I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5170 

To improve Federal employee compliance with the Federal and Presidential 

recordkeeping requirements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 23, 2014 

Mr. MEADOWS (for himself and Mr. ISSA) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To improve Federal employee compliance with the Federal 

and Presidential recordkeeping requirements, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Federal Records Accountability Act of 2014’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Removal for deliberate destruction of Federal records. 

Sec. 3. Use of non-official electronic messaging accounts. 

Sec. 4. Reporting of the loss or potential loss of records. 

Sec. 5. Senior Agency Official for Records Compliance. 


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1 SEC. 2. REMOVAL FOR DELIBERATE DESTRUCTION OF FED2 ERAL RECORDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 75 of title 5, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding after subchapter V the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—FEDERAL RECORDS 

7 ‘‘§ 7551. Definitions 

8 ‘‘In this subchapter the following definitions apply: 

9 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’ 

10 means— 

11 ‘‘(A) an individual in the competitive serv12 ice who is not serving a probationary or trial 

13 period under an initial appointment or who has 

14 completed 1 year of current continuous employ15 ment in the same or similar positions under 

16 other than a temporary appointment limited to 

17 1 year or less; or 

18 ‘‘(B) a career appointee in the Senior Ex19 ecutive Service who— 

20 ‘‘(i) has completed the probationary 

21 period prescribed under section 3393(d) of 

22 this title; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) was covered by the provisions of 

24 subchapter II of this chapter immediately 

25 before appointment to the Senior Executive 

26 Service. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SUSPENSION.—The term ‘suspension’ has 

2 the meaning given that term in section 7501 of this 

3 title. 

4 ‘‘§ 7552. Suspension and removal 

5 ‘‘(a) INSPECTOR GENERAL FINDING.—If the Inspec6 tor General of an agency determines an employee of the 

7 agency has willfully and unlawfully concealed, removed, 

8 mutilated, obliterated, falsified, or destroyed any record, 

9 proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing 

10 in the custody of such employee, or verifies a violation 

11 under section 2208 or 2911 of title 44, the Inspector Gen12 eral shall promptly inform the head of the agency of that 

13 determination in writing. 

14 ‘‘(b) SUSPENSION.—Notwithstanding any other pro15 vision of law, the head of an agency shall suspend an em16 ployee of that agency who has been determined by the In17 spector General under subsection (a) to have willfully and 

18 unlawfully concealed, removed, mutilated, obliterated, fal19 sified, or destroyed any record, proceeding, map, book, 

20 document, paper, or other thing in the custody of such 

21 employee, or who has been verified by the Inspector Gen22 eral to be in violation of section 2208 or 2911 of title 44. 

23 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS AFTER SUSPENSION.—An em24 ployee suspended under subsection (b) is entitled, after 

25 suspension and before removal, to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) be represented by an attorney or other 

2 representative; 

3 ‘‘(2) a written statement of the charges against 

4 the employee within 15 days after suspension, which 

5 may be amended within 30 days thereafter; 

6 ‘‘(3) an opportunity within 15 days after the re7 ceipt of the written statement under paragraph (2), 

8 plus an additional 15 days if the charges are amend9 ed, to answer the charges and submit affidavits; 

10 ‘‘(4) a hearing, at the request of the employee, 

11 by an agency authority duly constituted for this pur12 pose; 

13 ‘‘(5) a review of the employee’s case by the 

14 head of the agency or a designee, before a decision 

15 adverse to the employee is made final; and 

16 ‘‘(6) a written statement of the decision of the 

17 head of the agency. 

18 ‘‘(d) REMOVAL.—Subject to subsection (c) of this 

19 section and after any investigation and review the head 

20 of the agency considers necessary, the head of an agency 

21 shall remove an employee suspended under subsection (b) 

22 if such head determines that the employee willfully and 

23 unlawfully concealed, removed, mutilated, obliterated, fal24 sified, or destroyed any record, proceeding, map, book, 


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1 document, paper, or other thing in the custody of such 

2 employee. 

3 ‘‘(e) APPEAL.—An employee who is removed under 

4 subsection (d) is entitled to appeal to the Merit Systems 

5 Protection Board under section 7701 of this title.’’. 

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) TABLE OF SUBCHAPTERS.—The table of 

8 subchapters for chapter 75 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new items: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—FEDERAL RECORDS

‘‘7551. Definitions. 

