[Senate Hearing 113-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015
----------
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
[Clerk's note.--The subcommittee did not hold formal
hearings for the Government Printing Office and the Office of
Compliance. Following are the statements submitted by them and
the answers to questions submitted to them by the
subcommittee:]
DEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
Government Printing Office
Prepared Statement of Davita Vance-Cooks, Public Printer
Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Hoeven, and Members of the
Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations, I have the honor to
submit the appropriations request of the Government Printing Office
(GPO) for fiscal year 2015. As background, my prepared statement
provides an overview of GPO's functions and operations.
government printing office
The Government Printing Office (GPO) is the OFFICIAL, DIGITAL,
SECURE resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing,
authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information
products of the Federal Government.
Under title 44 of the U.S. Code, GPO is responsible for the
production and distribution of information products for all three
branches of the Government, including the official publications of
Congress and the White House, U.S. passports for the Department of
State, and the official publications of other Federal agencies and the
courts. Once primarily a printing operation, we are now an integrated
publishing operation and carry out our mission using an expanding range
of digital as well as conventional formats. Total GPO employment today
is 1,879.
Along with sales of publications in digital and tangible formats to
the public, GPO supports openness and transparency in Government by
providing permanent public access to Federal Government information at
no charge through our Federal Digital System (FDsys, at www.fdsys.gov),
which today makes nearly one million Federal titles available online
from both GPO's servers and links to servers in other agencies, and in
2013 averaged 38.7 million downloads per month (with a spike up to 47.5
million retrievals during the recent Government shutdown). There have
been over 1 billion retrievals from this system since it replaced our
original Web site, GPO Access. We also provide public access to
Government information through partnerships with approximately 1,200
libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library
Program.
In addition to GPO's Web site, www.gpo.gov, we communicate with the
public routinely via Twitter twitter.com/USGPO, YouTube youtube.com/
user/gpoprinter, Facebook facebook.com/USGPO, our Government Book Blog
govbooktalk.gpo.gov, and most recently Pinterest http://pinterest.com/
usgpo/.
History.--From the Mayflower Compact to the Declaration of
Independence and the papers leading to the creation and ratification of
the Constitution, America is a nation based on documents, and our
governmental tradition since then has reflected that fact. Article I,
section 5 of the Constitution requires that ``each House shall keep a
journal of its proceedings and from time to time publish the same.''
After years of struggling with various systems of contracting for
printed documents that were beset with scandal and corruption, in 1860
Congress created the Government Printing Office as its official
printer. GPO first opened its doors for business on March 4, 1861, the
same day Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th President.
Since that time, GPO has produced and distributed the official
version of every great American state paper--and an uncounted number of
other Government publications, documents, and forms--including the
Emancipation Proclamation, the legislative publications and acts of
Congress, Social Security cards, Medicare and Medicaid information,
census forms, tax forms, citizenship forms, passports, military
histories ranging from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion
to the latest accounts of our forces in Afghanistan, the 9/11
Commission Report, Presidential inaugural addresses, and Supreme Court
opinions. This work goes on today, in both digital and print forms.
Strategic Vision and Plan.--GPO is transforming from a print-
centric to a content-centric publishing operation. In fiscal year 2015
and the years ahead, GPO will continue to develop an integrated,
diversified product and services portfolio that primarily focuses on
digital. Although industry experts predict tangible print will continue
to be required because of official use, archival purposes,
authenticity, specific industry requirements, and segments of the
population that either have limited or no access to digital formats, we
recognize that the volume of tangible print that is requisitioned from
GPO will continue to decline.
Our 5-year strategic plan, 2014-2018, which is available for public
review at www.gpo.gov/about/, is built around four continuing strategic
goals: satisfying our stakeholders, offering products and services,
strengthening our organizational foundation, and engaging our
workforce. The plan provides the blueprint for how GPO will continue to
achieve its mission of Keeping America Informed with an emphasis on
being OFFICIAL, DIGITAL, SECURE. GPO's senior managers convene at the
beginning of the fiscal year to review the plan and approve it before
it is issued.
Technology Transformation.--GPO has continually transformed itself
throughout its history by adapting to changing technologies. In the
ink-on-paper era, this meant moving from hand-set to machine
typesetting, from slower to high-speed presses, and from hand to
automated bookbinding. These changes were significant for their time.
Yet they pale by comparison with the transformation that
accompanied our incorporation of electronic information technologies,
which began over 50 years ago in 1962 when the Joint Committee on
Printing directed the agency to develop a new system of computer-based
composition. That order led to the development of GPO's first
electronic photocomposition system, which by the early 1980's had
completely supplanted machine-based hot metal typesetting. Following
the enactment of the GPO Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act
in 1993, the databases generated by our composition system were
uploaded to the Internet via GPO's first Web site, GPO Access, vastly
expanding the agency's information dissemination capabilities. Those
functions continue today with FDsys on a more complex and comprehensive
scale.
As a result of these sweeping technology changes, GPO is now
fundamentally different from what it was as recently as a generation
ago: smaller, leaner, and equipped with digital production capabilities
that are the bedrock of the information systems relied upon daily by
Congress, Federal agencies, and the public to ensure open and
transparent Government in the digital era. As we prepare GPO for the
Government information environment and technology challenges of the
future, our transformation is continuing with the development of new
ways of delivering Government information, including apps and bulk data
download files.
gpo and congress
For the Clerk of the House, the Secretary of the Senate, and the
committees of the House and the Senate, GPO produces the documents and
publications required by the legislative and oversight processes of
Congress. This includes the daily Congressional Record, bills, reports,
legislative calendars, hearings, committee prints, and documents, as
well as stationery, franked envelopes, memorials and condolence books,
programs and invitations, phone books, and the other products needed to
conduct the legislative business of Congress. We also detail expert
staff to support the publishing requirements of House and Senate
committees and congressional offices such as the House and Senate
Offices of Legislative Counsel. We work with Congress to ensure the
provision of these services under any circumstances through continuity-
of-operations (COOP) planning.
Today the activities associated with creating congressional
information databases comprise the vast majority of the work funded by
our annual Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation. In
addition to using these databases to produce printed products as
required by Congress, GPO makes them available to the Internet via
FDsys, and they are the source of the apps we build for congressional
information. Our advanced digital authentication system, supported by
public key infrastructure (PKI), is an essential component for assuring
the digital security of congressional documents.
GPO's congressional information systems also form the building
blocks of other information systems supporting Congress. Our
congressional information databases are provided directly to the
Library of Congress to support its new Congress.gov system as well as
the legislative information systems the Library makes available to
House and Senate offices. We are collaborating with the Library on the
digitization of previously printed documents, such as the Congressional
Record dating from 1873 to 1998, to make them more broadly available to
Congress and the public.
GPO Cuts the Cost of Congressional Work.--The use of electronic
information technologies by GPO has been a principal contributor to
lowering the cost, in real economic terms, of congressional information
products. In fiscal year 1980, as we began replacing hot metal
typesetting with electronic photocomposition, the appropriation for our
Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation was $91.6 million, the
equivalent in today's dollars of $259 million. By comparison, our
approved funding for fiscal year 2014 is $79.7 million, a reduction of
more than two-thirds in constant dollar terms.
