Jason Chaffetz: “As has been highlighted here by Mr. Clay and by me, there is good bipartisan work that has gone on for far too long. It…”

“As has been highlighted here by Mr. Clay and by me, there is good bipartisan work that has gone on for far too long. It is time to pass this bill. I really do appreciate the good work Mr. Duncan of Tennessee has done and the work of Ranking Member Cummings of Maryland. The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2017 is the type of good-government, bipartisan legislation that is perfect to be one of the first bills to pass out of the 115th Congress. Last Congress, this legislation passed through the committee by regular order and passed the House of Representatives without opposition. President Franklin Roosevelt established the first Presidential library in 1939. Since then, every former President since Herbert Hoover has had a library dedicated to his Presidential records. Each of the 13 current libraries is managed and operated by the National Archives and Records Administration at an annual cost of roughly $75 million. While these facilities are operated at taxpayer expense, the construction of these libraries is privately financed through donations. As the volume of records for each President has increased over the years, so have construction costs. For example, when it opened in 2004, the Clinton Presidential Center, in part, cost approximately $165 million. {time} 1300 Nine years later, the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened in 2013, cost about $250 million.…”