[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 195 (Saturday, December 17, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8767-S8768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           BOARMAN NOMINATION

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, let me wish you and your family and all 
those who work here a merry Christmas and happy new year. I hope God 
gives you and your families a very good, outstanding, happy, healthy 
new year.
  I wish to speak on William Boarman's appointment as Public Printer, 
which has been held up for a year and a half, despite being reported 
out of the Rules Committee twice with unanimous bipartisan support. 
Earlier this year, because of the delays, he was appointed to the job 
on an interim basis by the President during a recess. During this year 
he has done an outstanding job as Acting Public Printer.
  It is extremely unfortunate that this agency, which is so important 
to Congress, to the private sector printing industry, and to the 
country, will now be without an effective leader when Mr. Boarman's 
recess appointment expires after we adjourn, unless this Senate 
confirms his nomination at last.

[[Page S8768]]

  He has moved quickly this year to make important financial and 
management improvements at the Government Printing Office. These 
include cutting costs with a buyout of 15 percent of GPO's workforce, 
which will save $33 million annually; greatly reducing costs for 
overtime, travel, executive hires, and other discretionary costs; 
reducing GPO's overhead expenses; and negotiating successfully with the 
unions, resulting in a zero increase in salaries.
  I might add, perhaps he is being held up because of his union 
background, but we have seen in his year as acting administrator that 
he has been fiscally extremely responsible and successful. Maybe he is 
better at doing this than other people would be.
  He also has staff identifying nearly $30 million in outstanding 
payments owed to the GPO by other Federal agencies and collecting 
almost $15 million of that in a few months.
  Mr. Boarman ordered the first survey ever of congressional offices on 
their need for printed copies of the Congressional Record, resulting in 
an 18-percent reduction in printed copies and more cost savings.
  Mr. Boarman has aggressively pushed the GPO to extend electronic 
online publishing and databases, as Congress has asked. In short, he 
has already demonstrated he is the kind of competent, committed, 
experienced leader GPO needs.
  The fact that we have not cleared this nomination is outrageous. The 
two Republican Senators who had holds on this nomination, holds that 
had nothing to do with concerns about Mr. Boarman but with other 
nonrelated nominations, finally released their holds yesterday. Now, 
today, some new obstacle has arisen on the Republican side. We know it 
is not an objection to Mr. Boarman himself but we have run out of time.
  It is appalling when you get a public servant who cares about this 
government, in a nonpolitical place, the Government Printing Office, 
who has done an excellent job by all accounts--cutting costs, what we 
on both sides of the aisle want--and he gets held up. Instead of 
getting held up he should get an award for the job he has done. Yet he 
is held up and caught in the politics once again. It is so indicative 
of the dysfunction of our government. It is bothersome when someone 
works so hard and does a good job that his nomination can't get through 
for secret, undisclosed--it is hard to even figure out what reason.
  I hope maybe before we leave today my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle will look at Mr. Boarman's record--look at the unanimous vote 
he received in the Rules Committee; every Republican voted for him--and 
most of all look at what he has done in the Printing Office, and 
realizing without a leader many of these gains may be lost, costing all 
of us and the taxpayers millions of dollars, and maybe we will appoint 
him. Delay in this confirmation has shown the confirmation process at 
its worst and we are now in danger of losing this public servant whose 
work has produced the kinds of results we want.
  I urge the Senate to confirm Mr. Boarman so that the GPO can continue 
to make progress.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________