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Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress

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Most records of recent former Presidents and former Vice Presidents are required by statute to be
turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of each
administration. These records are then disclosed to the public, unless the Archivist of the United
States, the incumbent President, or the appropriate former President claims the records should be
kept private.
On his first full day in office, President Barack Obama issued an executive order (E.O. 13489),
rescinding E.O. 13233, changing substantially the presidential record preservation policies
promulgated by the George W. Bush Administration. E.O. 13489 grants the incumbent President
and the relevant former Presidents 30 days to review records prior to their being released to the
public. Under the policies of the Bush Administration, the incumbent President, former
Presidents, former Vice Presidents, and their designees were granted broad authority to deny
access to presidential documents or to delay their release indefinitely. Moreover, former
Presidents had 90 days to review whether requested documents should be released.
Prior to President Obama’s issuance of E.O. 13489, legislation was introduced in the 111th
Congress (H.R. 35) that would statutorily rescind the executive order (E.O. 13233) issued by
former President George W. Bush. E.O. 13233 allowed the incumbent President—as well as
former Presidents whose records were affected—to withhold from public disclosure the records
of former Presidents and Vice Presidents or to delay their release indefinitely under claims of
executive privilege. In addition to statutorily overturning E.O. 13233, H.R. 35 would reduce the
time a President would have review his records prior to their public release.
This report will analyze President Barack Obama’s E.O. 13489, and discuss its departure from the
policies of the previous administration. Additionally, this report will examine H.R. 35 and its
possible legislative effects on the presidential records policies of the Obama Administration.

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Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
The Policy Question ........................................................................................................................ 2
The Presidential Records Act .......................................................................................................... 2
Executive Order 13233.................................................................................................................... 3
Executive Order 13489.................................................................................................................... 3
Legislation in the 111th Congress..................................................................................................... 4
Legislation in the 110th Congress .................................................................................................... 4
Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 5
H.R. 35 ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Vice Presidential Records Controversy..................................................................................... 6

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Author Contact Information ............................................................................................................ 7

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Since 1955, the Presidential Libraries Act (44 U.S.C. § 2112) has governed the establishment of
federally maintained presidential libraries. These libraries are created to serve as archives that
return presidential papers and communications to the public realm. Currently, 12 presidential
libraries are managed and maintained by the federal government through the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA).
In addition to the Presidential Libraries Act, presidential records are subject to the Presidential
Records Act of 1978 (44 U.S.C. §§ 2201-2207; P.L. 95-591). The act details which records and
materials are to be assumed by the National Archives at the end of a President’s administration.1
According to Chapter 22 of Title 44 of the U.S. Code, when a President leaves office, his official
records remain in the custody of the federal government, under the supervision of the Archivist of
the United States. Once a location for a presidential library has been determined, and the facility
is deeded to the United States, the former President’s records are to be deposited there.2
On November 1, 2001, President George W. Bush issued an executive order (E.O. 13233), which
allowed the incumbent President—as well as former Presidents, former Vice Presidents, and their
designees whose records are affected—to withhold from public disclosure the records of former
Presidents and Vice Presidents or to delay their release indefinitely under claims of executive
privilege.3 On January 7, 2009, the House passed a bill (H.R. 35) that would statutorily revoke
E.O. 13233. The bill would also allow the Archivist to reassume control of access to the records
of former Presidents.
On January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama issued E.O. 134894 on his first full day in office.
The new executive order explicitly rescinded E.O. 13233. Many of the aims of H.R. 35 are
incorporated into President Obama’s executive order. However, unlike H.R. 35, which would
grant the Archivist final determination over record disclosure, President Obama’s order allows the
incumbent President to stop disclosure through claims of executive privilege. This report will
discuss policy changes incorporated into E.O. 13489 and analyze the possible effects of H.R. 35.

