I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5646 

To provide for the creation of the Missing Armed Forces Personnel Records 

Collection at the National Archives, to require the expeditious public 

transmission to the Archivist and public disclosure of Missing Armed 

Forces Personnel records, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 16, 2020 

Mr. PAPPAS (for himself and Mr. FULCHER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To provide for the creation of the Missing Armed Forces 

Personnel Records Collection at the National Archives, 

to require the expeditious public transmission to the Archivist and public disclosure of Missing Armed Forces 

Personnel records, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bring Our Heroes 

5 Home Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.—Congress finds 

3 and declares the following: 

4 (1) A vast number of records relating to Miss5 ing Armed Forces Personnel have not been identi6 fied, located, or transferred to the National Archives 

7 following review and declassification. Only in the 

8 rarest cases is there any legitimate need for contin9 ued protection of records pertaining to Missing 

10 Armed Forces Personnel who have been missing for 

11 decades. 

12 (2) There has been insufficient priority placed 

13 on identifying, locating, reviewing, or declassifying 

14 records relating to Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

15 and then transferring the records to the National 

16 Archives for public access. 

17 (3) Mandates for declassification set forth in 

18 multiple Executive orders have been broadly written, 

19 loosely interpreted, and often ignored by Federal 

20 agencies in possession and control of records related 

21 to Missing Armed Forces Personnel. 

22 (4) No individual or entity has been tasked with 

23 oversight of the identification, collection, review, and 

24 declassification of records related to Missing Armed 

25 Forces Personnel. 

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1 (5) The interest, desire, workforce, and funding 

2 of Federal agencies to assemble, review, and declas3 sify records relating to Missing Armed Forces Per4 sonnel have been lacking. 

5 (6) All records of the Federal Government re6 lating to Missing Armed Forces Personnel should be 

7 preserved for historical and governmental purposes 

8 and for public research. 

9 (7) All records of the Federal Government re10 lating to Missing Armed Forces Personnel should 

11 carry a presumption of declassification, and all such 

12 records should be disclosed under this Act to enable 

13 the fullest possible accounting for Missing Armed 

14 Forces Personnel. 

15 (8) Legislation is necessary to create an en16 forceable, independent, and accountable process for 

17 the public disclosure of records relating to Missing 

18 Armed Forces Personnel. 

19 (9) Legislation is necessary because section 552 

20 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 

21 the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), as implemented 

22 by Federal agencies, has prevented the timely public 

23 disclosure of records relating to Missing Armed 

24 Forces Personnel. 

25 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

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1 (1) to provide for the creation of the Missing 

2 Armed Forces Personnel Records Collection at the 

3 National Archives; and 

4 (2) to require the expeditious public trans5 mission to the Archivist and public disclosure of 

6 Missing Armed Forces Personnel records, subject to 

7 narrow exceptions, as set forth in this Act. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) ARCHIVIST.—The term ‘‘Archivist’’ means 

11 Archivist of the United States. 

12 (2) COLLECTION.—The term ‘‘Collection’’ 

13 means the Missing Armed Forces Personnel Records 

14 Collection established under section 4(a). 

15 (3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 

16 agency’’— 

17 (A) means an agency, as defined in section 

18 552(f) of title 5, United States Code; and 

19 (B) includes any Executive department, 

20 military department, Government corporation, 

21 Government controlled corporation, or other es22 tablishment in the executive branch of the Fed23 eral Government, including the Executive Office 

24 of the President, any branch of the Armed 

25 Forces, and any independent regulatory agency. 

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1 (4) EXECUTIVE BRANCH MISSING ARMED

2 FORCES PERSONNEL RECORD.—The term ‘‘executive 

3 branch Missing Armed Forces Personnel record’’ 

4 means a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record of 

5 an Executive agency, or information contained in 

6 such a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record ob7 tained by or developed within the executive branch 

8 of the Federal Government. 

9 (5) GOVERNMENT OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Govern10 ment office’’ means an Executive agency, the Li11 brary of Congress, or the National Archives. 

12 (6) MISSING ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL.— 

13 (A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘Missing 

14 Armed Forces Personnel’’ means 1 or more 

15 missing persons. 

16 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Missing 

17 Armed Forces Personnel’’ includes an indi18 vidual who was a missing person and whose sta19 tus was later changed to ‘‘missing and pre20 sumed dead’’. 

21 (7) MISSING ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL

22 RECORD.—The term ‘‘Missing Armed Forces Per23 sonnel record’’ means a record that relates, directly 

24 or indirectly, to the loss, fate, or status of Missing 

25 Armed Forces Personnel that— 

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1 (A) was created or made available for use 

2 by, obtained by, or otherwise came into the cus3 tody, possession, or control of— 

4 (i) any Government office; 

5 (ii) any Presidential library; or 

6 (iii) any of the Armed Forces; and 

7 (B) relates to 1 or more Missing Armed 

8 Forces Personnel who became missing persons 

9 during the period— 

10 (i) beginning on December 7, 1941; 

11 and 

12 (ii) ending on the date of enactment 

13 of this Act. 

14 (8) MISSING PERSON.—The term ‘‘missing per15 son’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

16 1513 of title 10, United States Code. 

