U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

32–658 WASHINGTON : 2018

BUSINESS MEETING: H.R. 5305, FDLP MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2018; AND H.R. 4631, ACCESS 

TO CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORTS 

ACT 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE 

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE 

ADMINISTRATION 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

APRIL 12, 2018 

Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration 

( 

Available on the Internet: 

http://www.govinfo.gov 


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COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

GREGG HARPER, Mississippi, Chairman 

RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois, Vice Chairman 

BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia 

MARK WALKER, North Carolina 

ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska 

BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia 

ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania, 

Ranking Member 

ZOE LOFGREN, California 

JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland 


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BUSINESS MEETING: H.R. 5305, FDLP MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2018; AND H.R. 4631, 

ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED 

REPORTS ACT 

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 11:05 a.m., in Room 

1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Gregg Harper [Chairman of the Committee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Harper, Davis, Comstock, Walker, 

Loudermilk, Brady, Lofgren, and Raskin. 

Staff Present: Sean Moran, Staff Director; Kim Betz, Deputy 

Staff Director/General Counsel; Cole Felder, Deputy General Counsel; Dan Jarrell, Legislative Clerk; Erin McCracken, Communications Director; Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director; Khalil Abboud, 

Minority Deputy Staff Director; and Eddie Flaherty, Minority Chief 

Clerk. 

The CHAIRMAN. I now call to order the Committee on House Administration for purposes of today’s Committee meeting. A quorum 

is present, so we may proceed. The meeting record will remain 

open for 5 legislative days, so that Members may submit any materials they wish to be included therein. 

There are two items on the docket today: H.R. 5305, the Federal 

Depository Library Program Modernization Act of 2018; and H.R. 

4631, the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act. H.R. 

5305, the Federal Depository Library Program Modernization Act 

of 2018, reflects the Committee’s work over the last year, which included holding five hearings and three bipartisan stakeholder 

meetings. In examining potential reforms to the Federal Depository 

Library Program, the Committee found the free flow of government 

information is fundamental to a democratic society, and members 

of the public have a right of access to government information. The 

Federal Depository Library Program, or FDLP as it is commonly 

known, is an essential service by which members of the public can 

access government information. These libraries partner with the 

Government Publishing Office, and offices of the Federal Government to ensure that members of the public, throughout the United 

States, have effective, no-fee access to government information. 

Most government information currently produces an electronic 

format. As a result, 97 percent of new information available 

through FDLP is in that electronic format. The government has a 


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responsibility to disseminate and provide permanent public access 

to information to ensure that members of the public are fully aware 

of the activities of their government, to spur innovation and research, and to promote good government. And the sole focus of the 

Superintendent of Documents should be on implementing programs 

to ensure no-fee access to government information. 

To that end, H.R. 5305 makes the following changes to the 

FDLP; it recognizes existence of a national collection of information 

dissemination products; it updates the types of depository libraries 

across the country that may participate in FDLP; it eliminates the 

problems with fugitive documents in the government; it allows the 

FDLP to accept work completed by the library community; it provides for greater transparency in the FDLP itself; and it removes 

the sales program from the purview of the superintendent of documents to allow the superintendent to focus on no-fee access to government information. 

The bill is supported by the major library associations, including 

the American Library Association, the American Association of Law 

Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies. 

The second bill on the docket is H.R. 4631, the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act. H.R. 4631 was introduced by 

our colleague, Representative Quigley from Illinois. In short, H.R. 

4631 also amends Title 44 by requiring the Government Publishing 

Office, or GPO, to, among other things, establish and maintain a 

publicly available website containing copies of all congressionally 

mandated reports. The bill also directs the Office of Management 

and Budget to issue guidance to Federal agencies to assist them in 

submitting the reports to GPO. 

The bill was marked up and reported out of the Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform earlier this year. Forty-five organizations support this bipartisan legislation. I am pleased the 

Committee on House Administration is acting on this good government bill as well. 

I will now like to recognize my colleague and the Committee’s 

Ranking Member, Mr. Brady, for purposes of an opening statement, if he wishes. 

Mr. BRADY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling this business 

meeting this morning. I support both proposals before us and the 

bipartisan work they represent. 

H.R. 5305 is good for the Government Publishing Office, it is 

good for the taxpayers, and most important to me, it is good for 

Philadelphia. I was very pleased to receive a letter from Temple 

University supporting this legislation. 

Federal Depository Library Program plays an important role in 

our democratic process and helps the American public stay informed and hold its government accountable. I know Committee 

staff on both sides of the aisle worked hard on this, and I would 

like to thank Khalil Abboud from my staff and Bob Tapella on the 

majority staff for all the efforts that went into this legislation. 

Thank you. 

H.R. 4631 is a positive step towards increasing transparency in 

how the Federal Government operates. While congressional committees emphasize oversight on the executive branch, ultimately, 


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we all answer to the American people, and they have a right to 

know how their tax dollars are being spent, what is working, and 

what are areas that need improvement. These reports provide a 

unique insight into these questions though they are not always 

easy to find. 

This legislation will create a one-stop shop for congressional 

mandated reports, and I am proud to support it. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my 

time. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Brady. 

I would ask if any other Member of the Committee wishes to be 

recognized for purposes of providing an opening statement. 

Seeing none, I now call up and—oh, I am sorry. 

Ms. LOFGREN. I just want to be very brief. You know, the House 

Administration Committee is a work-a-day Committee and doesn’t 

always get the attention for, you know, a variety of reasons. But 

this is really significant, and I want to give credit to both you and 

Mr. Brady and all the other Committee members. Because in a 

democratic society, knowledge is power. And so what we are doing 

today is to give additional access to knowledge to the American 

public to enhance their authority. And I just think it is important 

to view this and the subsequent bill in that light. And I just wanted to note that and how significant this really is. 

And I yield back. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Ms. Lofgren, for your support and 

your comments as well. 

Any other Members? 

I now call up and lay before the Committee, H.R. 5305, the 

FDLP Modernization Act of 2018. Without objection, the bill is considered read. And the amendment in the nature of a substitute provided to each of you will serve as the base text and is considered 

open for amendment at any point. 

[The bill follows:] 

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE TO H.R. 5305 

OFFERED BY MR. HARPER

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FDLP Modernization Act of 2018’’. 

SEC. 2. NO-FEE PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION; REFORM OF FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 44, United States Code, is 

amended to read as follows: 

‘‘CHAPTER 17—NO-FEE PUBLIC ACCESS TO 

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER A—SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

‘‘1701. Findings; purpose. 

‘‘1702. Superintendent of Documents. 

‘‘1703. Employees and facilities of Superintendent. 

‘‘1704. Coordination and consultation with Library of Congress. 


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‘‘1705. Coordination and consultation with other legislative branch officials. 

‘‘1706. Definitions. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER B—NATIONAL COLLECTION OF INFORMATION DISSEMINATION PRODUCTS

‘‘1721. National collection of information dissemination products. 

‘‘1722. Responsibility of offices of Government to furnish products to Superintendent 

of Documents. 

‘‘1723. Requirements for agreements to produce or procure products. 

‘‘1724. Special requirements for electronic information dissemination products. 

‘‘1725. Cataloging and related services for information dissemination products. 

‘‘1726. Collection development plan. 

‘‘1727. Replacement and removal of products from national collection. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER C—ONLINE REPOSITORY

‘‘1731. Establishment and operation of online repository for no-fee access to information dissemination products. 

‘‘1732. Authentication of products. 

‘‘1733. Privacy of users. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER D—FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM

‘‘1741. No-fee access to products through Federal Depository Libraries. 

‘‘1742. Requirements for Federal Depository Libraries. 

‘‘1743. Services available for depository libraries. 

‘‘1744. Selective Depository Libraries. 

‘‘1745. Regional Depository Libraries. 

‘‘1746. Preservation Depository Libraries. 

‘‘1747. Procedures for designation. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER E—SALES PROGRAM

‘‘1751. Sales program. 

‘‘1752. Determination of costs of products. 

‘‘1753. Inventory. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER F—OTHER PROGRAMS AND AUTHORITIES

‘‘1761. By-law distribution program. 

‘‘1762. International Exchange Service Program. 

‘‘1763. Acceptance of gifts. 

‘‘1764. Authorities of Director of the Government Publishing Office. 

‘‘1765. Source of funds used to carry out programs and activities. 

‘‘1766. Congressional oversight. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER A—SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS 

‘‘§ 1701. Findings; purpose 

‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

‘‘(1) The free flow of government information is fundamental 

to a democratic society, and members of the public have a right 

of access to government information. 

‘‘(2) The Federal Depository Library Program is an essential 

means by which members of the public access government information. These libraries partner with the Government Publishing Office and offices of the Federal Government to ensure 

that members of the public throughout the United States have 

effective, no-fee access to government information. 

‘‘(3) The majority of government information currently produced is in electronic format. As a result, 97% of new information available through the Federal Depository Library Program 

is in electronic format. 

‘‘(4) Government has a responsibility to disseminate and provide permanent public access to information in order to ensure 

that members of the public are fully aware of the activities of 


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their government, to spur innovation and research, and to promote good government. 

