[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 104th Congress]
[104th Congress]
[House Document 103-342]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 762-765]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 762]]

 

                               Rule XXXVI.


    PRESERVATION AND AVAILABILITY OF NONCURRENT RECORDS OF THE HOUSE.



Sec. 932. Duties of clerk and committees as to 
custody of papers before committees.

  1. (a) At the  end of each Congress, the 
chairman of each committee of the House shall transfer to the Clerk any 
noncurrent records of such committee, including the subcommittees 
thereof.


  (b) At the end of each Congress, each officer of the House elected 
pursuant to rule II shall transfer to the Clerk any noncurrent records 
made or acquired in the course of the duties of such officer.

  2. The Clerk shall deliver the records transferred pursuant to clause 
1 of the rule, together with any other noncurrent records of the House, 
to the Archivist of the United States for preservation at the National 
Archives and Records Administration. Records so delivered are the 
permanent property of the House and remain subject to this rule and the 
orders of the House.

  3. (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of the clause, clause 4 of this rule, 
and orders of the House, the Clerk shall authorize the Archivist of the 
United States to make available for public use the records delivered to 
the Archivist under clause 2 of this rule.


[[Page 763]]
2 of this rule shall be made available immediately.
  (b)(1) Any record that the House or a committee of the House (or a 
subcommittee thereof) makes available for public use before such record 
is delivered to the Archivist under clause 

  (2) Any investigative record that contains personal data relating to a 
specific living individual (the disclosure of which would be an 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy), any administrative record 
with respect to personnel, and any record with respect to a hearing 
closed pursuant to clause 2(g)(2) of rule XI shall be available if such 
record has been in existence for 50 years.

  (3) Any record for which a time, schedule, or condition for 
availability is specified by order of the House shall be made available 
in accordance with that order. Except as otherwise provided by order of 
the House, any record of a committee for which a time, schedule, or 
condition for availability is specified by order of the committee 
(entered during the Congress in which the record is made or acquired by 
the committee) shall be made available in accordance with the order of 
the committee.

  (4) Any record (other than a record referred to in subparagraph (1), 
(2), or (3) of this paragraph) shall be made available if such record 
has been in existence for 30 years.


[[Page 764]]
mittee on House Oversight of any determination under the preceding 
sentence.
  4. (a) A record shall not be made available for public use under 
clause 3 of this rule if the Clerk determines that such availability 
would be detrimental to the public interest or inconsistent with the 
rights and privileges of the House. The Clerk shall notify in writing 
the chairman and the ranking minority party Member of the Com

  (b) A determination of the Clerk under paragraph (a) is subject to 
later order of the House and, in the case of a record of a committee, 
later order of the committee.

  5. (a) This rule does not supersede rule XLVIII or rule L and does not 
authorize the public disclosure of any record if such disclosure is 
prohibited by law or executive order of the President.

  (b) The Committee on House Oversight may prescribe guidelines and 
regulations governing the applicability and implementation of this rule.

  (c) A committee may withdraw from the National Archives and Records 
Administration any record of the committee delivered to the Archivist of 
the United States under this rule. Such withdrawal shall be on a 
temporary basis and for official use of the committee.

  6. As used in the rule the term ``record'' means any official, 
permanent record of the House, including--

          (a) with respect to a committee of the House, an official, 
permanent record of the committee (including any record of a 
legislative, oversight, or other activity of such committee or 
subcommittee thereof); and


[[Page 765]]
term does not include a record of an individual Member of the House.

          (b) with respect to an officer of the House elected pursuant 
to rule II, an official, permanent record made or acquired in the course 
of the duties of such officer. Such 

  The predecessor to this provision was adopted in 1880 (V, 7260). The 
rule was renumbered in the 83d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1953, p. 
24), and was rewritten entirely in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 
3, 1989, p. 73) to incorporate the provisions of H. Res. 419 as reported 
from the Committee on Rules in the 100th Congress (H. Rept. 100-1054). 
In the 104th Congress it was amended to reflect the new name of the 
Committee on House Oversight (sec. 202(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 
----).

  Clause 2 of the former provision stemmed from section 140(a) of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812) and was made a 
part of the standing rules January 3, 1953 (p. 24) and amended January 
22, 1971 (p. 144). The Clerk of the House has historically been 
authorized to permit the Administrator of General Services to make 
available for use certain records of the House transferred to the 
National Archives (H. Res. 288, June 16, 1953, p. 6641). In the 99th 
Congress the reference was changed from the General Services 
Administration to the National Archives and Records Administration (H. 
Res. 114, Oct. 14, 1986, p. 30821).




  Under rule XXXVI, an order of the House is required for the release of 
noncurrent records of the House (Mar. 22, 1991, p. ----).