17 (9) NATIONAL ARCHIVES.—The term ‘‘National 

18 Archives’’— 

19 (A) means the National Archives and 

20 Records Administration; and 

21 (B) includes any component of the Na22 tional Archives and Records Administration (in23 cluding Presidential archival depositories estab24 lished under section 2112 of title 44, United 

25 States Code). 

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1 (10) OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘‘of2 ficial investigation’’ means a review, briefing, in3 quiry, or hearing relating to Missing Armed Forces 

4 Personnel conducted by a Presidential commission, 

5 committee of Congress, or agency, regardless of 

6 whether it is conducted independently, at the request 

7 of any Presidential commission or committee of Con8 gress, or at the request of any official of the Federal 

9 Government. 

10 (11) ORIGINATING BODY.—The term ‘‘origi11 nating body’’ means the Government office or other 

12 initial source that created a record or particular in13 formation within a record. 

14 (12) PUBLIC INTEREST.—The term ‘‘public in15 terest’’ means the compelling interest in the prompt 

16 public disclosure of Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

17 records for historical and governmental purposes, for 

18 public research, and for the purpose of fully inform19 ing the people of the United States, most impor20 tantly families of Missing Armed Forces Personnel, 

21 about the fate of the Missing Armed Forces Per22 sonnel and the process by which the Federal Govern23 ment has sought to account for them. 

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1 (13) RECORD.—The term ‘‘record’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term ‘‘records’’ in section 3301 of 

3 title 44, United States Code. 

4 (14) REVIEW BOARD.—The term ‘‘Review 

5 Board’’ means the Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

6 Records Review Board established under section 7. 

7 SEC. 4. MISSING ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL RECORDS 

8 COLLECTION AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COLLECTION.—Not later 

10 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

11 Archivist shall— 

12 (1) commence establishment of a collection of 

13 records to be known as the ‘‘Missing Armed Forces 

14 Personnel Records Collection’’; 

15 (2) commence preparing the subject guidebook 

16 and index to the Collection; and 

17 (3) establish criteria for Executive agencies to 

18 follow when transmitting copies of Missing Armed 

19 Forces Personnel Records to the Archivist, to in20 clude required metadata. 

21 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Review Board shall 

23 promulgate rules to establish guidelines and processes for 

24 the disclosure of records contained in the Collection. 

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1 SEC. 5. REVIEW, IDENTIFICATION, TRANSMISSION TO THE 

2 NATIONAL ARCHIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCLO3 SURE OF MISSING ARMED FORCES PER4 SONNEL RECORDS BY GOVERNMENT OF5 FICES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

7 (1) PREPARATION.—As soon as practicable 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, and suffi9 ciently in advance of the deadlines established under 

10 this Act, each Government office shall— 

11 (A) identify and locate any Missing Armed 

12 Forces Personnel records in the custody, pos13 session, or control of the Government office; 

14 and 

15 (B) prepare for transmission to the Archi16 vist in accordance with the criteria established 

17 by the Archivist a copy of any Missing Armed 

18 Forces Personnel records that have not pre19 viously been transmitted to the Archivist by the 

20 Government office. 

21 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Each Government office 

22 shall submit to the Archivist, under penalty of per23 jury, a certification indicating— 

24 (A) whether the Government office has 

25 conducted a thorough search for all Missing 

26 Armed Forces Personnel records in the custody, 

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1 possession, or control of the Government office; 

2 and 

3 (B) whether a copy of any Missing Armed 

4 Forces Personnel record has not been trans5 mitted to the Archivist. 

6 (3) PRESERVATION.—No Missing Armed 

7 Forces Personnel record shall be destroyed, altered, 

8 or mutilated in any way. 

9 (4) EFFECT OF PREVIOUS DISCLOSURE.—Infor10 mation that was made available or disclosed to the 

11 public before the date of enactment of this Act in a 

12 Missing Armed Forces Personnel record may not be 

13 withheld, redacted, postponed for public disclosure, 

14 or reclassified. 

15 (5) WITHHELD AND SUBSTANTIALLY RE16 DACTED RECORDS.—For any Missing Armed Forces 

17 Personnel record that is transmitted to the Archivist 

18 which a Government office proposes to substantially 

19 redact or withhold in full from public access, the 

20 head of the Government office shall submit an un21 classified and publicly releasable report to the Archi22 vist, the Review Board, and each appropriate com23 mittee of the Senate and the House of Representa24 tives justifying the decision of the Government office 

25 to substantially redact or withhold the record by 

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1 demonstrating that the release of information would 

2 clearly and demonstrably be expected to cause an ar3 ticulated harm, and that the harm would be of such 

4 gravity as to outweigh the public interest in access 

5 to the information. 

6 (b) REVIEW.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, each Gov9 ernment office shall, in accordance with the criteria 

10 established by the Archivist and the rules promul11 gated under paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) identify, locate, copy, and review each 

13 Missing Armed Forces Personnel record in the 

14 custody, possession, or control of the Govern15 ment office for transmission to the Archivist 

16 and disclosure to the public or, if needed, re17 view by the Review Board; and 

18 (B) cooperate fully, in consultation with 

19 the Archivist, in carrying out paragraph (3). 

20 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The Review Board shall 

21 promulgate rules for the disclosure of relevant 

22 records by Government offices under paragraph (1). 

