[Senate Hearing 114-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016
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U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
DEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
[Clerk's note.--The subcommittee did not hold formal
hearings for the Government Publishing Office and the Office of
Compliance. Following are the statements submitted by them:]
GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
Prepared Statement of Davita Vance-Cooks, Director
Chairwoman Capito, Ranking Member Schatz, and Members of the
Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations, it is an honor to
present the appropriations request of the Government Publishing Office
(GPO) for fiscal year 2016. As background, my prepared statement
provides an overview of GPO's functions and operations.
government publishing office
The Government Publishing 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. Congress and the President
recognized this change in our operations in the Consolidated and
Continuing Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113-235),
which contains a provision redesignating GPO's official name as the
Government Publishing Office. GPO currently employs about 1,700
workers.
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 more than 1 million Federal titles available online
from both GPO and links to servers in other agencies. In fiscal year
2014 FDsys averaged 38.1 million retrievals per month, with a spike up
to 47.5 million during the Government shutdown of October 2013. 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 Facebook http://www.facebook.com/USGPO, Twitter
twitter.com/USGPO, YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/gpoprinter, and
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. These documents
include 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 as well as print
forms.
Strategic Vision and Plan
GPO is transforming from a print-centric to a content-centric
publishing operation. In fiscal year 2016 and the years ahead, GPO will
continue to develop an integrated, diversified product and services
portfolio that focuses primarily 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 is declining and will continue to decline.
GPO's strategic plan, which is available for public review at
http://www.gpo.gov/about/, is built around four 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.
While transforming to an increasingly digital footing, GPO
continues to provide an array of printing services to support the needs
of Congress, Federal agencies, and the public. GPO is retooling its
print operations to utilize a smaller, more flexible, more digitally-
based equipment profile than previously. In fiscal year 2014 we took
delivery of a new zero make-ready press to support congressional and
Federal agency publishing requirements, which will replace two aging
presses that have been in place since 1979. We are continually
reviewing product and equipment options to ensure that our publishing
activities are conducted with the most efficient, effective
technologies available.
As a result of these sweeping technology changes--digital products,
equipment, and processes GPO is now fundamentally different from what
it was as recently as a generation ago. It is 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 publishes the documents and
publications required by the legislative and oversight processes of
Congress in digital and tangible formats. 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 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.
Today the activities associated with creating congressional
information databases comprise the majority of the work funded by our
annual Congressional Publishing Appropriation (formerly known as the
Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation). Our advanced digital
authentication system, supported by public key infrastructure (PKI), is
an essential component for assuring the digital security of
congressional publications. The databases we build are made available
for providing access to congressional publications in digital formats
as well as their production in tangible formats.
GPO's congressional information databases also form the building
blocks of other information systems supporting Congress. For example,
they are provided directly to the Library of Congress to support its
Congress.gov system as well as the legislative information systems the
Library makes available to House and Senate offices. We work with the
Library to prepare summaries and status information for House and
Senate bills in XML bulk data format. We are also collaborating with
the Library on the digitization of historical printed documents, such
as the Congressional Record, 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 replaced
hot metal typesetting with electronic photocomposition, the
appropriation for Congressional Publishing was $91.6 million, the
equivalent in today's dollars of $263 million. By comparison, our
approved funding for fiscal year 2015 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 1,695 employees on board, representing a reduction of
4,755, or more than 70 percent. This is the smallest GPO workforce of
any time in the past century.
Highlights of Fiscal Year 2014 Congressional Work
In fiscal year 2014, essential staff from GPO remained on duty
during the Government shutdown in October 2013 to meet the publishing
requirements of Congress throughout the shutdown period without any
interruption or reduction in service. During the year, we published the
Congressional Directory for the 113th Congress under the direction of
the Joint Committee on Printing, and late in the year we released the
New Member Pictorial Directory for the 114th Congress as prepared by
the Committee on House Administration. We also worked with the Office
of the Clerk of the House to prepare an eBook version of Hispanic
Americans in Congress 1822-2012.
At the direction of the House Appropriations Committee, and in
support of the House's task force on bulk data, in 2014 we began work
with the Library of Congress to make House bill status information
prepared by the Congressional Research Service available in XML bulk
data format. Late in the year our work in making legislative
information available in XML bulk data format was expanded to include
Senate bills, at the request of the Secretary of the Senate.
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, members of the public who cross our
borders frequently, 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 2014 Agency Operations
For the past 3 years we have made the Budget of the U.S. Government
available as a mobile app.
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 tangible formats.
Since 1926 GPO has been responsible for producing the U.S.
passports for the Department of State. 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--that we produce in Washington, DC, as well as a secure
remote facility in Mississippi--is now the most secure identification
credential obtainable. In fiscal year 2014, we made changes to our
facilities to begin installing equipment that will be used to produce
the next generation passport.
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).
We anticipated that the sequester implemented during fiscal year
2013 would impact funding for printing and other information products
ordered through GPO. In response, we implemented increased controls on
spending, reprioritized capital investment plans, and closely monitored
costs. GPO was able to continue its support of Federal agency
publishing and information product requirements without any
interruption or reduction in service. During the October 2013
Government shutdown, GPO initially scaled back support of Federal
agency requirements consistent with Office of Management and Budget and
related requirements for a lapse in funding. However, as the shutdown
continued and some agencies returned to business (such as the
Department of Defense), GPO responded to their essential requirements.
Additionally, GPO provided public access via FDsys to health and safety
regulatory information issued by the Office of the Federal Register
during the shutdown.
During fiscal year 2014, GPO reported positive results on a
customer satisfaction survey of approximately 500 Federal agencies. The
survey focused on GPO's products, services, and programs, the cost-
effectiveness of services, and satisfaction with GPO's Web site and
customer service. Some of the results included:
--91 percent of customers are satisfied with overall service from
their primary GPO location
--90 percent are likely to recommend GPO to a colleague
--90 percent say they do not believe they can beat or match GPO
pricing
The survey was conducted in support of GPO's Strategic Plan, that
emphasizes a customer-centric approach through agency-wide procedures,
policies, and activities implemented to ensure GPO is meeting
customers' needs and exceeding their expectations.
Partnership With Industry
Other than congressional and inherently governmental work such as
the Federal Register, the Budget, and secure and intelligent documents,
we produce virtually all other Federal agency information products via
contracts with the private sector printing and information product
industry issued by our central office and regional GPO offices around
the country. In fiscal year 2014, this work amounted to approximately
$289.3 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 programs include the Federal Depository Library program
(FDLP), Federal Digital System (FDsys), Publications Sales, and Social
Media.
