[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 31, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E944-E945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  REMEMBERING WILLIAM J. ``BILL'' BOARMAN, 26TH PUBLIC PRINTER OF THE 
                             UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 31, 2021

  Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
friend of the U.S. Government Publishing Office and of the U.S. 
Congress itself, former Public Printer William J. ``Bill'' Boarman, who 
passed away on August 22, 2021.
  Appointed by President Barack Obama, Bill served as the 26th Public 
Printer of the United States, the former title for the head of the U.S. 
Government Printing Office, as it was then known. As Rep. Steny Hoyer 
has said, Bill's service set a new standard of achievement for his 
successors to emulate.
  Bill's arrival at GPO found the agency confronting worrisome fiscal 
and technology challenges. He moved quickly to cut agency spending and 
aggressively collected funds owed to GPO throughout the government. In 
committee hearings and visits with Members of Congress, Bill provided 
persuasive testimony on the value of the services that GPO performs 
while at the same time ordering the first-ever survey of Congress's 
printing requirements, resulting in the largest single-year reduction 
in the number of printed Congressional Record copies delivered to 
Congress since GPO began an online version in 1994.
  Bill made customer service GPO's primary strategic goal, a direction 
that earned the agency applause throughout the government. He ordered 
the development and release of GPO's first mobile web application. He 
devised and won congressional approval for a new investment and 
spending plan that put GPO on the path it is continuing to follow 
today. As a former GPO compositor, his return to the agency restored 
confidence and bolstered employee morale. While heralding technology 
change at GPO he appeared in ``Linotype: The Film,'' an independent 
production extolling the virtues of that long gone machine. Under his 
watch GPO observed its 150th anniversary, opening an exhibit of its 
history to the public and issuing an official history with a foreword 
by Bill. In addition to leaving the agency better than he found it, 
Bill made GPO history by appointing Ms. Davita Vance-Cooks as deputy 
public printer, the first woman ever to hold that post, and in 2013 the 
Senate confirmed her appointment to become the first woman and the 
first African American ever to head the agency.
  The road to Bill's success at the GPO was paved from the beginning of 
his career. Bill spent his life in printing, frequently claiming that 
he had ``ink in my veins,'' and in his work supporting the rights and 
welfare of printers nationwide. Following high school in Hyattsville, 
MD, he took a four-year apprenticeship with the International 
Typographical Union (ITU) and became a journeyman printer at McArdle 
Printing in Washington, D.C. In 1974, Bill began his career as a 
proofreader at the GPO and eventually moved up to linotype operator. He 
quickly became a shop steward and at age 30 was elected president of 
the Columbia Typographical Union, Local 101, his home local and a craft 
union that traces its beginning to before the Civil War.
  Bill served on the ITU executive board in 1987 where he was a key 
player in that organization's merger with the Communication Workers of 
America. He was elected to head the ITU as it moved to merger, and he 
subsequently became head of the CWA's Printing Sector.
  As the chief executive of the newly-merged organization, Bill oversaw 
bargaining and organizing in the printing industry. He also served as 
chair of the $1 billion CWA/ITU Negotiated Pension Plan and the $125 
million counterpart serving Canadian printers. His experience with 
pension investing, funding, and administration led to his appointment 
to a number of high-level pension policy councils.
  Over the span of his career, Bill was a fierce advocate for workers' 
rights. He was frequently in attendance at labor rallies across the 
country, marching with Cesar Chavez in San Diego in 1990 and supporting 
Richard Trumka at the Detroit News Building during its

[[Page E945]]

newspaper strike in 1996. His advocacy for workers was especially 
focused on GPO. For more than 40 years Bill advocated strongly and 
tirelessly for the agency, defending its essential role and the role 
played by its employees in supporting Congress and the Federal 
Government. His advice and counsel were sought and welcomed by Members 
of Congress on both sides of the aisle, as well as Presidents.
  After his retirement from GPO in 2012, Bill remained committed to 
public service. He was appointed by Maryland's governor to serve on 
both the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities and the Anne 
Arundel Board of Elections. He was an avid boater who loved his home 
port on the Severn River and enjoyed the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay. 
He had a keen understanding of American history and thrived on lively 
political discussions. He loved sports, especially University of 
Maryland basketball and the Washington Football Team.
  In Bill Boarman, American printers nationwide had a true friend; the 
Congress, an honorable and skillful servant; GPO, a champion whose 
impact continues to be felt. I ask my fellow Members of the House to 
join me in extending our deepest condolences to Bill's family and 
friends, as well as the thanks of a grateful nation for his dedicated 
service.

                          ____________________