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[Senate Report 114-65]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                     Calendar No. 119
114th Congress    }                                    {         Report
                                 SENATE
                                                                 
 1st Session      }                                    {         114-65

_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                   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.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                 June 15, 2015.--Ordered to be printed
                 
                                   ______

                         U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

49-010                         WASHINGTON : 2015                  
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona                 THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire          CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JONI ERNST, Iowa                     GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
BEN SASSE, Nebraska

                    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
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                                                       Calendar No. 119
114th Congress    }                                    {         Report
                                 SENATE
                                                                 
 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.

              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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\See 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Public Law 84-373.
    \4\Public 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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 
construct.\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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Peter 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.
    \7\Fred 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.
    \8\Maria 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.
    \9\See 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/.
    \10\See, Barack Obama Foundation Contributor Information, available 
at http://www.barackobamafoundation.org/pages/contributor-information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\Statement 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).

    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.
    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 respect 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.
    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

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Sec. 2112. Presidential archival depository

    (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (h) Presidential Library Fundraising Organization Reporting 
Requirement.--
          (1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                  (A) Contribution.--The term `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.
                  (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.--
                          (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.''.

                                  [all]
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