USC Chapter 7

USC Chapter 7
in effect

44 U.S.C. § 701 “Usual number” of documents and reports; distribution of House and Senate documents and reports; binding; reports on private bills; number of copies printed; distribution

(a) The order by either House of Congress to print a document or report shall signify the “usual number” of copies for binding and distribution among those entitled to receive them. A greater number may not be printed unless ordered by either House, or as provided by this section. When a special number of a document or report is ordered printed, the usual number shall also be printed, unless already ordered. (b) The “usual number” of documents and reports shall be one thousand six hundred and eighty-two copies, which shall be printed at one time and distributed as follows:Of the House documents and reports, unbound—to the Senate document room, one hundred and fifty copies; to the office of the Secretary of the Senate, ten copies; to the House document room, not to exceed five hundred copies; to the office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, twenty copies; to the Library of Congress, ten copies, as provided by section 1718 of this title. Of the Senate documents and reports, unbound—to the Senate document room, two hundred and twenty copies; office of the Secretary of the Senate, ten copies; to the House document room, not to exceed five hundred copies; to the Clerk’s office of the House of Representatives, ten copies; to the Library of Congress, ten copies, as provided by section 1718 of this title. (c) Of the number printed, the Director of the Government Publishing Office shall bind a sufficient number of copies for distribution as follows:Of the House documents and reports, bound—to the Senate library, fifteen copies; to the Library of Congress, not to exceed one hundred and fifty copies, as provided by section 1718 of this title; to the House of Representatives library, fifteen copies; to the Superintendent of Documents, as many copies as are required for distribution to the State libraries and designated depositories. Of the Senate documents and reports, bound—to the Senate library, fifteen copies; to the Library of Congress, copies as provided by sections 1718 and 1719 of this title; to the House of Representatives library, fifteen copies; to the Superintendent of Documents, as many copies as may be required for distribution to State libraries and designated depositories. In binding documents the Director of the Government Publishing Office shall give precedence to those that are to be distributed to libraries and to designated depositories. But a State library or designated depository entitled to documents that may prefer to have its documents in unbound form, may do so by notifying the Superintendent of Documents to that effect prior to the convening of each Congress. (d) The usual number of reports on private bills, concurrent or simple resolutions, may not be printed. Instead there shall be printed of each Senate report on a private bill, simple or concurrent resolution, in addition to those required to be furnished the Library of Congress, three hundred and forty-five copies, which shall be distributed as follows: to the Senate document room, two hundred and twenty copies; to the Secretary of the Senate, fifteen copies; to the House document room, one hundred copies; to the Superintendent of Documents, ten copies; and of each House report on a private bill, simple or concurrent resolution, in addition to those for the Library of Congress, two hundred and sixty copies, which shall be distributed as follows: to the Senate document room, one hundred and thirty-five copies; to the Secretary of the Senate, fifteen copies; to the House document room, one hundred copies; to the Superintendent of Documents, ten copies.This section does not prevent the binding of all Senate and House reports in the reserve volumes bound for and delivered to the Senate and House libraries, nor abridge the right of the Vice President, Senators, Representatives, Resident Commissioner, Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of the House to have bound in half morocco, or material not more expensive, one copy of every public document to which he may be entitled. At least twelve copies of each report on bills for the payment or adjudication of claims against the Government shall be kept on file in the Senate document room.

44 U.S.C. § 702 Extra copies of documents and reports

Copies in addition to the “usual number” of documents and reports shall be printed promptly when ready for publication, and may be bound in paper or cloth as the Joint Committee on Printing directs.

44 U.S.C. § 703 Printing extra copies

Orders for printing copies in addition to the “usual number”, otherwise than provided for by this section, shall be by simple, concurrent, or joint resolution. Either House may print extra copies to the amount of $1,200 by simple resolution; if the cost exceeds that sum, the printing shall be ordered by concurrent resolution, unless the resolution is self-appropriating, when it shall be by joint resolution. Resolutions, when presented to either House, shall be referred to the Committee on House Oversight of the House of Representatives or the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, who, in making their report, shall give the probable cost of the proposed printing upon the estimate of the Director of the Government Publishing Office; and extra copies may not be printed before the committee has reported. The printing of additional copies may be performed upon orders of the Joint Committee on Printing within a limit of $700 in cost in any one instance.

