I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 581 
To require individuals who formerly held an elected Federal office to certify 
after leaving office that they do not have in their possession any classified 
materials, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 26, 2023 
Mr. TORRES of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and in addition to 
the Committees on Oversight and Accountability, and House Administra-
tion, 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 individuals who formerly held an elected Federal 
office to certify after leaving office that they do not 
have in their possession any classified materials, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defending Our Classi-
fied Secrets Act’’ or the ‘‘DOCS Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. CERTIFICATION THAT FORMER ELECTED OFFI-
CIALS DO NOT POSSESS CLASSIFIED MATE-
RIAL. 
(a) REQUIRING CERTIFICATION AFTER LEAVING OF-
FICE.—Each individual who formerly held an elected Fed-
eral office shall, not later than 30 days after the individual 
no longer holds an elected Federal office, submit a certifi-
cation to the National Archives and Records Administra-
tion that the individual does not possess any classified ma-
terials. 
(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY
OF CERTIFICATIONS.— 
The Archivist of the United States shall compile the cer-
tifications submitted under subsection (a) and make the 
certifications available to the public. 
(c) PENALTY.—An individual who does not submit a 
certification required under subsection (a), or who submits 
a certification that contains false information, shall be 
subject to a civil money penalty not to exceed $100,000. 
(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘elected 
Federal office’’ means the office of President, Vice Presi-
dent, Senator, or Representative in, or Delegate or Resi-
dent Commissioner to, the Congress. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 
respect to an individual who holds an elected Federal of-
fice on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 3. PROCEDURE TO TRACK CLASSIFIED MATERIAL 
FOLLOWING REMOVAL FROM A SENSITIVE 
COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION FACILITY. 
The Director of National Intelligence shall ensure 
there is established a mandatory procedure under which 
any classified material removed from a sensitive compart-
mented information facility shall be documented and 
tracked (including with respect to the physical location of 
such material) for a period beginning at the time of such 
removal and ending at such time as the Director may de-
termine appropriate. 
Æ 
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