Presidential-Library Disclosure Bill
Derailed by Amendment
A bill that would require presidential libraries to disclose the names of their donors—and the size of the donations—has stalled after being amended to require the same disclosure by charities named for or run by members of Congress.
Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) introduced the bill in February after it was learned that Denise Rich had made a $450,000 donation to Bill Clinton’s presidential library foundation. Rich is the former wife of Marc Rich, a financier who fled the country to avoid tax-evasion charges. Clinton pardoned Marc Rich just before leaving office.
Duncan told the Associated Press June 22 that the intent of his bill was to ensure that no one use such donations to buy influence with a president. Critics of the bill as amended by Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.) included Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who started a scholarship program at the University of Louisville; McConnell said the expanded disclosure requirements would violate a donor’s right to privacy.
Bert Robinson, a Duncan aide, told American Libraries that “the amended bill is outside the scope of our original legislation. ... We don’t anticipate a committee vote anytime soon.”
Posted July 2, 2001.
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