23 (3) NATIONAL ARCHIVES RECORDS.—Not later 

24 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act, the Archivist shall— 

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1 (A) locate and identify all Missing Armed 

2 Forces Personnel records in the custody of the 

3 National Archives as of the date of enactment 

4 of this Act that remain classified, in whole or 

5 in part; 

6 (B) notify a Government office if the Ar7 chivist locates and identifies a record of the 

8 Government office under subparagraph (A); and 

9 (C) make each classified Missing Armed 

10 Forces Personnel record located and identified 

11 under subparagraph (A) available for review by 

12 Executive agencies through the National De13 classification Center established under Execu14 tive Order 13526. 

15 (4) RECORDS ALREADY PUBLIC.—A Missing 

16 Armed Forces Personnel record that is in the cus17 tody of the National Archives on the date of enact18 ment of this Act and that has been publicly available 

19 in its entirety without redaction shall be made avail20 able in the Collection without any additional review 

21 by the Archivist, the Review Board, or any other 

22 Government office under this Act. 

23 (c) TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.— 

24 Each Government office shall— 

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1 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, commence transmission to the 

3 Archivist of copies of the Missing Armed Forces 

4 Personnel records in the custody, possession, or con5 trol of the Government office; and 

6 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of en7 actment of this Act, complete transmission to the 

8 Archivist of copies of all Missing Armed Forces Per9 sonnel records in the possession or control of the 

10 Government office. 

11 (d) PERIODIC REVIEW OF POSTPONED MISSING

12 ARMED SERVICES PERSONNEL RECORDS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—All Missing Armed Forces 

14 Personnel records, or information within a Missing 

15 Armed Forces Personnel record, the public disclo16 sure of which has been postponed under the stand17 ards under this Act shall be reviewed by the origi18 nating body— 

19 (A)(i) periodically, but not less than every 

20 5 years, after the date on which the Review 

21 Board terminates under section 7(o); and 

22 (ii) at the direction of the Archivist; and 

23 (B) consistent with the recommendations 

24 of the Review Board under section 9(b)(3)(B). 

25 (2) CONTENTS.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A periodic review of a 

2 Missing Armed Forces Personnel record, or in3 formation within a Missing Armed Forces Per4 sonnel record, by the originating body shall ad5 dress the public disclosure of the Missing 

6 Armed Forces Personnel record under the 

7 standards under this Act. 

8 (B) CONTINUED POSTPONEMENT.—If an 

9 originating body conducting a periodic review of 

10 a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record, or 

11 information within a Missing Armed Forces 

12 Personnel record, the public disclosure of which 

13 has been postponed under the standards under 

14 this Act, determines that continued postpone15 ment is required, the originating body shall pro16 vide to the Archivist an unclassified written de17 scription of the reason for the continued post18 ponement that the Archivist shall highlight and 

19 make accessible on a publicly accessible website 

20 administered by the National Archives. 

21 (C) SCOPE.—The periodic review of post22 poned Missing Armed Forces Personnel records, 

23 or information within a Missing Armed Forces 

24 Personnel record, shall serve the purpose stated 

25 in section 2(b)(2), to provide expeditious public 

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1 disclosure of Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

2 records, to the fullest extent possible, subject 

3 only to the grounds for postponement of disclo4 sure under section 6. 

5 (D) DISCLOSURE ABSENT CERTIFICATION

6 BY PRESIDENT.—Not later than 10 years after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, all Missing 

8 Armed Forces Personnel records, and informa9 tion within a Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

10 record, shall be publicly disclosed in full, and 

11 available in the Collection, unless— 

12 (i) the head of the originating body, 

13 Executive agency, or other Government of14 fice recommends in writing that continued 

15 postponement is necessary; 

16 (ii) the written recommendation de17 scribed in clause (i)— 

18 (I) is provided to the Archivist in 

19 unclassified and publicly releasable 

20 form not later than 180 days before 

21 the date that is 10 years after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act; and 

23 (II) includes— 

24 (aa) a justification of the 

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1 closure with clear and convincing 

2 evidence that the identifiable 

3 harm is of such gravity that it 

4 outweighs the public interest in 

5 disclosure; and 

6 (bb) a recommended speci7 fied time at which or a specified 

8 occurrence following which the 

9 material may be appropriately 

10 disclosed to the public under this 

11 Act; 

12 (iii) the Archivist transmits all rec13 ommended postponements and the rec14 ommendation of the Archivist to the Presi15 dent not later than 90 days before the date 

16 that is 10 years after the date of enact17 ment of this Act; and 

18 (iv) the President transmits to the Ar19 chivist a certification indicating that con20 tinued postponement is necessary and the 

21 identifiable harm, as demonstrated by clear 

22 and convincing evidence, is of such gravity 

23 that it outweighs the public interest in dis24 closure not later than the date that is 10 

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1 years after the date of enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 SEC. 6. GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF PUBLIC DISCLO4 SURE OF RECORDS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Disclosure to the public of a Miss6 ing Armed Forces Personnel record or particular informa7 tion in a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record created 

8 after the date that is 25 years before the date of the review 

9 of the Missing Armed Forces Personnel record by the Ar10 chivist may be postponed subject to the limitations under 

11 this Act only— 

12 (1) if it pertains to— 

13 (A) military plans, weapons systems, or op14 erations; 

15 (B) foreign government information; 

16 (C) intelligence activities (including covert 

17 action), intelligence sources or methods, or 

18 cryptology; 

19 (D) foreign relations or foreign activities of 

20 the United States, including confidential 

21 sources; 

22 (E) scientific, technological, or economic 

23 matters relating to the national security; 

24 (F) United States Government programs 

25 for safeguarding nuclear materials or facilities; 

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1 (G) vulnerabilities or capabilities of sys2 tems, installations, infrastructures, projects, 

3 plans, or protection services relating to the na4 tional security; or 

5 (H) the development, production, or use of 

6 weapons of mass destruction; and 

7 (2) the threat posed by the public disclosure of 

8 the Missing Armed Forces Personnel record or infor9 mation is of such gravity that it outweighs the pub10 lic interest in disclosure. 