‘‘(5) The sole focus of the Superintendent of Documents 

should be on implementing programs to ensure no-fee access to 

government information. 

‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the 

greatest possible public access to information dissemination products by authorizing the Superintendent of Documents to— 

‘‘(1) establish a national collection of information dissemination products and to provide no-fee, permanent public access to 

such collection through an online repository established and 

operated by the Director of the Government Publishing Office 

under subchapter C and through the Federal Depository Library Program under subchapter D; 

‘‘(2) carry out a cataloging and indexing program for the 

products in such national collection; 

‘‘(3) carry out a by-law distribution program and an international exchange service program under subchapter F; and 

‘‘(4) collaborate with offices of the Federal government, Federal Depository Libraries, and library associations and consortia. 

‘‘§ 1702. Superintendent of Documents 

‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT.—The Director of the Government Publishing 

Office shall appoint an individual to serve as the Superintendent 

of Documents, without regard to political affiliation and solely 

based on professional qualifications to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position, and who shall serve at the pleasure 

of the Director of the Government Publishing Office. 

‘‘(b) DUTIES.—Under the general direction of the Director of the 

Government Publishing Office, the Superintendent of Documents 

shall administer the programs of GPO which provide no-fee public 

access to Federal information dissemination products (IDPs) under 

this chapter. 

‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individual appointed as the Superintendent of Documents shall be an accomplished general manager 

and practitioner of library and information sciences, including the 

identification, acquisition, authentication, cataloging, dissemination, maintenance, and preservation of information dissemination 

products regardless of form or format. 

‘‘(d) COMPENSATION.—The Superintendent of Documents shall be 

compensated at an annual rate equal to level III of the Executive 

Schedule. 

‘‘§ 1703. Employees and facilities of Superintendent 

‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT OF EMPLOYEES; PROVISION OF FACILITIES.— 

The Director of the Government Publishing Office, upon the requisition of the Superintendent of Documents, shall appoint necessary assistants, furnish blanks, and do the printing and binding 

required by the Superintendent of Documents. The Director shall 

provide convenient office, storage, and distributing rooms for the 

use of the Superintendent of Documents. 

‘‘(b) PAY OF EMPLOYEES FOR NIGHT, SUNDAY, HOLIDAY, AND

OVERTIME WORK.—Employees of the Superintendent of Documents 


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may be paid for night, Sunday, holiday, and overtime work at rates 

not in excess of the rates of additional pay for this work allowed 

other employees of the Government Publishing Office under section 

305 of this title. 

‘‘§ 1704. Coordination and consultation with Library of Congress 

‘‘In carrying out this chapter, the Superintendent of Documents 

shall coordinate and consult with the Librarian of Congress, especially with respect to the provisions of this title which affect the 

collections of the Library of Congress and the services the Library 

provides to Congress. 

‘‘§ 1705. Coordination and consultation with other legislative 

branch officials 

‘‘In addition to the coordination and consultation required under 

section 1704, in carrying out this chapter, the Superintendent of 

Documents shall coordinate and consult with appropriate officials 

of the legislative branch, including the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Librarian of Congress, with respect to the production and dissemination of information dissemination products of Congress for inclusion in the legislative information retrieval system established and operated under 

section 209 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 (2 

U.S.C. 180). 

‘‘§ 1706. Definitions 

‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ‘PRINTING’.— 

‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this chapter, the term ‘printing’ includes and applies to all of the processes used to capture, process, and duplicate digital or tangible information, including— 

‘‘(A) any formatting, composition, digitization, 

platemaking, presswork, and binding or other finishing, or 

the manufacturing of related material; 

‘‘(B) the equipment and software applications used in 

such processes; and 

‘‘(C) the end items in any tangible or digital form produced by such processes and equipment for use by an end 

user. 

‘‘(2) REVIEW; UPDATES.—The Director of the Government 

Publishing Office shall regularly review the definition under 

this subsection to ensure that it is consistent with international and commercial practice, and not less frequently than 

every 5 years, shall submit recommendations to the Committee 

on House Administration of the House of Representatives and 

the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate for 

updates to the definition so that it reflects the most current 

technology. 

‘‘(b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this chapter, the following definitions apply: 

‘‘(1) The term ‘dissemination’ means the government-initiated distribution of information to a nongovernment entity, including the public. Such term does not include any distribution 

which is limited to Federal Government employees, intra- or 


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inter-office use or sharing of Federal information, and responses to requests for agency records under the Freedom of 

lnformation Act (section 552 of title 5) or the Privacy Act (section 552a of title 5). 

‘‘(2) The term ‘document’ means an information dissemination product. 

‘‘(3) The term ‘electronic information dissemination product’ 

means an information dissemination product which is created 

for or transmitted through an electronic communications system or network of the office in which the product originated. 

‘‘(4) The term ‘Federal information’ means information created, collected, processed, maintained, disseminated, disclosed, 

or disposed of by or for the Federal Government, in any medium or form. 

‘‘(5) The term ‘Federal information system’ means an information system used or operated by an office of the Federal 

Government or by a contractor of such an office or by another 

organization on behalf of such an office. 

‘‘(6) The term ‘fugitive document’ means an information dissemination product which is not cataloged or otherwise identifiable or retrievable by an end user through the online repository under section 1721 of this title. 

‘‘(7) The term ‘Government publication’ means information 

that is published as an individual document at Government expense, or as required by law, in any medium or form. 

‘‘(8) The term ‘graphic communication’ means electronic and 

traditional printing, publishing, packaging, digital imaging, 

computer graphics, website development, digital photography, 

printable electronics, and related activities. 

‘‘(9) The term ‘information’ means any communication or representation of knowledge such as facts, data, or opinions in any 

medium or form, including textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic, narrative, electronic, or audiovisual forms. 

‘‘(10) The term ‘information dissemination product’ or ‘IDP’ 

means any recorded information, regardless of physical form or 

characteristics, disseminated by an office of the Federal Government, or contractor thereof, to the public, and including any 

recorded information incorporated by reference into the Code of 

Federal Regulations. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 

106 of title 17, it is not an infringement of any copyright that 

may subsist in works within an IDP to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, display, perform, distribute, or utilize (including through text or data mining) IDPs under this title. 

‘‘(11) The term ‘inter-office agreement’ means a written 

agreement entered into between two or more offices of the Federal Government that specifies the goods to be furnished or 

tasks to be accomplished by one office (the servicing office) in 

support of the other(s) (the requesting office), including assisted acquisitions as described in the Memorandum of the Office of Management and Budget entitled ‘Improving the Management and Use of lnteragency Acquisitions’ and other cases 

described in part 17 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. 

‘‘(12) The term ‘national collection’ means (subject to subchapter B) the collection of information dissemination products 


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produced by the Federal Government, and (as described in subchapter B) is a distributed collection accessible from the online 

repository under subchapter C, the Federal Depository Libraries under subchapter D, and through agreements with other 

entities as provided by this chapter. 

‘‘(13) The term ‘personally identifiable information’ means information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. 

‘‘(14) The term ‘public information’ means any information, 

regardless of form or format, that an office of the Federal Government discloses, disseminates, or makes available to the 

public. 

‘‘(15) The term ‘publication’ means informational matter 

which is published as an individual document at Federal Government expense, or as required by law. 

‘‘(16) The term ‘State’ means, except where otherwise provided, each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the 

United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands. 

‘‘(17) The term ‘trustworthy information system’ means an 

information system that is believed to be capable of operating 

within defined levels of risk despite the environmental disruptions, human errors, structural failures, and purposeful attacks 

that are expected to occur in its environment of operation. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER B—NATIONAL COLLECTION OF 

INFORMATION DISSEMINATION PRODUCTS 

‘‘§ 1721. National collection of information dissemination 

products 

‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COLLECTION.—In order to provide permanent public access to information dissemination products that may 

be of public interest or educational value, in accordance with this 

subchapter, the Superintendent of Documents shall establish a 

comprehensive, national collection of information dissemination 

products which are determined to be appropriate for inclusion in 

the collection, and shall include all information dissemination products which have been incorporated by reference into the Code of 

Federal Regulations. 

‘‘(b) PUBLIC ACCESS TO COLLECTION.—Except as provided in subsection (c), the Superintendent shall provide permanent public access to all of the information dissemination products which are included in the national collection through each of the following 

means: 

‘‘(1) The online repository established and operated by the 

Director of the Government Publishing Office under subchapter C. 

‘‘(2) The Federal Depository Library Program under subchapter D. 

‘‘(3) Methods established for access to products in incompatible formats, as determined under section 1722(b)(2). 


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‘‘(4) Cataloging, indexing, identification, location, availability, 

and format designation services under section 1725. 

‘‘(c) NO PUBLIC ACCESS FOR CERTAIN PRODUCTS.— 

‘‘(1) PRODUCTS DESCRIBED.—The Superintendent shall not 

provide public access to an information dissemination product 

which is included in the national collection under this subchapter if any of the following apply: 

‘‘(A) The product is a cooperative publication which must 

necessarily be sold in order to be self-sustaining, unless 

the applicable official enters into an agreement with the 

Superintendent to make the product accessible to the public. 

