Budget

Justification

Fiscal Year 2016

Keeping America Informed OFFICIAL | DIGITAL | SECURE

732 North Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC 20401

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U . S . G O V E R N M E N T P U B L I S H I N G O F F I C E
7 3 2 N o r t h C a p i t o l S t r e e t , N W , W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 4 0 1 - 0 0 0 1 I d v a n c e - c o o k s @ g p o . g o v

DAVITA VANCE-COOKS

Director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office

January 28, 2015

The Honorable Tom Graves

Chairman

Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations

Committee on Appropriations

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito

Chairwoman

Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations

Committee on Appropriations

U.S. Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Graves and Chairwoman Capito:

I have the honor to transmit herewith the appropriations request of the U.S. Government 

Publishing Office (GPO) for FY 2016.

Strategic Outlook GPO is transforming from a print-centric to a content-centric 

publishing operation. The implementation of a digital transformation is consistent with 

the goals outlined in the President’s Roadmap for a Digital Government as well as the 

recommendations submitted to Congress in January 2013 by the National Academy of 

Public Administration regarding GPO’s transition to a digital future. In recognition of this 

transformation, in 2014 Congress approved and the President signed into law (P.L. 113-235) 

a provision redesignating GPO as the Government Publishing Office

In FY 2016 and the years ahead, GPO will continue to develop an integrated, diversified 

product and services portfolio that primarily focuses on digital. Although industry experts 

predict tangible print will continue to be required because of official use, archival purposes, 

authenticity, specific industry requirements, and segments of the population that either have 

limited or no access to the digital format, we recognize that the volume of tangible print 

that is requisitioned from GPO will continue to decline.

In transforming its business model, GPO is focusing on managing content for customer 

and public use both today and tomorrow. GPO uses its extensive experience and expertise 

to provide both digital public access to Government information in a variety of formats 

and the most efficient and effective means for printing when required, all within a secure 

setting that is responsive to the customer’s needs. GPO’s Strategic Plan has been developed 

to carry out this vision and is available for public inspection in this budget justification 

document and at www.gpo.gov/about/.
7 3 2 N o r t h C a p i t o l S t r e e t , N W , W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 4 0 1 - 0 0 0 1 I d v a n c e - c o o k s @ g p o . g o v

Appropriations Request We are requesting funding for the Congressional Publishing 

Appropriation and the Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents, 

also renamed by P.L.113-235. These two accounts fund GPO’s provision of congressional 

information products and services as authorized by law and our provision of public access 

to congressional and other Government information products through statutorily-authorized 

information dissemination programs. All other GPO programs and activities – including the 

production of U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as secure credentials as 

requisitioned by Federal agencies, the production and procurement of other information 

products and services for Federal agencies, the sales of Government information products 

and services to the public, and related operations – are financed on a reimbursable 

basis through GPO’s Business Operations Revolving Fund, which is authorized through 

the annual Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. Our request also includes funding for 

specified projects under the Revolving Fund.

We are requesting a total of $120,000,000 for FY 2016, which is essentially flat compared 

to the level of funding, $119,993,000, approved for FY 2015 in P.L. 113-235. Continuing 

overhead cost-cutting actions undertaken since FY 2011, in addition to a buyout successfully 

conducted in the first quarter of FY 2015 that reduced GPO’s workforce by 103 positions, 

have helped make this flat funding request possible. Additionally, with the approval of the 

House and Senate appropriations committees, each year we have transferred any unspent 

prior year balances from our appropriations to GPO’s Business Operations Revolving Fund, 

where they are available for the uses for which they were originally appropriated. These 

funds have also made it possible for us to reduce the need for new funding.

Our FY 2016 request will enable us to:

n	 meet projected requirements for GPO’s congressional publishing;

n	 fund the operation of the public information programs of the Superintendent of 

Documents; and

n	 develop information technology and perform facilities maintenance and repair.

Congressional Publishing Appropriation We are requesting $79,736,000 for this account, 

the same level approved for FY 2015 in P.L. 113-235. Unspent prior year balances from 

this account that have been transferred to GPO’s business operations revolving fund are 

available for the purposes for which they were originally appropriated for FY 2015 and FY 

2016.

House Report 112-148, accompanying the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill for 

FY 2012, requires the presentation of budget requirements from a zero base. However, 

GPO has no control over the workload requirements of the Congressional Publishing 

Appropriation. These are determined by the legislative activities and requirements of the 

House of Representatives and the Senate as authorized by the applicable provisions of 

DAVITA VANCE-COOKS

Director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office
7 3 2 N o r t h C a p i t o l S t r e e t , N W , W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 4 0 1 - 0 0 0 1 I d v a n c e - c o o k s @ g p o . g o v

Title 44, U.S.C. GPO utilizes historical data incorporating other relevant factors to develop 

estimates of likely congressional publishing requirements. These requirements are used as 

the basis of the budget presentation for this account.

For FY 2016, we estimate that total congressional publishing requirements will be 

$85,750,000, using projections based on prior year data. We plan to use $6,014,000 that 

is available in unexpended prior funds to offset part of these requirements, resulting in 

our request for $79,736,000 in new funding. Additionally, we plan to set aside $7,478,000 

in transferred unspent prior year funds to finance the continuing development of 

our Composition System Replacement project, which will implement an XML-based 

composition system in place of our 30-year old Microcomp system. This year, we plan to 

request approval for the transfer of approximately $540,000 in unspent prior year funds 

to our business operation revolving fund, to help cover future congressional publishing 

requirements. 

The estimated requirements for FY 2016 include a projected price level increase of 

$1,881,000, primarily to cover employee pay increases equivalent with those paid 

government-wide. Additionally, there is a $1,200,000 increase to cover anticipated volume 

requirements as derived from historical data, principally for the Congressional Record, 

calendars, and hearings. Partially offsetting these increases are volume decreases projected 

primarily for documents, bills, and committee prints.

Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents We are requesting 

$30,500,000 for this account, representing a decrease of $1,000,000 or 3.2% from the amount 

approved for FY 2015 in P.L. 113-235. As with our Congressional Publishing Appropriation, 

unspent prior year balances from this account that have been transferred to GPO’s business 

operations revolving fund are available for the purposes for which they were originally 

appropriated for FY 2016. The requested amount is based on the outcome of using zerobased budgeting to determine the proper levels of funding needed to perform program 

activities at minimum levels, as directed by House Report 112-148.

The funding we are requesting for FY 2016 will cover mandatory pay and related cost 

increases of $342,000. Merit and other pay increases are included for 94 FTE’s, the same 

as for FY 2015. In addition, the requested funding covers projected price level increases of 

$175,000, including ongoing systems maintenance and operating expenses.

Unspent prior year appropriations balances that have been transferred with the approval 

of the Appropriations Committees to our Business Operations Revolving Fund, totaling 

$1,517,000 will be used to fund the continuation of cataloging and indexing efforts to 

harvest and catalog historical publication for digital preservation. In 2015, we plan to 

request approval for the transfer of an additional $6,000,000 in unspent prior year funds to 

support GPO’s efforts to expand and develop new digital content and maintain the integrity 

of our Federal Digital System (FDsys, at www.gpo.gov) as a trusted digital repository. 

DAVITA VANCE-COOKS

Director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office
Business Operations Revolving Fund We are requesting $9,764,000 for this account, to 

remain available until expended, for information technology projects and necessary facilities 

projects. This compares with $8,757,000 that has been appropriated for FY 2015.

Information Technology Projects — $5,532,000

FDsys Projects — $4,000,000

n	 General Development ($3,050,000) — Development of new FDsys features to support 

identified needs of key stakeholders, including developing new content collections, 

increasing content in existing collections, enhancing the accessibility of content, and 

increasing the discoverability of information in FDsys.

n	 NextGen FDsys Public Website ($450,000) — Completion of development and launch 

of FDsys NextGen to support a responsive user interface, search engine replacement, 

publication linking, user interface improvements, and content curation.

n	 Certification of FDsys as a Trustworthy Digital Repository ($250,000) — Development 

to support the certification of the FDsys Preservation Repository as a Trustworthy Digital 

Repository.

n	 FDsys Infrastructure ($250,000) — Infrastructure for the hardware, storage, and 

infrastructure environments to manage system performance as FDsys content and usage 

continues to grow, including support for GPO efforts to migrate FDsys infrastructure 

components to the Cloud.

Enterprise System Upgrades — $1,532,000

n	 Core Router/Switch Replacements ($400,000) — Replacement and upgrade for 

segments of GPO’s existing core routing infrastructure that have reached end of life. 

n	 Itanium Servers ($400,000) — Replacement and upgrade of the servers that support 

GPO’s publishing and printing capabilities. 

n	 Enterprise Storage ($300,000) — Infrastructure funding is necessary to ensure that 

GPO’s IT storage capacity continues to grow to support the agency’s application and data 

storage requirements. 

n	 Data Communications Equipment ($232,000) — Replacement and upgrade of core 

communications equipment that has reached end of life. 

n	 Web Filtering ($200,000) — Replacement and upgrade of the Web filtering equipment 

that protects GPO users from accessing malicious and/or inappropriate Internet sites. 

Facilities Projects — $4,232,000

n	 Upgrade Electrical Substation ($3,500,000) — There is only one 480V substation in 

all of GPO’s Buildings A, B and C. New, more efficient equipment is 480V by standard 

(including elevators as well as production equipment). Without upgrading our substation, 

we risk running out of power to produce essential work for Congress and Federal 

agencies.

7 3 2 N o r t h C a p i t o l S t r e e t , N W , W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 4 0 1 - 0 0 0 1 I d v a n c e - c o o k s @ g p o . g o v

DAVITA VANCE-COOKS

Director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office
n Structural Evaluations and Remedy Actions ($400,000) — We have areas of concrete

floors that are degrading to the point where they may fail. This funding is to continue a

third party structural analysis and for ongoing repairs on the areas in the worst shape.

n Roof Replacement ($332,000) — This represents the remaining phase of our multiyear roof upgrade to improve energy efficiency and reduce the potential for damage

and health and safety concerns that can result from leaks in areas that are currently

compromised.

Chairman Graves and Chairwoman Capito, we look forward to working with you and your

Subcommittees in your consideration of our appropriations request for FY 2016.