44 U.S.C. § 704 Reprinting bills, laws, and reports from committees not exceeding fifty pages

When the supply is exhausted, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives may order the reprinting of not more than one thousand copies of a pending bill, resolution, or public law, not exceeding fifty pages, or a report from a committee or congressional commission on pending legislation not accompanied by testimony or exhibits or other appendices and not exceeding fifty pages. The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall require each requisition for reprinting to cite the specific authority of law for its execution.

44 U.S.C. § 705 Duplicate orders to print

The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall examine the orders of the Senate and House of Representatives for printing, and in case of duplication shall print under the first order received.

44 U.S.C. § 706 Bills and resolutions: number and distribution

There shall be printed of each Senate and House public bill and joint resolution six hundred and twenty-five copies, which shall be distributed as follows: to the Senate document room, two hundred and twenty-five copies; to the office of Secretary of Senate, fifteen copies; to the House document room, three hundred and eighty-five copies. There shall be printed of each Senate private bill, when introduced, when reported, and when passed, three hundred copies, which shall be distributed as follows: to the Senate document room, one hundred and seventy copies; to the Secretary of the Senate, fifteen copies; to the House document room, one hundred copies; to the Superintendent of Documents, ten copies. There shall be printed of each House private bill, when introduced, when reported, and when passed two hundred and sixty copies, which shall be distributed as follows: to the Senate document room, one hundred and thirty-five copies; to the Secretary of the Senate, fifteen copies; to the House document room, one hundred copies; to the Superintendent of Documents, ten copies. Bills and resolutions shall be printed in bill form, and, unless specially ordered by either House shall be printed only when referred to a committee, when favorably reported back, and after their passage by either House. Of concurrent and simple resolutions, when reported, and after their passage by either House, only two hundred and sixty copies shall be printed, except by special order, and shall be distributed as follows: to the Senate document room, one hundred and thirty-five copies; to the Secretary of the Senate, fifteen copies; to the House document room, one hundred copies; to the Superintendent of Documents, ten copies.

44 U.S.C. § 707 Bills and resolutions: style and form

Subject to sections 205 and 206 of Title 1, the Joint Committee on Printing may authorize the printing of a bill or resolution, with index and ancillaries, in the style and form the Joint Committee on Printing considers most suitable in the interest of economy and efficiency, and to so continue until final enactment in both Houses of Congress. The committee may also curtail the number of copies of bills or resolutions, including the slip form of a public Act or public resolution.

44 U.S.C. § 708 Bills and resolutions: binding sets for Congress

The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall bind four sets of Senate and House of Representatives bills, joint and concurrent resolutions of each Congress, two for the Senate and two for the House, to be furnished him from the files of the Senate and House document room, the volumes when bound to be kept there for reference.

44 U.S.C. § 709 Public and private laws, postal conventions, and treaties

The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall print in slip form copies of public and private laws, postal conventions, and treaties, to be charged to the congressional allotment for printing and binding. The Joint Committee on Printing shall control the number and distribution of copies.

44 U.S.C. § 710 Copies of Acts furnished to Director of the Government Publishing Office

The Archivist of the United States shall furnish to the Director of the Government Publishing Office a copy of every Act and joint resolution, as soon as possible after its approval by the President, or after it has become a law under the Constitution without his approval.

44 U.S.C. § 711 Printing Acts, joint resolutions, and treaties

The Director of the Government Publishing Office, on receiving from the Archivist of the United States a copy of an Act or joint resolution, or from the Secretary of State, a copy of a treaty, shall print an accurate copy and transmit it in duplicate to the Archivist of the United States or to the Secretary of State, as the case may be, for revision. On the return of one of the revised duplicates, he shall make the marked corrections and print the number specified by section 709 of this title.