‘‘(B) The product contains information the disclosure of 

which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 

personal privacy. 

‘‘(C) Prohibiting public access to the product is necessary 

to comply with relevant law. 

‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN PRODUCTS.—Paragraph (1) 

does not apply with respect to— 

‘‘(A) an information dissemination product which an office disseminates in electronic form to the public at no 

cost; or 

‘‘(B) an information dissemination product consisting of 

a standard which has been incorporated by reference into 

the Code of Federal Regulations. 

‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION BY APPLICABLE OFFICIALS.—Each applicable official shall notify the Superintendent of each instance in 

which an information dissemination product is subject to paragraph (1). 

‘‘(d) HISTORICAL COLLECTION.—In maintaining the national collection under this subchapter, the Superintendent shall oversee the 

maintenance of information dissemination products which were created and distributed prior to the effective date of the FDLP Modernization Act of 2018. 

‘‘(e) APPLICABLE OFFICIAL DEFINED.—In this subchapter, the ‘applicable official’ with respect to an information dissemination product is as follows: 

‘‘(1) In the case of an IDP originating in an office of the executive branch, the head of the office in which the IDP originated. 

‘‘(2) In the case of an IDP originating in an office of the legislative branch, the head of the office in which the IDP originated, except that— 

‘‘(A) if the IDP originated in an office of the House of 

Representatives, the ‘applicable official’ is the Clerk of the 

House of Representatives; and 

‘‘(B) if the IDP originated in the Senate, the ‘applicable 

official’ is the Secretary of the Senate. 

‘‘(3) In the case of an IDP originating in the judicial branch, 

the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States 

Courts or the Clerk of the United States Supreme Court (as 

the case may be). 


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‘‘§ 1722. Responsibility of offices of Government to furnish 

products to Superintendent of Documents 

‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO FURNISH PRODUCTS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an office of the Federal government produces or procures an information dissemination product, regardless of form or format, the applicable official shall furnish 

the product to the Superintendent of Documents for inclusion 

in the national collection established and maintained under 

this subchapter at the applicable price described in paragraph 

(2), not later than the date on which the product is made available to the public. 

‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PRICE DESCRIBED.—In paragraph (1), the 

‘applicable price’ with respect to an information dissemination 

product is— 

‘‘(A) in the case of a product in electronic form which the office involved disseminates to the public at no cost, $0; or 

‘‘(B) in the case of any other product, such price as may 

be appropriate, but not to exceed the actual cost to the office involved of producing an additional copy of the product. 

‘‘(b) FORM AND FORMAT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In furnishing an information dissemination product to the Superintendent of Documents under this 

subchapter, the applicable official shall deposit with and notify 

the Superintendent of digital or tangible (as applicable) 

versions of such IDP, regardless of the form or format of the 

product, in such manner as will enable the Superintendent to 

perform cataloging, indexing, identification, location, availability, and format designation services with respect to the IDP 

under section 1725 and authentication with respect to the IDP 

under section 1722. 

‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR INCOMPATIBLE FORMATS.— ‘‘(A) PROVIDING LOCATION AND ACCESS.—If the form or 

format of an IDP is not compatible with the electronic systems of the Government Publishing Office, and it is not 

practicable to make the form or format of the IDP compatible with such systems, the applicable official shall meet 

the requirements of this section by providing the Superintendent with information on where the content of the 

IDP is held and how the Superintendent may access the 

content, and by providing access to and preserving the content of the IDP. 

‘‘(B) CATALOGING, PUBLIC ACCESS, AND PRESERVATION.— 

The Superintendent, in consultation with the applicable official, shall determine the best method to catalog, provide 

public access to (including through the Federal Depository 

Library Program under subchapter D), and preserve an 

IDP which is subject to subparagraph (A). 

‘‘(c) NOTIFICATIONS REGARDING CHANGES IN PRODUCTION OR PROCUREMENT OF PRODUCTS.— 

‘‘(1) CHANGE IN PUBLIC ACCESS DESCRIBED.—For purposes of 

this subsection, a change in public access to an information 

dissemination product means any of the following: 

‘‘(A) Terminating production. 


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‘‘(B) Eliminating production or availability in tangible 

form. 

‘‘(C) Otherwise limiting the provision of public access to 

only electronic means. 

‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—The applicable official shall immediately 

notify the Superintendent of the intent of an office to produce 

or procure, substantially modify, or make a change in public 

access to an information dissemination product included in the 

national collection under subchapter B, regardless of form or 

format, in order to enable the Superintendent to continue to 

provide public access to the product under this chapter, including access through the Federal Depository Library Program 

under subchapter D. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect the application of section 3506 of this title to 

any office or applicable official. 

‘‘(3) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Superintendent of Documents 

shall publish in the Federal Register, and provide timely notice 

to the public and the Federal Depository Libraries under subchapter D, of notifications received under paragraph (2). In the 

case of notifications of a change in public access, the Superintendent of Documents shall provide such notice not later 

than 10 days after receiving the notification. 

‘‘(4) RESTRICTIONS ON AUTHORITY TO MAKE CHANGES IN PUB- LIC ACCESS.—An office may not make a change in public access 

to an information dissemination product until the expiration of 

the 70-day period which begins on the date the head of the office notifies the Superintendent of Documents of the intent to 

make the change. 

‘‘(d) FAILURE TO FURNISH PRODUCT.—If an applicable official fails 

to furnish an IDP to the Superintendent of Documents under this 

section— 

‘‘(1) the Superintendent is authorized to obtain the IDP; and 

‘‘(2) the office of the applicable official shall reimburse the 

Superintendent for the costs incurred in obtaining and disseminating the IDP. 

‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL METHODS OF OBTAINING PRODUCTS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the procedures in this section, the Superintendent of Documents may use any other 

means not prohibited by law to obtain an information dissemination product for inclusion in the national collection under 

this subchapter. 

‘‘(2) COLLECTION OF PRODUCTS IN COLLECTION OF FEDERAL

DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES.—The Superintendent may enter into 

arrangements with a Federal Depository Library under subchapter D to obtain from such Library any IDPs in the Library’s own collection of documents and materials and the 

metadata associated with any such IDPs. 

‘‘(f) ROLE OF DIRECTOR OF THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE.— 

‘‘(1) SUPERVISION AND OVERSIGHT.—The Superintendent of 

Documents shall carry out this section under the supervision 

of the Director of the Government Publishing Office, who shall 

be responsible for ensuring the compliance of offices of the Federal government with this section. 


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‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF GPO PRODUCTS.—The Director of the 

Government Publishing Office shall provide the Superintendent with adequate metadata and copies, in digital and 

tangible form (if available) of all information dissemination 

products produced or procured by the Government Publishing 

Office. 

‘‘(g) STEPS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE BY APPLICABLE OFFICIALS.— 

‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—Each applicable official shall establish 

guidelines and procedures to ensure that the appropriate personnel of the applicable official’s office meet the requirements 

of this section. To the extent that the applicable official has the 

authority under law to promulgate regulations, the official 

shall establish such guidelines and procedures by regulation. 

‘‘(2) REPORTS TO DIRECTOR OF THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING

OFFICE.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the FDLP Modernization Act of 2018 and every 3 years 

thereafter, each applicable official shall submit a report to the 

Director of the Government Publishing Office setting forth a 

plan to ensure the official’s compliance with the requirements 

of this section, including steps to sanction employees of the official’s office for failure to comply with such requirements. 

‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE FOR ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS FURNISHED TO DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall apply with respect to 

any information dissemination product produced or procured 

on or after the effective date of the FDLP Modernization Act 

of 2018. 

‘‘(2) FURNISHING ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS TO FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES DURING TRANSITION.— 

‘‘(A) INVENTORY OF PRODUCTS.—Not later than 2 years 

after the date of the enactment of the FDLP Modernization 

Act of 2018, the applicable official of each office shall provide the Superintendent of Documents with an inventory 

of, and access to, all electronic information dissemination 

products (as defined in section 1724) which originated in 

the office prior to the effective date of such Act. 

‘‘(B) FURNISHING OF PRODUCTS TO LIBRARIES.—If, in the 

same manner applicable to information dissemination 

products under section 1721, the Superintendent determines that a product in the inventory provided under subparagraph (A) would be appropriate for inclusion in the 

national collection under this subchapter (if the product 

were procured or produced after the effective date of the 

FDLP Modernization Act of 2018), the applicable official 

shall furnish the product to the Superintendent for distribution to Federal Depository Libraries under subchapter 

D, as determined by the Superintendent. 

‘‘(C) COSTS.—The cost of furnishing an IDP to a Federal 

Depository Library under this paragraph shall be paid by 

the Superintendent of Documents. 


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‘‘§ 1723. Requirements for agreements to produce or procure 

products 

‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION TO SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS.—An office of the Federal government may not enter into a contract for 

the procurement of production of an information dissemination 

product by any entity other than the Director of the Government 

Publishing Office, regardless of form or format, unless each of the 

following requirements is met: 

‘‘(1) Prior to entering into the contract, the applicable official 

notifies the Superintendent of Documents. 