Sincerely,

DAVITA VANCE-COOKS

Director

Enclosure

cc: The Honorable Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Ranking Member

House Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations

The Honorable Brian Schatz

Ranking Member

Senate Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations

7 3 2 N o r t h C a p i t o l S t r e e t , N W , W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 4 0 1 - 0 0 0 1 I d v a n c e - c o o k s @ g p o . g o v

DAVITA VANCE-COOKS

Director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office
Table of Contents

Executive Summary A-1

Organizational Charts

Organizational Chart B-1

Functions by Organization B-2

Staffing Information B-3

Summary of Estimates

Summary of Appropriation Estimates C-1

Staffing Summary – FTEs C-2

Mission, Goals, and Objectives D-1

Congressional Publishing

Base Budget Review E-1

Detail by Activity E-3

Detailed Analysis of Change E-4

Explanation of Changes E-6

Object Class and Analysis of Change to Budget Base E-8

Estimated Cost per Unit by Category E-9

Volume Increase or Decrease E-10

Congressional Billings for Committees By Category E-11

Details to Congress E-14

Salaries and Expenses

Base Budget Review F-1

Analysis of Change F-3

Summary by Object Class F-4

Revolving Fund

Base Budget Review G-1

Analysis of Change G-4

Summary by Object Class G-5
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Executive Summary and Results of FY 2014 Operations

The Government Publishing Office (GPO) is the OFFICIAL, DIG ITAL, SECU R E resource for 

producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official 

information products of the Federal Government.

Under Title 44 of the U.S. Code, GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information 

products for all three branches of the Government, including the official publications of Congress and the 

White House, U.S. passports for the Department of State, and the official publications of other Federal 

agencies and the courts. Once primarily a printing operation, we are now an integrated publishing 

operation and carry out our mission using an expanding range of digital as well as conventional formats. 

Congress and the President recognized this change in our operations in the Consolidated and Continuing 

Appropriations Act of FY 2015 (P.L. 113-235), which contains a provision redesignating GPO’s official name 

as the Government Publishing Office. GPO currently employs about 1,700 workers.

Along with sales of publications in digital and tangible formats to the public, GPO supports openness and 

transparency in Government by providing permanent public access to Federal Government information at 

no charge through our Federal Digital System (FDsys, at www.fdsys.gov), which today makes more than 

1 million Federal titles available online from both GPO and links to servers in other agencies. In 2014 

FDsys averaged 38.1 million retrievals per month, with a spike up to 47.5 million during the Government 

shutdown of October 2013. We also provide public access to Government information through partnerships 

with approximately 1,200 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program.

In addition to GPO’s Web site, www.gpo.gov, we communicate with the public routinely via Facebook 

http://www.facebook.com/USGPO, Twitter twitter.com/USGPO, YouTube http://www.youtube.com/

user/gpoprinter, and Pinterest http://pinterest.com/usgpo/.

History From the Mayflower Compact to the Declaration of Independence and the papers leading to the 

creation and ratification of the Constitution, America is a nation based on documents, and our governmental 

tradition since then has reflected that fact. Article I, section 5 of the Constitution requires that “each House 

shall keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to time publish the same.” After years of struggling 

with various systems of contracting for printed documents that were beset with scandal and corruption, in 

1860 Congress created the Government Printing Office as its official printer. GPO first opened its doors for 

business on March 4, 1861, the same day Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th President.

Since that time, GPO has produced and distributed the official version of every great American state paper 

and an uncounted number of other Government publications, documents, and forms. These documents 

include the Emancipation Proclamation, the legislative publications and acts of Congress, Social Security 

cards, Medicare and Medicaid information, census forms, tax forms, citizenship forms, passports, military 

histories ranging from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion to the latest accounts of our forces 

in Afghanistan, the 9/11 Commission Report, Presidential inaugural addresses, and Supreme Court opinions. 

This work goes on today, in both digital as well as print forms.

Strategic Vision GPO is transforming from a print-centric to a content-centric publishing operation. Our 

implementation of a digital transformation is consistent with the goals outlined in President Obama’s 

Roadmap for a Digital Government (Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve 

the American People, May 2012). It is also consistent with the recommendations submitted by the National 

Academy of Public Administration (Rebooting the Government Printing Office: Keeping America Informed in 

the Digital Age, January 2013) regarding GPO’s transition to a digital future. 

U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE FY 2016 APPROPRIATIONS JUSTIFICATION
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In FY 2016 and the years ahead, GPO will continue to develop an integrated, diversified product and 

services portfolio that focuses primarily on digital. Although industry experts predict tangible print 

will continue to be required because of official use, archival purposes, authenticity, specific industry 

requirements, and segments of the population that either have limited or no access to digital formats, we 

recognize that the volume of tangible print that is requisitioned from GPO is declining and will continue to 

decline.

Strategic Plan GPO’s strategic plan, which is available for public review at http://www.gpo.gov/about/, 

is built around four continuing strategic goals: satisfying our stakeholders, offering products and services, 

strengthening our organizational foundation, and engaging our workforce. The plan provides the blueprint 

for how GPO will continue to achieve its mission of Keeping America Informed with an emphasis on being 

Official, Digital, Secure. GPO’s senior managers convene at the beginning of the fiscal year to review the 

plan and approve it before it is issued. 

GPO’s customers are involved in the digital world and understand technological change. Accordingly, it 

is important that GPO fosters an environment that embraces change and innovation, which leads to new 

products and services, new methods, and new ways of thinking. Tangible printing at GPO is declining while 

there has been an exponential growth in digital requirements by Congress and Federal agencies. Moreover, 

the public – including the library and Government information user communities – has signaled its strong 

desire for increased access to Government information digitally. 

GPO has changed to anticipate and accommodate those requirements. The content received from 

Congress and Federal agencies needs to be managed through a life cycle process that supports the primary 

requirement to make the digital version of publications permanently available online, and to print only 

when required or otherwise necessary. This policy is consistent with the President’s executive order of 

November 2011 dealing with printing.

In transforming its business model, GPO is focusing on managing content for customer and public use 

both today and tomorrow. GPO uses its extensive experience and expertise with digital systems to provide 

both permanent public access to Government information in a variety of formats and the most efficient and 

effective means for printing when required, all within a secure setting that is responsive to the customer’s 

needs.

Technology Transformation GPO has continually transformed itself throughout its history by adapting to 

changing technologies. In the ink-on-paper era, this meant moving from hand-set to machine typesetting, 

from slower to high-speed presses, and from hand to automated bookbinding. These changes were 

significant for their time. Yet they pale by comparison with the transformation that accompanied our 

incorporation of electronic information technologies, which began over 50 years ago in 1962 when the 

Joint Committee on Printing directed the agency to develop a new system of computer-based composition. 

That order led to the development of GPO’s first electronic photocomposition system, which by the early 

1980’s had completely supplanted machine-based hot metal typesetting. Following the enactment of the 

GPO Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act in 1993, the databases generated by our composition 

system were uploaded to the Internet via GPO’s first Web site, GPO Access, vastly expanding the agency’s 

information dissemination capabilities. Those functions continue today with FDsys on a more complex and 

comprehensive scale.

While transforming to an increasingly digital footing, GPO continues to provide an array of printing services 

to support the needs of Congress, Federal agencies, and the public. GPO is retooling its print operations 

to utilize a smaller, more flexible, more digitally-based equipment profile than previously. In FY 2014 we 

took delivery of a new zero make-ready press to support congressional and Federal agency publishing 

requirements, which will replace two aging presses that have been in place since 1979. We are continually 

reviewing product and equipment options to ensure that our publishing activities are conducted with the 

most efficient, effective technologies available.
A3

As a result of these sweeping technology changes — digital products, equipment, and processes GPO is 

now fundamentally different from what it was as recently as a generation age. It is smaller, leaner, and 

equipped with digital production capabilities that are the bedrock of the information systems relied upon 

daily by Congress, Federal agencies, and the public to ensure open and transparent Government in the 

digital era. As we prepare GPO for the Government information environment and technology challenges of 

the future, our transformation is continuing with the development of new ways of delivering Government 

information, including apps and bulk data download files.

GPO and Congress

For the Clerk of the House, the Secretary of the Senate, and the committees of the House and the Senate, 

GPO publishes the documents and publications required by the legislative and oversight processes of 

Congress in digital and tangible formats. This includes the daily Congressional Record, bills, reports, 

legislative calendars, hearings, committee prints, and documents, as well as stationery, franked envelopes, 

memorials and condolence books, programs and invitations, phone books, and the other products needed 

to conduct the business of Congress. We also detail expert staff to support the publishing requirements of 

House and Senate committees and congressional offices such as the House and Senate Offices of Legislative 

Counsel. We work with Congress to ensure the provision of these services under any circumstances.

Today the activities associated with creating congressional information databases comprise the majority 

of the work funded by our annual Congressional Publishing Appropriation (formerly known as the 

Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation). Our advanced digital authentication system, 

supported by public key infrastructure (PKI), is an essential component for assuring the digital security of 

congressional publications. The databases we build are made available for providing access to congressional 

publications in digital formats as well as their production in tangible formats. 

GPO’s congressional information databases also form the building blocks of other information systems 

supporting Congress. For example, they are provided directly to the Library of Congress to support its 

Congress.gov system as well as the legislative information systems the Library makes available to House and 

Senate offices. We work with the Library to prepare summaries and status information for House and Senate 

bills in XML bulk data format. We are also collaborating with the Library on the digitization of historical 

printed documents, such as the Congressional Record, to make them more broadly available to Congress 

and the public.

GPO Cuts the Cost of Congressional Work The use of electronic information technologies by GPO has 

been a principal contributor to lowering the cost, in real economic terms, of congressional information 

products. In FY 1980, as we began replacing hot metal typesetting with electronic photocomposition, the 

appropriation for our Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation was $91.6 million, the equivalent 

in today’s dollars of $259 million. By comparison, our approved funding for FY 2014 is $79.7 million, a 

reduction of more than two-thirds in constant dollar terms.
A4

Productivity increases resulting from technology have enabled us to make substantial reductions in staffing 

requirements while continuing to improve services for Congress. In 1980, GPO employment was 6,450. 

Today, we have 1,695 employees on board, representing a reduction of 4,755, or more than 70%. This is the 

smallest GPO workforce of any time in the past century.

