Based on 44 U.S. Code, 1964, ed., § 139a (Mar. 2, 1901, No. 16, § 3, 31 Stat. 1465; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 421, § 7, 43 Stat. 1106; June 20, 1936, ch. 630, title IV, § 6, 49 Stat. 1550).

There were two conventions concluded at Brussels on Mar. 15, 1886, and proclaimed by the President on Jan. 15, 1889: one was a convention “for the international exchange of official documents, scientific, and literary publications”; the other was “for the immediate exchange of the official journals, parliamentary annals, and documents.”

Pub. L. 99–591 is a corrected version of Pub. L. 99–500.

The 1986 amendment is based on section 306 of title III of H.R. 5203 (see House Report 99–805 as filed in the House on Aug. 15, 1986), and incorporated by reference in section 101(j) of Pub. L. 99–500 and 99–591, as amended by Pub. L. 100–71, to be effective as if enacted into law.

The 1982 amendment by Pub. L. 97–276 is based on section 305(b) of S. 2939, Ninety-seventh Congress, 2d Session, as reported Sept. 22, 1982, and incorporated by reference in section 101(e) of Pub. L. 97–276, to be effective as if enacted into law.

1986—Pub. L. 99–500 and 99–591, as amended by Pub. L. 100–71, amended last sentence generally, substituting “charged to appropriations provided the Superintendent of Documents for that purpose” for “charge­able to the department, office, or establishment issuing the publication”. See Codification note above.

1982—Pub. L. 97–276 substituted “Superintendent of Documents” for first reference to “Library of Congress” and “for distribution to those foreign governments which agree, as indicated by the Library of Congress, to send to the United States similar publications of their governments for delivery to the Library of Congress” for “for distribution, through the Smithsonian Institution, to foreign governments which agree to send to the United States similar publications of their governments for delivery to the Library of Congress”, and inserted “Confidential matter, blank forms, circular letters not of a public character, publications determined by their issuing department, office, or establishment to be required for official use only or for strictly administrative or operational purposes which have no public interest or educational value, and publications classified for reasons of national security shall be exempted from this requirement. The printing, binding, and distribution costs of any publication distributed in accordance with this section shall be chargeable to the department, office, or establishment issuing the publication.”