Edolphus Towns: “H.R. 35, the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2009, will restore public access to Presidential records. Identical…”

“H.R. 35, the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2009, will restore public access to Presidential records. Identical legislation was introduced in the last Congress and passed the House with strong bipartisan support. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 established that the records of the President belong to the American people, not to the President. It also ensured that these records would be released to historians and to the public in a timely manner. In an executive order issued in November 2001, President Bush reversed the presumption of disclosure in the Presidential Records Act. The order gave Presidents and former Presidents the ability to delay the public release of records even long after their own deaths. For the first time, it gave former Presidents the ability to assert privilege over their own records. Today's legislation restores the intent of the Presidential Records Act.”