We distribute upwards of 100 million copies of Government pub lications every year through a variety of programs, including a lowpriced sales program, and to Federal depository libraries nationwide where the information may be used by the public free of charge.

One of these items is the Citizens Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act to request Government records, which is issued as a report by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. We have been distributing this item, in various editions, for many years, and it is very popular.

We also disseminate a growing volume of information via the Internet. We catalog and index Government information products, and we distribute them on behalf of other Federal agencies. We conduct all of our services in a nonpartisan, service-oriented environment that emphasizes the primacy of the customer's requirements for timeliness, quality, security, and economy, and we are committed to achieving the greatest access and equity in information dissemination, whether through printed publications, CDROM, or on-line.

At the bottom line, our programs reduce the need for duplicative production facilities throughout the Government, achieve significant taxpayer savings through a centralized procurement system, and enhance public access to government information.

With the growing use of electronics, there is a temptation to say that the Government no longer needs a printing capability. I think this temptation should be resisted. Last year we produced over $700-million worth of printing services for the Government, and printing is still a major avenue of communication between the Government and the public.

The transition to full electronics is coming, but it is a long way off. We need to manage that transition effectively. Maintaining a cost-effective printing and dissemination capability for the foreseeable future gives us an important management tool.

A major problem confronting us today is the growing decentralization of Government printing activities. GPO is a primary guarantor not only of cost-effectiveness, but of public access to the comprehensive body of publications produced by the Government. When agencies do not use GPO for printing, the likelihood is that they will not only spend more, but their publications will not be put into GPO's dissemination programs where they can be accessed conveniently and equitably by the public.

The growing decentralization of Government printing is a major source of so-called "fugitive documents," documents that, by law, belong in our depository library program, but which are not included, usually because they are produced elsewhere than GPO.

Decentralization is also expanding the opportunities for Federal agencies to use other dissemination mechanisms for their information products. With increasing frequency, these mechanisms are involving copyright or copyright-like arrangements that also have the effect of impeding public access to Government information.

Two weeks ago, I testified on proposals for revising Title 44 that would address these problems, including the issue of the constitutionality of GPO's operations that has been raised by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. For the record, I do not

agree with that opinion. I think the issue of GPO's constitutionality can be addressed without sacrificing the current system of printing and distribution that serves the Government and the public well. Mr. Chairman, Government information is increasingly valuable to American citizens and taxpayers in the information age. At GPO we provide a service which makes that information available to the public cost-effectively, comprehensively, and equitably.

GPO's continuing migration to electronic technologies, as well as the ability of our staff, are already facilitating the re-engineering of information products and processes to satisfy the changing information requirements of the Government and the public. At the same time, our traditional printing and distribution capabilities are preserving and protecting access to government information for all of our citizens.

More than a century ago, Congress, in its wisdom, designed a system in GPO for keeping America informed. That system continues to serve a vital purpose today, and we look forward to working under congressional oversight and guidance to improve the performance of our operations and programs.

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I thank you for taking an interest in GPO and for inviting me to be here this morning. I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have. [The prepared statement of Mr. DiMario follows:]

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me here this morning to discuss the role of the Government Printing Office (GPO) in Federal information dissemination.

GPO'S MISSION IN THE INFORMATION AGE

An abiding commitment to public access to Government information is deeply rooted in our system of Government. GPO is one of the most visible demonstrations of that commitment. For more than a century, our mission under the public printing and documents statutes of Title 44 of the U.S. Code has been to fulfill the needs of the Federal Government for information products and distribute those products to the public. Formerly, our mission was accomplished through the production and procurement of traditional printing technologies. However, a generation ago we began migrating our processes to electronic technologies, and in 1993 Congress amended Title 44 with the GPO Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act (P.L. 103-40) to require us to disseminate Government information products online. This Act is the basis of GPO Access, our Internet information service.

Today, GPO is dedicated to producing, procuring, and disseminating Government information products in a wide range of formats. In GPO the Government has a unique asset that combines a comprehensive range of conventional production and electronic processing services, procurement facilitation, and multi-format dissemination capabilities to support the information life cycle needs of Congress, Federal agencies, and the public.

We provide printed and electronic information products and services to Congress and Federal agencies through inplant processes and the purchase of information products from the private sector. In fact, we buy approximately 75 percent of all information products requisitioned from us in one of the Government's most successful procurement programs. We disseminate Government information through a low-priced sales program and to Federal depository libraries nationwide where the information may be used by the public free of charge. We also disseminate a growing volume of information via the Internet. We catalog and index Government information products, and we distribute them on behalf of other Federal agencies. Information on all of our programs and services, as well as access to a large and growing range of Government information, is available through our home page on the World Wide Web, at http://www.access.gpo.gov.

