Documents coded as category one should include all those listed in the executive summary and Chapter III. Especially important are substantive drafts of legislation, speeches, and mark-up materials (indicating change of position or policy). These may be created and circulated on the system or accessed via the Senate switch for comment by staff within the committee or the committee member's offices. Also important are electronic messages and mail documenting policy or position. (For further discussion, see sections on electronic mail and personal computers in this chapter.) A selected list of documents and their appropriate retention codes follows Category 1: Permanent Staff analytical or briefing memos concerning legislation, oversight, nominations, investigations, and committee operations Correspondence concerning committee precedents, jurisdiction, and operations policy Substantive drafts of bills, reports, speeches, and statements Section-by-section analysis sheets ☐ Correspondence with agency officials, interested parties, Senate leadership, committee members, witnesses, and other information sources concerning committee business Press documents including speeches, press releases, newsletters, and articles Minutes or summaries of committee meetings Graphs and spreadsheets used to support a position or illustrate a point Daily schedules of senior staff Category 2: Transitory Correspondence with witnesses setting up hearing schedules; retain for one year following hearing, then dispose Committee reports that are published for wide dis tribution; retain until printed version is verified, then dispose Casework tracking correspondence; retain until case closed, then dispose; may wish to retain a list of closed cases Replies to high volume issue mail, "pressure mail"; retain for one Congress, then dispose Committee budget records, vouchers, and accounts; retain for two congresses, then dispose "Tickler" files Category 3: Dispose Staff non-substantive working drafts and revisions of bills, reports, amendments, and mark-up materials Notices of staff meetings Responses to general requests for information, documents published by the committee, or job applications and inquiries Equipment inventories Room use schedules GUIDELINES FOR PERSONAL Most committees have been authorized to acquire at least two IBM 3270 personal computers (PCs) for use by their economists and budget specialists in analyzing and tracking the federal budget and in administering their own budgets. The Banking Committee also has acquired Prime PCs to produce side by side prints of bills. Some committees, such as Budget, Appropriations, and Finance, rely heavily on PCs and have obtained additional units which can be used individually or networked. Use of PCs in committees will continue to increase as they replace the centralized Program Review System. Input data primarily includes accounting, budgetary, and score keeping data from CBO and OMB. This data is maintained at the Senate Computer Center and can be down-loaded from the Senate's mainframe or it can be entered manually. Floppy diskettes of the president's budget submission are available from SCC upon request. Staff sometimes combine this information with specialized information about financial and performance aspects of programs obtained from a variety of sources including the agencies, Economic Bulletin Board, and the Federal Data Procurement Center. Using LOTUS 1-2-3, an integrated software package with spreadsheet, graphics, and data base capabilities, or an individually tailored software as in the case of the Appropriations Committee, staff create data bases for programs over which they have jurisdiction. Staff use the data to perform comparative and statistical analyses to discern relationships and test theories about alternative program levels, create graphic displays, and to track specific programs through the budget cycle. Sample reports are included as exhibits 4-33 through 4-35. Some committees have added individual graphics packages such as Chartmaster and word processing software such as Wordperfect. Word processing software is useful for compiling committee Views and Estimates reports, mark-up drafts of authorization and appropriations bills and budget resolutions, and budget status reports summarizing the effects of legislative actions on particular programs. In addition, investigative committees find it useful to create specialized data bases that provide instant access to large bodies of pertinent data. Sensitive information processed on these systems should be stored on floppy disks in locked file cabinets while material that is not sensitive generally may be stored on hard disks. As with data stored on any form of magnetic media, if it is to be retained permanently, it must be transferred to an archival storage medium (paper, microfilm, or 9-track tape). The Archivist should be consulted for appraisal assistance and to help determine the storage medium. Guidelines for retention follow. Retain Permanently Spreadsheets, reports, and graphs produced, circulated, and used to support committee recommendations or to justify policy Substantive drafts of bills, resolutions, and side by sides used in mark-up Substantive drafts and final versions of Views and Estimates and other financial and budgetary reports used in mark-up or to justify a certain position or policy Special committee data bases containing information of permanent or long term value for committee operations, legislative work, oversight, investigations, and program evaluation. Such data may indicate economic or budget trends or contain information that would be difficult and costly to reassemble Temporary Retention Spreadsheets and graphics produced, but not used, to support or illustrate decisions or policy Drafts of bills and resolutions with minor editorial changes Budget tracking reports not used to justify decisions or policy Data bases containing information compiled for tracking authorization and appropriation legislation, financial trends, and budget score keeping. (The final reports issued by the committee or reports that are printed out and circulated should be retained permanently) Committee Data Bases or Index Files Data bases or indexes referencing paper or automated records within the committee office are records of particular importance. It is advisable to retain a final copy of any index to paper files on paper to facilitate disposition and archival control. Large complex data bases must be appraised on an individual basis and appropriate retention determined through consultation with the archivist. Retention: Permanent, if the corresponding records are permanent. Also may be permanent if they summarize particular committee projects and business or the information in the data base is determined to have long term value. ELECTRONIC MESSAGE/MAIL AND Electronic message/mail is available from the three approved