[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   H.R. 1553, 1-YEAR EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF THE ASSASSINATION 
                          RECORDS REVIEW BOARD

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                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 1997

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing H.R. 1553, 
which amends the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records 
Collection Act of 1992--Public Law 102-526--to provide 1 additional 
year for the Assassination Records Review Board to complete its work. 
This legislation would extend the Review Board's September 30, 1997, 
termination date under current law to September 30, 1998. H.R. 1553 
authorizes $1.6 million in fiscal year 1998 for this purpose. I am 
pleased that the Honorable Henry Waxman, the ranking minority member on 
the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and the Honorable 
Louis Stokes, who sponsored the 1992 Act and who chaired the House 
Select Committee on Assassinations that was established in 1976, are 
original cosponsors of H.R. 1553.
  The purpose of the 1992 legislation was to publicly release records 
relating to the Kennedy assassination at the earliest possible date. 
The Assassination Records Review Board was set up to review and release 
the voluminous amounts of information in the Government's possession. 
The FBI, the Secret Service, the CIA, the Warren Commission, the 
Rockefeller Commission, the Church Committee in the Senate, and the 
House Select Committee on Assassinations have all held assassination 
records, and records have also been in the possession of certain State 
and local authorities as well as private citizens. When this 
legislation was considered, nearly 1 million pages of records compiled 
by official investigations of the assassination had not been made 
available to the public, some 30 years after the tragedy. Congress 
believed that simply making all relevant information available to the 
public was the best way to respond to the continuing high level of 
interest in the Kennedy assassination, and was preferable to 
undertaking a new congressional investigation. The 1992 law requires 
the Review Board to presume that documents relating to the 
assassination should be made public unless there is clear and 
convincing evidence to the contrary. I believe that the release of this 
information is important to ensure accountability in the Government and 
to clearly demonstrate to Americans that the Government has nothing to 
hide.
  As a result of the Review Board's efforts, over 10,000 documents have 
been transferred to the national archives and Records Administration 
for inclusion in the JFK collection. At the end of 1996, that 
collection totaled approximately 3.1 million pages and was used 
extensively by researchers from all over the United States. The Review 
Board was in the news last month when it voted to make public the 
Abraham Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination.
  The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 
1992 originally provided a 3-year timetable for the Assassination 
Records Review Board to complete its work. Unfortunately, there were 
lengthy delays in the appointment of Board members, and as a 
consequence the Review Board was scheduled to cease operations before 
it even began its work. As a result, in 1994 Congress restarted the 
clock by extending the 1992 law's termination date for 1 year, until 
September 30, 1996. The Review Board subsequently exercised its 
authority to continue operating for 1 additional year, until September 
30, 1997. Because the review process proved to be more complex and 
time-consuming than anticipated, the President included in his fiscal 
year 1998 budget a request for a 1-year extension of the Review Board's 
authorization.
  I support the Assassination Records Review Board's request for a 1-
year extension of its authorization so that it can complete its mission 
in a professional and thorough manner. I have always believed very 
strongly that Congress should not indefinitely continue funding for 
Federal entities that were clearly intended to be temporary in nature. 
The Review Board has informed me that it is confident that it will be 
able to finish its work and complete its final report if Congress will 
extend its life for 1 additional year, until September 30, 1998.

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