[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E304-E305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONGRATULATING THE U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 14, 2000

  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct the attention 
of the House to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune about one of 
our oldest friends . . . the U.S. Government Printing Office. I have a 
real appreciation of the GPO, having started as a printer's apprentice 
in 1968 as a member of Houston Typographic Union Local 87.
  The article is profuse in its praise of the GPO, stating that while 
the agency usually ``wears a low profile,'' the service that it 
provides the Congress and the Nation is absolutely crucial in our 
democratic system of government. In noting the vast range of 
publications the GPO handles--from the daily Congressional Record to 
the Findings of Fact in the Microsoft case--the article describes how 
the GPO has moved from a traditional ink-on-paper factory to a widely 
heralded provider of Government information over the Internet.
  It is a success story that is worthy of everyone's attention.
  A generation ago, the GPO had a workforce of 8,500. Today, there are 
about 3,300, yet not only does the GPO continue to print government 
publications, it is now a key player in the world of online government 
information. The incredible success of cutting staff by more than 50 
percent while expanding services to Congress and the Nation is 
virtually without comparison.
  The GPO's expert use of technology has made this achievement 
possible--technology which has transformed the way the GPO processes 
printing, and technology which makes it possible for the public to 
download more than 20 million publications a month from the GPO's 
online service, GPO Access.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an incredible achievement, and I include the 
text of this excellent article for all of my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle.
  We are fortunate, indeed, to have an agency of this caliber, with its 
expert workforce and its record of savings and technological 
achievement, working in support of the Congress and the American 
people.

            [From the Chicago Tribune, Tues., Mar. 7, 2000]

From the Starr Report to White House Menus, Government Printing Office 
                          Is Paperwork Central

                           (By Glen Elsasser)

       Washington--In a fortresslike complex near Capitol Hill, 
     Kenneth Fatkin occupies the front lines of government. Though 
     safely distanced from the frenzy of politics, he still 
     confronts the handiwork of legions of federal agencies, 
     Congress and the White House, handiwork that affects the 
     lives of millions of Americans.
       Amid shelves of reference books, Fatkin on a recent morning 
     was scanning a set of proposed rules from the Federal 
     Aviation Agency about the takeoff and landing of airplanes. 
     Despite the abstruse language, he quickly marked up the page.
       Fatkin works for the Government Printing Office, an agency 
     that considers itself the largest supplier of government 
     informational materials in the world. Those materials include 
     everything from Independent Counsel

[[Page E305]]

