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S 4140 117th Congress Senate Government Operations and Politics

PAST Act of 2022

Introduced: May 4, 2022 Introduced by: Murphy, Christopher Democratic · Connecticut See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 117th Congress ended
It never became law before the 117th Congress (2021–2022) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 4, 2022
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
May 4, 2022
Introduced in Senate
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Promoting Accountability and Security in Transitions Act of 2022 or the PAST Act of 2022

This bill revises requirements for preservation of presidential records and requires that information be made available to the next administration in a timely fashion.

Specifically, the bill (1) requires the President to receive written guidance from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) before destroying any records, (2) prohibits White House staff from using nonofficial electronic messaging accounts that cannot be easily copied or forwarded to official accounts, (3) establishes consequences for former Presidents who destroy presidential records, (4) requires former Presidents to cover the cost of digitizing records for display in a presidential library, and (5) requires NARA to ensure that newly inaugurated Presidents are granted easy access to national security information.

What's happening now May 4, 2022

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 7605 Identical bill PAST Act of 2022
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 4140: PAST Act of 2022. 117th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-4140/
MLA
"S. 4140: PAST Act of 2022." 117th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-4140/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 4140, 117th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-4140/.
Markdown link
[S. 4140: PAST Act of 2022](https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-4140/)
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