I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2171 

To authorize the Archivist of the United States to make grants to States 

for the preservation and dissemination of historical records. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2009 

Mr. HINCHEY (for himself, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. 

SLAUGHTER, Mr. BARROW, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. LOEBSACK, 

Mr. GERLACH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. ARCURI, Mr. 

ACKERMAN, Mr. ISRAEL, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. NADLER

of New York, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. CROWLEY) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform 

A BILL 

To authorize the Archivist of the United States to make 

grants to States for the preservation and dissemination 

of historical records. 

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 ‘‘Preserving the Amer5 ican Historical Record Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Much of the American historical record, 

2 such as evidence of births, education, marriage, di3 vorce, property owned, obligations satisfied, and 

4 criminal conduct, is held at the State and local level 

5 by organizations that preserve the records that pro6 tect the rights of the Nation. 

7 (2) The United States has recognized the im8 portance of history by its support of national institu9 tions such as the National Archives, the Library of 

10 Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution. Yet, this 

11 support is not adequate to reach the rest of the Na12 tion’s archives being held in State and local histor13 ical societies, archives, and library history collec14 tions. 

15 (3) More resources need to be directed to State 

16 and local organizations to ensure essential care of 

17 documents and archival records in their many forms 

18 so that they can be readily used by the people of this 

19 Nation. 

20 (4) History connects people to community— 

21 whether the community is a family, a neighborhood, 

22 a city, a State, or a Nation. Connections to the past 

23 are essential to sustaining democracy, educating stu24 dents, creating a sense of place in family and com25 munity, supporting information needs in business 


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1 and legal affairs, and making reasoned decisions 

2 about the Nation’s future direction. 

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

4 The purposes of this Act are— 

5 (1) to protect historical records from harm, to 

6 prolong their life, and to preserve them for public 

7 use, through the use of electronic records initiatives 

8 and plans for disaster preparedness, recovery and 

9 other preservation activities; 

10 (2) to use historical records in new and creative 

11 ways to convey the importance of State, territorial, 

12 and community history, including the development of 

13 teaching materials for elementary, secondary, and 

14 post-secondary teachers, active participation in Na15 tional History Day, and support for life-long learn16 ing opportunities; 

17 (3) to provide education and training to archi18 vists and others who care for historical records, en19 suring that they have the necessary knowledge and 

20 skills to fulfill their important responsibilities; and 

21 (4) to create a wide variety of access tools, in22 cluding archival finding aids, documentary editions, 

23 indexes, and images of key records maintained on 

24 Internet websites of State and local organizations. 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS. 

2 The Archivist may make grants under this Act to 

3 States to carry out programs consistent with the purposes 

4 of this Act. 

5 SEC. 5. USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS. 

6 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—The Archivist may not award 

7 grants to any State under this Act unless— 

8 (1) the State agrees to use grant amounts only 

9 to carry programs consistent with the purposes of 

10 this Act; 

11 (2) the State certifies the availability of State 

12 or private funds, or an in-kind equivalent, equal to 

13 half the amount of the grant to be awarded; and 

14 (3) the State ensures that grant amounts are 

15 used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal 

16 funds that would otherwise be available for those 

17 purposes. 

18 (b) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—The Archivist may 

19 require additional terms and conditions in connection with 

20 the use of grant amounts provided under this Act as the 

21 Archivist considers appropriate. 

22 SEC. 6. SELECTION CRITERIA. 

23 (a) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—The Archivist shall 

24 award grant amounts under this Act in accordance with 

25 criteria to be established by the Archivist consistent with 

26 the purposes of this Act. 


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1 (b) CONSULTATION WITH STATE ARCHIVISTS AND

2 SECRETARIES OF STATE.—In establishing the criteria 

3 under subsection (a), the Archivist shall consult with ap4 propriate State and local officials. 

5 SEC. 7. APPLICATION. 

6 The Archivist may award grant amounts under this 

7 Act only to a State that has submitted an application to 

8 the Archivist at such time, in such manner, and containing 

9 such information as the Archivist may require. 

10 SEC. 8. REVIEW AND SANCTIONS. 

11 (a) ANNUAL REPORT BY STATE.—Each State receiv12 ing funds under this Act during a calendar year shall pro13 vide to the Archivist, no later than January 31 of the fol14 lowing year, a report on activities supported by such funds 

15 during the previous calendar year. 

16 (b) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Archivist shall review an17 nually the report provided by each State under subsection 

18 (a) to determine the extent to which the State has com19 plied with the provisions of this Act. 

20 (c) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The Archivist may 

21 impose sanctions on any State for any failure to comply 

22 substantially with the provisions of this Act. The Archivist 

23 shall establish the sanctions to be imposed for a failure 

24 to comply substantially with the provisions of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 Not later than March 1 of each year, the Archivist 

3 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

4 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

5 on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 

6 Representatives a report describing the activities carried 

7 out under this Act and containing any related information 

8 that the Archivist considers appropriate. 

9 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

12 District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. 

13 (2) ARCHIVIST.—The term ‘‘Archivist’’ means 

14 the Archivist of the United States appointed under 

15 section 2103 of title 44, United States Code. 

16 (3) HISTORICAL RECORDS.—The term ‘‘Histor17 ical Record’’ means unpublished materials created or 

18 received by a person, family, or organization, public 

19 or private, in the conduct of their affairs that are 

20 preserved because of the enduring value contained in 

21 the information they contain or as evidence of the 

22 functions and responsibilities of their creator. 

23 (4) STATE ARCHIVIST.—The term ‘‘State Archi24 vist’’ means the individual mandated by law within 

25 each State with responsibility for managing the ar26 chival records of State government. 


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1 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS. 

2 The Archivist shall prescribe any regulations nec3 essary to carry out this Act. 

4 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Archi6 vist $50,000,000 each fiscal year for five fiscal years, be7 ginning with the first fiscal year beginning after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, to make grants under this 

9 Act. 

Æ 


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