‘‘7552. Suspension and removal.’’. 

11 (2) SUBCHAPTER II APPLICABILITY.—Section 

12 7512 of such title is amended— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

14 at the end; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

16 period at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(F) a suspension or removal under sec19 tion 7552 of this title.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. USE OF NON-OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC MESSAGING 

2 ACCOUNTS. 

3 (a) PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT.—Chapter 22 of 

4 title 44, United States Code is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 2208. Disclosure requirement for official business 

7 conducted using non-official electronic 

8 messaging accounts 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President, Vice President, 

10 or covered employee may not create or send a Presidential 

11 or Vice Presidential record using a non-official electronic 

12 messaging account (in this section, referred to as ‘applica13 ble electronic message’) unless the President, Vice Presi14 dent, or covered employee— 

15 ‘‘(1) includes an official electronic messaging 

16 account of the President, Vice President, or covered 

17 employee, as applicable, as a recipient in the original 

18 creation or transmission of the applicable electronic 

19 message and identifies all recipients of the applicable 

20 electronic message in such message; 

21 ‘‘(2) forwards a complete copy of the applicable 

22 electronic message, including a complete list of the 

23 recipients of such message, to an official electronic 

24 messaging account of the President, Vice President, 

25 or covered employee, as applicable, within fifteen 


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1 days after the original creation or transmission of 

2 the message; or 

3 ‘‘(3) prints a complete copy of the applicable 

4 electronic message, including a complete list of the 

5 recipients of such message, and submits the message 

6 to the appropriate location or individual for appro7 priate archival storage by the Executive Office of the 

8 President within fifteen days after the original cre9 ation or transmission of the message. 

10 ‘‘(b) ADVERSE ACTIONS.—An intentional violation of 

11 subsection (a) (including any rules, regulations, or other 

12 implementing guidelines) by a covered employee, as deter13 mined by the appropriate supervisor, shall be forwarded 

14 to the Inspector General of the agency for a verification 

15 of the violation, and upon verification, shall be subject to 

16 the suspension and removal provisions under section 7552 

17 of title 5. 

18 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘covered 

20 employee’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) the immediate staff of the President; 

22 ‘‘(B) the immediate staff of the Vice Presi23 dent; 


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1 ‘‘(C) an individual of the Executive Office 

2 of the President whose function is to advise and 

3 assist the President; or 

4 ‘‘(D) an individual of the Office of the Vice 

5 President whose function is to advise and assist 

6 the Vice President. 

7 ‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC MESSAGE.—The term ‘elec8 tronic message’ means electronic mail and all other 

9 means by which individuals and groups may commu10 nicate with each other electronically. 

11 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC MESSAGING ACCOUNT.—The 

12 term ‘electronic messaging account’ means any ac13 count that sends an electronic message.’’. 

14 (b) FEDERAL RECORDS.—Chapter 29 of title 44, 

15 United States Code is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following new section: 

17 ‘‘§ 2911. Disclosure requirement for official business 

18 conducted using non-official electronic 

19 messaging accounts 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An officer or employee of a Fed21 eral agency may not create or send a record using a non22 official electronic messaging account (in this section, re23 ferred to as ‘applicable electronic message’) unless such 

24 officer or employee— 


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1 ‘‘(1) includes an official electronic messaging 

2 account of the officer or employee as a recipient in 

3 the original creation or transmission of the applica4 ble electronic message and identifies all recipients of 

5 the applicable electronic message in such message; 

6 ‘‘(2) forwards a complete copy of the applicable 

7 electronic message, including a complete list of the 

8 recipients of such message, to an official electronic 

9 messaging account of the officer or employee within 

10 fifteen days after the original creation or trans11 mission of the record; or 

12 ‘‘(3) prints a complete copy of the applicable 

13 electronic message, including a complete list of the 

14 recipients of such message, and submits it to the ap15 propriate location or individual for appropriate ar16 chival storage by the Federal agency within fifteen 

17 days after the original creation or transmission of 

18 the message. 

19 ‘‘(b) ADVERSE ACTIONS.—An intentional violation of 

20 subsection (a) (including any rules, regulations, or other 

21 implementing guidelines) by an officer or employee of a 

22 Federal agency, as determined by the appropriate super23 visor, shall be forwarded to the Inspector General of the 

24 agency for a verification of the violation, and upon 


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1 verification, shall be subject to the suspension and removal 

2 provisions under section 7552 of title 5. 

