The STOP Act

Representative Christopher Lee (R-NY) introduced a bill in the 112th Congress, H.R. 292, known as The Stop the OverPrinting (STOP) Act, that would require the Public Printer to "make bills and resolutions available for the use of the House of Representatives and Senate only in an electronic format which is accessible through the Internet." There is an option to provide some print copies of bills, but print would be the exception rather than the rule going forward. The snippet of the bill text quoted above comes from OpenCongress, which also provides a summary of the bill and other information about it. The bill passed the House unanimously (399-0) yesterday, and must go to the Senate. Supporters claim that in addition to creating greater access to bills for members of the public, the measure would also save the government considerable money--approximately $35,000,000 over ten years in printing costs. This is not the first time that Representative Lee has introduced similar legislation, and this time it seems to have a good chance of becoming law.