The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved a slate of bills aimed at preserving electronic records, improving customer experience and posting more information online.
The Electronic Message Preservation Act, which Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) introduced in 2013, 2015 and 2017, made it out of committee for the first time.
The bill would empower the national archivist to issue rules requiring federal agencies to capture and preserve digitally created records and require those records to be “readily accessible” via electronic searches. Agencies would also be required to submit timelines to the National Archives and Records Administration to ensure the rules’ timely implementation.
