Record-Keeping Bill Is Criticized As 'Anemic' by Watchdog Group

Citing "significant deficiencies" in the preservation of e-mail by the White House and federal agencies, House Democrats yesterday introduced legislation to strengthen and modernize electronic record-keeping requirements. But a private watchdog group called the bill inadequate and issued a report describing federal record-keeping as antiquated and chaotic. The group chided the government for following a "print-and-save policy" in which even e-mail is routinely printed out on paper and filed away to comply with federal record-keeping rules. It said the government needs to be pushed to adopt technology and practices common in the private sector. The bill, H.R. 5811, directs the National Archives and Records Administration to set standards for capturing, managing, retrieving and preserving White House e-mails and other electronic communications, and to certify whether the White House system meets those standards. The bill also directs the National Archives to issue regulations within 18 months requiring federal agencies to preserve electronic communications in an electronic format. The agencies would have up to four years to comply. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group known as CREW, called the proposed legislation "anemic" and said it "fails to make the substantial changes necessary to bring the federal government into the 21st century."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR200804...
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