1 As a consequence of the so-called Watergate incident, Congress passed the Presidential Recordings and Materials
Preservation Act of 1974 (PRMPA; 44 U.S.C. § 2111) to assure that the presidential papers of Richard M. Nixon were
placed under federal custody. Though this act, which directly addresses presidential records, was passed prior to the
1978 Presidential Records Act, it governed only documents associated with the Nixon presidency.
2 CRS Report R40209, Fundraising for Presidential Libraries: Legislative and Policy Issues in the 111th Congress, by
R. Sam Garrett.
3 Executive privilege has never been defined definitively. The President, as the leader of the executive branch, is
granted authority to determine which records should be afforded a privileged status that prevents their disclosure. This
power is used to ensure that the power vested in the executive branch is not compromised in comparison to the two
other branches of federal government: the legislature and the judiciary. The President may claim executive privilege
over any record, and the claim does not need to coincide with any of the criteria in the Presidential Records Act that
automatically exempt records from publication.
4 Executive Order 13489, “Presidential Records,” 74 Federal Register 4669, January 26, 2009. The executive order
was issued on January 21, but not printed in the Federal Register until January 26.
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Presidential records are a critical tool for understanding the powers and operations of the
executive branch of the federal government. These presidential records, however, may include
information that, if released to the public, could endanger national security, drastically affect the
nation’s economy, or result in an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The policy issue for
Congress is to determine whether incumbent and former Presidents should be granted wide-
ranging authority to assert claims of executive privilege—sometimes at the cost of government
transparency and political scholarship. Presidential records are a critical piece of the nation’s
historical archive, yet some argue their public release is to be weighed against concerns for
national security, privacy, and economic protection.
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Pursuant to Chapter 22 of Title 44 of the U.S. Code, upon leaving office, an outgoing President
may restrict access to certain of his archived records for up to 12 years.5 Certain presidential files
and records may be excepted from public access if they qualify under any of the six criteria
delineated in 44 U.S.C. § 2204. These criteria are
1. the information is specifically exempted by an executive order for the purpose of
national security or foreign policy;
2. the information is related to federal office appointments;
3. the information is explicitly exempted from disclosure by statute;
4. the information includes trade secrets and commercial or financial information
obtained from a person that is privileged or confidential;
5. the information is a confidential communication that requests or submits advice
between the President and his advisers—or between the advisers themselves; or
6. the information is personnel or medical files, and their disclosure would amount
to an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. 6
According to the act, the Archivist—or the courts—would have final determination over
which records should be released to the public. The act also states that it is not to “be
construed to confirm, limit, or expand any constitutionally-based privilege which may be
available to an incumbent or former President.”7 The act does not define the parameters
of this privilege.

5 44 U.S.C. § 2204(a). After 12 years have expired, Presidential records are subject to the Freedom of Information Act,
which governs public access to agency records (5 U.S.C. § 552).
6 Ibid.
7 44 U.S.C. § 2204.
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President George W. Bush issued E.O. 13233 on November 1, 2001. The executive order gave the
incumbent President, former Presidents, former Vice Presidents, and their designees broad
authority to deny access to presidential documents or to delay their release indefinitely. Under the
order, former Presidents had 90 days to review whether requested documents should be released
(this is 60 days more than provided under earlier arrangements). Sitting Presidents had the
authority to extend the review period indefinitely, and the Archivist had no recourse to challenge
the status of materials that had been withheld or remained in review.8
The executive order also changed the procedure for the disclosure of presidential records. Under
practices prior to E.O. 13233, presidential records would be released at the termination of the 12-
year restriction period—unless the President, former President, or former Vice President asserted
“constitutionally based privileges” to stop the disclosure.9 E.O. 13233 required action by the
President, former President, or former Vice President for records to be released. If, therefore,
none of the designated officers acted to release of presidential records, they may have remained
undisclosed even if the 12-year restriction period lapsed. Moreover, the executive order permitted
representatives of a former President or Vice President to challenge the release of presidential
records. Formerly, all challenges to disclosure had to be made by the former President or former
Vice President himself.
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During his first full day in office, President Barack Obama issued an executive order (E.O.
13489) that explicitly revoked E.O. 13233. Under E.O. 13489, incumbent Presidents and former
Presidents are granted 30 days to review presidential records to determine whether they should be
released. If an incumbent President claims executive privilege for the records of a former
President, the Counsel to the President is required to notify the Archivist, the appropriate former
President, and the Attorney General of the action. The Archivist is then prohibited from releasing
those records—unless instructed to do so by a court order.
In contrast to claims of executive privilege made by an incumbent President, claims of executive
privilege made by a former President now require the Archivist to consult with the Attorney
General, the Counsel to the President, or other appropriate officials to determine the validity of
the request. According to the executive order, the incumbent President may instruct the Archivist
whether to release the records of a former President, and the Archivist is to “abide by” the
President’s determination—unless directed otherwise by a court order. If the Archivist denies a
former President’s executive privilege claim and determines that records should be released, the
incumbent President and appropriate former President are to be given 30 days notice of the
records’ release.