Productivity increases resulting from technology have enabled us to
make substantial reductions in staffing requirements while continuing
to improve services for Congress. In 1980, GPO employment was 6,450.
Today, we have 1,879 employees on board, representing a reduction of
4,571, or more than 70 percent. This is the smallest GPO workforce of
any time in the past century.
Highlights of Fiscal Year 2013 Congressional Work.--In 2013, we
released a version of the 113th Congress Mobile Member Guide app, which
contains data equivalent to the Congressional Pictorial Directory, with
further updates to be completed this year.
At the direction of the House Appropriations Committee, and in
support of the House's task force on bulk data, in 2013 we worked with
the Library of Congress to make House bill summaries prepared by the
Congressional Research Service available in XML bulk data format, from
the beginning of the 113th Congress. This follows the work we have done
to make House bills available in XML bulk data format, beginning with
the 113th Congress.
On September 17, 2013, Constitution Day, GPO and the Library of
Congress jointly announced the results of a project to produce and
update the Constitution Annotated, via the Web, an app, and a new print
version. The 2013 edition marks the centennial of this highly regarded
publication, which now is more broadly accessible than ever, with a new
schedule for digital updates as Supreme Court decisions are announced.
The 2013 Presidential inauguration included the work GPO provided
under the direction of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural
Ceremonies. We designed and produced approximately 80 different
products for the event, including invitations, tickets, signs, pins,
and other items that supported the organization and conduct of the
inaugural ceremonies. We also produced secure credentials for the event
at the request of the U.S. Capitol Police, as we did for the 2009
Presidential inauguration.
gpo and federal agencies
Federal agencies are major generators of information in the United
States, and GPO produces their information products for official use
and public access. Federal agencies and the public also rely on a
growing variety of secure credentials produced by GPO, including
travelers holding U.S. passports, Medicare beneficiaries in Puerto
Rico, and other users. Our digital systems support key Federal agency
publications, including the annual Budget of the U.S. Government and,
most importantly, the Federal Register and associated products. As it
does for congressional documents, our digital authentication system,
supported by public key infrastructure (PKI), assures the digital
security of agency documents. GPO does not receive appropriations to
produce work for Federal agencies. Instead, we provide products and
services on a reimbursable basis.
Highlights of Fiscal Year 2013 Agency Operations.--For the past 2
years we have made the Budget of the U.S. Government available as a
mobile app. In 2013, the fiscal year 2014 Budget on FDsys had nearly
122,000 users in the first few days of availability, and our mobile Web
app had approximately 62,000 users.
One of GPO's major agency customers is the Office of the Federal
Register (OFR), which produces the daily Federal Register and related
publications such as the Code of Federal Regulations, and other key
information products like the Daily Compilation of Presidential
Documents and the Public Papers of the President. GPO produces these
publications in both digital and print formats.
A major document that GPO produces is the U.S. passport for the
Department of State, which we have been responsible for since 1926. At
one time no more than a conventionally printed document, the U.S.
passport since 2005 has incorporated a digital chip and antenna array
capable of carrying biometric identification data. With other security
printing features, this document--which we produce in Washington, DC,
as well as a secure remote facility in Mississippi--is now the most
secure identification credential obtainable. In 2013, we began work on
development of the next generation passport, a project that we now have
underway.
Since 2008, we have served as an integrator of secure
identification smart cards to support the credentialing requirements of
Federal agencies and other Government entities. Our secure credential
unit has been certified by the General Services Administration (GSA) as
the only government-to-government provider of credentials meeting the
requirements of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12).
In 2013, following the approval of the Joint Committee on Printing, we
completed the installation of a COOP facility for card production at
our facility in Mississippi on time and under budget, and began
operations.
Partnership with Industry.--Other than congressional and other work
such as the Federal Register, the Budget, and secure and intelligent
documents, we produce virtually all other Federal agency information
product requirements via contracts in partnership with the private
sector printing and information product industry. In fiscal year 2013
this work amounted to about $300 million. Approximately 16,000
individual firms are registered to do business with GPO, the vast
majority of whom are small businesses averaging 20 employees per firm.
Contracts are awarded on a purely competitive basis; there are no set-
asides or preferences in contracting other than what is specified in
law and regulation, including a requirement for Buy American. This
partnership provides great economic opportunity for the private sector.
gpo and open, transparent government
Producing and distributing the official publications and
information products of the Government fulfills an informing role
originally envisioned by the Founders, as James Madison once said:
A popular Government without popular information, or the means
of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or
perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a
people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves
with the power which knowledge gives.
GPO operates a variety of programs that provide the public with
``the means of acquiring'' Government information that Madison spoke
of. These include the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), GPO's
Federal Digital System (FDsys), our Publications and Information Sales
and Reimbursable Distribution programs, and social media.
Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).--The FDLP has
legislative antecedents that date back 200 years, to 1813. Across those
years, depository libraries have served as critical links between ``We
the People'' and the information made available by the Federal
Government. GPO provides the libraries with information products in
digital and, in some cases, tangible formats, and the libraries in turn
make these available to the public at no charge while providing
additional help and assistance to depository library users. The program
today serves millions of Americans through a network of approximately
1,200 public, academic, law, and other libraries located across the
Nation, averaging nearly three per congressional district. Once limited
to the distribution of printed and microfiche products, the FDLP today
is primarily digital, supported by FDsys and other digital resources.
Federal Digital System (FDsys).--GPO has been providing online
access to congressional and Federal agency documents since 1994, under
the requirement of chapter 41 of title 44, U.S.C. Today, FDsys provides
the majority of congressional and Federal agency content to the FDLP as
well as other online users. This system has reduced the cost of
providing public access to Government information significantly when
compared with print, while expanding public access dramatically through
the Internet. Currently, FDsys serves as a secure preservation
repository for nearly one million individual titles from all three
branches of the Government, the only system of its kind in operation
today. Public utilization of FDsys has increased substantially. In
2013, FDsys averaged 38.7 million downloads per month, with a spike up
to 47.5 million retrievals during the recent Government shutdown.
Earlier this year, we reported there have been more than 1 billion
documents retrieved from FDsys since it replaced our original Web site,
GPO Access. GPO is continually adding collections to FDsys to provide
increased public access to Government information.
GPO Achieves Savings in Information Dissemination.--In 1995, the
first full year of our online operations, the cost of printing and
distributing millions of copies of printed publications to Federal
depository libraries nationwide was funded at $17.6 million, the
equivalent of $26.9 million in constant dollars. For fiscal year 2015,
we are proposing to fund this function at $8.7 million, a reduction of
more than 67 percent in constant dollar terms. Along with
appropriations to GPO's Revolving Fund, we have used the savings from
reduced printing and distribution costs to pay for the establishment
and operation of our digital information dissemination operations,
achieving additional savings for the taxpayers, and vastly expanding
public access to Government information.