Federal Depository Library Program
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. This overwhelming reliance on digital content
allowed for the first digital-only Federal depository library
designation in fiscal year 2014, with others to follow.
In fiscal year 2014, GPO completed work on our FDLP Forecast Study,
a collaborative research project between GPO and depository libraries,
that surveyed all depository libraries to assess the current conditions
of the program. Primary issues identified in the survey include budget
constraints, use of physical space, staffing, and collection scope
changes. Results from this initiative will serve as a blueprint for
developing a new National Plan for Access to Federal Government
Information.
Also supporting the Federal depository libraries and the public
nationwide is the work GPO does under its statutory mandate to catalog
a comprehensive index of public documents issued or published by the
Federal Government that are not confidential in character. The public
interface for accessing these cataloging records is GPO's Catalog of
U.S. Government Publications (CGP). In fiscal year 2014, there were
25.6 million successful searches of the CGP, an increase of 10.5
million over fiscal year 2013. Also during this period, more than
13,800 new cataloging records were added to the CGP, of which 60
percent contained direct online links to the cataloged content.
Additionally, more than 150 free Federal Government eBooks from various
agencies are now available via the CGP, with more being added
continuously. Thanks to a partnership we forged with the Digital Public
Library of America (DPLA), more than 150,000 records from GPO's digital
Catalog of Government Publications are now also available to the public
through the DPLA's Web site.
Federal Digital System
GPO has been providing access to digital congressional and Federal
agency documents since 1994. 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.
Public utilization of FDsys has increased substantially. In 2014,
FYFDsys recorded its 1 billionth document retrieval since replacing our
original online Web site, GPO Access. Currently, FDsys serves as a
secure preservation repository for more than 1 million individual
titles from all three branches of the Government, the only system of
its kind in operation today. In fiscal year 2014, FDsys averaged 38.1
million retrievals per month, with a spike of up to 47.5 million during
the October 2013 Government shutdown.
GPO is continually adding collections to FDsys to provide increased
public access to Government information. In fiscal year 2014, new
collections were added ranging from audio books to digital editions of
historic publications like the Warren Report on the assassination of
President Kennedy and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At the end of the
year, we were one of 5 institutions named by the Library of Congress
and the National Institute of Museum and Library Services to be part of
the National Digital Stewardship Residency program, under which we are
now preparing to become the first Federal agency certified as a
Trustworthy Digital Depository for Government information.
During the October 2013 Government shutdown, the FDsys
congressional and regulatory information collections were continually
updated as an essential function in order to provide public access to
this essential information. The other collections on FDsys were not
updated but were still accessible. All other information on gpo.gov
(concerning our Online Bookstore, FDLP.gov, Contractor Connect, etc.)
remained static during the shutdown.
FDsys Improvements Planned for Fiscal Year 2016
As GPO's enterprise information management system for digital
information dissemination and preservation, FDsys is a critical
component of our integrated publishing operation. Continued investment
in this cornerstone system is needed in order to ensure FDsys
technology, features, and functionality supports GPO's mission and
meets the needs of key stakeholders, including Congress, Federal
agencies, and the American public.
In fiscal year 2016, the Next Generation FDsys public website
(NextGen) will officially launch and the legacy site will be retired.
NextGen functionality will greatly enhance the way stakeholders can
interact with FDsys, including a responsive user interface, replacement
of the current search engine with an Open Source search engine, the
implementation of linking between related publications, and user
interface improvements based on extensive stakeholder engagement.
Along with the launch of NextGen, other initiatives are crucial for
managing Federal Government content in FDsys, including developing new
content collections, increasing content in existing collections,
enhancing the accessibility of content, and increasing the
discoverability of information within the system. GPO also has begun
the initial process to seek certification for FDsys as a Trustworthy
Digital Repository in compliance with the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO 16363). This certification will validate that
FDsys, its infrastructure, and its supporting organization are reliable
and sustainable, in order to ensure the highest level of service now
and into the future.
With the planned updates to the FDsys search, content management,
and preservation components and along with certification of FDsys as a
Trusted Digital Repository, it is also critical to invest in the IT
infrastructure supporting the system. This includes bandwidth, storage,
and servers needed for the Production, COOP, Test, and Development
environments. In fiscal year 2016, GPO will also explore how to migrate
FDsys to the Cloud to reduce reliance on on-site physical
infrastructure.
GPO Achieves Savings in Information Dissemination
Since fiscal year 1995, the first full year of our online
operations, the cost of producing and distributing millions of copies
of printed publications to Federal depository libraries nationwide was
funded at $17.6 million, the equivalent of $27.3 million in constant
dollars. For fiscal year 2016, we are proposing to fund this function
at $8.2 million, a reduction of nearly 70 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 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 Public Papers of the President-Barack
Obama, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Report, and Ponzimonium: How Scam
Artists are Ripping Off America available as eBooks. Additionally, in
fiscal year 2014 we worked with Congress to make Hispanic Americans in
Congress available as an eBook.
Reimbursable Distribution Program
We operate distribution programs for the information products of
other Federal agencies on a reimbursable basis, including General
Services Administration (GSA) Consumer Information Center publications,
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 fiscal year 2014, we had 3,932
likes on Facebook, 5,372 followers on Twitter, and 120,000 views across
66 videos on YouTube. On Pinterest, we had 422 followers pinning on 15
boards of Federal Government information. Our book blog, Government
Book Talk, focuses on increasing the awareness of new and classic
Federal publications through reviews and discussions.
gpo's finances
Business Operations Revolving Fund
All GPO activities are financed through our Business Operations
Revolving Fund. This business-like fund is used to pay all of GPO's
costs in performing congressional and agency publishing, information
product procurement, and publications dissemination activities. It is
reimbursed from payments from customer agencies, sales to the public,
and transfers from GPO's two annual appropriations: the Congressional
Publishing Appropriation and the Public Information Programs of the
Superintendent of Documents Appropriation.
The Business Operations Revolving Fund functions as GPO's checking
account with the U.S. Treasury. GPO pays its expenses from this account
either with electronic transfer or check. The fund is reimbursed when
the Treasury Department transfers money from agency appropriations
accounts to the fund when agencies pay GPO invoices. This procedure
also applies to the payment of transfers from the Congressional
Publishing and Public Information Programs appropriations, and to
deposits of funds collected from sales to the public.
