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[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 7, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H45-H48]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

            PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DONATION REFORM ACT OF 2009

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 36) to amend title 44, United States Code, to require 
information on contributors to Presidential library fundraising 
organizations.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 36

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Library 
     Donation Reform Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES.

       (a) In General.--Section 2112 of title 44, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(h)(1) Any Presidential library fundraising organization 
     shall submit on a quarterly basis, in accordance with 
     paragraph (2), information with respect to every contributor 
     who gave the organization a contribution or contributions 
     (whether monetary or in-kind) totaling $200 or more for the 
     quarterly period.
       ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)--
       ``(A) the entities to which information shall be submitted 
     under that paragraph are the Administration, the Committee on 
     Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
     Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
       ``(B) the dates by which information shall be submitted 
     under that paragraph are April 15, July 15, October 15, and 
     January 15 of each year and of the following year (for the 
     fourth quarterly filing);
       ``(C) the requirement to submit information under that 
     paragraph shall continue until the later of the following 
     occurs:
       ``(i) The Archivist has accepted, taken title to, or 
     entered into an agreement to use any land or facility for the 
     archival depository.
       ``(ii) The President whose archives are contained in the 
     depository no longer holds the Office of President and a 
     period of four years has expired (beginning on the date the 
     President left the Office).
       ``(3) In this subsection:
       ``(A) The term `Presidential library fundraising 
     organization' means an organization that is established for 
     the purpose of raising funds for creating, maintaining, 
     expanding, or conducting activities at--
       ``(i) a Presidential archival depository; or
       ``(ii) any facilities relating to a Presidential archival 
     depository.
       ``(B) The term `information' means the following:
       ``(i) The amount or value of each contribution made by a 
     contributor referred to in paragraph (1) in the quarter 
     covered by the submission.
       ``(ii) The source of each such contribution, and the 
     address of the entity or individual that is the source of the 
     contribution.
       ``(iii) If the source of such a contribution is an 
     individual, the occupation of the individual.
       ``(iv) The date of each such contribution.
       ``(4) The Archivist shall make available to the public 
     through the Internet (or a successor technology readily 
     available to the public) as soon as is practicable after each 
     quarterly filing any information that is submitted under 
     paragraph (1). The information shall be made available 
     without a fee or other access charge, in a searchable, 
     sortable, and downloadable database.
       ``(5)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who makes a 
     contribution described in paragraph (1) to knowingly and 
     willfully submit false material information or omit material 
     information with respect to the contribution to an 
     organization described in such paragraph.
       ``(B) The penalties described in section 1001 of title 18, 
     United States Code, shall apply with respect to a violation 
     of subparagraph (A) in the same manner as a violation 
     described in such section.
       ``(6)(A) It shall be unlawful for any Presidential library 
     fundraising organization to knowingly and willfully submit 
     false material information or omit material information under 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(B) The penalties described in section 1001 of title 18, 
     United States Code, shall apply with respect to a violation 
     of subparagraph (A) in the same manner as a violation 
     described in such section.
       ``(7)(A) It shall be unlawful for a person to knowingly and 
     willfully--
       ``(i) make a contribution described in paragraph (1) in the 
     name of another person;
       ``(ii) permit his or her name to be used to effect a 
     contribution described in paragraph (1); or
       ``(iii) accept a contribution described in paragraph (1) 
     that is made by one person in the name of another person.
       ``(B) The penalties set forth in section 309(d) of the 
     Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(d)) 
     shall apply to a violation of subparagraph (A) in the same 
     manner as if such violation were a violation of section 
     316(b)(3) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(3)).
       ``(8) The Archivist shall promulgate regulations for the 
     purpose of carrying out this subsection.''.
       (b) Applicability.--Section 2112(h) of title 44, United 
     States Code (as added by subsection (a))--
       (1) shall apply to an organization established for the 
     purpose of raising funds for creating, maintaining, 
     expanding, or conducting activities at a Presidential 
     archival depository or any facilities relating to a 
     Presidential archival depository before, on or after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act; and
       (2) shall only apply with respect to contributions (whether 
     monetary or in-kind) made after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Towns) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.