11 (b) OLDER RECORDS.—Disclosure to the public of a 

12 Missing Armed Forces Personnel record or particular in13 formation in a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record 

14 created on or before the date that is 25 years before the 

15 date of the review of the Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

16 record by the Archivist may be postponed subject to the 

17 limitations under this Act only if, as demonstrated by clear 

18 and convincing evidence— 

19 (1) the release of the information would be ex20 pected to— 

21 (A) reveal the identity of a confidential 

22 human source, a human intelligence source, a 

23 relationship with an intelligence or security 

24 service of a foreign government or international 

25 organization, or a nonhuman intelligence 

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1 source, or impair the effectiveness of an intel2 ligence method currently in use, available for 

3 use, or under development; 

4 (B) reveal information that would impair 

5 United States cryptologic systems or activities; 

6 (C) reveal formally named or numbered 

7 United States military war plans that remain in 

8 effect, or reveal operational or tactical elements 

9 of prior plans that are contained in such active 

10 plans; or 

11 (D) reveal information, including foreign 

12 government information, that would cause seri13 ous harm to relations between the United 

14 States and a foreign government, or to ongoing 

15 diplomatic activities of the United States; and 

16 (2) the threat posed by the public disclosure of 

17 the Missing Armed Forces Personnel record or infor18 mation is of such gravity that it outweighs the pub19 lic interest in disclosure. 

20 (c) EXCEPTION.—Regardless of the age of a Missing 

21 Armed Forces Personnel record—the date on which a 

22 Missing Armed Forces Personnel record was created—dis23 closure to the public of information in the Missing Armed 

24 Forces Personnel record may be postponed if— 

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1 (1) the public disclosure of the information 

2 would reveal the name or identity of a living person 

3 who provided confidential information to the United 

4 States and would pose a substantial risk of harm to 

5 that person; 

6 (2) the public disclosure of the information 

7 could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwar8 ranted invasion of personal privacy, and that inva9 sion of privacy is so substantial that it outweighs the 

10 public interest; or 

11 (3) the public disclosure of the information 

12 could reasonably be expected to cause harm to the 

13 methods currently in use or available for use by 

14 members of the Armed Forces to survive, evade, re15 sist, or escape. 

16 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT AND POWERS OF THE MISSING 

17 ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL RECORDS RE18 VIEW BOARD. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as an 

20 independent establishment in the executive branch a board 

21 to be known as the ‘‘Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

22 Records Review Board’’. 

23 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 (1) APPOINTMENTS.—The President shall ap25 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 

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1 Senate, 5 individuals to serve as a member of the 

2 Review Board to ensure and facilitate the review, 

3 transmission to the Archivist, and public disclosure 

4 of Missing Armed Forces Personnel records. 

5 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The President shall ap6 point individuals to serve as members of the Review 

7 Board— 

8 (A) without regard to political affiliation; 

9 (B) who are citizens of the United States 

10 of integrity and impartiality; 

11 (C) who are not an employee of an Execu12 tive agency on the date of the appointment; 

13 (D) who have high national professional 

14 reputation in their fields who are capable of ex15 ercising the independent and objective judgment 

16 necessary to the fulfillment of their role in en17 suring and facilitating the identification, loca18 tion, review, transmission to the Archivist, and 

19 public disclosure of Missing Armed Forces Per20 sonnel records; 

21 (E) who possess an appreciation of the 

22 value of Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

23 records to scholars, the Federal Government, 

24 and the public, particularly families of Missing 

25 Armed Forces Personnel; 

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1 (F) not less than 1 of whom is a profes2 sional historian; and 

3 (G) not less than 1 of whom is an attor4 ney. 

5 (3) DEADLINES.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

8 President shall submit nominations for all 

9 members of the Review Board. 

10 (B) CONFIRMATION REJECTED.—If the 

11 Senate votes not to confirm a nomination to 

12 serve as a member of the Review Board, not 

13 later than 90 days after the date of the vote the 

14 President shall submit the nomination of an ad15 ditional individual to serve as a member of the 

16 Review Board. 

17 (4) CONSULTATION.—The President shall make 

18 nominations to the Review Board after considering 

19 individuals recommended by the American Historical 

20 Association, the Organization of American Histo21 rians, the Society of American Archivists, the Amer22 ican Bar Association, veterans’ organizations, and 

23 organizations representing families of Missing 

24 Armed Forces Personnel. 

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1 (c) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The appropriate de2 partments, agencies, and elements of the executive branch 

3 of the Federal Government shall cooperate to ensure that 

4 an application by an individual nominated to be a member 

5 of the Review Board, seeking security clearances necessary 

6 to carry out the duties of the Review Board, is expedi7 tiously reviewed and granted or denied. 

