The Archivist shall examine the lists and schedules submitted to the Archivist under section 3303 of this title. If the Archivist determines that any of the records listed in a list or schedule submitted to the Archivist do not, or will not after the lapse of the period specified, have sufficient administrative, legal, research, or other value to warrant their continued preservation by the Government, the Archivist may, after publication of notice in the Federal Register and an opportunity for interested persons to submit comment thereon—

(1) notify the agency to that effect; and

(2) empower the agency to dispose of those records in accordance with regulations promulgated under section 3302 of this title.

Authorizations granted under lists and schedules submitted to the Archivist under section 3303 of this title, and schedules promulgated by the Archivist under subsection (d) of this section, shall be mandatory, subject to section 2909 of this title. As between an authorization granted under lists and schedules submitted to the Archivist under section 3303 of this title and an authorization contained in a schedule promulgated under subsection (d) of this section, application of the authorization providing for the shorter retention period shall be required, subject to section 2909 of this title.

The Archivist may request advice and counsel from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate with respect to the disposal of any particular records under this chapter whenever the Archivist considers that—

(1) those particular records may be of special interest to the Congress; or

(2) consultation with the Congress regarding the disposal of those particular records is in the public interest.

The Archivist shall promulgate schedules authorizing the disposal, after the lapse of specified periods of time, of records of a specified form or character common to several or all agencies if such records will not, at the end of the periods specified, have sufficient administrative, legal, research, or other value to warrant their further preservation by the United States Government.

The Archivist may approve and effect the disposal of records that are in the Archivist’s legal custody, provided that records that had been in the custody of another existing agency may not be disposed of without the written consent of the head of the agency.

The Archivist shall make an annual report to the Congress concerning the disposal of records under this chapter, including general descriptions of the types of records disposed of and such other information as the Archivist considers appropriate to keep the Congress fully informed regarding the disposal of records under this chapter.

(Added Pub. L. 91–287, § 1, June 23, 1970, 84 Stat. 320; amended Pub. L. 95–440, § 1, Oct. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 1063; Pub. L. 98–497, title I, § 107(b)(24), (25)(B), title II, § 204, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2290, 2294; Pub. L. 104–186, title II, § 223(10), Aug. 20, 1996, 110 Stat. 1752; Pub. L. 108–383, § 2(b), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2218; Pub. L. 113–187, §§ 5(d), 8(13), Nov. 26, 2014, 128 Stat. 2010, 2012.)