M E N T T R E N D , 1 9 8 0 - 2 01 5

1 9 8 5 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 5 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 5

5 0

1 0 0

1 5 0

2 0 0

2 5 0

3 0 0

1 9 8 0 1 9 8 5 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 5 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 5

C O N G R E S S I O N A L P R I N T I N G A N D B I N D I N G A P P R O P R I AT I O N

F Y 1 9 8 0 – F Y 2 01 5

Millions of Dollars

Appropriation

In Constant Dollars

2 0 1 0

3 5 0

2 0 1 0

0

1 0 0 , 0 0 0

2 0 0 , 0 0 0

3 0 0 , 0 0 0

4 0 0 , 0 0 0

5 0 0 , 0 0 0

Number of Titles

FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2015

193,000

301,600

441,700

6 0 0 , 0 0 0

7 0 0 , 0 0 0

2 0 1 5

2 0 1 5

Congressional Publishing 

Appropriation

FY 1980 – FY 2015

G P O E M P L O Y M E N T T R E N D , 1 9 8 0 - 2 01 5

1 , 0 0 0

2 , 0 0 0

4 , 0 0 0

6 , 0 0 0

8 , 0 0 0

1 9 8 0 1 9 8 5 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 5 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 5

Headcount

5 0

1 0 0

1 5 0

2 0 0

2 5 0

3 0 0

1 9 8 0 1 9 

C O N G R E S S I 

F Y 1 9 8 0 – F 

Millions of Dollars

3 5 0

2 0 1 0

0

1 0 0 , 0 0 0

2 0 0 , 0 0 0

3 0 0 , 0 0 0

4 0 0 , 0 0 0

5 0 0 , 0 0 0

Number of Titles

FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2015

193,000

301,600

441,700

6 0 0 , 0 0 0

7 0 0 , 0 0 0

n constant dollars

$ 259.0 million

$ 203.5 million

$ 132.2 million

$ 129.5 million

$ 99.2 million

$ 105.1 million

$ 100.2 million

$ 79.7 million

Headcount

6,450

5,383

4,977

3,956

3,139

2,344

2,284

1,879

2 0 1 5

 Number of Titles 

000 193,000 

005 301,600

010 441,700

014 977,000

1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

9 0 0 , 0 0 0

8 0 0 , 0 0 0

1,339,500

GPO Employment

FY 1980 – FY 2015
A5

Highlights of FY 2014 Congressional Work In 2014, essential staff from GPO remained on duty during 

the Government shutdown in October 2013 to meet the publishing requirements of Congress throughout 

the shutdown period without any interruption or reduction in service. During the year, we published the 

Congressional Directory for the 113th Congress under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing, and 

late in the year we released the New Member Pictorial Directory for the 114th Congress as prepared by the 

Committee on House Administration. We also worked with the Office of the Clerk of the House to prepare 

an eBook version of Hispanic Americans in Congress 1822-2012.

At the direction of the House Appropriations Committee, and in support of the House’s task force on bulk 

data, in 2014 we began work with the Library of Congress to make House bill status information prepared 

by the Congressional Research Service available in XML bulk data format. Late in the year our work in 

making legislative information available in XML bulk data format was expanded to include Senate bills, at 

the request of the Secretary of the Senate.

 

GPO is a regular participant and presenter at the House Legislative Data and Transparency Conference, 

along with staff from other legislative branch agencies, data users, and transparency advocates.

GPO and Federal Agencies

Federal agencies are major generators of information in the United States, and GPO produces their 

information products for official use and public access. Federal agencies and the public also rely on 

a growing variety of secure credentials produced by GPO, including travelers holding U.S. passports, 

members of the public who cross our borders frequently, and other users. Our digital systems support key 

Federal agency publications, including the annual Budget of the U.S. Government and, most importantly, 

the Federal Register and associated products. As it does for congressional documents, our digital 

authentication system, supported by public key infrastructure (PKI), assures the digital security of agency 

documents.

Highlights of FY 2013 Agency Operations For the past three years we have made the Budget of the U.S. 

Government available as a mobile app.

One of GPO’s major agency customers is the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), which produces the daily 

Federal Register and related publications such as the Code of Federal Regulations, and other key information 

products like the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Public Papers of the President. GPO 

produces these publications in both digital and tangible formats.

Since 1926 GPO has been responsible for producing the U.S. passports for the Department of State. At 

one time, no more than a conventionally printed document, the U.S. passport since 2005 has incorporated 

a digital chip and antenna array capable of carrying biometric identification data. With other security 

printing features, this document – that we produce in Washington, DC, as well as a secure remote facility in 

Mississippi – is now the most secure identification credential obtainable. In 2014, we made changes to our 

facilities to begin installing equipment that will be used to produce the next generation passport.

Since 2008, we have served as an integrator of secure identification smart cards to support the credentialing 

requirements of Federal agencies and other Government entities. Our secure credential unit has been 

certified by the General Services Administration (GSA) as the only government-to-government provider of 

credentials meeting the requirements of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). 

We anticipated that the sequester implemented during 2013 would impact funding for printing and other 

information products ordered through GPO. In response, we implemented increased controls on spending, 

reprioritized capital investment plans, and closely monitored costs. GPO was able to continue its support 

of Federal agency publishing and information product requirements without any interruption or reduction 

in service. During the October 2013 Government shutdown, GPO initially scaled back support of Federal 
A6

agency requirements consistent with Office of Management and Budget and related requirements for a 

lapse in funding. However, as the shutdown continued and some agencies returned to business (such as the 

Department of Defense), GPO responded to their essential requirements. Additionally, GPO provided public 

access via FDsys to health and safety regulatory information issued by the Office of the Federal Register 

during the shutdown.

During 2014, GPO reported positive results on a customer satisfaction survey of approximately 500 Federal 

agencies. The survey focused on GPO’s products, services, and programs, the cost-effectiveness of services, 

and satisfaction with GPO’s Web site and customer service. Some of the results included:

n 91% of customers are satisfied with overall service from their primary GPO location 

n 90% are likely to recommend GPO to a colleague 

n 90% say they do not believe they can beat or match GPO pricing

The survey was conducted in support of GPO’s Strategic Plan, that emphasizes a customer-centric approach 

through agency-wide procedures, policies, and activities implemented to ensure GPO is meeting customers’ 

needs and exceeding their expectations. 

Partnership with Industry Other than congressional and inherently governmental work such as the Federal 

Register, the Budget, and secure and intelligent documents, we produce virtually all other Federal agency 

information products via contracts with the private sector printing and information product industry 

issued by our central office and regional GPO offices around the country. In 2014, this work amounted 

to approximately $292.5 million. Approximately 16,000 individual firms are registered to do business with 

GPO, the vast majority of whom are small businesses averaging 20 employees per firm. Contracts are 

awarded on a purely competitive basis; there are no set-asides or preferences in contracting other than what 

is specified in law and regulation, including a requirement for Buy American. This partnership provides 

great economic opportunity for the private sector.

The decline in print government wide has reduced the amount of work we produce through this 

partnership, the result of the ongoing transformation of Federal agency information requirements from print 

to digital, the President’s initiative to reduce Federal printing, and to some extent funding reductions for 

overall Federal spending including sequestration. However, this partnership achieves significant savings and 

efficiencies for the printing that it continues to produce, and in the process generates private sector jobs 

nationwide.

We have long advocated that where Federal agency printing is required, this partnership is the most 

cost-effective way of producing it. We were interested to see the results of a Government Accountability 

Office study, conducted at the request of the Joint Committee on Printing and completed in 2013, which 

identified approximately 80 Federal printing plants still in operation government wide. Additional savings 

for taxpayers could occur if the work these plants are producing is transferred instead to GPO’s partnership 

with the private sector printing and information product industry. 

GPO and Open, Transparent Government 

Producing and distributing the official publications and information products of the Government fulfills an 

informing role originally envisioned by the Founders, as James Madison once said:

“A popular Government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a 

Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, 

and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which 

knowledge gives.”

GPO operates a variety of programs that provide the public with “the means of acquiring” Government 

information that Madison spoke of. These programs include the Federal Depository Library program (FDLP), 

Federal Digital System (FDsys), Publications Sales, and social media.
A7

Federal Depository Library Program The FDLP has legislative antecedents that date back 200 years, to 

1813. Across those years, depository libraries have served as critical links between “We the People” and 

the information made available by the Federal Government. GPO provides the libraries with information 

products in digital and, in some cases, tangible formats, and the libraries in turn make these available to the 

public at no charge while providing additional help and assistance to depository library users. The program 

today serves millions of Americans through a network of approximately 1,200 public, academic, law, and 

other libraries located across the Nation, averaging nearly three per congressional district. Once limited to 

the distribution of printed and microfiche products, the FDLP today is primarily digital, supported by FDsys 

and other digital resources. This overwhelming reliance on digital content allowed for the first digital-only 

Federal depository library designation in 2014, with others to follow. 

In 2014, GPO completed work on our FDLP Forecast Study, a collaborative research project between 

GPO and depository libraries, that surveyed all depository libraries to assess the current conditions of the 

program. Primary issues identified in the survey include budget constraints, use of physical space, staffing, 

and collection scope changes. Results from this initiative will serve as a blueprint for developing a new 

National Plan for Access to Federal Government Information.

Also supporting the Federal depository libraries and the public nationwide is the work GPO does under 

its statutory mandate to catalog a comprehensive index of public documents issued or published by 

the Federal Government that are not confidential in character. The public interface for accessing these 

cataloging records is GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). In FY 2014, there were 25.6 

million successful searches of the CGP, an increase of 10.5 million over FY 2013. Also during this period, 

more than 13,800 new cataloging records were added to the CGP, of which 60% contained direct online 

links to the cataloged content. Additionally, more than 150 free Federal Government eBooks from various 

agencies are now available via the CGP, with more being added continuously. Thanks to a partnership we 

forged with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), more than 150,000 records from GPO’s digital 

Catalog of Government Publications are now also available to the public through the DPLA’s Web site. 

Federal Digital System GPO has been providing access to digital congressional and Federal agency 

documents since 1994. Today, FDsys provides the majority of congressional and Federal agency content 

to the FDLP as well as other online users. This system has reduced the cost of providing public access 

to Government information significantly when compared with print, while expanding public access 

dramatically through the Internet. Public utilization of FDsys has increased substantially. In 2014, FDsys 

recorded its 1 billionth document retrieval since replacing our original online Web site, GPO Access. 

Currently, FDsys serves as a secure preservation repository for more than 1 million individual titles from all 

three branches of the Government, the only system of its kind in operation today. In 2014, FDsys averaged 

38.1 million retrievals per month, with a spike of up to 47.5 million during the October 2013 Government 

shutdown. 

GPO is continually adding collections to FDsys to provide increased public access to Government 

information. In 2014, new collections were added ranging from audio books to digital editions of historic 

publications like the Warren Report on the assassination of President Kennedy and the Civil Rights Act 

of 1964. At the end of the year, we were one of 5 institutions named by the Library of Congress and the 

National Institute of Museum and Library Services to be part of the National Digital Stewardship Residency 

program, under which we are now preparing to become the first Federal agency certified as a Trustworthy 

Digital Depository for Government information. 

