roundtable: GPO Downsizing

roundtable: GPO Downsizing

GPO Downsizing

Vigdor Schreibman - FINS (fins@access.digex.net)
Thu, 23 Feb 1995 16:18:43 -0500 (EST) 

Date: Thu, 23 Feb 1995 16:18:43 -0500 (EST)
From: Vigdor Schreibman - FINS <fins@access.digex.net>
To: Vigdor Schreibman - FINS <fins@access.digex.net>
Subject: GPO Downsizing
Message-Id: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950223153749.11829A-100000@access2.digex.net>


=========================================================================
FINS SPECIAL REPORT                                     February 23, 1995
=========================================================================

HOUSE ATTACK ON THE GPO DRAMATICALLY SHIFTED
GPO In-House Downsizing, Agency Printing
Limitations, and Support for DLP Urged

Washington, DC--Rep. Scott L. Klug (R-WI), and Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-WA),
today told members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the
Legislative branch that they plan to introduce a bill today or tomorrow
with more than 20 co-sponsors that would retain the function of the
Government Printing Office as a central printing procurement and
information dissemination agency of Congress, while terminating in-house
printing functions.  The legislators would downsize the GPO to 800 persons
by eliminating in-house printing functions.  It did not appear from the
testimony, however, that any attention was given to the extensive need for
pre-preparation personnel in the process of producing finished printing
products for Congress, which outside contractors could not provide.  The
legislation would also terminate all agency in-house printing functions
except for printing orders requiring less than 4000 copies with a value
below $1000, which they claim could save the government as much as $1
billion during the next five years. 

  The bill would not touch the Superintendent of Documents, and the
information dissemination function of GPO, which Dunn stated "was the most
important function of the GPO."  Dunn was heavily lobbied, sources told
FINS, by citizens from her own district, including librarians from the
Seattle Public Library and the documents librarian from the University of
Washington, Elenore Chase, and Dunn told members of the Subcommittee that
"the Depository Library Program was most important, allowing people to
walk into their neighborhood library to find out about their government." 

   The bill Dunn will introduce recommends that "all requests for
government printing flow through the GPO" to assure elimination of
"fugitive documents" while cutting down on the excessive proliferation of
printing equipment (e.g., Xerox "docutech" printing machines that cost
$250,000 each) throughout the government. Xerox has been very aggressive 
in attempting to sell "docutech" machinery, 70 were sold to the 
Department of Defense and dozens to the General Services Administration, 
leading to excessive in-house agency printing at high costs, some 50% 
greater that the cost of printing the same work through GPO procurement.

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