8 (d) CONFIRMATION.— 

9 (1) HEARINGS.—Not later than 30 days on 

10 which the Senate is in session after the date on 

11 which not less than 3 individuals have been nomi12 nated to serve as members of the Review Board, the 

13 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

14 Affairs of the Senate shall hold confirmation hear15 ings on the nominations. 

16 (2) COMMITTEE VOTE.—Not later than 14 days 

17 on which the Senate is in session after the date on 

18 which the Committee on Homeland Security and 

19 Governmental Affairs holds a confirmation hearing 

20 on the nomination of an individual to serve as a 

21 member of the Review Board, the committee shall 

22 vote on the nomination and report the results to the 

23 full Senate immediately. 

24 (3) SENATE VOTE.—Not later than 14 days on 

25 which the Senate is in session after the date on 

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1 which the Committee on Homeland Security and 

2 Governmental Affairs reports the results of a vote on 

3 a nomination of an individual to serve as a member 

4 of the Review Board, the Senate shall vote on the 

5 confirmation of the nominee. 

6 (e) VACANCY.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

7 on which a vacancy on the Review Board occurs, the va8 cancy shall be filled in the same manner as specified for 

9 original appointment. 

10 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Review 

11 Board shall elect a member as Chairperson at the initial 

12 meeting of the Review Board. 

13 (g) REMOVAL OF REVIEW BOARD MEMBER.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Review 

15 Board shall not be removed from office, other 

16 than— 

17 (A) by impeachment by Congress; or 

18 (B) by the action of the President for inef19 ficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, 

20 physical disability, mental incapacity, or any 

21 other condition that substantially impairs the 

22 performance of the member’s duties. 

23 (2) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

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1 dicial review of the removal in a civil action 

2 commenced in the United States District Court 

3 for the District of Columbia. 

4 (B) RELIEF.—The member may be rein5 stated or granted other appropriate relief by 

6 order of the court. 

7 (h) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

8 (1) BASIC PAY.—A member of the Review 

9 Board shall be compensated at a rate equal to the 

10 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre11 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 

12 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each 

13 day (including travel time) during which the member 

14 is engaged in the performance of the duties of the 

15 Review Board. 

16 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Re17 view Board shall be allowed reasonable travel ex18 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at 

19 rates for employees of agencies under subchapter I 

20 of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

21 away from the member’s home or regular place of 

22 business in the performance of services for the Re23 view Board. 

24 (i) DUTIES OF THE REVIEW BOARD.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall con2 sider and render a decision on a determination by a 

3 Government office to seek to postpone the disclosure 

4 of a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record, in 

5 whole or in part. 

6 (2) RECORDS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), 

7 the Review Board shall consider and render a deci8 sion regarding— 

9 (A) whether a record constitutes a Missing 

10 Armed Forces Personnel record; and 

11 (B) whether a Missing Armed Forces Per12 sonnel record, or particular information in a 

13 Missing Armed Forces Personnel record, quali14 fies for postponement of disclosure under this 

15 Act. 

16 (j) POWERS.—The Review Board shall have the au17 thority to act in a manner prescribed under this Act, in18 cluding authority to— 

19 (1) direct Government offices to transmit to the 

20 Archivist Missing Armed Forces Personnel records 

21 as required under this Act; 

22 (2) direct Government offices to transmit to the 

23 Archivist substitutes and summaries of Missing 

24 Armed Forces Personnel records that can be publicly 

25 disclosed to the fullest extent for any Missing Armed 

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1 Forces Personnel record that is proposed for post2 ponement; 

3 (3) obtain access to Missing Armed Forces Per4 sonnel records that have been identified by a Gov5 ernment office; 

6 (4) direct a Government office to make avail7 able to the Review Board, and if necessary inves8 tigate the facts surrounding, additional information, 

9 records, or testimony from individuals, which the 

10 Review Board has reason to believe is required to 

11 fulfill its functions and responsibilities under this 

12 Act; 

13 (5) hold such hearings, sit and act at such 

14 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

15 evidence, and administer such oaths as the Review 

16 Board considers advisable to carry out its respon17 sibilities under this Act; 

18 (6) hold individuals in contempt for failure to 

19 comply with directives and mandates issued by the 

20 Review Board under this Act, which shall not in21 clude the authority to imprison or fine any indi22 vidual; 

23 (7) require any Government office to account in 

24 writing for the destruction of any records relating to 

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1 the loss, fate, or status of Missing Armed Forces 

2 Personnel; 

3 (8) receive information from the public regard4 ing the identification and public disclosure of Miss5 ing Armed Forces Personnel records; and 

6 (9) make a final determination regarding 

7 whether a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record 

8 will be disclosed to the public or disclosure of the 

9 Missing Armed Forces Personnel record to the pub10 lic will be postponed, notwithstanding the determina11 tion of an Executive agency. 

12 (k) WITNESS IMMUNITY.—The Review Board shall 

13 be considered to be an agency of the United States for 

14 purposes of section 6001 of title 18, United States Code. 

15 (l) OVERSIGHT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee on Home17 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen18 ate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of 

19 the House of Representatives shall have— 

20 (A) continuing oversight jurisdiction with 

21 respect to the official conduct of the Review 

22 Board and the disposition of postponed records 

23 after termination of the Review Board; and 

24 (B) upon request, access to any records 

25 held or created by the Review Board. 

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1 (2) DUTY OF REVIEW BOARD.—The Review 

2 Board shall have the duty to cooperate with the ex3 ercise of oversight jurisdiction under paragraph (1). 

4 (m) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Administrator of the 

5 General Services Administration shall provide administra6 tive services for the Review Board on a reimbursable basis. 

7 (n) INTERPRETIVE REGULATIONS.—The Review 

8 Board may issue interpretive regulations. 

9 (o) TERMINATION AND WINDING UP.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Two years after the date of 

11 enactment of this Act, the Review Board shall, by 

12 majority vote, determine whether all Government of13 fices have complied with the obligations, mandates, 

14 and directives under this Act. 