‘‘(2) The contract includes a requirement that the office shall 

ensure that the product will be furnished to the Superintendent in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, 

including any requirement regarding the number, type, and 

format of copies of the product. 

‘‘(3) The contract includes a requirement that the office shall 

meet such conditions as the Superintendent may require to ensure no-fee public access to the product in accordance with this 

chapter. 

‘‘(b) PRIOR CERTIFICATION OF NOTICE TO SUPERINTENDENT.—No 

production or procurement of an IDP may take place under a contract described in subsection (a) until the applicable official verifies 

that notice of the contract was provided to the Superintendent of 

Documents. 

‘‘(c) ROLE OF DIRECTOR OF THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OF- FICE.—The Superintendent of Documents shall carry out this section under the supervision of the Director of the Government Publishing Office, who shall be responsible for ensuring the compliance 

of offices of the Federal government with this section. 

‘‘§ 1724. Special requirements for electronic information dissemination products 

‘‘(a) TYPES OF MATERIAL REQUIRED TO BE FURNISHED TO SUPER- INTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS.—For purposes of section 1722, upon request of the Superintendent of Documents, the applicable official 

shall promptly provide the Superintendent with copies of, or access 

to, electronic files and metadata or other digital descriptive material associated with an electronic information dissemination product (including any relevant material necessary for the Superintendent to comply with section 1725) which will enable the Superintendent to provide permanent public access to the IDP 

through the online repository under subchapter C and through the 

Federal Depository Library Program under subchapter D. 

‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES FOR PRODUCTS MADE AVAILABLE ON

WEBSITES OF ORIGINATING OFFICES.— 

‘‘(1) SHARING OF METADATA WITH DIRECTOR OF THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE.—If an office of the Government 

makes an electronic information dissemination product of the 

office available to the public through the office’s website, the 

head of the office shall ensure that the Director of the Government Publishing Office (acting through the Superintendent of 

Documents) has the appropriate metadata associated with the 

product to enable the Director of the Government Publishing 

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pository under subchapter C and to otherwise provide permanent public access to the product for purposes of this chapter. 

‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF ONLINE FEE-FOR-SERVICE PROGRAMS.—If 

an office of the Government makes IDPs available to the public 

online under a fee-for-service program, the office shall ensure 

that the Superintendent of Documents has access to such services, at a cost no greater than the applicable price described in 

section 1722(a)(2), so that the Superintendent may make such 

services available to Federal Depository Libraries under subchapter D. 

‘‘(c) ONLINE PUBLIC ACCESS DURING TRANSITION TO ONLINE REPOSITORY.—If, at any time after the effective date of the FDLP 

Modernization Act of 2018, the online repository under subchapter 

C is not in operation, each office in which an electronic information 

dissemination product originates shall provide permanent public 

access to the IDP through an electronic communications system or 

network. 

‘‘§ 1725. Cataloging and related services for information dissemination products 

‘‘(a) CATALOGING, INDEXING, IDENTIFICATION, LOCATION, AVAILABILITY, AND FORMAT DESIGNATION SERVICES.— 

‘‘(1) SERVICES DESCRIBED.—The Superintendent of Documents shall— 

‘‘(A) perform cataloging, indexing, identification, location, 

availability, and format designation services with respect 

to the information dissemination products included in the 

national collection under this subchapter; 

‘‘(B) perform cataloging, indexing, identification, location, 

availability, and format designation services with respect 

to any information dissemination products which are included in the historical collection under section 1721(d); 

and 

‘‘(C) make the resulting cataloging, indexing, identification, location, availability, and format designation information available for no-fee public access under the program 

described in subsection (b), and as part of the national collection under this subchapter. 

‘‘(2) ENSURING INCORPORATION OF CURRENT METHODOLOGIES

AND PRACTICES.—The Superintendent shall periodically review 

and revise the methods by which the Superintendent performs 

the services required under paragraph (1) to ensure that such 

methods incorporate contemporary library and information 

management methodologies and practices. 

‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATING TO PRODUCTS NOT SUBJECT TO PUBLIC ACCESS.—Nothing in this subchapter may be 

construed to waive the requirement that the Superintendent 

perform services under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) with 

respect to an information dissemination product which is included in the national collection under this subchapter but for 

which the Superintendent does not provide public access to the 

product under section 1721(c). 

‘‘(b) CATALOG OF GOVERNMENT PRODUCTS.— 


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‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF CATALOG.—The Superintendent of 

Documents shall establish and maintain a Catalog of Government Products consisting of a comprehensive set of metadata, 

including the digital object identifier, associated with information dissemination products, including existing products which 

are not yet catalogued, and may make the records of such 

Catalog available in other bibliographic utilities that support 

widely available record sharing. 

‘‘(2) NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORDS INVENTORY.—The Superintendent shall carry out a program to bring fugitive documents under bibliographic control and to make records associated with such documents available through the Catalog established and maintained under paragraph (1) and other appropriate bibliographic utilities. 

‘‘(c) DIGITIZATION.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Superintendent of Documents is authorized to digitize, to the greatest extent practicable, all information dissemination products created at any time, and to include such products in digitized form in the national collection 

under this subchapter. 

‘‘(2) AUTHENTICATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, 

the Superintendent shall identify the chain of custody or other 

provenance of IDPs in the national collection under this subchapter which are in digitized form, and shall verify that such 

IDPs are complete and unaltered. 

‘‘(d) AUTHORIZING ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT BY OTHER EN- TITIES.— 

‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Superintendent of Documents 

may enter into an agreement with another entity (including a 

Federal Depository Library under subchapter D) to carry out 

any of the activities authorized under this section, in accordance with regulations promulgated under this subchapter. 

‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF WORK PRODUCT AS WORK OF UNITED

STATES GOVERNMENT FOR PURPOSES OF COPYRIGHT.—For purposes of section 105 of title 17, any work product produced 

under an agreement entered into under paragraph (1) shall be 

considered a work of the United States Government. 

‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH OTHER LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OFFI- CIALS.—In carrying out this section, the Superintendent shall coordinate and consult with appropriate officials of the legislative 

branch, including the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the 

Secretary of the Senate, and the Librarian of Congress, with respect to the dissemination of information dissemination products 

under this subchapter for inclusion in the legislative information 

retrieval system established and operated under section 209 of the 

Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 (2 U.S.C. 180). 

‘‘§ 1726. Collection development plan 

‘‘(a) PLAN.—The Superintendent of Documents shall establish a 

collection development plan for the national collection of information dissemination products under this subchapter, taking into consideration the requirements of the online repository under subchapter C and the needs of the Federal Depository Library Program under subchapter D. 


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‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The collection development plan under this 

section shall be carried out in accordance with regulations promulgated under this subchapter. 

‘‘§ 1727. Replacement and removal of products from national 

collection 

‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON REPLACEMENT AND REMOVAL.—An information dissemination product may not be replaced or removed from 

the national collection under this subchapter except as provided 

under the policies described in subsection (b). 

‘‘(b) POLICIES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Superintendent of Documents shall 

carry out each of the following policies with respect to the information dissemination products, regardless of form or format, 

which are included in the national collection under this subchapter: 

‘‘(A) A policy for the replacement of an IDP in case of 

error. 

‘‘(B) A policy for the removal of an IDP when required 

to comply with relevant law. 

‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The policies described in paragraph (1) 

shall provide for— 

‘‘(A) notification of the replacement or removal to the 

public and the Federal Depository Libraries; and 

‘‘(B) compliance with relevant law, including the need for 

the preservation of materials for archival purposes with 

the National Archives and Records Administration. 

‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—Each of the policies under this section shall 

be carried out in accordance with regulations promulgated under 

this subchapter. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER C—ONLINE REPOSITORY 

‘‘§ 1731. Establishment and operation of online repository for 

no-fee access to information dissemination products 

‘‘(a) ONLINE REPOSITORY.—The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall establish and operate a trustworthy information 

system and online repository through which members of the public 

may obtain, at no charge, information dissemination products 

which are included in the national collection established and maintained under subchapter B. 

‘‘(b) OPEN AND BULK FORMATS.—To the greatest extent practicable, the online repository shall provide users with access to 

IDPs in open, machine-readable, and nonproprietary formats, and 

be available for bulk download with the relevant metadata incorporated. 

‘‘(c) PRESERVATION OF PRODUCTS.—The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall ensure the preservation for permanent 

public access of information dissemination products included in the 

online repository, including through a program providing for the 

permanent retention of digital materials. 


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‘‘§ 1732. Authentication of products 

‘‘(a) REQUIRING AUTHENTICATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, the Director of the Government Publishing Office shall ensure that each information dissemination product made available 

on the online repository under this subchapter is authenticated, 

identify the product’s chain of custody or other provenance, and 

verify that the product is complete and unaltered. 

‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF NON-AUTHENTICATED PRODUCTS.—The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall ensure that if any 

IDP in the online repository is not authenticated, the lack of authentication shall be noted within the IDP. 

