I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2998 

To require the public disclosure of COINTELPRO records, to establish a 

COINTELPRO Records Collection, and to establish the COINTELPRO 

Records Review Board, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 4, 2021 

Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the public disclosure of COINTELPRO records, 

to establish a COINTELPRO Records Collection, and 

to establish the COINTELPRO Records Review Board, 

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) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘COINTELPRO Full Disclosure Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Public disclosure of COINTELPRO records. 

Sec. 3. COINTELPRO Records Collection at the National Archives. 

Sec. 4. Establishment and powers of the COINTELPRO Records Review 

Board. 

Sec. 5. COINTELPRO Records Review Board personnel. 

Sec. 6. Review of records by the COINTELPRO Records Review Board. 

Sec. 7. Disclosure of other information and additional study. 

Sec. 8. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 9. Redesignation. 

Sec. 10. References. 

Sec. 11. Funding. 

Sec. 12. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF COINTELPRO RECORDS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

3 (b), not later than 6 months after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the head of a Government Office shall 

5 fully disclose to the public each COINTELPRO record in 

6 the possession or control of the Government Office. 

7 (b) EXCEPTION.—The requirement under subsection 

8 (a) shall not apply to a COINTELPRO record if the head 

9 of the Government Office determines that the full disclo10 sure of such record, or particular information within such 

11 record, would clearly and demonstrably be expected to 

12 cause harm. 

13 (c) PARTIAL DISCLOSURE.—If the head of a Govern14 ment Office determines in accordance with subsection (b) 

15 that the requirements of subsection (a) do not apply with 

16 respect to a COINTELPRO record, the head of the Gov17 ernment Office shall disclose to the public in consultation 

18 with the originating body, and to the extent doing so 


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1 would not clearly and demonstrably be expected to cause 

2 harm— 

3 (1) any reasonably segregable particular infor4 mation in a COINTELPRO record; 

5 (2) a substitute record for that information; or 

6 (3) a summary of the COINTELPRO record. 

7 (d) REVIEW BY BOARD.—If a Government Office de8 termines that the requirements of subsection (a) do not 

9 apply with respect to a COINTELPRO record, such 

10 record shall be transmitted to the Review Board for review 

11 in accordance with section 4(b). 

12 (e) FULL DISCLOSURE OF COINTELPRO RECORD

13 REQUIRED.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

15 552a of title 5, United States Code, each 

16 COINTELPRO record that is not fully disclosed to 

17 the public as of the date on which the Review Board 

18 terminates under section 4(n) shall be fully disclosed 

19 to the public and made available in the Collection 

20 not later than 25 years after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act unless— 

22 (A) the head of the entity of the Federal 

23 Government in the possession of control of the 

24 record, the head of a Government office, the 

25 head of the originating body, or the head of an 


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1 executive agency recommends in writing the ex2 emption of the record or particular information 

3 within the record, because the disclosure of 

4 which would clearly and demonstrably be ex5 pected to— 

6 (i) cause identifiable or describable 

7 damage to national security, military de8 fense, law enforcement, intelligence oper9 ations, or the conduct of foreign relations 

10 that is of such gravity that further post11 poning the disclosure of the record out12 weighs the public interest in disclosure; or 

13 (ii) reveal information described in 

14 paragraphs (1) through (9) of section 

15 3.3(b) of Executive Order 13526 (75 Fed. 

16 Reg. 707; relating to classified national se17 curity information); 

18 (B) the written recommendation described 

19 in subparagraph (A)— 

20 (i) not later than 180 days before the 

21 date that is 25 years after the date of the 

22 enactment of this Act, is provided to— 

23 (I) the Archivist; 

24 (II) the President, if the record 

25 is in the possession or control of an 


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1 agency in the executive branch of the 

2 Federal Government; 

3 (III) the Chief Justice of the Su4 preme Court, if the record is in the 

5 possession or control of an agency in 

6 the judicial branch of the Federal 

7 Government; 

8 (IV) the Speaker of the House of 

9 Representatives, if the record is in the 

10 possession or control of an office of 

11 the House of Representatives; 

