[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 86 (Friday, June 30, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001

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                               speech of

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 22, 2000

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4516) making 
     appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2001, and for other purposes.

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 4516, the 
FY2001 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, which would slash funding 
to the Government Printing Office's Federal Depository Library Program 
(FDLP). Rather, I support the bipartisan manager's amendment that 
restores funding to this important public resource.
  The goal of the FDLP is to assure current and permanent public access 
to information published by the federal government of the United 
States. The FDLP, under the auspices of the Government Printing Office 
(GPO), provides public documents free of charge to approximately 1,350 
libraries in the United States and its territories. Depository 
libraries receive all government publications of public interest and/or 
educational value, with the exception of classified materials.
  The FY2001 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act would cut the FDLP's 
budget by 61 percent, from $29.9 million in FY2000 to $11.6 million in 
FY2001. By contrast, the Senate's version of this bill would actually 
increase the library program's budget by 4 percent.
  The manager's amendment, sponsored by Representatives Taylor and 
Pastor, would restore $95.8 million to this spending bill, including 
$14.1 million to the FDLP. This amendment would bring the total FDLP 
appropriation to $25.7 million, or $4.2 million less than the FY2000 
appropriation. While this funding cut is still unacceptable, the 
manager's amendment would, at the very least, allow the FDLP to 
continue operating into 2001.
  Mr. Chairman, the University of Kansas Government Documents and Map 
Library is the only regional depository library in the entire state of 
Kansas. Though other depository libraries exist in my home state, they 
receive only a small percentage of the documents that the Government 
Documents and Map Library receives annually. At a regional depository 
library like the one at KU, individuals can read a wide range of 
government documents dating from 1789, such as the first Census report 
for the United States, which the government completed in 1790.
  Though the government documents are made available to the public at 
no cost, there is a cost to the libraries that maintain them. As a 
regional depository library, KU is required by federal law to maintain 
the information in perpetuity. The cost of storing a total collection 
of more than 2 million government documents can run into the tens of 
thousands of dollars annually, not counting salaries for a staff to 
catalog and maintain the information. Without federal funding, the 
Government Documents and Map Library would be forced to close its doors 
and end its years of service to the Kansas public.
  Mr. Chairman, though anyone can access documents supplied under the 
auspices of the FDLP, the people who rely upon this information the 
most are small-business owners. Small business men and women in Johnson 
County and other areas in Kansas' Third District frequently utilize the 
Federal Register, which lists proposed regulations and information on 
upcoming government contracts. Small businesses have a right to access 
the Federal Register and other federal documents, and the federal 
government has the responsibility to make sure that America's small 
business people have access to them.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for the vitally important manager's 
amendment, which will restore the public's access to taxpayer-funded 
government documents. The public has an inherent right to obtain 
information contained in government documents that have been published 
at public expense. Above all, Mr. Chairman, a well-informed citizenry, 
cognizant of the policies and activities of its representative 
government, is essential for the proper functioning of democracy.

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