We conduct all of our services in a non-partisan, service-oriented environment that emphasizes the primacy of the customer's requirements for timeliness, quality, security, and economy, and we are committed to achieving the greatest access and equity in information dissemination whether through printed publications, CD-ROM, or online. At the bottom line, our programs reduce the need for duplicative and costly production facilities throughout the Government, achieve significant taxpayer savings through a centralized procurement system, and enhance public access to Government information.

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GPO AND CONGRESS

GPO was originally established to provide Congress with immediate, reliable service in a work environment under its direct control. That mission continues today. We produce the daily and permanent editions of the Congressional Record, bills, resolutions, amendments, hearings, committee reports, committee prints, documents, stationery, and a wide variety of other products that are essential to the legislative process in Congress. We produce this work in our central office facility on North Capitol Street in Washington, DC, through the creation and storage of electronic databases of publications for printing and dissemination, as well as the provision of CDROM, online access, and print-on-demand services. All of this work is funded through an annual appropriation for Congressional Printing and Binding.

Support for the Cyber-Congress. We have built a core capability for electronic information and communications services to support Congress's information needs. Today, our state-of-the-art electronic systems are characterized by a complex of direct electronic linkages via CAPNET to a variety of congressional offices on Capitol Hill for data interchange. Once considered only the by-product of the print production process, digitized electronic databases of congressional information are now the primary product: they are the databases from which the official versions of documents are produced in print, CD-ROM, and online access formats made available to the public through GPO Access as well as other systems such as the Library of Congress's THOMAS information system.

Our electronic systems and staff expertise position us to support the continued development of the cyber-Congress, including implementation of the House Document Management Plan, approved by the House Oversight Committee in 1996, and a comparable Legislative Information System for the Senate. We are committed to supporting the House's effort to provide the public with access to more committee materials online, pursuant to a recent rules change.

Print-On-Demand Systems. We are using electronics to support print-on-demand systems for Congress as well. We operate a print-on-demand system in the Senate Document Room that has reduced the requirement for printing extra copies of Senate documents for storage. This system, and another print-on-demand system located at our central office facility, are both networked to congressional databases resident at GPO.

Advantages from Electronic Support. Our electronic systems provide a standardized system for use by both Houses of Congress, resulting in compatibility of production processes and uniformity in the resulting products. They provide for the interchangeable use of databases to produce different congressional publications, generating significant savings. Our systems are a centralized resource where production and dissemination equipment and staffing can be concentrated, yielding significant economies of scale. Finally, they facilitate both production and dissemination. Databases prepared for printing are easily converted into databases suitable for

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CD-ROM distribution and for online dissemination via the Internet to libraries, schools, offices, and homes nationwide and around the world.

Savings from the Use of Technology. Productivity increases resulting from technology have enabled us to make substantial reductions in staffing requirements while continuing to improve services for Congress. In the mid-1970's, on the threshold of our conversion to electronic photocomposition, we employed more than 8,200 persons. Today, we have 3,674 employees on board, fewer than at any time in this century. In the past 4 years our staffing has been reduced by 25 percent. The reduction was accomplished while at the same time modernizing and improving our services.

Electronic technologies have significantly reduced the cost, in real economic terms, of congressional publications. In FY 1978, the appropriation for Congressional Printing and Binding was $84.6 million, the equivalent in today's dollars of $209.5 million. By comparison, our approved funding for FY 1997 is $81.7 million, a reduction of nearly two-thirds in real economic terms. This has yielded a savings to the taxpayer of well over $100 million per year. The vast majority of the reduction is due to productivity improvements and staffing reductions made possible through the use of improved technology.

GPO AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

GPO's Printing Procurement Program. Approximately 75 percent of the printing and information products requisitioned from GPO are procured from the private sector. GPO historically has retained for inplant production only work which cannot be procured on a controlled, timely, and cost-effective basis. The vast majority of the work procured from the private sector is for Federal agencies in the executive branch. We provide procurement services through our central office facility and through a network of 20 regional and satellite procurement offices nationwide. All work for Federal agencies is paid for by the agencies themselves. The payments are processed through GPO's revolving fund.

Our printing procurement program saves a significant amount of money for the taxpayers. The program operates on a highly competitive basis, driving prices down. Approximately 10,000 firms--or about a quarter of the nationwide printing industry, representing nearly 200,000 employees--are registered on GPO's Master Bid List according to their equipment, staffing, and production capabilities. About 3,500 of these firms do business with us on a regular basis, ensuring intense competition for Government printing and information product contracts.

By consolidating the Government's specialized printing procurement skills and resources in GPO, agencies save money in their printing programs. Moreover, agencies achieve savings without giving up essential controls when they work through us. Most of our printing procurements are conducted through direct deal term contracts, permitting agencies to place their printing orders directly with the contractor. Our centralized program utilizes a service