OA systems and most committees utilize it extensively to prepare and distribute phone messages or notices and memos to committee staff authorized to receive the message. An all-Senate electronic mail system is available. Eventually, offices will be able to use the software to transfer unformatted text between systems. In addition, all three OA systems have communications capabilities which allow staff to "dial in" to systems in other offices through the Senate data switch. In this way, staff may view and edit documents on systems in other offices, for example, committee staff so authorized, could access a document in a committee member's office. Committee administrative staff should address several important issues regarding use of such systems. Which staff members are authorized to view, edit, and receive electronic messages/mail or to "dial in" to another office system? What office records will be created and transmitted using these systems? What storage capability is available from the system to retain a permanent copy of the record? Is the information being created and transmitted or edited of historical value to the committee? Does it contain policy information or justification of a particular position? Is it a substantive draft which should be retained? Are procedures in place to ensure the preservation of this information, to file it electronically and copy it to paper or transfer it to archival tape? Has consideration been given to creating an index to permanently valuable records created on an electronic message system? Retention and Disposition Guidelines Generally, the disposition of communications stored on electronic message/mail systems should follow the retention guidelines specified for the same type of information formerly stored on paper. Examples includeRetention: Disposition: Retention: Permanent. Memos and correspondence between committee staff counsels or members, especially substantive communications concerning legislation, nominations, committee business, issues, policy positions, strategy, and committee management policies. Save and file the document according to system procedures, then at regular intervals, the systems manager should transfer them to an archival storage medium. For documents sent from one office to another, both sender and receiver should save a copy. Temporary. Routine administrative memos and messages that contain no substantive information or decisions and lose their administrative purpose after a short time, such as notices of staff meetings, coordinating appointments and hearing schedules, brief phone messages, and messages containing information incorporated in other permanent records. Includes definitions of the logical and physical characteristics of each record, element, or item of data in the file; relative position, form, format, and size of data elements (record layout); codes used; cross-reference code manual; security and privacy restrictions; validity characteristics; update and access conditions; recording medium and volume; and sample copy of each input/source document. Retention: Permanent, if related magnetic media file is permanent. Temporary, if related magnetic media file is temporary. Disposition: If permanent, retain with related data file. (May need to obtain such information from the vendor. Attach to a survey sheet.) Magnetic media are extremely fragile and, without special precautions, may easily become damaged or destroyed. To avoid damaging records within the office, it is imperative that office management establish standard procedures for handling these media by consulting the vendor about the manufacturer's suggestions for proper storage and maintenance. These procedures should be developed before the office begins using the systems. Many manufacturers will provide paper jackets and storage boxes for diskettes. Remember, magnetic media have shorter life expectancy than paper or microfilm, and it is more vulnerable. Consideration should be given to— Library for Storing Diskettes and Disks-It is important for each office to establish a library for storing magnetic media. Ideally, this library should be located in a room with a constant temperature of around 60 to 70 degrees and a humidity factor of 40 to 50 percent. ☐ Location of Library-The library should be located in a central location within the office to allow for easy access by all staff to the diskettes and disks. If the information is sensitive, additional se curity may be provided by storing the media in a locked file cabinet. Guidelines for Use-For staff who operate the system, there are some general guidelines that should be observed when handling the diskettes or disks (1) When in use, keep the media away from other electrical equipment in the office. (2) Avoid placing diskettes or disks near metal and magnetic objects. Even the slightest contact with a magnetic object could cause the information to become altered or erased. (3) Do not apply rubber bands, paper clips, or tape, or place anything heavy or dusty on the media. The manufacturer should provide special labels for marking the diskettes and disks. (4) Do not place the media in direct sunlight or close to a heating outlet. Heat may warp the diskettes or disk, and possibly damage the information contained on the media. (5) Avoid drinking, eating, and smoking around the equipment and the storage media. MAINTENANCE OF PERMANENT RECORDS Besides being properly stored, all magnetic media used for storing permanent records should be tested and certified no more than six months before being used. Newly written tapes containing permanent records should be verified as error free. A three percent sample of all reels should be read annually to identify any loss of data, to discover the causes, and correct them. Tapes with ten or more errors should be replaced, and, if possible, the lost data restored. Magnetic media containing permanent records should be kept separate from those containing temporary records. (See 36 CFR 1234.4, care, handling, and storage of magnetic computer tapes and disk packs.) ELECTRONIC FILES CHECKLIST Has the systems manager established guidelines for document creation, including protocols for coding and indexing? Does the systems manager monitor for compliance? Are automated files inventoried and assigned disposition with assistance from the Archivist? Has the archival storage medium been determined in consultation with the Archivist? Has someone been assigned responsibility for transferring permanent information to an archival storage medium? Has a comprehensive list of subject (index) terms been compiled, and is it used for systems "folder" titles, as appropriate? Is the index produced by the system adequate to meet retrieval requirements? Are back-up files stored off-site? Are inactive files/tapes checked for data loss and reconstruction promptly accomplished? Is adequate system documentation available? |