H.R. 6028 — Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act

This section revises the Librarian of Congress Succession Modernization Act of 2015 to (1) add definitions for "commission" (i.e., congressional commission of oversight committee leadership and House and Senate leadership), "Deputy Librarian," "House and Senate leadership" (i.e., Speaker of the House, Senate majority leader, House minority leader, and Senate minority leader), "Librarian," and "oversight committee leadership" (i.e., chairs and ranking minority members of the House Committee on House Administration and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration); (2) replace presidential appointment with Senate confirmation for the Librarian of Congress with a congressional process in which oversight committee leadership recommends three individuals and House and Senate leadership appoints one by majority vote, without regard to political affiliation and based solely on fitness; and (3) replace removal procedures with removal at any time by majority vote of House and Senate leadership. The section further amends the pay provision for the Librarian (2 U.S.C. 136a–2) to specify that the position is not considered a political appointment for purposes of pay or employment restrictions in sec. 747 of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118–47), or any similar subsequent law. (Thus, the Librarian—who leads the Library of Congress, the national library of the United States serving Congress, the public, and federal agencies—receives congressional appointment and removal independent of the President and Senate, with statutory pay protections.)

This section establishes the position of Deputy Librarian of Congress, to be appointed by the Librarian of Congress within 120 days after the Librarian's appointment (if no Deputy exists) or after a vacancy in the Deputy position. The Librarian may delegate duties to the Deputy, who serves as acting Librarian if the Librarian is absent, disabled, or there is a vacancy; the acting Deputy exercises all Librarian duties and authorities, including delegation. If the Librarian fails to appoint by the deadline or if the Deputy position is also vacant/absent/disabled, oversight committee leadership jointly recommends an individual, whom House and Senate leadership appoint or designate as Deputy or acting Librarian upon majority vote; a vacant Deputy position requires immediate notification to commission members, and acting service continues until absences end or permanent appointments are made.

This section revises the appointment, removal, and pay provisions for the Director of the Government Publishing Office (GPO), the federal agency responsible for printing and publishing official U.S. government documents. Specifically, it (1) adds definitions in new section 300 of title 44, U.S. Code, for "commission" (congressional commission consisting of oversight committee leadership and House and Senate leadership), "House and Senate leadership" (Speaker of the House, Senate majority leader, House minority leader, and Senate minority leader), and "oversight committee leadership" (chair and ranking minority member of the House Committee on Administration and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration); (2) replaces the prior presidential appointment process (with Senate confirmation) in section 301(a) and (c) with a congressional process in which oversight committee leadership jointly recommends three qualified individuals (without regard to political affiliation) and the House and Senate leadership appoints the Director by majority vote; (3) authorizes removal of the Director at any time by majority vote of the House and Senate leadership (new section 301(d)); and (4) restructures section 303 as subsection (a), preserving the Director's pay at level II of the Executive Schedule and Deputy Director's pay at level III, and adds subsection (b) providing that the Director is not considered to serve under a political appointment for purposes of section 747 of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2024 (Pub. L. No. 118-47), or any similar subsequent law. (Thus, this exempts the Director's pay from any funding restrictions applicable to political appointees under those provisions.) It also makes a conforming amendment to the table of sections for chapter 3 of title 44.

This section revises the appointment and duties of the Deputy Director of the Government Publishing Office (GPO) under 44 U.S.C. 302 and procedures for an acting GPO Director under 44 U.S.C. 304. It requires the GPO Director to appoint a Deputy Director within 120 days after the Director's own appointment (if no Deputy exists) or after a Deputy vacancy, with the oversight committee leadership jointly recommending a candidate—who is appointed upon majority vote of House and Senate leadership—if the Director misses the deadline; it also requires the Director to immediately notify commission members of any Deputy vacancy. It further specifies that the Deputy Director acts as Director during any Director absence, disability, or vacancy and that, if the Deputy is unavailable, congressional leadership designates an acting Director in the same manner, who serves until the end of any absence or disability or until both positions are filled and who exercises all Director duties and authorities (including delegation).