                             General Leave

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TOWNS. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 36, the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act, 
will require organizations raising money to build Presidential 
libraries and their affiliated institutions to disclose the identities 
of their donors and the amount of their donations. Like the records 
bill just considered, an identical version of this bill was considered 
in the 110th Congress and passed the House with strong bipartisan 
support.
  Presidential libraries are becoming increasingly expensive, and 
fundraising for their construction begins during a President's term. 
These are broad campuses with museums, conference centers, and other 
institutions, some of which are entirely separate from the federally 
run libraries.
  According to press reports, it cost more than $80 million to build 
George H.W. Bush's library and $165 million to build the Clinton 
library. Press reports have suggested that the fundraising target for 
President Bush's library is $500 million.
  Under current law, individuals, corporations and even foreign 
interests can make anonymous, unlimited donations to these 
organizations. Such donations can be made while the President is still 
in office. There is enormous potential for abuse in this system. 
Special interests could make multi-million dollar donations to a 
Presidential library foundation in an effort to influence the 
President, and the public would remain completely unaware.
  In order to prevent real abuse, as well as the perception of abuse, 
H.R. 36 would require Presidential library foundations to divulge 
information about their donors while the President is in office and for 
the several years after the President's term has ended.
  I again thank the ranking member, Mr. Issa from California, for his 
cooperation on this bill and thank the previous chairman, Mr. Waxman, 
for his work in this as well.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I join with the chairman in recommending swift passage 
through the House for at least the third time. This bill has passed 
under

[[Page H46]]

multiple authors, both Republican and Democrat. It is, by nature, one 
in which we believe we are appropriately asserting a daylight 
requirement on past and future Presidents and would certainly hope that 
we would view this bill as noncontroversial in most areas.
  Madam Speaker, our Nation's Presidential libraries attract millions 
of visitors each year. They have become elaborate institutions, and the 
cost of building and maintaining these facilities has grown 
dramatically.
  Under current law, Presidential libraries are built with private 
funds, then turned over to the Archivist for operation.
  Amendments to the Presidential Libraries Act mandated the 
establishment of an endowment to cover some of the costs of operating 
the library, which are usually met through the establishment of a 
charitable organization.
  Funding for construction and the endowment comes from private 
sources. But under current law, no duty to disclose the source of those 
contributions exists.
  On both sides of the aisle, there is strong support for increasing 
disclosure.
  Earlier, under Mr. Duncan's leadership, the House passed solid 
bipartisan legislation to require the disclosure of contributions to 
organizations that raise funds for Presidential libraries and related 
facilities. And a bill identical to the bill before us passed the House 
last year by a wide margin.
  We recognize the perception of impropriety that contributions to a 
Presidential library can raise, given the huge sums that must be 
amassed, and the attraction this avenue may hold for those seeking 
favors or influence.
  This legislation will provide a needed degree of transparency to that 
process.
  If I may, I am going to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Gohmert) for a particular portion of the bill that he feels, 
before it becomes law, should ultimately be looked at.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I do appreciate my friend for yielding.
  This is a good overall idea. It's a good bill in general. There needs 
to be more clarity. Many of us have wondered who is building these 
Presidential libraries, and this will help inform the public just who 
it is that's doing that.
  The concern I have is that there is a provision in the bill for 
filing errors or omissions that could send somebody to prison for 5 
years. Now as a former judge, I've presided over thousands and 
thousands of felony cases. I have sent I don't know how many people to 
prison. That's not a concern. My reputation was, as one criminal was 
overheard telling another, ``He will give a fair trial, but if you're 
guilty, you don't want his court.''
  I don't have a problem sending people to prison, but one thing, 
probably the best conservative organization as far as getting out the 
message, the Heritage Foundation, and the ACLU have actually been in 
agreement on, this body, almost on whims, throws in a prison sentence 
as an added provision, and we are having people go to prison who 
shouldn't. If it is a dollar issue, then fine them 1 million, 10 
million, whatever would be appropriate. But we should not, in this 
body, continually subject people to being taken down in their home, 
handcuffed when they made an error that should not be criminalized.
  So that is the concern I have. This never went through Judiciary. It 
has been through prior Congresses. It never went through Judiciary, the 
Crime Subcommittee, to look at that specific aspect. That is a concern, 
and it is something that we should not be doing, overcriminalizing 
provisions, by just sticking that in as an exclamation point. It needs 
to be well thought through before we provide a way to send somebody to 
prison.
  I appreciate the time. I hope that could be taken out because that is 
an aspect that's inappropriate.
  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, let me just say to the gentleman that I 
really share a lot of his views, and I'm willing to continue to work 
with him in seeing in terms of what we might be able to do to 
strengthen this legislation.
  At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Clay).

