U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

49–010 

" ! SENATE 

114TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2015

114–65 

Calendar No. 119 

PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DONATIONS ACT 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 558 

TO AMEND TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE, TO REQUIRE 

INFORMATION ON CONTRIBUTORS TO PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY 

FUNDRAISING ORGANIZATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 

JUNE 15, 2015.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

JONI ERNST, Iowa 

BEN SASSE, Nebraska 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

KEITH B. ASHDOWN, Staff Director 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Chief Counsel 

PATRICK J. BAILEY, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Deputy Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs 

GABRIELLE A. BATKIN, Minority Staff Director 

JOHN P. KILVINGTON, Minority Deputy Staff Director 

MARY BETH SCHULTZ, Minority Chief Counsel 

DEIRDRE G. ARMSTRONG, Minority Professional Staff Member 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 


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49–010 

Calendar No. 119 

114TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 1st Session 114–65 

PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DONATIONS ACT 

JUNE 15, 2015.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 558] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 558) to amend title 44, United 

States Code, to require information on contributors to Presidential 

library fundraising organizations, and for other purposes, having 

considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 4 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 4 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 5 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 5 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 6 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

S. 558, the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2015, 

brings transparency to the presidential library fundraising process 

by requiring disclosure of donor names and contribution amounts 

for donations that occur while a president is still in office or are 

received prior to the transfer of a library to the custody of the Archives. The legislation also requires the Archives to disclose the donations on its website in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable 

format. Under existing law, there are no restrictions on fundraising 

for the libraries, funds can be raised while the president is still in 

office, and the source of the donations is not required to be disclosed. 


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1See One Definite Locality, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 

http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/library/onedefinitelocality.html, last accessed Apr. 27, 2015. 2 National Archives and Records Administration, Open Government Plan, 10, 2014–2016, 

available at http://www.archives.gov/open/open-government-plan-3.0.pdf. 3Public Law 84–373. 

4Public Law 99–323. 

5 Even with the endowment, Presidential libraries still cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars to operate each year. See National Archives and Records Administration, Fiscal Year 2014 

Congressional Justification, at OE–12 (2013), available at http://www.archives.gov/about/ 

plans-reports/performance-budget/2014-performance-budget.pdf. 6Peter Applebome, Carter Center: More Than the Past (May 30, 1993), available at http:// 

www.nytimes.com/1993/05/30/travel/carter-center-more-than-the-past.html. 7Fred A. Bernstein, Who Should Pay for Presidential Posterity? (June 10, 2004), available at 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/garden/who-should-pay-for-presidential-posterity.html. 8Maria Newman, Thousands Attend Dedication of Clinton’s Presidential Library (Nov. 18, 

2004), available at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/18/politics/18cnd-clin.html. 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Presidential libraries allow the public to access information regarding past presidents and their administrations. The presidential 

library system formally began in 1939, when President Franklin D. 

Roosevelt developed the concept of a federally maintained presidential library to house his presidential papers and other historical 

materials.1 Friends of President Roosevelt formed a corporation to 

raise funds for the construction of a library located on the grounds 

of his family home in Hyde Park, New York. Today, the National 

Archives and Records Administration (NARA) administers a nationwide network of presidential libraries housing the records of 

presidents dating back to Herbert Hoover.2 The libraries are a valuable resource for historians, academics, researchers and the public. 

