S. 1195Senate115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017

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Updated April 15, 2026 at 3:44 PM UTC

The Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017 changes the rules for giving out free printed copies of the Federal Register. It limits free copies to members of Congress and other federal officers only if they specifically request an issue or have a subscription, and any subscription can’t be longer than one year. The changes are meant to reduce unnecessary printing and take effect on January 1, 2018.

Key Provisions

Amends the law to require that free printed copies are provided only when a member of Congress or a federal office requests a specific issue or has an active subscription.
Limits any subscription to printed copies to a maximum of one year.
Directs the Government Publishing Office to create regulations that notify offices of the new limits and explain how to request copies or subscriptions.
Sets the effective date of these new restrictions as January 1, 2018.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

May 22, 2017

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

May 22, 2017

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

May 22, 2017

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 1195 on the floor

1 Republican

Sen. Chuck GrassleyR-IA · Dec 19, 2017

Madam President, in the 114th Congress, we came very close to passing Kevin and Avonte's Law, a bill named in honor of two boys with autism who wandered away from their caregivers and drowned. I…

Madam President, in the 114th Congress, we came very close to passing Kevin and Avonte's Law, a bill named in honor of two boys with autism who wandered away from their caregivers and drowned.

I reintroduced this legislation last month with Senators Klobuchar, Tillis, Schumer, and others to equip communities with important tools to help locate individuals who wander away from their families or caregivers due to dementia or a developmental disability. The bill we crafted adds new protections for children with developmental disabilities, like autism, which are linked to wandering.

The original version of this bill, which I authored with Senator Schumer, passed both Chambers of Congress late last year. It passed this Chamber by voice vote over a year ago, while a similar House companion garnered over 90 cosponsors before passing the other Chamber, 346-66, last December. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to resolve the differences between the two Chamber's versions before the 114th Congress adjourned.

This year, the Judiciary Committee approved Kevin and Avonte's Law by voice vote, and, before reporting the bill to the full Senate last month, we reached bipartisan consensus on an offset. Our offset consists of the Federal Register Printing Savings Act, which Senator Portman introduced earlier this year. Senator Portman's office agreed to work with us and incorporate S. 1195 into Kevin and Avonte's Law. We currently are seeking unanimous consent to pass both bills in one legislative package.

Meanwhile, the House has passed its own version of the Federal Register Printing Savings Act, introduced by Congressman Russell of Oklahoma. The House-passed version of that bill won the approval of the Homeland Security Committee earlier this year, and that panel is seeking unanimous consent to pass it. I support this legislation, which is virtually identical to Senator Portman's bill, but I placed a temporary hold on the House companion yesterday, so that we can find a way to pass that legislation and Kevin and Avonte's Law simultaneously.

By ensuring that both measures pass as one package, we can make additional resources available to equip first responders, law enforcement officials, and other community leaders with the training and tools necessary to better prevent and respond to missing person cases. By doing so, we also can make grants available to educate and train caregivers as well as other members of the community on how to prevent wandering by those with dementia or developmental disabilities.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued May 22, 2017

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1195

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 22, 2017

Mr. Portman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 44, United States Code, to restrict the distribution of free printed copies of the Federal Register to Members of Congress and other officers and employees of the United States, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017.

Restrictions on distribution of free printed copies of Federal Register to Members of Congress and federal employees

(a)

Restrictions

Section 1506 of title 44, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

by striking “The Administrative Committee” and inserting (a) Composition; Duties.—The Administrative Committee;

(2)

in subsection (a)(4), by striking “the number of copies” and inserting “subject to subsection (b), the number of copies”; and

(3)

by adding at the end the following new subsection:

(b)

Restrictions on distribution of free printed copies to Members of Congress and officers and employees of the United States

(1)

Prohibiting subscription to printed copies without request

Under the regulations prescribed to carry out subsection (a)(4), the Director of the Government Publishing Office may not provide a printed copy of the Federal Register without charge to any Member of Congress or any other office of the United States during a year unless—

(A)

the Member or office requests a printed copy of a specific issue of the Federal Register; or

(B)

during that year or during the previous year, the Member or office requested a subscription to printed copies of the Federal Register for that year, as described in paragraph (2).

(2)

Administration of subscriptions

The regulations prescribed to carry out subsection (a)(4) shall include—

(A)

provisions regarding notifications to offices of Members of Congress and other offices of the United States of the restrictions of paragraph (1);

(B)

provisions describing the process by which Members and other offices may request a specific issue of the Federal Register for purposes of paragraph (1)(A); and

(C)

provisions describing the process by which Members and other offices may request a subscription to the Federal Register for purposes of paragraph (1)(B), except that such regulations shall limit the period for such a subscription to not longer than 1 year.

(b)

Effective date

The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on January 1, 2018.