H.R. 10204
Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act
Sponsor: H. Morgan Griffith · 0 cosponsors
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act
This bill revises the procedures for appointing and removing the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the Government Publishing Office (GPO), and the Register of Copyrights. The bill also establishes an Office of Inspector General within the Copyright Office and requires GPO to establish a human management system.
Specifically, the bill requires the Librarian of Congress and the Director of GPO to be appointed by a bipartisan congressional commission, based on procedures outlined by the bill and without regard to political affiliation. (Currently, these positions are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.) The Librarian of Congress and the Director of GPO may only be removed from office by a majority vote of the majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Additionally, the bill requires the Librarian of Congress and the Director of GPO to each appoint a deputy within a set time frame and outlines related procedures.
The bill removes the Library of Congress's (LOC's) supervisory authority over the Copyright Office and instead transfers those powers directly to the Register of Copyrights. LOC and other legislative agencies may provide support services to the Copyright Office.
The bill requires the Register of Copyrights to be (1) a U.S. citizen with a background and experience in copyright law, and (2) appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. (Currently, the Register is appointed by the Librarian.) Before the President makes the appointment, the chair and ranking minority member of each specified committee must jointly recommend three individuals whom the President may consider in making the appointment. The bill limits the term of office for the Register to 10 years, but the individual may be reappointed.
The bill requires subordinate officers and employees of the Copyright Office to be appointed by the Register. Further, the bill requires the Register (instead of the Librarian) to appoint the three administrative judges of the Copyright Royalty Board.
The bill also establishes an Office of Inspector General within the Copyright Office to, among other duties, conduct and supervise audits and investigations (excluding incidents involving violence and personal property) relating to the Copyright Office. The Register must appoint an Inspector General to head this office without regard to political affiliation. The Register may remove or transfer the Inspector General with prior congressional notification.
The bill also requires GPO to establish and maintain a human capital management system and outlines the requirements for the system.
Text of the bill
(a) In general. The Librarian of Congress Succession Modernization Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–86; 129 Stat. 675), is amended—
(1) by redesignating section 3 as section 5;
(2) by redesignating section 2 as section 3;
(3) by inserting after section 1 the following:
2. Definitions. In this Act:
(1) Commission. The term commission means a congressional commission consisting of the oversight committee leadership and the House and Senate leadership.
(2) Deputy Librarian. The term Deputy Librarian means the Deputy Librarian of Congress.
(3) House and Senate leadership. The term House and Senate leadership means the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and the minority leader of the Senate.
(4) Librarian. The term Librarian means the Librarian of Congress.
(5) Oversight committee leadership. The term oversight committee leadership means the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives and the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate.
; and
(4) in section 3, as so redesignated—
(A) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
(a) Appointment
(1) Commission. The Librarian shall be appointed by the commission in accordance with the procedures specified in paragraph (2), without regard to political affiliation, and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the office.
(2) Appointment procedures
(A) Recommendation of 3 individuals. If there is a vacancy in the position of Librarian, the oversight committee leadership shall jointly recommend 3 individuals for appointment to the vacant office.
(B) Selection by leaders. The Librarian shall be appointed from among the 3 individuals recommended under subparagraph (A) upon a majority vote of the House and Senate leadership.
(B) in subsection (b), by striking of Congress;
(C) in subsection (c), by striking of Congress, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,; and
(D) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
(d) Removal. The Librarian may be removed from office at any time upon a majority vote of the House and Senate leadership.
(b) Pay. Section 904 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1983 (2 U.S.C. 136a–2) is amended—
(1) by inserting (a) before Notwithstanding; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
(b) The Librarian of Congress shall not be considered to serve under a political appointment for purposes of section 747 of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2024 (division B of Public Law 118–47; 138 Stat. 585), or any other subsequently enacted similar provision of law.