General Info

Since 1974, these materials have been maintained by the National Archives under the authority of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservations Act (PRMPA). Congress enacted PRMPA in response to news that President Nixon, only weeks after resigning office, had concluded an arrangement with the head of the General Services Administration that would have allowed him to destroy materials in the collection. PRMPA stipulated that the documents and other materials would remain in the government’s possession, and further required that the collection stay within 50 miles of Washington, D.C.