8 The executive order stated that “references in this order to a former President shall be deemed also to be references to
the relevant former Vice President” (Sec. 11). A former Vice President, therefore, would have authority identical to a
former President under E.O. 13233 to withhold certain records from disclosure.
9 E.O. 13233 stated that the President could assert executive privilege for records that reflected “military, diplomatic, or
national security secrets (the state secrets privilege); communications of the President or his advisors (the presidential
communications privilege); legal advice or legal work (the attorney-client or attorney work product privileges); and the
deliberative process of the President or his advisors (the deliberative process privilege).”
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E.O. 13489 vests much of the records disclosure authority in the hands of the incumbent
President. This broad authority to determine which records of a former President should be
released to the public stands in contrast to the designs of the Presidential Records Act, which
placed greater authority over records disclosure in the hands of the Archivist. The executive order
does not define the boundaries of executive privilege, but it does define a “substantial question of
executive privilege” as a situation in which “NARA’s disclosure of Presidential records might
impair national security (including the conduct of foreign relations), law enforcement, or the
deliberative processes of the executive branch.”
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In the 111th Congress, Representative Edolphus Towns, with others, introduced The Presidential
Records Act Amendments of 2009 (H.R. 35) on January 6, 2009. The bill passed the House under
suspension of the rules on January 7, by a vote of 359-58. The bill was referred to the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on January 9.
Among its changes to presidential recordkeeping, H.R. 35 would statutorily revoke E.O. 13233.
In addition, the bill would limit the record review period for incumbent and former Presidents to
20 days (10 fewer days than President Obama’s executive order mandates).10 The bill would also
require a former President or Vice President personally to request exemptions from records
release.
H.R. 35 would modify a few practices mandated by President Obama’s E.O. 13489—including
granting the Archivist broader control over the disclosure of records of former Presidents. While
E.O. 13489 grants the President vast authority to determine whether the records of a former
President should be disclosed, H.R. 35 would vest that power in the Archivist. The bill does not
attempt to define executive privilege or its boundaries.
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The Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2009 (H.R. 35) is not Congress’s first attempt to
revoke E.O. 13233. In the 110th Congress, a similar bill (H.R. 1255) was passed under suspension
of the rules in the House on March 14, 2007, by a vote of 333-93. A companion bill (S. 886) was
introduced in the Senate on March 14. S. 886 was reported by the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs without amendment on June 20 and placed on the legislative
calendar that same day. No further action was taken on the bill.
Based on a review of the Legislative Information System, a database of congressional legislation,
an additional eight bills related to presidential records were introduced in the 110th Congress. The
only bill that was enacted (P.L. 110-404) authorized the Archivist to make grants available to help
store and preserve the records of former Presidents who do not have an archival depository.
Among the other legislative initiatives was a bill that would have required the creation of
guidelines for the preservation of electronic presidential records (H.R. 5811), and a few bills that

10 According to the bill, the Archivist can extend the review period an additional 20 days if the incumbent President,
former President, or Vice President claims the additional time is necessary to complete “an adequate review of the
record.”
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would have provided funding or access to presidential archives that are not protected by the 1978
Act (H.R. 6872; H.R. 6669; S. 3350). The remaining pieces of legislation included a resolution
that provided consideration for H.R. 5811 (H.Res. 1318), and two bills that would have
authorized grants to establish a Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library (H.R. 1664; S. 1878).
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Presidential documents provide a historical resource that can be used to better understand how the
institution of the presidency functions and how individual Presidents have interpreted or modified
the institution. Presidents, however, must be able to act quickly and deliberately on issues that are
essential to national security, foreign policy, and other sensitive topics. Certain documents may
need to be exempted from disclosure—for a period of time or in perpetuity—to protect security or
for other reasons.
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H.R. 35 would reinstitute many of presidential records archiving policies that were in effect prior
to George W. Bush’s issuance of E.O. 13233. First, the bill seeks to shorten the record review
period established by President Obama’s executive order by 10 days (from 30 to 20 days).
Second, it would also require personal requests from an incumbent President, former Presidents,
or former Vice Presidents for exemption from the statute. Third, the bill would statutorily revoke
Bush’s executive order.11
If passed, H.R. 35 would reduce the amount of time required for presidential records to be
disclosed. Under the proposed bill, an incumbent President, former Presidents, and former Vice
Presidents would have to demonstrate why certain records should be afforded protected status for
reasons of executive privilege. Under E.O. 13233, any person seeking to access records that had
not been released had to demonstrate why these records should have been disclosed—without full
knowledge of the information that the record may include. Under E.O. 13489, in contrast,
incumbent and former Presidents must demonstrate why records should not be released. H.R. 35
would codify parts of President Obama’s executive order. Passage of H.R. 35 would statutorily
revoke E.O. 13233 and codify Congress’s stance on the disclosure of presidential records. Such
action could deter future Presidents from attempting to deny access to certain records or lengthen
the records disclosure process because such a statute would delineate the legislative branch’s
disclosure requirements.
Some Members may believe, however, that H.R. 35 would remove a President’s, former
President’s, or former Vice President’s constitutionally legitimate claims of privilege for certain
information or records. The legislation would statutorily mandate the time frame for the release of
presidential documents and would require personal, explicit claims of executive privilege from
incumbent or former Presidents. E.O. 13489 does not directly address whether designees of
incumbent or former Presidents could assert claims of executive privilege. The executive order
does mandate a 30-day record review period.

