INTRODUCTION

SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMITTEE RECORDS

Congressional committees have been described as the nerve ends of Congress, the gatherers of information, the sifters of alternatives, and the refiners of legislation. When they study legislative proposals and consider nominations and treaties, they create and collect a wealth of information pertaining to the legislative process and all aspects of political, economic, and social life. As watchdogs of the executive branch, they compile records that document and assess the efficiency and effectiveness of agency programs and detail the extent to which these programs carry out the intent of enacted laws. In their investigative role, they sometimes identify public problems ignored or overlooked elsewhere, and develop proposals to deal with them. As Woodrow Wilson once summarized, "Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work.”1

The records that are created or received and maintained by committee staff as a result of these activities constitute a singularly unique and vital body of documentation not only of the Senate's history and role in formulating legislation, but also of the general history of Congress and the American people. Committee records are an essential component of the Senate's institutional "memory." Properly arranged and preserved, they contain evidence of each committee's organization and functions, furnish a complete legislative history of individual bills and laws, and serve as a rich source of reference material for topics within a committee's jurisdiction.2 RECORDS MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Managing committee records and information is an important responsibility that is usually delegated to each committee's chief clerk. Because committees vary in size and organizational structure with most

1Kravitz, Walter, "The U.S. Committee System, The Parliamentarian, July 1979, Vol. LX, no. 3, p.123.

2Senate Report No. 1042, 96th Congress (1980), Relating to Public Access to Senate Records at the National Archives, reproduced in Chapter IX, Exhibit 9-3

having "majority" and "minority" staffs, records management duties must be shared by key minority and subcommittee staff. With the increasing use of word processors and electronic mail systems by professional staff, committee systems managers will be responsible for designing and implementing systemwide procedures that facilitate the retention of permanent committee records. Eventually, all committee staff must bear some responsibility for the preservation of records. Ideally, each administrative unit within a committee, including the full committee, subcommittees, majority, and minority staff should designate one individual who will be responsible for the coordination of filing and records disposition within that unit.

The quality of files and information management within a committee can influence the legislative and oversight effectiveness of staff and contribute to their ability to conduct efficient and accurate investigations. Staff should be able to determine the legislative history of any particular section of a law. They can do so only when files have been deliberately arranged and maintained. Good records management is especially critical in view of committees' vast collections of documents and an increasing reliance on technologies which make it easy to alter and erase information.

Records that are organized and well-maintained serve the needs of staff who need to research the basis and background of landmark legislation. In a wider context, and perhaps most significantly, a wellmaintained body of records contains information essential to documenting the history of the committee and the wide spectrum of subject area issues which confronted each generation of members and staff.

Because of the significance of committee records and the need to ensure their preservation, the Senate Historical Office, under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate, has assembled this handbook of office filing, files maintenance, and records disposition. Chief clerks, administrative clerks, and computer systems managers should use the guidelines to set up records management procedures ap

propriate to the work and organizational structure of their individual offices. The sample document naming and filing conventions found in Chapter IV may be used to improve automated systems management within an office. Committee staff must keep in mind that if early and decisive consideration is not given to the maintenance of committee records, it is likely that staff efficiency and effectiveness will suffer and that the Nation's historical record certainly will be impoverished.

OBJECTIVES OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Efficient management of committee records has four main objectives:

Establishment of an office files and automated systems policy for each administrative unit including all majority, minority, and non-designated staff of the full committee and all subcommittees Creation of well-defined office files that are arranged in efficient and logical filing sequences and are free of unneeded papers

Timely and systematic removal of transitory records, either for later destruction, microfilming, or sampling

Designation and control of permanently valuable committee records including paper records, microfilm, and records created and stored on magnetic media

RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY

To establish an effective records program, it is important for the committee chairman and ranking minority member, or their designees, such as the majority and minority chief counsels, staff directors, or chief clerks, to issue a committee-wide records management memorandum. Such a memo should:

Remind all committee staff that records created or received and maintained as a result of committeerelated work constitute records of the committee Stress the importance of good records management in all offices throughout the committee Require implementation of a records management plan

Authorize committee members or staff who so wish to make either electrostatic or microfilm copies of their files to take with them when they leave the committee

Require all committee staff to periodically review their electronic files and transfer permanent records to an archival storage medium. Staff leaving committee employment should be required to transfer all electronic files that may be needed by other staff members