[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 113 (Thursday, July 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1435-E1436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5811, ELECTRONIC MESSAGE 
                            PRESERVATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 9, 2008

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 5811, the ``Electronic Message Preservation Act,'' introduced 
by my friend and colleague on the Oversight and Government Reform 
Committee, Chairman Waxman.
  With the advent and proliferation of electronic communication, the 
time has come for us to improve the methods for preserving records. 
Gone are the days when correspondence was sent solely using paper. E-
mail has become the primary method of communication, and it is 
imperative that we develop procedures to stay current with the evolving 
technologies.
  The bill before us today would direct the Archivist to establish 
standards for the capture, management, and preservation of White House 
e-mails and other electronic messages and to certify that the system 
meets the requirements established by the Archivist. Additionally, H.R. 
5811 directs the Archivist to issue regulations requiring agencies to 
preserve electronic messages that are records in an electronic format. 
These regulations must cover, at a minimum, the capture, management, 
preservation, and electronic retrieval of these electronic records.

[[Page E1436]]

  I believe that this legislation will help future administrations 
avoid the issues that seemed to plague this White House with reports 
that officials were using RNC e-mail accounts to conduct official 
business and then deleting those e-mails from servers. H.R. 5811 will 
enhance the transparency of government while ensuring an accurate 
historical record.

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