CHAPTER IX:

PUBLIC ACCESS

SENATE RESOLUTION 474, 96TH
CONGRESS

Senate Resolution 474, 96th Congress (adopted on December 1, 1980 and reproduced as Exhibit 9-1) provides a uniform rule for public access to Senate records at the National Archives as follows: ⚫ in the case of investigative files relating to individuals and containing personal data, personnel records, and records of executive nominations, when such files and records have been in existence for fifty years;

in the case of all other such records, when such records have been in existence for twenty years. Not withstanding these provisions, any committee of the Senate may, by action of the full committee, prescribe a different time when any of its records may be made available for public use, under specific conditions to be fixed by such committee, by giving notice thereof to the secretary of the Senate, and archivist of the United States.

If committees take no action to the contrary, the following restrictions apply: (See Exhibit 9-2, Report accompanying S. Res. 494.)

Investigative files relating to individuals

to greater public knowledge of and interest in the Senate of the United States." Because neither the Freedom of Information Act (5USC552) nor the Privacy Act (5USC 552a) apply to Congress, the access system established by S. Res. 474 determines the availability of records on deposit at the National Archives.

This resolution was based largely on the recommendations of two special study committees. On February 24, 1977 the Temporary Select Committee to Study the Senate Committee System recommended, with regard to Senate committee records, that:

The Senate adopt a resolution directing that all non-current committee records be opened within a certain reasonable time after their creation except where a committee declares that personal privacy, national security or other national interest requires continued confidentiality. Each committee should state clearly which records may be made available earlier than the time period specified in the resolution and under what procedures. All statements of committee policy governing access to non-current records should be published in the Congressional Record and filed with the Secretary of the Senate, the Senate Historical Office, and the Archivist of the United States.

Five weeks later, on March 31, 1977, the National Study Commission on the Records and Documents of Federal Officials, in its report to Congress, recommended that "unpublished records of Congress deposited at the National Archives should be made available (to the public) immediately, except for those (sensitive) materials that (would) fall under the exemptions included in the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts." The Commission noted that the records of Congress are an invaluable source of information about the legislative process, "yet the rules governing access are so varied and inconsistent that the records themselves go unused."

The Commission concluded that the time had come for Congress to adopt uniform standards for disposition and access similar to those within the executive branch. The Commission also urged the adoption of a systematic program for records management to facilitate the separation of records of permanent value from those that can be destroyed (see Exhibit 9-3).

Prior to adoption of S. Res. 474, committees had made individual arrangements with the National Archives. The resulting variety of regulations created

considerable confusion and often resulted in access to similar, but separate, bodies of records being granted in some cases and denied in others. S. Res. 474, 96th Congress provides for a uniform rule of access and eliminates inconsistencies. In the almost twenty years since its implementation, it has served both Senate and researcher needs very well.

Occasionally, committees determine to open files in advance of the resolution's 20 or 50-year outer limits. Consultation with the Senate archivist and Senate legal counsel is recommended on a case-bycase basis.