Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6028, the Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act.

The bill updates the appointment process for the heads of two legislative branch agencies, the Library of Congress and the Government Publishing Office, and creates a new Presidential appointment, subject to Senate confirmation, for the Register of Copyrights.

I thank the sponsor of the bill and my colleague on the Committee on House Administration Mr. Griffith, Chairman Steil, and both their staff for working with us to improve prior versions of the legislation.

For the legislative record, I will probably repeat some of the things that my colleague has said.

The amended bill makes clear that the U.S. Copyright Office, currently part of the Library, remains in the legislative branch. It protects the Copyright Office workforce. All of them will continue to enjoy the same rights, privileges, and protections they hold today as Library employees. That was very important to us.

I have long said that the Librarian of Congress should be appointed by Congress. Still, we must make this change thoughtfully and be mindful of the consequences, particularly, again, for the Copyright Office.

Copyright authority is enshrined in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution, and the Copyright Office has resided in the legislative branch for well over one century.

I appreciate Mr. Griffith's comments about the 19th century, how different things were and the importance of doing all of this work. This bill is really very important, particularly because so much of the work is legislative and because of the ability for the modern legislature to have responsibility here.

All of that should remain within the legislature and remain within the Congress. That is the intent of this bill.

The copyright economy contributes, and this is somewhat of an astounding figure, more than $2 trillion to our economy each year. It supports more than 11 million American jobs, and only with a stable, reliable, and apolitical copyright system will we continue to have the benefits of that economy.

The bill helps preserve it at a critical moment for copyright stakeholders and the millions of Library users. I particularly point that out in the midst of the emergence of AI, which uses a great many materials for learning that are copyrighted. These issues continue to be in the public eye, and they will continue to be important.

The Library and the Copyright Office have operated in partnership for more than 150 years. The Copyright Office depends on the Library's infrastructure, and the Library builds its collections through copyright deposits. Severing that relationship would harm both institutions, something we clearly do not want to do. The revised bill recognizes that.

It establishes a significant transition period. It allows the Copyright Office to continue using Library support services and requires the Register to consult with the Librarian before taking any action affecting the Library's access to Copyright Office deposits.

It safeguards the rights of Copyright Office employees, as I indicated earlier, and keeps the office in the legislative branch, where it belongs.

Again, I thank Chairman Steil and certainly the sponsor of the bill, Mr. Griffith, for accepting these changes and for working in a cooperative, collaborative, and bipartisan spirit. It has taken a little while, but I think the final product has improved as a result of it.

For too long, Congress has allowed its own authority and capacity to atrophy. The Library, the Copyright Office, and the other support agencies we rely on are funded from a legislative branch budget that amounts to roughly four-tenths of 1 percent of all Federal discretionary spending. If we are serious about legislating on questions as complex, as I mentioned, as AI and copyright, we must be serious about sustaining the institutions that make that work possible.

There are challenges. I think this was the work of compromise, so there are some changes that I think both sides would like to make, but this does ensure that the Librarian of Congress can be hired and fired only by Congress and does so while preserving both the Library and Copyright Office as the preeminent institutions in their fields.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, again, let me thank the sponsor of the bill, my friend Mr. Griffith, for his hard work. I thank Chairman Steil for his partnership in working together to protect these important legislative branch agencies and Congress' Article I prerogatives.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this very fine piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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