[Congressional Record: January 7, 2009 (House)]
[Page H45-H48]
PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DONATION REFORM ACT OF 2009
Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 36) to amend title 44, United States Code, to require
information on contributors to Presidential library fundraising
organizations.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 36
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Library
Donation Reform Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES.
(a) In General.--Section 2112 of title 44, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(h)(1) Any Presidential library fundraising organization
shall submit on a quarterly basis, in accordance with
paragraph (2), information with respect to every contributor
who gave the organization a contribution or contributions
(whether monetary or in-kind) totaling $200 or more for the
quarterly period.
``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)--
``(A) the entities to which information shall be submitted
under that paragraph are the Administration, the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
``(B) the dates by which information shall be submitted
under that paragraph are April 15, July 15, October 15, and
January 15 of each year and of the following year (for the
fourth quarterly filing);
``(C) the requirement to submit information under that
paragraph shall continue until the later of the following
occurs:
``(i) The Archivist has accepted, taken title to, or
entered into an agreement to use any land or facility for the
archival depository.
``(ii) The President whose archives are contained in the
depository no longer holds the Office of President and a
period of four years has expired (beginning on the date the
President left the Office).
``(3) In this subsection:
``(A) The term `Presidential library fundraising
organization' means an organization that is established for
the purpose of raising funds for creating, maintaining,
expanding, or conducting activities at--
``(i) a Presidential archival depository; or
``(ii) any facilities relating to a Presidential archival
depository.
``(B) The term `information' means the following:
``(i) The amount or value of each contribution made by a
contributor referred to in paragraph (1) in the quarter
covered by the submission.
``(ii) The source of each such contribution, and the
address of the entity or individual that is the source of the
contribution.
``(iii) If the source of such a contribution is an
individual, the occupation of the individual.
``(iv) The date of each such contribution.
``(4) The Archivist shall make available to the public
through the Internet (or a successor technology readily
available to the public) as soon as is practicable after each
quarterly filing any information that is submitted under
paragraph (1). The information shall be made available
without a fee or other access charge, in a searchable,
sortable, and downloadable database.
``(5)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who makes a
contribution described in paragraph (1) to knowingly and
willfully submit false material information or omit material
information with respect to the contribution to an
organization described in such paragraph.
``(B) The penalties described in section 1001 of title 18,
United States Code, shall apply with respect to a violation
of subparagraph (A) in the same manner as a violation
described in such section.
``(6)(A) It shall be unlawful for any Presidential library
fundraising organization to knowingly and willfully submit
false material information or omit material information under
paragraph (1).
``(B) The penalties described in section 1001 of title 18,
United States Code, shall apply with respect to a violation
of subparagraph (A) in the same manner as a violation
described in such section.
``(7)(A) It shall be unlawful for a person to knowingly and
willfully--
``(i) make a contribution described in paragraph (1) in the
name of another person;
``(ii) permit his or her name to be used to effect a
contribution described in paragraph (1); or
``(iii) accept a contribution described in paragraph (1)
that is made by one person in the name of another person.
``(B) The penalties set forth in section 309(d) of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(d))
shall apply to a violation of subparagraph (A) in the same
manner as if such violation were a violation of section
316(b)(3) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(3)).
``(8) The Archivist shall promulgate regulations for the
purpose of carrying out this subsection.''.
(b) Applicability.--Section 2112(h) of title 44, United
States Code (as added by subsection (a))--
(1) shall apply to an organization established for the
purpose of raising funds for creating, maintaining,
expanding, or conducting activities at a Presidential
archival depository or any facilities relating to a
Presidential archival depository before, on or after the date
of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) shall only apply with respect to contributions (whether
monetary or in-kind) made after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Towns) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. TOWNS. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 36, the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act,
will require organizations raising money to build Presidential
libraries and their affiliated institutions to disclose the identities
of their donors and the amount of their donations. Like the records
bill just considered, an identical version of this bill was considered
in the 110th Congress and passed the House with strong bipartisan
support.
Presidential libraries are becoming increasingly expensive, and
fundraising for their construction begins during a President's term.
These are broad campuses with museums, conference centers, and other
institutions, some of which are entirely separate from the federally
run libraries.
According to press reports, it cost more than $80 million to build
George H.W. Bush's library and $165 million to build the Clinton
library. Press reports have suggested that the fundraising target for
President Bush's library is $500 million.
