The Reagan administration versus the joint committee on printing: Constitutional reflections

Abstract

Several provisions of the United States Constitution, especially those dealing with parliamentary privileges, journals, accounts, and receipts, reflect a deep concern with the regular publication of accessible government information. Moreover, the provisions' constitutional history and judicial interpretation suggest that the Constitution's design contemplates a system characterized by citizen's close scrutiny of the conduct of public officials based on information contained in official documents. The text, constitutional history, and judicial interpretation of these provisions are analyzed as background for a study of the Reagan administration's attempts to limit the publication programs of federal agencies and the administration's claims that the Joint Committee on Printing lacks authority to supervise and coordinate the publication of government documents. The article also assesses the impact of the 1983 Supreme Court ruling in I.N.S. v. Chadha (invalidating the legislative veto) on the controversy over the status of the Joint Committee on Printing.