[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 30, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7010-H7011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2016
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 5384) to amend title 44, United States Code, to restrict the
distribution of free printed copies of the Federal Register to Members
of Congress and other officers and employees of the United States, and
for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5384
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Register Printing
Savings Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTION OF FREE PRINTED COPIES
OF FEDERAL REGISTER TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.
(a) Restrictions.--Section 1506 of title 44, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Administrative Committee'' and
inserting ``(a) Composition; Duties.--The Administrative
Committee'';
(2) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ``the number of
copies'' and inserting ``subject to subsection (b), the
number of copies''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(b) Restrictions on Distribution of Free Printed Copies
to Members of Congress and Officers and Employees of the
United States.--
``(1) Prohibiting subscription to printed copies without
request.--Under the regulations prescribed to carry out
subsection (a)(4), the Director of the Government Publishing
Office may not provide a printed copy of the Federal Register
without charge to any Member of Congress or any other office
of the United States during a year unless--
``(A) the Member or office requests a printed copy of a
specific issue of the Federal Register; or
``(B) during that year or during the previous year, the
Member or office requested a subscription to printed copies
of the Federal Register for that year, as described in
paragraph (2).
``(2) Administration of subscriptions.--The regulations
prescribed to carry out subsection (a)(4) shall include--
``(A) provisions regarding notifications to offices of
Members of Congress and other offices of the United States of
the restrictions of paragraph (1);
``(B) provisions describing the process by which Members
and other offices may request a specific issue of the Federal
Register for purposes of paragraph (1)(A); and
``(C) provisions describing the process by which Members
and other offices may request a subscription to the Federal
Register
[[Page H7011]]
for purposes of paragraph (1)(B), except that such
regulations shall limit the period for such a subscription to
not longer than one year.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect January 1, 2017.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Gosar) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
General Leave
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 5384, the Federal Register Printing
Savings Act of 2016, introduced by my colleague on the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Russell).
This commonsense legislation will help curb government waste.
The Federal Register is aptly described as the official newspaper of
the Federal Government. Its daily editions include copies of proposed
and final regulations, requests for comment, executive orders, and
information concerning other government activities.
Today, virtually every Member of Congress, the White House, and many
Federal agencies receive printed copies of the Federal Register. It is
important to note that Members of Congress do not proactively request,
or pay for this service. However, for the public, an annual
subscription costs $929 annually.
In the days before the Internet, this paper-based service brought
great value to Members, agencies, and the White House, allowing them to
keep track of activity across the government. Today, though, the full
Federal Register is available online in a completely searchable and
downloadable format. As a result, offices on Capitol Hill and across
the government throw away the paper version every morning, often
unopened, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars of waste.
This legislation, H.R. 5384, would change this dynamic by banning
automatic subscriptions to the Federal Register by the Federal
Government. Instead, Members of Congress and offices across the Federal
Government who still want to receive printed copies would be required
to request individual copies, or an annual subscription.
This is a simple, good government piece of legislation that will save
the American taxpayer potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars
every year.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform,
Washington, DC, November 29, 2016.
Hon. Candice S. Miller,
Chairman, Committee on House Administration, Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Chairman: On November 16, 2016, the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform ordered reported without
amendment H.R. 5384, the Federal Register Printing Savings
Act of 2016. The bill was referred primarily to the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform, with an additional
referral to the Committee on House Administration.
I ask that you allow the Committee on House Administration
to be discharged from further consideration of the bill so
that it may be scheduled by the Majority Leader. This
discharge in no way affects your jurisdiction over the
subject matter of the bill, and it will not serve as
precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a
conference on the bill be necessary, I would support your
request to have the Committee on House Administration
represented on the conference committee. Finally, I would be
pleased to include this letter and any response in the bill
report filed by the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform, as well as in the Congressional Record during floor
consideration, to memorialize our understanding.
Thank you for your consideration of my request.
Sincerely,
Jason Chaffetz,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC, November 29, 2016.
Hon. Jason Chaffetz,
Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R.
5384. As you know, the bill was received in the House of
Representatives on June 3, 2016, and referred primarily to
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and in
addition to the Committee on the Committee on House
Administration. The bill seeks to restrict the distribution
of free printed copies of the Federal Register to Members of
Congress and other officers and employees of the United
States. On November 16, 2016 your Committee ordered H.R. 5384
to be reported without amendment.
I realize that discharging the Committee on House
Administration from further consideration of H.R. 5384 will
serve in the best interest of the House of Representatives
and agree to do so. It is the understanding of the Committee
on House Administration that forgoing action on H.R. 5384
will not prejudice the Committee with respect to appointment
of conferees or any future jurisdictional claim. I request
that your letter and this response be included in the bill
report filed by your Committee, as well as in the
Congressional Record.
Sincerely,
Candice S. Miller,
Chairman.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5384, the Federal Register
Printing Savings Act of 2016. I agree with the gentleman from Arizona
(Mr. Gosar) that this is a commonsense, good government bill about
cutting waste.
This bill would allow the Government Publishing Office to avoid
sending printed copies of the Federal Register to Members of Congress
and other Federal offices, unless those offices actually want the
printed copies. Of course, the Federal Register would continue to be
available online.
This bill would be good for the environment and good for taxpayers.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this bill would save
about $1 million a year.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5384.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of the bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 5384.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________