[Senate Report 111-87]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress
SENATE
Report
1st Session 111-87
_______________________________________________________________________
Calendar No. 172
TO PROVIDE THAT CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES
TO CERTAIN DOCUMENTS RELATING TO
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
SHALL BE TREATED AS WAIVED AND
RELINQUISHED IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 692
TO PROVIDE THAT CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES TO CERTAIN DOCUMENTS
RELATING TO FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT SHALL BE TREATED AS WAIVED AND
RELINQUISHED IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES
October 5, 2009.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JON TESTER, Montana ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois
PAUL G. KIRK, Jr., Massachusetts
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
Adam R. Sedgewick, Professional Staff Member
Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
John K. Grant, Minority Counsel
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 172
111th Congress
SENATE
Report
1st Session 111-87
======================================================================
TO PROVIDE THAT CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES TO CERTAIN DOCUMENTS
RELATING TO FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT SHALL BE TREATED AS WAIVED AND
RELINQUISHED IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES
_______
October 5, 2009.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 692]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 692) to provide
that claims of the United States to certain documents relating
to Franklin Delano Roosevelt shall be treated as waived and
relinquished in certain circumstances, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary...............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation...........................2
III.Legislative History...............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis.......................................2
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact...................................2
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.........................3
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 692 enables the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) to acquire the Grace Tully Archive, the
most important remaining private collection of documents and
memorabilia relating to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It
does so by deeming any existing claims of the United States to
the material waived as of the day before the material is
donated to NARA, thus resolving outstanding issues as to
whether the current owner of the material may claim a tax
deduction for the donation.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
The Grace Tully Archive is a collection of documents and
memorabilia pertaining to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
that is comprised of items that were gathered by his personal
secretary throughout President Roosevelt's private and public
career as Governor of New York and as President. The collection
is considered to have significant historical value. The
collection changed hands multiple times following the death of
Grace Tully in 1981, with the most recent sale occurring in
2001.
Following the 2001 sale, the current owner initiated the
process of donating the entire collection to the National
Archives and Records Administration. In 2004, the National
Archives asserted a claim of ownership to certain documents in
the collection, arguing that those documents were Presidential
records and should have originally been provided to NARA
instead of staying with Grace Tully's collection. Specific
statues governing the maintenance and ownership of such records
were not enacted until after the death of President Roosevelt.
The question of ownership matters because it determines whether
the owner may claim a tax deduction for giving the records to
NARA. This dispute over ownership of the collection has stalled
its donation for years and has kept the public from having full
access to the collection. The passage of this legislation would
resolve the dispute, ensure that these files can be fully
incorporated into the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library and
preempt a further delay of litigation to resolve the issue.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
On March 25, 2009, Senator Charles Schumer introduced S.
692 which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs. On May 20, 2009, S. 692 was reported
favorably by the Committee by voice vote. Members present for
the vote on the bill were Chairman Lieberman; Senators Akaka,
Carper, Pryor, McCaskill, Burris, and Bennet; Ranking Minority
Member Collins; and Senator Voinovich.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Treatment of ownership of certain documents relating to
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Section 1 provides that if any person or entity makes a
gift to the National Archives and Records Administration of any
property that is a part of the collection of documents or
memorabilia relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and was in
the possession of Grace Tully at the time of her death, that
the claim of the United States to such property shall be
treated as having been waived and relinquished on the day
before the date of such gift.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. The
Congressional Budget Office states that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not effect state, local,
and tribal governments. The enactment of this legislation will
not have significant regulatory impact.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
May 21, 2009.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 692, a bill to
provide that claims of the United States to certain documents
relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt shall be treated as
waived and relinquished in certain circumstances.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
S. 692--A bill to provide that the claims of the United States to
certain documents relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt shall
be treated as waived and relinquished in certain circumstances
S. 692 would waive the federal government's claims to
certain documents related to the Administration of Franklin
Delano Roosevelt (FDR) if the papers are donated as gifts to
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Currently, the federal government is in negotiations with
private parties regarding the ownership of the Tully Archive
(Miss Grace Tully was FDR's personal secretary), which includes
5,000 documents, 100 personal letters, and other historical
effects.
CBO expects that implementing S. 692 could expedite the
donation of the collection to NARA. The donation would provide
a tax deduction for the private party that currently owns the
archive. While the value of that deduction is uncertain, CBO
estimates that over time this legislation would have no
significant net effect on federal revenues because the
collection probably would be donated at some point without
enactment of the bill.
S. 692 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.