‘‘§ 1733. Privacy of users 

‘‘(a) PROTECTING USER PRIVACY.—Not later than 180 days after 

the date of the enactment of the FDLP Modernization Act of 2018, 

the Superintendent of Documents shall implement measures to 

protect the privacy of individuals using the online repository under 

this subchapter, and shall ensure that such measures provide users 

with at least the same level of privacy as provided under section 

552a of title 5 (commonly known as the Privacy Act of 1974) and 

section 208 of the E–Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–347; 

set out as a note under section 3501 of this title). 

‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—This section shall be carried out in accordance with regulations promulgated under this subchapter. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER D—FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY 

PROGRAM 

‘‘§ 1741. No-fee access to products through Federal Depository Libraries 

‘‘(a) FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM.—The Director of 

the Government Publishing Office, acting through the Superintendent of Documents, shall operate a program under which, in 

accordance with this subchapter— 

‘‘(1) the Superintendent of Documents shall designate libraries as Federal Depository Libraries, including Selective Depository Libraries, Regional Depository Libraries, and Preservation 

Depository Libraries; 

‘‘(2) the Superintendent shall furnish, at no cost, to each library designated as a Federal Depository Library under this 

subchapter access to the national collection of information dissemination products under subchapter B, including— 

‘‘(A) complete access to cataloging, indexing, identification, location, availability, and format designation services 

under section 1725; 

‘‘(B) complete access to the online repository under subchapter C; and 

‘‘(C) such information dissemination products as are provided for in this subchapter; and 

‘‘(3) each such Federal Depository Library shall provide nofee access to the collection to members of the public. 

‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR COPIES OF CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS.— 

‘‘(1) REPORTS OR OTHER DOCUMENTS OF CONGRESS.— 


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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 701 of this 

title, the Director of the Government Publishing Office 

shall print and provide such number of copies of each report or other document of Congress as the Superintendent 

of Documents may establish for purposes of furnishing 

such reports and documents for the Federal Depository Library Program under this subchapter. 

‘‘(B) FORMAT; BINDING.—The Director shall provide the 

Superintendent of Documents with the copies required 

under this paragraph in unbound form as soon as practicable after printing is completed, except that any report 

or other document of sufficient size on any one subject (as 

established by the Superintendent) shall be bound separately and receive the title suggested by the subject of the 

volume. The Director shall provide that the bound sets of 

such reports or other documents are arranged in volumes 

and bound in a practical and economical manner as established by the Superintendent. 

‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.—Notwithstanding section 906 

of this title, the Director of the Government Publishing Office 

shall print and provide such number of copies of the Congressional Record as the Superintendent of Documents may establish for purposes of furnishing the Congressional Record for the 

Federal Depository Library Program under this subchapter. 

‘‘§ 1742. Requirements for Federal Depository Libraries 

‘‘(a) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED.—Each library designated as a Federal Depository Library under this subchapter 

shall meet the following requirements: 

‘‘(1) The library shall provide members of the public with nofee access to all of the information dissemination products furnished to the library by the Superintendent of Documents 

under this chapter— 

‘‘(A) in electronic format by providing internet access to 

the online repository under subchapter C and to cataloging, indexing, identification, location, availability, and 

format designation services under section 1725; and 

‘‘(B) in any format deposited under this subchapter. 

‘‘(2) The library shall ensure that a member of the library’s 

staff who is knowledgeable about the services described in 

paragraph (1) is reasonably available to assist patrons with the 

provision of such services. 

‘‘(3) The library shall meet such other additional requirements as the Superintendent may establish by regulations promulgated under this subchapter. 

‘‘(b) MAINTENANCE AND REMOVAL OF DEPOSITED IDPS.—In addition to the requirements described in subsection (a), each library 

designated as a Federal Depository Library under this subchapter 

shall maintain the information dissemination products furnished to 

the library by the Superintendent under this chapter (regardless of 

form or format) in accordance with such policies as the Superintendent may establish, and may remove any such products only 

in accordance with such policies as the Superintendent may establish (consistent with the requirements of section 1744 in the case 


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of Selective Depository Libraries and the requirements of section 

1745 in the case of Regional Depository Libraries). 

‘‘(c) MANAGEMENT OF IDPS IN TANGIBLE FORM.—Any information 

dissemination product which is deposited with a Federal Depository Library under this subchapter in tangible form remains the 

property of the United States Government unless the IDP is donated to the Library under section 1743(b). 

‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Superintendent shall establish the requirements of this section in accordance with regulations promulgated under this subchapter. Such regulations shall encourage participation by a broad and diverse group of libraries, and may not 

establish a limit on the number of libraries which may be designated under this section. 

‘‘§ 1743. Services available for depository libraries 

‘‘(a) OPTIONAL DIGITAL DEPOSIT.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the option of the Library, a Federal Depository Library may receive directly from the Superintendent 

of Documents deposits in electronic format of information dissemination products included in the national collection, unless 

impracticable, in accordance with regulations promulgated 

under this subchapter. 

‘‘(2) PROTECTING PRIVACY OF USERS.—If the Library permits 

individuals to seek access to IDPs which are hosted on its own 

server in accordance with this subsection, the Library shall 

comply to the extent practicable with the same measures implemented by the Superintendent of Documents to protect the 

privacy of individuals who seek access to IDPs through the use 

of online repository under subchapter C. 

‘‘(b) DONATION OF IDPS.—If an information dissemination product deposited with a Federal Depository Library is no longer needed for purposes of this subchapter, the Superintendent may donate 

the product to the Library, in accordance with regulations promulgated under this subchapter. 

‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF TRAINING PROGRAM FOR USE OF LIBRAR- IES.— ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Superintendent shall 

develop a training and continuing education program which 

may be used by Federal Depository Libraries to promote the 

ability of the Libraries to understand the operation of the program under this subchapter and the content of the materials 

furnished to the Libraries under the program. 

‘‘(2) OPTIONAL USE OF PROGRAM.—The use by any Federal 

Depository Library of the program developed under paragraph 

(1) shall be optional for the Library. 

‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—Nothing in this subsection 

may be construed to prohibit the Superintendent from making 

the program developed under paragraph (1) or any materials 

developed as part of such program available to the public, as 

the Superintendent considers appropriate. 

‘‘§ 1744. Selective Depository Libraries 

‘‘(a) SELECTIVE DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES DESCRIBED.—A library 

which is designated as a Federal Depository Library may, at its reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Nov 16, 2018 Jkt 032658 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\A658.XXX A658

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quest, be designated as a Selective Depository Library if the Library meets the following requirements: 

‘‘(1) The Library provides access to selected information dissemination products in tangible form as provided by the Superintendent of Documents, under regulations promulgated under 

this subchapter. 

‘‘(2) The Library agrees to maintain its collection of such 

IDPs in tangible form for a minimum of 5 years after receipt, 

unless the Superintendent authorizes earlier withdrawal. 

‘‘(3) The Library collaborates with a Regional Depository Library (as designated under section 1745) on the maintenance 

of a regional collection of such IDPs in tangible form. 

‘‘(4) A Member of Congress makes a recommendation to the 

Superintendent that the Library should be designated as a Selective Depository Library. 

‘‘(b) REGULATIONS; LIMITATION ON NUMBER.—The Superintendent 

shall carry out this section in accordance with regulations promulgated under this subchapter. Such regulations shall provide for an 

adequate number and distribution of Selective Depository Libraries 

in order to meet the information needs of the public, and shall not 

prevent the designation of at least one Selective Depository Library 

in each congressional district. 

‘‘§ 1745. Regional Depository Libraries 

‘‘(a) REGIONAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES DESCRIBED.—A library 

which is designated as a Federal Depository Library may, at its request, be designated as a Regional Depository Library if the Library meets the following requirements: 

‘‘(1) The Library agrees to receive its information dissemination products from the Superintendent of Documents for purposes of this subchapter in tangible form, except that the Library may decline to receive an IDP in tangible form if the authenticated IDP is available through the online repository 

under subchapter C. 

‘‘(2) The Library provides access to all IDPs under this subchapter regardless of form or format. 

‘‘(3) The Library coordinates and collaborates with Selective 

Depository Libraries to maintain access to the collection of 

IDPs available within the region, including IDPs deposited 

prior to the library’s designation as a Federal Depository Library under this subchapter, and may do so by housing some 

of its collection at one or more Selective Depository Libraries 

pursuant to an agreement with such Selective Depository Library. 

‘‘(4) The Library agrees to provide services under this subchapter to Selective Depository Libraries under agreements facilitated by the Superintendent of Documents, in accordance 

with regulations promulgated under this subchapter. 

‘‘(5) A Senator (or, in the case of a Library in the District of 

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 

Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Delegate or 

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tion to the Superintendent that the Library should be designated as a Regional Depository Library. 

‘‘(b) WITHDRAWAL OF COLLECTION OF TANGIBLE IDPS.—A Regional Depository Library may withdraw from its collection an IDP 

which is in tangible form if— 

‘‘(1) the authenticated IDP is available through the online repository under subchapter C; and 

‘‘(2) the Superintendent has identified for preservation an 

appropriate number of copies of the IDP in tangible form in a 

sufficient number of Federal Depository Libraries. 

