Rules of The House of Representatives of The United States
RULE VII: RECORDS OF THE HOUSE
Archiving
1. (a) At the end of each Congress, the
chairman of each committee shall
transfer to the Clerk any noncurrent
records of such committee, including
the subcommittees thereof.
(b) At the end of each Congress, each
officer of the House elected under rule
II shall transfer to the Clerk any noncurrent
records made or acquired in
the course of the duties of such officer.
2. The Clerk shall deliver the records
transferred under clause 1, together
with any other noncurrent records of
the House, to the Archivist of the
United States for preservation at the
National Archives and Records Administration.
Records so delivered are the
permanent property of the House and
remain subject to this rule and any
order of the House.
Public availability
3. (a) The Clerk shall authorize the
Archivist to make records delivered
under clause 2 available for public use,
subject to clause 4(b) and any order of
the House.
(b)(1) A record shall immediately be
made available if it was previously
made available for public use by the
House or a committee or a subcommittee.
(2) An investigative record that contains
personal data relating to a specific
living person (the disclosure of
which would be an unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy), an administrative
record relating to personnel, or
a record relating to a hearing that was
closed under clause 2(g)(2) of rule XI
shall be made available if it has been in
existence for 50 years.
(3) A record for which a time, schedule,
or condition for availability is
specified by order of the House shall be
made available in accordance with that
order. Except as otherwise provided by
order of the House, a record of a committee
for which a time, schedule, or
condition for availability is specified
by order of the committee (entered
during the Congress in which the
record is made or acquired by the committee)
shall be made available in accordance
with the order of the committee.
(4) A record (other than a record referred
to in subparagraph (1), (2), or (3))
shall be made available if it has been in
existence for 30 years.
4. (a) A record may not be made
available for public use under clause 3
if the Clerk determines that such availability
would be detrimental to the
public interest or inconsistent with the
rights and privileges of the House. The
Clerk shall notify in writing the chairman
and ranking minority member of
the Committee on House Administration
of any such determination.
(b) A determination of the Clerk
under paragraph (a) is subject to later
orders of the House and, in the case of
a record of a committee, later orders of
the committee.
5. (a) This rule does not supersede
rule VIII or clause 11 of rule X and does
not authorize the public disclosure of
any record if such disclosure is prohibited
by law or executive order of the
President."
(b) The Committee on House Administration
may prescribe guidelines and
regulations governing the applicability
and implementation of this rule.
(c) A committee may withdraw from
the National Archives and Records Administration
any record of the committee
delivered to the Archivist under
this rule. Such a withdrawal shall be
on a temporary basis and for official
use of the committee.
Definition of record
6. In this rule the term ''record'' means any official, permanent record of the House (other than a record of an individual Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner), including- (a) with respect to a committee, an official, permanent record of the committee (including any record of a legislative, oversight, or other activity of such committee or a subcommittee thereof); and (b) with respect to an officer of the House elected under rule II, an official, permanent record made or acquired in the course of the duties of such officer.
Withdrawal of papers
7. A memorial or other paper presented to the House may not be withdrawn from its files without its leave. If withdrawn certified copies thereof shall be left in the office of the Clerk. When an act passes for the settlement of a claim, the Clerk may transmit to the officer charged with the settlement thereof the papers on file in his office relating to such claim. The Clerk may lend temporarily to an officer or bureau of the executive departments any papers on file in his office relating to any matter pending before such officer or bureau, taking proper receipt therefor.
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Rule XXVII Rule XXVIII