Library of Congress Sound Recording and Film Preservation Programs Reauthorization Act of 2008

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5893) to reauthorize the sound recording and film preservation programs of the Library of Congress, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks in the Record and to include extraneous matter.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This bill reauthorizes the Sound Recording and Film Preservation Programs of the Library of Congress through the year 2016.

The National Film Preservation Board was created in 1988 to address the rapid deterioration of important films. The Film Preservation Board is responsible for identifying and preserving films they deem are ``culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.'' Along with the National Film Preservation Foundation, the Film Preservation Board ensures that all generations from all over the world will be able to view these remarkable films and experience their power and importance firsthand.

The National Recording Preservation Board was created by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000. There are currently 225 entries in the National Recording Registry, and that number may only continue to grow. From music to historical speeches, the

Recording Preservation Board makes certain that future generations can experience these historically important and powerful sounds that helped shape decades.

It is necessary that we reauthorize the Recording and Film Boards to allow them to continue their vital mission. We will see to it that those who come after us will be able to listen to and witness those sounds and sights that are essential to our national heritage.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, June 4, 2008.

Hon. Robert A. Brady,

Chairman, Committee on House Administration,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Brady: This is to advise you that, as a

result of your working with us to make appropriate revisions

to provisions in H.R. 5893, the Library of Congress Sound

Recording and Film Preservation Programs Reauthorization Act

of 2008, that fall within the rule X jurisdiction of the

Committee on the Judiciary, we are able to agree to

discharging our committee from further consideration of the

bill in order that it may proceed without delay to the House

floor for consideration.

The Judiciary Committee takes this action with the

understanding that by foregoing further consideration of H.R.

5893 at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over

subject matter contained in this or similar legislation. We

also reserve the right to seek appointment of an appropriate

number of conferees to any House-Senate conference involving

this important legislation, and request your support if such

a request is made.

I would appreciate your including this letter in the

Congressional Record during consideration of the bill on the

House floor. Thank you for your attention to this request,

and for the cooperative relationship between our two

committees.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

Mr. Speaker, as always, I would like to thank the ranking member, my friend from Michigan, for his cooperation, and I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 5893, which will reauthorize the Library of Congress's Sound Record and Film Preservation Program. It is an important bill, which will preserve the images and sounds of our Nation's history and make those pieces of the past more accessible to future generations.

The importance of this effort was illustrated just this weekend when Universal Studios in California had a mammoth fire in which some priceless films were lost, and all films, if they were recorded and in the Library of Congress, would not face this problem.

The National Film Preservation Board was formed in 1993 following a study that revealed that America's film heritage was at serious risk due to the degradation of acetate film stock at an alarming rate. Funding for preservation programs had fallen drastically since 1980, creating an urgent need for action. A national plan to protect our Nation's treasures on film was created in 1994 to address the growing need for preservation and to make films more available for education and public exhibition.

I must confess, Mr. Speaker, to some frustration that we have to come in and save the films that the film industry has not taken care of. Obviously they're making enough money when they pull down $300 million in one weekend for certain films. I would think they would have the wherewithal to preserve their own films. Nevertheless, since they have not, the Congress has had to step in to do it.

In 1999 Congress created the Sound Recording Preservation Program modeled on the successful National Film Preservation Program. This new program would protect historic pieces of audio recordings from deterioration. These audio recordings are extremely important and should be preserved as well. Through the creation of this program, the Sound Recording Preservation Board was instructed to produce a report on the current state of sound recording archiving, preservation and restoration activities, encompassing standards for digital preservation and for access to preserved recordings. The program also includes research on current laws governing sound preservation and how the Library and other institutions can make collections more available to researchers digitally.

This bill will continue the good work started by the Sound Recording and Film Preservation Program staff and their respective boards. Historians, scholars, and citizens will benefit from increased access to these important works, and the items themselves will be preserved for many more generations to come under these programs.

I fully support this bill and thank Chairman Brady for his efforts to bring this matter to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, so I will attempt to conclude here.

I just want to recognize the good work that the board has done, the importance of the preservation of both visual and audio recordings, as Mr. Davis has just said. And it may be that 100, 150 years from now, someone will resurrect Pavarotti, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, some of the great musicians of our time, and say look what we have lost in our culture, and we may see a rejuvenation of those.

So I strongly support this bill and urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow our cultural, historical or visually significant treasures to disappear into the fog of time. That is why I fully support both reauthorizations contained within H.R. 5893.

Our written traditions have libraries which archive and preserve them. The program we reauthorize today provides a mechanism for similar archiving for sound and visual arts, encouraging their preservation and accessibility for ourselves and for future generations despite rapid changes in visual and sound recording media.

H.R. 5893 would reauthorize the sound recording and film preservation programs of the Library of Congress and make a few small changes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the programs such as by encouraging more active participation by board members.

I am particularly interested in the progress of the Library of Congress on its study and report on sound recordings. In speaking with members of the artist community, it has become clear to me that art forms such as jazz are not being archived, preserved, and restored to the extent necessary to prevent the disappearance of some of the older recordings. This reauthorization will enable the Library of Congress to continue the study and report on ways the National Recording Preservation Board can better ensure the continued availability of seminal pieces of historical jazz and other forms of music.

This country, indeed the world, recently lost a music great, a pioneer who helped lead rhythm and blues into rock and roll, an artist of the highest esteem, ``Bo Diddley.'' Through the continuation of these important archive programs, we can help make sure that Bo Diddley and others will be long remembered for their special contributions to our culture. Though we may mourn the passing of the musician, we need never mourn the loss of the music.

I want to thank Chairman Brady for yielding, and I also want to commend him for the introduction of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have always been a great fan of libraries, and, obviously, I'm a great fan of the Library of Congress. And I believe that having as much information and material as we can possibly have is of great benefit not only to the preservation of our history and culture but also a benefit to those who are seeking information, those who want to be educated in many of the different and various ways that education takes place. So I rise in strong support of this legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rules Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 5893 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.