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UNITED STATES SENATE

U.S. Senate Records: Guidelines for Committee Staff

INTRODUCTION
Committees are responsible for maintaining and safeguarding their official records. This includes keeping records in good order within discrete file series that are arranged in logical sequences; identifying and preserving relevant electronic records including e-mail; and ensuring that permanently valuable historical material is preserved in the archives. Permanent records provide essential documentation for Senate legislative, oversight, and investigative activities and are vital components of the Senate's institutional memory.

SENATE STANDING RULES AND STATUTES
The following rules and statutes govern the owner-ship, maintenance, and disposition of Senate committee records.

Rule XI: Papers—Withdrawal, Printing, Reading of and Reference
1. No memorial or other paper presented to the Senate, except original treaties finally acted upon, shall be withdrawn from its files except by order of the Senate.

2. The Secretary of the Senate shall obtain at the close of each Congress all the noncurrent records of the Senate and of each Senate committee and transfer them to the National Archives for preservation, subject to the orders of the Senate.

Rule XXVI: Committee Procedure
10. (a) All committee hearings, records, data, charts, and files shall be kept separate and distinct from the congressional office records of the Member serving as chairman of the committee; and such records shall be the property of the Senate and all members of the committee and the Senate shall have access to such records. Each committee is authorized to have printed and bound such testimony and other data presented at hearings held by the committee.

44 U S. C. § 2118. Records of Congress
The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, acting jointly, shall obtain at the close of each Congress all the noncurrent records of the Congress and of each congressional committee and transfer them to the National Archives and Records Administration for preservation, subject to the orders of the Senate or the House of Representatives, respectively.

2 U.S.C. § 72a. Committee Staffs (d) Recordation of Committee Hearings, Data, Etc.; Access to Records
All committee hearings, records, data, charts, and files shall be kept separate and distinct from the congressional office records of the Member serving as chairman of the committee; and such records shall be the property of the Congress and all members of the committee and the respective Houses shall have access to such records. Each committee is authorized to have printed and bound such testimony and other data presented at hearings held by the committee.

18 U S.C. § 641. Public Money, Property or Records
Whoever embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts to his use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys or disposes of any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof, or any property made or being made under contract for the United States or any department or agency thereof; or

Whoever receives, conceals, or retains the same with intent to convert it to his use or gain, knowing it to have been embezzled, stolen, purloined or converted-

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the value of such property does not exceed the sum of $1000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. The word "value" means face, par, or market value, or cost price, either wholesale or retail, whichever is greater.

18 U.S.C. § 2071. Concealment, Removal, or Mutilation Generally
(a) Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(b) Whoever, having custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this sub-section, the term "office" does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.

COMMITTEE RECORDS DEFINED
Congress, in the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. 3301), provided the executive branch with a definition of "records." This statutory definition serves as the basis for defining Senate committee records as:

all documentary materials, regardless of physical form, made or received and maintained by committees in connection with the transaction of committee legislative, oversight, and executive business.

These records document committee work on bills, oversight, and investigations, consideration of nominations and treaties, and impeachment proceedings. They are preserved because they contain evidence of the organization, functions, and operations of the committee and because they contain valuable information. Information has historical value when it is unique, is in an accessible form, and/or when the subject matter is important.

Committee records are to be distinguished from personal papers. The senators' personal papers are those materials generated within the member's personal office. Committee staff may also have purely personal papers in their offices. Examples include records relating to campaign activities, papers accumulated before joining the committee, or materials resulting from outside pursuits, and diaries and personal notes which are not prepared for transacting committee business. Such materials should be clearly designated and kept separately from the records of the committee.

PERMANENT COMMITTEE RECORDS
The following types of records are appropriate for preservation in committee archives. They are listed by the committee function to which they relate.

Legislative
Staff analytical memos
Communications with Senate leadership, committee members, agency staff and interested parties, including substantive e-mail
Briefing books
Hearing transcripts, exhibits, and broadcasts
Substantive drafts of legislation and reports
Transcripts and minutes of business meetings and
"mark-ups"
Record of roll-call votes and polling records
Audiovisual materials
Press releases, speeches, statements
"Bill" files containing prints of the bill at various stages; conference committee minutes, transcripts and report; side-by-side; and public law

Oversight/Investigative
Staff analytical memos
Communications (textual and electronic) with Senate leadership, committee members, agency staff, and interested parties, including substantive e-mail
Briefing books
Hearing transcripts, exhibits, and broadcasts
Document submissions, subpoenaed documents, depositions—with indexes
Studies, reports, surveys, questionnaires
Transcripts and minutes of committee meetings
Press releases, speeches
Audiovisual materials
Substantive drafts of committee reports
Databases and system documentation