15 (2) TERMINATION DATE.—The Review Board 

16 shall terminate on the date that is 4 years after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (3) REPORT.—Before the termination of the 

19 Review Board under paragraph (2), the Review 

20 Board shall submit to Congress reports, including a 

21 complete and accurate accounting of expenditures 

22 during its existence, and shall complete all other re23 porting requirements under this Act. 

24 (4) RECORDS.—Upon termination of the Re25 view Board, the Review Board shall transfer all 

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1 records of the Review Board to the Archivist for in2 clusion in the Collection, and no record of the Re3 view Board shall be destroyed. 

4 SEC. 8. MISSING ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL RECORDS 

5 REVIEW BOARD PERSONNEL. 

6 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after 

8 the initial meeting of the Review Board, the Review 

9 Board shall appoint an individual to the position of 

10 Executive Director. 

11 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individual ap12 pointed as Executive Director of the Review 

13 Board— 

14 (A) shall be a citizen of the United States 

15 of integrity and impartiality; 

16 (B) shall be appointed without regard to 

17 political affiliation; and 

18 (C) shall not have any conflict of interest 

19 with the mission of the Review Board. 

20 (3) SECURITY CLEARANCE.— 

21 (A) LIMIT ON APPOINTMENT.—The Review 

22 Board shall not appoint an individual as Execu23 tive Director until after the date on which the 

24 individual qualifies for the necessary security 

25 clearance. 

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1 (B) EXPEDITED PROVISION.—The appro2 priate departments, agencies, and elements of 

3 the executive branch of the Federal Government 

4 shall cooperate to ensure that an application by 

5 an individual nominated to be Executive Direc6 tor, seeking security clearances necessary to 

7 carry out the duties of the Executive Director, 

8 is expeditiously reviewed and granted or denied. 

9 (4) DUTIES.—The Executive Director shall— 

10 (A) serve as principal liaison to Govern11 ment offices; 

12 (B) be responsible for the administration 

13 and coordination of the review of records by the 

14 Review Board; 

15 (C) be responsible for the administration 

16 of all official activities conducted by the Review 

17 Board; and 

18 (D) not have the authority to decide or de19 termine whether any record should be disclosed 

20 to the public or postponed for disclosure. 

21 (5) REMOVAL.—The Executive Director may be 

22 removed by a majority vote of the Review Board. 

23 (b) STAFF.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board may, in 

25 accordance with the civil service laws, but without 

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1 regard to civil service law and regulation for com2 petitive service as defined in subchapter I of chapter 

3 33 of title 5, United States Code, appoint and termi4 nate additional employees as are necessary to enable 

5 the Review Board and the Executive Director to per6 form their duties under this Act. 

7 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual appointed 

8 to a position as an employee of the Review Board— 

9 (A) shall be a citizen of the United States 

10 of integrity and impartiality; and 

11 (B) shall not have had any previous in12 volvement with any official investigation or in13 quiry relating to the loss, fate, or status of 

14 Missing Armed Forces Personnel. 

15 (3) SECURITY CLEARANCE.— 

16 (A) LIMIT ON APPOINTMENT.—The Review 

17 Board shall not appoint an individual as an em18 ployee of the Review Board until after the date 

19 on which the individual qualifies for the nec20 essary security clearance. 

21 (B) EXPEDITED PROVISION.—The appro22 priate departments, agencies, and elements of 

23 the executive branch of the Federal Government 

24 shall cooperate to ensure that an application by 

25 an individual who is a candidate for a position 

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1 with the Review Board, seeking security clear2 ances necessary to carry out the duties of the 

3 position, is expeditiously reviewed and granted 

4 or denied. 

5 (c) COMPENSATION.—The Review Board shall fix the 

6 compensation of the Executive Director and other employ7 ees of the Review Board without regard to chapter 51 and 

8 subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, relating to classification of positions and General 

10 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the 

11 Executive Director and other employees may not exceed 

12 the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 

13 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board may cre16 ate 1 or more advisory committees to assist in ful17 filling the responsibilities of the Review Board under 

18 this Act. 

19 (2) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—Any advisory 

20 committee created by the Review Board shall be sub21 ject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

22 U.S.C. App.). 

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1 SEC. 9. REVIEW OF RECORDS BY THE MISSING ARMED 

2 FORCES PERSONNEL RECORDS REVIEW 

3 BOARD. 

4 (a) STARTUP REQUIREMENTS.—The Review Board 

5 shall— 

6 (1) not later than 90 days after the date on 

7 which all members are appointed, publish an initial 

8 schedule for review of all Missing Armed Forces 

9 Personnel records, which the Archivist shall high10 light and make available on a publicly accessible 

11 website administered by the National Archives; and 

12 (2) not later than 180 days after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act, begin reviewing of Missing 

14 Armed Forces Personnel records under this Act. 

15 (b) DETERMINATION OF THE REVIEW BOARD.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall di17 rect that all records that relate, directly or indi18 rectly, to the loss, fate, or status of Missing Armed 

19 Forces Personnel be transmitted to the Archivist 

20 and disclosed to the public in the Collection in the 

21 absence of clear and convincing evidence that— 

22 (A) the record is not a Missing Armed 

23 Forces Personnel record; or 

24 (B) the Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

25 record, or particular information within the 

26 Missing Armed Forces Personnel record, qualiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jan 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5646.IH H5646
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1 fies for postponement of public disclosure under 

2 this Act. 