GPO maintains a cash balance in the Business Operations Revolving
Fund that is used to pay all expenses. The cash balance fluctuates
daily as payments are received from agency reimbursements, customer
payments, and transfers from GPO appropriations.
Retained Earnings
Under GPO's system of accrual accounting, annual earnings generated
since the inception of the Business Operations Revolving Fund have been
accumulated as retained earnings. Retained earnings make it possible
for GPO to fund a significant amount of technology modernization.
However, appropriations for essential investments in technology and
plant upgrades are also necessary and are requested annually.
Appropriated Funds
GPO's Congressional Publishing Appropriation is used to reimburse
the Business Operations Revolving Fund for costs of publishing the
documents required for the use of Congress in digital and tangible
formats, as authorized by the provisions of chapters 7 and 9 of Title
44, U.S.C. The Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of
Documents Appropriation is used to pay for costs associated with
providing online access to, and the distribution of, publications to
Federal depository libraries, cataloging and indexing, statutory
distribution, and international exchange distribution. The
reimbursements from these appropriations are included in the Business
Operations Revolving Fund as revenue for work performed. Money is also
appropriated to GPO's Business Operations Revolving Fund to increase
working capital for necessary investments in information technology and
facilities maintenance and repair.
Fiscal Year 2014 Financial Results
Revenue totaled $696.3 million while expenses charged against GPO's
budget were $672.3 million, for an overall net income of $24 million
from operations. Included in both GPO's revenue and net income is
approximately $15.1 million in funds set aside for passport-related
capital investments, as agreed to by GPO and the Department of State,
and $2.1 million in funds resulting from an adjustment to GPO's long-
term workers' compensation liability under the Federal Employees
Compensation Act (FECA). Apart from these funds, GPO's net operating
income from fiscal year 2014 was $6.8 million. GPO's financial
statements are audited annually by an independent third party
contracted for by our Office of Inspector General, and we routinely
receive a clean, or as it is now called, ``unmodified,'' opinion.
fiscal year 2016 appropriations request
We are requesting a total of $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2016,
which is essentially flat compared to the level of funding,
$119,993,000, approved for fiscal year 2015 in Public Law 113-235.
Continuing overhead cost-cutting actions undertaken since fiscal year
2011, in addition to a buyout successfully conducted in the first
quarter of fiscal year 2015 that reduced GPO's workforce by 103
positions, have helped make this flat funding request possible.
Additionally, with the approval of the House and Senate appropriations
committees, each year we have transferred any unspent prior year
balances from our appropriations to GPO's business operation revolving
fund, where they are available for the uses for which they were
originally appropriated. This also has made it possible for us to
reduce the need for new funding.
Our fiscal year 2016 request will enable us to:
--meet projected requirements for congressional publishing;
--fund the operation of the public information programs of the
Superintendent of Documents; and
--develop information technology and perform facilities maintenance
and repair.
Congressional Publishing Appropriation
We are requesting $79,736,000 for this account, the same level
approved for fiscal year 2015 in Public Law 113-235. Unspent prior year
balances from this account that have been transferred to GPO's business
operations revolving fund are available for the purposes of this
account for fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2016.
House Report 112-148, accompanying the Legislative Branch
Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2012, requires the presentation of
budget requirements from a zero base. However, GPO has no control over
the workload requirements of the Congressional Publishing
Appropriation. These are determined by the legislative activities and
requirements of the House of Representatives and the Senate as
authorized by the applicable provisions of Title 44, U.S.C. GPO
utilizes historical data incorporating other relevant factors to
develop estimates of likely congressional publishing requirements.
These requirements are used as the basis of the budget presentation for
this account.
For fiscal year 2015, we estimate that total congressional
publishing requirements will be $82,669,000, using projections based on
prior year data. We plan to use $2,933,000 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 this year.
For fiscal year 2016, we estimate that total congressional
publishing requirements will be $85,750,000, using projections based on
prior year data. We plan to use $6,014,000 that is available in
unexpended prior funds to offset part of these requirements, resulting
in our request for $79,736,000 in new funding. Additionally, we plan to
set aside $7,478,000 in transferred unspent prior year funds to finance
the continuing development of our Composition System Replacement
project, which will implement an XML-based composition system in place
of our 30-year old Microcomp system. This year, we plan to request
approval for the transfer of approximately $540,000 in unspent prior
year funds to our Business Operations Revolving Fund, to help cover
future congressional publishing requirements.
The estimated requirements for fiscal year 2016 include a projected
price level increase of $1,881,000, primarily to cover employee pay
increases equivalent with those paid government wide. Additionally,
there is a $1,200,000 increase to cover anticipated volume requirements
as derived from historical data, principally for the Congressional
Record, calendars, and hearings. Partially offsetting these increases
are volume decreases projected primarily for documents, bills, and
committee prints.
Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents
We are requesting $30,500,000 for this account, representing a
decrease of $1,000,000 or 3.2 percent from the amount approved for
fiscal year 2015 in Public Law 113-235. As with our Congressional
Publishing Appropriation, unspent prior year balances from this account
that have been transferred to GPO's business operations revolving fund
are available for the purposes of this account for fiscal year 2015 and
fiscal year 2016. The requested amount is based on the outcome of using
zero-based budgeting to determine the proper levels of funding needed
to perform program activities at minimum levels, as directed by House
Report 112-148.
The funding we are requesting for fiscal year 2016 will cover
mandatory pay and related cost increases of $342,000. Merit and other
pay increases are included for 94 FTE's, the same as for fiscal year
2015. In addition, the requested funding covers projected price level
increases of $175,000, including ongoing systems maintenance and FDsys
operating expenses.
Unspent prior year appropriations balances that have been
transferred with the approval of the Appropriations Committees to our
Business Operations Revolving Fund, totaling $1,517,000 will be used to
fund the continuation of cataloging and indexing efforts to harvest and
catalog historical publication for digital preservation. In 2015, we
plan to request approval for the transfer of an additional $6,000,000
in unspent prior year funds to support GPO's digitization efforts to
expand and develop new digital content and maintain the integrity of
the system as a trusted digital repository.
Business Operations Revolving Fund
We are requesting $9,764,000 for this account, to remain available
until expended, for continued information technology projects and
necessary facilities projects. This compares with $8,757,000 that has
been appropriated for fiscal year 2015.
