[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.

                
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