3 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) ELECTRONIC MESSAGE.—The term ‘elec5 tronic message’ means electronic mail and all other 

6 means by which individuals and groups may commu7 nicate with each other electronically. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC MESSAGING ACCOUNT.—The 

9 term ‘electronic messaging account’ means any ac10 count that sends an electronic message.’’. 

11 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) CHAPTER 22.—The table of sections at the 

13 beginning of chapter 22 of title 44, United States 

14 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 

15 new item: 

‘‘2208. Disclosure requirement for official business conducted using non-official 

electronic messaging accounts.’’. 

16 (2) CHAPTER 29.—The table of sections at the 

17 beginning of chapter 29 of title 44, United States 

18 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 

19 new item: 

‘‘2911. Disclosure requirement for official business conducted using non-official 

electronic messaging accounts.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. REPORTING OF THE LOSS OR POTENTIAL LOSS OF 

21 RECORDS. 

22 Section 3106 of title 44, United States Code, is 

23 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3106. Unlawful removal, destruction of records 

2 ‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ARCHIVIST AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION.— 

4 Whenever the actual, impending, or threatened un5 lawful concealment, removal, mutilation, obliteration, 

6 falsification, or destruction of any record, pro7 ceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing 

8 in the custody of an agency comes to the attention 

9 of the head of the Federal agency, the head of the 

10 agency shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) notify the Archivist; and 

12 ‘‘(B) publish a general description of the 

13 records at risk or that have been lost on the 

14 website of the agency. 

15 ‘‘(2) AGENCY NOTIFICATION.—Whenever the 

16 actual, impending, or threatened unlawful conceal17 ment, removal, mutilation, obliteration, falsification, 

18 or destruction of any record, proceeding, map, book, 

19 document, paper, or other thing in the custody of an 

20 agency comes to the attention of a Senior Agency 

21 Official for Records Management, such official shall 

22 immediately notify the head of the agency. 

23 ‘‘(b) RECLAMATION OF RECORDS.—With the assist24 ance of the Archivist, the head of a Federal agency shall 

25 initiate action through the Attorney General for the recov26 ery of records the head knows or has reason to believe 


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1 have been unlawfully removed from the agency, or from 

2 another Federal agency whose records have been trans3 ferred to the legal custody of such head. 

4 ‘‘(c) ACTION BY THE ARCHIVIST.—In any case in 

5 which the head of the agency does not initiate an action 

6 for the recovery of records described in subsection (b) or 

7 other redress within a reasonable period of time after 

8 being notified of any such unlawful removal, the Archivist 

9 shall request the Attorney General to initiate an action 

10 described in subsection (b), and shall notify the Congress 

11 not later than 5 days after the date on which such a re12 quest has been submitted to the Attorney General.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. SENIOR AGENCY OFFICIAL FOR RECORDS COMPLI14 ANCE. 

15 (a) SENIOR AGENCY OFFICIAL.—Chapter 31 of title 

16 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following new section: 

18 ‘‘§ 3108. Senior Agency Official for Records Compli19 ance 

20 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—Not later than November 15, 

21 2014, the head of each Federal agency shall designate a 

22 Senior Agency Official for Records Management, and not 

23 later than November 15 of each year thereafter the head 

24 of each Federal agency shall reaffirm or designate a new 

25 Senior Agency Official for Records Management. 


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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

2 Senior Agency Official for Records Management shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) be at least at the level of an Assistant Sec4 retary or the equivalent; and 

5 ‘‘(2) be responsible for coordinating with the 

6 appropriate Agency Records Officer and appropriate 

7 agency officials to ensure compliance with all appli8 cable records management statutes, regulations, and 

9 any guidance issued by the Archivist. 

10 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL AGENCY COORDINATION.—In addition 

11 to the designation made pursuant to subsection (a), the 

12 head of a Federal agency may designate additional Senior 

13 Agency Officials for Records Management as the head of 

14 the agency determines to be necessary.’’. 

15 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

16 The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 31 of 

17 title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following new item: 

‘‘3108. Senior Agency Official for Records Compliance.’’. 

Æ 


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