Information Technology Projects $5,532,000
FDsys Projects--$4,000,000
-- General Development ($3,050,000)--Development of new FDsys
features to support identified needs of key stakeholders,
including developing new content collections, increasing
content in existing collections, enhancing the
accessibility of content, and increasing the
discoverability of information in FDsys.
-- NextGen FDsys Public Website ($450,000)--Completion of
development and launch of FDsys NextGen to support a
responsive user interface, search engine replacement,
public ation linking, user interface improvements, and
content curation.
-- Certification of FDsys as a Trustworthy Digital Repository
($250,000)--Development to support the certification of the
FDsys Preservation Repository as a Trustworthy Digital
Repository.
-- FDsys Infrastructure ($250,000)--Infrastructure for the
hardware, storage, and infrastructure environments to
manage system performance as FDsys content and usage
continues to grow, including support for GPO efforts to
migrate FDsys infrastructure components to the Cloud.
Enterprise System Upgrades--$1,532,000
-- Core Router/Switch Replacements ($400,000)--Replacement and
upgrade for segments of GPO's existing core routing
infrastructure that have reached end of life.
-- Itanium Servers ($400,000)--Replacement and upgrade of the
servers that support GPO's publishing and printing
capabilities.
-- Enterprise Storage ($300,000)--Infrastructure funding is
necessary to ensure that GPO's IT storage capacity
continues to grow to support the agency's application and
data storage requirements.
-- Data Communications Equipment ($232,000)--Replacement and
upgrade of core communications equipment that has reached
end of life.
-- Web Filtering ($200,000)--Replacement and upgrade of the web
filtering equipment that protects GPO users from accessing
malicious and/or inappropriate Internet sites.
Facilities Projects $4,232,000
--Upgrade Electrical Substation ($3,500,000)--There is only one 480V
substation in all of GPO's Buildings A, B and C. New, more
efficient equipment is 480V by standard (including elevators as
well as production equipment). Without upgrading our
substation, we risk running out of power to produce essential
work for Congress and Federal agencies.
--Structural Evaluations and Remedy Actions ($400,000)--We have areas
of concrete floors that are degrading to the point where they
may fail. This funding is to continue any third party
structural analysis and for ongoing repairs on the areas in the
worst shape.
--Roof replacement ($332,000)--This represents the remaining phase of
our multi-year roof upgrade to improve energy efficiency and
reduce the potential for damage and health and safety concerns
that can result from leaks in areas that are currently
compromised.
Chairwoman Capito, Ranking Member Schatz, and members of the
subcommittee, this concludes my prepared statement and I look forward
to working with you and members of your staff as you consider our
appropriations request for fiscal year 2016.
OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
Prepared Statement of Barbara J. Sapin, Executive Director of the
Office of Compliance
Madam Chairwoman Capito, Ranking Member Schatz, and Members of the
Legislative Branch Subcommittee, thank you for allowing me the
opportunity to submit for the record, this statement regarding the
budget request for fiscal year 2016 for the Congressional Office of
Compliance (OOC).
In its 2016 budget request, the OOC seeks an appropriation of
$4,020,000 for fiscal year 2016, the same amount as the fiscal year
2015 budget request and an additional $61,000, or 1.5 percent over the
fiscal year 2015 enacted amount. This increase will allow us to make
necessary improvements to protect our Web site www.compliance.gov to
comply with existing cybersecurity standards and to build into the site
the capacity to host on-demand on-line interactive training modules
that we are developing for Congressional employees. The Congressional
Accountability Act (CAA) requires the OOC to carry out a program of
education for Members of Congress and other employing authorities of
the legislative branch. As approximately half of congressional staff
members are working in district and State offices instead of on Capitol
Hill, our focus has shifted to e-learning as a means of carrying out
our statutory educational mandate.\1\ We recently completed our first
on-line module, on sexual harassment, and plan for more on other
employment issues, such as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A comprehensive training
program, as envisioned in the CAA, continues to be one of the most
effective investments an employer can make in reducing complaints and
improving worker productivity and reducing absenteeism and employee
turn-over. With readily available, user-friendly training modules, we
expect to reach more employees.
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\1\ Public Law 104-1, Section 301(h)(1).
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Looking forward to fiscal year 2016, we will continue to cross-
train our small staff of 22 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and
leverage our already lean operations with short term contracts for
services. For example, we have used our occupational health and safety
(OSH) specialists to conduct our ADA inspections to identify barriers
to access for persons with disabilities. We have also used contractors
to supplement those inspections so we could cover more areas and
buildings. Following enactment of the Office of Compliance
Administrative and Technical Corrections Act of 2015, we have increased
our use of outside mediators, who are reimbursed with a flat fee per
mediation. This request contains sufficient funds to maintain a new
case management system that we developed with fiscal year 2015 funds.
We are working to add an e-filing component to the system. We are also
enhancing our video teleconference equipment to save money on hearing
officer travel for cases in district and State offices, and for
providing technical assistance and training. The balance of our 1.5
percent budget increase is for cross-servicing providers (Library of
Congress, National Finance Center) and other equipment, services, and
supplies needed to operate the OOC.
For 20 years now, the OOC has served Congress as a third party
neutral for disputes and as an educator for workplace rights. The OOC
has made significant contributions to the safety of congressional
workplaces through its OSH biennial inspections and OSH case work, and
it has used its ADA inspections and ADA case work to eliminate barriers
to access to congressional facilities and programs for persons with
disabilities. Each of the OOC's five Board members received new 2-year
terms in fiscal year 2015.\2\ They have an ambitious agenda for their
remaining time, including but not limited to, publishing new ADA, Fair
Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and FMLA regulations for approval by
Congress. The OOC staff will act on those initiatives as well as
continuing to provide quality services to the congressional community
on a day to day basis.
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\2\ The Board members count as one FTE and are paid by OOC on a
``while-actually-employed'' basis.
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I am available to answer any questions or address any concerns the
Chairwoman, the Ranking Member, or any of the Legislative Branch
Subcommittee Members may have.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
[Clerk's note.--The subcommittee did not hold formal
hearings for nondepartmental witnesses. The statements of those
submitting written testimony are as follows:]
Prepared Statement of the American Association of Law Libraries
[Testimony on behalf of the American Association of Law Libraries,
Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries, Medical Library
Association, and Special Libraries Association.]
Dear Chairwoman Capito, Ranking Member Schatz, and members of the
subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony for the record in
support of the fiscal year 2016 funding requests of the Government
Publishing Office (GPO) and the Library of Congress (LC). We
congratulate Chairwoman Capito on her selection as chair of the
Legislative Branch Subcommittee and Ranking Member Schatz on his
selection as ranking member. We appreciate the supportive comments both
of you made during the March 17 hearing on the Library of Congress.