Publication and Information Sales Program.--Along with the FDLP and
FDsys, which are no-fee public access programs, GPO provides public
access to official Federal information through public sales featuring
secure ordering through an online bookstore, a brick and mortar
bookstore at GPO headquarters in Washington, DC, and partnerships with
the private sector that offer Federal publications as eBooks. As a one-
stop shop for eBook design, conversion, and dissemination, our presence
in the eBook market continues to grow. We now have agreements with
Apple, Google's eBookstore, Barnes & Noble, OverDrive, Ingram, Zinio,
and other online vendors to make popular Government titles such as the
Financial Crisis Inquiry Report available as eBooks. We have made Women
in Congress and Black Americans in Congress available as eBooks and we
are working on making Hispanic Americans in Congress available as an
eBook as well.
Reimbursable Distribution Program.--We operate distribution
programs for the information products of other Federal agencies on a
reimbursable basis, including Consumer Information Center publications
of the General Services Administration (GSA), from warehouses in
Pueblo, CO, and Laurel, MD.
GPO and Social Media.--We use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a
book blog to share information about GPO news and events and to promote
specific publications and products. By the end of 2013, we had 2,731
likes on Facebook, 5,000 followers on Twitter, and 93,705 views across
nearly 53 videos on YouTube. Our book blog, Government Book Talk,
focuses on increasing the awareness of new and classic Federal
publications through reviews and discussions. In February 2013, we
started up a presence on Pinterest and now have 288 followers pinning
on 15 boards of Federal Government information.
gpo's finances
Revolving Fund.--All GPO activities are financed through a
business-like Revolving Fund. The fund is used to pay all of GPO's
costs in performing congressional and agency printing and publishing,
printing procurement, and distribution activities. It is reimbursed
from payments from customer agencies, sales to the public, and
transfers from GPO's two annual appropriations: the Congressional
Printing and Binding Appropriation and the Salaries and Expenses
Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents. Our appropriations
constitute approximately 15 percent of our total revenues.
Appropriated Funds.--GPO's Congressional Printing and Binding
Appropriation is used to reimburse the Revolving Fund for costs of
publishing the documents required for the use of Congress in digital
and print formats. The Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the
Superintendent of Documents is used to pay for costs associated with
depository distribution, cataloging and indexing, statutory
distribution, and international exchange distribution. The
reimbursements from these appropriations are included in GPO's
Revolving Fund as revenue for work performed.
Fiscal Year 2013 Financial Results.--Revenue totaled $719 million
while total expenses were $689 million. The expenses include a $1.4
million beneficial adjustment reflecting a decrease in the GPO long
term liability for workers' compensation. Before that adjustment and
net of the accumulation of $20.7 million in reimbursements from the
State Department reserved for capital investment supporting passport
production, GPO's operating net income was $7.3 million. Our financial
statements are audited annually by an independent third party
contracted for by our Office of Inspector General, and we routinely
receive an unqualified or ``clean'' opinion.
fiscal year 2015 appropriations request
We are requesting a total of $128,919,000 for fiscal year 2015, an
increase of $9,619,000 or 8.1 percent over the level of funding
provided for fiscal year 2014 in Public Law 113-76. The increase is
primarily attributable to the Congressional Printing and Binding
account due to the currently projected reduction in the availability of
unexpended prior year funds to offset new funding requirements. The
other significant component of our increased request is for support of
GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys) and our Composition System
Replacement project as well as necessary facilities maintenance and
repairs.
GPO's appropriations request for fiscal year 2015 will enable us
to:
--meet projected requirements for GPO's congressional printing and
binding operations;
--fund the operation of GPO's statutory information dissemination
programs and provide investment funds for necessary information
dissemination projects; and
--continue the development of FDsys and GPO's Composition System
Replacement project and carry out necessary facilities
maintenance and repair projects.
Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation.--We are
requesting $85,400,000 for this account. This represents an increase of
$5,664,000 or 7.1 percent over the level approved in Public Law 113-76.
Rather than representing an increase in congressional product
requirements, the increase in due primarily to the reduced availability
of unexpended prior year funds to offset new funding requirements.
For fiscal year 2014, we estimated that total congressional
printing and binding requirements would be $89,487,000. We plan to use
$9,751,000 of transfers from the unexpended balances of prior year
appropriations to help offset these requirements. This reduced our need
for new funding to $79,736,000, the level that has been approved for
fiscal year 2014.
For fiscal year 2015, we estimate that total congressional printing
and binding requirements will be $90,713,000, an increase of just
$1,226,000 or 1.4 percent, which is a third less than the anticipated
2.1 percent inflation increase. At this time, we plan to use $5,313,000
that is available in unexpended prior funds to offset these
requirements, resulting in our request for $85,400,000 in new funding.
We are continuing to monitor the liquidation of outstanding obligations
against our prior year accounts, and should additional prior year
unexpended balances become available, we will request their transfer
for fiscal year 2015 purposes.
The estimated requirements for fiscal year 2015 include a projected
price level increase of $1,895,000, based on an average 2.1 percent
rise in printing costs. The effects of the price level increase are
offset by an estimated $669,000 reduction in volume requirements. The
volume estimate is derived from historical data. While volume is
projected to increase for hearings, miscellaneous printing and
services, bills and resolutions, and the Congressional Record Index,
volume reductions are projected for all other congressional printing
and binding categories, chiefly in the categories for the Congressional
Record, legislative calendars, document envelopes and franks,
miscellaneous publications, and committee prints.
Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent of
Documents.--We are requesting $32,171,000 for this account. This
represents an increase of $671,000 or 2.1 percent over the funding
approved in Public Law 113-76.
The funding we are requesting for fiscal year 2015 will cover
mandatory pay and related cost increases of $271,000. Merit and other
pay increases are included for 94 FTE's, a reduction of 20 from the
level requested for fiscal year 2014. In addition, the requested
funding covers projected price level increases of $400,000, including
ongoing systems maintenance and FDsys operating expenses.
Our total requirements for this account for fiscal year 2015 are
projected to be $37,238,000. This includes $2,500,000 for the
development of metadata for the digitized bound Congressional Record
and Federal Register; $1,067,000 for the FDLP's digital harvesting and
content management project; $1,000,000 for the historic shelflist
digitization project; and $500,000 in projects to enhance public access
to Web-based publications. To cover these costs, there is approximately
$5,067,000 in unexpended balances from prior year accounts. We will
request the Appropriations Committees for authority to transfer these
funds to the Revolving Fund to cover these project costs.
Revolving Fund.--We are requesting $11,347,500 for this account, to
remain available until expended. This represents an increase of
$3,284,000 or 40.7 percent over the funding provided in Public Law 113-
76.
The request includes $5,331,500 for FDsys projects, including
$3,800,000 for repository development, search development, and Web app
and processing development, to maintain consistent delivery of new
features and functionality associated with the introduction of the next
generation FDsys, scheduled for fiscal year 2015. In addition, we are
requesting $1,531,500 for FDsys infrastructure improvements including
test environment, development environment, storage upgrade, and
additional bandwidth to accommodate continuing increases in public use.