44 U.S.C. § 712 Printing of postal conventions

The Director of the Government Publishing Office, on receiving from the Postmaster General a copy of a postal convention between the Postmaster General, on the part of the United States, and an equivalent officer of a foreign government, shall print an accurate copy and transmit it in duplicate to the Postmaster General. On the return of one of the revised duplicates, he shall make the marked corrections and print the number specified by section 709 of this title.

44 U.S.C. § 713 Journals of Houses of Congress

There shall be printed of the Journals of the Senate and House of Representatives eight hundred and twenty copies, which shall be distributed as follows: to the Senate document room, ninety copies for distribution to Senators, and twenty-five additional copies; to the Senate library, ten copies; to the House document room, three hundred and sixty copies for distribution to Members, and twenty-five additional copies; to the Department of State, four copies; to the Superintendent of Documents, one hundred and forty-four copies to be distributed to three libraries in each of the States to be designated by the Superintendent of Documents; and to the Library of the House of Representatives, ten copies. The remaining number of the Journals of the Senate and House of Representatives, consisting of twenty-five copies, shall be furnished to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, respectively, as the necessities of their respective offices require, as rapidly as signatures are completed for distribution.

44 U.S.C. § 714 Printing documents for Congress in two or more editions; printing of full number and allotment of full quota

The Joint Committee on Printing shall establish rules to be observed by the Director of the Government Publishing Office, by which public documents and reports printed for Congress, or either House, may be printed in two or more editions, to meet the public requirements. The aggregate of the editions may not exceed the number of copies otherwise authorized. This section does not prevent the printing of the full number of a document or report, or the allotment of the full quota to Senators and Representatives, as otherwise authorized, when a legitimate demand for the full complement is known to exist.

44 U.S.C. § 715 Senate and House documents and reports for Department of State

The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall print, in addition to the usual number, and furnish the Department of State twenty copies of each Senate and House of Representatives document and report.

44 U.S.C. § 716 Printing of documents not provided for by law

Either House may order the printing of a document not already provided for by law, when accompanied by an estimate from the Director of the Government Publishing Office as to the probable cost. An executive department, bureau, board, or independent office of the Government submitting reports or documents in response to inquiries from Congress shall include an estimate of the probable cost of printing to the usual number. This section does not apply to reports or documents not exceeding fifty pages.

44 U.S.C. § 717 Appropriation chargeable for printing of document or report by order of Congress

The cost of the printing of a document or report printed by order of Congress which, under section 1107 of this title, cannot be properly charged to another appropriation or allotment of appropriation already made, upon order of the Joint Committee on Printing, shall be charged to the allotment of appropriation for printing and binding for Congress.

44 U.S.C. § 718 Lapse of authority to print

The authority to print a document or report, or a publication authorized by law to be printed, for distribution by Congress, shall lapse when the whole number of copies has not been ordered within two years from the date of the original order, except orders for subsequent editions, approved by the Joint Committee on Printing, in which case the whole number may not exceed that originally authorized by law.

44 U.S.C. § 719 Classification and numbering of publications ordered printed by Congress; designation of publications of departments; printing of committee hearings

Publications ordered printed by Congress, or either House, shall be in four series, namely: one series of reports made by the committees of the Senate, to be known as Senate reports; one series of reports made by the committees of the House of Representatives, to be known as House reports; one series of documents other than reports of committees, the orders for printing which originate in the Senate, to be known as Senate documents; and one series of documents other than committee reports, the orders for printing which originate in the House of Representatives, to be known as House documents. The publications in each series shall be consecutively numbered, the numbers in each series continuing in unbroken sequence throughout the entire term of a Congress, but these provisions do not apply to the documents printed for the use of the Senate in executive session. Of the “usual number”, the copies which are intended for distribution to State libraries and other designated depositories of annual or serial publications originating in or prepared by an executive department, bureau, office, commission, or board may not be numbered in the document or report series of either House of Congress, but shall be designated by title and bound as provided by section 738 of this title; and the departmental edition, if any, shall be printed concurrently with the “usual number.” Hearings of committees may be printed as congressional documents only when specifically ordered by Congress or either House.