The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), the Association
of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL), the Medical Library
Association (MLA), and the Special Libraries Association (SLA)
represent more than 18,000 librarians and information specialists in
the United States and around the world. We serve researchers, students,
professionals, businesses, and members of the public with their
information needs. Our members rely on GPO for permanent public access
to official, authentic Government information and on LC for access to
unique collections and authoritative resources. GPO and LC also provide
leadership on many critical information policy issues, such as
authentication, digitization, and preservation. Therefore, advocating
for adequate funding for these agencies is a high priority for our
associations.
government publishing office
Access to Government information is the bedrock of a strong
democracy. For more than 150 years, GPO has ``kept America informed''
by providing access to official, authentic Government information.
Today, GPO provides cost-effective access to Government information
from all three branches in tangible and electronic formats primarily
through the 200-year-old Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and
FDsys.
We are pleased that Congress recognized GPO's place in the twenty-
first century by approving a name change for the agency in the
Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2015,
Public Law 113-235. The new name, which changed GPO from the Government
Printing Office to the Government Publishing Office, reflects GPO's
essential role in publishing and providing access to print and
electronic information in the digital age.
Our associations strongly support GPO's request of $120 million,
essentially a flat funding request. We urge the subcommittee to fully
fund each account within the request, including Congressional
Publishing, Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of
Documents, and the Revolving Fund.
Our associations support GPO's request of $79,736,000 for the
Congressional Publishing account. Legislative information--the daily
and bound Congressional Record, congressional bills, full committee
hearings, reports, prints and documents, as well as other materials--is
among the most highly used Government material. While our members value
the ability to access many of these materials electronically through
FDsys, they continue to rely on print distribution of congressional and
other materials to depository libraries. In part, this is because not
all collections on FDsys are complete; for example, GPO recently
conducted a study that revealed that thirty percent of distributed
hearings are not available on FDsys. In addition, many users, including
members of the public, law students, and faculty, still prefer to use
the print. Therefore, it is essential that GPO continue to produce some
materials in tangible form.
We also urge you to approve the requested $30,500,000 for the
Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents, which
supports cataloging, indexing, and distribution of Federal publications
to depository libraries. As indicated in the Superintendent of
Documents' National Plan for the Future of the FDLP, support for a
strong cataloguing and indexing program is essential to ensuring
continued discovery and access to Government information.
For more than 200 years, the FDLP has provided geographically
convenient access to Government information through a network of
libraries around the country. Today, your constituents have access to
congressional and other important Government publications and
information products through the FDLP, with the assistance of trained
librarians. The FDLP is undergoing a transformation to an increasingly
electronic program. A key component of the National Plan is the Federal
Information Preservation Network, which we believe will ensure
continued access to Government information, now and for future
generations.
Our associations also support GPO's request of $9,764,000 for the
Revolving Fund. Particularly important to our associations is funding
for the next generation of FDsys. FDsys launched in 2009 as the source
for no-fee access to official, authentic Government information and
today includes more than one million individual titles from all three
branches of Government. Members of our associations contributed to the
development of the first generation of FDsys. For example, AALL members
suggested the ``search by citation'' feature, which was implemented by
GPO. It is very important that GPO has adequate funding to increase
FDsys content, improve search functionality, and pursue certification
as a Trustworthy Digital Repository.
library of congress
For 215 years, the Library of Congress has been dedicated to its
mission to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties
and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit
of the American people. LC has the unique role of acquiring,
cataloguing, preserving, and making accessible a vast array of books,
recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts.
The Law Library of Congress is the world's largest law library,
with a collection of nearly three million volumes spanning the ages and
covering virtually every jurisdiction in the world. The Law Library is
a world leader in providing access to reliable legal materials in print
and electronic formats. We strongly support the Library's priority
initiatives, including the classification of the remaining volumes to
Class K Law Classification and the hiring of dedicated staff to
complete this work. Additional staff will allow the Law Library to
complete this challenging work in a timely manner and improve the
discoverability and accessibility of these materials.
We also support the Library's $4,814,000 request for its National
Collection Stewardship Program to protect its collections by expanding
storage on its Capitol Hill campus through the installation of compact
shelving and the lease of interim collections storage space until
construction of Fort Meade modules, including Module 5, is complete.
The Library's one-of-a-kind collection must be protected.
As information is increasingly produced, acquired and preserved
electronically, the Library faces monumental challenges in its quest to
provide access to knowledge. Therefore, we support the Library's
decision to hire a Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Deputy CIO. We
believe the CIO and Deputy CIO will help the Library update its
infrastructure and better respond to the growing needs of the
institution.
We commend LC and GPO for working together, along with the National
Archives and Records Administration, to form the Federal Web Archiving
Working Group. Preserving born-digital Government information and
making it accessible will benefit librarians, researchers, historians,
and all Americans. Without this collaboration, publicly available born
digital materials are at risk of being lost forever.
conclusion
GPO and LC play a critical role in ensuring permanent public access
to Government information in all formats and preserving our cultural
heritage. GPO and LC ensure that the American people have continued
access to the information that supports a strong democracy.
AALL, AAHSL, MLA, and SLA respectfully urge you to fully fund the
appropriations requests of the Government Publishing Office and the
Library of Congress.
Sincerely,
Holly M. Riccio,
President,
American Association of Law Libraries.
ABOUT THE ASSOCIATIONS
AALL.--The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) was founded
in 1906 to promote law libraries' value to the legal and public
communities, foster the law librarianship profession, and provide
leadership in the legal information field. With nearly 5,000 members,
AALL represents law librarians and related professionals who are
affiliated with law firms; law schools; corporate legal departments;
courts; and local, state, and Federal Government agencies.
AAHSL.--The Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries
(AAHSL) supports academic health sciences libraries and directors in
advancing the patient care, research, education and community service
missions of academic health centers through visionary executive
leadership and expertise in health information, scholarly
communication, and knowledge management. AAHSL membership is composed
of 166 academic health sciences libraries whose medical schools hold
member or associate member status in the Association of American
Medical Colleges.
MLA.--The Medical Library Association (MLA) is a nonprofit,
educational organization with 3,700 health sciences information
professional and institutional members worldwide. Founded in 1898, MLA
provides lifelong educational opportunities, supports a knowledgebase
of health information research, and works with a global network of
partners to promote the importance of quality information for improved
health to the healthcare community and the public.
