Criminal Law Library Blog
Introduction
This proposed legislation is more consequential for libraries and government-information professionals than its title might initially suggest. It is not simply an internal GPO housekeeping bill; it would substantially rewrite the statutory framework governing the Federal Depository Library Program, digital preservation, permanent public access, cataloging, and the National Collection. In this post the strongest emphasis is on permanent public access, preservation of born digital government information, the modernization of the FDLP, and the implications for law librarians and researchers. Those features distinguish this bill from what might otherwise appear to readers to be a largely administrative modernization of GPO.
H.R. 9342, the GPO Modernization Act of 2026, was introduced on June 18, 2026, by Representative Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma. Its stated purpose is “[t]o revise certain authorities of the Government Publishing Office, and for other purposes.” The bill was referred to the House Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.