     Kenneth Starr's case against President Clinton to a ``My 
     Wetlands Coloring Book'' for kids.
       It also prints the Federal Register, which 100 proofreaders 
     including Fatkin work around the clock to produce. Five days 
     a week, the register provides a complete update of government 
     rules, executive orders, presidential proclamations and 
     proposed regulations.
       Within the monstrous federal bureaucracy, the Government 
     Printing Office generally wears a low profile, but a brief 
     moment of fame came in 1998 when, under deadline, heavy 
     security and massive publicity, the GPO published the Starr 
     report. In all, the report and its two supplements took up 
     five volumes totaling more than 8,000 pages.
       The sale of the report, which detailed the president's 
     relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, 
     drew lines of purchasers outside its main bookstore and gave 
     TV viewers a rare glimpse of the GPO headquarters.
       More recently, the GPO played a crucial role in circulating 
     the long-awaited findings in the ongoing Microsoft antitrust 
     case. Within two hours after U.S. District Judge Thomas 
     Penfield Jackson had announced his initial ruling at 4:30 
     p.m. on Nov. 4, printed copies were available at the GPO 
     bookstore and the electronic version was ready on-line. A 
     printed copy of the 207-page document, and an electronic 
     disk, had been sent to the GPO immediately after his 
     decision.
       Another GPO staple is the Congressional Record, which 
     chronicles the daily proceedings in Congress and prints 
     debates verbatim. Requiring all-night production, an average 
     copy of the Record runs 200 pages and must be available on 
     the floor of both houses by 9 a.m. when Congress is in 
     session.
       Among the GPO's other key functions is printing the federal 
     budget, which this year was accompanied by five related 
     publications totaling 2,808 pages and weighing 12 pounds. The 
     2001 budget was also available immediately on CD-ROM and on 
     the Internet.
       The GPO prints congressional bills and reports, passports 
     and Civil Service exams, the last of which is done under 
     tight security at the Denver plant. It turns out postal 
     cards, congressional stationery, White House invitations and 
     menus, and the Supreme Court briefs of the Justice 
     Department.
       It also runs 24 bookstores in major cities, including 
     Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Kansas 
     City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, San Francisco and Seattle. The 
     subjects of the publications for sale cover an eclectic mix 
     of titles and are reasonably priced.
       Take, for example, the publications recently displayed in 
     the window of the GPO bookstore near the White House.
       A number of the titles are clearly self-help and offer 
     practical advice on a variety of problems--``Eat Right to 
     Lower Your Blood Pressure,'' ``A Working Woman's Guide to Her 
     Job Rights,'' ``Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know'' and 
     ``Safe and Smart: Making the After School Hours Work for 
     Kids.'' All cost less than $10.
       Other titles clearly appeal only to wonks, such as 
     ``Investigating the Year 2000 Problem: The 100 Day Report,'' 
     a summary of findings by the Special Commission on the Year 
     2000 Technology Problem.
       History is also well represented in the offerings: ``Boston 
     and the American Revolution,'' ``Rise of the Fighter 
     Generals, 1945-1982'' and ``The Three Wars of Lt. Gen. George 
     Stratemeyer: His Korean War Diary.'' There are also art books 
     such as ``Language of the Land: The Library of Congress Book 
     of Literary Maps'' and titles obviously geared to children, 
     like ``My Wetlands Coloring Book.''
       The GPO maintains a list of its monthly bestsellers, and 
     among the 1999 winners were ``21st Century Skills for 21st 
     Century Jobs,'' ``Buying Your Home: Settlement Costs and 
     Helpful Information,'' ``Federal Benefits for Veterans and 
     Dependents'' and the ``The Constitution of the United States 
     and the Declaration of Independence.''
       Overseeing the operation is Michael DiMario, who was named 
     public printer by President Clinton in 1993. He is the 
     nation's 23rd public printer, chief of an agency that dates 
     to the Civil War era but has changed substantially with 
     technology.
       ``The computer has changed everything and is now 
     fundamental to the printing process,'' said DiMario, a lawyer 
     who has worked in various posts since joining the GPO in 
     1971. The only linotype operator left in the 33-acre facility 
     is the one who sets type for book titles in gilt.
       ``In the late 1960s we moved into electronic photo 
     composition, and the computer was used to compose data for 
     printing,'' he said. ``Today our presses are controlled by 
     the computer.''
       Even though the computer now does much of the work, 
     however, human skills--such as a broad knowledge of 
     government, its lingo and methods of lawmaking--remain 
     critical to the editing process.
       By DiMario's count, the GPO handles 50 percent of the 
     government's printing needs. Notable exceptions are the 
     nation's currency, postage stamps, Treasury securities and 
     certificates, done by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; 
     and the classified documents of intelligence agencies.
       Since 1993, pursuant to a new federal law, the GPO has made 
     the Congressional Record and other government publications 
     available in an electronic format. In 1997, for example, the 
     GPO and the Commerce Department teamed up to offer free 
     Internet access to the Commerce Business Daily, which keeps 
     tabs on government contract and subcontracting opportunities, 
     small business and other set asides, special notices and 
     sales of surplus U.S. property.
       Today thousands of publications are available 
     electronically--far surpassing the number of print titles 
     available for sale in the GPO bookstores. In fact, PC Week 
     magazine in 1999 rated the GPO as one of the nation's top 
     technology innovators.
       Every month, DiMario estimates, 20 million GPO publications 
     are downloaded from the Internet. During the first hour after 
     the release of the Microsoft ruling, 152,000 successful 
     connections were made on the GPO's popular Internet 
     information service.
       ``The GPO has about 100,000 titles on-line that are on our 
     own server here, and we provide links through our Web site 
     [www.access.gpo.gov] to an additional 60,000 titles from 
     other agencies,'' he said. ``That's a moving target, and it 
     is growing.''
       The GPO's publications are also available in electronic and 
     traditional print formats at some 1,350 federal depository 
     libraries. These are located at most colleges and 
     universities, many public libraries and state and local 
     government libraries.
       Switching to electronics and decentralizing production has 
     caused a massive reduction in the number of employees at the 
     GPO complex, for many years ranked as the world's largest 
     printing plant. This record, DiMario concedes, now probably 
     belongs to private-sector companies such as Chicago's R.R. 
     Donnelley & Sons.
       ``When I came here in the early 1970s, we had 8,500 
     employees,'' recalled DiMario. ``Now we have 3,300 employees. 
     Primarily the change occurred early when we retired the 
     traditional letterpress operations. This transition 
     continued, especially after Congress required the agency to 
     acquire as much of its printing as possible from the private 
     sector.''
       In recent years the GPO has contracted out 70 to 75 percent 
     of its printing. ``We have 10,000 contractors on a bid list 
     to do this work,'' said DiMario, ``and about 3,000 
     participate on a regular basis through the central office or 
     the 20 regional and satellite printing procurement offices.''
       During the early years of the Reagan administration, labor 
     relations at the GPO were stormy, with proposed furloughs and 
     pay cuts as high as 22 percent. Things are much quieter now; 
     prominently displayed on DiMario's office wall is an award 
     from the Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector of the 
     Communications Workers of America citing him for 
     ``maintaining equitable management relations.''
       Fatkin has seen the GPO go through many of these changes. 
     Hired by the GPO in 1971, his job at first was to repair 
     linotype machines. ``Everything switched over after the 
     computer hit big time in 1981,'' recalled Fatkin, who 
     describes himself as a printer-proofreader. ``There was a lot 
     of ongoing retraining. The trouble today is that new people 
     come in who can type 100 words a minute [on a computer] but 
     don't know type faces and sizes. You learn that as an 
     apprentice printer.''

     

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