44 U.S.C. § 2107 — Acceptance of records for historical pres-

Page 74 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2106 Archivist or the Administration, is authorized to utilize in the Administration the services of officials, officers, and other personnel in other Federal agencies, including personnel of the armed services, with the consent of the head of the agency concerned. (d) Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Archivist is authorized to accept and utilize voluntary and uncompen- sated services. (Added Pub. L. 98–497, title I, § 102(a)(2), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2281; amended Pub. L. 107–67, title VI, § 649, Nov. 12, 2001, 115 Stat. 556.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Paragraph (f)(2) of section 2203 of this title, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), was redesignated (g)(2) of section 2203 of this title by Pub. L. 113–187, § 2(c)(3), Nov. 26, 2014, 128 Stat. 2006. PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 2105 was renumbered section 2109 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–67 amended subsec. (a) generally, designating existing provisions as par. (1) and adding par. (2). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Apr. 1, 1985, see section 301 of Pub. L. 98–497, set out as an Effective Date of 1984 Amend- ment note under section 2102 of this title. § 2106. Reports to Congress The Archivist shall submit to the Congress, in January of each year and at such other times as the Archivist finds appropriate, a report con- cerning the administration of functions of the Archivist, the Administration, the National His- torical Publications and Records Commission, and the National Archives Trust Fund. Such re- port shall describe— (1) program administration and expenditures of funds, both appropriated and non- appropriated, by the Administration, the Com- mission, and the Trust Fund Board; (2) research projects and publications under- taken by Commission grantees, and by Trust Fund grantees, including detailed information concerning the receipt and use of all appro- priated and nonappropriated funds; (3) by account, the moneys, securities, and other personal property received and held by the National Archives Trust Fund Board, and of its operations, including a listing of the purposes for which funds are transferred to the National Archives and Records Administra- tion for expenditure to other Federal agencies; and (4) the matters specified in section 2904(c)(8) of this title. (Added Pub. L. 98–497, title I, § 102(a)(2), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2282.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 2106 was renumbered section 2110 of this title. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Apr. 1, 1985, see section 301 of Pub. L. 98–497, set out as an Effective Date of 1984 Amend- ment note under section 2102 of this title. TERMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in this section relating to the requirement that the Ar- chivist submit a report to Congress in January of each year, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and the last item on page 179 of House Docu- ment No. 103–7. § 2107. Acceptance of records for historical pres- ervation (a) IN GENERAL.—When it appears to the Ar- chivist to be in the public interest, the Archivist may— (1) accept for deposit with the National Ar- chives of the United States the records of a Federal agency, the Congress, the Architect of the Capitol, or the Supreme Court determined by the Archivist to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation by the United States Govern- ment; (2) direct and effect the transfer of records of a Federal agency determined by the Archivist to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation by the United States Government to the National Ar- chives of the United States, as soon as prac- ticable, and at a time mutually agreed upon by the Archivist and the head of that Federal agency not later than thirty years after such records were created or received by that agen- cy, unless the head of such agency has cer- tified in writing to the Archivist that such records must be retained in the custody of such agency for use in the conduct of the reg- ular business of the agency; (3) direct and effect, with the approval of the head of the originating Federal agency, or if the existence of the agency has been termi- nated, with the approval of the head of that agency’s successor in function, if any, the transfer of records, deposited or approved for deposit with the National Archives of the United States to public or educational institu- tions or associations; title to the records to re- main vested in the United States unless other- wise authorized by Congress; and (4) transfer materials from private sources authorized to be received by the Archivist by section 2111 of this title. (b) EARLY TRANSFER OF RECORDS.—The Archi- vist— (1) in consultation with the head of the orig- inating Federal agency, is authorized to ac- cept a copy of the records described in sub- section (a)(2) that have been in existence for less than thirty years; and (2) may not disclose any such records until the expiration of— (A) the thirty-year period described in paragraph (1); (B) any longer period established by the Archivist by order; or Page 75 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 (C) any shorter period agreed to by the originating Federal agency. (Pub. L. 90–620, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1287, § 2103; Pub. L. 94–575, § 4(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2727; Pub. L. 95–416, § 1(a), Oct. 5, 1978, 92 Stat. 915; re- numbered § 2107 and amended Pub. L. 98–497, title I, §§ 102(a)(1), 107(a)(1), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2280, 2285; Pub. L. 113–187, § 3(a), Nov. 26, 2014, 128 Stat. 2007.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on 44 U.S. Code, 1964 ed., § 397(a) (June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title V, § 507, as added Sept. 5, 1950, ch. 849, § 6(d), 64 Stat. 583; and amended July 12, 1952, ch. 703, § 1(o), (p), 66 Stat. 594; July 12, 1955, ch. 329, 69 Stat. 297; Aug. 12, 1955, ch. 859, 69 Stat. 695; July 3, 1956, ch. 513, § 4, 70 Stat. 494; June 13, 1957, Pub. L. 85–51, 71 Stat. 69). Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 2107 was renumbered section 2111 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2014—Pub. L. 113–187 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section provided for the acceptance of records by and transfer of records to the National Ar- chives for historical preservation. 1984—Pub. L. 98–497, § 107(a)(1), substituted ‘‘Archi- vist’’ for ‘‘Administrator of General Services’’ in provi- sions preceding par. (1), substituted ‘‘, the Congress, the Architect of the Capitol, or the Supreme Court’’ for ‘‘or of the Congress’’ in par. (1), substituted ‘‘Archivist’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’ in par. (2), and substituted ‘‘Archi- vist’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’ and ‘‘section 2111’’ for ‘‘sec- tion 2107’’ in par. (4). Pub. L. 98–497, § 102(a)(1), renumbered section 2103 of this title as this section. 1978—Par. (2). Pub. L. 95–416 substituted ‘‘thirty years’’ for ‘‘fifty years’’. 1976—Par. (4). Pub. L. 94–575 substituted reference to section ‘‘2107’’ for ‘‘3106’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–497 effective Apr. 1, 1985, see section 301 of Pub. L. 98–497, set out as a note under section 2102 of this title. SHORT TITLE OF 1994 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 103–345, § 1, Oct. 6, 1994, 108 Stat. 3128, provided that: ‘‘This Act [amending provisions set out as a note below] may be cited as the ‘President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Extension Act of 1994’.’’ UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVIII, subtitle C, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 699, provided that: ‘‘SEC. 1841. UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA RECORDS COLLECTION AT THE NA- TIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINIS- TRATION. ‘‘(a) RECORDS COLLECTION.— ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF COLLECTION.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], the Archivist shall commence establishment of a col- lection of unidentified anomalous phenomena, as such term is defined in section 1673(n)(8) [probably should be 1683(n)(8)] of the National Defense Au- thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81; 50 U.S.C. 3373), records in the National Ar- chives, to be known as the ‘Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Collection’. ‘‘(B) PHYSICAL INTEGRITY.—In carrying out sub- paragraph (A), the Archivist shall ensure the phys- ical integrity and original provenance (or if inde- terminate, the earliest historical owner) of all records in the Collection. ‘‘(C) RECORD COPIES.—The Collection shall consist of record copies of all Government, Government- provided, or Government-funded records relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, and non-human intelligence (or equivalent subjects by any other name with the specific and sole exclusion of temporarily non-at- tributed objects), which shall be transmitted to the National Archives in accordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code. ‘‘(D) SUBJECT GUIDEBOOK.—The Archivist shall prepare and publish a subject guidebook and index to the Collection. ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The Collection shall include the following: ‘‘(A) Copies of all unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records, regardless of age or date of cre- ation— ‘‘(i) that have been transmitted to the National Archives or disclosed to the public in an unredacted form prior to the date of the enact- ment of this Act; ‘‘(ii) that are otherwise required to have been transmitted to the National Archives after the date of the enactment of this Act; or ‘‘(iii) the disclosure of which is postponed under this subtitle. ‘‘(B) A central directory comprised of identifica- tion aids created for each record transmitted to the Archivist under section 1842(e). ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS.—Copies of all unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena records transmitted to the National Archives for disclosure to the public shall— ‘‘(1) be included in the Collection; and ‘‘(2) be available to the public— ‘‘(A) for inspection and copying at the National Archives within 30 days after their transmission to the National Archives; and ‘‘(B) digitally via the National Archives online database within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed 180 days thereafter. ‘‘(c) FEES FOR COPYING.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Archivist shall— ‘‘(A) charge fees for copying unidentified anoma- lous phenomena records; and ‘‘(B) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF FEES.—The amount of a fee charged by the Archivist pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) for the copying of an unidentified anomalous phenomena record shall be such amount as the Archivist deter- mines appropriate to cover the costs incurred by the National Archives in making and providing such copy, except that in no case may the amount of the fee charged exceed the actual expenses incurred by the National Archives in making and providing such copy. ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— ‘‘(1) USE OF FUNDS.—The Collection shall be pre- served, protected, archived, digitized, and made avail- able to the public at the National Archives and via the official National Archives online database using appropriations authorized, specified, and restricted for use under the terms of this subtitle. ‘‘(2) SECURITY OF RECORDS.—The National Security Program Office at the National Archives, in consulta- tion with the National Archives Information Security Oversight Office, shall establish a program to ensure the security of the postponed unidentified anomalous phenomena records in the protected, and yet-to-be disclosed or classified portion of the Collection. ‘‘(e) OVERSIGHT.— ‘‘(1) SENATE.—The Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Page 76 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 Armed Services, and the Select Committee on Intel- ligence of the Senate shall have continuing legisla- tive oversight jurisdiction in the Senate with respect to the Collection. ‘‘(2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The Committee on Oversight and Accountability, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Permanent Select Com- mittee on Intelligence of the House of Representa- tives shall have continuing legislative oversight ju- risdiction in the House of Representatives with re- spect to the Collection. ‘‘SEC. 1842. REVIEW, IDENTIFICATION, TRANS- MISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF UNIDENTIFIED ANOM- ALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS BY GOVERN- MENT OFFICES. ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION, ORGANIZATION, AND PREPARATION FOR TRANSMISSION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], each head of a Government office shall— ‘‘(A) identify and organize records in the posses- sion of the Government office or under the control of the Government office relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena; and ‘‘(B) prepare such records for transmission to the Archivist for inclusion in the Collection. ‘‘(2) PROHIBITIONS.— ‘‘(A) DESTRUCTION; ALTERATION; MUTILATION.—No unidentified anomalous phenomena record shall be destroyed, altered, or mutilated in any way. ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING; REDACTION; POSTPONEMENT OF DISCLOSURE; RECLASSIFICATION.—No unidentified anomalous phenomena record made available or disclosed to the public prior to the date of the en- actment of this Act may be withheld, redacted, postponed for public disclosure, or reclassified. ‘‘(C) RECORDS CREATED BY NON-FEDERAL PERSONS OR ENTITIES.—No unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record created by a person or entity out- side the Federal Government (excluding names or identities consistent with the requirements of sec- tion 1843) shall be withheld, redacted, postponed for public disclosure, or reclassified. ‘‘(b) CUSTODY OF UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA RECORDS PENDING REVIEW.—During the review by the heads of Government offices under subsection (c), each head of a Government office shall retain cus- tody of the unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office for purposes of preservation, security, and efficiency, unless it is a third agency record described in subsection (c)(2)(C). ‘‘(c) REVIEW BY HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OFFICES.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], each head of a Government office shall review, identify, and organize each unidentified anomalous phenomena record in the custody or possession of the office for— ‘‘(A) disclosure to the public; and ‘‘(B) transmission to the Archivist. ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the head of a Government office shall— ‘‘(A) determine which of the records of the office are unidentified anomalous phenomena records; ‘‘(B) determine which of the unidentified anoma- lous phenomena records of the office have been offi- cially disclosed or made publicly available in a complete and unredacted form; ‘‘(C)(i) determine which of the unidentified anom- alous phenomena records of the office, or particular information contained in such a record, was created by a third agency or by another Government office; and ‘‘(ii) transmit to a third agency or other Govern- ment office those records, or particular information contained in those records, or complete and accu- rate copies thereof; ‘‘(D)(i) determine whether the unidentified anom- alous phenomena records of the office or particular information in unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office are covered by the standards for postponement of public disclosure under this subtitle; and ‘‘(ii) specify on the identification aid required by subsection (d) the applicable postponement provi- sion contained in section 1841; ‘‘(E) organize and make available, upon request, to heads of Government offices other than the Gov- ernment office with custody, including the All-do- main Anomaly Resolution Office, all relevant un- identified anomalous records identified under sub- paragraph (D); ‘‘(F) organize and make available to the heads of Government offices other than the Government of- fice with custody, including the All-domain Anoma- lous Resolution Office, for assistance with any record concerning which the office has any uncer- tainty as to whether the record is an unidentified anomalous phenomena record governed by this sub- title; and ‘‘(G) give precedence of work to— ‘‘(i) the identification, review, and transmission of unidentified anomalous phenomena records not already publicly available or disclosed as of the date of the enactment of this Act; ‘‘(ii) the identification, review, and trans- mission of all records that most unambiguously and definitively pertain to unidentified anoma- lous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, and non-human intelligence; ‘‘(iii) the identification, review, and trans- mission of unidentified anomalous phenomena records that on the date of the enactment of this Act are the subject of litigation under section 552 of title 5, United States Code; and ‘‘(iv) the identification, review, and trans- mission of unidentified anomalous phenomena records with earliest provenance when not incon- sistent with clauses (i) through (iii) and otherwise feasible. ‘‘(3) PRIORITY OF EXPEDITED REVIEW FOR DIRECTORS OF CERTAIN ARCHIVAL DEPOSITORIES.