Matthew Russell: “I present today H.R. 194, the Federal Agency Mail Management Act of 2017. Approximately 2 years ago, President Obama…”

“I present today H.R. 194, the Federal Agency Mail Management Act of 2017. Approximately 2 years ago, President Obama signed into law the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014. The law modernized and improved Federal recordkeeping statutes by codifying agency responsibilities that have been in practice for decades. Once the law was enacted, the General Services Administration, or GSA, identified technical provisions in the law that the agency interpreted as limiting its ability to regulate Federal agency mailroom operations. The GSA has been responsible for the regulation and oversight of Federal agency mail management for many years. Congress did not intend for the 2014 law to change the mail management structure. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 194 provides clarification to ensure that the GSA is responsible for mailroom management oversight, and not the National Archives and Records Administration. Both GSA and the National Archives have worked with Congress to make the correction, and both entities support H.R. 194. Mr. Speaker, an identical bill was passed by the House with unanimous voice vote near the end of last Congress. We hope that this legislation will be signed into law this Congress to correct the unintended consequences of a previous law. This corrective measure has bipartisan support, and I appreciate having my friend and colleague, Mr. Connolly of Virginia, join me as a cosponsor. Mr.…”