[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H65-H67]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DONATION REFORM ACT OF 2017

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 73) to amend title 44, United States Code, to require 
information on contributors to Presidential library fundraising 
organizations, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 73

       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 Library 
     Donation Reform Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES.

       (a) In General.--Section 2112 of title 44, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(h) Presidential Library Fundraising Organization 
     Reporting Requirement.--
       ``(1) Reporting requirement.--Not later than 15 days after 
     the end of a calendar quarter and until the end of the 
     requirement period described in paragraph (2), each 
     Presidential library fundraising organization shall submit to 
     the Archivist information for that quarter in an electronic 
     searchable and sortable format with respect to every 
     contributor who gave the organization a contribution or 
     contributions (whether monetary or in-kind) totaling $200 or 
     more for the quarterly period.
       ``(2) Duration of reporting requirement.--The requirement 
     to submit information under paragraph (1) shall continue 
     until the later of the following occurs:
       ``(A) The Archivist has accepted, taken title to, or 
     entered into an agreement to use any land or facility for the 
     Presidential archival depository for the President for whom 
     the Presidential library fundraising organization was 
     established.
       ``(B) The President whose archives are contained in the 
     deposit no longer holds the Office of President.
       ``(3) Information required to be published.--The Archivist 
     shall publish on the website of the National Archives and 
     Records Administration, within 30 days after each quarterly 
     filing, any information that is submitted under paragraph 
     (1), without a fee or other access charge in a downloadable 
     database.
       ``(4) Submission of false material information 
     prohibited.--
       ``(A) Individual.--
       ``(i) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any person who 
     makes a contribution described in paragraph (1) to knowingly 
     and willfully submit false material information or omit 
     material information with respect to the contribution to an 
     organization described in such paragraph.
       ``(ii) Penalty.--The penalties described in section 1001 of 
     title 18, United States Code, shall apply with respect to a 
     violation of clause (i) in the same manner as a violation 
     described in such section.
       ``(B) Organization.--
       ``(i) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any 
     Presidential library fundraising organization to knowingly 
     and willfully submit false material information or omit 
     material information under paragraph (1).
       ``(ii) Penalty.--The penalties described in section 1001 of 
     title 18, United States Code, shall apply with respect to a 
     violation of clause (i) in the same manner as a violation 
     described in such section.
       ``(5) Prohibition on contribution.--
       ``(A) In general.--It shall be unlawful for a person to 
     knowingly and willfully--
       ``(i) make a contribution described in paragraph (1) in the 
     name of another person;
       ``(ii) permit his or her name to be used to effect a 
     contribution described in paragraph (1); or
       ``(iii) accept a contribution described in paragraph (1) 
     that is made by one person in the name of another person.
       ``(B) Penalty.--The penalties set forth in section 309(d) 
     of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
     437g(d)) shall apply to a violation of subparagraph (A) in 
     the same manner as if such violation were a violation of 
     section 316(b)(3) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(3)).
       ``(6) Regulations required.--The Archivist shall promulgate 
     regulations for the purpose of carrying out this subsection.
       ``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Information.--The term `information' means the 
     following:
       ``(i) The amount or value of each contribution made by a 
     contributor referred to in paragraph (1) in the quarter 
     covered by the submission.
       ``(ii) The source of each such contribution, and the 
     address of the entity or individual that is the source of the 
     contribution.
       ``(iii) If the source of such a contribution is an 
     individual, the occupation of the individual.
       ``(iv) The date of each such contribution.
       ``(B) Presidential library fundraising organization.--The 
     term `Presidential library fundraising organization' means an 
     organization that is established for the purpose of raising 
     funds for creating, maintaining, expanding, or conducting 
     activities at--
       ``(i) a Presidential archival depository; or
       ``(ii) any facilities relating to a Presidential archival 
     depository.''.
       (b) Applicability.--Section 2112(h) of title 44, United 
     States Code (as added by subsection (a))--
       (1) shall apply to an organization established for the 
     purpose of raising funds for creating, maintaining, 
     expanding, or conducting activities at a Presidential 
     archival depository or any facilities relating to a 
     Presidential archival depository before, on, or after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act; and
       (2) shall only apply with respect to contributions (whether 
     monetary or in-kind) made after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act.

     SEC. 3. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.

       No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 
     requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 
     Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts 
     otherwise authorized.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), who has championed this effort 
for quite a while. He is passionate about this, and he has poured his 
heart and soul into it.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. I thank the chairman for yielding to me and 
for his support of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, this is very simple, bipartisan legislation that would 
require organizers of Presidential libraries to disclose the identities 
of donors and the amounts they give. It wouldn't limit any donations; 
it would simply require disclosure. I introduced this legislation 
several Congresses ago because I felt then and feel now that the public 
should be made aware of possible conflicts of interest that sitting 
Presidents can have or may have while raising funds for their 
libraries.
  First of all, I thank Ranking Member Cummings for again cosponsoring 
this very important legislation and making it bipartisan. The 
legislation is so bipartisan that, after the first time we passed the 
bill--and it passed 392-3--it was taken over, at my request and with my 
agreement, by then-Chairman Waxman, who made it his bill. We passed it 
once again, and we passed it in the last Congress by a simple voice 
vote, so there is a lot of support for this bill. In the Senate, it was 
introduced by Mr. Carper and Mr. Coburn, when he was in the Senate. We 
need to get some