12 (V) the President Pro Tempore 

13 of the Senate, if the record is in the 

14 possession or control of an office of 

15 the Senate; and 

16 (VI) the Speaker of the House of 

17 Representatives and the President Pro 

18 Tempore of the Senate, if the record 

19 is in the possession or control of an 

20 office of the legislative branch of the 

21 Federal Government not described 

22 under subclauses (IV) and (V); and 

23 (ii) includes— 

24 (I) a justification of the rec25 ommendation to exempt the record, or 


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1 particular information within the 

2 record; and 

3 (II) a recommended date on 

4 which, or a specified occurrence fol5 lowing which, the record, or particular 

6 information within the record may be 

7 appropriately disclosed to the public 

8 under this Act; and 

9 (C) the Archivist agrees with the written 

10 recommendation described in subparagraph (A). 

11 (2) NOTIFICATION.—If the Archivist does not 

12 agree with the recommendation described in sub13 paragraph (A), the Archivist shall notify the person 

14 making the recommendation not later than 90 days 

15 before the date that is 25 years after the date of en16 actment of this Act. 

17 (3) OVERRIDE OF DECISION BY ARCHIVIST.— 

18 (A) AUTHORITY TO OVERRIDE DECISION

19 BY ARCHIVIST.—The following individuals may 

20 override a decision of the Archivist regarding a 

21 written recommendation under paragraph (1): 

22 (i) The President, if the record is in 

23 the possession or control of an agency in 

24 the executive branch of the Federal Gov25 ernment. 


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1 (ii) The Chief Justice of the Supreme 

2 Court, if the record is in the possession or 

3 control of an agency in the judicial branch 

4 of the Federal Government. 

5 (iii) The Speaker of the House of 

6 Representatives, if the record is in the pos7 session or control of an office of the House 

8 of Representatives. 

9 (iv) The President Pro Tempore of 

10 the Senate, if the record is in the posses11 sion or control of an office of the Senate. 

12 (v) The Speaker of the House of Rep13 resentatives and the President Pro Tem14 pore of the Senate acting jointly, if the 

15 record is in the possession or control of an 

16 agency in the legislative branch of the Fed17 eral Government. 

18 (B) NOTICE.—If an individual overrides a 

19 decision described under subparagraph (A), the 

20 individual shall notify the person making the 

21 recommendation not later than 90 days before 

22 the date that is 25 years after the date of en23 actment of this Act. 

24 (f) NOTICE REGARDING PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.— 


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1 (1) FINDING.—Congress finds that the public 

2 release of case-related documents and information 

3 without notice may significantly affect the victims of 

4 the events to which the case relates and their next 

5 of kin. 

6 (2) NOTICE.—Not later than 7 days before a 

7 COINTELPRO record is publicly disclosed, the enti8 ty of the Federal Government that has possession or 

9 control of the COINTELPRO record shall take all 

10 reasonable efforts to provide the COINTELPRO 

11 record to the victims of the events to which the 

12 COINTELPRO record relates, or their next of kin. 

13 (g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘cause 

14 harm’’ means to— 

15 (1) cause identifiable or describable damage to 

16 national security, military defense, law enforcement, 

17 intelligence operations, or the conduct of foreign re18 lations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the 

19 public interest in disclosure; 

20 (2) reveal information described in paragraphs 

21 (1) through (9) of section 3.3(b) of Executive Order 

22 13526 (75 Fed. Reg. 707; relating to classified na23 tional security information); 


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1 (3)(A) reveal the name or identity of a living in2 dividual who provided confidential information to the 

3 United States; and 

4 (B) pose a substantial risk of harm to that indi5 vidual; 

6 (4) constitute an unwarranted invasion of per7 sonal privacy; 

8 (5)(A) compromise the existence of an under9 standing of confidentiality currently requiring pro10 tection between a Government agent and a cooper11 ating individual or group; and 

12 (B) be so harmful that the understanding of 

13 confidentiality outweighs the public interest; 

14 (6) endanger the life or physical safety of any 

15 individual; 

16 (7) interfere with ongoing law enforcement pro17 ceedings; or 

18 (8) reveal information as prohibited by laws and 

19 policies protecting criminal records of juveniles. 