The Presidential Libraries Act of 1955 established the basic policy for creating federally maintained presidential libraries.3 To establish a presidential library, friends, family members and associates of an incumbent president generally establish a private foundation or other organization to raise funds to obtain a site and to 

construct the facility. Once completed, the facility is turned over, 

along with an operating endowment, to NARA. NARA operates and 

maintains presidential libraries using the operating endowment 

and federally appropriated funds. The libraries are typically located 

either in the former president’s hometown or on a university campus. They house the official records and papers of former presidents, as well as documentary materials of the president’s family 

and associates. To address concerns about the increasing taxpayer 

cost of presidential libraries, Congress amended the Presidential 

Libraries Act in 1986,4 establishing certain reporting requirements 

for NARA, imposing architectural and design conditions, and setting fiscal limitations on future presidential libraries, including a 

requirement that presidential libraries enter the federal system 

with an operating endowment in tow, in order to reduce the ongoing cost to the taxpayer of maintaining the libraries.5

Presidential libraries have become multipurpose institutes that, 

in addition to housing the official papers of a former president, can 

include museums, conference facilities, and classrooms. The cost of 

these facilities can be substantial. Press accounts indicate that the 

Jimmy Carter Presidential library cost $26 million to build,6 the 

George H.W. Bush library center cost $83 million to build,7 the 

William J. Clinton library center cost $165 million to build,8 and 

the George W. Bush library cost approximately $250 million to conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR065.XXX SR065

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9See Zeke J. Miller, Bush Raises More Than $500 Million For Library (Apr. 10, 2013), available at http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/10/bush-raises-more-than-500-million-for-library/. 10See, Barack Obama Foundation Contributor Information, available at http:// 

www.barackobamafoundation.org/pages/contributor-information. 11Statement of Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Politics, 

House Oversight and Government Reform Hearing, Reform to the Presidential Library Donation 

Disclosure Process, at 36, (February 28, 2007). 

struct.9 The Barack Obama Foundation has raised between $2.9 

million and $6.2 million for President Obama’s library through December 2014.10 The Obama Foundation is voluntarily disclosing donations on its web site, broken into bands of the value of the donation (e.g., $200 to $100,000). However, there is no statutory provision requiring this disclosure and therefore there is no way for the 

public to know whether the disclosure of donors is complete and 

timely. It furthermore lacks specific details, such as the actual 

amount of the donation and the occupation of the donor. 

Under current law, a sitting president can raise an unlimited 

amount of money for a presidential library, but has no obligation 

to publically report that information. Foreign governments, foreign 

individuals, and foreign corporations all may make donations to 

presidential libraries if the libraries are willing to accept them. 

Without transparency into these donations, a sitting president 

could potentially take an official action in exchange for a donation 

to his or her presidential library and the public would be unaware. 

The opaqueness of the sources of tens of millions of dollars in donations for the benefit of a sitting president has led to bipartisan 

concerns of potential impropriety, a fear that donors may seek to 

use library donations as a means to secure special access or political favors. 

Witnesses at a March 1, 2007 hearing conducted by the House 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform supported the 

need for disclosure of presidential library donations. They argued 

that undisclosed contributions create a perception of impropriety 

and noted the benefits of disclosure to public confidence in the political process. Sheila Krumholz, the Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Politics testified: 

Herein lies the central concern: that those who donate 

money to presidential libraries will in return receive special access to, and favors from, the president and the federal government. To minimize the potential for that sort of 

payback, and to build trust among a citizenry that already 

questions the ethics of elected officials, public disclosure of 

contributions to presidential library projects seems both 

appropriate and wise.11

The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2015 brings 

transparency to the presidential library fundraising process by requiring presidential fundraising organizations to disclose to NARA, 

on a quarterly basis, basic information about each donation greater 

than $200, including the source and date of the donation, in an 

electronic searchable and sortable format. This requirement would 

remain in place until a president leaves office or such time as 

NARA assumes operational control of the facility—whichever occurs later. To provide public access to the data, NARA is then required to post the disclosure information in a searchable, sortable, 

and downloadable format on its website. 


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S. 558 would also institute criminal penalties for presidential 

fundraising organizations that knowingly submit false information 

with respect to a disclosure. Similar penalties would apply to individuals that knowingly submit false information to a presidential 

fundraising organization with respect to a contribution. Ultimately, 

these reforms will bring transparency to the presidential library 

fundraising process, which occurs while presidents are still in office 

and in a position to provide favorable treatment to potential donors. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 558, the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2015, 

was introduced on February 25, 2015, by Ranking Member Carper 

and Chairman Johnson and the bill was then referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 

The Committee considered the bill at a March 4, 2015, business 

meeting and ordered the bill reported favorably by voice vote. 