Under current law, individuals, corporations and even foreign
interests can make anonymous, unlimited donations to these
organizations. Such donations can be made while the President is still
in office. There is enormous potential for abuse in this system.
Special interests could make multi-million dollar donations to a
Presidential library foundation in an effort to influence the
President, and the public would remain completely unaware.
In order to prevent real abuse, as well as the perception of abuse,
H.R. 36 would require Presidential library foundations to divulge
information about their donors while the President is in office and for
the several years after the President's term has ended.
I again thank the ranking member, Mr. Issa from California, for his
cooperation on this bill and thank the previous chairman, Mr. Waxman,
for his work in this as well.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I join with the chairman in recommending swift passage
through the House for at least the third time. This bill has passed
under
[[Page H46]]
multiple authors, both Republican and Democrat. It is, by nature, one
in which we believe we are appropriately asserting a daylight
requirement on past and future Presidents and would certainly hope that
we would view this bill as noncontroversial in most areas.
Madam Speaker, our Nation's Presidential libraries attract millions
of visitors each year. They have become elaborate institutions, and the
cost of building and maintaining these facilities has grown
dramatically.
Under current law, Presidential libraries are built with private
funds, then turned over to the Archivist for operation.
Amendments to the Presidential Libraries Act mandated the
establishment of an endowment to cover some of the costs of operating
the library, which are usually met through the establishment of a
charitable organization.
Funding for construction and the endowment comes from private
sources. But under current law, no duty to disclose the source of those
contributions exists.
On both sides of the aisle, there is strong support for increasing
disclosure.
Earlier, under Mr. Duncan's leadership, the House passed solid
bipartisan legislation to require the disclosure of contributions to
organizations that raise funds for Presidential libraries and related
facilities. And a bill identical to the bill before us passed the House
last year by a wide margin.
We recognize the perception of impropriety that contributions to a
Presidential library can raise, given the huge sums that must be
amassed, and the attraction this avenue may hold for those seeking
favors or influence.
This legislation will provide a needed degree of transparency to that
process.
If I may, I am going to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Gohmert) for a particular portion of the bill that he feels,
before it becomes law, should ultimately be looked at.
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I do appreciate my friend for yielding.
This is a good overall idea. It's a good bill in general. There needs
to be more clarity. Many of us have wondered who is building these
Presidential libraries, and this will help inform the public just who
it is that's doing that.
The concern I have is that there is a provision in the bill for
filing errors or omissions that could send somebody to prison for 5
years. Now as a former judge, I've presided over thousands and
thousands of felony cases. I have sent I don't know how many people to
prison. That's not a concern. My reputation was, as one criminal was
overheard telling another, ``He will give a fair trial, but if you're
guilty, you don't want his court.''
I don't have a problem sending people to prison, but one thing,
probably the best conservative organization as far as getting out the
message, the Heritage Foundation, and the ACLU have actually been in
agreement on, this body, almost on whims, throws in a prison sentence
as an added provision, and we are having people go to prison who
shouldn't. If it is a dollar issue, then fine them 1 million, 10
million, whatever would be appropriate. But we should not, in this
body, continually subject people to being taken down in their home,
handcuffed when they made an error that should not be criminalized.
So that is the concern I have. This never went through Judiciary. It
has been through prior Congresses. It never went through Judiciary, the
Crime Subcommittee, to look at that specific aspect. That is a concern,
and it is something that we should not be doing, overcriminalizing
provisions, by just sticking that in as an exclamation point. It needs
to be well thought through before we provide a way to send somebody to
prison.
I appreciate the time. I hope that could be taken out because that is
an aspect that's inappropriate.
Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, let me just say to the gentleman that I
really share a lot of his views, and I'm willing to continue to work
with him in seeing in terms of what we might be able to do to
strengthen this legislation.
At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Clay).
{time} 1045
Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
As an original cosponsor of the Presidential Library Donation Act, I
rise in strong support of H.R. 36, and I urge my colleagues to vote in
favor of it.
Federal election law limits the amount a single source can give to a
political campaign and requires that donations and donor information be
disclosed to the public. These requirements help to preserve the
integrity of our democratic system by ensuring that campaign donors do
not exercise undue influence over elected policy-makers.
Similar requirements do not apply to Presidential library fund-
raising campaigns, and this creates the potential for large donors to
exert, or appear to exert, improper influence over a sitting President.
