I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4280
To amend title 44, United States Code, to establish the Joint Committee
on Information, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 28, 1996
Mr. THOMAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Commit-
tee on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committees on Govern-
ment Reform and Oversight, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend title 44, United States Code, to establish the
Joint Committee on Information, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES IN ACT; TABLE OF
CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Government Printing Reform Act of 1996’’.
(b) REFERENCES IN ACT.—Except as otherwise spe-
cifically provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is
expressed in terms of an amendment to or repeal of a sec-
tion or other provision, the reference shall be considered
to be made to that section or other provision of title 44,
United States Code.
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; references in act; table of contents.
TITLE I—JOINT COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION
Sec. 101. Replacement of Joint Committees on Printing and Library with Joint
Committee on Information.
Sec. 102. Conforming amendments relating to Joint Committee on the Library.
Sec. 103. Technical and conforming amendments to title 44, United States
Code.
Sec. 104. Technical and conforming amendments to other titles.
TITLE II—PRODUCTION OF PRINTING AND BINDING
Subtitle A—Organization and Management of Government Printing Office
Sec. 201. Service of Public Printer and deputy.
Sec. 202. Reform of personnel rules.
Sec. 203. Reform of procurement rules.
Sec. 204. Reform of budgeting and funding.
Subtitle B—Production and Procurement Reform
Sec. 211. Reform of requirements for work done at Government Printing Of-
fice.
Sec. 212. Sale of duplicate plates.
Sec. 213. Increasing authority of public printer regarding certain requirements.
Sec. 214. Repeal of certain obsolete reporting requirements.
TITLE III—PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF DOCUMENTS
Subtitle A—Congressional Printing
Sec. 301. Authorizing House and Senate to determine appropriate number and
distribution of documents and reports.
Sec. 302. Reprinting congressional documents.
Sec. 303. Requirements for certain specific documents.
Sec. 304. Costs of producing and publishing documents.
Sec. 305. Classification and numbering of documents.
Subtitle B—Congressional Record
Sec. 311. Form of Congressional Record.
Sec. 312. Contents of Congressional Record.
Sec. 313. Distribution and sale of Congressional Record.
Sec. 314. Treatment of Congressional Record as official journal.
Subtitle C—Executive and Judicial Branch Printing
Sec. 321. Authorizing Public Printer to execute publishing work for President.
Sec. 322. Procedures for certification and payment of publications.
Sec. 323. Distribution and sale of periodicals and other documents.
Sec. 324. Examination and distribution of Congressional Record and other con-
gressional documents.
Sec. 325. Printing of annual reports.
Sec. 326. Repeal of certain printing and binding requirements.
Subtitle D—Repeal Requirements to Print Particular Reports and Documents
Sec. 331. Repeal requirements to print particular reports and documents.
Subtitle E—Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations
Sec. 341. Repeal transmittal of contents to Public Printer.
Sec. 342. Publication of Federal register by Public Printer.
Sec. 343. Establishment of separate appropriation for other publications.
Sec. 344. Clarification of authority to publish Code of Federal Regulations elec-
tronically.
TITLE IV—DISTRIBUTION AND SALE OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
Subtitle A—Publication and Sale of Public Documents
Sec. 401. Permitting entities other than Public Printer to prepare and distrib-
ute public documents.
Sec. 402. Clarification of authority to publish electronically.
Sec. 403. Sale of public documents.
Sec. 404. Repeal of limit on number of extra copies furnished.
Sec. 405. Timing of republication.
Sec. 406. Use of cost-based pricing for additional copies.
Sec. 407. Index of documents.
Sec. 408. Catalog of government publications.
Subtitle B—Distribution of Publications
Sec. 411. Distribution of publications to certain entities.
Sec. 412. Repeal of certain mandatory distribution requirements.
TITLE V—DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM
Sec. 501. Clarification of definition of ‘‘government publication’’.
Sec. 502. Expanding authority of superintendent of documents to make govern-
ment publications available.
Sec. 503. Distribution of publications to programs.
Sec. 504. Designation of depository libraries by members of congress.
Sec. 505. Disposal of publications after use.
Sec. 506. Repeal designation of specified types of institutions as depositories.
TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE
Sec. 601. Effective date.
TITLE I—JOINT COMMITTEE ON
INFORMATION
SEC. 101. REPLACEMENT OF JOINT COMMITTEES ON
PRINTING AND LIBRARY WITH JOINT COM-
MITTEE ON INFORMATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘CHAPTER 1—JOINT COMMITTEE ON
INFORMATION
‘‘Sec.
‘‘101. Membership.
‘‘102. Chair.
‘‘103. Succession; powers during recess.
