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PRESS

December 16, 2009

CREW Chief Counsel Anne Weismann Offers Thoughts On National Archives in Testimony Before House

Congress, Federal Agencies, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Transparency, Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - CREW’s Chief Counsel Anne Weismann testified before the House Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at a hearing, “History Museum or Records Access Agency? Defining and Fulfilling the Mission of the National Archives and Records Administration.” She outlined the most critical problems NARA faces and the new direction it must take to address these problems and move the federal government into the 21st Century.

Specifically NARA must address the dismal state of electronic record keeping across nearly all agencies in the federal government. In addition, NARA must re-evaluate and conduct an independent audit of its Electronic Records Archives project, which NARA has touted as the answer to the long-term preservation of all kinds of electronic records, no matter the media on which they were created. Finally, NARA must change its culture from one of passivity and indifference to become an effective leader in the management and preservation of our nation’s history. The new Archivist, David Ferriero, also testified.

The hearing took place at 2:00 p.m. in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building on December 16, 2009.

Click here to read Ms. Weismann's prepared testimony.

Click here to visit the National Archives Subcommittee's hearing page, which includes an archived webcast and links to the prepared statements of all witnesses serving on the hearing's panels.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact David Merchant at 202.408.5565 or dmerchant@citizensforethics.org