—The Director of each archival depository established under section 2112 of title 44, United States Code, shall have as a priority the expedited review for public disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena records in the possession and custody of the depository, and shall make copies of such records available to the All-do- main Anomaly Resolution Office. ‘‘(d) IDENTIFICATION AIDS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— ‘‘(A) PREPARATION AND AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], the Archivist, in consultation with the heads of such Government offices as the Archivist considers appropriate, shall prepare and make available to all Government offices a stand- ard form of identification, or finding aid, for use with each unidentified anomalous phenomena record subject to review under this subtitle whether in hardcopy (physical), softcopy (electronic), or digitized data format as may be appropriate. ‘‘(B) UNIFORM SYSTEM.—The Archivist shall en- sure that the identification aid program is estab- lished in such a manner as to result in the creation of a uniform system for cataloging and finding every unidentified anomalous phenomena record subject to review under this subtitle where ever and how ever stored in hardcopy (physical), softcopy (electronic), or digitized data format. ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICES.— Upon completion of an identification aid using the standard form of identification prepared and made available under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for the program established pursuant to subparagraph (B) of such paragraph, the head of a Government of- fice shall— ‘‘(A) attach a printed copy to each physical un- identified anomalous phenomena record, and an Page 77 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 electronic copy to each softcopy or digitized data unidentified anomalous phenomena record, the identification aid describes; and ‘‘(B) attach a printed copy to each physical un- identified anomalous phenomena record, and an electronic copy to each softcopy or digitized data unidentified anomalous phenomena record the iden- tification aid describes, when transmitted to the Archivist. ‘‘(3) RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES THAT ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records which are in the possession of the National Archives on the date of the enactment of this Act, and which have been publicly available in their entirety without redaction, shall be made avail- able in the Collection without any additional review by another authorized office under this subtitle, and shall not be required to have such an identification aid unless required by the Archivist. ‘‘(e) TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.—Each head of a Government office shall— ‘‘(1) transmit to the Archivist, and, as soon as pos- sible, make available to the public, all unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the Government of- fice that can be publicly disclosed, including those that are publicly available on the date of the enact- ment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], without any redac- tion, adjustment, or withholding under the standards of this subtitle; and ‘‘(2) transmit to the Archivist upon approval for postponement by the original classification authority upon completion of other action authorized by this subtitle, all unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the Government office the public disclo- sure of which has been postponed, in whole or in part, under the standards of this subtitle, to become part of the protected, yet-to-be disclosed, or classified por- tion of the Collection. ‘‘(f) CUSTODY OF POSTPONED UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS.—An unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record the public disclosure of which has been postponed shall, pending transmission to the Archivist, be held for reasons of security and preservation by the originating body until such time as the information se- curity program has been established at the National Archives as required in section 1841(d)(2). ‘‘(g) PERIODIC REVIEW OF POSTPONED UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All postponed or redacted records shall be reviewed periodically by the originating agency and the Archivist. ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— ‘‘(A) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—A periodic review under paragraph (1) shall address the public disclosure of additional unidentified anomalous phenomena records in the Collection under the standards of this subtitle. ‘‘(B) UNCLASSIFIED WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF REA- SON.—All postponed unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records determined to require continued postponement shall require an unclassified written description of the reason for such continued post- ponement relevant to these specific records. Such description shall be provided to the Archivist and published in the Federal Register upon determina- tion. ‘‘(C) PERIODIC REVIEW; DOWNGRADING AND DESCLASSIFICATION [sic] OF INFORMATION.—The Ar- chivist shall establish requirements for periodic re- view of postponed unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records that shall serve to downgrade and declassify information. ‘‘(D) DEADLINE FOR FULL DISCLOSURE.—Each un- identified anomalous phenomena record shall be publicly disclosed in full, and available in the Col- lection, not later than the date that is 25 years after the date of the first creation of the record by the originating body, unless the President certifies that— ‘‘(i) continued postponement is made necessary by an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or con- duct of foreign relations; and ‘‘(ii) the identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclo- sure. ‘‘(h) REQUIREMENTS FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The heads of Executive agencies shall— ‘‘(A) transmit digital records electronically in ac- cordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code; ‘‘(B) charge fees for copying unidentified anoma- lous phenomena records; and ‘‘(C) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF FEES.—The amount of a fee charged by the head of an Executive agency pursuant to para- graph (1)(B) for the copying of an unidentified anoma- lous phenomena record shall be such amount as the head determines appropriate to cover the costs in- curred by the Executive agency in making and pro- viding such copy, except that in no case may the amount of the fee charged exceed the actual expenses incurred by the Executive agency in making and pro- viding such copy. ‘‘SEC. 1843. GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF UNIDENTIFIED ANOM- ALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS. ‘‘(a) POSTPONEMENT DETERMINATION.—In addition to the relevant authorities in Executive Order 13526 [50 U.S.C. 3161 note], disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena records or particular information in un- identified anomalous phenomena records to the public may be postponed subject to the limitations of this subtitle if the original classification authority makes a determination that there is clear and convincing evi- dence that— ‘‘(1) the threat to the military defense, intelligence operations, or conduct of foreign relations of the United States posed by the public disclosure of the unidentified anomalous phenomena record is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in dis- closure, and such public disclosure would reveal— ‘‘(A) an intelligence agent whose identity cur- rently requires protection; ‘‘(B) an intelligence source or method which is currently utilized, or reasonably expected to be uti- lized, by the Federal Government and which has not been officially disclosed, the disclosure of which would interfere with the conduct of intel- ligence activities; or ‘‘(C) any other matter currently relating to the military defense, intelligence operations, or con- duct of foreign relations of the United States, the disclosure of which would demonstrably and sub- stantially impair the national security of the United States; ‘‘(2) the public disclosure of the unidentified anom- alous phenomena record would violate section 552a of title 5, United States Code (referred to as the ‘Pri- vacy Act of 1974’); ‘‘(3) the public disclosure of the unidentified anom- alous phenomena record could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and that invasion of privacy is so substantial that it outweighs the public interest; or ‘‘(4) the public disclosure of the unidentified anom- alous phenomena record would compromise the exist- ence of an understanding of confidentiality currently requiring protection between a Federal Government agent and a cooperating individual or a foreign gov- ernment, and public disclosure would be so harmful that it outweighs the public interest. ‘‘(b) WITHDRAWAL OF RECORDS.—Senior Agency Offi- cials designated in accordance with Executive Order 13526 [50 U.S.C. 3161 note] or any successor Orders may withdraw records in the Collection that are determined to be both not related to unidentified anomalous phe- Page 78 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 nomena and properly classified. The Senior Agency Of- ficial must notify the congressional leadership and the oversight committees of Congress, as identified in sec- tion 1841(e), by not later than 60 days before each record is withdrawn. ‘‘(c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION OF POSTPONEMENT OF DISCLOSURE.—In the event that the disclosure of un- identified anomalous phenomena records or particular information in unidentified anomalous phenomena records to the public is postponed by an Executive agency, the head of the Executive agency shall notify congressional leadership and the oversight committees of Congress, as identified in section 1841(e), within 15 days of such decision with a reason for the postpone- ment of disclosure.’’ CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE RECORDS COLLECTION Pub. L. 115–426, Jan. 8, 2019, 132 Stat. 5489; as amended by Pub. L. 117–222, § 2, Dec. 5, 2022, 136 Stat. 2279, pro- vided that: ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018’. ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. ‘‘In this Act: ‘‘(1) ARCHIVIST.—The term ‘Archivist’ means the Archivist of the United States. ‘‘(2) CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE.—The term ‘civil rights cold case’ means any unsolved case— ‘‘(A) arising out of events which occurred during the period beginning on January 1, 1940 and ending on December 31, 1979; and ‘‘(B) related to— ‘‘(i) section 241 of title 18, United States Code (relating to conspiracy against rights); ‘‘(ii) section 242 of title 18, United States Code (relating to deprivation of rights under color of law); ‘‘(iii) section 245 of title 18, United States Code (relating to federally protected activities); ‘‘(iv) sections 1581 and 1584 of title 18, United States Code (relating to peonage and involuntary servitude); ‘‘(v) section 901 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3631); or ‘‘(vi) any other Federal law that was— ‘‘(I) in effect on or before December 31, 1979; and ‘‘(II) enforced by the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Jus- tice before the date of enactment of this Act [Jan. 8. 2019]. ‘‘(3) CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE RECORD.—The term ‘civil rights cold case record’ means a record that— ‘‘(A) is related to a civil rights cold case; and ‘‘(B) was created or made available for use by, ob- tained by, or otherwise came into the possession of— ‘‘(i) the Library of Congress; ‘‘(ii) the National Archives; ‘‘(iii) any executive agency; ‘‘(iv) any independent agency; ‘‘(v) any other entity of the Federal Govern- ment; or ‘‘(vi) any State or local government, or compo- nent thereof, that provided support or assistance or performed work in connection with a Federal inquiry into a civil rights cold case. ‘‘(4) COLLECTION.—The term ‘Collection’ means the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection established under section 3. ‘‘(5) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘executive agen- cy’ means an agency, as defined in section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(6) GOVERNMENT OFFICE.—The term ‘Government office’ means any office of the Federal Government that has possession or control of 1 or more civil rights cold case records. ‘‘(7) GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.—The term ‘Government official’ means any officer or employee of the United States, including elected and appointed officials. ‘‘(8) NATIONAL ARCHIVES.—The term ‘National Ar- chives’ means the National Archives and Records Ad- ministration and all components thereof, including Presidential archival depositories established under section 2112 of title 44, United States Code. ‘‘(9) OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘official in- vestigation’ means the review of a civil rights cold case conducted by any entity of the Federal Govern- ment either independently, at the request of any Presidential commission or congressional committee, or at the request of any Government official. ‘‘(10) ORIGINATING BODY.—The term ‘originating body’ means the executive agency, Government com- mission, congressional committee, or other Govern- mental entity that created a record or particular in- formation within a record. ‘‘(11) PUBLIC INTEREST.—The term ‘public interest’ means the compelling interest in the prompt public disclosure of civil rights cold case records for histor- ical and Governmental purposes and for the purpose of fully informing the people of the United States about the history surrounding all civil rights cold cases in the United States. ‘‘(12) RECORD.—The term ‘record’ has the meaning given the term in section 3301 of title 44, United States Code. ‘‘(13) REVIEW BOARD.—The term ‘Review Board’ means the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board established under section 5. ‘‘SEC. 3. CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE RECORDS COL- LECTION AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORD ADMINISTRATION. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE RECORDS COLLECTION.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Jan. 8, 2019], the Archivist shall— ‘‘(A) commence establishing a collection of civil rights cold case records to be known as the ‘Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection’ that ensures the physical integrity and original provenance of all records in the Collection; ‘‘(B) commence preparing and publishing the sub- ject guidebook and index to the Collection; and ‘‘(C) establish criteria for Government offices to follow when transmitting copies of civil rights cold case records to the Archivist, to include required metadata. ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF COLLECTION.—The Collection shall include— ‘‘(A) a copy of each civil rights cold case record— ‘‘(i) that has not been transmitted to the Archi- vist, which shall be transmitted to the Archivist in accordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code, by the entity described in section 2(3)(B) in possession of the civil rights cold case record, except in the case of a State or local gov- ernment; ‘‘(ii) that has been transmitted to the Archivist or disclosed to the public in an unredacted form before the date of the enactment of this Act; ‘‘(iii) that is required to be transmitted to the Archivist; or ‘‘(iv) the disclosure of which is postponed under this Act; and ‘‘(B) all Review Board records, as required under this Act. ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS.—All civil rights cold case records transmitted to the Archivist for disclosure to the public— ‘‘(1) shall be included in the Collection; ‘‘(2) not later than 60 days after the transmission of the record to the Archivist, shall be available to the public for inspection and copying at the National Ar- chives; and ‘‘(3) shall be prioritized for digitization by the Na- tional Archives. Page 79 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ‘‘(c) FEES FOR COPYING.—The Archivist shall— ‘‘(1) use efficient electronic means when possible; ‘‘(2) charge fees for copying civil rights cold case records; and ‘‘(3) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standard established under section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Archivist shall ensure the security of civil rights cold case records in the Collection for which disclosure is postponed. ‘‘(e) TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), each Government office shall, in accordance with the cri- teria established by the Archivist under subsection (a)(1)(C)— ‘‘(A) as soon as is reasonably practicable, and in any event not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, transmit to the Archi- vist, for the Archivist to make available to the pub- lic in accordance with subsection (b), a copy of each civil rights cold case record that can be publicly disclosed, including any such record that is publicly available on the date of enactment of this Act, without any redaction, adjustment, or withholding under the standards of this Act; and ‘‘(B) transmit to the Archivist upon approval for postponement by the Review Board or upon comple- tion of other action authorized by this Act, a copy of each civil rights cold case record for which pub- lic disclosure has been postponed, in whole or in part, under the standards of this Act, to become part of the protected Collection. ‘‘(2) REOPENING OF CASES.