20 SEC. 3. COINTELPRO RECORDS COLLECTION AT THE NA21 TIONAL ARCHIVES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COINTELPRO

24 RECORDS COLLECTION.—Not later than 60 days 


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1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ar2 chivist shall— 

3 (A) commence establishing a collection of 

4 COINTELPRO records to be known as the 

5 ‘‘COINTELPRO Records Collection’’ that en6 sures the physical integrity and original prove7 nance of all records in the Collection; 

8 (B) commence preparing and publishing a 

9 subject guidebook and index to the Collection; 

10 and 

11 (C) establish criteria for Government of12 fices to follow when transmitting copies of 

13 COINTELPRO records to the Archivist (to in14 clude required metadata) under subsection (d). 

15 (2) CONTENTS OF COLLECTION.—The Collec16 tion shall include— 

17 (A) a copy of each COINTELPRO record 

18 transmitted to the Archivist under subsection 

19 (d); 

20 (B) any COINTELPRO record fully dis21 closed to the public before the date of the en22 actment of the Act; and 

23 (C) all Review Board records, as required 

24 under this Act transmitted under section 

25 4(l)(3). 


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1 (b) DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS.—All COINTELPRO 

2 records transmitted to the Archivist— 

3 (1) not later than 60 days after the trans4 mission of the record to the Archivist, shall be avail5 able to the public for inspection and copying at the 

6 National Archives; and 

7 (2) shall be prioritized for digitization by the 

8 National Archives. 

9 (c) FEES FOR COPYING.—The Archivist shall— 

10 (1) use efficient electronic means when possible; 

11 (2) charge fees for copying COINTELPRO 

12 records in the Collection; and 

13 (3) promulgate regulations in accordance with 

14 the standard established under section 552(a)(4) of 

15 title 5, United States Code, for establishing proce16 dures and guidelines for determining when such fees 

17 should be waived. 

18 (d) TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.— 

19 Each Government office shall, in accordance with the cri20 teria established by the Archivist under subsection 

21 (a)(1)(C) as soon as is reasonably practicable, and in any 

22 event not later than 2 years after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, transmit to the Archivist in an electronic 

24 and searchable form a copy of each COINTELPRO record 

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1 cordance with subsection (b), including any such record 

2 that is publicly available on the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act. 

4 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT AND POWERS OF THE 

5 COINTELPRO RECORDS REVIEW BOARD. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an 

7 independent agency in the executive branch of the Federal 

8 Government, a board to be known as the COINTELPRO 

9 Records Review Board. 

10 (b) DUTIES OF THE REVIEW BOARD.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall— 

12 (A) review a determination by a Govern13 ment Office to partially disclose a 

14 COINTELPRO record in accordance with sec15 tion 2(c); and 

16 (B) if such record is in the possession or 

17 control of an entity in the executive branch of 

18 the Government, make a recommendation to the 

19 President on whether the record— 

20 (i) should have been partially dis21 closed in accordance with section 2(c); or 

22 (ii) fully disclosed in accordance with 

23 section 2(a). 


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1 (2) DECISIONS.—In carrying out paragraph 

2 (1), the Review Board shall consider whether a 

3 record constitutes a COINTELPRO record. 

4 (c) APPOINTMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall appoint, 

6 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 

7 5 individuals to serve as members of the Review 

8 Board. 

9 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (C), initial appointments to the Review 

12 Board shall be made not later than 60 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In making ap15 pointments to the Review Board, the President 

16 may consider any individuals recommended by 

17 the American Historical Association, the Orga18 nization of American Historians, the Society of 

19 American Archivists, and the American Bar As20 sociation. 

21 (C) EXTENSION.—If an organization de22 scribed in subparagraph (B) does not rec23 ommend at least 2 nominees meeting the quali24 fications stated in paragraph (3) within 60 days 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 


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1 deadline under subparagraph (A) shall be ex2 tended until the earlier of 60 days after the 

3 date on which such recommendations are made 

4 or 120 days after the date of the enactment of 

5 this Act. 

