Enacted in 1978, the Presidential Records Act (PRA), as amended, instructs the collection and retention of—as well as codifies public access to—presidential records. Since the PRA's enactment, some incumbent Presidents have issued executive orders that detail how they interpreted the law. Presidential records are critical tools for understanding the powers and operations of the executive branch of the federal government. These records, however, may include information that, if released to the public, could endanger national security, adversely affect the nation's economy, or result in an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The PRA details which presidential records and materials the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is to assume responsibility for at the end of a President's Administration. According to the act, when a President leaves office, his official records remain property of the federal government, under the supervision of the Archivist of the United States. Once a location for a presidential library has been determined, and the facility is deeded or otherwise placed into the custody of the United States, the former President's records are to be deposited there. The provisions of the PRA have remained relatively unchanged since the law's 1978 enactment, except for several technical amendments. Incumbent Presidents, however, have varied widely in how they chose to interpret the PRA. Additionally, Presidents from both major political parties have faced questions and concerns about their abilities to maintain accurate, comprehensive, and accessible archives, especially considering their increasing use of electronic—and perhaps ephemeral—platforms like email, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and YouTube. The PRA requires the collection of all presidential records, including those created on electronic platforms. The increasing volume of records created by incumbent Presidents may prompt further concerns about incumbent Presidents' abilities to appropriately collect and retain records. Congress has the authority to revise or enhance recordkeeping requirements for incumbent Presidents, including requiring more systematic methods for collecting and maintaining email or Internet records. The 113 th Congress (2013-2014), for example, passed H.R. 1233 , and the President signed into law, P.L. 113-187 , the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014, which codifies the length of time an incumbent or applicable former President has to review records and decide whether to challenge release to the public. P.L. 113-187 also prevents the President and his immediate staff from use of a "non-official electronic messaging account" to create federal records, unless that record is forwarded to an "official" email address within five days. The law, however, does not define "non-official electronic messaging account," nor does the PRA. In addition to ensuring the implementation of recent amendments to the PRA, Congress might elect to oversee whether all of the platforms and technologies used to create presidential records allow for appropriate capture, retention, and future access of those records. This report discusses the PRA and its interpretations by successive Administrations. This report examines policy options related to the capture, maintenance, and use of presidential records, with a focus on electronic presidential records. As noted above, the Presidential Records Act (PRA) was enacted in 1978, and the statute, as amended, instructs the collection and retention of—as well as codifies public access to—presidential records. Prior to the enactment of the PRA, "presidential records were under the control of the president whose administration generated them." Pursuant to the PRA, presidential records are collected and maintained by the incumbent President until he leaves office. When a President leaves office, his official records remain property of the federal government, under the supervision of the Archivist of the United States. The act applies to the records of Presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan. The PRA defines a presidential record as "documentary materials … created by the President or his immediate staff." In turn, the term documentary materials includes all books, correspondence, memorandums, documents, papers, pamphlets, works of art, models, pictures, photographs, plats, maps, films, and motion pictures, including, but not limited to, audio, audiovisual, or other electronic or mechanical recordations. Pursuant to Chapter 22 of Title 44 of the U.S. Code , upon leaving office, an outgoing President may restrict access to certain of his archived records for up to 12 years. Certain presidential files and records may be excepted from public access indefinitely if they qualify under any of the six criteria delineated in 44 U.S.C. Section 2204: 1. the information is specifically exempted by an executive order for the purpose of national security or foreign policy; 2. the information is related to federal office appointments; 3. the information is explicitly exempted from disclosure by statute; 4. the information includes trade secrets and commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential; 5. the information is a confidential communication that requests or submits advice between the President and his advisers—or between the advisers themselves; or 6. the information is personnel or medical files, and their disclosure would amount to an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. According to the act, the Archivist of the United States—or, if there is a legal challenge, the federal courts—would have final determination over which records should be released to the public. The act also states that it is not to "be construed to confirm, limit, or expand any constitutionally-based privilege which may be available to an incumbent or former President." The act does not define the scope of this privilege. Successive presidential Administrations have interpreted the PRA's meaning differently. This section will examine and compare the most recent two presidential interpretations—one from the George W. Bush Administration and the other from the Obama Administration. These executive orders are pivotal in setting the context for understanding how presidential interpretations of this law may affect its implementation. The final section of this report details P.L. 113-187 , the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014, which, among other things, codifies some parts of the PRA that have historically been interpreted in various ways by incumbent Presidents. On November 1, 2001, President George W. Bush issued E.O. 13233. This executive order gave the incumbent President, former Presidents, former Vice Presidents, and their designees broad authority to deny access to presidential documents after the termination of the 12-year access restriction and to delay the release of certain records indefinitely. Under the order, former Presidents had 90 days to review and decide whether documents requested for public release pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request should be released. Incumbent Presidents had the authority to extend the review period indefinitely, and the Archivist had no recourse to challenge the status of materials that had been withheld or remained in review. During his first full day in office, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13489, which explicitly revoked E.O. 13233. Under E.O. 13489, after termination of the 12-year access restriction, incumbent Presidents and former Presidents were granted 30 days to review presidential records to determine whether they should be released. If an incumbent President claimed executive privilege for the records of a former President, the Counsel to the President was required to notify the Archivist, the appropriate former President, and the Attorney General of the action. The Archivist was then prohibited from releasing those records—unless instructed to do so by a court order. In contrast to claims of executive privilege made by an incumbent President, under E.O. 13489, claims of executive privilege made by a former President required the Archivist to consult with the Attorney General, the Counsel to the President, or other appropriate officials to determine the validity of the request. According to the executive order, the incumbent President could have instructed the Archivist whether to release the records of a former President, and the Archivist is to "abide by" the President's determination—unless directed otherwise by a court order. If the Archivist denied a former President's executive privilege claim and determined that records should have been released, the incumbent President and appropriate former President were to be given 30 days' notice of the records' release. E.O. 13489 vested much of the records disclosure authority in the hands of the incumbent President. This authority to determine which records of a former President should have been released to the public may arguably have stood in contrast to the designs of the Presidential Records Act, which places greater authority over records disclosure in the hands of the Archivist. The executive order did not define the boundaries of executive privilege, but it did define a " substantial question of executive privilege " as a situation in which "NARA's disclosure of Presidential records might impair national security (including the conduct of foreign relations), law enforcement, or the deliberative processes of the executive branch." The 113 th Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 ( P.L. 113-187 ), which addressed the creation of, collection of, retention of, and access to presidential records. The law, among other things, amended the PRA to explicitly provide a 60-day presidential record review period to the incumbent or applicable former President any time the Archivist intended to release previously unreleased presidential records. Pursuant to the bill's language, the review period can be extended for an additional 30 days if the Archivist provides a statement that "such an extension is necessary to allow an adequate review of the record." This language would supersede Executive Order 13489. The bill also codifies the requirement that any claim of executive privilege must be made by the applicable former President or by the incumbent President. P.L. 113-187 also prohibits anyone convicted of inappropriately using, removing, or destroying NARA records from accessing presidential records. Additionally, the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 prohibits the use of a "non-official electronic messaging account" to create a presidential record.