—If, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General submits to the Archivist a certification that the Attorney General intends to reopen and pursue prosecution of the civil rights cold case to which a civil rights cold case record relates, the Attorney General shall transmit to the Archivist the civil rights cold case record in accordance with paragraph (1)— ‘‘(A) not later than 90 days after— ‘‘(i) final judgment is entered in the proceedings relating to the civil rights cold case; or ‘‘(ii) proceedings relating to the civil rights cold case are dismissed with prejudice; or ‘‘(B) not later than the date that is 1 year after the date on which the Attorney General submits to the Archivist the certification, if an indictment or information has not been filed with respect to the civil rights cold case. ‘‘(f) PERIODIC REVIEW OF POSTPONED CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE RECORDS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each civil rights cold case record that is redacted or for which public disclosure is post- poned shall be reviewed not later than December 31 each year by the entity submitting the record and the Archivist, consistent with the recommendations of the Review Board under section 7(c)(3)(B). ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS OF PERIODIC REVIEW.—The peri- odic review under paragraph (1) shall address the pub- lic disclosure of additional civil rights cold case records in the Collection under the standards of this Act. ‘‘(3) UNCLASSIFIED WRITTEN DESCRIPTION.—Any civil rights cold case record for which postponement of public disclosure is continued shall include an unclas- sified written description of the reason for such con- tinued postponement, which shall be provided to the Archivist and made available on a publicly accessible website upon the determination to continue the post- ponement. ‘‘(4) FULL DISCLOSURE OF CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE RECORD REQUIRED.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each civil rights cold case record that is not publicly disclosed in full as of the date on which the Review Board terminates under section 5(n) shall be publicly disclosed in full and available in the Collection not later than 25 years after the date of enactment of this Act unless— ‘‘(i) the head of the originating body, an execu- tive agency, or other Government office rec- ommends in writing the exemption of the record or information, the release of which would clearly and demonstrably be expected to— ‘‘(I) cause identifiable or describable damage to national security, military defense, law en- forcement, intelligence operations, or the con- duct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclo- sure; or ‘‘(II) reveal information described in para- graphs (1) through (9) of section 3.3(b) of Execu- tive Order 13526 (75 Fed. Reg. 707; relating to classified national security information) [50 U.S.C. 3161 note]; ‘‘(ii) the written recommendation described in clause (i)— ‘‘(I) is provided to the Archivist not later than 180 days before the date that is 25 years after the date of enactment of this Act; and ‘‘(II) includes— ‘‘(aa) a justification of the recommendation to postpone disclosure; and ‘‘(bb) a recommended specified time at which or a specified occurrence following which the material may be appropriately dis- closed to the public under this Act; and ‘‘(iii) the Archivist agrees with the written rec- ommendation described in clause (i). ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—If the Archivist does not agree with the recommendation described in sub- paragraph (A)(i), the Archivist shall notify the head of the originating body, executive agency, or other Government office making the recommendation not later than 90 days before the date that is 25 years after the date of enactment of this Act. ‘‘(g) DIGITIZATION OF RECORDS.—Each executive agen- cy shall make text searchable documents available to the Review Board pursuant to standards established under section 552(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(h) NOTICE REGARDING PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.— ‘‘(1) FINDING.—Congress finds that the public re- lease of case-related documents and information without notice may significantly affect the victims of the events to which the case relates and their next of kin. ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—Not later than 7 days before a civil rights cold case record is publicly disclosed, the exec- utive agency releasing the civil rights cold case record, in coordination with the Government office that had possession or control of the civil rights cold case record, shall take all reasonable efforts to pro- vide the civil rights cold case record to the victims of the events to which the civil rights cold case record relates, or their next of kin. ‘‘SEC. 4. GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF PUB- LIC DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS. ‘‘Disclosure of civil rights cold case records or par- ticular information within a civil rights cold case record to the public may be postponed subject to the limitations of this Act if disclosure would clearly and demonstrably be expected to— ‘‘(1)(A) cause identifiable or describable damage to national security, military defense, law enforcement, intelligence operations, or the conduct of foreign re- lations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure; or ‘‘(B) reveal information described in paragraphs (1) through (9) of section 3.3(b) of Executive Order 13526 (75 Fed. Reg. 707; relating to classified national secu- rity information); ‘‘(2)(A) reveal the name or identity of a living indi- vidual who provided confidential information to the United States; and ‘‘(B) pose a substantial risk of harm to that indi- vidual; ‘‘(3) constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; Page 80 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ‘‘(4)(A) compromise the existence of an under- standing of confidentiality currently requiring pro- tection between a Government agent and a cooper- ating individual or group; and ‘‘(B) be so harmful that the understanding of con- fidentiality outweighs the public interest; ‘‘(5) endanger the life or physical safety of any indi- vidual; or ‘‘(6) interfere with ongoing law enforcement pro- ceedings. ‘‘SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT AND POWERS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE RECORDS REVIEW BOARD. ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an independent agency, a board to be known as the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board. ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 5 indi- viduals to serve as members of the Review Board, to ensure and facilitate the review, transmission to the Archivist, and public disclosure of civil rights cold case records. ‘‘(2) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Initial appointments to the Re- view Board shall, so far as practicable, be made not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Jan. 8, 2019]. ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In making appoint- ments to the Review Board, the President may con- sider any individuals recommended by the Amer- ican Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Society of American Ar- chivists, and the American Bar Association. ‘‘(C) EXTENSION.—If an organization described in subparagraph (B) does not recommend at least 2 nominees meeting the qualifications stated in para- graph (3) within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the deadline under subparagraph (A) shall be extended until the earlier of 60 days after the date on which such recommendations are made or 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act. ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Presi- dent may request that any organization described in subparagraph (B) submit additional rec- ommended nominees. ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—Individuals nominated to the Review Board shall— ‘‘(A) not have had any previous involvement with any official investigation or inquiry conducted by the Federal Government, or any State or local gov- ernment, relating to any civil rights cold case; ‘‘(B) be distinguished individuals of high national professional reputation in their respective fields who are capable of exercising the independent and objective judgment necessary to fulfill their role in ensuring and facilitating the review, transmission to the public, and public disclosure of files related to civil rights cold cases and who possess an appre- ciation of the value of such material to the public, scholars, and government; and ‘‘(C) include at least 1 professional historian and 1 attorney. ‘‘(c) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—All Review Board nomi- nees shall be processed for the necessary security clear- ances in an accelerated manner by the appropriate Fed- eral agencies and subject to the standard procedures for granting such clearances. ‘‘(d) VACANCY.—A vacancy on the Review Board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint- ment within 60 days of the occurrence of the vacancy. ‘‘(e) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Review Board shall elect 1 of the members as chairperson. ‘‘(f) REMOVAL OF REVIEW BOARD MEMBER.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No member of the Review Board shall be removed from office, other than— ‘‘(A) by impeachment and conviction; or ‘‘(B) by the action of the President for ineffi- ciency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, phys- ical disability, mental incapacity, or any other con- dition that substantially impairs the performance of the member’s duties. ‘‘(2) REPORT.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a member of the Review Board is removed from office, and that removal is by the President, not later than 10 days after the removal, the President shall submit to the Com- mittee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report specifying the facts found and the grounds for the removal. ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—The President shall publish in the Federal Register a report submitted under sub- paragraph (A), except that the President may, if necessary to protect the rights of a person named in the report or to prevent undue interference with any pending prosecution, postpone or refrain from publishing any or all of the report until the comple- tion of such pending cases or pursuant to privacy protection requirements in law. ‘‘(3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Review Board removed from office may obtain judicial review of the removal in a civil action commenced in the United States District Court for the District of Co- lumbia. ‘‘(B) RELIEF.—The member may be reinstated or granted other appropriate relief by order of the court. ‘‘(g) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Review Board shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in- cluding travel time) during which the member is en- gaged in the performance of the duties of the Review Board. ‘‘(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Review Board shall be allowed reasonable travel expenses, in- cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the member’s home or regular place of business in the performance of services for the Review Board. ‘‘(h) DUTIES OF THE REVIEW BOARD.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall consider and render decisions on a determination by a Govern- ment office to seek to postpone the disclosure of civil rights cold case records. ‘‘(2) DECISIONS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Review Board shall consider and render decisions on— ‘‘(A) whether a record constitutes a civil rights cold case record; and ‘‘(B) whether a civil rights cold case record or particular information in a record qualifies for postponement of disclosure under this Act. ‘‘(i) POWERS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall have the authority to act in a manner prescribed under this Act including the authority to— ‘‘(A) obtain access to civil rights cold case records that have been identified and organized by a Gov- ernment office; ‘‘(B) direct a Government office to make avail- able to the Review Board, and if necessary inves- tigate the facts surrounding, additional informa- tion, records, or testimony from individuals, which the Review Board has reason to believe is required to fulfill its functions and responsibilities under this Act; ‘‘(C) subpoena private persons to compel the pro- duction of documents and other records relevant to its responsibilities under this Act; ‘‘(D) require any Government office to account in writing for the destruction of any records relating to civil rights cold cases; Page 81 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ‘‘(E) receive information from the public regard- ing the identification and public disclosure of civil rights cold case records; and ‘‘(F) hold hearings, administer oaths, and sub- poena documents and other records. ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENAS.—Any subpoena issued under this subsection may be enforced by any appropriate Federal court acting pursuant to a lawful request of the Review Board. ‘‘(j) WITNESS IMMUNITY.—The Review Board shall be considered to be an agency of the United States for pur- poses of chapter 601 of title 18, United States Code. ‘‘(k) OVERSIGHT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- ernmental Affairs of the Senate shall have continuing oversight jurisdiction with respect to the official con- duct of the Review Board and the disposition of post- poned records after termination of the Review Board, and shall have access to any records held or created by the Review Board. ‘‘(2) COOPERATION OF REVIEW BOARD.—The Review Board shall have a duty to cooperate with the exer- cise of the oversight jurisdiction described in para- graph (1). ‘‘(l) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Administrator of Gen- eral Services shall provide administrative services for the Review Board on a reimbursable basis. ‘‘(m) INTERPRETIVE REGULATIONS.—The Review Board may issue interpretive regulations. ‘‘(n) TERMINATION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall termi- nate not later than 7 years after the date of enact- ment of this Act, except that the Review Board may, by majority vote, extend its term for an additional 1- year period if the Review Board has not completed its work within that 7-year period. ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Before its termination, the Review Board shall submit reports to the President and the Congress, including a complete and accurate account- ing of expenditures during its existence, and shall complete all other reporting requirements under this Act. ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF RECORDS.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon termination, the Review Board shall transfer all of its records to the Archi- vist for inclusion in the Collection. ‘‘(B) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The records of the Review Board shall not be destroyed, except that the Archivist may destroy routine administra- tive records covered by a general records schedule following notification in the Federal Register and after considering comments. ‘‘SEC. 6. REVIEW BOARD PERSONNEL. ‘‘(a) CHIEF OF STAFF.— ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 45 days after the initial meeting of the Review Board, and without re- gard to political affiliation, the Review Board shall appoint an individual to the position of Chief of Staff of the Review Board. ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The individual appointed as Chief of Staff— ‘‘(A) shall be a citizen of the United States of in- tegrity and impartiality who is a distinguished pro- fessional; and ‘‘(B) shall have had no previous involvement with any official investigation or inquiry relating to civil rights cold cases. ‘‘(3) CANDIDATE TO HAVE CLEARANCES.—A candidate for Chief of Staff shall be granted the necessary secu- rity clearances in an accelerated manner subject to the standard procedures for granting such clearances. ‘‘(4) APPROVAL CONTINGENT ON PRIOR CLEARANCE.—A candidate for Chief of Staff shall qualify for the nec- essary security clearance prior to being appointed by the Review Board. ‘‘(5) DUTIES.—The Chief of Staff shall— ‘‘(A) serve as principal liaison to Government of- fices; ‘‘(B) be responsible for the administration and co- ordination of the Review Board’s review of records; ‘‘(C) be responsible for the administration of all official activities conducted by the Review Board; and ‘‘(D) have no authority to decide or determine whether any record shall be disclosed to the public or postponed for disclosure. ‘‘(6) REMOVAL.—The Chief of Staff shall not be re- moved except upon a majority vote of the Review Board to remove the Chief of Staff for cause on the grounds of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, physical disability, mental incapacity, or any other condition that substantially impairs the performance of the responsibilities of the Chief of Staff or the employees of the Review Board. ‘‘(b) STAFF.— ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Review Board may, in accordance with the civil service laws but without regard to civil service laws and regulations for appointments in the competitive service under subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, appoint and terminate additional employees as are necessary to enable the Review Board and its Chief of Staff to perform their duties. ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—An individual appointed as an employee of the Review Board— ‘‘(A) shall be a private citizen of integrity and im- partiality; and ‘‘(B) shall have had no previous involvement with any official investigation or inquiry relating to civil rights cold cases. ‘‘(3) NOMINATIONS.—Before making an appointment pursuant to paragraph (1), the Review Board shall consider individuals recommended by the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Society of American Archivists, and the American Bar Association. ‘‘(4) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—A candidate shall qual- ify for the necessary security clearance prior to being appointed by the Review Board. ‘‘(c) COMPENSATION.