‘‘(c) RELOCATION OF COLLECTION OF TANGIBLE IDPS.—If a collection of information dissemination products in tangible form is relocated from a Regional Depository Library to another Federal Depository Library under this subchapter (including relocation resulting from the selective discarding of such products and the acceptance of such discarded products by another Federal Depository Library), the Director of the Government Publishing Office may pay 

the costs of the relocation, including related cataloging and transportation costs. 

‘‘(d) REGULATIONS; CONTENTS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Superintendent shall carry out this 

section in accordance with regulations promulgated under this 

subchapter. Such regulations shall— 

‘‘(A) in establishing criteria for agreements between Regional Depository Libraries and Selective Depository Libraries (as described in paragraph (4) of subsection (a)), 

give preference to any consortia and similar collaborative 

efforts in effect between such Libraries, without regard to 

geographic restrictions; 

‘‘(B) limit the number of Regional Depository Libraries 

located in any State to 2; and 

‘‘(C) unless impracticable, provide for the designation of 

at least 2 Regional Depository Libraries in each census region. 

‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In establishing regulations under paragraph (1), the Superintendent shall consult with Selective Depository Libraries and Regional Depository Libraries. 

‘‘§ 1746. Preservation Depository Libraries 

‘‘(a) PRESERVATION DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES DESCRIBED.—A library 

which is designated as a Federal Depository Library may, at its request, be designated as a Preservation Depository Library if the Library enters into an agreement with the Superintendent of Documents to assist the Superintendent with the preservation of information dissemination products in the national collection under subchapter B. 

‘‘(b) LOCATION OF PRODUCTS.—Under an agreement under this 

section, a Preservation Depository Library may preserve IDPs (regardless of form or format) by housing them at its own location or 

by coordinating and managing all or part of collections of IDPs 

which are housed at other Federal Depository Libraries. 

‘‘(c) PRESERVATION AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—In addition to designating Preservation Depository Libraries under this 

section, the Superintendent may enter in agreements with other 


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entities to assist the Superintendent with the preservation of information dissemination products in the national collection under subchapter B. 

‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Superintendent shall carry out this section in accordance with regulations promulgated under this subchapter. Under such regulations, the Superintendent shall seek to 

designate Preservation Depository Libraries in a manner which 

promotes geographic diversity. 

‘‘§ 1747. Procedures for designation 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Superintendent of Documents may designate a library as a Federal Depository Library under this subchapter if the Library provides the Superintendent (at such time 

and in such form as the Superintendent may require) such information and assurances as the Superintendent may require to determine that the library will meet the applicable requirements of 

this subchapter, in accordance with regulations promulgated under 

this subchapter. 

‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION.— 

‘‘(1) TERMINATION.—The designation of a library as a Federal 

Depository Library, Selective Depository Library, Regional Depository Library, or Preservation Depository Library under this 

subchapter may be terminated by the Superintendent only— 

‘‘(A) if the Superintendent determines that the library 

does not meet the applicable requirements for designation 

under this subchapter; or 

‘‘(B) at the request of the library. 

‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION.—The determination by 

the Superintendent under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) 

shall be made in accordance with regulations promulgated 

under this subchapter which shall provide for a reasonable opportunity for remediation. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER E—SALES PROGRAM 

‘‘§ 1751. Sales program 

‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF SALES PROGRAM.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Government Publishing Office may operate a program for the sale of information dissemination products to the public. 

‘‘(2) FORMAT OF PRODUCTS OFFERED.—The Director may offer 

products for sale under the program in any form or format (including tangible and electronic), except that if the Director 

makes alterations to the product by reformatting or otherwise 

manipulating the original form or format of the content of the 

product to prepare it for sale, the Director must disclose such 

alterations on the product. 

‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIALS.—The Director 

may not offer any product for sale under the program if the 

product is confidential in nature. 

‘‘(b) ACQUISITION OF PRODUCTS.— 

‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION OR PROCUREMENT.—The Director of the Government Publishing Office 

may produce or procure additional copies of IDPs for the use 


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of the sales program, so long as such production or procurement does not interfere with the prompt execution of IDP production or procurement for the Government. 

‘‘(2) REPRINTING OF DOCUMENTS.—In the case of an IDP 

which consists of a document, the Director may from time to 

time reprint additional copies of the document for sale under 

the program, so long as the Director notifies the office which 

created the IDP. 

‘‘(3) BLANK FORMS.—The Director may print additional copies 

of approved Government forms for sale to the public under the 

sales program. 

‘‘(c) RESALE BY COMMERCIAL VENDORS.— 

‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF RESALE.—As part of the sales program, the Director of the Government Publishing Office may 

authorize the resale of IDPs by book dealers and other commercial vendors, under such terms and conditions as the Director may establish. 

‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON PUBLIC ACCESS.—Nothing in paragraph 

(1) may be construed to remove any IDP which is subject to resale under such paragraph (including the original text and the 

underlying data) from the public domain, or to waive any requirement that the IDP be available for no-fee public access 

under any other subchapter of this chapter. 

‘‘§ 1752. Determination of costs of products 

‘‘(a) OPERATION OF PROGRAM ON SELF-SUSTAINING BASIS.—To the 

greatest extent feasible, the Director of the Government Publishing 

Office shall operate the sales program under this subchapter on a 

self-sustaining basis, so that the prices of the information dissemination products sold will cover the cost of procurement or production, dissemination, and other appropriate costs associated with the 

program as determined by the Director, including the offering of 

sales discounts. 

‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM.—The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall ensure that any IDP (regardless of form or format) which is made 

available for sale under the sales program is offered to the Superintendent of Documents for purposes of this chapter at no greater 

than the applicable price described in subsection (a)(2) of section 

1722. 

‘‘§ 1753. Inventory 

‘‘(a) ANNUAL INVENTORY.—The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall conduct an inventory of the sales program 

under this subchapter each fiscal year and use the results of the 

inventory to determine stock levels necessary for the next year. 

‘‘(b) DESTRUCTION OR REMAINDERING OF INVENTORY.—Prior to destroying or remaindering any inventory of IDPs, the Director of the 

Government Publishing Office shall first offer the inventory at no 

cost to— 

‘‘(1) the Superintendent of Documents for purposes of the 

other subchapters of this chapter; and 

‘‘(2) if the Superintendent rejects the offer, the office which 

created the IDPs. 


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‘‘SUBCHAPTER F—OTHER PROGRAMS AND AUTHORITIES 

‘‘§ 1761. By-law distribution program 

‘‘(a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE.—For each fiscal 

year, the Superintendent shall deliver information dissemination 

products to the Clerk of the House of Representatives for use in the 

libraries of the House and to the Secretary of the Senate for use 

in the libraries of the Senate. 

‘‘(b) NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION.—For 

each fiscal year, the Superintendent shall deliver information dissemination products to the National Archives and Records Administration for use by the Archivist of the United States, including 

use by the Presidential Library established for the President during whose term the IDPs were produced, based on a determination 

made by the Archivist and the Superintendent jointly of the number of IDPs necessary for the use of the Archivist. 

‘‘(c) FOREIGN DISSEMINATION.— 

‘‘(1) UNITED STATES LEGATIONS AND CONSULATES.—The Superintendent may disseminate an information dissemination 

product to a legation or consulate of the United States only if 

the Secretary of State, by an order to be recorded in the State 

Department, determines that the dissemination is suitable for 

and required by the legation and consulate. 

‘‘(2) FOREIGN LEGATIONS.—The Superintendent may disseminate an information dissemination product to a foreign legation 

to the United States only upon request of the Secretary of 

State, and only in such number as the Secretary provides in 

the request. The Superintendent may disseminate an IDP to a 

foreign legation to the United States without cost only if the 

government of such legation furnishes copies of its printed and 

legislative documents to legations of the United States. 

‘‘(d) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE.— 

‘‘(1) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—For each fiscal year, the Superintendent shall furnish to the Library of Congress a number of 

full and partial sets of information dissemination products in 

a timely manner, based on a determination made by the Librarian of Congress and transmitted to the Superintendent of 

the number of sets necessary for the Library to provide services to Congress and to maintain its collections for such fiscal 

year. 

‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE.—For each fiscal 

year, the Superintendent shall furnish to the Congressional 

Research Service a number of full and partial sets of information dissemination products in a timely manner, based on a determination made by the Director of the Congressional Research Service and transmitted to the Superintendent of the 

number of sets necessary to provide services to Congress for 

such fiscal year. The Director shall make a payment for the 

costs incurred by the Superintendent in furnishing IDPs under 

this paragraph, and for the related costs of carrying out this 

paragraph, based on the incremental costs of printing, using 

funds appropriated to the Director for such purpose. 


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‘‘§ 1762. International Exchange Service Program 

‘‘(a) DISSEMINATION THROUGH LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS.—For 

each fiscal year, the Superintendent shall furnish a number of full 

and partial sets of information dissemination products in a timely 

manner to the Library of Congress to enable the Librarian of Congress to meet the requirements of international exchange service 

programs for such fiscal year, based on a determination made by 

the Librarian of Congress and transmitted to the Superintendent 

of the number of sets necessary for such purpose. The costs of carrying out this subsection shall be charged to appropriations provided for the Superintendent for purposes of this subsection. 

