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

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1234. This bill, as has been indicated, modernizes Congress and improves efficiency by eliminating the requirement that the Congressional Research Service print hardbound versions of its Annotated Constitution.

This measure, which I am proud to co-lead, passed by voice vote last Congress, and I am hopeful it will again today. I will take a moment to thank my dear friend, the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice), who chairs the Committee of House Administration's Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation. I thank her for all of her hard work. It is always a delight to work with her.

I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, I didn't bring a physical copy of the Annotated Constitution. I am not sure I could lift it, and I think Mrs. Bice is stronger than I am.

This mandate to print the Annotated Constitution does come with significant and unnecessary personnel cost for the Congressional Research Service. As Mrs. Bice indicated, eliminating it would save us an estimated $4 million over the next 4 years.

At the Committee on House Administration where I have the privilege of serving as the ranking member, we spent a significant amount of time talking about the Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo.

That case ended four decades of precedent known as the Chevron deference, which required courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

While we may not all agree on the merits of this decision, there is bipartisan consensus that unless we want the courts deciding every single open policy question, then we, Congress, have to draft laws that are far more technical in specificity than we do now. That cannot be done without major assistance from subject matter experts such as those at the Congressional Research Service.

To that end, it is my hope that the millions we save from passing this bill will be promptly reinvested in CRS to enhance its capacity, an absolutely essential step as Congress continues to work to maintain our Article I authorities and prerogatives.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this practical, forward- thinking legislation. Again, I thank my colleague, Mrs. Bice, for her leadership, her partnership, and her friendship.

Mr. Speaker, I consider this a model of bipartisanship. What a great way to start off the week.

I again say, in the interests of modernization, saving important taxpayer dollars, and making sure that we are more responsive to the American people, I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation. I thank Mrs. Bice again for her bipartisanship, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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