—The Review Board shall fix the compensation of the Chief of Staff and other employees in accordance with title 5, United States Code, except that the rate of pay for the Chief of Staff and other em- ployees may not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that title. ‘‘(d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Review Board may create advisory committees to assist in fulfilling the responsibilities of the Review Board under this Act. ‘‘SEC. 7. REVIEW OF RECORDS BY THE REVIEW BOARD. ‘‘(a) CUSTODY OF RECORDS REVIEWED BY THE BOARD.— Pending the outcome of the Review Board’s review ac- tivity, a Government office shall retain custody of a civil rights cold case record for purposes of preserva- tion, security, and efficiency, unless— ‘‘(1) the Review Board requires the physical trans- fer of records for reasons of conducting an inde- pendent and impartial review; or ‘‘(2) such transfer is necessary for an administra- tive hearing or other official Review Board function. ‘‘(b) STARTUP REQUIREMENTS.—The Review Board shall— ‘‘(1) not later than 90 days after the date on which all members of the Review Board are appointed, pub- lish a schedule for review of all civil rights cold case records in the Federal Register; and ‘‘(2) not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act [Jan. 8, 2019], begin its review of civil rights cold case records under this Act. ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF THE REVIEW BOARD.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall direct that copies of all civil rights cold case records be transmitted to the Archivist and disclosed to the public in the Collection in the absence of clear and convincing evidence that— Page 82 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ‘‘(A) a Government record is not a civil rights cold case record; or ‘‘(B) a Government record or particular informa- tion within a civil rights cold case record qualifies for postponement of public disclosure under this Act, which shall include consideration by the Re- view Board of relevant laws and policies protecting criminal records of juveniles. ‘‘(2) POSTPONEMENT.—In approving postponement of public disclosure of a civil rights cold case record, the Review Board shall work to— ‘‘(A) provide for the disclosure of segregable parts, substitutes, or summaries of such a record; and ‘‘(B) determine, in consultation with the origi- nating body and consistent with the standards for postponement under this Act, which of the fol- lowing alternative forms of disclosure shall be made by the originating body: ‘‘(i) Any reasonably segregable particular infor- mation in a civil rights cold case record. ‘‘(ii) A substitute record for that information which is postponed. ‘‘(iii) A summary of a civil rights cold case record. ‘‘(3) REPORT.—With respect to each civil rights cold case record or particular information in civil rights cold case records the public disclosure of which is postponed under section 4, or for which only substi- tutions or summaries have been disclosed to the pub- lic, the Review Board shall create and transmit to the Archivist a report containing— ‘‘(A) a description of actions by the Review Board, the originating body, the President, or any Government office (including a justification of any such action to postpone disclosure of any record or part of any record) and of any official proceedings conducted by the Review Board with regard to spe- cific civil rights cold case records; and ‘‘(B) a statement, based on a review of the pro- ceedings and in conformity with the decisions re- flected therein, designating a recommended speci- fied time at which or a specified occurrence fol- lowing which the material may be appropriately disclosed to the public under this Act. ‘‘(4) NOTICE.—Not later than 14 days after the Re- view Board makes a determination that a civil rights cold case record shall be publicly disclosed in the Col- lection or postponed for disclosure and held in the protected Collection, the Review Board shall notify the head of the originating body of its determination and publish a copy of the determination in the Fed- eral Register. ‘‘(5) OTHER NOTICE.—Contemporaneous notice shall be made to the President of Review Board determina- tions regarding executive branch civil rights cold case records, and to the oversight committees des- ignated in this Act in the case of legislative branch records. Such notice shall contain an unclassified written justification for public disclosure or post- ponement of disclosure, including an explanation of the application of any standards under section 4. ‘‘(d) PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY OVER REVIEW BOARD DETERMINATION.— ‘‘(1) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OR POSTPONEMENT OF DIS- CLOSURE.—After the Review Board has made a formal determination concerning the public disclosure or postponement of disclosure of an executive branch civil rights cold case record or information contained in a civil rights cold case record, obtained or devel- oped solely within the executive branch, the Presi- dent shall have the sole and nondelegable authority to require the disclosure or postponement of such record or information under the standards set forth in section 4, and the President shall provide the Re- view Board with an unclassified written certification specifying the President’s decision within 30 days after the Review Board’s determination and notice to the executive agency as required under this Act, stat- ing the justification for the President’s decision, in- cluding the applicable grounds for postponement under section 4. ‘‘(2) PERIODIC REVIEW.—Any executive branch civil rights cold case record for which public disclosure is postponed by the President shall be subject to the re- quirements of periodic review and declassification of classified information and public disclosure in the Collection set forth in section 3. ‘‘(3) RECORD OF PRESIDENTIAL POSTPONEMENT.—The Review Board shall, upon its receipt, publish in the Federal Register a copy of any unclassified written certification, statement, or other materials trans- mitted by or on behalf of the President with regard to postponement of the public disclosure of civil rights cold case records. ‘‘(e) NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC.—On each day that is on or after the date that is 60 days after the Review Board first approves the postponement of disclosure of a civil rights cold case record, the Review Board shall publish on a publicly available website a notice that summa- rizes the postponements approved by the Review Board or initiated by the President, including a description of the subject, originating body, length or other physical description, and each ground for postponement that is relied upon. ‘‘(f) REPORTS BY THE REVIEW BOARD.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall report its activities to the Speaker of the House of Representa- tives, the Minority Leader of the House of Represent- atives, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Account- ability] of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Sen- ate, the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- ernmental Affairs of the Senate, the President, the Archivist, and the head of any Government office whose records have been the subject of Review Board activity. ‘‘(2) DEADLINES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every year there- after until termination of the Review Board, the Re- view Board shall issue a report under paragraph (1). ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph (1) shall include the following information: ‘‘(A) A financial report of the expenses for all offi- cial activities and requirements of the Review Board and its employees. ‘‘(B) The progress made on review, transmission to the Archivist, and public disclosure of civil rights cold case records. ‘‘(C) The estimated time and volume of civil rights cold case records involved in the completion of the Review Board’s performance under this Act. ‘‘(D) Any special problems, including requests and the level of cooperation of Government offices, with regard to the ability of the Review Board to operate as required by this Act. ‘‘(E) A record of review activities, including a record of postponement decisions by the Review Board or other related actions authorized by this Act, and a record of the volume of records reviewed and postponed. ‘‘(F) Recommendations and requests to Congress for additional authorization. ‘‘(G) An appendix containing copies of reports of postponed records to the Archivist required under subsection (c)(3) made since the date of the pre- ceding report under this subsection. ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF TERMINATION.—Not later than 90 days before terminating, the Review Board shall provide written notice to the President and the Congress of its intention to terminate its operations at a speci- fied date. ‘‘SEC. 8. DISCLOSURE OF OTHER INFORMATION AND ADDITIONAL STUDY. ‘‘(a) MATERIALS UNDER THE SEAL OF THE COURT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board may request the Attorney General to petition any court in the United States or abroad to release any information Page 83 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 relevant to civil rights cold cases that is held under seal of court. ‘‘(2) GRAND JURY MATERIALS.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board may request the Attorney General to petition any court in the United States to release any information relevant to civil rights cold cases that is held under the in- junction of secrecy of a grand jury. ‘‘(B) PARTICULARIZED NEED.—A request for disclo- sure of civil rights cold case records under this Act shall be deemed to constitute a showing of particu- larized need under rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall re- spond to any request that is subject to this sub- section within 45 days. ‘‘(B) NONDISCLOSURE OF GRAND JURY INFORMA- TION.—If the Attorney General determines that in- formation relevant to a civil rights cold case that is held under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury should not be made public, the Attorney Gen- eral shall set forth in the response to the request the reasons for the determination. ‘‘(b) COOPERATION WITH AGENCIES.—It is the sense of Congress that— ‘‘(1) the Attorney General should assist the Review Board in good faith to unseal any records that the Review Board determines to be relevant and held under the seal by a court or under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury; and ‘‘(2) all departments and agencies of the United States Government should cooperate in full with the Review Board to seek the disclosure of all informa- tion relevant to civil rights cold cases consistent with the public interest. ‘‘SEC. 9. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. ‘‘(a) PRECEDENCE OVER OTHER LAW.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), when this Act requires transmission of a record to the Ar- chivist or public disclosure, it shall take precedence over any other law (except section 6103 of the Inter- nal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 6103]), judicial de- cisions construing such law, or common law doctrine that would otherwise prohibit such transmission or disclosure with the exception of deeds governing ac- cess to or transfer or release of gifts and donations of records to the United States Government. ‘‘(2) PERSONNEL AND MEDICAL FILES.—This Act shall not require the public disclosure of information that is exempt from disclosure under section 552(b)(6) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(b) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to eliminate or limit any right to file any requests with any executive agency or seek judicial review of the decisions under section 552 of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude judicial review, under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, of final actions taken or required to be taken under this Act. ‘‘(d) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act re- vokes or limits the existing authority of the President, any executive agency, the Senate, the House of Rep- resentatives, or any other entity of the Government to publicly disclose records in its possession. ‘‘SEC. 10. FUNDING. ‘‘Until such time as funds are appropriated to carry out this Act, the President shall use such sums as are available for discretionary use to carry out this Act.’’ NATIONAL DATABASE FOR RECORDS OF SERVITUDE, EMANCIPATION, AND POST–CIVIL WAR RECONSTRUCTION Pub. L. 110–404, § 7, Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4285, pro- vided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Archivist of the United States may preserve relevant records and establish, as part of the National Archives and Records Administration, an electronically searchable national database consisting of historic records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction, including the Refugees, Freedman, and Abandoned Land Records, Southern Claims Commission Records, Records of the Freed- men’s Bank, Slave Impressments Records, Slave Pay- roll Records, Slave Manifest, and others, contained within the agencies and departments of the Federal Government to assist African Americans and others in conducting genealogical and historical research. ‘‘(b) MAINTENANCE.—Any database established under this section shall be maintained by the National Ar- chives and Records Administration or an entity within the National Archives and Records Administration des- ignated by the Archivist of the United States.’’ PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS COLLECTION Pub. L. 102–526, Oct. 26, 1992, 106 Stat. 3443, as amend- ed by Pub. L. 103–345, §§ 2–5, Oct. 6, 1994, 108 Stat. 3128–3130; Pub. L. 105–25, § 1, July 3, 1997, 111 Stat. 240; Pub. L. 109–313, § 2(c)(1), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1735; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(286), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4337, pro- vided that: ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992’. ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PUR- POSES. ‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.—The Congress finds and declares that— ‘‘(1) all Government records related to the assas- sination of President John F. Kennedy should be pre- served for historical and governmental purposes; ‘‘(2) all Government records concerning the assas- sination of President John F. Kennedy should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure, and all records should be eventually disclosed to enable the public to become fully informed about the history surrounding the assassination; ‘‘(3) legislation is necessary to create an enforce- able, independent, and accountable process for the public disclosure of such records; ‘‘(4) legislation is necessary because congressional records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy would not otherwise be subject to public disclosure until at least the year 2029; ‘‘(5) legislation is necessary because the Freedom of Information Act [5 U.S.C. 552], as implemented by the executive branch, has prevented the timely public disclosure of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; ‘‘(6) legislation is necessary because [former] Exec- utive Order No. 12356, entitled ‘National Security In- formation’ has eliminated the declassification and downgrading schedules relating to classified informa- tion across government and has prevented the timely public disclosure of records relating to the assassina- tion of President John F. Kennedy; and ‘‘(7) most of the records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are almost 30 years old, and only in the rarest cases is there any legitimate need for continued protection of such records. ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— ‘‘(1) to provide for the creation of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration; and ‘‘(2) to require the expeditious public transmission to the Archivist and public disclosure of such records. ‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. ‘‘In this Act: ‘‘(1) ‘Archivist’ means the Archivist of the United States. ‘‘(2) ‘Assassination record’ means a record that is related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, that was created or made available for use by, obtained by, or otherwise came into the posses- sion of— Page 84 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ‘‘(A) the Commission to Investigate the Assas- sination of President John F. Kennedy (the ‘Warren Commission’); ‘‘(B) the Commission on Central Intelligence Agency Activities Within the United States (the ‘Rockefeller Commission’); ‘‘(C) the Senate Select Committee to Study Gov- ernmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (the ‘Church Committee’); ‘‘(D) the Select Committee on Intelligence (the ‘Pike Committee’) of the House of Representatives; ‘‘(E) the Select Committee on Assassinations (the ‘House Assassinations Committee’) of the House of Representatives; ‘‘(F) the Library of Congress; ‘‘(G) the National Archives and Records Adminis- tration; ‘‘(H) any Presidential library; ‘‘(I) any Executive agency; ‘‘(J) any independent agency; ‘‘(K) any other office of the Federal Government; and ‘‘(L) any State or local law enforcement office that provided support or assistance or performed work in connection with a Federal inquiry into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but does not include the autopsy records donated by the Kennedy family to the National Archives pursu- ant to a deed of gift regulating access to those records, or copies and reproductions made from such records. ‘‘(3) ‘Collection’ means the President John F. Ken- nedy Assassination Records Collection established under section 4. ‘‘(4) ‘Executive agency’ means an Executive agency as defined in subsection 552(f) of title 5, United States Code, and includes any Executive department, mili- tary department, Government corporation, Govern- ment controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government, including the Executive Office of the President, or any inde- pendent regulatory agency. ‘‘(5) ‘Government office’ means any office of the Federal Government that has possession or control of assassination records, including— ‘‘(A) the House Committee on Administration with regard to the Select Committee on Assassina- tions of the records of the House of Representa- tives; ‘‘(B) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate with regard to records of the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities and other assas- sination records; ‘‘(C) the Library of Congress; ‘‘(D) the National Archives as custodian of assas- sination records that it has obtained or possesses, including the Commission to Investigate the Assas- sination of President John F. Kennedy and the Commission on Central Intelligence Agency Activi- ties in the United States; and ‘‘(E) any other executive branch office or agency, and any independent agency. ‘‘(6) ‘Identification aid’ means the written descrip- tion prepared for each record as required in section 4. ‘‘(7) ‘National Archives’ means the National Ar- chives and Records Administration and all compo- nents thereof, including Presidential archival deposi- tories established under section 2112 of title 44, United States Code. ‘‘(8) ‘Official investigation’ means the reviews of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy con- ducted by any Presidential commission, any author- ized congressional committee, and any Government agency either independently, at the request of any Presidential commission or congressional committee, or at the request of any Government official. ‘‘(9) ‘Originating body’ means the Executive agen- cy, government commission, congressional com- mittee, or other governmental entity that created a record or particular information within a record. ‘‘(10) ‘Public interest’ means the compelling inter- est in the prompt public disclosure of assassination records for historical and governmental purposes and for the purpose of fully informing the American peo- ple about the history surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ‘‘(11) ‘Record’ includes a book, paper, map, photo- graph, sound or video recording, machine readable material, computerized, digitized, or electronic infor- mation, regardless of the medium on which it is stored, or other documentary material, regardless of its physical form or characteristics. ‘‘(12) ‘Review Board’ means the Assassination Records Review Board established by section 7. ‘‘(13) ‘Third agency’ means a Government agency that originated an assassination record that is in the possession of another agency. ‘‘SEC. 4. PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSAS- SINATION RECORDS COLLECTION AT THE NA- TIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINIS- TRATION. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], the Na- tional Archives and Records Administration shall com- mence establishment of a collection of records to be known as the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection. In so doing, the Archivist shall en- sure the physical integrity and original provenance of all records. The Collection shall consist of record cop- ies of all Government records relating to the assassina- tion of President John F. Kennedy, which shall be transmitted to the National Archives in accordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code. The Archivist shall prepare and publish a subject guidebook and index to the collection. ‘‘(2) The Collection shall include— ‘‘(A) all assassination records— ‘‘(i) that have been transmitted to the National Archives or disclosed to the public in an unredacted form prior to the date of enactment of this Act; ‘‘(ii) that are required to be transmitted to the National Archives; or ‘‘(iii) the disclosure of which is postponed under this Act; ‘‘(B) a central directory comprised of identification aids created for each record transmitted to the Archi- vist under section 5; and ‘‘(C) all Review Board records as required by this Act. ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS.—All assassination records transmitted to the National Archives for dis- closure to the public shall be included in the Collection and shall be available to the public for inspection and copying at the National Archives within 30 days after their transmission to the National Archives. ‘‘(c) FEES FOR COPYING.—The Archivist shall— ‘‘(1) charge fees for copying assassination records; and ‘‘(2) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—(1) The Collection shall be preserved, protected, archived, and made avail- able to the public at the National Archives using appro- priations authorized, specified, and restricted for use under the terms of this Act. ‘‘(2) The National Archives, in consultation with the Information Security Oversight Office, shall ensure the security of the postponed assassination records in the Collection. ‘‘(e) OVERSIGHT.—The Committee on Government Op- erations [now Committee on Oversight and Account- ability] of the House of Representatives and the Com- mittee on Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate shall have continuing oversight jurisdiction with respect to the Collection. Page 85 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ‘‘SEC. 5. REVIEW, IDENTIFICATION, TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF ASSASSINATION RECORDS BY GOVERNMENT OFFICES. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], each Gov- ernment office shall identify and organize its records relating to the assassination of President John F. Ken- nedy and prepare them for transmission to the Archi- vist for inclusion in the Collection. ‘‘(2) No assassination record shall be destroyed, al- tered, or mutilated in any way. ‘‘(3) No assassination record made available or dis- closed to the public prior to the date of enactment of this Act may be withheld, redacted, postponed for pub- lic disclosure, or reclassified. ‘‘(4) No assassination record created by a person or entity outside government (excluding names or identi- ties consistent with the requirements of section 6) shall be withheld, redacted, postponed for public disclosure, or reclassified. ‘‘(b) CUSTODY OF ASSASSINATION RECORDS PENDING RE- VIEW.—During the review by Government offices and pending review activity by the Review Board, each Government office shall retain custody of its assassina- tion records for purposes of preservation, security, and efficiency, unless— ‘‘(1) the Review Board requires the physical trans- fer of records for purposes of conducting an inde- pendent and impartial review; ‘‘(2) transfer is necessary for an administrative hearing or other Review Board function; or ‘‘(3) it is a third agency record described in sub- section (c)(2)(C). ‘‘(c) REVIEW.—(1) Not later than 300 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], each Gov- ernment office shall review, identify and organize each assassination record in its custody or possession for disclosure to the public, review by the Review Board, and transmission to the Archivist. ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), a Government of- fice shall— ‘‘(A) determine which of its records are assassina- tion records; ‘‘(B) determine which of its assassination records have been officially disclosed or publicly available in a complete and unredacted form; ‘‘(C)(i) determine which of its assassination records, or particular information contained in such a record, was created by a third agency or by another Govern- ment office; and ‘‘(ii) transmit to a third agency or other Govern- ment office those records, or particular information contained in those records, or complete and accurate copies thereof; ‘‘(D)(i) determine whether its assassination records or particular information in assassination records are covered by the standards for postponement of public disclosure under this Act; and ‘‘(ii) specify on the identification aid required by subsection (d) the applicable postponement provision contained in section 6; ‘‘(E) organize and make available to the Review Board all assassination records identified under sub- paragraph (D) the public disclosure of which in whole or in part may be postponed under this Act; ‘‘(F) organize and make available to the Review Board any record concerning which the office has any uncertainty as to whether the record is an assassina- tion record governed by this Act; ‘‘(G) give priority to— ‘‘(i) the identification, review, and transmission of all assassination records publicly available or disclosed as of the date of enactment of this Act in a redacted or edited form; and ‘‘(ii) the identification, review, and transmission, under the standards for postponement set forth in this Act, of assassination records that on the date of enactment of this Act are the subject of litiga- tion under section 552 of title 5, United States Code; and ‘‘(H) make available to the Review Board any addi- tional information and records that the Review Board has reason to believe it requires for conducting a re- view under this Act. ‘‘(3) The Director of each archival depository estab- lished under section 2112 of title 44, United States Code, shall have as a priority the expedited review for public disclosure of assassination records in the possession and custody of the depository, and shall make such records available to the Review Board as required by this Act. ‘‘(d) IDENTIFICATION AIDS.—(1)(A) Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], the Archivist, in consultation with the appro- priate Government offices, shall prepare and make available to all Government offices a standard form of identification or finding aid for use with each assas- sination record subject to review under this Act. ‘‘(B) The Archivist shall ensure that the identifica- tion aid program is established in such a manner as to result in the creation of a uniform system of electronic records by Government offices that are compatible with each other. ‘‘(2) Upon completion of an identification aid, a Gov- ernment office shall— ‘‘(A) attach a printed copy to the record it de- scribes; ‘‘(B) transmit to the Review Board a printed copy; and ‘‘(C) attach a printed copy to each assassination record it describes when it is transmitted to the Ar- chivist. ‘‘(3) Assassination records which are in the possession of the National Archives on the date of enactment of this Act, and which have been publicly available in their entirety without redaction, shall be made avail- able in the Collection without any additional review by the Review Board or another authorized office under this Act, and shall not be required to have such an identification aid unless required by the Archivist. ‘‘(e) TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.—Each Government office shall— ‘‘(1) transmit to the Archivist, and make imme- diately available to the public, all assassination records that can be publicly disclosed, including those that are publicly available on the date of enact- ment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], without any redac- tion, adjustment, or withholding under the standards of this Act; and ‘‘(2) transmit to the Archivist upon approval for postponement by the Review Board or upon comple- tion of other action authorized by this Act, all assas- sination records the public disclosure of which has been postponed, in whole or in part, under the stand- ards of this Act, to become part of the protected Col- lection. ‘‘(f) CUSTODY OF POSTPONED ASSASSINATION RECORDS.—An assassination record the public disclo- sure of which has been postponed shall, pending trans- mission to the Archivist, be held for reasons of security and preservation by the originating body until such time as the information security program has been es- tablished at the National Archives as required in sec- tion 4(e)(2). ‘‘(g) PERIODIC REVIEW OF POSTPONED ASSASSINATION RECORDS.—(1) All postponed or redacted records shall be reviewed periodically by the originating agency and the Archivist consistent with the recommendations of the Review Board under section 9(c)(3)(B). ‘‘(2)(A) A periodic review shall address the public dis- closure of additional assassination records in the Col- lection under the standards of this Act. ‘‘(B) All postponed assassination records determined to require continued postponement shall require an un- classified written description of the reason for such continued postponement. Such description shall be pro- vided to the Archivist and published in the Federal Register upon determination. ‘‘(C) The periodic review of postponed assassination records shall serve to downgrade and declassify secu- rity classified information. Page 86 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ‘‘(D) Each assassination record shall be publicly dis- closed in full, and available in the Collection no later than the date that is 25 years after the date of enact- ment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], unless the President certifies, as required by this Act, that— ‘‘(i) continued postponement is made necessary by an identifiable harm to the military defense, intel- ligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations; and ‘‘(ii) the identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. ‘‘(h) FEES FOR COPYING.—Executive branch agencies shall— ‘‘(1) charge fees for copying assassination records; and ‘‘(2) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘SEC. 6. GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF PUB- LIC DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS. ‘‘Disclosure of assassination records or particular in- formation in assassination records to the public may be postponed subject to the limitations of this Act if there is clear and convincing evidence that— ‘‘(1) the threat to the military defense, intelligence operations, or conduct of foreign relations of the United States posed by the public disclosure of the assassination record is of such gravity that it out- weighs the public interest, and such public disclosure would reveal— ‘‘(A) an intelligence agent whose identity cur- rently requires protection; ‘‘(B) an intelligence source or method which is currently utilized, or reasonably expected to be uti- lized, by the United States Government and which has not been officially disclosed, the disclosure of which would interfere with the conduct of intel- ligence activities; or ‘‘(C) any other matter currently relating to the military defense, intelligence operations or conduct of foreign relations of the United States, the disclo- sure of which would demonstrably impair the na- tional security of the United States; ‘‘(2) the public disclosure of the assassination record would reveal the name or identity of a living person who provided confidential information to the United States and would pose a substantial risk of harm to that person; ‘‘(3) the public disclosure of the assassination record could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and that invasion of privacy is so substantial that it out- weighs the public interest; ‘‘(4) the public disclosure of the assassination record would compromise the existence of an under- standing of confidentiality currently requiring pro- tection between a Government agent and a cooper- ating individual or a foreign government, and public disclosure would be so harmful that it outweighs the public interest; or ‘‘(5) the public disclosure of the assassination record would reveal a security or protective proce- dure currently utilized, or reasonably expected to be utilized, by the Secret Service or another Govern- ment agency responsible for protecting Government officials, and public disclosure would be so harmful that it outweighs the public interest. ‘‘SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT AND POWERS OF THE ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD. ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as an inde- pendent agency a board to be known as the Assassina- tions Records Review Board. ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.—(1) The President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, without regard to political affiliation, 5 citizens to serve as members of the Review Board to ensure and fa- cilitate the review, transmission to the Archivist, and public disclosure of Government records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ‘‘(2) The President shall make nominations to the Re- view Board not later than 90 calendar days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992]. ‘‘(3) If the Senate votes not to confirm a nomination to the Review Board, the President shall make an addi- tional nomination not later than 30 days thereafter. ‘‘(4)(A) The President shall make nominations to the Review Board after considering persons recommended by the American Historical Association, the Organiza- tion of American Historians, the Society of American Archivists, and the American Bar Association. ‘‘(B) If an organization described in subparagraph (A) does not recommend at least 2 nominees meeting the qualifications stated in paragraph (5) by the date that is 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall consider for nomination the persons recommended by the other organizations described in subparagraph (A). ‘‘(C) The President may request an organization de- scribed in subparagraph (A) to submit additional nomi- nations. ‘‘(5) Persons nominated to the Review Board— ‘‘(A) shall be impartial private citizens, none of whom is presently employed by any branch of the Government, and none of whom shall have had any previous involvement with any official investigation or inquiry conducted by a Federal, State, or local government, relating to the assassination of Presi- dent John F. Kennedy; ‘‘(B) shall be distinguished persons of high national professional reputation in their respective fields who are capable of exercising the independent and objec- tive judgment necessary to the fulfillment of their role in ensuring and facilitating the review, trans- mission to the public, and public disclosure of records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and who possess an appreciation of the value of such material to the public, scholars, and govern- ment; and ‘‘(C) shall include at least 1 professional historian and 1 attorney. ‘‘(c) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—(1) All Review Board nominees shall be granted the necessary security clear- ances in an accelerated manner subject to the standard procedures for granting such clearances. ‘‘(2) All nominees shall qualify for the necessary secu- rity clearance prior to being considered for confirma- tion by the Committee on Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate. ‘‘(d) CONFIRMATION HEARINGS.