[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 44 (Thursday, April 1, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2036-H2037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COMMUNICATION FROM LAW REVISION COUNSEL, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following 
communication from John R. Miller, Law Revision Counsel, House of 
Representatives:
         Office of the Law Revision Counsel, House of 
           Representatives,
                                   Washington, DC, March 29, 2004.
     Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
     Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: Last October, I completed 28 years of 
     service with the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the 
     U.S. House of Representatives. During that time, I have had 
     the pleasure of serving as Assistant Counsel, Deputy Counsel, 
     and for the past seven years Law Revision Counsel. After 
     almost 33 years of service to the Federal Government, it has 
     been very difficult to make this decision and select a 
     particular date, but with your approval, I will retire as Law 
     Revision Counsel, effective May 3, 2004.
       Over the past seven years, the Office has become self-
     reliant and greatly improved the procedures for preparing and 
     publishing the United States Code. Self-reliance had been the 
     goal of the Office since it was established in 1975. The 
     Office continues to produce the most accurate version of the 
     Code but no longer requires any outside assistance for its 
     production of the Code. This is the result of developing an 
     outstanding staff as well as new procedures for preparing and 
     publishing the Code. The new procedures and computer programs 
     that have been developed and implemented in the past few 
     years will enable the Office to improve its efficiency while 
     maintaining the accuracy of the Code, and eventually will 
     increase the timeliness in which the Code becomes available. 
     While many challenges remain for the Office in our rapidly 
     changing environment, I am confident that the knowledge, 
     experience, and

[[Page H2037]]

     professionalism of the staff will enable the Office to 
     continue its successes and progress.
       Over this period, the Office also has prepared and 
     submitted to the Committee on the Judiciary bills to enact 
     two titles of the Code into positive law. In addition, a bill 
     to enact a third title should be transmitted to the Committee 
     shortly. Also, nearing completion is a bill to complete the 
     enactment of Title 46, Shipping.
       None of this could have been accomplished without the 
     support and expertise of the dedicated staff of the Office. I 
     am deeply grateful for their assistance and wish them every 
     success. Finally, I gratefully acknowledge the assistance and 
     support that I, and the Office, have received from the many 
     House Officers and Offices, especially the Speaker, the 
     Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, the 
     Parliamentarian, and the fine staffs of those Offices and the 
     Committee.
           Respectfully yours,
                                                   John R. Miller,
     Law Revision Counsel.

                          ____________________