S 886 · 110th Congress 2007โ€“2009, ended

Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007

Latest action · Jun 20, 2007 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 212.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedMar 14, 2007
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Presidential Records Act to require the Archivist of the United States, when making available any presidential record not previously made available publicly, to: (1) promptly provide written notice of such determination to the former President during whose term of office the record was created and the incumbent President; and (2) make the notice available to the public.

Requires such a record to be made available upon the expiration of the 20-day period (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) beginning on the date the Archivist provides notice, except any record with respect to which the Archivist receives notification of a claim of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure from a former or incumbent President.

Authorizes a former or an incumbent President to extend the period for not more than 20 additional days by filing with the Archivist a statement that such an extension is necessary to allow an adequate review of the record. Provides that if the period, or any extension of that period, would otherwise expire after January 19 and before July 20 of the year in which the incumbent President first takes office, then such period or extension shall expire on July 20 of that year.

Requires: (1) any claim of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure to be asserted personally by a former or incumbent President; and (2) a former or incumbent President to notify the Archivist and specified Congressional committees of a privilege claim on the same day that the claim is asserted. Prohibits the Archivist from making publicly available a presidential record that is subject to a privilege claim asserted by a former President until the expiration of the 20-day period beginning on the date the Archivist is notified of the claim. Requires the Archivist, upon the expiration of such period, to make the record publicly available unless otherwise directed by a court order in an action initiated by the former President.

Prohibits the Archivist from making publicly available a presidential record that is subject to a privilege claim asserted by the incumbent President unless: (1) the incumbent President withdraws the privilege claim; or (2) the Archivist is otherwise directed by a final court order that is not subject to appeal. Makes this provision inapplicable with respect to any presidential record required to be made available: (1) pursuant to a subpoena or other judicial process issued by a court for purposes of a civil or criminal investigation; or (2) to either House of Congress because such records contain information needed for the conduct of business that is otherwise not available.

Directs the Archivist to adjust any otherwise applicable time period as necessary to comply with the return date of any congressional subpoena, judicial subpoena, or judicial process.

Prohibits the Archivist from making available any original presidential records to anyone claiming access to them as a designated representative of a President or former President if that individual has been convicted of a crime relating to the review, removal, or destruction of the Archives' records.

(Sec. 3) Provides that Executive Order number 13233, dated November 1, 2001 (establishing a process for review of presidential records and assertion of privilege claims) shall have no force or effect.

Cosponsors 7

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 14, 2007 to Jul 29, 2008; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-VTPatrick J. LeahyOriginalMar 14, 2007
D-CADianne FeinsteinMar 21, 2007
R-NHJohn E. SununuMar 21, 2007
R-TXJohn CornynMay 1, 2007
D-ILBarack ObamaSep 4, 2007
I-CTJoseph I. LiebermanOct 17, 2007
D-RISheldon WhitehouseJul 29, 2008

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
SenateHomeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Referred Mar 14, 2007Markup Jun 13, 2007Reported Jun 20, 2007

Actions 6

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jun 20, 2007Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Lieberman without amendment. Without written report.
  2. Jun 20, 2007Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 212.
  3. Jun 13, 2007Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
  4. Mar 14, 2007Introduced in Senate
  5. Mar 14, 2007Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3140-3141)
  6. Mar 14, 2007Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3141)

In the Congressional Record 2

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
SenateDebate and remarks S201Patrick J. Leahy D-VTJan 23, 2008
SenateDebate and remarks S3140Text printed S3141Jeff Bingaman D-NM (text)Mar 14, 2007

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2

  1. Jun 18, 2007S. 886, Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on June 13, 2007</p>
  2. Jun 18, 2007S. 886, Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on June 13, 2007

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

ProductTitleKindPublished
R40238The Presidential Records Act: Background and Recent Issues for Congress ArchivedReportDec 31, 2014

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
HR 1255Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007Related billJun 20, 2007

Titles 3

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
A bill to amend chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, popularly known as the Presidential Records Act, to establish procedures for the consideration of claims of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure of Presidential records.
Short Titles as Introduced
Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007
Short Titles as Reported to Senate
Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.

Text 2

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Jun 20, 2007Reported to Senate
  2. Mar 14, 2007Introduced in Senate

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.