—(1) The Committee on Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate shall hold confirmation hearings within 30 days in which the Senate is in session after the nomination of 3 Review Board members. ‘‘(2) The Committee on Governmental Affairs shall vote on the nominations within 14 days in which the Senate is in session after the confirmation hearings, and shall report its results to the full Senate imme- diately. ‘‘(3) The Senate shall vote on each nominee to con- firm or reject within 14 days in which the Senate is in session after reported by the Committee on Govern- mental Affairs. ‘‘(e) VACANCY.—A vacancy on the Review Board shall be filled in the same manner as specified for original appointment within 30 days of the occurrence of the va- cancy. ‘‘(f) CHAIRPERSON.—The Members of the Review Board shall elect one of its members as chairperson at its ini- tial meeting. ‘‘(g) REMOVAL OF REVIEW BOARD MEMBER.—(1) No member of the Review Board shall be removed from of- fice, other than— ‘‘(A) by impeachment and conviction; or ‘‘(B) by the action of the President for inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, physical dis- ability, mental incapacity, or any other condition that substantially impairs the performance of the member’s duties. Page 87 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ‘‘(2)(A) If a member of the Review Board is removed from office, and that removal is by the President, not later than 10 days after the removal the President shall submit to the Committee on Government Operations [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate a re- port specifying the facts found and the grounds for the removal. ‘‘(B) The President shall publish in the Federal Reg- ister a report submitted under paragraph (2)(A), except that the President may, if necessary to protect the rights of a person named in the report or to prevent undue interference with any pending prosecution, post- pone or refrain from publishing any or all of the report until the completion of such pending cases or pursuant to privacy protection requirements in law. ‘‘(3)(A) A member of the Review Board removed from office may obtain judicial review of the removal in a civil action commenced in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. ‘‘(B) The member may be reinstated or granted other appropriate relief by order of the court. ‘‘(h) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—(1) A member of the Review Board shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the member is en- gaged in the performance of the duties of the Review Board. ‘‘(2) A member of the Review Board shall be allowed reasonable travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the member’s home or regular place of business in the performance of services for the Review Board. ‘‘(i) DUTIES OF THE REVIEW BOARD.—(1) The Review Board shall consider and render decisions on a deter- mination by a Government office to seek to postpone the disclosure of assassination records. ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Review Board shall consider and render decisions— ‘‘(A) whether a record constitutes an assassination record; and ‘‘(B) whether an assassination record or particular information in a record qualifies for postponement of disclosure under this Act. ‘‘(j) POWERS.—(1) The Review Board shall have the au- thority to act in a manner prescribed under this Act in- cluding authority to— ‘‘(A) direct Government offices to complete identi- fication aids and organize assassination records; ‘‘(B) direct Government offices to transmit to the Archivist assassination records as required under this Act, including segregable portions of assassination records, and substitutes and summaries of assassina- tion records that can be publicly disclosed to the full- est extent; ‘‘(C)(i) obtain access to assassination records that have been identified and organized by a Government office; ‘‘(ii) direct a Government office to make available to the Review Board, and if necessary investigate the facts surrounding, additional information, records, or testimony from individuals, which the Review Board has reason to believe is required to fulfill its func- tions and responsibilities under this Act; and ‘‘(iii) request the Attorney General to subpoena pri- vate persons to compel testimony, records, and other information relevant to its responsibilities under this Act; ‘‘(D) require any Government office to account in writing for the destruction of any records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; ‘‘(E) receive information from the public regarding the identification and public disclosure of assassina- tion records; ‘‘(F) hold hearings, administer oaths, and subpoena witnesses and documents; and ‘‘(G) use the Federal Acquisition Service in the same manner and under the same conditions as other departments and agencies of the United States; and ‘‘(H) use the United States mails in the same man- ner and under the same conditions as other depart- ments and agencies of the United States. ‘‘(2) A subpoena issued under paragraph (1)(C)(iii) may be enforced by any appropriate Federal court act- ing pursuant to a lawful request of the Review Board. ‘‘(k) WITNESS IMMUNITY.—The Review Board shall be considered to be an agency of the United States for pur- poses of section 6001 of title 18, United States Code. ‘‘(l) OVERSIGHT.—(1) The Committee on Government Operations [now Committee on Oversight and Account- ability] of the House of Representatives and the Com- mittee on Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate shall have continuing oversight jurisdiction with respect to the official conduct of the Review Board and the disposition of postponed records after termination of the Review Board, and shall have access to any records held or created by the Review Board. ‘‘(2) The Review Board shall have the duty to cooper- ate with the exercise of such oversight jurisdiction. ‘‘(m) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Administrator of the General Services Administration shall provide adminis- trative services for the Review Board on a reimbursable basis. ‘‘(n) INTERPRETIVE REGULATIONS.—The Review Board may issue interpretive regulations. ‘‘(o) TERMINATION AND WINDING UP.—(1) The Review Board and the terms of its members shall terminate not later than September 30, 1998. ‘‘(2) Upon its termination, the Review Board shall submit reports to the President and the Congress in- cluding a complete and accurate accounting of expendi- tures during its existence, and shall complete all other reporting requirements under this Act. ‘‘(3) Upon termination and winding up, the Review Board shall transfer all of its records to the Archivist for inclusion in the Collection, and no record of the Re- view Board shall be destroyed. ‘‘SEC. 8. ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD PERSONNEL. ‘‘(a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—(1) Not later than 45 days after the initial meeting of the Review Board, the Re- view Board shall appoint one citizen, without regard to political affiliation, to the position of Executive Direc- tor. ‘‘(2) The person appointed as Executive Director shall be a private citizen of integrity and impartiality who is a distinguished professional and who is not a present employee of any branch of the Government and has had no previous involvement with any official investigation or inquiry relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ‘‘(3)(A) A candidate for Executive Director shall be granted the necessary security clearances in an accel- erated manner subject to the standard procedures for granting such clearances. ‘‘(B) A candidate shall qualify for the necessary secu- rity clearance prior to being approved by the Review Board. ‘‘(4) The Executive Director shall— ‘‘(A) serve as principal liaison to Government of- fices; ‘‘(B) be responsible for the administration and co- ordination of the Review Board’s review of records; ‘‘(C) be responsible for the administration of all of- ficial activities conducted by the Review Board; and ‘‘(D) have no authority to decide or determine whether any record should be disclosed to the public or postponed for disclosure. ‘‘(5) The Executive Director shall not be removed for reasons other than by a majority vote of the Review Board for cause on the grounds of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, physical disability, men- Page 88 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 tal incapacity, or any other condition that substan- tially impairs the performance of the responsibilities of the Executive Director or the staff of the Review Board. ‘‘(b) STAFF.—(1) The Review Board, without regard to the civil service laws, may appoint and terminate addi- tional personnel as are necessary to enable the Review Board and its Executive Director to perform the duties of the Review Board. ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a per- son appointed to the staff of the Review Board shall be a private citizen of integrity and impartiality who is not a present employee of any branch of the Govern- ment and who has had no previous involvement with any official investigation or inquiry relating to the as- sassination of President John F. Kennedy. ‘‘(B) An individual who is an employee of the Govern- ment may be appointed to the staff of the Review Board if in that position the individual will perform only administrative functions. ‘‘(3)(A) A candidate for staff shall be granted the nec- essary security clearances in an accelerated manner subject to the standard procedures for granting such clearances. ‘‘(B)(i) The Review Board may offer conditional em- ployment to a candidate for a staff position pending the completion of security clearance background investiga- tions. During the pendency of such investigations, the Review Board shall ensure that any such employee does not have access to, or responsibility involving, classi- fied or otherwise restricted assassination record mate- rials. ‘‘(ii) If a person hired on a conditional basis under clause (i) is denied or otherwise does not qualify for all security clearances necessary to carry out the respon- sibilities of the position for which conditional employ- ment has been offered, the Review Board shall imme- diately terminate the person’s employment. ‘‘(c) COMPENSATION.—Subject to such rules as may be adopted by the Review Board, the chairperson, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub- chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classi- fication and General Schedule pay rates, may— ‘‘(1) appoint an Executive Director, who shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Schedule; and ‘‘(2) appoint and fix compensation of such other per- sonnel as may be necessary to carry out this Act. ‘‘(d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—(1) The Review Board shall have the authority to create advisory committees to assist in fulfilling the responsibilities of the Review Board under this Act. ‘‘(2) Any advisory committee created by the Review Board shall be subject to chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(e) SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED.—An individual employed in any position by the Review Board (includ- ing an individual appointed as Executive Director) shall be required to qualify for any necessary security clearance prior to taking office in that position, but may be employed conditionally in accordance with sub- section (b)(3)(B) before qualifying for that clearance. ‘‘SEC. 9. REVIEW OF RECORDS BY THE ASSASSINA- TION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD. ‘‘(a) CUSTODY OF RECORDS REVIEWED BY BOARD.— Pending the outcome of the Review Board’s review ac- tivity, a Government office shall retain custody of its assassination records for purposes of preservation, se- curity, and efficiency, unless— ‘‘(1) the Review Board requires the physical trans- fer of records for reasons of conducting an inde- pendent and impartial review; or ‘‘(2) such transfer is necessary for an administra- tive hearing or other official Review Board function. ‘‘(b) STARTUP REQUIREMENTS.—The Review Board shall— ‘‘(1) not later than 90 days after the date of its ap- pointment, publish a schedule for review of all assas- sination records in the Federal Register; and ‘‘(2) not later than 180 days after the date of enact- ment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], begin its review of as- sassination records under this Act. ‘‘(c) DETERMINATIONS OF THE REVIEW BOARD.—(1) The Review Board shall direct that all assassination records be transmitted to the Archivist and disclosed to the public in the Collection in the absence of clear and con- vincing evidence that— ‘‘(A) a Government record is not an assassination record; or ‘‘(B) a Government record or particular information within an assassination record qualifies for postpone- ment of public disclosure under this Act. ‘‘(2) In approving postponement of public disclosure of an assassination record, the Review Board shall seek to— ‘‘(A) provide for the disclosure of segregable parts, substitutes, or summaries of such a record; and ‘‘(B) determine, in consultation with the origi- nating body and consistent with the standards for postponement under this Act, which of the following alternative forms of disclosure shall be made by the originating body: ‘‘(i) Any reasonably segregable particular infor- mation in an assassination record. ‘‘(ii) A substitute record for that information which is postponed. ‘‘(iii) A summary of an assassination record. ‘‘(3) With respect to each assassination record or par- ticular information in assassination records the public disclosure of which is postponed pursuant to section 6, or for which only substitutions or summaries have been disclosed to the public, the Review Board shall create and transmit to the Archivist a report containing— ‘‘(A) a description of actions by the Review Board, the originating body, the President, or any Govern- ment office (including a justification of any such ac- tion to postpone disclosure of any record or part of any record) and of any official proceedings conducted by the Review Board with regard to specific assas- sination records; and ‘‘(B) a statement, based on a review of the pro- ceedings and in conformity with the decisions re- flected therein, designating a recommended specified time at which or a specified occurrence following which the material may be appropriately disclosed to the public under this Act. ‘‘(4)(A) Following its review and a determination that an assassination record shall be publicly disclosed in the Collection or postponed for disclosure and held in the protected Collection, the Review Board shall notify the head of the originating body of its determination and publish a copy of the determination in the Federal Register within 14 days after the determination is made. ‘‘(B) Contemporaneous notice shall be made to the President for Review Board determinations regarding executive branch assassination records, and to the oversight committees designated in this Act in the case of legislative branch records. Such notice shall contain a written unclassified justification for public disclosure or postponement of disclosure, including an expla- nation of the application of any standards contained in section 6. ‘‘(d) PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY OVER REVIEW BOARD DETERMINATION.— ‘‘(1) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OR POSTPONEMENT OF DIS- CLOSURE.—After the Review Board has made a formal determination concerning the public disclosure or postponement of disclosure of an executive branch as- sassination record or information within such a record, or of any information contained in an assas- sination record, obtained or developed solely within the executive branch, the President shall have the sole and nondelegable authority to require the disclo- sure or postponement of such record or information under the standards set forth in section 6, and the President shall provide the Review Board with an un- classified written certification specifying the Presi- dent’s decision within 30 days after the Review Page 89 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 Board’s determination and notice to the executive branch agency as required under this Act, stating the justification for the President’s decision, including the applicable grounds for postponement under sec- tion 6, accompanied by a copy of the identification aid required under section 4. ‘‘(2) PERIODIC REVIEW.—Any executive branch assas- sination record postponed by the President shall be subject to the requirements of periodic review, down- grading and declassification of classified information, and public disclosure in the collection set forth in section 4. ‘‘(3) RECORD OF PRESIDENTIAL POSTPONEMENT.—The Review Board shall, upon its receipt, publish in the Federal Register a copy of any unclassified written certification, statement, and other materials trans- mitted by or on behalf of the President with regard to postponement of assassination records. ‘‘(e) NOTICE TO PUBLIC.—Every 30 calendar days, be- ginning on the date that is 60 calendar days after the date on which the Review Board first approves the postponement of disclosure of an assassination record, the Review Board shall publish in the Federal Register a notice that summarizes the postponements approved by the Review Board or initiated by the President, the House of Representatives, or the Senate, including a description of the subject, originating agency, length or other physical description, and each ground for post- ponement that is relied upon. ‘‘(f) REPORTS BY THE REVIEW BOARD.