H.R. 10204 · 119th Congress

Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act

Introduced on Sep 1, 2026 by H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9). Latest action (Sep 15, 2026): Received in the Senate.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Sep 1, 2026
Cosponsors
0
Policy area
Congress
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To modify the appointment and removal process for certain legislative branch officers, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Congressional agencies
  • Congressional operations and organization
  • Congressional oversight
  • Federal officials
  • Government Publishing Office (GPO)
  • Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
  • Intellectual property
  • Libraries and archives
  • Library of Congress

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Sep 1, 2026). Public domain.

Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act

This bill revises the procedures for appointing and removing the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the Government Publishing Office (GPO), and the Register of Copyrights. The bill also establishes an Office of Inspector General within the Copyright Office and requires GPO to establish a human management system.

Specifically, the bill requires the Librarian of Congress and the Director of GPO to be appointed by a bipartisan congressional commission, based on procedures outlined by the bill and without regard to political affiliation. (Currently, these positions are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.) The Librarian of Congress and the Director of GPO may only be removed from office by a majority vote of the majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Additionally, the bill requires the Librarian of Congress and the Director of GPO to each appoint a deputy within a set time frame and outlines related procedures.

The bill removes the Library of Congress's (LOC's) supervisory authority over the Copyright Office and instead transfers those powers directly to the Register of Copyrights. LOC and other legislative agencies may provide support services to the Copyright Office.

The bill requires the Register of Copyrights to be (1) a U.S. citizen with a background and experience in copyright law, and (2) appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. (Currently, the Register is appointed by the Librarian.) Before the President makes the appointment, the chair and ranking minority member of each specified committee must jointly recommend three individuals whom the President may consider in making the appointment. The bill limits the term of office for the Register to 10 years, but the individual may be reappointed.

The bill requires subordinate officers and employees of the Copyright Office to be appointed by the Register. Further, the bill requires the Register (instead of the Librarian) to appoint the three administrative judges of the Copyright Royalty Board.

The bill also establishes an Office of Inspector General within the Copyright Office to, among other duties, conduct and supervise audits and investigations (excluding incidents involving violence and personal property) relating to the Copyright Office. The Register must appoint an Inspector General to head this office without regard to political affiliation. The Register may remove or transfer the Inspector General with prior congressional notification.

The bill also requires GPO to establish and maintain a human capital management system and outlines the requirements for the system.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

H. Morgan GriffithR-VA-9Sponsor

No cosponsors.

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Sep 1, 2026Introduced in House
  2. Sep 1, 2026Introduced in House
  3. Sep 1, 2026 · HouseReferred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  4. Sep 1, 2026 · HouseReferred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  5. Sep 1, 2026 · HouseReferred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  6. Sep 14, 2026 · HouseMr. Griffith moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  7. Sep 14, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5551-5557)
  8. Sep 14, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 10204.
  9. Sep 14, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
  10. Sep 14, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5551-5556)
  11. Sep 14, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. Sep 15, 2026 · SenateReceived in the Senate.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.