44 U.S.C. § 720 Senate and House Manuals

Each House may order printed as many copies as it desires, of the Senate Manual and of the Rules and Manual of the House of Representatives, even though the cost exceed $500.

44 U.S.C. § 721 Congressional Directory

(a) There shall be prepared under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing (1) a Congressional Directory, which shall be printed and distributed as early as practicable during the first session of each Congress and (2) a supplement to each Congressional Directory, which shall be printed and distributed as early as practicable during the second regular session of each Congress. The Joint Committee shall control the number and distribution of the Congressional Directory and each supplement. (b) One copy of the Congressional Directory delivered to Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives (including Delegates and the Resident Commissioner) shall be bound in cloth and imprinted on the cover with the name of the Member. Copies of the Congressional Directory delivered to depository libraries may be bound in cloth. All other copies of the Congressional Directory shall be bound in paper and names shall not be imprinted thereon, except that copies printed for sale under section 722 may be bound in cloth.

44 U.S.C. § 722 Congressional Directory: sale

The Director of the Government Publishing Office, under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing, may print the current Congressional Directory for sale at a price sufficient to reimburse the expense of printing. The money derived from sales shall be paid into the Treasury and accounted for in his annual report to Congress, and sales may not be made on credit.

44 U.S.C. § 723 Memorial addresses: preparation; distribution

After the final adjournment of each session of Congress, there shall be compiled, prepared, printed with illustrations, and bound in cloth in one volume, in the style, form, and manner directed by the Joint Committee on Printing, without extra compensation to any employee, the legislative proceedings of Congress and the exercises at the general memorial services held in the House of Representatives during each session relative to the death of a Member of Congress or a former Member of Congress who served as Speaker, together with all relevant memorial addresses and eulogies published in the Congressional Record during the same session of Congress, and any other matter the Joint Committee considers relevant; and there shall be printed as many copies as needed to supply the total quantity provided for by this section, of which fifty copies, bound in full morocco, with gilt edges, suitably lettered as may be requested, shall be delivered to the family of the deceased, and the remaining copies shall be distributed as follows: of all eulogies on deceased Members of Congress to the Vice President and each Senator, Representative, and Resident Commissioner in Congress, one copy; of the eulogies on deceased Senators there shall be furnished two hundred and fifty copies for each Senator of the State represented by the deceased and twenty copies for each Representative from that State; of the eulogies on a deceased Representative and Resident Commissioner two hundred and fifty copies for his successor in office; twenty copies for each of the other Representatives, or Resident Commissioner of the State, or insular possession represented by the deceased; and twenty copies for each Senator from that State. The “usual number” of memorial addresses may not be printed.

44 U.S.C. § 724 Memorial addresses: illustrations

The illustrations to accompany bound copies of memorial addresses delivered in Congress shall be made at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and paid for out of the appropriation for that bureau, or, in the discretion of the Joint Committee on Printing, shall be obtained elsewhere by the Director of the Government Publishing Office and charged to the allotment for printing and binding for Congress.

44 U.S.C. § 725 Statement of appropriations; “usual number”

Of the statements of appropriations required to be prepared by section 105 of Title 2,11 So in original. See References in Text note below. there shall be printed, after the close of each regular session of Congress, the usual number of copies.

44 U.S.C. § 726 Printing for committees of Congress

A committee of Congress may not procure the printing of more than one thousand copies of a hearing, or other document germane thereto, for its use except by simple, concurrent, or joint resolution, as provided by section 703 of this title.

44 U.S.C. § 727 Committee reports: indexing and binding

The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall procure and file for the use of their respective House copies of all reports made by committees, and at the close of each session of Congress shall have the reports indexed and bound, one copy to be deposited in the library of each House and one copy in the committee from which the report emanates.

