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Senators Markey and Hirono and Representative Adams introduce Public Archives Resiliency Act

This is an interesting development. Senators Markey and Hirono and Representative Adams have introduced the Public Archives Resiliency ActS. 5531 and H.R. 10383. While this legislation will probably go nowhere under a GOP-majority House and Senate, it is significant that legislators are at least starting to think about the need to fund digital preservation efforts for born-digital government information. Efforts to do this work will need policies like this and long-term funding to sustain the efforts of libraries and archives. Please contact your elected officials and ask them to support this vital and necessary legislation!

Washington (December 12, 2024) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee and Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Congresswoman Alma Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12) today introduced the Public Archives Resiliency Act, which would authorize grants to promote preservation, climate resilience, adaption, and continuity of vital government records and protect other records of historical or cultural significance. The legislation would provide funding for public archives, libraries, museums, institutions of higher education, or non-profits that protect these valuable records.

As the climate crisis worsens, the need to protect vital government records from damage and destruction is more urgent than ever. Government records are generated through birth, death, marriage, taxes, military service, education, immigration, property ownership and much more. Far too many institutions that manage these records are at risk of environmental damage and lack resources to protect themselves and their communities. When records are destroyed or become inaccessible, it can delay an individual’s ability to access key government benefits and services, as well as result in the loss of irreplaceable cultural artifacts.

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