During the October 2013 Government shutdown, the FDsys congressional and regulatory information 

collections were continually updated as an essential function in order to provide public access to this 

essential information. The other collections on FDsys were not updated but were still accessible. All other 

information on gpo.gov (concerning our Online Bookstore, FDLP.gov, Contractor Connect, etc.) remained 

static during the shutdown.

FDsys Improvements Planned for FY 2016 As GPO’s enterprise information management system for digital 

information dissemination and preservation, FDsys is a critical component of our integrated publishing 
A8

operation. Continued investment in this cornerstone system is needed in order to ensure FDsys technology, 

features, and functionality supports GPO’s mission and meets the needs of key stakeholders, including 

Congress, federal agencies, and the American public.

In FY 2016, the Next Generation FDsys public website (NextGen) will officially launch and the legacy site 

will be retired. NextGen functionality will greatly enhance the way stakeholders can interact with FDsys, 

including a responsive user interface, replacement of the current search engine with an Open Source search 

engine, the implementation of linking between related publications, and user interface improvements based 

on extensive stakeholder engagement.

Along with the launch of NextGen, other initiatives are crucial for managing Federal Government content in 

FDsys, including developing new content collections, increasing content in existing collections, enhancing 

the accessibility of content, and increasing the discoverability of information within the system. GPO 

also has begun the initial process to seek certification for FDsys as a Trustworthy Digital Repository in 

compliance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 16363). This certification will 

validate that FDsys, its infrastructure, and its supporting organization are reliable and sustainable, in order to 

ensure the highest level of service now and into the future.

With the planned updates to the FDsys search, content management, and preservation components 

and along with certification of FDsys as a Trusted Digital Repository, it is also critical to invest in the 

IT infrastructure supporting the system. This includes bandwidth, storage, and servers needed for the 

Production, COOP, Test, and Development environments. In FY 2016, GPO will also explore how to migrate 

FDsys to the Cloud to reduce reliance on on-site physical infrastructure.

GPO Achieves Savings in Information Dissemination In 1995, the first full year of our online operations, 

the cost of printing and distributing millions of copies of printed publications to Federal depository libraries 

nationwide was funded at $17.6 million, the equivalent of $26.9 million in constant dollars. For FY 2015, 

we are proposing to fund this function at $8.7 million, a reduction of more than 67% in constant dollar 

G P O E M P L O Y M E N T T R E N D , 1 9 8 0 - 2 01 5

2 0 0

2 5 0

3 0 0

C O N G R E 

F Y 1 9 8 0 

Millions of Dollars

3 5 0

0

1 0 0 , 0 0 0

2 0 0 , 0 0 0

3 0 0 , 0 0 0

4 0 0 , 0 0 0

5 0 0 , 0 0 0

Number of Titles

FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2015

193,000

301,600

441,700

6 0 0 , 0 0 0

7 0 0 , 0 0 0

in constant dollars

$ 259.0 million

$ 203.5 million

$ 132.2 million

$ 129.5 million

$ 99.2 million

$ 105.1 million

$ 100.2 million

$ 79.7 million

cal Year Headcount

80 6,450

85 5,383

90 4,977

95 3,956

00 3,139

05 2,344

10 2,284

14 1,879

Year Number of Titles 

FY 2000 193,000 

FY 2005 301,600

FY 2010 441,700

FY 2014 977,000

1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

9 0 0 , 0 0 0

8 0 0 , 0 0 0

1,339,500 Number of Titles Available 

Online through GPO

(includes titles on GPO servers 

and titles linked from GPO)

FY 2000 – FY 2015
A9

terms. Along with appropriations to GPO’s Revolving Fund, we have used the savings from reduced printing 

and distribution costs to pay for the establishment and operation of our digital information dissemination 

operations, achieving additional savings for the taxpayers, and vastly expanding public access to 

Government information.

Publication and Information Sales Program Along with the FDLP and FDsys, which are no-fee public 

access programs, GPO provides public access to official Federal information through public sales featuring 

secure ordering through an online bookstore, a bookstore at GPO headquarters in Washington, DC, and 

partnerships with the private sector that offer Federal publications as eBooks. As a one-stop shop for eBook 

design, conversion, and dissemination, our presence in the eBook market continues to grow. We now have 

agreements with Apple, Google’s eBookstore, Barnes & Noble, OverDrive, Ingram, Zinio, and other online 

vendors to make popular Government titles such as the Public Papers of the President-Barack Obama, the 

Financial Crisis Inquiry Report, and Ponzimonium: How Scam Artists are Ripping Off America available as 

eBooks. Additionally, in 2014 we worked with Congress to make Hispanic Americans in Congress available 

as an eBook.

Reimbursable Distribution Program We operate distribution programs for the information products of 

other Federal agencies on a reimbursable basis, including General Services Administration (GSA) Consumer 

Information Center publications, from warehouses in Pueblo, CO, and Laurel, MD. 

GPO and Social Media We use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a book blog to share information about 

GPO news and events and to promote specific publications and products. By the end of 2014, we had 

3,932 likes on Facebook, 5,372 followers on Twitter, and 120,000 views across 66 videos on YouTube. 

On Pinterest, we had 422 followers pinning on 15 boards of Federal Government information. Our book 

blog, Government Book Talk, focuses on increasing the awareness of new and classic Federal publications 

through reviews and discussions. 

GPO Finances

Business Operations Revolving Fund All GPO activities are financed through our Business Operations 

Revolving Fund. This business-like fund is used to pay all of GPO’s costs in performing congressional 

and agency publishing, information product procurement, and publications dissemination activities. It is 

reimbursed from payments from customer agencies, sales to the public, and transfers from GPO’s two 

annual appropriations: the Congressional Publishing Appropriation and the Public Information Programs of 

the Superintendent of Documents Appropriation. 

The Business Operations Revolving Fund functions as GPO’s checking account with the U.S. Treasury. GPO 

pays its expenses from this account either with electronic transfer or check. The fund is reimbursed when the 

Treasury Department transfers money from agency appropriations accounts to the fund when agencies pay 

GPO invoices. This procedure also applies to the payment of transfers from the Congressional Publishing and 

Public Information Programs appropriations, and to deposits of funds collected from sales to the public.

GPO maintains a cash balance in the Business Operations Revolving Fund that is used to pay all expenses. 

The cash balance fluctuates daily as payments are received from agency reimbursements, customer 

payments, and transfers from GPO appropriations.

Retained Earnings Under GPO’s system of accrual accounting, annual earnings generated since the 

inception of the Business Operations Revolving Fund have been accumulated as retained earnings. Retained 

earnings make it possible for GPO to fund a significant amount of technology modernization. However, 

appropriations for essential investments in technology and plant upgrades are also necessary and are 

requested annually.

Appropriated Funds GPO’s Congressional Publishing Appropriation is used to reimburse the Business 

Operations Revolving Fund for costs of publishing the documents required for the use of Congress in digital 
A10

and tangible formats, as authorized by the provisions of chapters 7 and 9 of Title 44, U.S.C. The Public 

Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents Appropriation is used to pay for costs associated 

with providing online access to, and the distribution of publications to Federal depository libraries, 

cataloging and indexing, statutory distribution, and international exchange distribution. The reimbursements 

from these appropriations are included in the Business Operations Revolving Fund as revenue for work 

performed.

Unlike most appropriations to other Federal agencies, these two appropriations are for work that GPO itself 

does not control. The Congressional Publishing Appropriation in effect is an appropriation by Congress 

to cover the costs of its publishing activities. The appropriation is made to GPO to relieve Congress of the 

burden of maintaining detailed accounting records for all publishing work ordered from GPO both by law 

and by other congressional requisitions, as well as the responsibility for estimating the anticipated volume 

of congressional publishing that is used as the basis for the appropriation.

Congress plays a major role in controlling the rate of spending of the Congressional Publishing 

Appropriation. GPO can transfer funds from the appropriation to the Business Operations Revolving Fund 

only when it performs congressional publishing work. The appropriation is not available for expenditure 

for any purposes other than this work. While GPO does its best to estimate the volume of congressional 

publishing in any given year, that volume can change due to circumstances beyond GPO’s control. GPO 

affects the rate of spending under this appropriation by ensuring the efficiency of its operations.

If congressional requisitions fall short of GPO’s estimate, there will be a balance remaining in the 

Congressional Publishing Appropriation at the end of the year. Under the language of GPO’s appropriations 

legislation, such balances are eligible for transfer to the Business Operations Revolving Fund, where they 

can be used only for the purposes for which they were originally appropriated, with the approval of the 

House and Senate appropriations committees. If Congress’s requirements exceed GPO’s estimate, GPO will 

continue to fulfill them, and Congress will in effect spend more than it appropriated. As a result, there will 

be a shortfall in the appropriation for which GPO would need additional funding in a subsequent year. The 

shortfall would be paid out of available money—retained earnings—in the Business Operations Revolving 

Fund that otherwise would be available for investment in new plant and equipment. When shortfalls occur, 

Congress subsequently repays GPO for the excess cost of its printing to restore money to the Business 

Operations Revolving Fund.

Like the Congressional Publishing Appropriation, the Public Information Programs Appropriation is available 

only for specific programs: online access and distribution to Federal depository libraries, cataloging and 

indexing, statutory distribution, and international exchange. The publishing activities of the Government 

determine the workload handled by these programs, not GPO. However, GPO affects the level of funding 

by ensuring the efficiency of its information dissemination operations. Like the Congressional Publishing 

Appropriation, any unobligated balances remaining in this account may be transferred to the Business 

Operations Revolving Fund, where they can be used only for the purposes for which they were originally 

appropriated, with the approval of the House and Senate appropriations committees. 

FY 2014 Financial Results Revenue totaled $696.3 million while expenses charged against GPO’s budget 

were $672.3 million, for an overall net income of $24 million from operations. Included in both GPO’s 

revenue and net income is approximately $15.1 million in funds set aside for passport-related capital 

investments, as agreed to by GPO and the Department of State, and $2.1 million in funds resulting from an 

adjustment to GPO’s long-term workers’ compensation liability under the Federal Employees Compensation 

Act (FECA). Apart from these funds, GPO’s net operating income from FY 2014 was $6.8 million.