Nominations Review
Staff analytical memos
Communications (textual and electronic) with Senate leadership, committee members, agency staff, and interested parties, including substantive e-mail
Nominee biographical and financial data files, committee questionnaires
Briefing books
Hearing transcripts, exhibits, and broadcasts
Executive reports and substantive drafts
Record of roll-call votes

Treaty Review
Staff analytical memos
Communications (textual and electronic) with Senate leadership, committee members, agency staff, and interested parties, including substantive e-mail
Briefing books
Hearing transcripts, exhibits, and broadcasts
Record of roll-call votes
Executive reports and substantive drafts
Country "subject" files

Official Communications
Executive communications
Petitions and Memorials
Presidential messages
Reports required by law

Budget Process
President's budget request
Committee views and estimates reports Staff analytical memos
Communications (textual and electronic) with Senate leadership, committee members, agency staff, and interested parties, including substantive e-mail
Hearing transcripts, exhibits, and briefing books
Transcripts and minutes of committee business and "mark-up" meetings
Congressional Budget Office, Office of Management and Budget, and General Accounting Office reports
Budget resolution—including substantive drafts of the resolution and accompanying report
Rescission and deferral notices

Committee Management
Committee policies and precedents memoranda
Staff rosters with area of specialization
Committee Calendar
Committee activities reports
Annual budget requests, supplemental material, and authorization hearing transcripts
Trip itineraries and reports

PRESERVATION OF COMMITTEE RECORDS
Under Senate Rule XI, the Secretary of the Senate obtains the noncurrent records of committees and transfers them to the National Archives for preservation. The Senate archivist in the Historical Office is charged with administering this program. The archivist provides advice and assistance to all committees, including staff briefings, information management training, assistance with textual and electronic record transfers and documentation, and consultations concerning records access. For assistance in any of these areas, or to initiate an archival transfer, call the archivist at 4-3351.

MANAGEMENT CHECKLIST
Management

• Are all committee staff briefed periodically about their record-keeping responsibilities?
• Do they receive a copy of this pamphlet as part of orientation, and again before they depart the staff?
• Do the chief clerk and minority clerk oversee records management throughout the committee?
• Does the committee have a professional archivist/librarian on the staff?
• Do subcommittee clerks monitor record keeping in their respective offices?

Committee files

• Is there a complete set of "mark-up" transcripts, and are they routinely transferred to the archives?
• Are there complete sets of briefing books for the majority and minority and are they routinely transferred to the archives?
• Are staff maintaining complete legislative files documenting their work on legislation? Do the files contain staff memos, staff talks and presentations?
• Are investigative files carefully maintained and adequately indexed and transferred to the archives?
• Are nominations files carefully maintained and routinely transferred to the archives?
• Are treaty files complete and routinely transferred to the archives?
• Are official communications carefully filed and transferred to the archives?
• Are committee press releases and hearing broad-casts transferred to the archives?

Electronic records

• Has the committee established guidelines for maintaining permanently valuable electronic records?
• Do staff members understand what documents need to be retained? (memos, remarks, substantive drafts of legislation and reports, position papers, speech drafts, correspondence)
• Do electronic document titles include useful information, such as subject, date, author, bill number, document type?
• Are electronic documents "filed" into folders and subdirectories?
• Are permanent electronic files "migrated" during system upgrades and changes, and when they become noncurrent, are they moved to an archival transfer medium?
• Is substantive information maintained on computers, including e-mail, being saved and transferred to the archives?

Archival transfers

• Does each staff member periodically receive guidance on records transfer procedures?
• When a staff member departs, are his/her noncurrent records transferred to the archives?
• Are noncurrent committee files transferred routinely to the archives?
• Are unneeded items removed prior to transfer?
• Are labels and transfer forms checked for completeness and accuracy?
• Do committee staff work closely with the Senate archivist? (4-3351)

DO YOU KNOW THAT

• Committee records are the property of the Senate (Senate Rule XXVI(10)(a) and 2 U.S.C.§ 72(a) (d))
• Committee records may not be mixed with personal papers of individual senators (Senate Rule XXVI(10)(a) and 2 U.S.C. 72(a)(d))
• Committee records include all documentary materials (textual and electronic) either made or received and maintained by committees as a result of transacting committee business
• Committee records document work on bills, over-sight, investigations, nominations, treaties, and impeachment proceedings
• Committee records include "staff files"
• Committee records should fully document "majority" and "minority" positions on issues
• Documents provided to committees by executive agencies, by virtue of their provision and use, become Senate committee records
• Committee records cannot be removed from the Senate's custody, except as specified by Senate Rule XI(1) and 44 U.S.C.§ 2118
• Failure to comply with Senate Rules and federal law could result in violation of federal criminal laws (18 U.S.C. §§ 641,2071)

For additional information, consult the Records Management Handbook for United States Senate Committees, avail-able from the Senate Archivist (4-3351).

Prepared under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate by the Senate Historical Office

S. Pub. 108-22

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