3 (2) POSTPONEMENT.—In approving postpone4 ment of public disclosure of a Missing Armed Forces 

5 Personnel record, or information within a Missing 

6 Armed Forces Personnel record, the Review Board 

7 shall seek to— 

8 (A) provide for the disclosure of segregable 

9 parts, substitutes, or summaries of the Missing 

10 Armed Forces Personnel record; and 

11 (B) determine, in consultation with the 

12 originating body and consistent with the stand13 ards for postponement under this Act, which of 

14 the following alternative forms of disclosure 

15 shall be made by the originating body: 

16 (i) Any reasonably segregable par17 ticular information in a Missing Armed 

18 Forces Personnel record. 

19 (ii) A substitute record for that infor20 mation which is postponed. 

21 (iii) A summary of a Missing Armed 

22 Forces Personnel record. 

23 (3) REPORTING.—With respect to a Missing 

24 Armed Forces Personnel record, or information 

25 within a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record, 

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1 the public disclosure of which is postponed under 

2 this Act, or for which only substitutions or sum3 maries have been disclosed to the public, the Review 

4 Board shall create and transmit to the Archivist an 

5 unclassified and publicly releasable report con6 taining— 

7 (A) a description of actions by the Review 

8 Board, the originating body, or any Government 

9 office (including a justification of any such ac10 tion to postpone disclosure of any record or 

11 part of any record) and of any official pro12 ceedings conducted by the Review Board; and 

13 (B) a statement, based on a review of the 

14 proceedings and in conformity with the deci15 sions reflected therein, designating a rec16 ommended specified time at which, or a speci17 fied occurrence following which, the material 

18 may be appropriately disclosed to the public 

19 under this Act, which the Review Board shall 

20 disclose to the public with notice thereof, rea21 sonably calculated to make interested members 

22 of the public aware of the existence of the state23 ment. 

24 (4) ACTIONS AFTER DETERMINATION.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days 

2 after the date of a determination by the Review 

3 Board that a Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

4 record shall be publicly disclosed in the Collec5 tion or postponed for disclosure and held in the 

6 protected Collection, the Review Board shall no7 tify the head of the originating body of the de8 termination and highlight and make available 

9 the determination on a publicly accessible 

10 website reasonably calculated to make inter11 ested members of the public aware of the exist12 ence of the determination. 

13 (B) OVERSIGHT NOTICE.—Simultaneous 

14 with notice under subparagraph (A), the Review 

15 Board shall provide notice of a determination 

16 concerning the public disclosure or postpone17 ment of disclosure of a Missing Armed Forces 

18 Personnel record, or information contained 

19 within a Missing Armed Forces Personnel 

20 record, which shall include a written unclassi21 fied justification for public disclosure or post22 ponement of disclosure, including an expla23 nation of the application of any standards in 

24 section 6 to the President, to the Committee on 

25 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

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1 of the Senate, and the Committee on Oversight 

2 and Reform of the House of Representatives. 

3 (5) REFERRAL AFTER TERMINATION.—A Miss4 ing Armed Forces Personnel record that is identi5 fied, located, or otherwise discovered after the date 

6 on which the Review Board terminates shall be 

7 transmitted to the Archivist for the Collection and 

8 referred to the Committee on Armed Services of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

10 House of Representatives for review, ongoing over11 sight and, as warranted, referral for possible en12 forcement action relating to a violation of this Act 

13 and determination as to whether declassification of 

14 the Missing Armed Forces Personnel is warranted 

15 under this Act. 

16 (c) NOTICE TO PUBLIC.—Every 30 days, beginning 

17 on the date that is 60 days after the date on which the 

18 Review Board first approves the postponement of disclo19 sure of a Missing Armed Forces Personnel record, the Re20 view Board shall highlight and make accessible on a pub21 licly available website reasonably calculated to make inter22 ested members of the public aware of the existence of the 

23 postponement a notice that summarizes the postpone24 ments approved by the Review Board, including a descrip25 tion of the subject, originating body, length or other physVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jan 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5646.IH H5646
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1 ical description, and each ground for postponement that 

2 is relied upon. 

3 (d) REPORTS BY THE REVIEW BOARD.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, and every year 

6 thereafter until the Review Board terminates, the 

7 Review Board shall submit a report regarding the 

8 activities of the Review Board to— 

9 (A) the Committee on Oversight and Re10 form of the House of Representatives; 

11 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

12 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

13 (C) the President; 

14 (D) the Archivist; and 

15 (E) the head of any Government office the 

16 records of which have been the subject of Re17 view Board activity. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

19 (1) shall include the following information: 

20 (A) A financial report of the expenses for 

21 all official activities and requirements of the 

22 Review Board and its employees. 

23 (B) The progress made on review, trans24 mission to the Archivist, and public disclosure 

25 of Missing Armed Forces Personnel records. 

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1 (C) The estimated time and volume of 

2 Missing Armed Forces Personnel records in3 volved in the completion of the duties of the Re4 view Board under this Act. 

