(2) research projects and publications undertaken by Commission grantees, and by Trust Fund grantees, including detailed information concerning the receipt and use of all appropriated 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 Administration for expenditure to other Federal agencies; and (4) the matters specified in section 2904(c)(8) of this title. § 2107. Acceptance of records for historical preservation When it appears to the Archivist to be in the public interest, he may (1) accept for deposit with the National Archives 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 of the United States to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation by the United States Government; (2) direct and effect the transfer to the National Archives of the United States of records of a Federal that have been in existence for more than thirty agency years and determined by the Archivist of the United States to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation by the United States Government, unless the head of the agency which has custody of them certifies in writing to the Archivist that they must be retained in his custody for use in the conduct of the regular current business of the agency; (3) direct and effect, with the approval of the head of the originating agency, or if the existence of the agency has been terminated, then with the approval of his 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 institutions or associations; title to the records to remain vested in the United States unless otherwise authorized by Congress; and (4) transfer materials from private sources authorized to be received by the Archivist by section 2111 of this title. 44 U.S.C. § 2107 note PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS COLLECTION ACT Sec. 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 purposes (a) Findings and declarations.-The Congress finds and declares that (1) all Government records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy should be preserved for historical and governmental purposes; (2) all Government records concerning the assassination 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 enforceable, 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, 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 Executive Order No. 12356, entitled 'National Security Information' has eliminated the declassification and downgrading schedules relating to classified information across government and has prevented the timely public disclosure of records relating to the assassination 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 possession of (A) the Commission to Investigate the Assassination 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 Governmental 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 Administration; (H) any Presidential library; (I) any Executive 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 pursuant 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. Kennedy 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, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government, including the Executive Office of the President, or any independent 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 Assassinations of the records of the House of Representatives; (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 assassination records; (C) the Library of Congress; (D) the National Archives as custodian of assassination records that it has obtained or possesses, including the Commission to Investigate the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Commission on Central Intelligence Agency Activities in the United States; and (E) any other executive branch office or agency, and any independent agency. (6) 'Identification aid' means the written description prepared for each record as required in section 4. (7) 'National Archives' means the National Archives and Records Administration and all components thereof, including Presidential archival depositories established under section 2112 of title 44, United States Code. (8) 'Official investigation' means the reviews of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy conducted by any Presidential commission, any authorized 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 agency, government commission, congressional committee, or other governmental entity that created a record or particular information within a record. (10) 'Public interest' means the compelling interest in the prompt public disclosure of assassination records for historical and governmental purposes and for the purpose of fully informing the American people about the history surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. (11) 'Record' includes a book, paper, map, photograph, sound or video recording, machine readable material, computerized, digitized, or electronic information, 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 Assassination Records Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration (a) In General.-(1) Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], the National Archives and Records Administration shall commence establishment of a collection of records to be known as the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection. In so doing, the Archivist shall ensure the physical integrity and original provenance of all records. The Collection shall consist of record copies of all Government records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which shall be transmitted to the National Archives in accordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code [this section]. 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 [Oct. 26 1992]; (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 Archivist 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 disclosure 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 available to the public at the National Archives using appropriations 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 Operations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall have continuing oversight jurisdiction with respect to the Collection. 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 Government office shall identify and organize its records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and prepare them for transmission to the Archivist for inclusion in the Collection. (2) No assassination record shall be destroyed, altered, or mutilated in any way. (3) No assassination record made available or disclosed to the public prior to the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992] may be withheld, redacted, postponed for public disclosure, or reclassified. (4) No assassination record created by a person or entity outside government (excluding names or identities consistent with the requirements of section 6) shall be withheld, redacted, postponed for public disclosure, or reclassified. (b) Custody of assassination records pending review.— During the review by Government offices and pending review activity by the Review Board, each Government office shall retain custody of its assassination records for purposes of preservation, security, and efficiency, unless (1) the Review Board requires the physical transfer of records for purposes of conducting an independent 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 subsection (c)(2)(C). (c) Review. (1) Not later than 300 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], each Government 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 office shall (A) determine which of its records are assassination 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 Government office; and (ii) transmit to a third agency or other Government 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 subparagraph (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 assassination 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 [Oct. 26, 1992] 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 [Oct. 26, 1992] are the subject of litigation under section 552 of title 5, United States Code; and (H) make available to the Review Board any additional information and records that the Review Board has reason to believe it requires for conducting a review under this Act. (3) 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 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 appropriate Government offices, shall prepare and make available to all Government offices a standard form of identification or finding aid for use with each assassination record subject to review under this Act. (B) The Archivist shall ensure that the identification 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 Government office shall (A) attach a printed copy to the record it describes; (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 Archivist. (3) Assassination records which are in the possession of the National Archives on the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992], and which have been publicly available in their entirety without redaction, shall be made available 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 immediately available to the public, all assassination records that can be publicly disclosed, including those that are publicly available on the date of enactment of this Act, without any redaction, 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 completion of other action authorized by this Act, all assassination records the public disclosure of which has been postponed, in whole or in part, under the standards of this Act, to become part of the protected Collection. (f) Custody of postponed assassination records.—An assassination 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 security program has been established at the National Archives as required in section 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 disclosure of additional assassination records in the Collection under the standards of this Act. (B) All postponed assassination records determined to require continued postponement shall require an unclassified written description of the reason for such continued postponement. Such description shall be provided 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 security-classified information. (D) Each assassination record shall be publicly disclosed in full, and available in the Collection no later than the date that is 25 years after the date of enactment 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, intelligence 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 public disclosure of records Disclosure of assassination records or particular information 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 outweighs the public interest, and such public disclosure would reveal(A) an intelligence agent whose identity currently requires protection; (B) an intelligence source or method which is currently utilized, or reasonably expected to be utilized, by the United States Government and which has not been officially disclosed, the disclosure of which would interfere with the conduct of intelligence activities; or (C) any other matter currently relating to the military defense, intelligence operations or conduct of foreign relations of the United States, the disclosure of which would demonstrably impair the national 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 outweighs the public interest; (4) the public disclosure of the assassination record would compromise the existence of an understanding of confidentiality currently requiring protection between a Government agent and a cooperating individual or a foreign government, and public disclosure would be so harmful that it outweighs the public interest; or |