The fact that private foundations are required to raise money to
build and maintain Presidential libraries lowers the burden on
taxpayers, but it also increases the incentive to pursue aggressive
fund-raising for libraries that have become more and more expensive
over the years.
Under H.R. 36, Presidential library foundations would be required to
report on a quarterly basis all donations of $200 or more. This
requirement would apply to donations made to the foundation during the
time that the President is in office and during the period before the
Archives agrees to use the land or the facility.
In addition, the proposal calls on the Archivist to make all reports
available to the public online through a searchable and downloadable
database.
I commend Chairman Towns for his leadership in bringing this bill to
the floor, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this important
bipartisan bill.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, it's my pleasure now to yield up to 10
minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), the author of the
original bill substantially similar to the one today and a constant
advocate for this type of transparency.
Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, first of all, I will say I thank the
gentleman from California, the ranking member, Mr. Issa, for yielding
me the time, but I won't need nearly that much time.
I want to thank the gentleman from New York, Chairman Towns, for his
support of this issue and this legislation and his effort to bring this
bill to the floor as one of the first bills considered in the 111th
Congress, and I also want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr.
Issa) for his support of this legislation.
I first introduced this bill in the 106th Congress after reading a
front-page story in the Washington Times reporting that foreign
governments from the Middle East were making large donations, very
large donations, to the proposed library for President Clinton. I was
concerned about the influence that donations by foreign governments and
perhaps others could have since there was no policy requiring
disclosure of donors.
The topic of disclosing contributions made by private donors to
Presidential library fund-raising organizations is of great concern to
me. These organizations are formed while a President is in office and
collect donations from individuals, corporations and foreign
governments, with no limit on the contribution amount, and especially
when there's no requirement for disclosing the donor or the amounts
being donated, there is great potential for abuse.
After I introduced this bill, sometime after I introduced this bill,
I learned of the very sizable donations, hundreds of thousands of
dollars, given to the Clinton library by Marc Rich's ex-wife, another
close friend of the Clintons. Marc Rich, who fled the country after
evading over $40 million in Federal income taxes, was granted a pardon
on President Clinton's last day in office.
However, this is not a partisan issue. I introduced and have
supported this legislation under both Democratic and Republican
Presidents, and as Mr. Issa mentioned and Chairman Towns mentioned, it
has passed overwhelmingly both times it was considered by the House
previously.
Previous attempts to move this bill were met with little interest, I
suppose, in the Senate, but perhaps this time around they will take up
this issue.
This bill does not prohibit the contributions, including very large
contributions. It simply requires Presidential library fund-raisers to
disclose donations over $200.
We're back once again, Madam Speaker, today, to try to pass this bill
to provide some openness and transparency on the donations made to
these organizations and on what could be the potential for abuse under
a President of either party in the future.
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The price to build these libraries, as Chairman Towns mentioned, has
increased dramatically over the last few years from $80 million to the
$200 to $500 million estimated for the current President's library.
I think this bill promotes good government and is something that all
of my colleagues should be proud to support. If we pass this
legislation, it will certainly help to prevent the potential for
serious abuse in the years ahead.
And like Chairman Towns, I will be glad to work with the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Gohmert). I did not have that severe of a penalty in
the first legislation that I originally worked on many years ago.
But once again, I want to thank all of my colleagues on both sides of
the aisle for their support. This is a very bipartisan bill, and I urge
its adoption by this Congress.
Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, may I ask how many speakers does the
minority have left.
Mr. ISSA. We have no further speakers at this time. If the
gentleman's prepared to close, I will be brief.
Mr. TOWNS. I'm prepared to close.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume
simply to say that I look forward to working with the chairman on any
perfecting language here or in the Senate necessary to make this an
even more acceptable bill to all Members because I believe that, as Mr.
Duncan said, this is a bill whose time has come. We have been more than
6 years attempting to have this happen.
I think one thing that is very clear is that we could talk about
library A, library B, library C, but as President Bush leaves office
and that library is going to be built in Dallas, I think the American
people will want to know every bit as much as with any previous
President that that money was given by people who appreciated the
legacy of that President and not by people who appreciated specific
actions of that President in real-time.
And so I join with the majority and Mr. Duncan, as the original
author of some time ago, in asking for quick passage of a bill,
perfected as necessary in the work that I expect we will do together.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, our President-elect has talked a lot about
transparency. He's really interested in transparency. So improving
transparency of donations to Presidential libraries, as this bill does,
will assure the American people that their Presidents are not being
influenced by unknown persons or groups.
