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Heads up: Preventing Additional Printing of Electronic Records Act of 2018 or the PAPER Act of 2018

[UPDATE 1:30pm 09122018: The bill going forward in the Senate is S. 2944, NOT 2673. And S.2944 includes reference to the depository library program! I’ve updated the link below to the correct Senate bill. JRJ]

Heads up! There’s a bill at the beginning of the legislative process called “Preventing Additional Printing of Electronic Records Act of 2018″ or the PAPER Act of 2018. Don’t you just love how Congress has to acronymize their bill titles?! This bill seeks to limit the printing of the Congressional Record, one of our most important Congressional publications, the official record of the proceedings and debates of the US Congress. It’s important to the Federal Depository Library Program to keep publishing the CR in paper for research utility and preservation purposes.

The House version mentions the FDLP, but the Senate version does not:

(d) Depository libraries
The Director of the Government Publishing Office shall furnish to the Superintendent of Documents as many daily and bound copies of the Congressional Record as may be required for distribution to depository libraries.

This bill is at the very beginning of the process, so it’s not time to get nervous. But the depository community ought to keep an eye on this bill in case it gathers momentum in the House and/or Senate.

GPO releases digital Congressional Record for 1911-1921

GPO is diligently working on releasing digital versions of the historic Congressional Record. The Congressional Record is now available on govinfo from 1911 – 2008. Historic!

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) partners with the Library of Congress to release the digital version of the bound Congressional Record from 1911-1921 on GPO’s govinfo. This release covers the debates and proceedings of the 62nd through the 66th Congresses.

This era of Congress covers historical topics such as:

  • The final year of the administration of President Taft, the election and reelection of President Wilson, and the election of President Harding
  • Ratification of the 16th (income tax), 17th (popular election of Senators), 18th (Prohibition), and 19th (voting rights for women) Amendments to the Constitution
  • Admission of New Mexico and Arizona as states
  • Jeanette Rankin elected as first woman to the House of Representatives
  • Establishment of the Federal Reserve
  • Enactment of P.L. 62-5, capping the number of Members of the House of Representatives at 435
  • Senate enactment of the cloture rule to limit debate
  • Sinking of the Lusitania
  • World War I

via GPO Issues Digital Release of Historical Congressional Record for 1911-1921.

GPO releases digital Congressional Record for the 1920s

GPO has just released another decade of digitized Congressional Record, this time 1921 – 1930. The Congressional Record is now available on govinfo from 1921 – 2008. Very cool!

Washington –The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) partners with the Library of Congress to release the digital version of the bound Congressional Record from 1921-1930 on GPO’s govinfo site. This release covers the debates and proceedings of the 67th through the 71st Congresses.

This era of Congress covers historical topics such as:

  • The final two years of the administration of President Wilson, the administrations of Presidents
    Harding and Coolidge, and the first two years of the administration of President Hoover.
  • Prohibition
  • The Immigration Act of 1924
  • The Kellogg-Briand Pact to end war
  • The Dawes Plan for WWI reparations
  • The Teapot Dome Scandal
  • The Stock Market Crash of 1929

GPO releases digital Congressional Record for the 1960s

Bound Congressional RecordThe Government Publishing Office (GPO) just announced that GPO in concert with Library of Congress have released another decade of historic bound Congressional Record, this time covering 1961 – 1970. The CR is now available on govinfo.gov for 1961 – 2006.

This release covers debates and proceedings of the 87th through the 91st Congresses. Spanning approximately 380,000 Congressional Record pages, this era covers historical topics such as:

  • The Administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the first two years of the Administration of President Richard M. Nixon
  • The Civil Rights Era
  • The Vietnam War
  • The Space Program and Moon Landing
  • Legislation of the Great Society and the War on Poverty, including:
    • Civil Rights Act of 1964
    • Voting Rights Act of 1965
    • Fair Housing Act of 1968
    • Medicare and Medicaid
    • Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
    • Immigration Act of 1965
    • Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
    • Endangered Species Act of 1966
    • Public Broadcasting Act of 1967

via GPO Issues Digital Release of Historical Congressional Record for the 1960s.

GPO releases digital Congressional Record for the 1970s

The Government Publishing Office just announced that they’ve released another decade of historic bound Congressional Record, this time covering 1971 – 1980.

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) partners with the Library of Congress to release the digital version of the bound Congressional Record from 1971-1980 on GPO’s govinfo system.

This release covers debates and proceedings of the 92nd through the 96th Congresses. This era of Congress covers historical topics such as:

  • The Administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter
  • Passage/ratification of the 26th Amendment (allowing 18-year-olds to vote)
  • Watergate
  • The end of the Vietnam War
  • The Bicentennial
  • Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
  • The Iran Hostage Crisis
  • OPEC and the Oil Crises of the 1970s
  • Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act

via GPO Issues Digital Release of Historical Congressional Record for the 1970s.

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