SLA.--The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global
organization for innovative information professionals and their
strategic partners. SLA serves about 8,000 members in 75 countries in
the information profession, including corporate, academic, and
Government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its
members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives.
______
Prepared Statement of the Congressional Data Coalition
Dear Chairman Capito, Ranking Member Schatz, and Senators Kirk,
Moran, and Murphy:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on legislative
branch funding priorities for fiscal year 2016. Our recommendations
focus on improving efficiency within and transparency concerning
offices and agencies of the legislative branch, with an emphasis on
better use of information technology.
about us
The Congressional Data Coalition is a coalition of citizens, public
interest groups, trade associations, and businesses that champion
greater Government transparency through improved public access to and
long-term preservation of congressional information.\1\
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\1\ For more information, visit http://congressionaldata.org/.
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recognition of ongoing senate activities
We commend the United States Senate for its recent commitment to
publish bill status and summary information--soon to be joined by
legislative text--online and in a structured data format. We also
appreciate the quarterly public meetings hosted by the invaluable Bulk
Data Task Force, of which delegates from the Senate often participate.
We remain hopeful that progress will be made on the Joint Committee on
Printing's directive to digitize volumes of the Congressional Record
from 1873 to 1998.
summary of requests
--Extend and broaden the Bulk Data Task Force
--Publish the Congressional Record in XML and eliminate electronic
publication gaps
--Publish a complete and auditable archive of bill text, in a
structured electronic format
--Instantiate a Senate-wide committee record publishing system
--Publish a contemporaneous list of widely-distributed CRS reports
that contains the report name, publication/revision/withdrawal
date, and report ID number
--Release widely-distributed CRS reports to the public
--Publish Bioguide in XML with a change log
--Publish the Constitution Annotated in a machine-readable format
--Publish Senate office and support agency reports online
--Publish Senate Expenditure Reports in a machine-readable format
extend and broaden the bulk data task force
One of the greatest successes of the efforts to modernize
legislative information was the creation of the Bulk Data Task
Force,\2\ the recommendations of which led to the online publication of
bill summaries and text in a structured data format and the commitment
to add bill status information this year, as well as other
improvements. While the Task Force issued its final report in the 113th
Congress, many of its participants continue to meet. The Task Force is
a unique forum for congressional content creators and publishers to
work together and interact with the public. We hope the Senate will
deepen its participation as it continues to send delegates from its
Senate and legislative support offices to participate in deliberations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ House Report 112-511, available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
pkg/CRPT-112hrpt511/pdf/CRPT-112hrpt511.pdf.
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We urge the subcommittee to formally reestablish the Task Force on
a permanent basis and expand its mission to broadening availability of
congressional information in machine readable formats. There is
precedent for this, with the XML Working Group that was created in the
1990s to establish document type definitions for use in creating
legislative documents in XML.\3\ Its scope should include legislative
information and records held by committees, offices, and legislative
branch agencies as well as other information concerning the operation
of Congress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See http://xml.house.gov/.
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congressional record in xml
The Congressional Record, as the official record of the proceedings
and debates of the Congress, is central to understanding congressional
activities. Many of the resources we have come to rely upon, such as
Congress.gov, republish just a fraction of its contents. Unfortunately,
the Congressional Record is not published in bulk in a structured data
format, but instead as plain text, and, in some cases, as less
versatile PDFs. In addition, the Congressional Record is available
online only from 1994 forward and prior to 1873. The Joint Committee on
Printing authorized GPO to fill in the 100-plus-year gap in 2011,\4\
although it is unclear whether online publication would be as
structured data or in a less flexible format (such as PDF).
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\4\ See http://www.scribd.com/doc/48672433/Constitution-Annotated-
Congressional-Record-and-Statutes-at-Large.
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While there had been efforts by the public to scrape the version of
the Congressional Record on the old THOMAS.gov,\5\ the results were
incomplete and the same scrapable information no longer exists on
Congress.gov. Moreover, there is no substitute for official publication
in a structured data format like XML. We urge the committee to inquire
into GPO's efforts to fill the online publication gap and to require
future publication of the Congressional Record in XML.\6\
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\5\ https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/02/20/sample-the-new-
a-la-carte-congressional-record-parser/.
\6\ In the meanwhile, publication of the Congressional Record in
locator code format along with GPO's locator code-to-PDF conversion
software, in source code form, may suffice in the interim.
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complete and auditable bill text
The Government Publishing Office is charged to accurately and
authentically print the bills before Congress, yet there are gaps in
GPO's archive--as seen on FDSys--without any explanation. In addition,
public access to the text of bills in the 101st and 102nd Congresses
are being removed as a part of the retirement of THOMAS.gov.
Furthermore, GPO holds structured data for bills prior to the 111th
Congress (when both House and Senate legislation were first published
in XML) that it does not make available to the public at all (i.e., in
locator code format). We ask that GPO publicly report on the presence
or absence of public access to all prints of bills starting with the
101st Congress, including access to the prints in a structured data
format, with a public audit log in CSV format. This would build trust
in GPO's authenticity and accuracy processes.
instantiate a senate-wide committee record publishing system
Committee documents are vital records of congressional activity,
but they often are hard to find or search, and are subject to removal
from a committee website when leadership turns over or Web sites are
updated. We urge the Senate to institute a chamber-wide committee
publishing system that serves as a comprehensive repository across
committees and congresses.
To address this problem, the House of Representatives created
Docs.house.gov, which ``provides access to committee documents and text
of legislation being considered in committee . . .'' dating back to the
112th Congress in XML formats where available. It includes meeting
notices, witness lists, witness and member statements, legislative and
amendment text, and more. The Clerk of the House administers the site
to ensure it is viewed as nonpartisan. Docs.house.gov guarantees that
public access to committee records is maintained even as leadership
changes and committee websites are updated. We urge the Senate to
provide the same level of access to its committee documents.
crs reports
CRS reports often inform public debate. Its analyses are routinely
cited in news reports, by the courts, in congressional debate, and by
government watchdogs. However, unlike its sister legislative branch
agencies, CRS reports are not released to the public by CRS even though
CRS routinely shares them with the media upon request and with
officials in the executive branches. In addition, public access often
is through third parties that routinely charge a fee for access. We
believe all Americans should have an equal opportunity to be educated
about important legislative issues--including knowing which reports
have recently been released and having free access to them.
