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H.R. 1653 118th Congress House

PAST Act of 2023

Official title: To amend chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, to ensure Presidential records are preserved, duly created when non-official electronic messaging accounts… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, to ensure Presidential records are preserved, duly created when non-official electronic messaging accounts are used, and made available to the public and the next administration in a timely fashion to advance national security and accountability, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 17, 2023 Introduced by: Mike Quigley Democratic · Illinois See on congress.gov
Government Operations and Politics
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This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) 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
Mar 17, 2023
Introduced in House
Mar 17, 2023
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
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 Latest action March 17, 2023

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Promoting Accountability and Security in Transitions Act of 2023 or the PAST Act of 2023

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.

 Related & companion bills 2
  • HR 7605 Reintroduction of PAST Act of 2022
  • HR 8597 Transparency in Government Act of 2024
 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). H.R. 1653: PAST Act of 2023. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1653/
MLA
"H.R. 1653: PAST Act of 2023." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1653/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1653, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1653/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1653: PAST Act of 2023](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1653/)
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