The recent report of the National Academy of Public Administration on
GPO discussed the need for appropriations to provide necessary funding
for FDsys.
GPO has been working on the development of our XML-based
Composition System Replacement (CSR) project, which will replace our
aging Microcomp composition system. The objective of the project is to
match the typographical style and page layout of current printed
publications, as well as support enhanced search, retrieval, data
formats, and repurposing of data. In fiscal year 2015, GPO plans to
continue active development of core legislative documents, beginning
with bills, resolutions, and amendments but also efforts to migrate
additional publications to XML. We are requesting $3.5 million for this
purpose, which will cover the costs for hardware, software, and
staffing needed for project support, development and implementation.
We are also requesting $2,516,000 for facilities projects,
including replacement of aging elevators and continuing repairs to our
roof, acquisition of a new automated utility management system, and
projects to install upgraded volt transformers, design of a ``free
cooling'' heat exchange system, installation of an air compressor, and
a new cooling system for GPO's data center.
Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Hoeven, this concludes my
prepared statement and I am prepared to answer any questions you may
have.
[The following are answers to questions submitted by the
subcommittee to the Government Printing Office:]
Questions Submitted to Davita Vance-Cooks
Questions Submitted by Senators Jeanne Shaheen and John Hoeven
congressional printing and binding
Question. The total request for GPO's congressional printing and
binding for fiscal year 2015 is $85.4 million, an increase of $5.664
million, or 6.9 percent, to the 2014 level. In addition to the
appropriations request, GPO plans to utilize $5.313 million of
unexpended prior year funds to offset further congressional printing
and binding needs in fiscal year 2015.
What is the original source of the $5.313 million in unexpended
prior year appropriations, and why has it not yet been expended?
Answer. The original source of the $5.313 million in unexpended
prior year appropriations was from fiscal years 2009 through 2011.
These funds were not expended because congressional workload was less
than had been estimated. Each year during the budget development
process, GPO projects congressional workload requirements based
primarily on analysis of historical data. However, GPO does not control
actual workload demands, and as a result actual workload can be lower
or higher than estimated.
Question. Why does the appropriations request for congressional
printing and binding increase by such a relatively large percentage
between fiscal year 2014 and fiscal year 2015?
Answer. GPO is seeking funding of $85.4 million dollars for
Congressional Printing and Binding. This is an increase of $5.7 million
or 7.1 percent over the current funding level. This increase is due
primarily to the reduced availability of unexpended prior year funds.
Congressional Printing and Binding overall workload is projected to
decrease. The net increase is composed of the following:
--A $0.7 million decrease due to an overall reductions in workload;
--A $1.9 million increase for price level and pay increases; and
--A $4.4 million increase due to a reduction in funds available for
transfer to meet program requirements in fiscal year 2015,
compared to fiscal year 2014.
Congressional Printing and Binding program requirements are
projected to be $90.7 million for fiscal year 2015, before the transfer
of funds, compared to $89.5 million in fiscal year 2014, before the
transfer of funds. This represents an increase of $1.2 million over
fiscal year 2014, which is less than the rate of inflation. Funding
from transfers of prior-year surplus appropriations is expected to
offset $5.3 million in program expenses in fiscal year 2015, compared
with the $9.7 million in prior year funds that was available for fiscal
year 2014.
GPO is continuing to evaluate prior year open obligations to
determine whether additional unexpended balances may be available for
transfer to the Revolving Fund to help meet our fiscal year 2015
appropriations requirements. [As of May 5, 2014, GPO had identified an
additional $2,232,000 in unexpended prior year funds that could be
applied to its request for funding for Congressional Printing and
Binding for fiscal year 2015.]
composition system replacement
Question. GPO's fiscal year 2015 request includes $3.5 million for
the Composition System Replacement project.
Why does GPO need to replace the current composition system?
Answer. GPO's current composition system is based on a 30-year-old
batch composition engine, developed and maintained by GPO, called
Microcomp, which is still being used to compose the majority of
congressional documents and select Federal agency publications that are
printed and published electronically by GPO. GPO has decided to replace
Microcomp and move GPO to a composition system based on Extensible
Markup Language (XML), which is the legislative data standard that has
been adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives. The
Composition System Replacement (CSR) is intended to:
--Replace GPO's current system used to compose congressional and
regulatory documents for printing (Microcomp);
--Move GPO to a composition model that is content centric and based
on XML;
--Match the typographical style and page layout of current printed
publications as well as support enhanced features for digital
and mobile display, including search, retrieval, and
repurposing of data;
--Be implemented incrementally on a product by product basis (the
first release will focus on congressional bills);
--Integrate with internal and external systems, such as FDsys and XML
authoring tools utilized by external customers (e.g., XMETAL,
LEXA); and
--Allow all users (including GPO, congressional, and agency users) to
employ XML while maintaining the current functionality
available via Microcomp and GPO locator codes.
Question. Does the $3.5 million cover the entire cost of the system
upgrade? Or are further development and implementation costs expected?
Answer. The cost of this multi-year project is currently projected
at between $15 million and $20 million. To date, $6.4 million has been
appropriated to GPO's Revolving Fund to remain available until
expended, and GPO has set aside an additional $2 million for the same
purpose. The addition of the funds requested for fiscal year 2015 will
provide us with a little over half of the projected cost. To date, a
total of $2 million has been expended. The CSR will be deployed
incrementally on a product by product basis, beginning with
congressional bills in the first public release targeted for January
2017.
secure credentialing
Question. GPO produces U.S. passports for the Department of State
as well as credentials for other Federal agencies.
Can you provide an overview of GPO's secure credential operations,
including how long you have been involved in these operations, the
products you produce, and the relationships you have with Federal
agencies in producing secure credentials?
Answer. In the wake of 9/11 and the introduction HSPD-12 and
related Federal identification requirements, there has been an increase
in the Government's need for secure credentials. Based on GPO's long
term experience and expertise with the production of the U.S. passport,
the establishment of our secure credential capability was endorsed to
GPO management by GPO's Inspector General in 2005. GPO's proposal to
set up a secure card center within its Security and Intelligent
Documents business unit subsequently was approved in fiscal year 2008
by the Joint Committee on Printing, which since then has also
approved--on a bipartisan basis--all funding for this program in GPO's
annual spending plans. In 2010, we became the only Federal agency
certified by the General Services Administration to graphically
personalize HSPD-12 credentials. In 2012 the Joint Committee on
Printing approved the establishment of a COOP capability for our secure
credential operations. While GPO is not the only provider of such
requirements for Federal agencies, and while our operation is limited
in scope, the volume of work processed by our capability has increased,
as the report of the National Academy of Public Administration,
Rebooting the Government Printing Office: Keeping America Informed in
the Digital Age (January 2013), recently concluded.
