of this Act); 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) ``record'' means a Nazi war criminal 
        record.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Establishment of Interagency Group.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the President shall establish 
        the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working 
        Group.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Membership.--The President shall appoint to 
        the Interagency Group the heads of agencies who the President 
        determines will most completely and effectively carry out the 
        functions of the Interagency Group within the time limitations 
        provided in this section. The head of an agency appointed by 
        the President may designate an appropriate officer to serve on 
        the Interagency Group in lieu of the head of such 
        agency.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Initial meeting.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Group shall 
        hold an initial meeting and begin the functions required under 
        this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Functions.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Interagency Group shall, to the greatest 
extent possible consistent with section 552(h)(2) of title 5, United 
States Code (as added by section 2(a)(2) of this Act)--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) locate, identify, inventory, recommend for 
        declassification, and make available to the public at the 
        National Archives and Records Administration, all Nazi war 
        criminal records of the United States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) coordinate with agencies and take such actions 
        as necessary to expedite the release of such records to the 
        public; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) submit a report to Congress describing all 
        such records, the disposition of such records, and the 
        activities of the Interagency Group and agencies under this 
        section.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF REQUESTS FOR NAZI WAR CRIMINAL 
              RECORDS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Definitions.--In this section, the term--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) ``Nazi war criminal record'' has the meaning 
        given the term under section 552(h)(1) of title 5, United 
        States Code (as added by section 2(a)(2) of this Act); 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) ``requester'' means any person who was 
        persecuted in the manner described under section 552(h)(1)(A) 
        of title 5, United States Code (as added by section 2(a)(2) of 
        this Act), who requests a Nazi war criminal record.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Expedited Processing.--For purposes of expedited 
processing under section 552(a)(6)(E) of title 5, United States Code, 
any requester of a Nazi war criminal record shall be deemed to have a 
compelling need for such record.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The amendments made by this Act shall apply to requests 
under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (known as Freedom of 
Information Act requests) received by an agency after the expiration of 
the 90-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this 
Act.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NAZI WAR CRIMINAL RECORDS INTERAGENCY WORKING 
              GROUP.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section the term--
            (1) ``agency'' has the meaning given such term under 
        section 551 of title 5, United States Code;
            (2) ``Interagency Group'' means the Nazi War Criminal 
        Records Interagency Working Group established under subsection 
        (b);
            (3) ``Nazi war criminal records'' has the meaning given 
        such term under section 3 of this Act; and
            (4) ``record'' means a Nazi war criminal record.
    (b) Establishment of Interagency Group.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the President shall establish the Nazi 
        War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group.
            (2) Membership.--The President shall appoint to the 
        Interagency Group the heads of agencies who the President 
        determines will most completely and effectively carry out the 
        functions of the Interagency Group within the time limitations 
        provided in this section. The head of an agency appointed by 
        the President may designate an appropriate officer to serve on 
        the Interagency Group in lieu of the head of such agency.
            (3) Initial meeting.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Group shall hold an 
        initial meeting and begin the functions required under this 
        section.
    (c) Functions.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Interagency Group shall, to the greatest extent 
possible consistent with section 3 of this Act--
            (1) locate, identify, inventory, recommend for 
        declassification, and make available to the public at the 
        National Archives and Records Administration, all Nazi war 
        criminal records of the United States;
            (2) coordinate with agencies and take such actions as 
        necessary to expedite the release of such records to the 
        public; and
            (3) submit a report to Congress describing all such 
        records, the disposition of such records, and the activities of 
        the Interagency Group and agencies under this section.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT OF DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS REGARDING PERSONS WHO 
              COMMITTED NAZI WAR CRIMES.