44 U.S.C. § 728 United States Statutes at Large: distribution

The Director of the Government Publishing Office, after the final adjournment of each regular session of Congress, shall print and bind copies of the United States Statutes at Large, to be charged to the congressional allotment for printing and binding. The Joint Committee on Printing shall control the number and distribution of the copies. The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall print and, after the end of each calendar year, bind and deliver to the Superintendent of Documents a number of copies of the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements not exceeding the number of copies of the United States Statutes at Large required for distribution in the manner provided by law.

44 U.S.C. § 729 United States Statutes at Large: references in margins

The Archivist of the United States shall include in the references in margins of the United States Statutes at Large the number of the bill or joint resolution (designating S. for Senate bill, H.R. for House bill, S.J. Res. for Senate joint resolution and H.J. Res. for House joint resolution, as the case may be) under which each Act was approved and became a law, the reference in the margins to be placed within brackets immediately under the date of the approval of the Act at the beginning of each Act as printed beginning with Volume 32 of the United States Statutes at Large.

44 U.S.C. § 730 Distribution of documents to Members of Congress

When, in the division among Senators, and Representatives, of documents printed for the use of Congress there is an apportionment to each or either House in round numbers, the Director of the Government Publishing Office may not deliver the full number so accredited at the Senate Service Department and House of Representatives Publications Distribution Service, but only the largest multiple of the number constituting the full membership of that House, including the Secretary and Sergeant at Arms of the Senate and Clerk and Sergeant at Arms of the House, which is contained in the round numbers thus accredited to that House, so that the number delivered divides evenly and without remainder among the Members of the House to which they are delivered; and the remainder of the documents thus resulting shall be turned over to the Superintendent of Documents, to be distributed by him, first, to public and school libraries for the purpose of completing broken sets; second, to public and school libraries that have not been supplied with any portions of the sets, and, lastly, by sale to other persons; the libraries to be named to him by Senators and Representatives; and in this distribution the Superintendent of Documents, as far as practicable, shall make an equal allowance to each Senator and Representative.

44 U.S.C. § 731 Allotments of public documents printed after expiration of terms of Members of Congress; rights of retiring Members to documents

The Congressional allotment of public documents, other than the Congressional Record, printed after the expiration of the term of office of the Vice President of the United States, or Senator, Representative, or Resident Commissioner, shall be delivered to his successor in office. Unless the Vice President of the United States, a Senator, Representative, or Resident Commissioner, having public documents to his credit at the expiration of his term of office takes them prior to the 30th day of June next following the date of expiration, he shall forfeit them to his successor in office.

44 U.S.C. § 732 Time for distribution of documents by Members of Congress extended

Reelected Members may distribute public documents to their credit, or the credit of their respective districts in the Interior or other Departments and bureaus, and in the Government Publishing Office, during their successive terms and until their right to frank documents ends.

44 U.S.C. § 733 Documents and reports ordered by Members of Congress; franks and envelopes for Members of Congress

The Director of the Government Publishing Office on order of a Member of Congress, on prepayment of the cost, may reprint documents and reports of committees together with the evidence papers submitted, or any part ordered printed by the Congress. He may also furnish without cost to Members and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, blank franks printed on sheets and perforated, or singly at their option, for public documents. Franks shall contain in the upper left-hand corner the following words: “Public document. United States Senate” or “House of Representatives U.S.” and in the upper right-hand corner the letters “U.S.S.” or “M. C.” Franks may also contain information relating to missing children as provided in section 3220 of title 39. But he may not print any other words except where it is desirable to affix the official title of a document. Other words printed on franks shall be at the personal expense of the Member or Resident Commissioner ordering them. At the request of a Member of Congress or Resident Commissioner the Director of the Government Publishing Office may print upon franks or envelopes used for mailing public documents the facsimile signature of the Member or Resident Commissioner and a special request for return if not called for, and the name of the State or Commonwealth and county and city. The Member or Resident Commissioner shall deposit with his order the extra expense involved in printing these additional words. The Director of the Government Publishing Office may also, at the request of a Member or Resident Commissioner, print on envelopes authorized to be furnished, the name of the Member or Resident Commissioner, and State or Commonwealth, the date, and the topic or subject matter, not exceeding twelve words. The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall deposit moneys accruing under this section in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the appropriation made for the working capital of the Government Publishing Office for the year in which the work is done. He shall account for them in his annual report to Congress.