6 (D) ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

7 The President may request that any organiza8 tion described in subparagraph (B) submit ad9 ditional recommended nominees. 

10 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—Individuals nominated 

11 to the Review Board shall— 

12 (A) not have had any previous involvement 

13 with any official investigation or inquiry con14 ducted by the Federal Government, or any 

15 State or local government, relating to any 

16 COINTELPRO; 

17 (B) be distinguished individuals of high 

18 national professional reputation in their respec19 tive fields who are capable of exercising the 

20 independent and objective judgment necessary 

21 to fulfill their role in ensuring and facilitating 

22 the review, transmission to the public, and pub23 lic disclosure of files related to COINTELPRO 

24 and who possess an appreciation of the value of 


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1 such material to the public, scholars, and gov2 ernment; and 

3 (C) include at least 1 professional historian 

4 and 1 attorney. 

5 (d) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—All Review Board 

6 nominees may be processed for the necessary security 

7 clearances in an accelerated manner by the appropriate 

8 Federal agencies and subject to the standard procedures 

9 for granting such clearances. 

10 (e) VACANCY.—A vacancy on the Review Board shall 

11 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment 

12 and within 60 days of the occurrence of the vacancy. 

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

14 Board shall elect 1 of the members as chairperson. 

15 (g) REMOVAL OF REVIEW BOARD MEMBER.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—No member of the Review 

17 Board shall be removed from office, other than— 

18 (A) by impeachment and conviction; or 

19 (B) by the action of the President for inef20 ficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, 

21 physical disability, mental incapacity, or any 

22 other condition that substantially impairs the 

23 performance of the member’s duties. 

24 (2) REPORT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a member of the Re2 view Board is removed from office, and that re3 moval is by the President, not later than 10 

4 days after the removal, the President shall sub5 mit to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 

6 of the House of Representatives and the Com7 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern8 mental Affairs of the Senate a report specifying 

9 the facts found and the grounds for the re10 moval. 

11 (B) PUBLICATION.—The President shall 

12 publish in the Federal Register a report sub13 mitted under subparagraph (A), except that the 

14 President may, if necessary to protect the 

15 rights of a person named in the report or to 

16 prevent undue interference with any pending 

17 prosecution, postpone or refrain from pub18 lishing any or all of the report until the comple19 tion of such pending cases or pursuant to pri20 vacy protection requirements in law. 

21 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Re23 view Board removed from office may obtain ju24 dicial review of the removal in a civil action 


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1 commenced in the United States District Court 

2 for the District of Columbia. 

3 (B) RELIEF.—The member may be rein4 stated or granted other appropriate relief by 

5 order of the court. 

6 (h) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

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

8 Board shall be compensated at a rate equal to the 

9 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre10 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 

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

12 day (including travel time) during which the member 

13 is engaged in the performance of the duties of the 

14 Review Board. 

15 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Re16 view Board shall be allowed reasonable travel ex17 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at 

18 rates for employees of agencies under subchapter I 

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

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

21 business in the performance of services for the Re22 view Board. 

23 (i) POWERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall 

2 have the authority to act in a manner prescribed 

3 under this Act including the authority to— 

4 (A) direct a Government office to make 

5 available to the Review Board, and if necessary 

6 investigate the facts surrounding, additional in7 formation, records, or testimony from individ8 uals, which the Review Board has reason to be9 lieve is required to fulfill its functions and re10 sponsibilities under this Act; 

11 (B) subpoena private persons to compel 

12 the production of documents and other records 

13 relevant to its responsibilities under this Act; 

14 (C) require any Government office to ac15 count in writing for the destruction of any 

16 records relating to COINTELPRO; 

17 (D) receive information from the public re18 garding the identification and public disclosure 

19 of COINTELPRO records; and 

20 (E) hold hearings and administer oaths. 

21 (2) ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENAS.—The Re22 view Board may bring a civil action in a district 

23 court of the United States to enforce a subpoena 

24 issued under paragraph (1)(B). 