Funds appropriated directly by Congress provided nearly $109.6 million (including funds from the 

Congressional Publishing and Public Information Programs appropriations, along with appropriations to 

the Business Operations Revolving Fund), or about 16% of total revenue. All other GPO activities, including 

inplant publishing (which includes the production of passports), procured work, sales of publications, 

agency distribution services, and all administrative support functions, were financed through the Business 

Operations Revolving Fund by revenues generated by payments from agencies and sales to the public. 
A11

The largest single component of GPO’s annual expenses is publishing work procured from the private 

sector. In FY 2014, the cost of this work totaled $267.3 million, or about 40% of total expenses. The second 

largest component was personnel compensation and benefits. These totaled $206.3 million, or about 31% of 

all expenses.

FY 2016 Appropriations Request

GPO is requesting a total of $120,000,000 for FY 2016, which is essentially flat compared to the level of 

funding, $119,993,000, approved for FY 2015 in P.L. 113-235. Continuing overhead cost-cutting actions 

undertaken since FY 2011, in addition to a buyout successfully conducted in the first quarter of FY 2015 

that reduced GPO’s workforce by 103 positions, have helped make this flat funding request possible. 

Additionally, with the approval of the House and Senate appropriations committees, each year we have 

transferred any unspent prior year balances from our appropriations to GPO’s Business Operations 

Revolving Fund, where they are available for the uses for which they were originally appropriated. This also 

has made it possible for us to reduce the need for new funding.

Our FY 2016 request will enable us to:

n	 meet projected requirements for congressional publishing;

n	 fund the operation of the public information programs of the Superintendent of Documents; and

n	 develop information technology and perform facilities maintenance and repair.

Congressional Publishing Appropriation We are requesting $79,736,000 for this account, the same level 

approved for FY 2015 in P.L. 113-235. Unspent prior year balances from this account that have been 

transferred to GPO’s business operations revolving fund are available for the purposes of this account for 

FY 2015 and FY 2016. 

House Report 112-148, accompanying the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill for FY 2012, requires the 

presentation of budget requirements from a zero base. However, GPO has no control over the workload 

requirements of the Congressional Publishing Appropriation. These are determined by the legislative 

activities and requirements of the House of Representatives and the Senate as authorized by the applicable 

provisions of Title 44, U.S.C. GPO utilizes historical data incorporating other relevant factors to develop 

estimates of likely congressional publishing requirements. These requirements are used as the basis of the 

budget presentation for this account.

For FY 2016, we estimate that total congressional publishing requirements will be $85,750,000, using 

projections based on prior year data. We plan to use $6,014,000 that is available in unexpended prior funds 

to offset part of these requirements, resulting in our request for $79,736,000 in new funding. Additionally, 

we plan to set aside $7,478,000 in transferred unspent prior year funds to finance the continuing 

development of our Composition System Replacement project, which will implement an XML-based 

composition system in place of our 30-year old Microcomp system. This year, we plan to request approval 

for the transfer of approximately $540,000 in unspent prior year funds to our business operation revolving 

fund, to help cover future congressional publishing requirements. 

The estimated requirements for FY 2016 include a projected price level increase of $1,881,000, primarily 

to cover employee pay increases equivalent with those paid government-wide. Additionally, there is a 

$1,200,000 increase to cover anticipated volume requirements as derived from historical data, principally for 

the Congressional Record, calendars, and hearings. Partially offsetting these increases are volume decreases 

projected primarily for documents, bills, and committee prints.

Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents We are requesting $30,500,000 for 

this account, representing a decrease of $1,000,000 or 3.2% from the amount approved for FY 2015 in P.L. 

113-235. As with our Congressional Publishing Appropriation, unspent prior year balances from this account 

that have been transferred to GPO’s Business Operations Revolving Fund are available for the purposes of 
this account for FY 2016. The requested amount is based on the outcome of using zero-based budgeting to 

determine the proper levels of funding needed to perform program activities at minimum levels, as directed 

by House Report 112-148.

The funding we are requesting for FY 2016 will cover mandatory pay and related cost increases of $342,000. 

Merit and other pay increases are included for 94 FTE’s, the same as for FY 2015. In addition, the requested 

funding covers projected price level increases of $175,000, including ongoing systems maintenance and 

operating expenses. 

Unspent prior year appropriations balances that have been transferred with the approval of the 

Appropriations Committees to our Business Operations Revolving Fund, totaling $1,517,000 will be used 

to fund the continuation of cataloging and indexing efforts to harvest and catalog historical publication for 

digital preservation. In 2015, we plan to request approval for the transfer of an additional $6,000,000 in 

unspent prior year funds to support GPO’s digitization efforts to expand and develop new digital content 

and maintain the integrity of our Federal Digital Syatem (FDsys) as a trusted digital repository. 

Business Operations Revolving Fund We are requesting $9,764,000 for this account, to remain available 

until expended, for continued information technology projects and necessary facilities projects. This 

compares with $8,757,000 that has been appropriated for FY 2015. 

Information Technology Projects — $5,532,000

FDsys Projects — $4,000,000

n	 General Development ($3,050,000) — Development of new FDsys features to support identified 

needs of key stakeholders, including developing new content collections, increasing content in existing 

collections, enhancing the accessibility of content, and increasing the discoverability of information in 

FDsys.

n	 NextGen FDsys Public Website ($450,000) — Completion of development and launch of FDsys 

NextGen to support a responsive user interface, search engine replacement, publication linking, user 

interface improvements, and content curation.

n	 Certification of FDsys as a Trustworthy Digital Repository ($250,000) — Development to support the 

certification of the FDsys Preservation Repository as a Trustworthy Digital Repository.

n	 FDsys Infrastructure ($250,000) — Infrastructure for the hardware, storage, and infrastructure 

environments to manage system performance as FDsys content and usage continues to grow, including 

support for GPO efforts to migrate FDsys infrastructure components to the Cloud.

Enterprise System Upgrades — $1,532,000

n	 Core Router/Switch Replacements ($400,000) — Replacement and upgrade for segments of GPO’s 

existing core routing infrastructure that have reached end of life. 

n	 Itanium Servers ($400,000) — Replacement and upgrade of the servers that support GPO’s publishing 

and printing capabilities. 

n	 Enterprise Storage ($300,000) — Infrastructure funding is necessary to ensure that GPO’s IT storage 

capacity continues to grow to support the agency’s application and data storage requirements. 

n	 Data Communications Equipment ($232,000) — Replacement and upgrade of core communications 

equipment that has reached end of life. 

n	 Web Filtering ($200,000) — Replacement and upgrade of the Web filtering equipment that protects GPO 

users from accessing malicious and/or inappropriate Internet sites. 

A12
Facilities Projects — $4,232,000

n	 Upgrade Electrical Substation ($3,500,000) — There is only one 480V substation in all of GPO’s 

Buildings A, B and C. New, more efficient equipment is 480V by standard (including elevators as well 

as production equipment). Without upgrading our substation, we risk running out of power to produce 

essential work for Congress and Federal agencies.

n	 Structural Evaluations and Remedy Actions ($400,000) — We have areas of concrete floors that are 

degrading to the point where they may fail. This funding is to continue a third party structural analysis 

and for ongoing repairs on the areas in the worst shape.

n	 Roof Replacement ($332,000) — This represents the remaining phase of our multi-year roof upgrade to 

improve energy efficiency and reduce the potential for damage and health and safety concerns that can 

result from leaks in areas that are currently compromised.

A13
DIRECTOR

Davita E. Vance-Cooks

Executive Level II

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Jim Bradley

Chief Operating Officer 

Executive Level III 

GENERAL COUNSEL

Drew Spalding

SLS

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE 

OFFICER

Herbert H. Jackson, Jr.

SLS

SUPERINTENDENT 

OF DOCUMENTS

Mary Alice Baish

SLS

CHIEF OF STAFF

Andrew M. Sherman

SLS

INSPECTOR GENERAL

Michael A. Raponi

SLS

LABOR RELATIONS

Melissa Hatfield

Director – PG 15

HUMAN CAPITAL

Ginger Thomas

Chief Human Capital Officer

SLS 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT 

OPPORTUNITY 

Juanita M. Flores

Director – SLS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

AND SYSTEMS

Charles E. Riddle, Jr.

Chief Information Officer – SLS

SECURITY SERVICES

LaMont R. Vernon

Chief Security Officer – SLS

PLANT OPERATIONS

John W. Crawford

Managing Director – SLS

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Bruce Seger

Managing Director – SLS

LIBRARY SERVICES AND 

CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Laurie Hall

Acting Managing Director – SLS

PROGRAMS, STRATEGY 

AND TECHNOLOGY

Richard G. Davis

Chief Technology Officer – SLS

CONGRESSIONAL 

RELATIONS

Andrew M. Sherman

Acting Director – SLS

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Gary Somerset

Media and Public Relations 

Manager – PG 14 

OFFICIAL JOURNALS 

OF GOVERNMENT

Lyle L. Green

Managing Director – SLS

PUBLICATIONS AND 

INFORMATION SALES SECURITY AND 

INTELLIGENT DOCUMENTS

Stephen G. LeBlanc

Managing Director – SLS

January, 2015

OFFICIAL DIGITAL SECURE

ACQUISITIONS

Damon McClure

Director – PG 15

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Steven T. Shedd

Chief Financial Officer – SLS

STRATEGY ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC INFORMATION 

PROGRAMS

LEGAL FINANCE

OPERATIONS

G P O O R G A N I Z A T I O N

EMPLOYEE

COMMUNICATIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

B1
DIRECTOR

• Chief Executive Officer

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

• Chief Operating Officer• Oversees day-to-day operations

GENERAL COUNSEL

• Represents GPO in all legal  matters and administrative forums

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE 

OFFICER

• Long-range administrative and logistical planning• Oversight of administrative  offices

SUPERINTENDENT 

OF DOCUMENTS

• Oversight of information  dissemination

CHIEF OF STAFF

• Long range strategic planning• Oversight of staff offices

INSPECTOR GENERAL

• Audits and investigations• Recommendations to promote  efficiency and effectiveness

LABOR RELATIONS

• Labor contract negotiation and  management HUMAN CAPITAL

• Personnel operations and  management• Workforce development,  education and training• Health programs

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

• Affirmative employment• Special emphasis programs• Counseling and complaints processing

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

AND SYSTEMS

• Information resource management  planning, policies and programs• Legacy and mainframe computer  system operations and  maintenence • Systems security• GPO network operation

PLANT OPERATIONS

• Legislative services to Congress• Services to Executive Agencies• Engineering and environmental  services• Maintenance• Safety

CUSTOMER SERVICES

• Procure related services for all  Federal agencies.• Quality assurance and  procurement compliance• Customer outreach, satisfaction,  and marketing • Prepress design and consultation  services

LIBRARY SERVICES AND 

CONTENT MANAGEMENT

• Public online access to  Government information products• Permanent access to Government  information• Cataloging and indexing of  Government publications• Distribution of publications to  Depository Libraries

PROGRAMS, STRATEGY 

AND TECHNOLOGY

• Serves as agency-wide resource  to ensure that agency programs  and projects are delivered on time,  while meeting stakeholder needs,  ensuring standard processes  are followed, maximizing agency  value and minimizing overall  agency costs.• Management, ongoing  development, and support of  GPO’s Federal Digital System  (FDsys).

