[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S5029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2758. Mr. WARNOCK submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. ACCESS TO RECORDS RELATING TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, 
                   JR..

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the subject of an 
     egregious and invasive campaign of government surveillance, 
     undertaken without judicial review;
       (2) surveillance recorded the private conversations of Dr. 
     Martin Luther King, Jr and others; and
       (3) in light of the extensive historical and congressional 
     review of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the government 
     surveillance carried out against him, the historical value of 
     the records at issue is duplicatable and does not outweigh 
     the harm to the privacy interests of the recorded 
     individuals.
       (b) Access to Records.--
       (1) Definitions.--In this section:
       (A) Archivist.--The term ``Archivist'' means the Archivist 
     of the United States.
       (B) Covered records.--The term ``covered records'' means 
     any tapes or documents in the custody of any Federal agency 
     relating to the surveillance by the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that were the 
     subject of the order of the United States District Court for 
     the District of Columbia filed on January 31, 1977.
       (2) Access for the king children.--
       (A) In general.--On the day after the last day on which the 
     covered records are required to be kept under seal under the 
     order described in paragraph (1)(B), the Archivist shall 
     grant the surviving children of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
     exclusive access to view the covered records, in consultation 
     with expert historians and archivists.
       (B) Prohibition on publication.--The surviving children 
     described in subparagraph (A) are prohibited from making the 
     covered records available to the public.
       (C) No surviving children.--If there are no surviving 
     children, as described in subparagraph (A), the Archivist 
     shall grant the right under such subparagraph to the estates 
     or heirs of the children of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and 
     the prohibition under subparagraph (B) shall apply to such 
     estates or heirs.
       (3) Sealing and public release.--
       (A) Sealing.--The Archivist shall keep under seal each 
     covered record for 60 years beginning on the day after the 
     last day on which the covered records are required to be kept 
     under seal.
       (B) Public release.--After the conclusion of the 60-year 
     period described in subparagraph (A), the covered records 
     shall be subject to public release and dissemination by the 
     Archivist pursuant to the usual protocols used by the 
     Archivist for the release of records.
                                 ______