Title 44Public Printing and DocumentsRelease 119-73

§741 Disposition of documents stored at Capitol

Title 44 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - CONGRESSIONAL PRINTING AND BINDING › § 741

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

At the start of each regular session of a new Congress, Senate and House officials must make a list of the public documents kept in and around the Capitol, excluding the copies that belong to members' individual quotas. The publications staff will credit each Senator and Representative with the same number of volumes, as close as possible in value, and send out items when members order them. Each member gets a list of what is on their account. Before the items are divided, any copies needed by a committee go to the committee chair. Four leather-bound copies are kept aside to replace worn or lost books in the Senate and House libraries.

Full Legal Text

Title 44, §741

Public Printing and Documents — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Secretary and Sergeant at Arms of the Senate and the Clerk and Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives, at the convening in regular session of each successive Congress shall cause an invoice to be made of public documents stored in and about the Capitol, other than those belonging to the quota of Members of Congress, to the Library of Congress and the Senate and House libraries and document rooms. The superintendents of the Senate Service Department and House of Representatives Publications Distribution Service shall put the documents to the credit of Senators and Representatives in quantities equal in the number of volumes and as nearly as possible in value, to each Member of Congress, and the documents shall be distributed upon the orders of Senators and Representatives, each of whom shall be supplied by the superintendents of the Senate Service Department and House of Representatives Publications Distribution Service with a list of the number and character of the publications thus put to his credit, but before apportionment is made copies of any of these documents desired for the use of a committee of either House shall be delivered to the chairman of the committee. Four copies of leather-bound documents shall be reserved and carefully stored, to be used in supplying deficiencies in the Senate and House libraries caused by wear or loss.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on 44 U.S. Code, 1964 ed., § 167 (Jan. 12, 1895, ch. 23, § 63, 28 Stat. 611;
July 2, 1954, ch. 455, title I, § 101, 68 Stat. 397). “Senate Service Department and House Folding Room” was substituted for “Senate and House folding rooms,” and “superintendents of the Senate Service Department and House Folding Room” was substituted for “superintendents of the folding rooms” in view of act
July 2, 1954, which redesignated the Senate Folding Room as the Senate Service Department. Act
July 2, 1954, provided in part that “hereafter” the Senate Folding Room should be known as the Senate Service Department. “House of Representatives Publications Distribution Service” is substituted for “House Folding Room” because of the

Change of Name

under authority of Public Law 88–652.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Abolition of Office of Doorkeeper Office of Doorkeeper of House of Representatives abolished and functions transferred generally to Sergeant-at-Arms of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Jan. 4, 1995.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

44 U.S.C. § 741

Title 44Public Printing and Documents

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73