Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following statement on the House floor in support of H.R. 3239, To make improvements in the enactment of title 41, United States Code, into a positive law title and to improve the Code: 

"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 duty we take seriously in the House.

"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.

"The Code 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 or relief the laws provide them.

"The Code did not appear magically out of thin air.   Congress created it in 1926 and, since that time, it has been painstakingly constructed and updated by expert lawyers working under the supervision of the House.

"We all owe a great debt to the Office of Law Revision Counsel, whose attorneys 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.

"Pursuant to the law governing their work, the Office of Law Revision Counsel has submitted this legislation containing amendments related to Title 41, which Congress recently enacted into positive law.  It contains purely technical changes that update the U.S. Code to reflect the new status of these titles.

"I want to make it very clear that this bill does not change the meaning or effect of existing laws.   It is part of an ongoing effort to maintain the Code as an authoritative, accurate source of federal law.  

"I would like to thank Mr. Fitzgerald for introducing this important legislation, and I urge all Members to support the bill."