As Representative Robert Brady recently pointed out in the
Congressional Record (May 8, 2014; pp. E719-21),
Secure-credential work is firmly within the GPO's statutory
authority. GPO has a long history of secure credential work,
such as with the manufacture of U.S. passport blanks since
1926. By definition, passports and all other forms of
government credentials involve `printing,' the production of
something in printed form. With secure credentials, intricate,
multi-color modern printing embedded with anti-counterfeiting
features is utterly indispensable to render a document
immediately recognizable by handlers as the genuine article and
thus inspire the confidence necessary to establish identity,
crossings and other purposes.
GPO provides a government-to-government solution to fulfill the
requisitions of Federal agencies for secure credentials. Our program is
staffed by cleared personnel and backed by a secure supply chain. GPO
serves as a card integrator, working closely with private sector
providers to obtain the products and services needed to fulfill
requisitions submitted by Federal agencies. For several years we have
been an accepted member of the Smart Card Alliance, a consortium of
private sector companies and Federal agencies including the National
Institute for Standards and Technology, the Department of Homeland
Security, the Department of State, the Department of Transportation,
and the General Services Administration (http://
www.smartcardalliance.org/). We partner with the private sector for
consulting, fabrication, design, materials, and supplies, essentially
incorporating the best that industry has to offer into solutions sought
by Federal agencies that requisition the work from us.
In this capacity, GPO has served as a valuable resource to a number
of Federal agencies, including the U.S. Capitol Police, which relied on
us to provide secure law enforcement credentials for the 2009 and 2013
Presidential inaugurations. Other work GPO has performed includes
production of the Trusted Traveler family of border crossing cards
(NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST), the Global Entry Card, and HSPD-12 card bodies
enhanced with security printing for the Department of Homeland
Security; the Medicare card used by Puerto Rican beneficiaries for the
Department of Health and Human Services; law enforcement credentials
for approximately 35 Federal agency inspector general and law
enforcement organizations; the DC One card for the District of Columbia
Government; a special events badge for the FBI; the family of
diplomatic credentials and the border crossing card for the Department
of State; and others. In addition to satisfactorily fulfilling Federal
agency requisitions for secure credentials, our card production program
was endorsed in the recent report of the National Academy of Public
Administration.
Throughout the existence of our program, we have been open and
transparent about its operation. As noted above, we are a well-known
member of the Smart Card Alliance. We are subject to the oversight of
the Joint Committee on Printing and our House and Senate legislative
oversight and appropriations committees. Additionally, our program has
been the subject of oversight by our Office of Inspector General (see
for example http://www.gpo.gov/pdfs/ig/audits/11-06_AuditReport
(Issued_March_31_2011).pdf); the IG's semiannual reports to Congress
for several years routinely tracked oversight of the GPO's secure
credentials program as a ``management challenge'' (see for example
http://www.gpo.gov/pdfs/ig/semi-annual/11-30-09.pdf). We have kept the
public informed through press releases (see for example http://
www.gpo.gov/pdfs/news-media/press/09news19.pdf, http://www.gpo.gov/
pdfs/news-media/press/10news39.pdf, and http://www.gpo.gov/pdfs/news-
media/press/11news60.pdf), YouTube videos (see for example http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=levIYlqIPy0, http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=ettaBOW4UEA, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQxH1EZA7lI),
GPO annual reports to Congress, and other media. Last month, we
participated in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
Expo held at the Washington Convention Center, where we demonstrated
for the public the secure credential work we do with production of the
U.S. passport and other credentials.
Question. How are these operations funded?
Answer. GPO provides secure credential products and services on a
reimbursable basis through GPO's Revolving Fund. None of the funds for
GPO's secure card capability are appropriated by Congress. As required
by section 309 of Title 44 of the U.S. Code, GPO's rates for secure
credentials are set to recover only the direct and indirect costs of
production, including overhead and the cost of investment in the
necessary equipment and technology. Total revenues for fiscal year 2013
were approximately $15 million. By comparison, global revenues for
member companies in the Smart Card Alliance in 2013 were approximately
$7.5 billion.
Question. Is GPO the only provider of secure credentials for
Federal agencies, and are Federal agencies required to use GPO?
Answer. In hearings before the House Legislative Branch
Appropriations Subcommittee for fiscal year 2010, former Public Printer
Robert C. Tapella said, ``I believe that Federal credentials belong in
a federally-owned, federally-operated production environment and not in
the private sector. And I think it is an inherently governmental
activity'' (Hearings, Part II, p. 166). GPO management today does not
endorse that position nor would it be practicable. As the National
Academy of Public Administration recently concluded, ``the GPO is not
the sole provider of smart cards [secure credentials]. Agencies may
obtain smart cards from private sector vendors as well'' (Rebooting the
Government Printing Office, p. 61). Where GPO's services are concerned,
as long as Federal agencies submit a requisition that complies with the
relevant provisions of title 44 (certifying that the products requested
are authorized by law, necessary to the public business, and backed by
the necessary funding), GPO will perform the work. Federal agencies who
have contacted GPO to discuss our secure credential capabilities are
aware of this fact.
As stated above, as a member organization of the Smart Card
Alliance we acknowledge the role of the private sector secure
credentials industry in providing products and services to Federal
agencies, and we work closely with them in the integration of card
components to meet the requirements of products requisitioned from us.
We do not compete against private sector companies for secure
credential work. GPO provides a limited capability that is available
for the use of Federal agencies seeking the provision of services in a
government-to-government setting, staffed by cleared personnel, and
backed by a secure supply chain. As a postscript, GPO's Security and
Intelligent Documents (SID) business unit has one FTE (no sales teams)
responsible for addressing inquiries for SID products and services that
come from Federal agencies.
Question. What is GPO's process for informing Federal agencies of
services provided in this area?
Answer. GPO's secure credential products and services are an intra-
governmental option for Federal agencies to consider. GPO does not take
the position that use of our capability is required and as noted above
we are not the only resource for providing secure credentials. If we
are asked to do so, we will respond to inquiries from an agency
interested in learning more about our products and services. We do not
respond to or take any other action as to Federal agency RFPs
soliciting bids for providing secure credentials.
As a public agency we have been transparent in providing
information about our secure credential operation, including through
our Web site, just as we do for other GPO products and services.
However, because secure credentials are a relatively specialized
variety of Government document, we have found that work in this area
results primarily from word-of-mouth that leads agencies seeking
solutions for their secure documents credentials to come to GPO with
requests for information. Additionally, our secure credential customers
are also customers for other print services, so they are aware of our
product and service capabilities. The growth in our secure credential
operation has come primarily from agencies that have used our print and
other secure credential services previously. We have one staff member
who provides information on our secure credential products and
capabilities.
full time equivalents (fte)
Question. GPO's number of employees has been on a decline as
technologies have changed.
How many Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) does GPO currently have?
Answer. Through the first 6 months of fiscal year 2014, GPO has
utilized an average of 1,838 FTEs. This includes 86 FTE's funded
through the Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent
of Documents. The balance of GPO's FTEs are funded through
reimbursements to the GPO Revolving Fund.
Question. What is your goal for fiscal year 2014 and will you reach
that goal? What is the estimated level of FTEs reflected in your fiscal
year 2015 budget request?