44 U.S.C. § 734 Stationery and blank books for Congress

Upon requisition of the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, respectively, the Director of the Government Publishing Office shall furnish stationery, blank books, tables, forms, and other necessary papers preparatory to congressional legislation, required for the official use of the Senate and the House of Representatives, or their committees and officers. This does not prevent the purchase by the officers of the Senate and House of Representatives of stationery and blank books necessary for sale to Senators and Members in the stationery rooms of the two Houses as provided by law.

44 U.S.C. § 735 Binding for Senators

Each Senator is entitled to the binding in half morocco, or material not more expensive, of one copy of each public document to which he is entitled, an account of which shall be kept by the Secretary of the Senate.

44 U.S.C. § 736 Binding at expense of Members of Congress

The Director of the Government Publishing Office may bind at the Government Publishing Office books, maps, charts, or documents published by authority of Congress, upon application of a Member of Congress, and payment of the actual cost of binding.

44 U.S.C. § 737 Binding for Senate library

The Secretary of the Senate may make requisition upon the Director of the Government Publishing Office for the binding for the Senate library of books he considers necessary, at a cost not to exceed $200 per year.

44 U.S.C. § 738 Binding of publications for distribution to libraries

The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall supply the Superintendent of Documents with sufficient copies of publications distributed in unbound form, to be bound and distributed to the State libraries and other designated depositories for their permanent files. Every publication of sufficient size on any one subject shall be bound separately and receive the title suggested by the subject of the volume, and the others shall be distributed in unbound form as soon as printed. The library edition, as well as all other bound sets of congressional numbered documents and reports, shall be arranged in volumes and bound in the manner directed by the Joint Committee on Printing.

44 U.S.C. § 739 Senate and House document rooms; superintendents

There shall be one document room of the Senate and one of the House of Representatives, to be designated, respectively, the “Senate and House document room.” Each shall be in charge of a superintendent, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, respectively, together with the necessary assistants. The Senate document room shall be under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Senate.

44 U.S.C. § 740 Senate Service Department and House Publications Distribution Service; superintendents

There shall be a Senate Service Department and a House of Representatives Publications Distribution Service in the charge of superintendents, appointed respectively by the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate and Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, together with the necessary assistants. Reports or documents to be distributed for the Senators and Representatives shall be folded and distributed from the Senate Service Department and House of Representatives Publications Distribution Service, unless otherwise ordered, and the respective superintendent shall notify each Senator and Representative in writing once every sixty days of the number and character of publications on hand and assigned to him for use and distribution.

44 U.S.C. § 741 Disposition of documents stored at Capitol

The Secretary and Sergeant at Arms of the Senate and the Clerk and Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives, at the convening in regular session of each successive Congress shall cause an invoice to be made of public documents stored in and about the Capitol, other than those belonging to the quota of Members of Congress, to the Library of Congress and the Senate and House libraries and document rooms. The superintendents of the Senate Service Department and House of Representatives Publications Distribution Service shall put the documents to the credit of Senators and Representatives in quantities equal in the number of volumes and as nearly as possible in value, to each Member of Congress, and the documents shall be distributed upon the orders of Senators and Representatives, each of whom shall be supplied by the superintendents of the Senate Service Department and House of Representatives Publications Distribution Service with a list of the number and character of the publications thus put to his credit, but before apportionment is made copies of any of these documents desired for the use of a committee of either House shall be delivered to the chairman of the committee. Four copies of leather-bound documents shall be reserved and carefully stored, to be used in supplying deficiencies in the Senate and House libraries caused by wear or loss.