Quigley Re-Introduces Legislation to Protect Presidential Records
This week, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL), founder of the Congressional Transparency Caucus, re-introduced the Promoting Accountability and Security in Transition (PAST) Act after reports emerged that White House logs from January 6th, 2021 provided to the House of Representatives included a 7-hour gap in phone calls made by former President Donald Trump. The PAST Act would clarify and enhance existing law with regards to the preservation of presidential transition and presidential records.
"I have spent years dedicated to lifting the veil of government so the American people knows how their government is functioning and if it is working in their best interests. The Trump White House was one of the least transparent administrations in our history. We have seen that without necessary and clear policies in place, presidents like Trump will do their very best to keep the public in the dark," said Quigley. "All administrations—Republican and Democratic—must meet basic standards so misconduct can be avoided, rooted out, and eliminated. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and this legislation will shine a light for the American public, restoring trust and faith in the office of the President."
Quigley has been a fierce advocate of transparency and accountability in the federal government since being elected to Congress. He founded the bipartisan Transparency Caucus to provide a forum for Members of Congress who are dedicated to the principles of open government. During the last administration, Quigley championed transparency and oversight throughout the Trump administration's historic efforts to stonewall the public. In 2017, he introduced the COVFEFE Act to include social media material in the Presidential Records Act, and the MAR-A-LAGO Act to require White House and Trump property visitor logs be made public. Most recently, his Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act, which gives the public access to how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars, was signed into law by President Biden on September 24, 2021.
Specifically, Promoting Accountability and Security in Transition Act includes three parts:
- Presidential Records Act, which:
- Requires the President to receive written guidance from the Archivist before destroying any records and make this guidance publicly available;
- Requires the Archivist to inspect White House records management, training, and standard operating procedures on a biannual basis;
- Allows judicial review of access restrictions to Presidential Records and allows a Congressional Committee Ranking Members to request exemptions to access restrictions after a President's term in office;
- Requires the Archivist to provide regulations for documenting records created on non-official electronic messaging accounts (e.g. WhatsApp), preserving social media messaging (e.g. Twitter), and narrow exemptions for using applications with automatic deleting functionalities (e.g. Signal, Confide); and
- Requires the President to prohibit White House staff from using non-official electronic messaging accounts that cannot be easily copied or forwarded to official accounts and all messaging accounts with automatic deleting functionalities.
- Presidential Compensation and Libraries, which:
- Establishes consequences for former Presidents that destroy Presidential records, including restricting post-presidency salary and staff, prohibiting public funding for Presidential Library construction, and preventing presidential records from being entrusted to a Presidential Library or Museum regardless of whether public funds were used for construction; and
- Requires former Presidents to cover the entire cost of digitizing records for display in a Presidential Library.
- Presidential Transitions Act, which:
- Ensures president-elects receive comprehensive and timely briefings on vital national security information during a transition;
- Requires the General Services Administrator to independently ascertain the President-elect within six calendar days of an election and provide sources to any plausible winning candidates to support continuity of government; and
- During a transition, requires the Archivist to work with the Federal Transition Coordination to monitor records preservation compliance and report any compliance issues to Congress.