Welcome Remarks at the New Senators Dinner

Good Evening –

Welcome to the National Archives Building and congratulations on your election to the United States Senate. I hope you enjoyed your visit upstairs seeing some of our special documents in the vaults.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Secretary Ann Berry for allowing the National Archives and the National Archives Foundation to serve as your hosts this evening. And thanks to the Foundation Director Patrick Madden and Chair Gov. Jim Blanchard for making this evening happen. This is the seventh time we have done this since 2008, and it is always an honor. 

The National Archives Building opened its doors in 1935. Up until that time, there was no official repository for government records. The records were scattered all over the place and not kept very well. The original building design had a courtyard in the middle, but it was clear even before the building was finished that the courtyard space was needed to store more records. Since then, the U.S. Government has continued to create billions of records. And we now have 40 facilities across the country, including presidential libraries and records centers, to hold these records. 

Our mission at the National Archives is to manage, preserve, protect, and make available the records of the U.S. government so that citizens can hold their government accountable, participate in the civic process, and learn about our history––good or bad. We are a non-political government agency working on behalf of the American public. 

We are the final destination of the most important records of the United States Government. We are responsible for the records of the Executive Branch agencies and departments, the White House, and the Supreme Court. This includes 13 ½ billion sheets of paper, over 40 million photographs, more than 700,000 artifacts, and more than 448 million feet of film (enough to circle the earth almost 3.5 times). These records include the official records of the United States Senate, which will soon include your own state-certified credentials of election.  

In addition to being the government recordkeeper, we publish the daily Federal Register, in print and online. It’s the daily newspaper of the federal government––keeping the public informed of new laws and regulations and proposed actions by federal departments and agencies.

We are also leading the U.S. Government in its digital transformation. Our goal is a fully electronic government.

I want to remind you to take home the special folder that my staff put together to commemorate your election. In it, you will find copies of a few of the historical treasures you viewed in the vault and a copy of the credentials for the very first Senator from your state to hold the seat you will soon occupy.  

Finally, I encourage all of you to visit us again. A visit here is the perfect inspirational recharge to the drain of quorum calls and filibusters.

Thank you for coming tonight!