[[Page H66]]

more interest over there, and I think we are going to be able to do 
that in this Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, we do not know who these donors to the Presidential 
libraries are or what interests they may have on any pending policy 
decisions that are to be made. I think that our government needs to 
operate in the open, not with secrecy. This legislation will apply to 
all future Presidential libraries and mandate, regardless of party, 
that the names of the donors and the amounts they contribute be 
disclosed. I would like to add that this legislation will apply to 
President Trump's future Presidential library. This will require him to 
disclose more than any other President has ever had to disclose before. 
This will be an unprecedented disclosure, and it falls in line with his 
stated desire to drain the swamp. Any sitting President has a great 
deal of power. Funds should not be raised for a Presidential library in 
his honor without some type of public disclosure.
  I decided to introduce this bill after news reports surrounding a 
proposed Presidential library exposed that foreign governments from the 
Middle East were making very large donations. Then, in 2007, The 
Washington Post reported that President Clinton's Presidential library 
raised a substantial percentage of the cost of its facility with 
foreign contributions. However, this is not a partisan issue. I have 
introduced this and supported this legislation under both Democratic 
and Republican Presidents. The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act 
of 2017 would bring clarity to the process of planning and building 
these Presidential libraries.
  In 2013, Sunlight Foundation Policy Director Daniel Schuman endorsed 
an earlier version of this bill during a hearing in front of our House 
Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he said it ``would 
provide valuable information on special interests whose donations put 
them in close proximity with Presidents.''
  Even Richard Cohen, the very liberal columnist for The Washington 
Post, once said about this bill: ``But surely it would be anything from 
interesting to illustrative to just plain damning to see what names are 
on that list and for what amounts.'' Our citizens have the right to 
know the details of these fundraising activities.
  This bill has been introduced by the Center for Media and Democracy; 
the Center for Responsive Politics; the Citizens for Responsibility and 
Ethics in Washington, often known as CREW; Common Cause; Public 
Citizen; the Society of Professional Journalists; and many others.
  USA Today wrote a very favorable editorial about this bill, and it 
has been mentioned favorably in many publications across the years. I 
think it is a bill that everybody on both sides of the aisle can 
support, and I ask my colleagues to support this very bipartisan 
legislation.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank my long-time friend Representative Duncan and Ranking Member 
Cummings for sponsoring this bill. Representative Duncan first 
sponsored a bill to improve Presidential libraries 17 years ago. I hope 
we can now, finally, get this important legislation enacted.
  The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act would make the process 
for building Presidential libraries more transparent. Presidential 
libraries have become increasingly more expensive as they have evolved 
into multipurpose centers. The George W. Bush Presidential Center cost 
an estimated $250 million to build, and President Bush raised, 
approximately, $500 million for the building and an endowment for his 
library, museum, and institute.
  Under current law, there is no requirement to disclose the identities 
of those who donate to a Presidential library and to a President while 
he is still in office. He is able to raise an unlimited amount of 
private donations. Requiring the disclosures of donors would help 
prevent the trading of political favors in exchange for donations.
  This bill would require organizations that raise money to build 
Presidential libraries to disclose the identity of any individual who 
donates more than $200. The National Archives and Records 
Administration would then be required to post the donation information 
online. The bill would also create criminal penalties for individuals 
who report false information on donations and for fundraising 
organizations that omit donation information.

  As was mentioned earlier, a group of 15 good government 
organizations, including CREW and the Sunlight Foundation, sent a 
letter that urged the House to support this bill. Here is what they 
wrote:

       Under the current opaque system, Presidents raise funds 
     privately to establish their Presidential libraries.
       These efforts, which often begin long before they leave 
     office, are unregulated and undisclosed, creating 
     opportunities for--or the appearance of--influence peddling. 
     Improved transparency would help reduce the appearance of 
     impropriety and help deter any inappropriate behavior.

  This bill was approved, without opposition, by the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform, and it passed the House last year 
without opposition. I urge every Member of this body to support this 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As has been highlighted here by Mr. Clay and by me, there is good 
bipartisan work that has gone on for far too long. It is time to pass 
this bill. I really do appreciate the good work Mr. Duncan of Tennessee 
has done and the work of Ranking Member Cummings of Maryland.
  The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2017 is the type of 
good-government, bipartisan legislation that is perfect to be one of 
the first bills to pass out of the 115th Congress. Last Congress, this 
legislation passed through the committee by regular order and passed 
the House of Representatives without opposition.
  President Franklin Roosevelt established the first Presidential 
library in 1939. Since then, every former President since Herbert 
Hoover has had a library dedicated to his Presidential records. Each of 
the 13 current libraries is managed and operated by the National 
Archives and Records Administration at an annual cost of roughly $75 
million. While these facilities are operated at taxpayer expense, the 
construction of these libraries is privately financed through 
donations.
  As the volume of records for each President has increased over the 
years, so have construction costs. For example, when it opened in 2004, 
the Clinton Presidential Center, in part, cost approximately $165 
million.

                              {time}  1300

  Nine years later, the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which 
opened in 2013, cost about $250 million. The Chicago Tribune has 
reported that President Obama's library might cost as much as $500 
million.
  Despite these escalating costs, there are no transparency 
requirements for Presidential library fundraising organizations. Here, 
transparency is important and very much needed.
  This bill will require Presidential library fundraising organizations 
to disclose to the National Archives contributions in excess of $200 in 
any fiscal quarter in a searchable and sortable format. In turn, the 
National Archives will post this data online.
  This disclosure requirement would end once control of a library 
facility is transferred to the National Archives. This ensures 
compliance costs of this legislation are minimal for both fundraising 
organizations and the National Archives.
  This legislation is bipartisan. It is not intended to target any one 
individual. The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act has passed the 
House four times since 2002, with overwhelming support with both 
Democratic and Republican majorities in place at the time.
  I would like to, again, highlight and thank my colleague, 
Representative Duncan. I do appreciate his efforts on this. I do hope 
that the 115th Congress is the time that the Senate will see fit to 
pass this bill to the President's desk.
  I have no additional speakers.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I just urge 
this body to adopt the legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge its passage.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by

[[Page H67]]

the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 73.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________