[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4187 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4187

To amend chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, popularly known as 
     the Presidential Records Act, to establish procedures for the 
  consideration of claims of constitutionally based privilege against 
                  disclosure of Presidential records.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2002

   Mr. Horn (for himself, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. 
 Waxman, Mr. Ose, Mr. Frank, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. 
Bentsen, Mr. Allen, Mr. Blagojevich, Mr. Clay, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Davis 
 of Illinois, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Maloney of New 
York, Ms. Norton, Mr. Owens, Mr. Towns, Mr. LaTourette, and Mr. Baird) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, popularly known as 
     the Presidential Records Act, to establish procedures for the 
  consideration of claims of constitutionally based privilege against 
                  disclosure of Presidential records.

    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 ``Presidential Records Act Amendments 
of 2002''.

SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF CLAIMS OF CONSTITUTIONALLY 
              BASED PRIVILEGE AGAINST DISCLOSURE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2208. Claims of constitutionally based privilege against 
              disclosure
    ``(a)(1) When the Archivist determines under this chapter to make 
available to the public any Presidential record that has not previously 
been made available to the public, the Archivist shall--
            ``(A) promptly provide notice of such determination to--
                    ``(i) the former President during whose term of 
                office the record was created; and
                    ``(ii) the incumbent President; and
            ``(B) make the notice available to the public.
    ``(2) The notice under paragraph (1)--
            ``(A) shall be in writing; and
            ``(B) shall include such information as may be prescribed 
        in regulations issued by the Archivist.
    ``(3)(A) Upon the expiration of 20 days (excepting Saturdays, 
Sundays, and legal public holidays) following provision of notice under 
paragraph (1)(A), the Archivist shall make available to the public the 
record covered by the notice, except any record (or reasonably 
segregable part of a record) with respect to which the Archivist 
receives from a former President or the incumbent President a claim of 
constitutionally based privilege against disclosure that meets the 
requirements of paragraph (4).
    ``(B) The Archivist may extend the 20-day period for not more than 
20 additional days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public 
holidays) if the Archivist determines, based on a showing by the former 
President or the incumbent President, that such an extension is 
necessary to allow an adequate review of the record.
    ``(4) A claim of constitutionally based privilege against 
disclosure meets the requirements of this paragraph if it--
            ``(A) is in writing;
            ``(B) specifies the record (or reasonably segregable 
        portion of a record) to which the claim applies;
            ``(C) is signed by the former President or incumbent 
        President making the claim; and
            ``(D) states the nature of the privilege and the specific 
        grounds for the claim.
    ``(b) The Archivist shall provide a copy of each claim of 
constitutionally based privilege against disclosure of a Presidential 
record--
            ``(1) to the person seeking the record, if any;
            ``(2) to the chairman and ranking minority member of each 
        of the Committee on Government Reform of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of 
        the Senate; and
            ``(3) upon request, to any member of the public.
    ``(c)(1) The Archivist shall not release a Presidential record that 
is subject to a privilege claim submitted by a former President until 
the expiration of the 20-day period (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and 
legal public holidays) beginning on the date the Archivist receives the 
claim.
    ``(2) Upon the expiration of such period the Archivist shall make 
the record publicly available unless otherwise directed by a court 
order in an action initiated by the former President under section 
2204(e).
    ``(d)(1) The Archivist shall not release a Presidential record that 
is subject to a privilege claim submitted by the incumbent President 
unless--
            ``(A) the incumbent President withdraws the privilege 
        claim; or
            ``(B) the Archivist is otherwise directed by a final court 
        order that is not subject to appeal.
    ``(2) This subsection shall not apply with respect to any 
Presidential record required to be made available under section 
2205(2)(A) or (C).
    ``(e) The Archivist shall adjust any otherwise applicable time 
period under this section as necessary to comply with the return date 
of any congressional subpena, judicial subpena, or judicial process.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 2204(d) of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ``, except section 2208,'' after 
``chapter''.
    (2) Section 2207 of title 44, United States Code, is amended in the 
second sentence by inserting ``, except section 2208,'' after 
``chapter''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``2208. Claims of constitutionally based privilege against 
                            disclosure.''.

SEC. 3. EXECUTIVE ORDER OF NOVEMBER 1, 2001.

    Executive Order number 13233, dated November 1, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 
56025), shall have no force or effect.
                                 <all>