Making Technical Amendments to Update Statutory References to Certain Provisions Which Were Formerly Classified to Chapters 14 and 19 of Title United States Code, and Correcting Related Technical Errors

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, one of the important responsibilities the House gives the Judiciary Committee is to oversee the revision and codification of the statutes of the United States. Keeping track of the new laws Congress passes every session is a formidable challenge, but it is an essential part of maintaining the rule of law in our country, and it is a role we take seriously on the Judiciary Committee. I thank the chairman of the committee for bringing legislation to the floor today, on a bipartisan basis, to further this important duty.

The body of Federal law is so large and complex at this point that it would be almost completely unmanageable without the United States Code. Currently consisting of 54 titles, the code compiles the general and permanent laws of the United States into coherent subject areas. This makes our Federal laws accessible both to the government officials who work to fairly administer them and to the private citizens who seek the benefits and relief the laws provide them.

The painstaking and vital work of maintaining and updating the code falls to the expert lawyers working under the supervision of the House in the Office of Law Revision Counsel. We owe a great debt to these attorneys who ably carry out their statutory mandate to develop and keep current an official and positive codification of the laws of the United States while maintaining strict impartiality as to legislative policy.

H.R. 3496 is the first of four editorial reclassification bills that we are taking up today that make conforming changes to statutes that have been impacted by the Office of Law Revision Counsel's reauthorization efforts while making no change to the meaning or effect of any existing laws.

This legislation will help ensure that the code is an authoritative, accurate, and accessible source of Federal law, and I urge all Members to support it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source