    (a) Nazi War Criminal Records.--For purposes of this Act, the term 
``Nazi war criminal records'' means records or portions of records 
that--
            (1) pertain to the activities of any person with respect to 
        which the United States Government, in its sole discretion, has 
        grounds to believe--
                    (A) occurred, 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; and
                    (B) involved the ordering, incitement, assistance, 
                or other participation in the persecution of any person 
                because of race, religion, national origin, or 
                political opinion; or
            (2) pertain to any transaction as to which the United 
        States Government, in its sole discretion, has grounds to 
        believe--
                    (A) involved assets taken from persecuted persons 
                during the period beginning on March 23, 1933, and 
ending on May 8, 1945, by, under the direction of, on behalf of, or 
under authority granted by the Nazi government of Germany or any nation 
then allied with that government; and
                    (B) such transaction was completed without the 
                assent of the owners of those assets or their heirs or 
                assigns or other legitimate representatives.
    (b) Release of Records.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), 
        the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group shall 
        release in their entirety Nazi war criminal records that are 
        described in subsection (a).
            (2) Exception for privacy, etc.--An agency head may exempt 
        from release under paragraph (1) specific information, that 
        would--
                    (A) constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 
                personal privacy;
                    (B) reveal the identity of a confidential human 
                source, or reveal information about the application of 
                an intelligence source or method, or reveal the 
                identity of a human intelligence source when the 
                unauthorized disclosure of that source would clearly 
                and demonstrably damage the national security interests 
                of the United States;
                    (C) reveal information that would assist in the 
                development or use of weapons of mass destruction;
                    (D) reveal information that would impair United 
                States cryptologic systems or activities;
                    (E) reveal information that would impair the 
                application of state-of-the-art technology within a 
                United States weapon system;
                    (F) reveal actual United States military war plans 
                that remain in effect;
                    (G) reveal information that would seriously and 
                demonstrably impair relations between the United States 
                and a foreign government, or seriously and demonstrably 
                undermine ongoing diplomatic activities of the United 
                States;
                    (H) reveal information that would clearly and 
                demonstrably impair the current ability of United 
                States Government officials to protect the President, 
                Vice President, and other officials for whom protection 
                services, in the interest of national security, are 
                authorized;
                    (I) reveal information that would seriously and 
                demonstrably impair current national security emergency 
                preparedness plans; or
                    (J) violate a statute, treaty, or international 
                agreement.
            (3) Application of exemptions.--In applying the exemptions 
        listed in subparagraphs (B) through (J) of paragraph (2), there 
        shall be a presumption that the public interest in the release 
        of Nazi war criminal records will be served by disclosure and 
        release of the records. Assertion of such exemption may only be 
        made when the agency head determines that disclosure and 
        release would be harmful to a specific interest identified in 
        the exemption. An agency head who makes such a determination 
        shall promptly report it to the committees of Congress with 
        appropriate jurisdiction, including the Senate Committee on the 
        Judiciary.
            (4) Limitation on application.--This subsection shall not 
        apply to records--
                    (A) related to or supporting any active or inactive 
                investigation, inquiry, or prosecution by the Office of 
                Special Investigations of the Department of Justice; or
                    (B) solely in the possession, custody, or control 
                of that office.
    (c) 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:
    ``(e) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any operational file, or 
any portion of any operational file, that constitutes a Nazi war 
criminal record under section 3 of the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure 
Act.''.

SEC. 4. EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF FOIA REQUESTS FOR NAZI WAR CRIMINAL 
              RECORDS.

    (a) Expedited Processing.--For purposes of expedited processing 
under section 552(a)(6)(E) of title 5, United States Code, any 
requester of a Nazi war criminal record shall be deemed to have a 
compelling need for such record.
    (b) Requester.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``requester'' means any person who was persecuted in the manner 
described under section 3(a)(1)(B) of this Act who requests a Nazi war 
criminal record.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
                                     





                                                       Calendar No. 323

105th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1379

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and the National 
    Security Act of 1947 to require disclosure under the Freedom of 
 Information Act regarding certain persons, disclose Nazi war criminal 
records without impairing any investigation or prosecution conducted by 
  the Department of Justice or certain intelligence matters, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 5, 1998

                       Reported with an amendment