[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 192 (Monday, December 12, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9658-H9659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (NARA) MODERNIZATION ACT
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 8665) ``to amend title 44, United States Code, to remove
pronouns from such title that reference the Archivist, and for other
purposes.''
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 8665
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) Modernization Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.
Title 44, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in section 710, by striking ``his approval'' and
inserting ``approval by the President'';
(2) in section 711, by striking ``he shall'' and inserting
``the Director shall'';
(3) in section 2108--
(A) by striking ``transferred to him'' and inserting
``transferred to the Archivist'';
(B) by striking ``appear to him'' and inserting ``appear to
the head of the Federal agency'';
(C) by striking ``his custody'' and inserting ``the custody
of the head of the Federal agency'';
(D) by striking ``he concurs,'' and inserting ``the
Archivist concurs'';
(E) by striking ``his successor in function'', each place
it appears, and inserting ``the successor in function of the
head of the agency''; and
(F) by striking ``he determines'' and inserting ``the
Archivist determines'';
(4) in section 2109--
(A) by striking ``to him'' and inserting ``to the
Archivist''; and
(B) by striking ``He may'' and inserting ``The Archivist
may'';
(5) in section 2110--
(A) by striking ``he considers'' and inserting ``the
Archivist considers''; and
(B) by striking ``his custody'' and inserting ``the custody
of the Archivist'';
(6) in section 2112--
(A) by striking ``he may'', each place it appears, and
inserting ``the Archivist may'';
(B) by striking ``in him'' and inserting ``in the
Archivist'';
(C) by striking ``his custody'' and inserting ``the custody
of the Archivist''; and
(D) by striking ``his control'' and inserting ``the control
of the Archivist'';
(7) in section 2307, by striking ``his designee'' and
inserting ``the designee of the Archivist'';
(8) in section 2903, by striking ``by him'' and inserting
``by the Archivist'';
(9) in section 3308, by striking ``he may'' and inserting
``the Archivist may'';
(10) in section 3310, by striking ``he considers'' and
inserting ``the Archivist considers''; and
(11) in section 3311--
(A) by striking ``his legal custody'' and inserting ``the
legal custody of the head of the agency of the United States
Government'';
(B) by striking ``his opinion'' and inserting ``the opinion
of such head of such agency'';
(C) by striking ``he shall'' and inserting ``such official
shall''; and
(D) by striking ``he disposed'' and inserting ``such
official disposed''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentlewoman from New
Mexico (Ms. Herrell) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
General Leave
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
There was no objection.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
[[Page H9659]]
Madam Speaker, H.R. 8665, the National Archives and Records
Modernization Act would make a small, yet important update to the U.S.
Code. This bipartisan bill would remove references to the pronoun
``he'' when referring to the Archivist and other senior officials of
the National Archives and Records Administration, or NARA.
I thank Representative Ro Khanna, chairman of the Subcommittee on the
Environment on the Oversight Committee for his leadership on this
incredibly important bill. I would also like to recognize
Representatives Yvette Herrell, Katie Porter, Byron Donalds, and
Danny Davis, who are all original cosponsors.
As the Nation's recordkeeper, NARA plays a critical role in the
preservation of the government's most important documents and
materials.
NARA's mission is to provide equitable public access to the records
of the Federal Government because public access to records strengthens
democracy and allows all Americans to understand their history so they
can fully participate in government.
Currently, the NARA is being led by Debra Steidel Wall who is serving
as Acting Archivist of the United States, and has been a public servant
at NARA for more than 30 years.
However, the United States Code does not reflect in its text that
women can hold this important position. The code is outdated in its
references to the Nation's Archivist and other senior officials as men.
It is long overdue that we update title 44 to remove reference to
pronouns in the law that wrongly assume that only a man can hold this
important role.
Madam Speaker, I strongly support this bill, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Ms. HERRELL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8665, the National Archives
and Records Administration Modernization Act, offered by Mr. Khanna and
myself.
The National Archives and Records Administration plays an important
role in securing our Nation's history for future generations.
This simple legislation updates Archive's authoring law to ensure
that the Archivist is not referred to solely as a male.
This makes sense, since our current Acting Archivist, Debra Wall, is
a female.
To date, there have been three female Archivists, yet there are
several instances where title 44 still refers to the Archivist as a
man.
Although the code, as written, does not preclude a woman from serving
as the Archivist, these changes would update outdated language in title
44 and modernize our Federal code to make it more uniform across the
board.
Replacing this outdated language in our Federal code is the very
least we can do to acknowledge the valuable contributions of thousands
who have worked at NARA since its creation in 1934--and the thousands
more who will work there in the years to come.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan,
straightforward correction of the law, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 8665, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8665.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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