CONGRESSIONAL 

RELATIONS

• Liaison with Congress

PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Point of contact for the press  and the public• Media outreach• Speech writing/review• Special event planning• Annual report production

OFFICIAL JOURNALS 

OF GOVERNMENT

• Customer services for Congress  and Office of Federal Register• Monitors production and assists  with product and process  innovations• Develops and publishes content  for the CRI

PUBLICATION AND 

INFORMATION SALES

• Sales of publications digital and print• Agency storage and distribution  services SECURITY AND 

INTELLIGENT DOCUMENTS

• e-Passports, Smartcards• Security, PKI Certificates

January, 2015

ACQUISITIONS

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

• Budget• Accounting and financial reporting• Payroll, billing and collection  operations• Financial management

STRATEGY ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC INFORMATION 

PROGRAMS

LEGAL FINANCE

OPERATIONS

G P O F U N C T I O N S B Y O R G A N I Z A T I O N

SECURITY SERVICES

• Law enforcement/security  operations• Physical security and access  control requirements• Manages personnel, informational  and industrial security programs • Antiterrorism/Force Protection  programs

• Safety Programs

OFFICIAL DIGITAL SECURE

EMPLOYEE

COMMUNICATIONS

• Employee communications  through various media

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

• Directive and Records Mgmt.• Mail Management• Transportation/Logistics• Building Lease Management

• Purchasing• Contract administration

B2
B3

GPO STAFFING INFORMATION

As of January, 2015

Business Unit 1-8 9-12 13-15 SLS Executive Wage Grade Total

Acquisitions 3 11 7 0 0 0 21

Chief Administrative Officer 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

Chief of Staff 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

Congressional and Public Relations 0 0 5 0 0 0 5

Customer Services 27 84 41 2 0 0 154

Director, GPO 0 2 0 0 2 0 4

Engineering Services 5 3 6 0 0 162 176

Equal Employment Opportunity 1 3 2 1 0 0 7

Finance and Administration 22 42 47 2 0 2 115

General Counsel 1 2 8 2 0 0 13

Human Capital 12 16 14 1 0 0 43

Information Technology and Systems 1 22 67 2 0 0 92

Inspector General 0 3 14 1 0 0 18

Library Services and Content Management 4 34 25 2 0 10 75

Official Journals Of Government 3 13 13 1 0 59 89

Plant Operations 23 53 44 2 0 484 606

Programs, Strategy, and Technology 0 3 17 1 0 0 21

Publication and Information Sales 27 19 7 0 0 10 63

Security Services 40 13 5 1 0 0 59

Security and Intelligent Documents 7 5 25 1 0 111 149

Grand Total 176 328 347 21 2 838 1,712 

Note: This information outlines the number of employees within the agency’s organizational structure. 

The breakout is by plan and grade range or salary equivalent of 1,712 employees, as of January, 2015. 

GPO’s Senior Level Service (SLS) is similar to the Senior Executive Service. 
C1

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

Summary of Appropriation Estimates

(Dollars in Thousands)

C-1

Government Publishing Office

Summary of Appropriation Estimates

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2015/2016

Appropriation Title Actual Approved Request Net Change

Congressional Publishing $ 79,736 $ 79,736 $ 79,736 $ -

Superintendent of Documents

 Public Information Programs

By Law Distribution 315 315 315 -

Cataloging and Indexing 9,765 9,765 8,765 (1,000)

Federal Depository Library 20,475 20,475 20,475 -

International Exchange 945 945 945 -

Total Appropriation 31,500 31,500 30,500 (1,000)

Business Operations Revolving

Fund 8,064 8,757 9,764 1,007

Total Appropriations $ 119,300 $ 119,993 $ 120,000 $ 7
C2

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

Staffing Summary — FTE’s

C-2

Government Publishing Office

Staffing Summary - FTE's

FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 2015/2016

Appropriation Title Actual Approved Request Change

Congressional Publishing - - - -

Superintendent of Documents

 Public Information Programs

By Law Distribution 1 1 1 -

Cataloging and Indexing 22 24 29 5

Federal Depository Library 61 66 61 (5)

International Exchange 3 3 3 -

 Total Appropriation 87 94 94 -

Business Operations Revolving Fund 1,741 1,790 1,697 (93)

 Total Agency 1,828 1,884 1,791 (93)
D1

Mission Statement

Keeping America Informed as the Official, Digital, and 

Secure source for producing, protecting, preserving, and 

distributing the official publications and information 

products of the Federal Government.

Vision

Continue to transform ourselves into a digital information 

platform and provider of secure credentials.

About GPO

Established in 1861, GPO’s mission can be traced to the 

requirement in Article I of the Constitution that Congress 

“keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to time 

publish the same.” GPO’s in-plant production and printing 

procurement operations produce the official publications 

of Congress, the White House, and Federal agencies. 

GPO’s information dissemination programs provide public 

access to the official publications and information of the 

Government in both digital and printed formats through 

an official Web site (www. fdsys.gov), a partnership with 

Federal depository libraries nationwide, and both online 

and bookstore sales. GPO’s total employment today is 

approximately 1,700.

Congressional publishing and information services 

are the primary function of GPO’s in-plant facility in 

Washington, D.C. In addition to the Congressional Record 

containing the daily proceedings of Congress, GPO 

produces bills, hearings, reports, and other legislative 

documents, in digital and print formats, as required 

by the Senate and House of Representatives and their 

committees. GPO’s in-plant facility also produces the 

daily Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations, 

and the annual Budget of the U.S. Government, as well 

as U.S. passports and other secure Federal credentials. 

GPO has an additional facility in Mississippi for passport 

production.

GPO provides centralized operations for the 

procurement of information products for the entire 

Government, purchasing approximately $300 million 

annually from private sector vendors nationwide for 

Federal agency customers. About 70% of all the products 

ordered annually from GPO (other than passports and 

secure credentials) are procured from the private sector, 

including Social Security cards, census and tax forms, and 

Medicaid and Medicare materials. GPO’s procurement 

program provides great economic opportunity for the 

private sector. The majority of the firms GPO deals with 

are small businesses of 20 employees or less.

GPO’s primary information dissemination program 

involves a partnership with almost 1,200 Federal 

depository libraries nationwide. Today, the partnership 

is predominantly electronic, but tangible formats are 

distributed when required. GPO’s Federal Digital System 

(FDsys) provides free public access to more than 

1,000,000 searchable titles, with an average of 38.1 million 

retrievals every month. GPO also provides for public sale 

of Government publications via its traditional and online 

bookstores, offers eBooks through partnerships with 

multiple vendors, and provides a variety of mobile web 

apps for key Federal documents.

GPO operates on a revolving fund basis, like a 

business. Only 16% of GPO’s funding comes from direct 

appropriations to cover the cost of congressional work 

and the depository library program and supporting 

distribution programs. All other revenues to GPO are 

reimbursements from agencies for work performed or 

sales of publications to the public.

Core Values

GPO’s core values define our character. These values 

transcend product and market cycles, management trends, 

technological change, and individual leaders. Over the 

years, GPO has developed new product lines, employed 

new strategies, reengineered processes, and significantly 

restructured the organization, yet the core values have 

remained intact.

Commitment 

GPO has had the responsibility of Keeping America 

Informed for over 150 years. It continues that long tradition 

by providing an uncompromised dedication to authentic, 

fast, and reliable service.

Customer Service 

GPO has a customer-centric approach and has agencywide procedures, policies, and activities in place to ensure 

we are meeting customers’ needs and exceeding their 

expectations.

Dependability 

GPO is a trusted source of Federal information and works 

to deliver quality goods and services on time.

Diversity 

GPO is dedicated to diversity in every aspect of the 

business. Our commitment to diversity helps serve 

customers better and provides a positive work environment 

for employees. GPO is committed to promoting and 

supporting an inclusive environment that provides to all 

employees the chance to work to their full potential.

GPO Mission, Goals, Objectives
D2

Integrity 

GPO’s employees believe that honesty and the highest 

ethics form the cornerstone of the organization and create 

an environment of trust.

Teamwork

GPO employees treat one another with dignity and respect 

and communicate openly. GPO’s environment fosters 

collaboration and innovation while maintaining individual 

accountability. The agency partners with the Government 

and the private sector to provide the best value to 

customers.

I. Satisfying Our Stakeholders

A. It’s all About the Customer

Objective

Develop internal processes and procedures that 

support an internal organizational culture in which 

exceptional service, delivery, and customer satisfaction 

are encouraged and rewarded.

n GPO will work to understand, anticipate, and meet 

the needs of customers. GPO will provide world-class 

customer service together with product innovation 

through a wide range of print and technology vehicles.

n GPO is dedicated to providing products that deliver 

results and will recognize employees who exceed 

customer expectations.

n GPO will continue to utilize our expertise in printing 

and information technologies to educate our 

customers so that they can take advantage of GPO 

products and services.

B. Open and Transparent 

Objective 

Build on GPO’s ongoing commitment to an open and 

transparent government.

n GPO will continue to provide authentic information 

to the American public through a variety of print and 

technology vehicles efficiently and securely. 

n GPO will become a key innovator and leader in 

the Presidential mandate of transparency (White 

House Open Government Initiative). Realizing that 

participation, and collaboration form the cornerstone 

of an open government, GPO will utilize all available 

technology to assist Federal agencies in disseminating 

information about their operations in a fast, secure, 

and permanent manner.

C. Enhance Strategic Partnerships

Objective

Enhance strategic partnerships to gain flexibility, build 

effective networks, and manage processes to meet 

customer demands and expectations.

n GPO will develop the agency-wide synergies 

and flexibilities to continuously strive for quality, 

availability, and efficiency in the delivery of products 

and services. GPO will also work to improve its 

internal culture and business processes to ensure 

mutual support and growth to customers and 

employees.

n GPO will continuously work on strengthening 

purposeful collaboration with internal and external 

customers that will create more efficient and effective 

programs and processes.