5 (D) Any special problems, including re6 quests and the level of cooperation of Govern7 ment offices, with regard to the ability of the 

8 Review Board to carry out its duties under this 

9 Act. 

10 (E) A record of review activities, including 

11 a record of postponement decisions by the Re12 view Board or other related actions authorized 

13 under this Act, and a record of the volume of 

14 records reviewed and postponed. 

15 (F) Suggestions and requests to Congress 

16 for additional legislative authority needs. 

17 (G) An appendix containing copies of re18 ports relating to postponed records submitted to 

19 the Archivist under subsection (b)(3) since the 

20 end of the period covered by the most recent re21 port under paragraph (1). 

22 (3) TERMINATION NOTICE.—Not later than 90 

23 days before the Review Board expects to complete 

24 the work of the Review Board under this Act, the 

25 Review Board shall provide written notice to ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jan 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5646.IH H5646
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1 gress of the intent of the Review Board to terminate 

2 operations at a specified date. 

3 SEC. 10. DISCLOSURE OF OTHER MATERIALS AND ADDI4 TIONAL STUDY. 

5 (a) MATERIALS UNDER SEAL OF COURT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board may re7 quest the Attorney General to petition any court of 

8 the United States or of a foreign country to release 

9 any information relevant to the loss, fate, or status 

10 of Missing Armed Forces Personnel that is held 

11 under seal of the court. 

12 (2) GRAND JURY INFORMATION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board may 

14 request the Attorney General to petition any 

15 court of the United States to release any infor16 mation relevant to loss, fate, or status of Miss17 ing Armed Forces Personnel that is held under 

18 the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury. 

19 (B) TREATMENT.—A request for disclo20 sure of Missing Armed Forces Personnel mate21 rials under this Act shall be deemed to con22 stitute a showing of particularized need under 

23 rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Proce24 dure. 

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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that— 

3 (1) the Attorney General should assist the Re4 view Board in good faith to unseal any records that 

5 the Review Board determines to be relevant and held 

6 under seal by a court or under the injunction of se7 crecy of a grand jury; 

8 (2) the Secretary of State should— 

9 (A) contact the Governments of the Rus10 sian Federation, the People’s Republic of 

11 China, and the Democratic People’s Republic of 

12 Korea to seek the disclosure of all records in 

13 their respective custody, possession, or control 

14 relevant to the loss, fate, or status of Missing 

15 Armed Forces Personnel; and 

16 (B) contact any other foreign government 

17 that may hold information relevant to the loss, 

18 fate, or status of Missing Armed Forces Per19 sonnel, and seek disclosure of such information; 

20 and 

21 (3) all agencies should cooperate in full with the 

22 Review Board to seek the disclosure of all informa23 tion relevant to the loss, fate, or status of Missing 

24 Armed Forces Personnel consistent with the public 

25 interest. 

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1 SEC. 11. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 (a) PRECEDENCE OVER OTHER LAW.—When this 

3 Act requires transmission of a record to the Archivist or 

4 public disclosure, it shall take precedence over any other 

5 law (except section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

6 1986), judicial decision construing such law, or common 

7 law doctrine that would otherwise prohibit such trans8 mission or disclosure, with the exception of deeds gov9 erning access to or transfer or release of gifts and dona10 tions of records to the United States Government. 

11 (b) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Nothing in 

12 this Act shall be construed to eliminate or limit any right 

13 to file requests with any Executive agency or seek judicial 

14 review of the decisions under section 552 of title 5, United 

15 States Code. 

16 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

17 construed to preclude judicial review under chapter 7 of 

18 title 5, United States Code, of final actions taken or re19 quired to be taken under this Act. 

20 (d) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act re21 vokes or limits the existing authority of the President, any 

22 Executive agency, the Senate, or the House of Representa23 tives, or any other entity of the Government to publicly 

24 disclose records in its custody, possession, or control. 

25 (e) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REP26 RESENTATIVES.—To the extent that any provision of this 

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1 Act establishes a procedure to be followed in the Senate 

2 or the House of Representatives, such provision is adopt3 ed— 

4 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

5 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec6 tively, and is deemed to be part of the rules of each 

7 House, respectively, but applicable only with respect 

8 to the procedure to be followed in that House, and 

9 it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it 

10 is inconsistent with such rules; and 

11 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

12 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

13 they relate to the procedure of that House) at any 

14 time, in the same manner, and to the same extent 

15 as in the case of any other rule of that House. 

16 SEC. 12. TERMINATION OF EFFECT OF ACT. 

17 (a) PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO THE REVIEW

18 BOARD.—The provisions of this Act that pertain to the 

19 appointment and operation of the Review Board shall 

20 cease to be effective when the Review Board and the terms 

21 of its members have terminated under section 7(o). 

22 (b) OTHER PROVISIONS.—The remaining provisions 

23 of this Act shall continue in effect until such time as the 

24 Archivist certifies to the President and Congress that all 

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1 Missing Armed Forces Personnel records have been made 

2 available to the public in accordance with this Act. 

3 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act, 

6 to remain available until expended. 

7 (b) INTERIM FUNDING.—Until such time as funds 

8 are appropriated pursuant to subsection (a), the President 

9 may use such sums as are available for discretionary use 

10 to carry out this Act. 

11 SEC. 14. SEVERABILITY. 

12 If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof 

13 to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remain14 der of this Act and the application of that provision to 

15 other persons not similarly situated or to other cir16 cumstances shall not be affected by the invalidation. 

Æ