                              {time}  1045

  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
  As an original cosponsor of the Presidential Library Donation Act, I 
rise in strong support of H.R. 36, and I urge my colleagues to vote in 
favor of it.
  Federal election law limits the amount a single source can give to a 
political campaign and requires that donations and donor information be 
disclosed to the public. These requirements help to preserve the 
integrity of our democratic system by ensuring that campaign donors do 
not exercise undue influence over elected policy-makers.
  Similar requirements do not apply to Presidential library fund-
raising campaigns, and this creates the potential for large donors to 
exert, or appear to exert, improper influence over a sitting President.
  The fact that private foundations are required to raise money to 
build and maintain Presidential libraries lowers the burden on 
taxpayers, but it also increases the incentive to pursue aggressive 
fund-raising for libraries that have become more and more expensive 
over the years.
  Under H.R. 36, Presidential library foundations would be required to 
report on a quarterly basis all donations of $200 or more. This 
requirement would apply to donations made to the foundation during the 
time that the President is in office and during the period before the 
Archives agrees to use the land or the facility.
  In addition, the proposal calls on the Archivist to make all reports 
available to the public online through a searchable and downloadable 
database.
  I commend Chairman Towns for his leadership in bringing this bill to 
the floor, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this important 
bipartisan bill.
  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, it's my pleasure now to yield up to 10 
minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), the author of the 
original bill substantially similar to the one today and a constant 
advocate for this type of transparency.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, first of all, I will say I thank the 
gentleman from California, the ranking member, Mr. Issa, for yielding 
me the time, but I won't need nearly that much time.
  I want to thank the gentleman from New York, Chairman Towns, for his 
support of this issue and this legislation and his effort to bring this 
bill to the floor as one of the first bills considered in the 111th 
Congress, and I also want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Issa) for his support of this legislation.
  I first introduced this bill in the 106th Congress after reading a 
front-page story in the Washington Times reporting that foreign 
governments from the Middle East were making large donations, very 
large donations, to the proposed library for President Clinton. I was 
concerned about the influence that donations by foreign governments and 
perhaps others could have since there was no policy requiring 
disclosure of donors.
  The topic of disclosing contributions made by private donors to 
Presidential library fund-raising organizations is of great concern to 
me. These organizations are formed while a President is in office and 
collect donations from individuals, corporations and foreign 
governments, with no limit on the contribution amount, and especially 
when there's no requirement for disclosing the donor or the amounts 
being donated, there is great potential for abuse.
  After I introduced this bill, sometime after I introduced this bill, 
I learned of the very sizable donations, hundreds of thousands of 
dollars, given to the Clinton library by Marc Rich's ex-wife, another 
close friend of the Clintons. Marc Rich, who fled the country after 
evading over $40 million in Federal income taxes, was granted a pardon 
on President Clinton's last day in office.
  However, this is not a partisan issue. I introduced and have 
supported this legislation under both Democratic and Republican 
Presidents, and as Mr. Issa mentioned and Chairman Towns mentioned, it 
has passed overwhelmingly both times it was considered by the House 
previously.
  Previous attempts to move this bill were met with little interest, I 
suppose, in the Senate, but perhaps this time around they will take up 
this issue.
  This bill does not prohibit the contributions, including very large 
contributions. It simply requires Presidential library fund-raisers to 
disclose donations over $200.
  We're back once again, Madam Speaker, today, to try to pass this bill 
to provide some openness and transparency on the donations made to 
these organizations and on what could be the potential for abuse under 
a President of either party in the future.

[[Page H47]]

