[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 26, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ELECTION OF MEMBERS TO CERTAIN JOINT COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE

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                               speech of

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 25, 2003

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H. 
Res. 134, which elects Members of the House to serve on the Joint 
Committee of Congress on the Library and the Joint Committee on 
Printing, as provided for in the applicable statutes relating to these 
two entities.
  All of these members also serve on the Committee on House 
Administration, except in the case of the Joint Library Committee, 
where we will again be joined, pursuant to a new statute enacted in 
2000, by the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the 
Legislative Branch.
  The House and Senate will each have three Majority and two Minority 
members on both panels. The Senate passed a resolution, S. Res. 84, 
electing its members to the two joint committees on March 13.
  The subject matter under the jurisdiction of the joint committees 
requires bicameral oversight which neither chamber can exercise alone.
  The Joint Committee on the Library, created originally in 1802, 
currently oversees the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research 
Service and the Botanic Gardens. It operates much like a ``board of 
trustees'' in relation to the Librarian of Congress, who is a 
presidential appointee, and other key Library personnel.
  It supervises the Architect of the Capitol in his administration of 
the Botanic Gardens.
  It supervises works of fine arts, including the National Statuary 
Hall Collection in the Capitol, and directs the Architect in his role 
in administering fine arts issues within the joint committee's 
jurisdiction.
  The Joint Committee on Printing, created in 1846, establishes rules 
for congressional printing and generally oversees operations of the 
Government Printing Office (GPO).
  In the 107th Congress, the JCP held hearings on the Administration's 
misguided proposal to allow executive agencies to bypass GPO and 
procure printing elsewhere, in violation of Federal law. Congress 
subsequently moved to block implementation of this proposal, and I 
anticipate further oversight on this subject during the current 
Congress.
  The two joint committees do not have authority to receive or report 
legislation. However, both can hold hearings, issue reports and 
directives, and take other actions which have a substantial impact on 
the entities within their control, including matters relating to the 
expenditure of funds.
  Mr. Speaker, since the three Minority members of the House 
Administration Committee are all new to that panel, none of us has ever 
served on a joint committee of Congress. I look forward to serving as 
ranking minority member of the Joint Committee on the Library once the 
joint committee has organized itself and, as expected, chooses Senator 
Stevens of Alaska to once again serve as the chairman under the 
traditional rotation between the two chambers.
  Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald will also serve on the panel. As a 
former city councilwoman, mayor, and state assemblywoman with a 
professional background in education, she brings a significant breadth 
of experience to the committee's work. I have also served with her on 
the Digital Divide Caucus in the House, and look forward to working 
with her to support initiatives the Library of Congress has taken to 
make information more broadly available to the public.
  On the Joint Committee on Printing, where Rep. Ney will again be 
chairman in the 108th Congress under the rotation, I will be joined by 
Rep. Bob Brady of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who succeeds another 
Member from that city serving on the panel, Rep. Fattah.
  It is fitting that we will have Bob on the JCP since he represents 
Philadelphia, where Benjamin Franklin established an innovative 
printing business at age 22, publishing newspapers, pamphlets and 
cartoons. Bob Brady is a cross between Ben Franklin and Rocky Balboa.

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