What is the Presidential Records Act and how does it relate to the Freedom of Information Act?
• The Presidential Records Act (PRA) was passed by Congress in 1978 and vested ownership in official Presidential records with the Federal government. • The PRA provides a five-year period after the end of an administration during which records are closed to the general public for processing. The act gives the President and Vice President the ability to place up to six Presidential restriction categories on their records. Records falling within one of these restriction categories may be withheld from release to the general public for up to twelve years after the end of a Presidential administration. • The act also makes Presidential records subject to eight of the nine Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemptions. • Five years after the end of an administration, Presidential records become available to FOIA requests. • When the twelve-year period of PRA exemptions lapses, records formerly covered by the PRA exemptions are subject to disclosure unless covered by a FOIA exemption or a co
