[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTENT AND OBJECTIVES OF AMENDMENT TO PRESIDENTIAL RECORDINGS AND 
                   MATERIALS PRESERVATION ACT OF 1974

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Mr. Davis and myself, I would 
like to submit the following letters for the Record. They provide 
background on the intent and objectives of the amendment to the 
Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974.

                                             Richard Nixon Library


                                    and Birthplace Foundation,

                                                November 21, 2003.
     Hon. Tom Davis,
     Hon. Henry A. Waxman,
     Committee on Government Reform, U.S. House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Representatives Davis and Waxman: I would like to 
     express our appreciation for your efforts to amend the 
     Presidential Recordings and Materials Act to remove the 
     requirement that the Presidential records of the Nixon 
     Administration be housed in Washington, D.C. It has been more 
     than 29 years since President Nixon left office. Bringing the 
     Nixon Library into the federal system under the terms of the 
     Presidential Libraries Act and at this time is clearly in the 
     public interest.
       The public interest is best served by the unfettered access 
     for historians and the general public to the records of the 
     Nixon Administration. We agree that current regulations on 
     public access will continue to govern public access to these 
     records in the future; that the records remain the property 
     of the United States; and that the Archivist will be 
     responsible for access to the documents at the Nixon Library. 
     It is our understanding that papers and tapes that have been 
     processed may be transferred to the Nixon Presidential 
     Library once an agreement has been reached between the Nixon 
     Foundation and the Archives, but that those records that have 
     yet to be processed shall continue to be reviewed in a timely 
     fashion at College Park, Maryland. Of course, the ongoing 
     review of records at College Park should not delay the 
     transfer to California of records that have already been 
     processed.
       The Nixon Foundation is eager to complete discussions with 
     the Archivist in a timely fashion and looks forward to that 
     opportunity.
           Sincerely,
                                                   John H. Taylor.

                                U.S. House of Representatives,

                                Washington, DC, November 20, 2003.
     Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: Congressman Waxman and I seek to 
     memorialize the amendment to the Presidential Recordings and 
     Materials Act of 1974 included in the Transportation and 
     Treasury Appropriations bill. The measure the Congress is 
     adopting today will make clear that the Presidential Papers 
     of Richard Nixon are eligible for transfer to the Nixon 
     Presidential Library. Under the 1974 Act, it has not been 
     legal to transfer these papers. The purpose of the provision 
     we are enacting today is to move forward the process whereby 
     the Archivist and the directors of the Nixon Library in Yorba 
     Linda, California, will conclude an agreement on the terms of 
     this transfer.
       The provision enacted today makes clear that any agreement 
     between the Archivist and the Nixon Library to bring the 
     Nixon Library into the federal Presidential library system 
     shall be, as has been the case with all other Presidential 
     libraries, subject to the terms of the Presidential Library 
     Act. Those records will continue to be owned by the United 
     States and administered by the National Archives. The 
     Archivist will not transfer any documents to California until 
     he certifies to Congress that he has determined that there is 
     a suitable archival facility to house those documents.
       Once the Archivist agrees to accept the Nixon Library into 
     the Presidential Library System and has notified Congress, 
     employees of the National Archives will staff the Library, 
     and the Archivist will be responsible for access to documents 
     at the Library. This measure makes clear the public interest 
     in unfettered access for historians and the general public to 
     the records of the Nixon Presidency.
       The National Archives is responsible for reviewing the 
     recordings and materials from the Nixon Administration. This 
     is a complicated task of looking at each document and 
     determining if the release of that document would invade 
     someone's privacy or endanger national security. There are 
     concerns that transferring these materials to California 
     would disrupt the processing of them, delaying their public 
     release. This bill will not affect the processing of the 
     records. Papers and tapes that have been processed may be 
     transferred to the Nixon Presidential Library once an 
     agreement has been reached between the Library and NARA. 
     Those records that have yet to be processed shall continue to 
     be reviewed in a timely fashion at College Park, MD. At the 
     same time, that review should not in any way delay the 
     transfer of processed records to California.
           Sincerely,
     Tom Davis,
       Chairman, Committee on Government Reform.
     Henry A. Waxman,
       Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Government Reform.

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