  The price to build these libraries, as Chairman Towns mentioned, has 
increased dramatically over the last few years from $80 million to the 
$200 to $500 million estimated for the current President's library.
  I think this bill promotes good government and is something that all 
of my colleagues should be proud to support. If we pass this 
legislation, it will certainly help to prevent the potential for 
serious abuse in the years ahead.
  And like Chairman Towns, I will be glad to work with the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Gohmert). I did not have that severe of a penalty in 
the first legislation that I originally worked on many years ago.
  But once again, I want to thank all of my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle for their support. This is a very bipartisan bill, and I urge 
its adoption by this Congress.
  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, may I ask how many speakers does the 
minority have left.
  Mr. ISSA. We have no further speakers at this time. If the 
gentleman's prepared to close, I will be brief.
  Mr. TOWNS. I'm prepared to close.
  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
simply to say that I look forward to working with the chairman on any 
perfecting language here or in the Senate necessary to make this an 
even more acceptable bill to all Members because I believe that, as Mr. 
Duncan said, this is a bill whose time has come. We have been more than 
6 years attempting to have this happen.
  I think one thing that is very clear is that we could talk about 
library A, library B, library C, but as President Bush leaves office 
and that library is going to be built in Dallas, I think the American 
people will want to know every bit as much as with any previous 
President that that money was given by people who appreciated the 
legacy of that President and not by people who appreciated specific 
actions of that President in real-time.
  And so I join with the majority and Mr. Duncan, as the original 
author of some time ago, in asking for quick passage of a bill, 
perfected as necessary in the work that I expect we will do together.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, our President-elect has talked a lot about 
transparency. He's really interested in transparency. So improving 
transparency of donations to Presidential libraries, as this bill does, 
will assure the American people that their Presidents are not being 
influenced by unknown persons or groups.
  Open government is an important goal of the Congress and the incoming 
administration, and I hope today's bill is just the right kind of bill 
to move forward with that in mind.
  Let me say, Madam Speaker, this is a good piece of legislation, and 
I'm hoping that my colleagues join me in supporting this bill. I want 
to thank the minority for their support, and of course, we will 
continue to look and see how we might be able to improve the 
legislation, but I really feel that this is a giant step in the right 
direction. Transparency is something that we cannot lose sight of.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Towns for bringing 
this bill to the floor today. H.R. 36, the Presidential Library 
Donation Reform Act has a simple purpose. It requires that the 
organizations created to raise money for presidential libraries and 
their affiliated institutions disclose information about their donors.
  The lack of any such requirement creates opportunities for abuse. 
Under current law, anybody can give to these organizations anonymously, 
even while the President is still in office. These donations could be 
used to influence presidential decision-making with no public 
disclosure.
  This is not the first time this bill has come before the House. In 
2001, Representative Duncan introduced similar legislation. I thank him 
for his early leadership on this issue. And in 2007, I introduced H.R. 
1254 with Representatives Duncan, Clay, Platts, and Emanuel. That bill 
passed the House with an overwhelming majority in the last Congress. I 
urge my colleagues once again to support this straightforward 
legislation.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, today, the House considers the 
Presidential Libraries Donation Reform Act. I was a cosponsor of this 
bill when it was originally introduced in 2007 and I am proud to stand 
in support of it today.
  Under current law, a sitting president can accept private donations 
in unlimited amounts for the purpose of building a presidential 
library. There is no requirement that the donor's identity or the 
amount of the donation be disclosed. The potential for abuse here is 
obvious.
  This bill requires presidential libraries fundraising organizations 
to disclose to Congress information about the donors and their 
donations during and immediately following the president's term in 
office.
  The bill originally passed the House on suspension in March 2007, and 
returns to the House floor today after receiving strong support in the 
Senate.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this important 
piece of bipartisan legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Towns 
for attempting to bring greater transparency to presidential library 
fundraising efforts with H.R. 36, the ``Presidential Library Donation 
Reform Act of 2009.''
  We are facing a new day, with a new administration, and a new 
Democratic majority. That is why it is important that we stay true to 
our core values of fairness, transparency, a accountability.
  Starting with the lobbying and ethics reform, we as a body understand 
that a responsible government allows for openness. This legislation 
continues to rebuild our trust with the American people.
  This legislation requires in part that, ``any Presidential library 
fundraising organization shall submit on a quarterly basis with respect 
to every contributor who gave the organization a contribution or 
contributions (whether monetary or in-kind) totaling $200 or more for 
the quarterly period.''
  Under current law, private organizations established for the purpose 
of building a presidential library can raise unlimited amounts of money 
from undisclosed donors while the President remains in office. It takes 
nothing more than common sense to see the potential for abuse in this 
area and the need for basic reform.
  Presidential libraries serve an important purpose as depositories of 
presidential papers and centers for historical research. In 1939, 
President Franklin Roosevelt came up with the idea of a privately-
built, but federally maintained library to house his presidential 
papers.
  This split of responsibilities between the public and the private 
sectors has continued and has since been codified into law. In 1955, 
the Presidential Libraries Act formally established a system under 
which federally maintained libraries would be built using funds raised 
by private organizations. More recent amendments have required these 
private organizations to provide an operating endowment to the National 
Archives in addition to the library building.
  Just as the funding requirements have grown, so have the libraries 
and their affiliated institutions. Now these libraries are much more 
than basic research facilities. They include museums and conference 
centers along with other tourist attractions; they are getting more 
costly all the time.
  The George H.W. Bush library was reported to cost more than $80 
million to build. The Clinton library and museum cost about $165 
million to build. News reports have indicated that the fundraising goal 
for President Bush's library is $500 million--half a billion dollars--
before this institution is completed.
  The vast scale of these secret fundraising efforts creates 
opportunities for abuse. Donors who do not need to be identified can 
give unlimited amounts of money to support these libraries while the 
President remains in office.
  This legislation would require that presidential libraries disclose 
the identity of their donors to Congress and the National Archives 
during their period of most intense fundraising, which is while the 
President is in office and in the several years after the end of his 
term.
  This legislation is but one part of a larger effort by this Congress 
to restore honesty and accountability in the Federal Government.

                               Conclusion

  Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Towns and the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform for helping us build a strong 
foundation of trust with the American people. I ask my colleagues to 
support me in supporting H.R. 36.
  Mr. TOWNS. On that note, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 36.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the

[[Page H48]]

Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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