Big Changes for the Library of Congress and Government Publishing Office
House Admin Favorably Reports Bill to Change Appointment and Removal Mechanisms
Today the House Administration Committee voted unanimously to favorably report legislation changing the leadership appointment and removal process for the Librarian of Congress and Director of the Government Publishing Office.
The American Governance Institute commends the Committee on House Administration for strengthening the authority of the legislative branch through this bill. The Library and GPO provide invaluable service in keeping Congress informed with reliable information. It is only appropriate that congressional leadership control their hiring and firing. This bill ensures these legislative support agencies can continue to be responsive to the needs of Congress and fulfill their service to the American people.
The Library of Congress is a vast legislative branch agency that provides confidential advice and research support to members of Congress. This alleviates the threat that the Trump administration, or any future administration, could appoint a Librarian who would undermine Congress’s ability to to receive trusted confidential advice on policymaking and have access to information resources necessary for policymaking. Similarly, congressional control of GPO assures that the vast stores of information it maintains will remain available to Congress and the American people without fear that it will be tampered with or destroyed at the direction of the Executive branch.
Should it be enacted, Congress would be in full control of who serves as Librarian of Congress and GPO Director and solely responsible for their removal. This legislation would empower the chair and ranking members of the House Administration and Senate Rules Committees to jointly nominate three individuals for appointment. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Minority Leader of the House, and Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate would choose the Librarian or GPO Director from among the nominations. They could be removed from their office by a majority vote of the four chamber leaders.
Currently, the president appoints the Librarian of Congress and GPO Director, subject to Senate confirmation, and has the power of removal. This is a politically fraught issue, as President Trump fired Librarian of Congress Hayden last May, attempted to fire Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, and has made other attempts to bring legislative branch agencies under his control.
The Register of Copyrights, the head of the Copyright Office inside the Library of Congress, would be appointed by the president for a ten year term, subject to Senate confirmation, and removable by the president. Prior to appointment, the chair and ranking members of the House Administration, Senate Rules, and Judiciary Committees shall jointly nominate three individuals the president may consider in that appointment. Appointment and removal of all subordinate officers in the Library of Congress, including the Register of Copyrights, currently is subject to the direction of the Librarian of Congress. The bill would empower the Register of Copyrights to make personnel decisions. The legislation also creates a new inspector general for the Copyright Office.
This bill brings these offices under a similar leadership selection and removal process as the Architect of the Capitol. After the January 6th insurrection, President Biden fired the Architect at the behest of Congress after an Inspector General report revealed administrative, ethical, and policy violations and a disastrous appearance before the House Administration Committee that uncovered, among other things, that he did not come to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Subsequently adopted legislation creates a legislative process to appoint and remove the Architect.
Unaddressed by this bill, however, is the Comptroller General of the United States of America, who heads the Government Accountability Office. While the comptroller general enjoys broader statutory protections for appointment and removal than other legislative branch agency heads, that office should be fully insulated from executive branch interference, with appointment power and removal resting solely with Congress. This bill is a missed opportunity to address that issue, although we note that primary jurisdiction lies with the House Oversight and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees. Insulating GAO further is a change that OMB likely would oppose, as they wish to weaken congressional accountability. It is our view that making a political trade of the Copyright Office (which has some say on AI matters and is coveted by the White House) for GAO would have been more in Congress’s best interests.
We urge Congress to advance legislation ensuring Congress controls the selection of the Comptroller General as well. The proper separation of powers under our constitutional system depends on key legislative branch agencies being independent of interference from the other federal branches. Given the critical role the Government Accountability Office plays in supporting congressional oversight of executive branch programs and fiscal controls, bringing it under the same leadership selection and removal process as this bill creates is vital to Legislative branch interests.
Important news, thanks for posting! Hopefully, the omission of the CG simply reflects that House Oversight has legislative jurisdiction over GAO, and it will pick up on this and push its own bill for congressional appointment of the CG as well. If not, Congress could face the absurd and inexplicable result of leaving GAO, its "watchdog" agency and primary oversight arm, as the ONLY legislative branch agency still headed by a presidential appointee.