[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 17, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4267-H4268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 195) 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. 195
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 2017''.
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 for purposes of paragraph (1)(B), except that such
regulations shall limit the period for such a subscription to
not longer than 1 year.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect January 1, 2018.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.
General Leave
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include any extraneous material in the Record on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Oklahoma?
There was no objection.
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
My bill, H.R. 195, the Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017,
will save taxpayers dollars while providing needed reform in how we
conduct day-to-day business in Congress.
The Federal Register contains a large amount of information,
including proposed rules and public notices, regulations, executive
orders, and Presidential documents. This information is compiled by the
National Archives and published daily by the Government Publishing
Office, or the GPO. Often described by the National Archives as ``the
daily newspaper of the Federal Government,'' this service enables
Members, staffs, and agencies to keep track of activity across
government.
In 1994, the GPO began publishing the Federal Register online. To
improve user experience, the digital version has been enhanced over
time to provide navigational aids that include links to related
content.
The Federal Register is now fully searchable and downloadable, making
for quick access to any document. But sadly, Mr. Speaker, despite the
advance of technology, Members of Congress and Federal offices across
the entire government still receive printed copies of the Federal
Register every day.
In the course of a year, this stack of Registers would be 16-feet
high. This results in thousands of copies going directly into the trash
each week, unless occasionally used as doorstops. Subscriptions to the
Federal Register cost about $1,000 annually, meaning hundreds of
thousands of taxpayer dollars are wasted each year. This same money
could pay for the salaries of 50 soldiers who defend our Republic in a
given year.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 195 makes a small but significant change to fix the
problem and ensure that we operate in the 21st century. Instead of
automatically receiving printed copies, Members or offices of the
Federal Government who want to continue to receive copies need only
submit a request. There will be an opt-in, instead of an opt-out.
Current print and on-demand technologies make this possible. The
subscriptions will last for 1 year to ensure Members and offices are
able to evaluate if they want to continue the service. For Members in
offices that do not use or want the printed version, they will not
receive it and will still have full access to the searchable digital
version which most Members use.
[[Page H4268]]
This change will reduce unnecessary printing and, in context, will
prevent 96 Americans from having to work each year so that we can throw
Registers in the trash.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this efficient bill, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 195, the Federal Register
Printing Savings Act. My friend, Mr. Russell, is going to develop a
reputation around here for being just too commonsense. This bill would
prohibit the Government Publishing Office from sending printed copies
of the Federal Register to Members of Congress and other Federal
offices unless they wanted them.
The Federal Register includes rules, regulations, executive orders,
and other Federal documents. It is a very important and useful
publication. It does not make sense, however, as my friend from
Oklahoma has pointed out, for GPO automatically to send it to offices
that don't want it and end up putting it in the garbage, hopefully
recycling.
The Federal Register is available online, as my friend has pointed
out, which significantly cuts down on the need for printed copies for
most of us. This bill would reduce waste both in paper and in Federal
dollars.
The Congressional Budget Office says this bill would reduce Federal
spending by $1 million a year. It was the late Everett Dirksen of
Illinois who said: ``A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it
adds up to real money.'' CBO also estimates this bill would result in
1,000 fewer copies of the Federal Register being printed each day.
This bill is good for the environment, good for taxpayers, and a
useful discipline for us all in terms of excess we don't need.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Russell for his leadership, his common
sense, and his collaboration on this committee, and I urge all Members
to support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 195.
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.
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