Mark Udall: “as a proud cosponsor of this bill--and of similar legislation since shortly after I was first elected to Congress--I…”

“as a proud cosponsor of this bill--and of similar legislation since shortly after I was first elected to Congress--I strongly support its approval by the House. The bill amends the Presidential Records Act of 1978 to establish a clear and equitable process enabling incumbent and former Presidents to review records prior to their public release under the act and determine whether to assert constitutional privilege claims against release of the records. Importantly, it would revoke an Executive order issued by President George W. Bush in 2001 that overturned rules set by President Ronald Reagan. By that order, President Bush has sought to give himself and Vice President Cheney--as well as former Presidents and Vice Presidents--broad authority to withhold Presidential records or delay their release indefinitely. I do not think that order should be allowed to stand. The Presidential Records Act was enacted in 1978 after the Watergate scandal and the subsequent resignation of President Nixon. It makes clear that Presidential records belong to the American people, not to the President, and required the Archivist of the United States--who was given custody of the records--to make the records available to the public as rapidly and completely as possible consistent with the provisions of the law. The act first applied to the records of former President Ronald Reagan.”