Repeal Requirement for Congressional Research Service to Prepare Annotated Constitution and Supplements in Hardbound Version

Floor Speech

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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7592) to direct the Librarian of Congress to promote the more cost-effective, efficient, and expanded availability of the Annotated Constitution and pocket-part supplements by replacing the hardbound versions with digital versions.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 7592

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. REPEAL REQUIREMENT FOR CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE TO PREPARE ANNOTATED CONSTITUTION AND SUPPLEMENTS IN HARDBOUND VERSION.

(a) Repeal.--The first section of Public Law 91-589 (2 U.S.C. 168) is amended--

(1) by striking ``the Librarian of Congress'' and inserting ``(a) subject to subsection (b), the Librarian of Congress''; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

``(b)(1) Upon the completion of the October 2031 term of the Supreme Court and upon the completion of each tenth October term of the Supreme Court thereafter, the Librarian of Congress shall have prepared a digital decennial revised edition of the Constitution Annotated, which shall contain annotations of all decisions theretofore rendered by the Supreme Court construing provisions of the Constitution, in place of the hardbound decennial revised edition of the Constitution Annotated described in subsection (a)(3).

``(2) Upon the completion of the October 2023 term of the Supreme Court and upon the completion of each subsequent October term of the Supreme Court beginning in an odd- numbered year (the final digit of which is not a 1), the Librarian shall have prepared a digital cumulative pocket- part supplement to the most recent decennial revised edition of the Constitution Annotated, which shall contain cumulative annotations of all such decisions rendered by the Supreme Court which were not included in the most recent revised edition of the Constitution Annotated, in place of the hardbound editions of the cumulative pocket-part supplement described in subsection (a)(4).''.

(b) Ensuring Availability of Digital Versions.--Section 2 of Public Law 91-589 (2 U.S.C. 168a) is amended--

(1) by striking ``All hardbound'' and inserting ``(a) All hardbound''; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

``(b)(1) The digital decennial revised editions of the Constitution Annotated prepared under subsection (b)(1) of the first section of this Joint Resolution and the digital cumulative pocket-part supplements prepared under subsection (b)(2) of the first section of this Joint Resolution shall be available at a public website of the Library of Congress.

``(2) The Librarian of Congress shall ensure the continuing availability of the documents referred to in paragraph (1) to Congress and the public.''.

(c) Repeal of Additional Printing Requirements.--

(1) Mandatory printing of additional copies.--Section 3 of Public Law 91-589 (2 U.S.C. 168b) is amended--

(A) by striking ``There shall be printed'' and inserting ``(a) There shall be printed''; and

(B) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

``(b) Subsection (a) does not apply after completion of the October 2023 term of the Supreme Court, and the Librarian of Congress shall provide the decennial revised editions of the Constitution Annotated and the cumulative pocket part supplements prepared under this Joint Resolution exclusively in a digital format available at a public website of the Library of Congress.''.

(2) Printing of additional copies pursuant to concurrent resolution.--Section 4 of Public Law 91-589 (2 U.S.C. 168c) is repealed.

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Mr. STEIL. 7592.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7592. Today, Congress will save taxpayers $5 million. Yes, you heard me correctly: Congress will save taxpayer dollars today.

While our Nation is running $32 trillion in debt, and we have a long way to go to get our country back on track, this is a good policy. It will save taxpayers money.

We do this by getting rid of the statutory requirement to print hardbound copies of the Constitution Annotated, or CONAN, as it is better known today.

An easily accessible and up-to-date online version of it already exists and is already used by millions of Americans. Continuing to print hardbound copies not only wastes taxpayer dollars, but it also wastes the time of CRS staff, who could better support the more pressing work of Congress.

It is a positive step in modernizing Congress. At the beginning of the 118th Congress, the Committee on House Administration took the important step of working to modernize how Congress works. The Modernization Subcommittee is led by Chairwoman Stephanie Bice and Ranking Member Derek Kilmer. The subcommittee is bringing good ideas to life by focusing on what we can do to make Congress a more effective and efficient institution.

I have argued that the work of modernizing Congress extends to Congress' support agencies. They need to work in a way that reflects how today's Congress works.

The CONAN print requirement reflects how Congress worked 50 years ago, before the internet even existed. Today, the rules don't make much sense.

We do ourselves a disservice when we require CRS to do work that is no longer necessary, no longer meets our needs. The more Congress can do to optimize tremendous resources like CRS, the better off Congress is, and H.R. 7592 moves us toward that goal.

I recognize Modernization Subcommittee Chairwoman Stephanie Bice, who, along with subcommittee Ranking Member Derek Kilmer, Representative Carey, and Representative Morelle, introduced this measure and worked on a bipartisan basis to bring it to the floor today.

I also recognize Chairwoman Bice for demonstrating that subcommittees have an important role to play in the legislative process. This was the first time in 31 years that a subcommittee of the House Administration Committee held a markup.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the hard work that went into this important measure, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 7592.
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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice), the Modernization Subcommittee chairwoman, for her leadership on this measure that will save taxpayer dollars.

I also recognize, once again, the subcommittee ranking member Mr. Kilmer as well as Mr. Carey and Mr. Morelle. I urge all of my colleagues who want to save taxpayers $5 million to vote in support of H.R. 7592. I yield back the balance of my time.

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