United States Congressional Joint Committee on Printing

The Joint Committee on Printing is a joint committee of the United States Congress devoted to overseeing the functions of the Government Publishing Office and general printing procedures of the federal government of the United States. The authority vested in the Committee is derived from 44 U.S.C. § 101 and the Committee is thereby responsible for ensuring compliance by federal entities to these laws and the Government Printing and Binding Regulations. The current joint committee was created by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 and combined the functions of the United States House Committee on Printing and the United States Senate Committee on Printing.

The Committee traces its lineage back to a similar one created by an act of August 3, 1846 (9 Stat. 114, §2) consisting of three members each from the two houses. By virtue of this it is the oldest joint committee of the Congress, although not continuously organized as such.

Leaders of the committee typically serve as the tellers during the joint session of Congress when the electoral voters are counted in accordance with the Electoral Count Act.

Composition

There are five members of each house on the committee, which has no subcommittees. The committee consists of the chairman and four members of the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the United States House Committee on House Administration in the House of Representatives. Every two years the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship rotate between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.