Members present for the vote were Senators Johnson, Portman 

Lankford, Ayotte, Ernst, Carper, McCaskill, Baldwin, Heitkamp, 

and Peters. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title 

This section provides the bill’s short title, the Presidential Library Reform Act of 2015.’’ 

Section 2. Presidential Libraries 

Section 2(a) adds a new section (h) to 44 U.S.C. 2112 (part of the 

Presidential Libraries Act) to govern the disclosure of donations 

made to presidential libraries. 

New Section 2112(h)(1) defines two terms. ‘‘Contribution’’ means 

a contribution or contributions made by an individual or entity to 

a presidential library fundraising organization totaling not less 

than $200 (whether monetary or in-kind) in a single calendar quarter. ‘‘Presidential Library Fundraising Organization’’ means an organization established to raise funds to create, maintain, expand, 

or conduct activities at either a presidential archival depository or 

any facility relating to a presidential archival depository. 

New Section 2112(h)(2) requires presidential library fundraising 

organizations to submit quarterly reports to the Archivist of the 

United States with information about each contributor who gave 

the organization more than $200 that quarter. This information 

should be submitted in a searchable and sortable format and shall 

include: (1) the total value of each contribution, (2) the source of 

the contribution, (3) in the case of individuals, the occupation of the 

source, and (4) the date of each contribution. The Archivist must 

then publish this information within 30 days of receiving it on a 

website that is free for the public to access and that is searchable, 

sortable, and downloadable. This reporting requirement expires on 

the later of the president’s last day in office or the date on which 

the Archivist has accepted, taken title to, or entered into an agreement to use any land for the presidential library. 

New Section 2112(h)(3) establishes legal penalties for any person 

or fundraising organization submitting false information with reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR065.XXX SR065

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spect to a contribution that is made to a presidential library fundraising organization. 

New Section 2112(h)(4) makes it unlawful for any person to 

knowingly and willfully make a contribution in the name of another person; allow the name of a person to be used by another to 

make a contribution; or accept a contribution made by one person 

in the name of another. These provisions include prohibiting the 

making of a contribution through a corporation or other legal entity 

in order to conceal the identity of the person actually providing the 

contribution. 

New Section 2112(h)(5) authorizes the Archivist to promulgate 

regulations necessary to carry out the new subsection. Section 2(b) 

of the bill specifies that the disclosure requirements contained in 

the legislation apply only to contributions made after date of enactment. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirement of paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule XXVI 

of the Standing Rules of the Senate the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill. The legislation will not result in 

additional regulation, increased economic impact, adverse impact 

on personal privacy, or additional paperwork on any individuals or 

businesses. The Congressional Budget Office confirmed that S. 558 

contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

MARCH 17, 2015. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 558, the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2015. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

S. 558—Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2015 

S. 558 would require an organization that raises funds for a 

Presidential library to disclose the sources and amounts of such 

funds. Such organizations would have to identify any contributors 

of $200 or more in a calendar quarter while the President is in office, as well as during the period before the federal government 

takes possession of the library or the President leaves office, whichever is later. Fundraising organizations would be required to provide this information to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The bill would direct NARA to make this information freely available on the Internet. Finally, the legislation 

would establish criminal penalties, including fines, for violations of 

its provisions. 


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CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no 

significant effect on NARA’s administrative costs, which are subject 

to appropriation. We also estimate that any increases in federal 

spending to enforce penalties related to the laws concerning donations to Presidential libraries would be insignificant. 