Answer. GPO's budget for fiscal year 2014 totals 1,923 FTE's,
including 94 FTE's for the Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the
Superintendent of Documents. Based on results for the first 6 months of
fiscal year 2014, GPO will be below the budgeted levels for fiscal year
2014. Actual FTE levels in the business-like Revolving Fund are largely
dependent on customer demands for services. GPO's budget estimates for
fiscal year 2015 total 1,923 FTE's, including 94 FTE's for the Salaries
and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents.
OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
Prepared Statement of Barbara J. Sapin, Executive Director of the
Office of Compliance
Madam Chairwoman, Senator Hoeven, and members of the subcommittee,
I appreciate the opportunity to present this statement on the
Congressional Office of Compliance's (OOC) budget request for fiscal
year 2015. I want to thank the subcommittee for its continued support
of the OOC and its mission of advancing workplace rights, safety,
health and accessibility for congressional employees and members of the
public that visit the Capitol.
The Office of Compliance (``OOC'') is requesting an appropriation
of $4,020,000 for fiscal year 2015. This is a 3.93 percent increase
from fiscal year 2014 and reflects the OOC's immediate need to update
our information technology (IT) infrastructure; provide education
opportunities to Members, their staffs, and other Legislative Branch
employees; and ensure that our safety and health program continues to
protect the congressional community.
ensuring a model workplace for congressional employees
The OOC continues to be one of the most cost effective investments
Congress makes in itself and its personnel. Despite having only 22
full-time equivalents (FTE) positions inclusive of a part-time Board of
Directors, the OOC serves the same functions as multiple agencies in
the Executive Branch at a fraction of the cost, including the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, the
Department of Justice (for access for people with disabilities), and
the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
These areas of responsibilities for the OOC go beyond creating a
model workplace for congressional employees but proactively provide
savings to the legislative branch for every dollar expended. For
example, training and education programs on workplace protections
similar to the ones conducted by the OOC pay dividends far beyond
reducing complaints, litigation and settlement costs borne by the
Government. Rather, studies have shown that an effective sexual
harassment and discrimination training program significantly reduces
absenteeism, increases productivity and lowers employee turn-over. In
addition, empirical studies have shown that safety and health
inspections have a cost-benefit ratio of between $3 to $10 of savings
for every $1 invested in improving workplace safety. Further, in fiscal
year 2013, the OOC's in-house mediation program resolved over 70
percent of employee claims without the need for costly litigation or
hearings.
fiscal year 2015 request
In developing this year's budget request, the OOC reviewed its
current operations from a zero base to identify opportunities to reduce
costs without sacrificing the quality of services to the 30,000
employees of the legislative branch. Between fiscal year 2010 and
fiscal year 2014, the OOC's funding had been reduced by approximately
$537,000 which represented over 12 percent of our fiscal year 2010
budget.
Education and Training
While OOC has a statutory mandate to train and educate
Congressional employees on their rights and responsibilities under the
Act, budget cuts limited our ability to do so. Reductions in this
necessary training typically cost the Government more in litigation and
personnel costs. In fiscal year 2013, the OOC analyzed the potential
savings that came from mandatory training in the executive branch. We
saw that, although there was a brief spike in litigation of
discrimination claims during the training period, this was followed by
a dramatic decline in litigation overall, as mandatory training was
implemented, employees were educated about their rights, and management
level employees were trained to create model working environments and
avoid actions which could give rise to unnecessary litigation. Findings
of discrimination also dramatically decreased after the mandate for
training was put into effect.
Follow-up studies have also shown that an all-inclusive training
approach, where both supervisors and employees are trained together,
has the greatest impact on workplace behavior. In fiscal year 2014, we
have been able to increase our training budget to strengthen training
across campus and for fiscal year 2015, we plan to extend educational
opportunities throughout the legislative community. This will include
developing web-based modules and expanding in-person training sessions.
Our fiscal year 2015 Budget request supports our initial plans to
broaden our outreach program.
Information Technology Improvements
A large part of our request for additional funds in fiscal year
2015 is for the development and maintenance of a new case management
system. This system will replace an outdated system that is unable to
expand to accept many of the current processes used by most Federal and
State judicial and administrative forums. For example, the OOC's
current data system platform has been unable to keep pace and cannot be
modified to accept money saving advancements such as paperless case
files and electronic filing. Although relatively novel in 2007 when the
current system was first installed, electronic filing is now the
standard in Federal and State courts and most administrative forums.
Use of these new systems eliminates the waste and costs of multiple
copies of pleadings and other litigation documents and significantly
reduces uncertainty on issues of filing timeliness. Electronic filing
and the migration of litigation records from a paper format to an
electronic format is an involved process that includes developing a
system that supports digital signatures, allows privacy and public
access portals, and facilitates docket and document management.
In view of the increased requests from the congressional community
for data and reports on the use of the OOC services, continued reliance
on our outdated system seriously hinders our case processing and
compromises information management. The current system cannot be
modified to meet the increased demands for data and statistics
regarding our statutorily mandated programs. The platform of the
current system is unreliable in compiling data and issuing accurate
reports. This means that in order to provide the reports requested by
congressional committees and Member offices or required for the Annual
Report, data must be compiled manually. While these manually completed
reports contain accurate information, they are time consuming to
prepare. Moreover, the current system is not flexible enough to provide
for any additional reports that may be needed or requested. In
addition, the current platform cannot support the proactive trend
analysis that the OOC needs to identify problem areas in legislative
branch workplaces early on. Under a new system, the OOC would be able
to monitor employee inquiries and complaints in particular employing
offices and then work with those entities through training and
education to address the issues proactively instead of responding to
them in costly litigation. The changes and the development of a new
case management system will not only provide for more streamlined
service delivery by our office to the congressional community but will
also allow cost savings in the long run.
The OOC will require the appropriations allocation discussed in our
fiscal year 2015 budget to complete the development and maintenance of
a system that is affordable and can be tailored and scaled to the
requirements of our mission.
Health and Safety Inspections
The past cuts in funding forced us to significantly reduce
Occupational Safety and Health (`OSH') inspector hours. Starting in
fiscal year 2012, the OOC developed and instituted a risk-based
approach to the biennial OSH inspection. With this approach, OOC
inspectors targeted high-risk and high-consequence areas such as
machine shops, high voltage areas and child care centers in lieu of
more comprehensive inspection of the Capitol campus. While this
approach focuses our limited resources, it also requires specialized
expertise because such inspections are more complex. Last fiscal year,
our risk-based inspections were compromised by reduced inspector hours.
We experienced a 6 month delay in completing the inspections for the
112th Congress. We managed to rebuild our inspection team to consist of
four contract inspectors (two full time and two part time) and two
employee inspectors. These inspectors are working to complete both the
112th and 113th biennial inspections. The same inspectors have been
trained to conduct the biennial Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
inspections. After an increase in funding in fiscal year 2014, we are
encouraged that we can continue to make progress in our inspections and
in fiscal year 2015, we look forward to moving two contract inspector
positions to vacant employee positions. This move is expected to save
money and help us achieve a stable, experienced workforce. To
accomplish this, we are requesting a shift in dollars from 2 year
contract funds to 1 year money for staff.