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1 (j) WITNESS IMMUNITY.—The Review Board shall be 

2 considered to be an agency of the United States for pur3 poses of chapter 601 of title 18, United States Code. 

4 (k) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Administrator of Gen5 eral Services shall provide administrative services for the 

6 Review Board on a reimbursable basis. 

7 (l) TERMINATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall ter9 minate not later than 4 years after the date of en10 actment of this Act, except that the Review Board 

11 may, by majority vote, extend its term for an addi12 tional 1-year period if the Review Board determines 

13 that it has not completed its work within that 4-year 

14 period. 

15 (2) REPORTS.—Before its termination, the Re16 view Board shall— 

17 (A) submit a report to the President and 

18 the Congress on the activities conducted by the 

19 Board, including a complete and accurate ac20 counting of expenditures during its existence; 

21 and 

22 (B) complete all other reporting require23 ments under this Act. 

24 (3) TRANSFER OF RECORDS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon termination, the 

2 Review Board shall transfer all records created 

3 by or in the possession of the Board to the Ar4 chivist for inclusion in the Collection. 

5 (B) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The 

6 records of the Review Board shall not be de7 stroyed, except that the Archivist may destroy 

8 routine administrative records covered by a gen9 eral records schedule following notification in 

10 the Federal Register and after considering com11 ments. 

12 SEC. 5. COINTELPRO RECORDS REVIEW BOARD PER13 SONNEL. 

14 (a) CHIEF OF STAFF.— 

15 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 45 days 

16 after the initial meeting of the Review Board, and 

17 without regard to political affiliation, the Review 

18 Board shall appoint an individual to the position of 

19 Chief of Staff of the Review Board. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The individual appointed 

21 as Chief of Staff— 

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

23 of integrity and impartiality who is a distin24 guished professional; and 


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1 (B) shall have had no previous involvement 

2 with any official investigation or inquiry relat3 ing to COINTELPRO. 

4 (3) CANDIDATE TO HAVE CLEARANCES.—A 

5 candidate for Chief of Staff may be granted the nec6 essary security clearances in an accelerated manner 

7 subject to the standard procedures for granting such 

8 clearances. 

9 (4) APPROVAL CONTINGENT ON PRIOR CLEAR10 ANCE.—A candidate for Chief of Staff may not be 

11 appointed without receiving a security clearance. 

12 (5) DUTIES.—The Chief of Staff shall— 

13 (A) serve as principal liaison to Govern14 ment offices; 

15 (B) be responsible for the administration 

16 and coordination of the Review Board’s review 

17 of records; 

18 (C) be responsible for the administration 

19 of all official activities conducted by the Review 

20 Board; and 

21 (D) have no authority to decide or deter22 mine whether any record shall be disclosed to 

23 the public or postponed for disclosure. 

24 (6) REMOVAL.—The Chief of Staff shall not be 

25 removed except upon a majority vote of the Review 


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1 Board to remove the Chief of Staff for cause on the 

2 grounds of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance 

3 in office, physical disability, mental incapacity, or 

4 any other condition that substantially impairs the 

5 performance of the responsibilities of the Chief of 

6 Staff or the employees of the Review Board. 

7 (b) STAFF.— 

8 (1) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Review 

9 Board may appoint additional employees as are nec10 essary to enable the Review Board and its Chief of 

11 Staff to perform their duties. Any employee ap12 pointed under this paragraph shall be in the ex13 cepted service (as that term is defined in section 

14 2103 of title 5, United States Code). 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—An individual appointed 

16 as an employee of the Review Board— 

17 (A) shall be a private citizen of integrity 

18 and impartiality; and 

19 (B) shall have had no previous involvement 

20 with any official investigation or inquiry relat21 ing to COINTELPRO. 

22 (3) NOMINATIONS.—Before making an appoint23 ment pursuant to paragraph (1), the Review Board 

24 shall consider individuals recommended by the 

25 American Historical Association, the Organization of 


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1 American Historians, the Society of American Archi2 vists, and the American Bar Association. 

3 (4) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—A staff candidate 

4 may not be appointed without receiving a security 

5 clearance. 

