BACKGROUND:
Last November, I drafted a joint letter to Rep. Stephen Horn, Chairman
of the House Government Reform's Subcommittee on Government Efficiency,
Financial Management and Intergovernmental Reform, expressing opposition
to President Bush's E.O. 13,233 relating to implementation of the
Presidential Records Act (PRA). The letter is part of the subcommittee's record for an oversight hearing on the executive order.
Since then, Public Citizen has filed a lawsuit challenging provisions of
the executive order and the House is taking its own action to nullify
it. House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton (R-6-IN) and
Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-29-CA), both highly critical of the
executive order, have drafted a very short bill that nullifies E.O. 13,
233. The bipartisan bill, the "Access to Presidential Records Act," has
not yet been introduced, and Reps. Burton and Waxman are seeking as many
co-sponsors now as possible. Their plan is to introduce the legislation
early this spring following a full committee hearing on the issue.
ACTION:
Please contact your representative immediately through the Capitol
Switchboard at 202-224-3121, and urge her/him to be an original
co-sponsor of Reps. Burton and Waxman's "Access to Presidential Records
Act."
Thank you,
Mary Alice
Mary Alice Baish
Associate Washington Affairs Representative
American Association of Law Libraries
E.B. Williams Law Library
111 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-1417
Voice: 202-662-9200
Fax: 202-662-9202