This section removes the supervisory authority of the Librarian of Congress over the U.S. Copyright Office by replacing references to the "Librarian of Congress" with "Register of Copyrights" in multiple sections of Title 17 (i.e., §§111, 112, 114, 115, 118, 119, 701, 702, 704, 801, 802, 803, and 1007); revising the appointment of the Register to be by the President with Senate advice and consent, following joint recommendations of the chair and ranking minority members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees (from appointment by the Librarian); eliminating the Librarian's approval authority over certain Copyright Office actions (e.g., in §§115 and 702); authorizing the Register to establish up to four Associate Register positions; and shifting administrative authority over the Copyright Royalty Judges from the Librarian to the Register. It further vests authority for the triennial rulemaking under 17 U.S.C. §1201(a)(1)(C)—which determines exemptions to the prohibition on circumventing technological measures that control access to copyrighted works, allowing noninfringing uses for specified classes of works—in the Register of Copyrights after consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information (from the Librarian upon the Register's recommendation).

This section expands the definition of covered employee under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to include employees of the Government Publishing Office (GPO). (As background, the CAA applies federal workplace protections—such as anti-discrimination laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act—to employees of Congress and related entities, with enforcement by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.) It makes conforming changes to related CAA definitions and amends title 5, U.S. Code, to remove GPO from exclusions under merit system principles (5 U.S.C. §2301), prohibited personnel practices (5 U.S.C. §2302), performance appraisals (5 U.S.C. §4301), personnel demonstration projects (5 U.S.C. §4701), and classification standards (5 U.S.C. §5102).

This section establishes a human capital management system for the Government Publishing Office (GPO) by adding new section 306A to chapter 3 of title 44, U.S. Code. The system must (1) include merit system principles under 5 U.S.C. §2301(b); (2) prohibit personnel practices barred under 5 U.S.C. §2302(b) and political activities under subchapter III of 5 U.S.C. ch. 73; (3) base appointments, promotions, and assignments on merit and fitness; (4) disregard title 5 competitive service appointment rules; and (5) provide hiring preferences consistent with those for executive branch positions. The section also makes minor terminology changes to 44 U.S.C. §305(a) (e.g., replacing "persons" with "people") and striking its third sentence; requires regulations for the system to follow public notice-and-comment procedures and Joint Committee on Printing approval; and preserves pending claims under specified employment laws (i.e., title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 5 U.S.C. ch. 71, Merit Systems Protection Board appeals, and 5 U.S.C. ch. 12, subch. II).

This section revises the requirements for government printing, binding, blank-book work, and publishing services under 44 U.S.C. 501 from a mandate that such work for Congress, the Executive Office of the President, the Judiciary (previously excluding the Supreme Court), and executive departments, independent offices, and establishments be performed by the Government Publishing Office (GPO)—except for work approved by the Joint Committee on Printing or done in field printing plants—to a permissive authorization allowing GPO to perform such services (now explicitly including publishing services). (As background, 44 U.S.C. 501 has historically centralized government printing at GPO to promote efficiency, uniformity, and security; this change removes GPO's default monopoly, enabling agencies to procure such services elsewhere absent other legal requirements.) The section also (1) repeals a conforming provision at Section 207(a) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1993 (44 U.S.C. 501 note); and (2) updates the table of sections for chapter 5 of title 44, U.S. Code, to reflect the new section heading.

This section specifies applicability dates for the Act and its amendments, which generally apply on and after the date of enactment except as provided. It establishes the following exceptions: (1) for the Librarian of Congress, appointment provisions apply to appointments on or after enactment, removal provisions apply to individuals appointed before, on, or after enactment, and pay provisions (under new 2 U.S.C. §136a–2(b)) apply on and after the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after enactment; (2) Deputy Librarian of Congress appointment provisions apply to appointments on or after enactment; (3) for the Director of the Government Publishing Office, appointment provisions apply to appointments on or after enactment, removal provisions apply to individuals appointed before, on, or after enactment, and pay provisions apply on and after the first pay period beginning on or after enactment; (4) Deputy Director of the Government Publishing Office appointment provisions apply to appointments on or after enactment; (5) Register of Copyrights and subordinate Copyright Office officers and employees appointment provisions apply to appointments on or after enactment; (6) Associate Registers of Copyrights appointment provisions apply to appointments on or after enactment; (7) Copyright Royalty Judges (including Chief and interim) appointment provisions apply to appointments on or after enactment; (8) Copyright Claims Officers appointment provisions apply to appointments on or after enactment; and (9) Government Publishing Office human capital management system provisions apply 180 days after enactment.