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

7 compensation of the Chief of Staff and other employees 

8 in accordance with title 5, United States Code, except that 

9 the rate of pay for the Chief of Staff and other employees 

10 may not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Execu11 tive Schedule under section 5316 of that title. 

12 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Review Board 

13 may create advisory committees to assist in fulfilling the 

14 responsibilities of the Review Board under this Act. 

15 SEC. 6. REVIEW OF RECORDS BY THE COINTELPRO 

16 RECORDS REVIEW BOARD. 

17 (a) CUSTODY OF RECORDS REVIEWED BY THE RE18 VIEW BOARD.—Pending a determination by the Review 

19 Board with respect to a record transmitted to the Board 

20 for review under this section, a Government office shall 

21 retain custody of a COINTELPRO record for purposes 

22 of preservation, security, and efficiency, unless— 

23 (1) the Review Board requires the physical 

24 transfer of records for reasons of conducting an 

25 independent and impartial review; or 


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1 (2) such transfer is necessary for an adminis2 trative hearing or other official Review Board func3 tion. 

4 (b) RECOMMENDATION OF THE REVIEW BOARD.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In reviewing a record in ac6 cordance with section 4(b), the Review Board shall 

7 direct that copies of all COINTELPRO records be 

8 transmitted to the Archivist and fully disclosed to 

9 the public in the Collection in the absence of clear 

10 and convincing evidence that— 

11 (A) a record is not a COINTELPRO 

12 record; or 

13 (B) a record or particular information 

14 within a COINTELPRO record does not cause 

15 harm, as such term is defined in section 2. 

16 (2) POSTPONEMENT.—In determining whether 

17 a COINTELPRO record should be fully disclosed to 

18 the public under section 2(a), the Review Board 

19 shall work to— 

20 (A) provide for the disclosure of segregable 

21 parts, substitutes, or summaries of such a 

22 record; and 

23 (B) determine, in consultation with the 

24 Government office in the possession or control 

25 of the record, and consistent with the standards 


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1 for disclosure under this Act, which of the fol2 lowing alternative forms of disclosure shall be 

3 made by the Government office: 

4 (i) Any reasonably segregable par5 ticular information in a COINTELPRO 

6 record. 

7 (ii) A substitute record for that infor8 mation which is postponed. 

9 (3) REPORT.—With respect to a 

10 COINTELPRO record, or particular information 

11 within a record, for which only substitutions or sum12 maries have been disclosed to the public, the Review 

13 Board shall transmit to the Archivist a report con14 taining— 

15 (A) a description of actions by the Review 

16 Board, the originating body, the President, or 

17 any Government office (including a justification 

18 of any such action to postpone disclosure of any 

19 record or part of any record) and of any official 

20 proceedings conducted by the Review Board 

21 with regard to specific COINTELPRO records; 

22 and 

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

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1 ommended specified time at which or a specified 

2 occurrence following which the material may be 

3 appropriately disclosed to the public under this 

4 Act. 

5 (4) NOTICE.—Not later than 14 days after the 

6 Review Board makes a determination whether a 

7 COINTELPRO record should be fully disclosed, the 

8 Review Board shall— 

9 (A) notify the head of the Government of10 fice in the possession or control of the record of 

11 the determination; and 

12 (B) publish a copy of the determination in 

13 the Federal Register. 

14 (c) NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC.—On each day that is 

15 on or after the date that is 60 days after the Review Board 

16 first approves the postponement of disclosure of a 

17 COINTELPRO record, the Review Board shall publish on 

18 a publicly available website a notice that summarizes the 

19 recommendation including a description of the subject, the 

20 originating body, length or other physical description, and 

21 each justification relied on for the recommendation. 

22 (d) REPORTS BY THE REVIEW BOARD.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall sub24 mit a report its activities to the Speaker of the 

25 House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of 


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1 the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

2 Oversight and Reform of the House of Representa3 tives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minor4 ity Leader of the Senate, the Committee on Home5 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen6 ate, the President, the Archivist, and the head of 

7 any Government office whose records have been the 

8 subject of Review Board activity. 