‘‘(b) INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE PROGRAMS DESCRIBED.— 

In this section, an ‘international exchange service program’ is any 

program to fully carry into effect the convention concluded at Brussels on March 15, 1886, and proclaimed by the President of the 

United States on January 15, 1889, and all subsequent bilateral 

and multilateral treaties and agreements under which copies of 

Government publications are provided for distribution to foreign 

governments which agree, as indicated by the Librarian of Congress, to send to the United States similar publications of their 

governments for delivery to the Library of Congress. 

‘‘§ 1763. Acceptance of gifts 

‘‘The Director of the Government Publishing Office may accept 

and use gifts and bequests of property (both real and personal) and 

services in support of the Superintendent’s responsibilities under 

this chapter. 

‘‘§ 1764. Authorities of Director of the Government Publishing Office 

‘‘(a) PLENARY AUTHORITY TO PROMOTE PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRODUCTS.—Consistent with this chapter and other applicable laws, the 

Director of the Government Publishing Office may take such measures as the Director considers necessary to ensure the timely dissemination of information dissemination products to the public and 

to expand and improve the maintenance of permanent public access 

to such products. 

‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Government Publishing Office may promulgate such regulations as the Director 

considers necessary to carry out any subchapter of this chapter 

on behalf of the Superintendent of Documents, in accordance 

with the requirements of this section. 

‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—The promulgation of regulations by the Director pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the following laws: 

‘‘(A) Section 553 of title 5 (relating to notice and comment requirements for agency rule making). 

‘‘(B) Chapter 7 of title 5 (relating to judicial review of 

agency actions). 

‘‘(3) MANDATORY REVIEW.—3 years after the promulgation of 

any regulation pursuant to this subsection and every 3 years 

thereafter, the Director shall conduct a review of the regulation 


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to determine whether or not the regulation should be updated 

or repealed. 

‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH LIBRARIES.—The Director shall 

carry out paragraphs (1) and (3) in consultation with the Federal Depository Libraries and other appropriate parties. 

‘‘(5) PERMANENT RETENTION; PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY.—The Director shall ensure that any regulation promulgated pursuant 

to this subsection is retained permanently in the records of the 

Government Publishing Office and is fully accessible to the 

public. 

‘‘§ 1765. Source of funds used to carry out programs and activities 

‘‘The costs of carrying out any programs and activities under this 

chapter shall be paid solely from a separate appropriation made for 

the activities of the Superintendent of Documents or from gifts and 

bequests accepted under section 1763. 

‘‘§ 1766. Congressional oversight 

‘‘(a) REPORTS.—Not later than 45 days after the first 6 months 

of each fiscal year, and not later than 45 days after the next 6 

months of each fiscal year, the Director of the Government Publishing Office shall submit to the Joint Committee on Printing a report on the activities of the Superintendent of Documents during 

the previous 6 months, and shall include in the report the following 

information: 

‘‘(1) Gifts accepted by the Director under section 1763, including the donor, the amount, and the disposition. 

‘‘(2) Actions taken to ensure the protection of the privacy of 

users of information dissemination products. 

‘‘(3) The status of the Depository Library Program under 

subchapter D. 

‘‘(4) The status of any pending rules or regulations proposed 

under this chapter. 

‘‘(5) Notifications received by the Superintendent of Documents under section 1723(a). 

‘‘(6) Any information dissemination products replaced or recalled under section 1727 from the national collection established under subchapter B. 

‘‘(b) POSTING FOR NO-FEE PUBLIC ACCESS.—At the time of submitting a report under subsection (a) to the Joint Committee on 

Printing, the Director of the Government Publishing Office shall 

post an electronic version of the report on the Government Publishing Office’s official website for no-fee public access.’’. 

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 44, UNITED STATES

CODE.— 

(1) DISTRIBUTION OF CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS FOR LI- BRARY OF CONGRESS AND INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE

PROGRAMS.—Section 701 of title 44, United States Code, is 

amended— 

(A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘ten copies, as provided 

by section 1718 of this title’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘the number of copies determined in accordance 

with section 1761(d) of this title’’; and 


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(B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘not to exceed one hundred and fifty copies, as provided by section 1718 of this 

title’’ and inserting ‘‘the number of copies determined in 

accordance with section 1761(d) of this title’’; and 

(C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘as provided by sections 

1718 and 1719 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘as determined 

in accordance with sections 1761(d) and 1762 of this title’’. 

(2) DISTRIBUTION OF CONGRESSIONAL RECORD FOR LIBRARY OF

CONGRESS AND INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS.—Section 

906 of such title is amended by striking ‘‘as provided by sections 1718 and 1719 of this title, not to exceed one hundred 

and forty-five copies of the daily, five semimonthly copies, and 

one hundred and fifty bound copies’’ and inserting ‘‘the number 

of copies determined in accordance with sections 1761(d) and 

1762 of this title’’. 

(3) PREPARATION OF FEDERAL REGISTER AND CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS.—The last sentence of section 1504 of such 

title is amended by striking ‘‘by sections 1705 and 1708 of this 

title’’ and inserting ‘‘by subchapter E of chapter 17 of this 

title’’. 

(4) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 44, United 

States Code, is further amended by striking chapters 19 and 

41. 

(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of chapters for title 44, 

United States Code, is amended— 

(1) by striking the item relating to chapter 17 and inserting 

the following: 

‘‘CHAPTER 17—NO-FEE PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION’’; AND

(2) by striking the items relating to chapters 19 and 41. 

SEC. 3. TRANSITION. 

(a) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUAL CURRENTLY HOLDING POSITION OF

SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS.— (1) PERMITTING INDIVIDUAL TO SERVE ON INTERIM BASIS.—For 

purposes of title 44, United States Code, as amended by this 

Act, any individual who holds the position of Superintendent 

of Documents as of the effective date of this Act shall be 

deemed to meet the qualifications for such position under such 

title, and shall be permitted to remain in that position after 

the effective date of this Act until the Director of the Government Publishing Office appoints an individual to serve as the 

Superintendent of Documents under section 1702 of such title, 

as amended by this Act. Nothing in this paragraph shall be 

construed to prohibit the Director from appointing such an individual as the Superintendent of Documents under section 

1702 of such title, as amended by this Act. 

(2) SPECIAL RULE ON COMPENSATION.—If an individual described in paragraph (1) serves as Superintendent of Documents pursuant to the authority of such paragraph after the 

effective date of this Act, the individual shall receive compensation for such service after such date at the same annual 

rate of compensation the individual received as of the effective 

date of this Act. If the Director of the Government Publishing 

Office appoints the individual to serve as Superintendent of 


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Documents under section 1702 of title 44, United States Code, 

as amended by this Act, the individual shall be compensated 

in accordance with such section. 

(b) TRANSITION FOR EXISTING DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES.—For purposes of chapter 17 of title 44, United States Code, as amended by 

this Act— 

(1) each institution which, as of the effective date of this Act, 

is designated as a depository library under chapter 19 of such 

title (as in effect prior to such date) shall be deemed to have 

been designated as a Federal Depository Library under chapter 

17 of such title on the effective date of this Act; 

(2) each institution which, as of the effective of this Act, is 

designated as a selective depository library under chapter 19 

of such title (as in effect prior to such date) shall be deemed 

to have been designated as a Selective Depository Library 

under chapter 17 of such title on the effective date of this Act; 

and 

(3) each institution which, as of the effective date of this Act, 

is serving a regional depository library under chapter 19 of 

such title (as in effect prior to such date) shall be deemed to 

have been designated as a Regional Depository Library under 

chapter 17 of such title on the effective date of this Act. 

SEC. 4. GAO STUDY AND REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGES 

TO RULES GOVERNING PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT 

PUBLICATIONS. 

(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

conduct a study on the implementation of chapter 17 of title 44, as 

amended by this Act. Such study shall include an analysis of— 

(1) the status of the implementation of such chapter; 

(2) the extent of compliance by offices of the Federal government with the requirements of such chapter; 

(3) the effectiveness of such chapter at meeting the needs of 

the public and Federal Depository Libraries in providing public 

access to government information; and 

(4) other related issues determined appropriate by the Comptroller General. 

(b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

shall submit to the Joint Committee on Printing a report on the 

study conducted under subsection (a). 

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

Except as otherwise provided, this Act and the amendments 

made by this Act shall apply with respect to the first fiscal year 

which begins after the date of the enactment of this Act and each 

succeeding fiscal year. 

The CHAIRMAN. This amendment makes a number of technical 

changes to clarify and strengthen the FDLP program. For purposes 

of time, each member has been provided with a copy of the amendment. 

Does any Member wish to be heard on the amendment in the nature of a substitute or wish to offer an amendment? If not the question, is on adopting the amendment. 

All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. 

All those opposed, say no. 


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29 

In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the amendment 

is agreed to. 

I move that the Committee favorably report H.R. 5305, the 

FDLP—oh, I should look at my notes better. 

Pursuant to Clause 2 of Rule 11, all Members are entitled to two 

additional calendar days to file such views in writing and signed 

by the member and file with the clerk of the Committee. 