We request the subcommittee require CRS to contemporaneously
publish online a list of the names, report numbers, and publication/
revision/withdrawal dates for CRS reports. We do not include CRS
memoranda, which are confidential. In this way, members of the public
may contact their Senators if they see a report they are interested in
upon its publication or revision. CRS already provides an annual report
to the Committee, published on CRS's Web site, which lists the total
number of reports issued or updated. In fiscal year 2012, for example,
534 new reports were prepared and 2,702 reports were updated.\7\ This
accounting should be expanded to include an index of the reports and be
updated on a daily basis in a machine-readable format.
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\7\ Annual Report of the Congressional Research Service of the
Library of Congress for Fiscal Year 2012, p. 2, available at http://
www.loc.gov/crsinfo/about/crs12_annrpt.pdf.
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We further request the public be provided direct online access to
the recent Congressional Research Service reports, which we have
discussed in prior testimony to the Committee.\8\
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\8\ See Comments of the Sunlight Foundation, May 24, 2013,
available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.sunlightfoundation.com/
policy/testimony/Sunlight%20Foundation%20
Leg%20Branch%20Approps%20Testimony%202013-05-24.pdf.
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publish bioguide in xml with a change log
The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (or
Bioguide) is an excellent source of information about current and
former Members of Congress. Since 1998, the online version of the
Bioguide has been maintained by staff in the Office of the Clerk's
Office of History and Preservation and the Office of the Historian of
the United States Senate at http://bioguide.congress.gov. Since at
least 2007, the underlying data structures for Bioguide data have been
provided by the House at its XML Web site. Unfortunately for those who
wish to programmatically make use of the information, the Web site's
data is published only in HTML. In addition, the Bioguide Web site
provides up to three HTML files for each Member: a biography, extended
bibliography, and research collection, which can triple the amount of
work required to fully scrape the Web site. We recommend Bioguide
information be published in XML. In addition, a change log for the
Bioguide Web site through Twitter or an RSS/Atom feed would be helpful
to keep the public apprised of updates/changes.
constitution annotated
The Constitution Annotated (or CONAN) is a continuously-updated
century-old legal treatise that explains the Constitution as it has
been interpreted by Supreme Court. While the Joint Committee on
Printing required in November 2010 that GPO and CRS to publish CONAN
online, with new features, and with updates as soon as they are
prepared, it did not require publication in a machine-readable
format.\9\ This is an important omission, as the document is prepared
in XML yet published online as a PDF, even while it is internally
available to Congress as a series of HTML pages. This issue is ripe for
resolution. At a minimum, publication of either the XML source or the
HTML pages would address many of our concerns.
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\9\ See http://www.scribd.com/doc/48672433/Constitution-Annotated-
Congressional-Record-and-Statutes-at-Large.
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senate office and support agency reports
The legislative offices and agencies that support the work of the
United States Senate issue annual or semi-annual reports on their work.
These reports are of interest to the public as they help explain
legislative operations and often can help ensure public accountability.
While some offices routinely publish their reports online, others do
not, or do not do so in a timely fashion. We urge that the subcommittee
to require all legislative support offices and agencies that regularly
issue reports that summarize their activities to publish those reports
online in a timely fashion, including back issues.
semi-annual senate report on receipts and expenditures
The semi-annual Senate report on Receipts and Expenditures contain
all spending by the U.S. Senate and are currently published online as a
PDF. They should be published as data files, such as CSV, to allow for
the public to easily analyze the information. The online publication
that started in 2011 was a significant step forward, but the data
should be available in a more flexible format.
We appreciate your attention to these issues.
Sincerely yours,
Congressional Data Coalition
Data Transparency Coalition
Demand Progress
Free Government Information
GovTrack.us
OpenTheGovernment.org
R Street Institute
Sunlight Foundation
[This statement was submitted by Daniel Schuman, Demand Progress
Policy Director.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Library of Congress Professional Guild,
AFSCME Local 2910
Chairwoman Capito, Ranking Member Schatz, and members of the
subcommittee:
Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to comment on the
fiscal year 2016 budget request for the Library of Congress submitted
by the Librarian, Dr. James H. Billington. Our organization--the
Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME Local 2910--represents
over 1250 professional employees throughout the Library of Congress
including Library Services, the Copyright Office, the Law Library,
Information Technology Services and the Office of Strategic
Initiatives, and all of the Library's Support Operations.
The American economy is a knowledge-based economy which demands
high levels of education and innovation. The ability to leverage the
intellectual capital in our society is becoming as important as the
utilization of our natural resources or the production of commodities.
Advances in medicine, science, energy, literature and the arts,
telecommunications and information technology are being transformed
into economic prosperity for our Nation.
The Library of Congress has a pivotal role to play in this
unfolding drama. We thank you for your support of the Library's
programs in fiscal year 2015 and we urge you to support the Librarian's
current budget request of $666.6 million.
Staffing.--Sequestration and flat funding in recent years have
taken a toll. It can be debated whether the Library is experiencing a
``retirement tsunami.'' But one thing is certain--talented, seasoned
Library veterans are leaving the workforce at an alarming rate, taking
with them their institutional knowledge and often a life-time of
experience. This exodus of career employees poses a growing threat
which is undermining the Library's ability to fulfill its' mission.
Hiring staff to fill critical vacancies is imperative to stem the
erosion of the Library's mission-critical functions. As statistical
information the Guild recently compiled shows, two of the Library's
core functions have suffered crippling shortages. In 2004 there were
506 staff members in the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access (ABA)
unit of Library Services. Ten years later--in 2014--these cataloging
and acquisition librarians saw their numbers reduced to 238, a roughly
50 percent decrease. Similarly, reference services in the Library's
Collections Services (CS) unit were supported by 313 staff members in
2004. But by 2014 their numbers were reduced to 238, almost a 25
percent reduction in the staff who directly serve our users.
Congressional support is essential if the Library is to sustain its'
staff many of whom have highly specialized subject matter and foreign
language expertise.
I am pleased to report to the subcommittee one small, but important
initiative at the Library, a 1 year Phased Retirement Pilot program
that was negotiated with the Library's three unions.
On August 8, 2014 the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
published the final rules for its' phased retirement program and, soon
thereafter, the Library proposed the establishment of a Phased
Retirement Pilot. Although the Library's pilot is a modest one, we are
pleased to note that it is the first one implemented in the Federal
Government; we hope it will assist the Library with the transfer of
knowledge from veteran staff to the next generation of employees.