—(1) The Review Board shall report its activities to the leadership of the Congress, the Committee on Government Operations [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Gov- ernmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate, the President, the Archivist, and the head of any Govern- ment office whose records have been the subject of Re- view Board activity. ‘‘(2) The first report shall be issued on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], and subsequent reports every 12 months there- after until termination of the Review Board. ‘‘(3) A report under paragraph (1) shall include the following information: ‘‘(A) A financial report of the expenses for all offi- cial activities and requirements of the Review Board and its personnel. ‘‘(B) The progress made on review, transmission to the Archivist, and public disclosure of assassination records. ‘‘(C) The estimated time and volume of assassina- tion records involved in the completion of the Review Board’s performance under this Act. ‘‘(D) Any special problems, including requests and the level of cooperation of Government offices, with regard to the ability of the Review Board to operate as required by this Act. ‘‘(E) A record of review activities, including a record of postponement decisions by the Review Board or other related actions authorized by this Act, and a record of the volume of records reviewed and postponed. ‘‘(F) Suggestions and requests to Congress for addi- tional legislative authority needs. ‘‘(G) An appendix containing copies of reports of postponed records to the Archivist required under section 9(c)(3) made since the date of the preceding report under this subsection. ‘‘(4) At least 90 calendar days before completing its work, the Review Board shall provide written notice to the President and Congress of its intention to termi- nate its operations at a specified date. ‘‘SEC. 10. DISCLOSURE OF OTHER MATERIALS AND ADDITIONAL STUDY. ‘‘(a) MATERIALS UNDER SEAL OF COURT.— ‘‘(1) The Review Board may request the Attorney General to petition any court in the United States or abroad to release any information relevant to the as- sassination of President John F. Kennedy that is held under seal of the court. ‘‘(2)(A) The Review Board may request the Attor- ney General to petition any court in the United States to release any information relevant to the as- sassination of President John F. Kennedy that is held under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury. ‘‘(B) A request for disclosure of assassination mate- rials under this Act shall be deemed to constitute a showing of particularized need under Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure [18 U.S.C. App.]. ‘‘(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con- gress that— ‘‘(1) the Attorney General should assist the Review Board in good faith to unseal any records that the Review Board determines to be relevant and held under seal by a court or under the injunction of se- crecy of a grand jury; ‘‘(2) the Secretary of State should contact the Gov- ernment of the Republic of Russia and seek the dis- closure of all records of the government of the former Soviet Union, including the records of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) and the Glaynoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravleniye (GRU), rel- evant to the assassination of President Kennedy, and contact any other foreign government that may hold information relevant to the assassination of Presi- dent Kennedy and seek disclosure of such informa- tion; and ‘‘(3) all Executive agencies should cooperate in full with the Review Board to seek the disclosure of all information relevant to the assassination of Presi- dent John F. Kennedy consistent with the public in- terest. ‘‘SEC. 11. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. ‘‘(a) PRECEDENCE OVER OTHER LAW.—When this Act requires transmission of a record to the Archivist or public disclosure, it shall take precedence over any other law (except section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code [26 U.S.C. 6103]), judicial decision construing such law, or common law doctrine that would otherwise pro- hibit such transmission or disclosure, with the excep- tion of deeds governing access to or transfer or release of gifts and donations of records to the United States Government. ‘‘(b) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to eliminate or limit any right to file requests with any executive agency or seek judi- cial review of the decisions pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude judicial review, under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, of final actions taken or required to be taken under this Act. ‘‘(d) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act re- vokes or limits the existing authority of the President, any executive agency, the Senate, or the House of Rep- resentatives, or any other entity of the Government to publicly disclose records in its possession. ‘‘(e) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENT- ATIVES.—To the extent that any provision of this Act establishes a procedure to be followed in the Senate or the House of Representatives, such provision is adopt- ed— ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and is deemed to be part of the rules of each House, respectively, but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in that House, and it super- sedes other rules only to the extent that it is incon- sistent with such rules; and ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change the rules (so far as they relate to the procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House. ‘‘SEC. 12. TERMINATION OF EFFECT OF ACT. ‘‘(a) PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO THE REVIEW BOARD.— The provisions of this Act that pertain to the appoint- Page 90 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 ment and operation of the Review Board shall cease to be effective when the Review Board and the terms of its members have terminated pursuant to section 7(o). ‘‘(b) OTHER PROVISIONS.—The remaining provisions of this Act shall continue in effect until such time as the Archivist certifies to the President and the Congress that all assassination records have been made available to the public in accordance with this Act. ‘‘SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro- priated to carry out the provisions of this Act $1,600,000 for fiscal year 1998. ‘‘(b) INTERIM FUNDING.—Until such time as funds are appropriated pursuant to subsection (a), the President may use such sums as are available for discretionary use to carry out this Act. ‘‘SEC. 14. SEVERABILITY. ‘‘If any provision of this Act or the application there- of to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the re- mainder of this Act and the application of that provi- sion to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected by the invalida- tion.’’ [Postponement of records from full public disclosure under section 5(g)(2)(D) of Pub. L. 102–526, set out above, continued until Oct. 26, 2021, by Memorandum of President of the United States, Oct. 26, 2017, 82 F.R. 50307; Memorandum of President of the United States, Apr. 26, 2018, 83 F.R. 19157.] [For transfer of the functions, personnel, assets, and obligations of the United States Secret Service, includ- ing the functions of the Secretary of the Treasury re- lating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 381, 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganiza- tion Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.] Executive Documents CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION For provisions authorizing Archivist to review, down- grade, and declassify information of former Presidents under control of Archivist pursuant to this section, see Ex. Ord. No. 13526, § 3.5(b), Dec. 29, 2009, 75 F.R. 718, set out as a note under section 3161 of Title 50, War and Na- tional Defense. TEMPORARY CERTIFICATION REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN CERTAIN RECORDS RELATED TO THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY Memorandum of President of the United States, Oct. 22, 2021, 86 F.R. 59599, provided: Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Depart- ments and Agencies SECTION 1. Policy. In the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 U.S.C. 2107 note) (the ‘‘Act’’), the Congress declared that ‘‘all Government records concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy . . . should be eventually dis- closed to enable the public to become fully informed about the history surrounding the assassination.’’ The Congress also found that ‘‘most of the records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are almost 30 years old, and only in the rarest cases is there any legitimate need for continued protection of such records.’’ Almost 30 years since the Act, the pro- found national tragedy of President Kennedy’s assas- sination continues to resonate in American history and in the memories of so many Americans who were alive on that terrible day; meanwhile, the need to protect records concerning the assassination has only grown weaker with the passage of time. It is therefore critical to ensure that the United States Government maxi- mizes transparency, disclosing all information in records concerning the assassination, except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise. SEC. 2. Background. The Act permits the continued postponement of disclosure of information in records concerning President Kennedy’s assassination only when postponement remains necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the con- duct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Since 2018, executive departments and agencies (agencies) have been reviewing under this statutory standard each re- daction they have proposed that would result in the continued postponement of full public disclosure. This year, the National Archives and Records Administra- tion (NARA) has been reviewing whether it agrees that each redaction continues to meet the statutory stand- ard. The Archivist of the United States (Archivist), however, has reported that ‘‘unfortunately, the pan- demic has had a significant impact on the agencies’’ and NARA and that NARA ‘‘require[s] additional time to engage with the agencies and to conduct research within the larger collection to maximize the amount of information released.’’ The Archivist has also noted that ‘‘making these decisions is a matter that requires a professional, scholarly, and orderly process; not deci- sions or releases made in haste.’’ The Archivist there- fore recommends that the President ‘‘temporarily cer- tify the continued withholding of all of the information certified in 2018’’ and ‘‘direct two public releases of the information that has’’ ultimately ‘‘been determined to be appropriate for release to the public,’’ with one in- terim release later this year and one more comprehen- sive release in late 2022. SEC. 3. Temporary Certification. In light of the agen- cies’ proposals for continued postponement under the statutory standard, the Archivist’s request for an ex- tension of time to engage with the agencies, and the need for an appropriate review and disclosure process, I agree with the Archivist’s recommendation. Tem- porary continued postponement is necessary to protect against identifiable harm to the military defense, intel- ligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it out- weighs the public interest in immediate disclosure. Ac- cordingly, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, I hereby certify that all information within records that agencies have proposed for continued postponement under section 5(g)(2)(D) shall be withheld from full pub- lic disclosure until December 15, 2022. SEC. 4. Interim Release. Any information currently withheld from public disclosure that agencies have not proposed for continued postponement shall be reviewed by NARA before December 15, 2021, and shall be pub- licly released on that date. Out of respect for the anni- versary of President Kennedy’s assassination, such re- lease shall not occur before December 15, 2021. SEC. 5. Intensive 1-Year Review. (a) Over the next year, agencies proposing continued postponement and NARA shall conduct an intensive review of each remaining re- daction to ensure that the United States Government maximizes transparency, disclosing all information in records concerning the assassination, except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise. This re- view shall include documents within the assassination records collection designated as ‘‘not believed rel- evant’’ by the Assassination Records Review Board es- tablished under the Act, but nonetheless placed within the collection by the Assassination Records Review Board. (b) Any information that an agency proposes for con- tinued postponement beyond December 15, 2022, shall be limited to the absolute minimum under the statutory standard. An agency shall not propose to continue re- dacting information unless the redaction is necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. In applying this statutory standard, an agency shall: Page 91 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 (i) Accord substantial weight to the public interest in transparency and full disclosure of any record that falls within the scope of the Act; and (ii) Give due consideration that some degree of harm is not grounds for continued postponement unless the degree of harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest. (c) For any record containing information that an agency proposes for continued postponement beyond December 15, 2022, the agency shall provide, no later than December 15, 2021: (i) an unclassified letter, to be signed by the head of the agency, providing a written description of the types of information for which the agency is proposing con- tinued postponement and reasons for which the agency is proposing continued postponement of such informa- tion; (ii) an unclassified index identifying for each such record the reasons for which the agency is proposing continued postponement of information in such record; and (iii) a specific proposed date identifying for each such record when the agency reasonably anticipates that continued postponement of information in such record no longer would be necessary or, if that is not possible, a specific proposed date for each such record identi- fying when the agency would propose to next review again after December 15, 2022, whether the information proposed for continued postponement in such record still satisfies the statutory standard for postponement. (d) NARA shall review each proposed redaction, no later than September 1, 2022, in consultation with: (i) The Department of Defense if the agency pro- posing the redaction asserts an anticipated harm to the military defense; (ii) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence if the agency proposing the redaction asserts an antici- pated harm to intelligence operations; (iii) The Department of Justice if the agency pro- posing the redaction asserts an anticipated harm to law enforcement; and (iv) The Department of State if the agency proposing the redaction asserts an anticipated harm to the con- duct of foreign relations. (e) The relevant consulting agency, as designated pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, shall provide its assessment to NARA as to whether the information proposed for continued postponement satisfies the stat- utory standard for such postponement. In reviewing a proposed redaction, NARA or the relevant consulting agency, as designated pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, should consult with the agency that proposed the redaction. (f) If NARA does not agree that a proposed redaction meets the statutory standard for continued postpone- ment, it shall inform the agency that proposed the re- daction. After consultation with NARA, the agency that proposed the redaction may, no later than October 1, 2022: (i) withdraw the proposed redaction; or (ii) refer the decision on continued postponement to the President through the Counsel to the President, ac- companied by an explanation of why continued post- ponement remains necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. (g) If NARA agrees that a proposed redaction meets the asserted statutory standard for continued post- ponement, the Archivist shall recommend to the Presi- dent, no later than October 1, 2022, that continued post- ponement from public disclosure of the information is warranted after December 15, 2022. (h) At the conclusion of the 1-year review, any infor- mation still withheld from public disclosure that agen- cies do not propose for continued postponement beyond December 15, 2022, shall be released to the public on that date. (i) At the conclusion of the 1-year review, each un- classified letter described in subsection (c)(i) of this section and each unclassified index described in sub- section (c)(ii) of this section shall be disclosed to the public on December 15, 2022, with any updates made to account for any information initially proposed for con- tinued postponement that is not postponed from public disclosure beyond December 15, 2022. SEC. 6. Digitization and Democratization of Records. (a) Since the 1990s, more than 250,000 records concerning President Kennedy’s assassination—more than 90 per- cent of NARA’s collection—have been released in full to the public. Only a small fraction of the records con- tains any remaining redactions. But many records that have been fully disclosed are inaccessible to most mem- bers of the public unless they travel to NARA’s loca- tion in College Park, Maryland. (b) The Archivist shall issue a plan, no later than De- cember 15, 2021, to digitize and make available online NARA’s entire collection of records concerning Presi- dent Kennedy’s assassination. (c) The Archivist shall provide additional context on- line about the records that have been withheld in full under sections 10 and 11 of the Act—primarily docu- ments containing tax-related information of the Inter- nal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administra- tion—that are not subject to the Presidential certifi- cation requirement under section 5 of the Act. SEC. 7. Publication. The Archivist is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Fed- eral Register. J.R. BIDEN, JR. CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN CERTAIN RECORDS RELATED TO THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY Memorandum of President of the United States, Dec. 15, 2022, 87 F.R. 77967, provided: Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Depart- ments and Agencies SECTION 1. Policy. As set forth in the Presidential Memorandum of October 22, 2021 (Temporary Certifi- cation Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy) (2021 Memorandum) [set out above], in the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Col- lection Act of 1992 [Pub. L. 102–526] (44 U.S.C. 2107 note) (the ‘‘Act’’), the Congress declared that ‘‘all Govern- ment records concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy . . . should be eventually disclosed to enable the public to become fully informed about the history surrounding the assassination.’’ The Congress also found that ‘‘most of the records related to the as- sassination of President John F. Kennedy are almost 30 years old, and only in the rarest cases is there any le- gitimate need for continued protection of such records.’’ In the 30 years since the Act became law, the profound national tragedy of President Kennedy’s as- sassination continues to resonate in American history and in the memories of so many Americans who were alive on that terrible day; meanwhile, the need to pro- tect records concerning the assassination has weakened with the passage of time. It is therefore critical to en- sure that the United States Government maximizes transparency by disclosing all information in records concerning the assassination, except when the strong- est possible reasons counsel otherwise. SEC. 2. Background. (a) The Act permits the continued postponement of disclosure of information in records concerning President Kennedy’s assassination only when postponement remains necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the con- duct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Since 2018, executive departments and agencies (agencies) have been reviewing under this statutory standard each re- daction they have proposed that would result in the continued postponement of full public disclosure, with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) reviewing whether it agrees that each redac- Page 92 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2107 tion continues to meet the statutory standard. In my 2021 Memorandum, the Archivist of the United States (Archivist) explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the ability of agencies, includ- ing NARA, to conduct this review and comprehensive engagement, and the Archivist recommended that I temporarily certify the records for continued postpone- ment for a limited period. In the 2021 Memorandum, I directed the completion of an intensive 1-year review of each remaining proposed redaction to ensure that the United States Government maximizes transparency by disclosing all information in records related to the as- sassination, except in cases when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise. (b) Pursuant to my direction, agencies have under- taken a comprehensive effort to review the full set of almost 16,000 records that had previously been released in redacted form and determined that more than 70 per- cent of those records may now be released in full. This significant disclosure reflects my Administration’s commitment to transparency and will provide the American public with greater insight and under- standing of the Government’s investigation into this tragic event in American history. (c) In the course of their review, agencies have identi- fied a limited number of records containing informa- tion for continued postponement of public disclosure. NARA has reviewed these proposed redactions and has coordinated with relevant consulting agencies, where appropriate, to ensure that the proposed redactions meet the statutory standard for continued postpone- ment. The Acting Archivist has recommended certi- fying a small subset of the reviewed records for contin- ued postponement of public disclosure. (d) The Acting Archivist has further indicated that additional work remains to be done with respect to a limited number of other reviewed records that were the subject of agency proposals for continued postpone- ment of public disclosure. The Acting Archivist be- lieves such additional work could further reduce the amount of redacted information. The Acting Archivist therefore recommends that I temporarily certify the continued postponement of public disclosure of the re- dacted information in these records to provide addi- tional time for review and to ensure that information from these records is disclosed to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the standards of the Act. SEC. 3. Certification. In light of the proposals from agencies for continued postponement of public disclo- sure of information in the records identified in section 2(c) of this memorandum under the statutory standard, and the Acting Archivist’s recommendation, I agree that continued postponement of public disclosure of such information is warranted to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Accordingly, by the au- thority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, I hereby certify that con- tinued postponement of public disclosure of these records is necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public in- terest in disclosure. All information within these records that agencies have proposed for continued post- ponement under section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act shall ac- cordingly be withheld from public disclosure. Further release of the information in these records shall occur in a manner consistent with the Transparency Plans described in section 7 of this memorandum. SEC. 4. Temporary Certification. In light of the pro- posals from agencies for continued postponement of public disclosure of information in the records identi- fied in section 2(d) of this memorandum under the stat- utory standard, the Acting Archivist’s request for an extension of time to continue review of those records, and the need for an appropriately thorough review process, I agree with the Acting Archivist’s rec- ommendation regarding temporary postponement. Temporary continued postponement of public disclo- sure of such information is necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intel- ligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it out- weighs the public interest in disclosure. Accordingly, by the authority vested in me as President by the Con- stitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, I hereby certify that all information within these records that agencies have proposed for continued postponement under sec- tion 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act shall be withheld from public disclosure until June 30, 2023. SEC. 5. Release. Any information currently withheld from public disclosure that agencies have not proposed for continued postponement shall be released to the public by December 15, 2022. SEC. 6. Review. (a) From the date of this memorandum [Dec. 15, 2022] until May 1, 2023, relevant agencies and NARA shall jointly review the remaining redactions in the records addressed in sections 2(d) and 4 of this memorandum with a view to maximizing transparency and disclosing all information in records concerning the assassination, except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise. Any information that agen- cies propose for continued postponement of public re- lease beyond June 30, 2023, shall be limited to the abso- lute minimum under the statutory standard. Agencies shall not propose to continue redacting information un- less the redaction is necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. In applying the statutory standard, agencies shall: (i) accord substantial weight to the public interest in transparency and full disclosure of any record that falls within the scope of the Act; and (ii) give due consideration that some degree of harm is not grounds for continued postponement unless the degree of harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. (b) If, by no later than May 1, 2023, NARA agrees that a proposed redaction meets the statutory standard for continued postponement, the Archivist shall rec- ommend to the President, no later than May 1, 2023, that continued postponement of public disclosure of the information is warranted after June 30, 2023. (c) If, by no later than May 1, 2023, NARA does not recommend that a proposed redaction meets the statu- tory standard for continued postponement, agencies shall, no later than May 15, 2023: (i) withdraw the proposed redaction; or (ii) recommend to the President, through the Counsel to the President, on a document-by-document basis, that release of the information continue to be post- poned, providing an explanation for each proposed re- daction of why continued postponement remains nec- essary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforce- ment, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclo- sure. (d) In the development of the recommendations de- scribed in this section, as questions arise about par- ticular proposed redactions, NARA shall consult, as ap- propriate, with relevant agencies as described in sec- tion 5(d) of my 2021 Memorandum. (e) At the conclusion of the review described in this section, any information withheld from public disclo- sure that agencies do not propose for continued post- ponement beyond June 30, 2023, shall be released to the public by that date. SEC. 7. Transparency Plans. As part of their review, each agency prepared a plan for the eventual release of information (Transparency Plan) to ensure that infor- mation would continue to be disclosed over time as the identified harm associated with release of the informa- Page 93 TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS § 2108 tion dissipates. Each Transparency Plan details the event-based or circumstance-based conditions that will trigger the public disclosure of currently postponed in- formation by the National Declassification Center (NDC) at NARA. These Transparency Plans have been reviewed by NARA, and the Acting Archivist has ad- vised that use of the Transparency Plans by the NDC will ensure appropriate continued release of informa- tion covered by the Act. Accordingly, I direct that the Transparency Plans submitted by agencies be used by the NDC to conduct future reviews of any information that has been postponed from public disclosure, includ- ing information in the records described in sections 2(c) and 3 of this memorandum. SEC. 8. Publication. The Acting Archivist is hereby au- thorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. J.R. BIDEN, JR. CERTIFICATION REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN CERTAIN RECORDS RELATED TO THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY Memorandum of President of the United States, June 30, 2023, 88 F.R. 43247, provided: Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Depart- ments and Agencies SECTION 1. Policy. In the three decades since the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Col- lection Act of 1992 [Pub. L. 102–526] (44 U.S.C. 2107 note) (the ‘‘Act’’) was enacted, the United States Govern- ment has undertaken a comprehensive review of its records and has strived to make available to the public thousands of classified documents that provide a fuller understanding of the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy. As I have reiterated throughout my Presidency, I fully support the Act’s aim to maximize transparency by disclosing all information in records concerning the assassination, except when the strong- est possible reasons counsel otherwise. Executive de- partments and agencies (agencies) have worked meticu- lously over thousands of hours of review to ensure that the American people have access to every single word that is appropriate for release under the standards of the Act. With my final certification made in this memorandum—the last required under the Act—and de- finitive plans for future disclosures, my Administration is fulfilling the promise of transparency to the Amer- ican people. SEC. 2. Background. (a) The Act permits the continued postponement of public disclosure of information in records concerning President Kennedy’s assassination only when postponement remains necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the con- duct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Agencies have applied this statutory standard when proposing the continued postponement of public disclosure of spe- cific information, and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has reviewed each of these redactions to determine whether NARA agrees that these redactions continue to meet the statutory standard. In the Presidential Memorandum of Decem- ber 15, 2022 (Certifications Regarding Disclosure of In- formation in Certain Records Related to the Assassina- tion of President John F. Kennedy) [set out above] (De- cember 2022 Memorandum), I certified the temporary continued postponement of public disclosure of re- dacted information in a small number of records cov- ered by the Act. At the time, the Acting Archivist of the United States (Acting Archivist) advised that a limited number of records that were the subject of agency proposals for temporary continued postpone- ment warranted further review to ensure that informa- tion from these records is disclosed to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the standards of the Act. In the December 2022 Memorandum, consistent with that advice, I directed agencies to continue to work with NARA to review these records to determine if additional information proposed for redaction could be disclosed. (b) On May 1, 2023, the Acting Archivist informed me that the review process was complete and rec- ommended that I postpone the public release of certain redacted information in the records certified for tem- porary postponement of public release in the December 2022 Memorandum. SEC. 3. Certification. In light of the recommendation for continued postponement of public release of infor- mation in the records identified in section 2(b) of this memorandum under the statutory standard, I hereby certify, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, that continued postponement of public disclosure of that in- formation is necessary to protect against identifiable harms to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, and the conduct of foreign relations that are of such gravity that they outweigh the public interest in disclosure. All information within these records that has been proposed for continued postpone- ment under section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act shall accord- ingly be withheld from public disclosure. Future re- lease of the information in these records shall occur in a manner consistent with the Transparency Plans de- scribed in section 5 of this memorandum. SEC. 4. Release. Any information currently withheld from public disclosure under section 4 of the December 2022 Memorandum that is not subject to the certifi- cation in section 3 of this memorandum shall be re- leased to the public by June 30, 2023. SEC. 5. Transparency Plans. As part of their review, each agency prepared a plan for the eventual release of information (Transparency Plan) to ensure that infor- mation would continue to be disclosed over time as the identified harm associated with release of the informa- tion dissipates. Each Transparency Plan details the event-based or circumstance-based conditions that will trigger the public disclosure of currently postponed in- formation by the National Declassification Center (NDC) at NARA. These Transparency Plans were re- viewed by NARA, and the Acting Archivist previously advised me that use of the Transparency Plans by the NDC will ensure appropriate continued release of infor- mation covered by the Act. In the December 2022 Memorandum, I directed that the Transparency Plans submitted by agencies be used by the NDC to conduct future reviews of any information that has been post- poned from public disclosure. On May 1, 2023, the Act- ing Archivist recommended continued use of agencies’ Transparency Plans to release information covered by the Act. Therefore, I direct the NDC to continue to use the Transparency Plans to conduct future reviews of any information covered by the Act that has been post- poned from public disclosure. The Transparency Plans will ensure that the public will have access to the max- imum amount of information while continuing to pro- tect against identifiable harms to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, and the con- duct of foreign relations under the standards of the Act. SEC. 6. Publication. The Archivist of the United States is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memo- randum in the Federal Register. J.R. BIDEN, JR. § 2108. Responsibility for custody, use, and with- drawal of records (a) The Archivist shall be responsible for the custody, use, and withdrawal of records trans- ferred to him. When records, the use of which is subject to statutory limitations and restric- tions, are so transferred, permissive and restric- tive statutory provisions with respect to the ex- amination and use of records applicable to the head of the agency from which the records were transferred or to employees of that agency are