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41ST CONGRESS, 1st Session.


S. 6.




IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES.

March 5, 1869.


Mr. ANTHONY asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in
the following bill; which was read twice, and ordered to be printed.




A BILL

To provide stationery for Congress and the several departments, and for
other purposes.


  1  _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
  2  of the United States of America in Congress assembled_,
  3  That upon the passage of this act the heads of each of the
  4  executive and judicial departments at Washington, District of
  5  Columbia, shall immediately cause estimates to be made of
  6  the amount of stationery and other articles which will be
  7  required by them for the ensuing year, which are now furnished
  8  as stationery or under stationery contracts, and forward
  9  the same to the Congressional Printer, who shall immediately
 10  issue proposals for such articles and stationery and make
 11  purchases of the same, in the manner and under the regulations
 12  provided for in this act.

  1  Sec. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the Congressional
  2  Printer shall, at the beginning of each session of Congress,
  3  submit to the Joint Committee on Public Printing estimates
  4  of the quantity of paper, of all descriptions, which will, in his
  5  opinion, be required for the public printing during the ensuing
  6  year; and also estimates of the quantity and articles of
  7  stationery required for each and all of the executive and judicial
  8  departments at Washington, and for the Senate and House of
  9  Representatives and the Congressional printing office.

  1  Sec. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the heads of
  2  the several executive and judicial departments, and the Secretary
  3  of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives,
  4  shall, on or before the twentieth day of November, in
  5  each year, furnish, or cause to be furnished, to the Congressional
  6  Printer estimates of the articles and the quantity of each
  7  which will be required for their several departments for the
  8  year following.

  1  Sec. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That the Joint Committee
  2  on Public Printing shall then fix upon standards of
  3  paper for the different descriptions of public printing, and for
  4  all stationery and articles required, and the Congressional
  5  Printer shall, under their direction, advertise in two newspapers
  6  published in each of the cities of Boston, New York,
  7  Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Cincinnati, and in
  8  any other city where in their judgment it may become necessary,
  9  for sealed proposals to furnish the government with
 10  paper and all other articles of the quality and in the quantities
 11  specified in the advertisement, which shall specify the
 12  quantity and quality of all the articles required; and he shall
 13  furnish to the applicants samples of the standard articles
 14  which have been adopted.

  1  Sec. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That the advertisements
  2  for sealed proposals shall specify the minimum portion
  3  of each article required for either three months, six months,
  4  or one year, as the Joint Committee on Public Printing may
  5  determine; but when the minimum portion so specified exceeds
  6  in any case one thousand reams of paper, the advertisements
  7  shall state that proposals will be received for one
  8  thousand reams or more.

  1  Sec. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That all sealed proposals
  2  to furnish any article shall be opened in the presence
  3  of the Joint Committee on Printing, and the contracts shall be
  4  awarded by the committee to the lowest and best bidder for
  5  each article or class for the interest of the government; but
  6  they shall not consider any proposal which is not accompanied
  7  by satisfactory evidence that the person making it is a manufacturer
  8  or dealer in the articles which he proposes to furnish,
  9  and the said joint committee shall, in their award of each contract,
 10  allow and designate a reasonable time for filling it.

  1  Sec. 7. _And be it further enacted_, That no contract
  2  for furnishing paper or any other article shall be valid until it
  3  has been approved by said joint committee, (if made under
  4  their direction, or by the Secretary of the Interior, if made
  5  under his direction,) according to the provisions of section
  6  nine.

  1  Sec. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That the Congressional
  2  Printer shall compare all articles delivered by any contractor
  3  with the standard of quality, and shall not accept any
  4  article which does not conform to it; and in case of a difference
  5  of opinion between the Congressional Printer and any
  6  contractor with respect to the quality of any article furnished,
  7  the matter of difference shall be determined by the Joint Committee
  8  on Printing, or in the recess of Congress by the Secretary
  9  of the Interior.

  1  Sec. 9. _And be it further enacted_, That in default of
  2  any contractor to furnish the articles contracted for at the
  3  proper time, or of the proper quality or weight, the Congressional
  4  Printer shall report such default to the Joint Committee
  5  on Public Printing if Congress is in session, or to the
  6  Secretary of the Interior if Congress is not in session; and
  7  he shall, under the direction of the Joint Committee on
  8  Public Printing, or of the Secretary of the Interior, as the
  9  case may be, enter into a new contract with the lowest and
 10  best bidder for the interest of the government among those
 11  whose proposals were rejected at the last opening of bids, or
 12  he shall advertise for new proposals, under the regulations
 13  concerning advertisements for proposals hereinbefore stated;
 14  and during the interval which may thus occur he shall, under
 15  the direction of the Joint Committee on Public Printing, or
 16  of the Secretary of the Interior, as above provided, purchase
 17  in open market, at the lowest market price, all such articles
 18  necessary for use.

  1  Sec. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That in case of any
  2  contractor's default to comply with this contract he and his
  3  securities shall be charged with and held responsible for any
  4  increase of cost to the government in procuring the supply
  5  which may be consequent upon such default.

  1  Sec. 11. _And be it further enacted_, That when any
  2  such default occurs the Congressional Printer shall report it,
  3  with a full statement of all the facts in the case, to the
  4  Solicitor of the Treasury, who shall prosecute the defaulting
  5  contractor and his securities upon their bond in the circuit
  6  court of the United States in the district in which such
  7  defaulting contractor resides.

  1  Sec. 12. _And be it further enacted_, That the Joint
  2  Committee on Public Printing, or during the recess of Congress
  3  the Secretary of the Interior, may authorize the Congressional
  4  Printer to make purchases in open market whenever,
  5  in their opinion, the quantity required is so small, or the
  6  want is so immediate, as not to justify advertisement for proposals
  7  and the award of a contract therefor.

  1  Sec. 13. _And be it further enacted_, That the Congressional
  2  Printer shall charge himself in a book, to be kept for
  3  that purpose, with all paper and other articles or material
  4  received for the public use, and he shall furnish the same to
  5  the foremen of printing and binding, and to the officers of
  6  the executive and judicial departments, and of the Senate and
  7  House of Representatives authorized to receive them, on
  8  their written requisitions as the public service may require
  9  them, taking a receipt from each officer for such article, which
 10  shall be entered to his credit; and accounts shall be kept
 11  with each department, and all articles delivered charged to
 12  them. And to carry out the provisions of this act the
 13  Congressional Printer may employ one clerk of the fourth class,
 14  one of the second class, and one messenger, and shall give an
 15  additional bond of forty thousand dollars, and receive, in
 16  addition to his present salary, one thousand dollars.

  1  Sec. 14. _And be it further enacted_, That from and
  2  after the passage of this act it shall be unlawful to make further
  3  contracts or purchases or payment for any stationery
  4  or article furnished as such, except under existing contracts
  5  and in accordance with the regulations hereinbefore provided.

  1  Sec. 15. _And be it further enacted_, That all acts and
  2  parts of acts inconsistent with the foregoing provisions are
  3  hereby repealed.