Notes on 44 U.S.C. § 501 : US Code - Notes

Search Notes on 44 U.S.C. § 501 : US Code - Notes

(Pub. L. 90-620, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1243.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Based on 44 U.S. Code, 1964 ed., Sec. 111 and 116 (part) (Jan.
12, 1895, ch. 23, Secs. 86, 87, 28 Stat. 662; Mar. 1, 1919, ch. 86,
Sec. 11, 40 Stat. 1270; July 5, 1949, ch. 296, 63 Stat. 405).
This section incorporates only the first sentence of former
section 116. The balance will be found in section 1123 of the
revision.
VEGETABLE INK PRINTING
Pub. L. 103-348, Oct. 6, 1994, 108 Stat. 3133, provided that:
"SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
"This Act may be cited as the 'Vegetable Ink Printing Act of
1994'."
"SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
"(a) Findings. - The Congress finds the following:
"(1) More than 95 percent of Federal printing involving
documents or publications is performed using lithographic inks.
"(2) Various types of oil, including petroleum and vegetable
oil, are used in lithographic ink.
"(3) Increasing the amount of vegetable oil used in a
lithographic ink would -
"(A) help reduce the Nation's use of nonrenewable energy
resources;
"(B) result in the use of products that are less damaging to
the environment;
"(C) result in a reduction of volatile organic compound
emissions; and
"(D) increase the use of renewable agricultural products.
"(4) The technology exists to use vegetable oil in lithographic
ink and, in some applications, to use lithographic ink that uses
no petroleum distillates in the liquid portion of the ink.
"(5) Some lithographic inks have contained vegetable oils for
many years; other lithographic inks have more recently begun to
use vegetable oil.
"(6) According to the Government Printing Office, using
vegetable oil-based ink appears to add little if any additional
cost to Government printing.
"(7) Use of vegetable oil-based ink in Federal Government
printing should further develop -
"(A) the commercial viability of vegetable oil-based ink,
which could result in demand, for domestic use alone, for
2,500,000,000 pounds of vegetable crops or 500,000,000 pounds
of vegetable oil; and
"(B) a product that could help the United States retain or
enlarge its share of the world market for vegetable oil-ink.
"(b) Purpose. - The purpose of this Act is to require that all
lithographic printing using ink containing oil that is performed or
procured by a Federal agency shall use ink containing the maximum
amounts of vegetable oil and materials derived from other renewable
resources that -
"(1) are technologically feasible, and
"(2) result in printing costs that are competitive with
printing using petroleum-based inks.
"SEC. 3. FEDERAL PRINTING REQUIREMENTS.
"(a) General Rule. - Notwithstanding any other law, and except as
provided in subsection (b), a Federal agency may not perform or
procure lithographic printing that uses ink containing oil if the
ink contains less than the following percentage of vegetable oil:
"(1) In the case of news ink, 40 percent.
"(2) In the case of sheet-fed ink, 20 percent.
"(3) In the case of forms ink, 20 percent.
"(4) In the case of heat-set ink, 10 percent.
"(b) Exceptions. -
"(1) Exceptions. - Subsection (a) shall not apply to
lithographic printing performed or procured by a Federal agency,
if -
"(A) the head of the agency determines, after consultation
with the Public Printer and within the 3-year period ending on
the date of the commencement of the printing or the date of
that procurement, respectively, that vegetable oil-based ink is
not suitable to meet specific, identified requirements of the
agency related to the printing; or
"(B) the Public Printer determines -
"(i) within the 3-month period ending on the date of the
commencement of the printing, in the case of printing of
materials that are printed at intervals of less than 6
months, or
"(ii) before the date of the commencement of the printing,
in the case of printing of materials that are printed at
intervals of 6 months or more;
that the cost of performing the printing using vegetable oil-
based ink is significantly greater than the cost of performing
the printing using other available ink.
"(2) Notice to congress. - Not later than 30 days after making
a determination under paragraph (1)(A), the head of a Federal
agency shall report the determination to the Committee on
Government Operations [now Committee on Government Reform] and
the Committee on House Administration of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Rules of the Senate.
"(c) Federal Agency Defined. - In this Act, the term 'Federal
agency' means -
"(1) an executive department, military department, Government
corporation, Government-controlled corporation, or other
establishment in the executive branch of the Government
(including the Executive Office of the President), or any
independent regulatory agency; and
"(2) an establishment or component of the legislative or
judicial branch of the Government."
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS: PRINTING; GPO PROCUREMENT; EXECUTIVE
BRANCH PROCUREMENT OF CERTAIN KINDS OF PRINTING; "PRINTING" DEFINED
Pub. L. 102-392, title II, Sec. 207(a), Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat.
1719, as amended by Pub. L. 103-283, title II, Sec. 207, July 22,
1994, 108 Stat. 1440; Pub. L. 104-201, div. A, title XI, Sec.
1112(e)(1), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2683; Pub. L. 108-136, div.
A, title IX, Sec. 921(g), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1570, provided
that:
"(1) None of the funds appropriated for any fiscal year may be
obligated or expended by any entity of the executive branch for the
procurement of any printing related to the production of Government
publications (including printed forms), unless such procurement is
by or through the Government Printing Office.
"(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to (A) individual printing
orders costing not more than $1,000, if the work is not of a
continuing or repetitive nature, and, as certified by the Public
Printer, if the work is included in a class of work which cannot be
provided more economically through the Government Printing Office,
(B) printing for the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense
Intelligence Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or
the National Security Agency, or (C) printing from other sources
that is specifically authorized by law.
"(3) As used in this section, the term 'printing' includes the
processes of composition, platemaking, presswork, duplicating, silk
screen processes, binding, microform, and the end items of such
processes."
Similar provisions were contained in the following prior
appropriation acts:
Pub. L. 101-520, title II, Sec. 206, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat.
2274; repealed by Pub. L. 102-392, title II, Sec. 207(b), Oct. 6,
1992, 106 Stat. 1720.
Pub. L. 101-163, title III, Sec. 308, Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat.
1065.
Pub. L. 100-458, title III, Sec. 309, Oct. 1, 1988, 102 Stat.
2184.
Pub. L. 100-202, Sec. 101(i) [title III, Sec. 309], Dec. 22,
1987, 101 Stat. 1329-310.