Open government is an important goal of the Congress and the incoming
administration, and I hope today's bill is just the right kind of bill
to move forward with that in mind.
Let me say, Madam Speaker, this is a good piece of legislation, and
I'm hoping that my colleagues join me in supporting this bill. I want
to thank the minority for their support, and of course, we will
continue to look and see how we might be able to improve the
legislation, but I really feel that this is a giant step in the right
direction. Transparency is something that we cannot lose sight of.
Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Towns for bringing
this bill to the floor today. H.R. 36, the Presidential Library
Donation Reform Act has a simple purpose. It requires that the
organizations created to raise money for presidential libraries and
their affiliated institutions disclose information about their donors.
The lack of any such requirement creates opportunities for abuse.
Under current law, anybody can give to these organizations anonymously,
even while the President is still in office. These donations could be
used to influence presidential decision-making with no public
disclosure.
This is not the first time this bill has come before the House. In
2001, Representative Duncan introduced similar legislation. I thank him
for his early leadership on this issue. And in 2007, I introduced H.R.
1254 with Representatives Duncan, Clay, Platts, and Emanuel. That bill
passed the House with an overwhelming majority in the last Congress. I
urge my colleagues once again to support this straightforward
legislation.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, today, the House considers the
Presidential Libraries Donation Reform Act. I was a cosponsor of this
bill when it was originally introduced in 2007 and I am proud to stand
in support of it today.
Under current law, a sitting president can accept private donations
in unlimited amounts for the purpose of building a presidential
library. There is no requirement that the donor's identity or the
amount of the donation be disclosed. The potential for abuse here is
obvious.
This bill requires presidential libraries fundraising organizations
to disclose to Congress information about the donors and their
donations during and immediately following the president's term in
office.
The bill originally passed the House on suspension in March 2007, and
returns to the House floor today after receiving strong support in the
Senate.
I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this important
piece of bipartisan legislation.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Towns
for attempting to bring greater transparency to presidential library
fundraising efforts with H.R. 36, the ``Presidential Library Donation
Reform Act of 2009.''
We are facing a new day, with a new administration, and a new
Democratic majority. That is why it is important that we stay true to
our core values of fairness, transparency, a accountability.
Starting with the lobbying and ethics reform, we as a body understand
that a responsible government allows for openness. This legislation
continues to rebuild our trust with the American people.
This legislation requires in part that, ``any Presidential library
fundraising organization shall submit on a quarterly basis with respect
to every contributor who gave the organization a contribution or
contributions (whether monetary or in-kind) totaling $200 or more for
the quarterly period.''
Under current law, private organizations established for the purpose
of building a presidential library can raise unlimited amounts of money
from undisclosed donors while the President remains in office. It takes
nothing more than common sense to see the potential for abuse in this
area and the need for basic reform.
Presidential libraries serve an important purpose as depositories of
presidential papers and centers for historical research. In 1939,
President Franklin Roosevelt came up with the idea of a privately-
built, but federally maintained library to house his presidential
papers.
This split of responsibilities between the public and the private
sectors has continued and has since been codified into law. In 1955,
the Presidential Libraries Act formally established a system under
which federally maintained libraries would be built using funds raised
by private organizations. More recent amendments have required these
private organizations to provide an operating endowment to the National
Archives in addition to the library building.
Just as the funding requirements have grown, so have the libraries
and their affiliated institutions. Now these libraries are much more
than basic research facilities. They include museums and conference
centers along with other tourist attractions; they are getting more
costly all the time.
The George H.W. Bush library was reported to cost more than $80
million to build. The Clinton library and museum cost about $165
million to build. News reports have indicated that the fundraising goal
for President Bush's library is $500 million--half a billion dollars--
before this institution is completed.
The vast scale of these secret fundraising efforts creates
opportunities for abuse. Donors who do not need to be identified can
give unlimited amounts of money to support these libraries while the
President remains in office.
This legislation would require that presidential libraries disclose
the identity of their donors to Congress and the National Archives
during their period of most intense fundraising, which is while the
President is in office and in the several years after the end of his
term.
This legislation is but one part of a larger effort by this Congress
to restore honesty and accountability in the Federal Government.
Conclusion
Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Towns and the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform for helping us build a strong
foundation of trust with the American people. I ask my colleagues to
support me in supporting H.R. 36.
Mr. TOWNS. On that note, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of
my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 36.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
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Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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