I move that the Committee favorably report H.R. 5305, the FDLP 

Modernization Act of 2018 as amended. The question is on the motion. 

All those in favor, signify by saying aye. 

All those opposed, signify by saying no. 

In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the motion is 

agreed to. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the 

table. 

Does any member wish to submit supplemental or minority 

views? 

Seeing none, I now call up H.R. 4631, the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act. Without objection, the bill is considered 

read and the amendment in the nature of a substitute provided to 

each of you will serve as the base text and is considered open for 

amendment at any point. 

[The bill follows:] 

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE TO H.R. 4631 

OFFERED BY MR. HARPER

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORT.—The term ‘‘congressionally mandated report’’— 

(A) means a report that is required to be submitted to 

either House of Congress or any committee of Congress, or 

subcommittee thereof, by a statute, resolution, or conference report that accompanies legislation enacted into 

law; and 

(B) does not include a report required under part B of 

subtitle II of title 36, United States Code. 

(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

the Government Publishing Office. 

(3) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal agency’’ has the 

meaning given that term under section 102 of title 40, United 

States Code, but does not include the Government Accountability Office. 

(4) OPEN FORMAT.—The term ‘‘open format’’ means a file format for storing digital data based on an underlying open 

standard that— 

(A) is not encumbered by any restrictions that would impede reuse; and 


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(B) is based on an underlying open data standard that 

is maintained by a standards organization. 

(5) REPORTS ONLINE PORTAL.—The term ‘‘reports online portal’’ means the online portal established under section (3)(a). 

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ONLINE PORTAL FOR CONGRESSIONALLY 

MANDATED REPORTS. 

(a) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH ONLINE PORTAL.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish and maintain 

an online portal accessible by the public that allows the public 

to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place. The Director may publish other reports on 

the online portal. 

(2) EXISTING FUNCTIONALITY.—To the extent possible, the Director shall meet the requirements under paragraph (1) by 

using existing online portals and functionality under the authority of the Director. 

(3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this Act, the Director 

shall consult with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, 

the Secretary of the Senate, and the Librarian of Congress regarding the requirements for and maintenance of congressionally mandated reports on the reports online portal. 

(b) CONTENT AND FUNCTION.—The Director shall ensure that the 

reports online portal includes the following: 

(1) Subject to subsection (c), with respect to each congressionally mandated report, each of the following: 

(A) A citation to the statute, conference report, or resolution requiring the report. 

(B) An electronic copy of the report, including any transmittal letter associated with the report, in an open format 

that is platform independent and that is available to the 

public without restrictions, including restrictions that 

would impede the re-use of the information in the report. 

(C) The ability to retrieve a report, to the extent practicable, through searches based on each, and any combination, of the following: 

(i) The title of the report. 

(ii) The reporting Federal agency. 

(iii) The date of publication. 

(iv) Each congressional committee receiving the report, if applicable. 

(v) The statute, resolution, or conference report requiring the report. 

(vi) Subject tags. 

(vii) A unique alphanumeric identifier for the report 

that is consistent across report editions. 

(viii) The serial number, Superintendent of Documents number, or other identification number for the 

report, if applicable. 

(ix) Key words. 

(x) Full text search. 

(xi) Any other relevant information specified by the 

Director. 


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(D) The date on which the report was required to be submitted, and on which the report was submitted, to the reports online portal. 

(E) Access to the report not later than 30 calendar days 

after its submission to Congress. 

(F) To the extent practicable, a permanent means of accessing the report electronically. 

(2) A means for bulk download of all congressionally mandated reports. 

(3) A means for downloading individual reports as the result 

of a search. 

(4) An electronic means for the head of each Federal agency 

to submit to the reports online portal each congressionally 

mandated report of the agency, as required by section 4. 

(5) In tabular form, a list of all congressionally mandated reports that can be searched, sorted, and downloaded by— 

(A) reports submitted within the required time; 

(B) reports submitted after the date on which such reports were required to be submitted; and 

(C) reports not submitted. 

(c) NONCOMPLIANCE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

(1) REPORTS NOT SUBMITTED.—If a Federal agency does not 

submit a congressionally mandated report to the Director, the 

Director shall to the extent practicable— 

(A) include on the reports online portal— 

(i) the information required under clauses (i), (ii), 

(iv), and (v) of subsection (b)(1)(C); and 

(ii) the date on which the report was required to be 

submitted; and 

(B) include the congressionally mandated report on the 

list described in subsection (b)(5)(C). 

(2) REPORTS NOT IN OPEN FORMAT.—If a Federal agency submits a congressionally mandated report that is not in an open 

format, the Director shall include the congressionally mandated report in another format on the reports online portal. 

(d) FREE ACCESS.—The Director may not charge a fee, require 

registration, or impose any other limitation in exchange for access 

to the reports online portal. 

(e) UPGRADE CAPABILITY.—The reports online portal shall be enhanced and updated as necessary to carry out the purposes of this 

Act. 

SEC. 4. FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES. 

(a) SUBMISSION OF ELECTRONIC COPIES OF REPORTS.—Concurrently with the submission to Congress of each congressionally 

mandated report, the head of the Federal agency submitting the 

congressionally mandated report shall submit to the Director the 

information required under subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 3(b)(1) with respect to the congressionally mandated report. 

Nothing in this Act shall relieve a Federal agency of any other requirement to publish the congressionally mandated report on the 

online portal of the Federal agency or otherwise submit the congressionally mandated report to Congress or specific committees of 

Congress, or subcommittees thereof. 


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(b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 

Budget, in consultation with the Director, shall issue guidance to 

agencies on the implementation of this Act. 

(c) STRUCTURE OF SUBMITTED REPORT DATA.—The head of each 

Federal agency shall ensure that each congressionally mandated 

report submitted to the Director complies with the open format criteria established by the Director in the guidance issued under subsection (b). 

(d) POINT OF CONTACT.—The head of each Federal agency shall 

designate a point of contact for congressionally mandated report. 

(e) LIST OF REPORTS.—As soon as practicable each calendar year 

(but not later than April 1), and on a rolling basis during the year 

if feasible, the Librarian of Congress shall submit to the Director 

a list of congressionally mandated reports from the previous calendar year, in consultation with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, which shall— 

(1) be provided in an open format; 

(2) include the information required under clauses (i), (ii), 

(iv), (v) of section 3(b)(1)(C) for each report; 

(3) include the frequency of the report; 

(4) include a unique alphanumeric identifier for the report 

that is consistent across report editions; 

(5) include the date on which each report is required to be 

submitted; and 

(6) be updated and provided to the Director, as necessary. 

SEC. 5. REMOVING AND ALTERING REPORTS. 

A report submitted to be published to the reports online portal 

may only be changed or removed, with the exception of technical 

changes, by the head of the Federal agency concerned if— 

(1) the head of the Federal agency consults with each congressional committee to which the report is submitted; and 

(2) Congress enacts a joint resolution authorizing the changing or removal of the report. 

SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to— 

(1) require the disclosure of information or records that are 

exempt from public disclosure under section 552 of title 5, 

United States Code; or 

(2) to impose any affirmative duty on the Director to review 

congressionally mandated reports submitted for publication to 

the reports online portal for the purpose of identifying and redacting such information or records. 

(b) REDACTION OF INFORMATION.—The head of a Federal agency 

may redact information required to be disclosed under this Act if 

the information would be properly withheld from disclosure under 

section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and shall— 

(1) redact information required to be disclosed under this Act 

if disclosure of such information is prohibited by law; 

(2) redact information being withheld under this subsection 

prior to submitting the information to the Director; 


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(3) redact only such information properly withheld under 

this subsection from the submission of information or from any 

congressionally mandated report submitted under this Act; 

(4) identify where any such redaction is made in the submission or report; and 

(5) identify the exemption under which each such redaction 

is made. 

SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION. 

Except as provided in section 4(b), this Act shall be implemented 

not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and 

shall apply with respect to congressionally mandated reports submitted to Congress on or after the date that is 1 year after such 

date of enactment. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to require the Director 

of the Government Publishing Office to establish and maintain an 

online portal accessible to the public that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one 

place, and for other purposes.’’. 

The CHAIRMAN. This amendment will make a number of technical changes to Title 44 to clarify and strengthen transparency 

with respect to reports requested by Congress. 

Does any Member wish to be heard on the amendment in the nature of a substitute or wish to offer an amendment? If not, the 

question is on adopting the amendment. 

All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. 

All those opposed, say no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the amendment 

is agreed to. 

I now move the Committee favorably report H.R. 4631, the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act as amended. The 

question is on the motion. 

All those in favor, signify by saying aye. 

All those opposed signify by saying no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the motion is 

agreed to. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon 

the table. 

Does any Member wish to submit supplemental or minority 

views? 

Pursuant to Clause 2 of Rule 11, all Members are entitled to two 

additional calendar days to file such views in writing and signed 

by the Member and file with the clerk of the Committee. 

For all the matters here today, I would ask unanimous consent 

that the staff be authorized to make technical and conforming 

changes, if necessary. Without objection, so ordered. 

That concludes today’s markup. 

Without objection, the markup is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:15 a.m., the Committee proceeded to other 

business.] 

Æ 


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