II. Strengthening Our 

 Organizational Foundation

A. Right Tools

Objective 

Anticipate, plan and equip GPO to provide products 

and services to customers.

n In order to provide quality service to customers, 

GPO must invest in employees and technology. GPO 

will focus on the creation of first-rate, system-wide 

solutions that meet customer requirements and exceed 

customer expectations. GPO will improve processes 

and technologies to ensure that solutions are scalable, 

available, cost-effective, and secure.

n Technology investments will be in direct relationship 

with GPO’s business goals, resulting in excellent 

customer service, strong partnerships, secure 

infrastructures, and cost-effective performance.

B. Maintain Fiscal Responsibility

Objective 

Utilize a cost effective and collaborative approach 

in managing GPO’s business processes to help the 

agency achieve its strategic initiatives and ensure 

continued financial stability.
C. Environmental Stewardship

Objective

Continue to integrate the application of environmental 

values into GPO processes and support environmental 

stewardship through effective implementation of 

“green initiatives.”

n GPO is committed to working toward a more 

sustainable future and providing a safer, healthier 

environment to future generations. GPO will continue 

to introduce programs that include recycling, reducing 

energy consumption, and reducing GPO’s carbon 

footprint and will provide Federal customers with 

environmentally friendly printing alternatives.

n GPO will remain committed to creating a sustainable 

environment that prioritizes agency actions based 

on return on investment. GPO will continue with 

initiatives regarding paper consumption, petroleum 

products utilization, energy expenditures, emissions, 

and other areas that have reduced its footprint on the 

environment. GPO is developing additional plans to 

incorporate this direction well into the future.

D. Continuity of Operations (COOP)

Objective 

Develop appropriate plans to provide for the continuation 

of GPO’s essential functions and operations during a wide 

range of all-hazards emergencies.

n At GPO, COOP enables continuation of essential functions 

of printing and information product operations for Congress, 

Federal agencies, and the public in the event of a national 

security or isolated emergency affecting GPO facilities in 

Washington, D.C. 

III. Offering Products and Services

A. Statutory Foundation

Objective

The mission of the GPO is rooted in legislation 

codified in Title 44 U.S.C. We will continue to use 

technology and best practices to ensure the most 

efficient and effective provision of mission-critical 

products and services for Congress, Federal agencies, 

and the public.

B. Secure Federal Credentials

Objective

Provide the capability to meet the secure Federal 

credential requirements of Federal agencies.

n GPO plays a vital role in the security programs of our 

customers and our Nation. GPO produces the latestgeneration electronic passports for the Department 

of State (DOS). Proven passport capabilities are built 

into a family of secure credential products for our 

agency customers. They acquire secure credential 

design, printing, manufacturing, personalization, 

and delivery—all from GPO. Work is performed in 

Government facilities by Government employees with 

proper clearances. 

IV. Engaging Our Workforce

A. Employer of Choice

Objective

Transform GPO into an employer of choice through 

proactive workforce planning that focuses on diversity 

and through fostering work life programs to meet the 

changing needs of today’s and tomorrow’s employees.

n GPO’s ability to be viewed as an employer of choice 

depends on the agency’s ability to develop and attract 

quality employees and to motivate them to perform at 

high levels. GPO will work to maintain an environment 

that is fair, unbiased, and family-friendly, that promotes 

and values opportunity and inclusiveness. This 

includes a focus on reducing the incidents of EEO 

complaints.

n Attracting and keeping high-caliber employees and 

cultivating a talented, diverse workforce will allow 

GPO to tackle the challenges posed by an increasingly 

complex, ever-changing external environment. GPO is 

committed to treating all employees fairly, respecting 

their diversity, and valuing their contributions.

The services of the U.S. Government Publishing 

Office provide a unique value to the Federal 

community and the taxpayer.

GPO is the Federal Government’s primary centralized 

resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, 

authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official 

information products of the U.S. Government in digital 

and tangible forms. The agency is responsible for the 

production and distribution of information products for 

all three branches of the Federal Government, including 

D3
D4

U.S. passports for the Department of State, as well as the 

official publications of Congress, the White House and 

other Federal agencies, and the courts.

Along with sales of publications in digital and tangible 

formats to the public, GPO supports openness and 

transparency in Government by providing permanent 

public access to Federal Government information at 

no charge through its Federal Digital System (FDsys) 

www.fdsys.gov and through partnerships with 

approximately 1,220 libraries nationwide participating 

in the Federal Depository Library Program.

For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov. 

Follow GPO on Twitter https://twitter.com/usgpo, 

YouTube www.youtube.com/user/gpoprinter, and 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/USGPO?v=wall.
E1

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING

Including Transfer of Funds

Fiscal Year 2016

Proposed Appropriations Language:

For authorized publishing of congressional information and the distribution of congressional 

information in any format; expenses necessary for preparing the semi-monthly and session index to 

the Congressional Record, as authorized by law (section 902 of title 44, United States Code); publishing 

of Government publications authorized by law to be distributed to Members of Congress; and 

publishing and distribution of Government publications authorized by law to be distributed without 

charge to the recipient, $79,736,000: Provided, That this appropriation shall not be available for paper 

copies of the permanent edition of the Congressional Record for individual Representatives, Resident 

Commissioners or Delegates authorized under section 906 of title 44, United States Code: Provided 

further, That this appropriation shall be available for the payment of obligations incurred under the 

appropriations for similar purposes for preceding fiscal years: Provided further, That notwithstanding 

the 2-year limitation under section 718 of title 44, United States Code, none of the funds appropriated 

or made available under this Act or any other Act for printing and binding and related services 

provided to Congress under chapter 7 of title 44, United States Code, may be expended to print a 

document, report, or publication after the 27-month period beginning on the date that such document, 

report, or publication is authorized by Congress to be printed, unless Congress reauthorizes such 

printing in accordance with section 718 of title 44, United States Code: Provided further, That any 

unobligated or unexpended balances in this account or accounts for similar purposes for preceding 

fiscal years may be transferred to the Government Publishing Office business operations revolving 

fund for carrying out the purposes of this heading, subject to the approval of the Committees on 

Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate: Provided further, That notwithstanding 

sections 901, 902, and 906 of title 44, United States Code, this appropriation may be used to prepare 

indexes to the Congressional Record on only a monthly and session basis. (Legislative Branch 

Appropriations Act, 2015.)

Base Budget Review:

Description of Program

The estimates for Congressional Publishing are to provide funds to pay for the cost of publishing 

required for the use of Congress, and for publishing and distribution of Government publications 

authorized by law to be distributed without charge to the recipient.

Explanations of Changes

The appropriation requested for FY 2016 is $79,736,000. A total of $85,750,000 is required to 

cover congressional publishing requirements for FY 2016, but transfers of unexpended prior year 

appropriations to the Government Publishing Office business operations revolving fund of $6,014,000 

will be utilized to offset part of these requirements. For FY 2015, a total of $82,669,000 is estimated to 

be required to cover congressional publishing requirements, but transfers of unexpended prior year 

appropriations totaling $2,933,000 are available, in addition to the appropriation of $79,736,000.

A. Congressional Record Program. The proceedings of the Senate and House of Representatives 

are published in the Congressional Record and posted in digital format on GPO’s Federal Digital 

System (FDsys). Approximately 2,350 copies are printed daily. About 1,710 copies are charged 

to the Congressional Publishing Appropriation, including about 665 copies distributed without 

charge to recipients designated by Senators. The copies that are not charged to the Congressional 

Publishing Appropriation are delivered and charged to Government departments on requisitions 

and to the Superintendent of Documents for sale to subscribers. Online access to a digital 

Congressional Record database was initiated in 1994 pursuant to the authorization in Chapter 41 
E2

of Title 44, U.S.C. After the close of each session, the daily proceedings are consolidated, indexed, 

and posted on FDsys. About 237 sets are printed as the permanent bound edition of the Record. 

About 102 of these sets are for Congressional use and charged to the Congressional Publishing 

Appropriation. The remaining 135 sets are for public sale, charged to departments on requisition, or 

distributed to regional Federal depository libraries. An estimated 26,600 pages will be required in 

FY 2016 and the cost will be approximately $23,399,000.

B. Miscellaneous Publications. This item includes publications such as the Congressional 

Directory, Senate and House Journals, memorial addresses of Members, serial sets, and publications 

not carrying a document or report number, such as laws, treaties, and similar publications. An 

estimated $4,134,000 will be required in FY 2016 for approximately 24,300 pages.

C. Miscellaneous Publishing and Services. This item includes letterheads, envelopes, blank paper, 

miscellaneous services, blank forms, composition and content management, and binding for both 

Houses of Congress. The estimate for FY 2016 is $16,362,000 for about 66.4 million units.

D. Details to Congress. This item includes the cost for GPO employees detailed to Congress. The 

estimated cost for FY 2016 is $5,172,000 for 82,100 hours. 

E. Document Envelopes and Document Franks. Document envelopes are furnished to Senators 

and Representatives for the mailing of speeches and documents. Document franks are printed 

individually or in sheets with perforations and are furnished to Members of Congress for mailing 

documents. An estimated $1,127,000 will be needed in FY 2016 for approximately 8.2 million 

envelopes, at a cost of $991,760 and .5 million document franks at a cost of $135,240. 

F. Business and Committee Calendars. This heading covers the publishing of all House and 

Senate business and committee calendars, which list the actions on pending and completed 

legislation. An estimated $3,625,000 will be required in FY 2016 for approximately 27,900 pages.

G. Bills, Resolutions, and Amendments. This heading covers the publishing of bills, resolutions, 

and amendments in all forms, including the prints as introduced, referred, reported, and finally 

passed. The estimate for FY 2016 is $4,165,000 for approximately 105,700 pages.

H. Committee Reports. This item covers published reports of congressional committees on pending 

legislation that carry a congressional number. An estimated $3,318,000 will be needed for about 

55,100 pages in FY 2016.

I. Documents. This heading includes all classes of Senate and House documents ordered published 

by Congress that carry a congressional number, such as annual reports, engineers’ reports, special 

reports made by Government departments in response to resolutions, supplemental and deficiency 

estimates of appropriations, etc. The estimate for FY 2016 is $2,677,000 for about 45,700 pages.

J. Hearings. This item covers all hearings before House and Senate committees. The estimate for FY 

2016 is $20,689,000 for approximately 263,900 pages.