9 (2) DEADLINES.—Not later than 1 year after 

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

11 thereafter until the termination of the Review 

12 Board, the Review Board shall issue a report under 

13 paragraph (1). 

14 (3) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

15 (1) shall include the following information: 

16 (A) A financial report of the expenses for 

17 all official activities and requirements of the 

18 Review Board and its employees. 

19 (B) The progress made on review and, 

20 transmission to the Archivist, and public disclo21 sure of COINTELPRO records. 

22 (C) The estimated time and volume of 

23 COINTELPRO records involved in the comple24 tion of the Review Board’s duties under this 

25 Act. 


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1 (D) Any special problems, including re2 quests and the level of cooperation of Govern3 ment offices, with regard to the ability of the 

4 Review Board to meet the requirements of this 

5 Act. 

6 (E) A record of review activities, including 

7 a record of recommendations that a record not 

8 be fully disclosed by the Review Board or other 

9 related actions authorized by this Act, and a 

10 record of the volume of records reviewed and 

11 recommended to not be fully disclosed. 

12 (F) Recommendations and requests to 

13 Congress for additional authorizations or appro14 priations. 

15 (G) An appendix containing copies of re16 ports of postponed records to the Archivist re17 quired under subsection (c)(3) made since the 

18 date of the preceding report submitted under 

19 this subsection. 

20 (4) NOTICE OF TERMINATION.—Not later than 

21 90 days before terminating, the Review Board shall 

22 provide written notice to the President and the Con23 gress of its intention to terminate its operations at 

24 a specified date and the date on which the Board in25 tends to terminate. 


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1 SEC. 7. DISCLOSURE OF OTHER INFORMATION AND ADDI2 TIONAL STUDY. 

3 (a) MATERIALS UNDER THE SEAL OF THE COURT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board may re5 quest the Attorney General to petition any court in 

6 the United States to release any information rel7 evant to COINTELPRO that is held under seal of 

8 court. 

9 (2) GRAND JURY MATERIALS.— 

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

11 request the Attorney General to petition any 

12 court in the United States to release any infor13 mation relevant to COINTELPRO that is held 

14 under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury. 

15 (B) PARTICULARIZED NEED.—A request 

16 for disclosure of COINTELPRO records under 

17 this Act shall be deemed to constitute a show18 ing of particularized need pursuant to rule 6 of 

19 the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. 

20 (3) DEADLINE.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

22 shall respond to any request that is subject to 

23 this subsection within 45 days. 

24 (B) NONDISCLOSURE OF GRAND JURY IN25 FORMATION.—If the Attorney General deter26 mines that information relevant to a 


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1 COINTELPRO that is held under the seal of a 

2 grand jury should not be made public, the At3 torney General shall set forth in the response to 

4 the request the reasons for the determination. 

5 (b) COOPERATION WITH AGENCIES.—It is the sense 

6 of Congress that— 

7 (1) the Attorney General should assist the Re8 view Board in good faith to unseal any records that 

9 the Review Board determines to be relevant and held 

10 under the seal by a court or under the injunction of 

11 secrecy of a grand jury; and 

12 (2) all Government offices should cooperate in 

13 full with the Review Board to seek the disclosure of 

14 all information relevant to COINTELPRO con15 sistent with the public interest. 

16 SEC. 8. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

17 (a) PRECEDENCE OVER OTHER LAW.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

19 when this Act requires transmission of a record to 

20 the Archivist or public disclosure, it shall take prece21 dence over any other law (except section 6103 of the 

22 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6103)), 

23 judicial decisions construing such law, or common 

24 law doctrine that would otherwise prohibit such 

25 transmission or disclosure with the exception of 


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1 deeds governing access to or transfer or release of 

2 gifts and donations of records to the United States 

3 Government. 

4 (2) PERSONNEL AND MEDICAL FILES.—This 

5 Act shall not require the public disclosure of per6 sonnel and medical files and similar files the disclo7 sure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

8 invasion of personal privacy. 

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

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

11 to file any requests with any executive agency or seek judi12 cial review of a decision under section 552 of title 5, 

13 United States Code. 

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

15 construed to preclude judicial review, under chapter 7 of 

16 title 5, United States Code, of final actions taken or re17 quired to be taken under this Act. 

