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, |
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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 |
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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 |
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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; |
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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 |
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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. |