[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 53 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E812-E813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO THOMAS F. McCORMICK

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 2009

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, as Chairman of the Joint 
Committee on Printing, I wish to note the passing of Thomas F. 
McCormick, of Niskayuna, New York. Mr. McCormick died March 19, 2009, 
at age 80. From 1973 until 1977, he served as America's Public Printer, 
the head of the Government Printing Office (GPO).
  Before his appointment as Public Printer by President Nixon, and 
following active and reserve duty in the Navy, Tom McCormick had a 
successful career at the General Electric Company. He joined GE's 
financial management program, and in 1967 he became president and 
general manager of The Maqua Company, a 420-person printing subsidiary 
of GE. Thereafter he headed strategic planning for GE's power 
generation business group in New York City. He took office as Public 
Printer in March 1973, at that time becoming the youngest person ever 
appointed to the post.
  Tom McCormick served as Public Printer under Presidents Nixon and 
Ford and he held that position until succeeded by President Carter's 
appointee. During his term he automated GPO's business systems, 
expanded management training, and established program performance 
measures for GPO's operations. He continued GPO's program of replacing 
hot metal typesetting with electronic photocomposition technology and 
advocated standardizing print products to achieve savings. He promoted 
individualized service provision for customer agencies and giving them

[[Page E813]]

more leeway to handle small job orders. He also called for relocating 
GPO to a new facility at a site in northeast Washington, D.C.
  For the library and Government information communities, Tom McCormick 
supported the fledgling Government Documents Round Table of the 
American Library Association, and oversaw automating the Monthly 
Catalog of Government Publications and related measures that helped the 
lay the groundwork for future electronic dissemination measures. He 
worked closely with the printing industry and its various organizations 
and associations nationwide. His service was recognized by numerous 
industry service awards and distinctions, including an honorary Doctor 
of Engineering degree from Lehigh University in my own state of 
Pennsylvania.
  Madam Speaker, although Tom McCormick led the GPO long before I came 
to Congress, I am told that he was an energetic and articulate 
spokesman for the value of GPO and was an outspoken supporter of the 
men and women who work there. I commend Tom McCormick's record of 
service to the Nation and offer the condolences of the Joint Committee 
on Printing to Beverly, his wife of 55 years, and to their children and 
their families.

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