III 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 197 

Congratulating the men and women of the National Archives and Records 

Administration on the occasion of its 75th anniversary. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 19, 2009 

Mr. CARPER (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. ALEXANDER, 

Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. BURRIS, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. WEBB, Mr. WARNER, Mr. 

CORNYN, and Mr. AKAKA) submitted the following resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the men and women of the National Archives 

and Records Administration on the occasion of its 75th 

anniversary. 

Whereas the National Archives was established by Congress 

in 1934 to centralize Federal recordkeeping; 

Whereas the National Archives, now called the National Archives and Records Administration (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘NARA’’), serves democracy in the United 

States by ensuring that United States citizens can discover, use, and trust the records of the United States 

Government; 


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•SRES 197 ATS 

Whereas NARA has grown from one building along the National Mall to 38 facilities nationwide, from Atlanta to 

Anchorage; 

Whereas NARA administers regional archives, Federal 

records centers, Presidential libraries, the Federal Register, and the National Historical Publications and 

Records Commission; 

Whereas the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom serves as 

the permanent home of the Declaration of Independence, 

the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights and makes these 

founding documents available to more than 1,000,000 

visitors each year; 

Whereas the first issue of the Federal Register was published 

on March 16, 1936, and the Federal Register has not 

missed a publication date since, providing orderly publication of the official actions of the Federal Government; 

Whereas the Electronic Records Archives is laying the foundation for preserving and providing public access to historically valuable electronic records, ranging from vast, 

complex databases to documents that detail the making 

of foreign and domestic policies; 

Whereas the Presidential libraries are great treasures of the 

United States, serving as repositories and preserving and 

making accessible the papers, records, and other historical materials of Presidents of the United States; 

Whereas the National Personnel Records Center serves as the 

official repository for records of military personnel, responding to 2,000,000 requests a year by veterans and 

their families for documents to verify military service; 

Whereas the Information Security and Oversight Office is responsible to the President for policy and oversight of the 


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•SRES 197 ATS 

Government-wide security classification system and the 

National Industrial Security Program; 

Whereas the National Historical Publications and Records 

Commission promotes the preservation and use of the 

documentary heritage of the United States, which is essential to understanding the democracy, history, and culture of the United States, by providing grants in support 

of the archives of the United States and for projects to 

edit and publish non-Federal historical records of national importance; 

Whereas NARA holds records, in the National Archives 

Building and its regional facilities across the country, 

that allow naturalized citizens to claim their rights of 

citizenship; 

Whereas NARA works with Federal agencies, researchers, 

genealogists, lawyers, scholars, and authors to respond to 

their evolving needs, requirements, and methods; 

Whereas NARA provides records management training, enhances reference services, works with partners to digitize 

its holdings, and improves access to the records of the 

United States; 

Whereas NARA provides, through its Internet site, easy and 

convenient public access to many of the most important 

and most requested historic documents and valuable 

databases of the United States; and 

Whereas inscribed on the facade of the National Archives 

Building are Shakespeare’s words, ‘‘What is past is prologue’’, which aptly describe the records of the past preserved by NARA as the groundwork for the future: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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•SRES 197 ATS 

1 (1) congratulates the men and women of the 

2 National Archives and Records Administration on 

3 the occasion of its 75th anniversary; 

4 (2) understands the vital role that records play 

5 in a democracy; 

6 (3) recognizes the service that NARA has given 

7 to the democracy of the United States by protecting 

8 and preserving the records of the United States Gov9 ernment; and 

10 (4) commends the efforts by NARA to support 

11 democracy, promote civic education, and facilitate 

12 historical understanding of the national experience. 

Æ 


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