Because those prosecuted and convicted under S. 558 could be 

subject to criminal and civil fines, enacting the legislation could increase federal revenues and associated direct spending. However, 

CBO estimates that such effects would not be significant in any 

year because of the small number of cases likely to be involved. Because the legislation could affect direct spending and revenues, 

however, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 

S. 558 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the 

budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

S. 558 would impose a private-sector mandate, as defined in 

UMRA, by requiring organizations established for the purpose of 

raising funds for Presidential libraries or their related facilities to 

submit information to NARA. The number of such organizations is 

small, and the cost to submit reports would be minimal. CBO estimates, therefore, that the direct cost of the mandate would fall well 

below the annual threshold established by UMRA for private-sector 

mandates ($154 million in 2015, adjusted annually for inflation). 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Matthew Pickford 

(for federal costs) and Paige Piper/Bach (for the private-sector impact). The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 558 as reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

TITLE 44—PUBLIC PRINTING AND 

DOCUMENTS 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 21. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS 

ADMINISTRATION 

* * * * * * * 

§ 2112. Presidential archival depository 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(h) PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FUNDRAISING ORGANIZATION REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

(A) CONTRIBUTION.—The term ‘contribution’ means a 

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ing not less than $200 (whether monetary or in-kind) in a 

single calendar quarter. 

(B) PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FUNDRAISING ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Presidential library fundraising organization’ means an organization established to raise funds to 

create, maintain, expand, or conduct activities at— 

(i) a Presidential archival depository; or 

(ii) any facility relating to a Presidential archival depository. 

(2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning on the 

date of enactment of this subsection, and ending on the 

date described in subparagraph (B), and not later than 15 

days after the end of each calendar quarter, each Presidential library fundraising organization shall submit to the 

Archivist, in a searchable and sortable electronic format, 

information on each contribution made during that quarter, which shall include— 

(i) the amount or value of the contribution; 

(ii) the source of the contribution, including the address of the individual or entity that is the source of 

the contribution; 

(iii) if the source of the contribution is an individual, 

the occupation of the individual; and 

(iv) the date of the contribution. 

(B) DURATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The date 

described in this subparagraph is the later of— 

(i) the date on which the Archivist accepts, takes title 

to, or enters into an agreement to use any land or facility for the Presidential archival depository for the 

President for whom the Presidential library fundraising organization was established; and 

(ii) the date on which the President whose archives 

are contained in the Presidential archival depository 

for whom the Presidential library fundraising organization was established no longer holds the Office of 

President. 

(C) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE PUBLISHED.—Not later 

than 30 days after each submission under subparagraph 

(A), the Archivist shall publish the information submitted 

on the website of the National Archives and Records Administration, without a fee or other access charge, in a 

searchable, sortable, and downloadable format. 

(3) PROHIBITION ON THE SUBMISSION OF FALSE MATERIAL INFORMATION.— 

(A) INDIVIDUAL.— 

(i) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any person 

who makes a contribution to knowingly and willfully 

submit materially false information or omit material 

information with respect to the contribution. 

(ii) PENALTY.—Any person who commits an offense 

described in clause (i) shall be punished as provided 

under section 1001 of title 18. 

(B) ORGANIZATION.— 


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(i) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any Presidential library fundraising organization to knowingly 

and willfully submit materially false information or 

omit material information required to be submitted 

under paragraph (2)(A). 

(ii) PENALTY.—Any Presidential library fundraising 

organization that commits an offense described in 

clause (i) shall be punished as provided under section 

1001 of title 18. 

(4) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS.— (A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any person to 

knowingly and willfully— 

(i) make a contribution in the name of another person; 

(ii) allow the name of the person to be used by another person to effect a contribution; or 

(iii) accept a contribution that is made by 1 person 

in the name of another person. 

(B) PENALTY.—Any person who commits an offense described in subparagraph (A) shall be punished as provided 

under section 309(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(d)) in the same manner as if the 

offense were a violation of section 316(b)(3) of such Act (52 

U.S.C. 30118(b)(3)). 

(5) REGULATIONS.—The Archivist shall promulgate regulations for the purpose of carrying out this subsection.’’. 

Æ 


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