[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 236 (Monday, December 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67296-67297]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26410]


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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

[NARA-19-0017; NARA-2020-011]


Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed records schedules; request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 
publishes notice of certain Federal agency requests for records 
disposition authority (records schedules). We publish notice in the 
Federal Register and on regulations.gov for records schedules in which 
agencies propose to dispose of records they no longer need to conduct 
agency business. We invite public comments on such records schedules.

DATES: NARA must receive comments by January 23, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods. 
You must cite the control number, which appears on the records schedule 
in parentheses after the name of the agency that submitted the 
schedule.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Records Appraisal and Agency Assistance (ACR); 
National Archives and Records Administration; 8601 Adelphi Road; 
College Park, MD 20740-6001

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Records Management Operations by email 
at [email protected], by mail at the address above, or by phone 
at 301-837-1799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comment Procedures

    We are publishing notice of records schedules in which agencies 
propose to dispose of records they no longer need to conduct agency 
business. We invite public comments on these records schedules, as 
required by 44 U.S.C. 3303a(a), and list the schedules at the end of 
this notice by agency and subdivision requesting disposition authority.
    In addition, this notice lists the organizational unit(s) 
accumulating the records or states that the schedule has agency-wide 
applicability. It also provides the control number assigned to each 
schedule, which you will need if you submit comments on that schedule. 
We have uploaded the records schedules and accompanying appraisal 
memoranda to the regulations.gov docket for this notice as ``other'' 
documents. Each records schedule contains a full description of the 
records at the file unit level as well as their proposed disposition. 
The appraisal memorandum for the schedule includes information about 
the records.
    We will post comments, including any personal information and 
attachments, to the public docket unchanged. Because comments are 
public, you are responsible for ensuring that you do not include any 
confidential or other information that you or a third party may not 
wish to be publicly posted. If you want to submit a comment with 
confidential information or cannot otherwise use the regulations.gov 
portal, you may contact [email protected] for instructions on 
submitting your comment.
    We will consider all comments submitted by the posted deadline and 
consult as needed with the Federal agency seeking the disposition 
authority. After considering comments, we will post on regulations.gov 
a ``Consolidated Reply'' summarizing the comments, responding to them, 
and noting any changes we have made to the proposed records schedule. 
We will then send the schedule for final approval by the Archivist of 
the United States. You may elect at regulations.gov to receive updates 
on the docket, including an alert when we post the Consolidated Reply, 
whether or not you submit a comment. If you have a question, you can 
submit it as a comment, and can also submit any concerns or comments 
you would have to a possible response to the question. We will address 
these items in consolidated replies along with any other comments 
submitted on that schedule.
    We will post schedules on our website in the Records Control 
Schedule (RCS) Repository, at https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/rcs, after the Archivist approves them. The RCS contains all schedules 
approved since 1973.

Background

    Each year, Federal agencies create billions of records. To control 
this accumulation, agency records managers

[[Page 67297]]

prepare schedules proposing retention periods for records and submit 
these schedules for NARA's approval. Once approved by NARA, records 
schedules provide mandatory instructions on what happens to records 
when no longer needed for current Government business. The records 
schedules authorize agencies to preserve records of continuing value in 
the National Archives or to destroy, after a specified period, records 
lacking continuing administrative, legal, research, or other value. 
Some schedules are comprehensive and cover all the records of an agency 
or one of its major subdivisions. Most schedules, however, cover 
records of only one office or program or a few series of records. Many 
of these update previously approved schedules, and some include records 
proposed as permanent.
    Agencies may not destroy Federal records without the approval of 
the Archivist of the United States. The Archivist grants this approval 
only after thorough consideration of the records' administrative use by 
the agency of origin, the rights of the Government and of private 
people directly affected by the Government's activities, and whether or 
not the records have historical or other value. Public review and 
comment on these records schedules is part of the Archivist's 
consideration process.

Schedules Pending

    1. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Agency, Audits and 
Investigations (DAA-0572-2019-0001).
    2. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of 
Health, Management Support Records (DAA-0443-2019-0005).
    3. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Health, Commissioned Corps Officers Records (DAA-0514-
2018-0001).
    4. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security 
Administration, Program Management Files (DAA-0560-2019-0001).
    5. Department of Justice, Office of Policy and Legislation, Policy 
and Legislation Records (DAA-0060-2018-0005).

Laurence Brewer,
Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government.
[FR Doc. 2019-26410 Filed 12-6-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7515-01-P