[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 231 (Thursday, December 1, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75423-75425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31096]



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Vol. 76

Thursday,

No. 231

December 1, 2011

Part III





The President





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Memorandum of November 28, 2011--Managing Government Records
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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 231 / Thursday, December 1, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Memorandum of November 28, 2011

                
Managing Government Records

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                Section 1. Purpose. This memorandum begins an executive 
                branch-wide effort to reform records management 
                policies and practices. Improving records management 
                will improve performance and promote openness and 
                accountability by better documenting agency actions and 
                decisions. Records transferred to the National Archives 
                and Records Administration (NARA) provide the prism 
                through which future generations will understand and 
                learn from our actions and decisions. Modernized 
                records management will also help executive departments 
                and agencies (agencies) minimize costs and operate more 
                efficiently. Improved records management thus builds on 
                Executive Order 13589 of November 9, 2011 (Promoting 
                Efficient Spending), which directed agencies to reduce 
                spending and focus on mission-critical functions.

                When records are well-managed, agencies can use them to 
                assess the impact of programs, to reduce redundant 
                efforts, to save money, and to share knowledge within 
                and across their organizations. In these ways, proper 
                records management is the backbone of open Government.

                Decades of technological advances have transformed 
                agency operations, creating challenges and 
                opportunities for agency records management. Greater 
                reliance on electronic communication and systems has 
                radically increased the volume and diversity of 
                information that agencies must manage. With proper 
                planning, technology can make these records less 
                burdensome to manage and easier to use and share. But 
                if records management policies and practices are not 
                updated for a digital age, the surge in information 
                could overwhelm agency systems, leading to higher costs 
                and lost records.

                We must address these challenges while using the 
                opportunity to develop a 21st-century framework for the 
                management of Government records. This framework will 
                provide a foundation for open Government, leverage 
                information to improve agency performance, and reduce 
                unnecessary costs and burdens.

                Sec. 2. Agency Commitments to Records Management 
                Reform. (a) The head of each agency shall:

(i) ensure that the successful implementation of records management 
requirements in law, regulation, and this memorandum is a priority for 
senior agency management;

(ii) ensure that proper resources are allocated to the effective 
implementation of such requirements; and

(iii) within 30 days of the date of this memorandum, designate in writing 
to the Archivist of the United States (Archivist), a senior agency official 
to supervise the review required by subsection (b) of this section, in 
coordination with the agency's Records Officer, Chief Information Officer, 
and General Counsel.

                    (b) Within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                each agency head shall submit a report to the Archivist 
                and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
                (OMB) that:

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(i) describes the agency's current plans for improving or maintaining its 
records management program, particularly with respect to managing 
electronic records, including email and social media, deploying cloud-based 
services or storage solutions, and meeting other records challenges;

(ii) identifies any provisions, or omissions, in relevant statutes, 
regulations, or official NARA guidance that currently pose an obstacle to 
the agency's adoption of sound, cost-effective records management policies 
and practices; and

(iii) identifies policies or programs that, if included in the Records 
Management Directive required by section 3 of this memorandum or adopted or 
implemented by NARA, would assist the agency's efforts to improve records 
management.

                The reports submitted pursuant to this subsection 
                should supplement, and therefore need not duplicate, 
                information provided by agencies to NARA pursuant to 
                other reporting obligations.

                Sec. 3. Records Management Directive. (a) Within 120 
                days of the deadline for reports submitted pursuant to 
                section 2(b) of this memorandum, the Director of OMB 
                and the Archivist, in coordination with the Associate 
                Attorney General, shall issue a Records Management 
                Directive that directs agency heads to take specific 
                steps to reform and improve records management policies 
                and practices within their agency. The directive shall 
                focus on:

(i) creating a Government-wide records management framework that is more 
efficient and cost-effective;

(ii) promoting records management policies and practices that enhance the 
capability of agencies to fulfill their statutory missions;

(iii) maintaining accountability through documentation of agency actions;

(iv) increasing open Government and appropriate public access to Government 
records;

(v) supporting agency compliance with applicable legal requirements related 
to the preservation of information relevant to litigation; and

(vi) transitioning from paper-based records management to electronic 
records management where feasible.

                    (b) In the course of developing the directive, the 
                Archivist, in coordination with the Director of OMB and 
                the Associate Attorney General, shall review relevant 
                statutes, regulations, and official NARA guidance to 
                identify opportunities for reforms that would 
                facilitate improved Government-wide records management 
                practices, particularly with respect to electronic 
                records. The Archivist, in coordination with the 
                Director of OMB and the Associate Attorney General, 
                shall present to the President the results of this 
                review, no later than the date of the directive's 
                issuance, to facilitate potential updates to the laws, 
                regulations, and policies governing the management of 
                Federal records.
                    (c) In developing the directive, the Director of 
                OMB and the Archivist, in coordination with the 
                Associate Attorney General, shall consult with other 
                affected agencies, interagency groups, and public 
                stakeholders.

                Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This memorandum shall 
                be implemented consistent with applicable law and 
                subject to the availability of appropriations.

                    (b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed 
                to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head 
thereof; or

(ii) functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, 
administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by

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                any party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.

                Sec. 5. Publication. The Archivist is hereby authorized 
                and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal 
                Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, November 28, 2011

[FR Doc. 2011-31096
Filed 11-30-11; 11:15 am]
Billing code 7515-01-P