‘‘104. Powers to combat waste, fraud, and abuse,
‘‘§ 101. Membership
‘‘The Joint Committee on Information shall consist
of the chair and 4 members of the Committee on House
Oversight of the House of Representatives and the chair
and 4 members of the Committee on Rules and Adminis-
tration of the Senate.
‘‘§ 102. Chair
‘‘The chair of the Committee on House Oversight of
the House of Representatives shall serve as the chair of
the Joint Committee on Information during the first Con-
gress which begins after the date of the enactment of the
Government Printing Reform Act of 1996 and each second
succeeding Congress, and the chair of the Committee on
Rules and Administration of the Senate shall serve as the
chair of the Joint Committee during the second Congress
which begins after such date and each second succeeding
Congress.
‘‘§ 103. Succession; powers during recess
‘‘(a) SUCCESSION.—The members of the Joint Com-
mittee on Information who are reelected to the succeeding
Congress shall continue as members of the committee until
their successors are chosen. The President of the Senate
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall,
on the last day of a Congress, appoint members of their
respective Houses who have been elected to the succeeding
Congress to fill vacancies which may then be about to
occur on the Committee, and the appointees and members
of the Committee who have been reelected shall continue
until their successors are chosen.
‘‘(b) POWERS DURING RECESS.—When Congress is
not in session, the Joint Committee may exercise all its
powers and duties as when Congress is in session.
‘‘§ 104. Powers to combat waste, fraud, and abuse
‘‘In addition to any other powers of the Joint Com-
mittee on Information under this title, the Joint Commit-
tee may take such steps as it considers appropriate to
eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the printing, publica-
tion, and dissemination of Federal government informa-
tion.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters
is amended by amending the item relating to chapter 1
to read as follows:
‘‘1. Joint Committee on Information ..........................................
101’’.
SEC. 102. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO JOINT
COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 223 of the Legislative Re-
organization Act of August 2, 1946 (2 U.S.C. 132b) is
repealed.
(b) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The
final undesignated paragraph under the heading ‘‘SEN-
ATE’’ in section 2 of the Act of March 3, 1883 (2 U.S.C.
133) is amended by striking ‘‘Joint Committee of Con-
gress on the Library’’ each place it appears and inserting
‘‘Joint Committee on Information’’.
(2) The first sentence of section 1 of the Act entitled
‘‘An Act to create a Library of Congress Trust Fund
Board, and for other purposes’’, approved March 3, 1925
(2 U.S.C. 154) is amended by striking ‘‘Joint Committee
on the Library’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Committee on Infor-
mation’’.
(3) The first undesignated paragraph of section 2 of
the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to create a Library of Congress
Trust Fund Board, and for other purposes’’, approved
March 3, 1925 (2 U.S.C. 156) is amended by striking
‘‘Joint Committee on the Library’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint
Committee on Information’’.
(4) Section 203(c)(1) of the Legislative Reorganiza-
tion Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 166(c)(1)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘Joint Committee on the Library’’ and inserting
‘‘Joint Committee on Information’’.
(5) Section 801(b)(2) of the Arizona-Idaho Conserva-
tion Act of 1988 (40 U.S.C. 188a(b)(2)) is amended by
striking ‘‘Joint Committee on the Library’’ and inserting
‘‘Joint Committee on Information’’.
(6) The item relating to ‘‘ADMINISTRATIVE PROVI-
SION’’ under the heading ‘‘ARCHITECT OF THE CAP-
ITOL’’ in chapter III of title I of the Supplemental Appro-
priations Act, 1975 (40 U.S.C. 216b) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘Joint Committee on the Library’’ and inserting
‘‘Joint Committee on Information’’.
(7) Section 307E(a) of the Legislative Branch Appro-
priations Act, 1989 (40 U.S.C. 216c(a)) is amended by
striking ‘‘Joint Committee on the Library’’ and inserting
‘‘Joint Committee on Information’’.
SEC. 103. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO
TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.
(1) Section 305(a) is amended—
(A) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘Joint
Committee on Printing’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Com-
mittee on Information’’; and
(B) in the fifth sentence, by striking ‘‘either
party may appeal to the Joint Committee on Print-
ing, and the decision of the Joint Committee is
final.’’ and inserting ‘‘an appeal may be made under
subchapter III of chapter 71 of title 5.’’
(2) Section 309(a) is amended by striking ‘‘Joint
Committee on Printing’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Committee
on Information’’.
(3) Section 312 is amended by striking ‘‘Joint Com-
mittee on Printing’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Committee on
Information’’.
(4) Section 502 is amended by striking ‘‘Joint Com-
mittee on Printing’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Committee on
Information’’.
(5) Section 504 is amended by striking ‘‘Joint Com-
mittee on Printing’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Committee on
Information’’.
(6) Section 505 is amended by striking ‘‘Joint Com-
mittee on Printing’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Committee on
Information’’.