Administrative Dispute Resolution Program
The Office is also requesting minimal funds to ensure that the OOC
administrative dispute resolution (ADR) program is at full operational
capacity. This program is a critical part of the Congressional
Accountability Act (CAA). Through mandatory counseling and confidential
mediation, and the option of bringing an administrative complaint to
the OOC, Congress, in passing the CAA, anticipated that workplace
disputes could be handled confidentiality at the earliest stages. By
its very nature, the program is unpredictable in the number of
constituents served and complexity of hearings. Costs can fluctuate
greatly over the course of the year. For instance, as of the date of
this testimony, complaints filed by congressional employees with our
office were up over 40 percent from the last fiscal year. While the
number of complaints filed in Federal court during the same time period
is about \1/3\ of that number. The ADR program is customer driven and
because the number of complaints brought to OOC varies considerably,
OOC must maintain the necessary funding to ensure that each complaint
can be expeditiously processed.
We have managed to maintain the high level of service for the
program through judicious assignment of Hearing Officers, exploration
with other Federal agencies on the use of trained Hearing Officers,
cross training of existing staff, and bringing mediations in-house.
Using senior employees who are highly trained in-house mediators has
resulted in significant costs savings to the OOC while still providing
unparalleled service. For instance, in fiscal year 2013 our in-house
mediators conducted 80 mediations. Of those 80 mediations over 70
percent were resolved without further action by the complainant. This
resolution rate for compelled mediation is well above current
alternative dispute resolution standards and comes close to mirroring
voluntary mediation success rates.
Information Technology
The fiscal year 2015 IT budget request reflects OOC's focus on
other IT needs in addition to the case management system, such as
improvements to current data systems used in health and safety and ADA
inspections, upgrading security to meet current threat levels,
enhancement of video conferencing equipment to save travel money for
Hearing Officers, and consolidating IT functions.
conclusion
The Office of Compliance and its Board of Directors are proud of
the level of services we deliver to the regulated community. As the
Executive Director, I want to make sure that our highly professional
and talented staff members have the tools they need to perform their
statutorily mandated functions. While our budget is small, our mission
is large and we work very hard to make the most of the funding that we
do receive. Our small size and interrelated missions mean we can ill-
afford to underfund one statutorily mandated area and still expect to
succeed in the others. We all believe in the mission of the Office of
Compliance and work to ensure that we continue to successfully serve
the congressional community. We thank the subcommittee again for the
opportunity to submit this statement. My staff and I are pleased to
answer any questions that members of the subcommittee may have.
[The following are answers to questions submitted by the
subcommittee to the Office of Compliance:]
Questions Submitted to Barbara J. Sapin
Questions Submitted by Senators Jeanne Shaheen and John Hoeven
Question. Please describe the deficiencies in the Office of
Compliance's (OOC's) current case management system and what
capabilities could be added under a new, or upgraded, case management
system.
Answer. We obtained our current case management system in 2007 to
manage case docketing and correspondence with the parties in dispute
resolution proceedings, and to generate mandated annual statistical
reports. Based on cost considerations, the OOC purchased a commercial
off-the-shelf software program that was adapted slightly to manage the
OOC's alternative dispute resolution process from its confidential
counseling stage to mediation and ultimately to the administrative
hearing process. Shortly after the system came on-line in 2007, its
shortcomings and limitations began to reveal themselves as the OOC
mission evolved and demands on the system grew. The following are some
of those identified problem areas:
Electronic Filing: The OOC's current data system platform cannot be
modified to accept cost and time saving advancements such as paperless
case files and electronic filing. Today, electronic filing is the
standard in Federal and State courts and most administrative forums. In
talking to our stakeholders, they have all asked for increased
electronic access. Electronic filing eliminates the need for multiple
paper copies of pleadings and other litigation documents, significantly
reduces uncertainty on issues of filing timeliness, and reduces postage
and archiving costs.
Trend Analysis & Data Management: Despite numerous attempts, we
have been unable to modify the current system to meet the increased
demands for data and statistics regarding our statutorily mandated
programs. The platform of the current system is unreliable in compiling
data and issuing accurate reports. This means that in order to provide
the data requested by congressional committees and Senate offices or
required for the Annual Report, the information must be compiled and
verified manually. While these manually completed reports contain
accurate information, they are time consuming to prepare. Moreover, the
current system is not flexible enough to provide for any additional
reports, queries, or cross referencing that may be needed or requested,
or for continuous monitoring of expenses related to the dispute
resolution program. The current platform cannot support the proactive
trend analysis that the OOC wants and stakeholders need to identify
problem areas and best practices in legislative branch workplaces.
Cloud-Based Access: The current system is hosted internally by our
office, so it is not accessible through the Internet or any other
cloud-based system. This in-house hosting requires that OOC employees
have two computer terminals--one for internal use of the case
management database and another for outside email and Internet access.
The internal case management program could not be updated remotely by
our vendor for timely support and maintenance; nor could it be expanded
to include Internet based e-filing systems. Problems or issues with the
program would remain unresolved until the vendor could address them
onsite at the OOC.
Proposed System: The OOC is developing an updated case management
system that will provide the platform for electronic filing. This
system will facilitate secure and private electronic docket and
document management. Under an updated system, the OOC will be able to
rely on reports that will not only contain accurate statistics on the
use of the OOC's services, but will allow us to do reliable trend
analysis. Thus, the OOC would be able to monitor employee inquiries and
complaints in particular employing offices and then work with those
entities through training and outreach to address the issues
proactively instead of responding to them later in costly litigation. A
new system will also include financial data related to funds spent on
contractors in the various stages of mediation and in hearings. This
information will be invaluable for future planning and budgeting.
Although the OOC cannot control or predict the number of cases that
will go to mediation or hearing, this financial data will help staff
predict future needs. With the improvements in firewalls, cloud-based
security, and other data protection advancements, a new system will
provide for secure cloud-based access allowing the OOC to transfer its
data to a remotely hosted site accessible via the Internet. This will
increase flexibility in maintenance and upkeep by our vendor,
facilitate continuation of operations in the event of an emergency, and
increase the capacity for OOC staff to telework.
The OOC will require the appropriations allocation discussed in our
fiscal year 2015 budget to complete the development and maintenance of
an affordable system that can be tailored and scaled to the
requirements of our mission.
Question. How do you obtain the services of hearing officers and
how are they compensated?
Answer. As required by the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA),
the OOC maintains a list of members of the bar who are retired judges
of the Federal courts and current or former Federal administrative
judges to serve as hearing officers for administrative cases before the
OOC. In developing the list, the Executive Director considers
candidates recommended by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service and the Administrative Conference of the United States.
Recommendations for possible hearing officers have also come from the
Department of Labor, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. All of the hearing
officers on the list have experience presiding over labor and
employment law cases or are experts in technical matters relating to
Americans with Disability Act (ADA) accessibility or occupational
safety and health. Their qualifications and credentials have been
thoroughly reviewed by the OOC prior to their inclusion on the list.