11 For more information on the power and limitations of executive orders, see CRS Report RS20846, Executive Orders:
Issuance and Revocation, by T. J. Halstead.
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Congress may also choose not to act on H.R. 35. President Obama’s executive order restores
much of the Presidential Records Act. If the bill were not enacted, the incumbent President would
have greater control over the disclosure of the records of incumbent and former Presidents under
the provisions of E.O. 13489. Not enacting H.R. 35 could allow an incumbent President, former
President, or former Vice President to keep from disclosure important historical documents for a
longer period of time. Such action could increase public mistrust of the presidency, inhibit
scholarship, or possibly permit abuses of executive power to go undetected.
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Neither E.O. 13489 nor H.R. 35 directly addresses the controversy over whether an outgoing Vice
President has the authority to determine which records should be handed over to NARA upon
leaving office.12 According to the Presidential Records Act, the incumbent President is the
manager of his presidential records prior to leaving office. It is, therefore, his responsibility to
maintain records responsibly and turn them over to the Archivist when he leaves office. Former
Vice President Dick Cheney challenged a lawsuit filed by an organization that sought to preserve
records that Mr. Cheney claims are subject to his control. In September 2008, a judge ordered Mr.
Cheney to preserve all records until the case was decided, according to media reports.13 Mr.
Cheney’s office submitted to the Federal District Court of Washington, D.C., a motion to dismiss
the lawsuit on December 8, 2008, that claimed, “The vice president alone may determine what
constitutes vice presidential records or personal records, how his records will be created,
maintained, managed and disposed, and are all actions that are committed to his discretion by
law.”14
On January 19, 2009, a federal district court judge found that Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington (CREW), the organization seeking preservation of the records, could not
demonstrate that the Vice President failed to comply with his obligations under the Presidential
Records Act. The decision accepted Mr. Cheney’s claim that he should have broad discretion over
which of his records are to be preserved and released to the public.15 The court also found that
Vice Presidential records were, pursuant to 44 U.S.C. § 2207, to be preserved in the same manner
as Presidential records.

12 Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment, and Memorandum of Points and
Authorities in Support of Defendants’ Motion, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington et al. v. Cheney
(No. 08-1548) (D.D.C. filed Dec. 8, 2008). Neither the Presidential Records Act, nor subsequent executive orders, are
explicit about an incumbent Vice President’s authority and discretion over the preservation of his records.
13 Christopher Lee, “Cheney Must Hold His Records,” The Los Angeles Times, September 21, 2008, pp. A-28,
available at http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/21/nation/na-cheney21.
14 Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment, and Memorandum of Points and
Authorities in Support of Defendants’ Motion, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington et al. v. Cheney
(No. 08-1548) (D.D.C. filed Dec. 8, 2008). See also Pamela Hess, “Cheney Claims Power to Decide his Public
Records,” The Associated Press, December 18, 2008, available at http://www.wtop.com/?nid=116&sid=1474512.
15 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Cheney, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3113 (D.D.C. 2009).
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Wendy R. Ginsberg

Analyst in Government Organization and
Management
wginsberg@crs.loc.gov, 7-3933

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