18 (d) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act re19 vokes or limits the existing authority of the President, any 

20 executive agency, the Senate, the House of Representa21 tives, or any other entity of the Government to publicly 

22 disclose records in its possession. 

23 SEC. 9. REDESIGNATION. 

24 The Federal building located at 935 Pennsylvania 

25 Avenue Northwest in Washington, DC, commonly known 


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1 as the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Building, shall be known 

2 and designated as the ‘‘Federal Bureau of Investigation 

3 Federal Building’’. 

4 SEC. 10. REFERENCES. 

5 Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, 

6 paper, or other record of the United States to the Federal 

7 building referred to in section 3 shall be deemed to be 

8 a reference to the ‘‘Federal Bureau of Investigation Fed9 eral Building’’. 

10 SEC. 11. FUNDING. 

11 Until such time as funds are appropriated to carry 

12 out this Act, the President shall use such sums as are 

13 available for discretionary use to carry out this Act. 

14 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

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

17 the Archivist of the United States. 

18 (2) COINTELPRO.—The term 

19 ‘‘COINTELPRO’’ means the covert and illegal 

20 counter intelligence program conducted by the Fed21 eral Bureau of Investigation in 1956 that involved 

22 surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting 

23 domestic organizations involved in the political proc24 ess, including political parties, non-governmental orVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2998.IH H2998

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1 ganizations, advocacy groups, and special interest 

2 groups. 

3 (3) COINTELPRO RECORD.—The term 

4 ‘‘COINTELPRO record’’ means a record that— 

5 (A) is related to COINTELPRO; and 

6 (B) was created or made available for use 

7 by, obtained by, or otherwise came into the pos8 session of— 

9 (i) an entity of the Federal Govern10 ment, including— 

11 (I) the Library of Congress; 

12 (II) any executive agency, includ13 ing the National Archives; and 

14 (III) any independent agency; or 

15 (ii) any State or local government, or 

16 component thereof, that provided support 

17 or assistance or performed work in connec18 tion with a Federal inquiry into surveil19 lance, infiltration, discrediting, or disrup20 tion undertaken as a part of 

21 COINTELPRO. 

22 (4) COLLECTION.—The term ‘‘Collection’’ 

23 means the COINTELPRO Records Collection estab24 lished under section 3. 


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1 (5) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘executive 

2 agency’’ means an agency, as defined in section 

3 552(f) of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (6) GOVERNMENT OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Govern5 ment office’’ means any entity of the Federal Gov6 ernment that has possession or control of 1 or more 

7 COINTELPRO record. 

8 (7) GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘Gov9 ernment official’’ means any officer or employee of 

10 the United States, including any elected or ap11 pointed official. 

12 (8) NATIONAL ARCHIVES.—The term ‘‘National 

13 Archives’’ means the National Archives and Records 

14 Administration and all components thereof, includ15 ing Presidential archival depositories established 

16 under section 2112 of title 44, United States Code. 

17 (9) OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘‘offi18 cial investigation’’ means the review of a 

19 COINTELPRO case conducted by any entity of the 

20 Federal Government either independently, at the re21 quest of any Presidential commission or congres22 sional committee, or at the request of any Govern23 ment official. 

24 (10) ORIGINATING BODY.—The term ‘‘origi25 nating body’’ means the entity of the Federal GovVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2998.IH H2998

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1 ernment, or the entity of a State or local govern2 ment, as the case may be, that created a record or 

3 particular information within a record. 

4 (11) PUBLIC INTEREST.—The term ‘‘public in5 terest’’ means the compelling interest in the prompt 

6 public disclosure of civil rights cold case records for 

7 historical and Governmental purposes and for the 

8 purpose of fully informing the people of the United 

9 States about the history surrounding all civil rights 

10 cold cases in the United States. 

11 (12) RECORD.—The term ‘‘record’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 3301 of title 44, 

13 United States Code. 

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

15 Board’’ means the COINTELPRO Records Review 

16 Board established under section 4. 

Æ 


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