Stewardship.--The Library of Congress is well-known for having the
largest and most comprehensive collection of intellectual and cultural
materials in the world. But where is it going to house all of these
collections? Even digital resources must be housed.
Members of the subcommittee may have heard stories of the hundreds
of thousands of books on the floor or on book trucks in the Jefferson
and Adams buildings. It may be hard for subcommittee members to
visualize, but this overcrowding of the stacks also creates and
magnifies the fire safety and life safety hazards present in those book
stacks, putting the collections at greater risk as well as the
employees who work in the stacks.
Our book stacks are housed on a metal grid of flooring that is very
old. Unlike the regular floors in these historic buildings, the stacks
provide no good barriers to the spread of fire and smoke. An old book
conveyor system cuts through the floors making a path for the spread of
fire. In addition, the weight of all of these books is nearing the peak
load sustainable by the metal grid of flooring. These areas have no
protected exit path for staff and some even lack fire doors.
As far back as 2000-2001, the Office of Compliance cited the
Library and the Architect of the Capitol for these life safety and fire
safety hazards and while some corrections have been made, overloading
the stacks and piling books on the floor makes conditions worse. At
least, the overcrowding can be alleviated with funds for offsite
storage. And please support the Architect's request for funding to
build protected exits for the Adams and Jefferson buildings.
Like Gutenberg's printing press seven centuries ago, advances in
information technology have triggered another information revolution
that affects every part of American society. Just like traditional
print materials, acquiring, maintaining, providing access and
preserving digital materials and digital collections present unique
problems and challenges. For the past 30 years, the Library's programs
to collect and manage digital materials in its special collections have
been based in different Library units without an adequate central
location to provide coordination and communication, but with your
support that is about to change.
The Guild seeks your support for the Library's request for funding
to establish and staff a Digital Collections Center. The Library's
collection of digital materials doubles in size every few years and
this rapid growth shows no sign of abating in the years to come. Both
for the Library itself and the wider American and world library
community, there needs to be a centralized platform for managing the
vast array of digital materials that the Library collects.
The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped.--The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped (NLS) administers a free library service to U.S. citizens
who, due to organic dysfunction, are unable to read conventionally
printed materials. This includes persons with blindness, low vision,
macular degeneration, as well as those with physical disabilities, such
as Parkinson's Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, spinal cord
injuries--in other words, anyone with a condition that inhibits the
handling of printed material. NLS administers this national library
system for persons with print disabilities and supplies audio and
braille books, magazines, and music-instructional materials via a
network of libraries that includes 55 regional, 39 sub-regional
libraries and 14 advisory and outreach centers serving over 500,000
patrons. Books and magazines are available in accessible audio and
braille formats; books are sent on flash memory cartridges to patrons
or can be downloaded directly from the BARD Web site and a free digital
player is provided for audio titles. Over 23 million books and
magazines are circulated annually by NLS.
Due to the rapid changes in accessible technologies and
improvements in delivery mechanisms, access to materials by the print
disabled community is improving. To that end, the Guild supported the
staff of NLS by advocating for the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate
Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired
or Otherwise Print Disabled. NLS rightly enjoys a reputation as a
global leader in the provision of library service for persons with
print disabilities and serves a diverse patron base that includes
veterans, children, the elderly, and an ever-growing Spanish-speaking
population. We thank the committee for its continued support of this
vital service for many persons with disabilities across the United
States.
The U.S. Copyright Office.--The creativity of authors in the United
States is available everywhere one looks--in ebooks and print, in songs
on streaming Internet radio, in motion pictures, and in smartphone apps
hidden in our pockets. It is no understatement to say that American
creativity brings cultural and economic riches.
As the agency administering Copyright Law, the U. S. Copyright
Office plays a critical role in the life of our Nation. Today, elected
officials, academics, and others are examining how the Copyright Office
can better serve the public; strengthen its technology infrastructure,
and broaden its external mission. Such a review is important and long
overdue. Behind this big picture, we wish to highlight the Copyright
Office's Registration Program, whose employees work directly with small
authors and the large copyright industry.
Copyright owners rely on registration because the Copyright Office
uses it to establish a public record of copyright ownership. These
public records represent a stable foundation of copyright facts that
enable parties to resolve problems without litigation. Of the 476,000
copyright claims that were registered by the Office in 2014, less than
1 percent ended up in U.S. Federal court. The copyright registration
system hums because of 79 registration specialists and 7 problem
resolution specialists. These individuals are the unflagging engine of
the Copyright Office.
Unfortunately, the number of registration staff has diminished
substantially over the last 4 years (there were 130 registration
specialists in 2010). For this reason, the Guild strongly supports the
budget request for increased funding to the Copyright Office. The
addition of 20 Registration Specialists comes at a critical time; work-
on-hand is increasing and the electronic system remains inadequate and
unfinished.
The Guild also supports the Library's request to add 5 full-time
equivalents (FTEs) in Recordation to direct the business process
reengineering in that area. The office must continue its transition
from a labor-intensive paper process to an effective electronic one.
Office of Inclusiveness, Opportunity and Compliance.--Resources for
the Library's Office of Inclusiveness, Opportunity and Compliance (OIC)
are at its lowest ebb. OIC implements the Library's Equal Employment
Opportunity Program. It is responsible for the internal resolution of
complaints and charges of discrimination and for assisting managers,
supervisors, and employees with the resolution of other workplace
disputes through mediation. The Office is a resource for identifying
effective accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and
it provides interpreting services for deaf and hard of hearing
employees and members of the public. It provides training and analysis
on diversity issues. But insufficient staffing and stature within the
Library has resulted in significant delays in mediation services,
providing effective accommodations, and discrimination complaint
processing.
Information Technology.--This past year the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) has been at the Library studying the
Library's technology infrastructure. And on January 23, 2015 Dr.
Billington announced that the Library will be conducting a national
search for a Chief Information Officer and a Deputy Chief Information
Officer. The forthcoming GAO report and the selection of a CIO is big
news.
We assure the members of the subcommittee that whatever
recommendations or changes may be implemented as a result of these
initiatives, they can depend upon the IT specialists at the Library of
Congress to move forward with dedication, expertise and skill. While
there is an air of uncertainty about the future of the Library's IT
management structure, we know that the employees who provide direct,
in-house technology services and digital planning will be there for us
on the front lines, thinking forward to the next challenge.
In conclusion, thank you for your continuing support for the
programs and staff of The Library of Congress.
Saul Schniderman,
President,
Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME Local 2910.