When an administrative complaint is filed with the OOC, the
Executive Director appoints on a rotational or random basis, one of
these judges to serve as the hearing officer for the case. Each hearing
officer is compensated for his or her services at an hourly rate
negotiated between the OOC and the hearing officer. The hourly rate is
determined at the beginning of each fiscal year and the hearing
officer's compensation comes from the OOC's budget.
Question. How does OOC allocate and utilize its FTEs considering
that OOC's responsibilities cover multiple Federal agencies?
Answer. Many of our employees are dual and triple hatted. For
example, our inspectors conduct safety and health inspections and ADA
access inspections. Our attorneys serve as investigators, prosecutors,
and trainers. The manager of our dispute resolution program also
conducts most of our mediation sessions, seeking to resolve claims at
an early stage in the process. Our Chief Financial Officer handles our
budget and financial matters as well as managing our procurement
processes. Our Legislative Affairs Specialist covers public affairs,
media communications, and our publications program. Our Accounting/
Staff Assistant also handles human resources issues. The Dispute
Resolution Counselor manages special projects and serves as our
Management Analyst, in addition to counseling covered employees. Our
Deputy Executive Directors for the Senate and House of Representatives
not only have the statutory responsibilities directly related to Senate
and House activities, but they also have specific responsibilities for
processing cases filed with the OOC. We contract for hearing officers,
information technology support, outside mediators, and inspectors as
workload demands and funding permits.
We follow existing best practices, as identified in the
Congressional Accountability Act and elsewhere. For example, we apply
the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards from the Department
of Labor and the ADA public access regulations from the Department of
Justice. We make adjustments for congressional workplaces where it
makes sense to do so. We leverage technology for efficiencies, such as
using inexpensive or free software for note taking and map drawing
during inspections. We are developing a new case management system that
will efficiently track case activity, will support electronic filing,
and will provide data for effective training and outreach.
Question. What services do you provide to Senate members and their
staff?
Answer. The Administrative Dispute Resolution program provides
advice, information, confidential counseling and mediation, quality and
timely administrative hearings, and appellate review to Senate members
and their staff. The OOC also provides training on discrimination and
retaliation issues for covered offices and employees, including Senate
offices. The CAA mandates that we provide this training to the offices,
but there is no mandate that staff or Members attend our training
courses. So, we must be proactive in reaching the offices on Capitol
Hill and in the States. We can contact employing offices and employees
through the Senate e-mail system and by direct e-mail when we have
addresses, and through content provided on our Web site. We reach out
to Senate offices to arrange training and respond to requests initiated
by the offices. We also serve as a resource for legislative branch
safety and health professionals who have questions about how to comply
with a standard or how to design a safety procedure or program. We are
transparent with our ADA public access inspections, inviting the AOC to
accompany us as we check for barriers for staff and visitors with
disabilities on the Capitol campus. Our OSH biennial inspections
provide a critical measure of safety for workers in high hazard areas.
We also provide technical assistance to unions and employing offices
with labor-management relations questions, and assist them in resolving
their unfair labor practice issues.
Question. Your statement indicates that in fiscal year 2014, you
are increasing training to the covered community, what does that
include and what do you plan to do in fiscal year 2015 to expand this
training?
Answer. In fiscal year 2014, the OOC prioritized training to the
covered community as a proactive measure to lower claims and improve
workplace conditions by expanding its educational initiatives for
employees and managers. These measures are proven to lower claims and
make for a more productive workforce. This includes working directly
with various legislative entities to develop and implement training
based on their operational needs and areas of identified concern for
the OOC. For example, this year the OOC began working with the United
States Capitol Police (USCP) on various training projects, including
training the USCP's Human Resources staff on provisions relating to
reasonable accommodations under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act as
applied by the CAA, and by presenting informational briefings at the
officer's morning roll call. In addition, we have revised and enhanced
our district staff training for both Senate and House employees through
the Congressional Research Service and are actively working with
individual committees and Member offices to target training to these
audiences.
For fiscal year 2015, we intend to make greater use of our current
outreach tools to advertise our training services and to stress the
benefits of training to offices and instrumentalities. This includes
working with the House Learning Center to advertise new training
opportunities and to conduct joint training to expand our reach to
House staff. We hope to do the same with the Senate. Further, we have
modified an attorney position to include significant instructor duties
in order to expand our in-person training capabilities to Member
offices and committee staff.
With additional funding, we will be able to develop and offer Web-
based content including Webinar training which can reach previously
underserved State offices and provide training to legislative personnel
wherever they are. Our new case management system will also allow us to
monitor trends in issues coming to our office and identify particular
topics and best practices that we should emphasize in training. This
data-driven training approach is a proactive strategy to address
problems before costly and disruptive claims are made.
We will also continue our very successful Distinguished Speaker
series which provides an alternative learning opportunity for
congressional staff. Previous topics have included women's equality in
the workplace and addressing ``hidden disabilities'' under the
Americans with Disabilities Act. These events have also served as an
excellent opportunity to further advertise the services of our office
and promote workplace rights under the CAA.
Question. Other Federal agencies and legislative branch entities
are moving to Web-based training as both a cost-effective and
convenient tool for training delivery. What steps is OOC taking to move
in this direction?
Answer. Research has shown that Web-based instruction, correctly
implemented, can have a greater impact than most other modes of
learning, including in-person training. Although Web-based training can
save agencies thousands in training costs over years, the initial
start-up costs are quite high. Initial costs include the development of
Web-based training modules, licensing of software, and obtaining the
necessary technology infrastructure to host such training. As Web-based
training development will require a significant investment, without
additional training funds, the implementation this type of training
will have to be done incrementally. To work around the resource issue,
the OOC has attempted to partner with the Federal Bar Association to
use its Webinar equipment, but we are still searching for a way to
reach our respective audiences through the same programming. We are
currently exploring ways in which we can work with Senate and House
training/education offices to develop e-learning platforms. We will
make whatever progress we can within our budget and will continue to
search for other partners.
Ultimately, the OOC's strategic goal is to establish a Web-based
program that will allow both module learning on specific topics and
live Webinars. Webinars allow for live instruction to remote offices
including currently underserved State and district offices. These
programs allow a presenter to not only teach a topic but also to
interact with participants in real-time through a virtual chat
function. As a supplement to these Webinars, the OOC hopes to host
module learning that can be accessed 24 hours a day by users from
either their office computers or from their home devices. These
platforms have the added benefit of being available to all
congressional offices and legislative branch agencies.
Lastly, the OOC continues to develop and offer in-person training
to congressional offices. This training has recently included
individual Member and various Committee offices across campus and has
been positively received. While in-person training presents an
opportunity for OOC staff to interact with the Capitol community and to
hear the concerns of individuals across campus regarding workplace
rights, it is difficult from a resource and logistic standpoint to
bring busy staff together. As a result, we view this kind of training
as only one piece of a larger outreach and educational strategy.