Washington, Sep 13 - WASHINGTON, DC – Legislation passed today by the U. S. House of Representatives will improve the efficiency of operations by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). H. R. 3478, introduced by Representative Adam Putnam (R-FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, was approved unanimously. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

The National Archives, created by Congress in 1934 as the Nation’s record keeper, is a small agency with the very large task of identifying, acquiring, preserving, and providing access to the permanently valuable records of the Federal government. From the records of the Continental Congress to the battle maps of Operation Desert Storm, from parchment to e-mail, the National Archives and its facilities across the Nation provide invaluable access to the records of our national life.

“NARA has a difficult, but important job as the Nation’s record keeper and by passing this bill we are able to assist this agency by adding the tools they need to make them more efficient in dealing with the problems of the 21st Century,” Chairman Putnam stated.

This bill is designed to make the operations of the National Archives more efficient in several key areas and to improve their service to Federal agencies and the public. It does so with the following four key provisions:

Clearing the way for the writing of more sensible regulations that will streamline and shorten the required process of requesting permission from NARA to allow agencies retention of records beyond the retention date;

Allowing the Archives to use the fees from use of facilities managed by the National Archives by other organizations for educational outreach;

Enabling the National Archives to enter into cooperative agreements with State and local governments and non-profit organizations for the public purpose of carrying out programs of NARA. Cooperative agreements will allow NARA to transfer modest amounts of appropriated dollars, limited by the language of this bill, to those organizations to carry out those purposes; and

Granting NARA the specific legislative authority to purchase uniforms for service personnel.

Additionally, H.R. 3478 reauthorizes appropriations through fiscal year 2009 for the National Historical Publications to Records Commission (NHPRC) up to $10 million each year. This will be the 8th passage of this legislation since 1964.

“The NHPRC remains today the only grant-making organization, public or private, in the nation whose only focus is the preservation of and increased access to American historical documentation, in its myriad forms and formats,” Putnam concluded. “Whether it be created by quill pen or computer, the National Archives preserves the documents that record our Nation’s history.”