[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.
____________________