K. Committee Prints. This item includes publications for the internal use of committees on pending 

legislation. The estimate for FY 2016 is $1,082,000 for 24,900 pages.
E3

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Base Budget Review (Detail by Activity)

(in thousands of dollars)

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Base Budget Review (Detail by Activity)

(in thousands of dollars)

 Category 2014 2015 2016

Actual Estimate Estimate Change

A. Congressional Record Publications:

 Daily Record:

 Content Development*........................................... $ 11,779 $ 12,051 $ 13,128 $ 1,077

 Printing................................................................... 5,803 5,936 6,466 530

 Subtotal................................................................. 17,582 17,987 19,594 1,607

 Record Index........................................................... 2,194 1,812 2,157 345

 Record Indexers...................................................... 1,570 1,601 1,648 47

 Subtotal................................................................. 21,346 21,400 23,399 1,999

B. Miscellaneous Publications..................................... 4,195 4,287 4,134 -153

C. Miscellaneous Publishing and Services.................... 15,009 16,006 16,362 356

D. Details to Congress................................................... 4,335 5,172 5,172 0

E. Document Env. and Franks....................................... 1,169 1,050 1,127 77

F. Calendars................................................................... 3,490 2,563 3,625 1,062

G. Bills, Resolutions & Amendments.............................. 3,441 4,611 4,165 -446

H. Committee Reports.................................................... 2,975 3,082 3,318 236

I. Documents................................................................. 1,697 3,176 2,677 -499

J. Hearings..................................................................... 20,211 19,925 20,689 764

K. Committee Prints....................................................... 1,189 1,397 1,082 -315

 Total Obligations...................................................... 79,057 82,669 85,750 3,081

 Surplus/(Shortfall).................................................... 679 -2,933 -6,014 -3,081

 Appropriation............................................................ $ 79,736 $ 79,736 $ 79,736 $ 0

*Includes GPO FDsys publishing.

Note: Prior-year transfers to the GPO Business Operations Revolving Fund of $19,418,000 are available for the 

purposes of this account and GPO is requesting the transfer of approximately $540,000 from FY 2010 to the Fund 

for purposes of this account. The prior-year transfers will fund estimated shortfalls from FY 2015 and FY 2016 

totaling $8,947,000. In addition, GPO plans to expend $7,478,000 of the prior-year transfers for the Composition 

System Replacement.

E-4

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Base Budget Review (Detail by Activity)

(in thousands of dollars)

 Category 2014 2015 2016

Actual Estimate Estimate Change

A. Congressional Record Publications:

 Daily Record:

 Content Development*............................................ $ 11,779 $ 12,051 $ 13,128 $ 1,077

 Printing.................................................................... 5,803 5,936 6,466 530

 Subtotal................................................................. 17,582 17,987 19,594 1,607

 Record Index........................................................... 2,194 1,812 2,157 345

 Record Indexers...................................................... 1,570 1,601 1,648 47

 Subtotal................................................................. 21,346 21,400 23,399 1,999

B. Miscellaneous Publications...................................... 4,195 4,287 4,134 (153)

C. Miscellaneous Publishing and Services..................... 15,009 16,006 16,362 356

D. Details to Congress................................................... 4,335 5,172 5,172 0

E. Document Env. and Franks........................................ 1,169 1,050 1,127 77

F. Calendars................................................................... 3,490 2,563 3,625 1,062

G. Bills, Resolutions & Amendments............................... 3,441 4,611 4,165 (446)

H. Committee Reports...................................................... 2,975 3,082 3,318 236

I. Documents................................................................. 1,697 3,176 2,677 (499)

J. Hearings...................................................................... 20,211 19,925 20,689 764

K. Committee Prints........................................................ 1,189 1,397 1,082 (315)

 Total Obligations....................................................... 79,057 82,669 85,750 3,081

 Surplus/(Shortfall)..................................................... 679 (2,933) (6,014) (3,081)

 Appropriation............................................................ $ 79,736 $ 79,736 $ 79,736 $ 0

*Includes GPO FDsys publishing.

Note: Prior-year transfers to the GPO revolving fund of $19,418,000 are available for the purposes of this account 

and GPO is requesting the transfer of approximately $540,000 from FY 2010 to the revolving fund for purposes of 

this account. The prior-year transfers will fund estimated shortfalls from FY 2015 and FY 2016 totaling $8,947,000.

In addition, GPO plans to expend $7,478,000 of the prior-year transfers for the Composition System Replacement.

E-4

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
E4

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Detailed Analysis of Change

FTE AMOUNT

(000)

 Base, 2015 - $79,736

 I. Adjustments To Base

 A. Price Level Changes - 1,881

 1. Daily Congressional Record:

 1a. Content Development - 306

 1b. Printing - 150

 Subtotal - 456

 2. Congressional Record Index - 50

 3. Congressional Record Indexers - 46

 4. Miscellaneous Publications - 96

 5. Miscellaneous Publishing and Services - 380

 6. Document Envelopes and Franks - 26

 7. Business & Committee Calendars - 84

 8. Bills, Resolutions, and Amendments - 97

 9. Committee Reports - 77

 10. Documents - 62

 11. Hearings - 482

 12. Committee Prints - 25

E-5

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

2016 REQUEST

CALCULATION OF BASE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Detailed Analysis Of Change
E5

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Detailed Analysis of Change

CALCULATION OF BASE

FTE AMOUNT

(000)

 B. Program Type Changes - ($1,881)

 1. Activity - $1,200

 a. Daily Congressional Record:

 1. Content Development - 772

 2. Printing - 380

 Subtotal - 1,152

 3. Record Index - 295

 b. Miscellaneous Publications - (249)

 c. Misc. Publishing & Services - (24)

 d. Document Env. & Franks - 51

 e. Calendars - 977

 f. Bills, Resolutions, & Amdts. - (543)

 g. Committee Reports - 159

 h. Documents - (561)

 i. Hearings - 283

 j. Committee Prints - (340)

 2. Estimated Change - in Surplus/(Shortfall) - (3,081)

 II. Net Change - 0

III. Appropriation 2016 - $79,736

 E-6

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Detailed Analysis Of Change

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
E6

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Explanation of Changes Shown

FTE Amount

(000)

A. PRICE LEVEL CHANGES

 The average 2.4 percent increase is due to

 increases in publishing costs. - $1,881

B. PROGRAM TYPE CHANGES 

1. Activity (Volume) - 1,200

 a. Congressional Record Publications:

 1. Daily Record

 This 6.4 percent increase is computed - 1,152

 based on historical data.

 2. Record Index

 This 16.3 percent increase is computed - 295

 based on historical data.

 b. Miscellaneous Publications

 This 5.8 percent decrease is computed - (249)

 based on historical data.

 c. Miscellaneous Publishing and Services

 This 0.2 percent decrease is computed - (24)

 based on historical data.

 d. Documents Envelopes and Franks

 This 4.8 percent increase is computed based on - 51

 historical data.

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Explanation of Changes Shown

E-7

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
E7

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Explanation of Changes

C. PROGRAM TYPE CHANGES FTE Amount

1. Activity (Volume)

 e. Business and Committee Calendars

 This 38.1 percent increase is computed based on - 977

 historical data.

 f. Bills, Resolutions, & Amendments

 This 11.8 percent decrease is computed based on - (543)

 historical data.

 g. Committee Reports

 This 5.2 percent increase is computed based on - 159

 historical data.

 h. Documents

 This 17.7 percent decrease is computed based on - (561)

 historical data.

 i. Hearings

 This 1.4 percent increase is computed based on - 283

 historical data.

 j. Committee Prints

 This 24.3 percent decrease is computed based on

 historical data. - (340)

2. Estimated Change - ($3,081)

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Explanation of Changes Shown

E-8

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
E8

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

By Object Class

(In thousands)

2014 2015 2016

OMB Object Class Actual Actual Estimate Change 

24 Printing & Reproduction $79,736 $79,736 $79,736 $0

 

OMB Object Class Price Level Changes Program Type Changes Total Changes

24 Printing & Reproduction $1,881 ($1,881) $0

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Analysis of Change to Budget Base

(In thousands)
E9

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Estimated Cost Per Unit by Category

 Category Unit 1/ 2014 2015 2016

A. Congressional Record Program:

 Daily Record:

 Content Development.......................... Page................ 583 594 608

 Printing................................................. Page................ 287 292 299

 Subtotal.............................................. Page................ 870 886 907

 Record Index.......................................... Page................ 414 421 431

 Record Indexers..................................... Hours............... 87 89 92

B. Miscellaneous Publications..................... Page................ 163 166 170

C. Misc. Publishing and Services ............... 1,000 items...... 236 241 246

D. Details to Congress................................ Hours............... 63 63 63

E. Document Env. and Franks.................... 1,000 items...... 124 127 130

F. Calendars................................................ Page................ 125 127 130

G. Bills, Resolutions, & Amdts..................... Page................ 38 38 39

H. Committee Reports................................. Page................ 58 59 60

I. Documents.............................................. Page................ 56 57 59

J. Hearings................................................. Page................ 75 77 78

K. Committee Prints.................................... Page................ 42 42 43

* Unit costs are established based on projected workload volumes and costs. Unit costs may require adjustment

if actual workload demands differ substantially from projections. GPO does not control actual workload volumes,

which are driven by customer requirements. Therefore, volume variances may result in actual unit costs that differ

from these estimates, due to fixed costs which do not vary directly in proportion to workload.

1/ The unit cost per page is the number of original pages, and the cost includes all Congressional copies of each

category of work. The per page cost for content development for the Daily Congressional Record includes all

composition (including file up-date and maintenance for the permanent edition) and prepress costs per original page.

The cost for printing includes binding and mailing all of the copies charged to Congress. Based on an average press

run of 2,350 copies, the total production cost is 24 cents per copy page, including copies ordered by agencies,

depository libraries, and for sale to the public. The rider rate for printing additional copies is 1.46 cents per copy page.

E-10

Estimated Cost Per Unit by Category*

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
E10

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Volume Increase/(Decrease)

2014 2015 2016

Category Unit Total Quantity Percent Total Quantity Percent Total

A. Congressional Record Program:

 Daily Record: Content Development........................................ Page................. 20,200 100 0.5 20,300 1,300 6.4 21,600

 Printing.............................................................. Page................. 20,200 100 0.5 20,300 1,300 6.4 21,600 Record Index....................................................... Page................. 5,300 (1,000) (18.9) 4,300 700 16.3 5,000 Record Indexers.................................................. Hours................ 18,000 0 0.0 18,000 0 0.0 18,000B. Miscellaneous Publications.................................. Page................. 25,700 100 0.4 25,800 (1,500) (5.8) 24,300C. Miscellaneous Publishing and Services .............. 1,000 items....... 63,500 3,000 4.7 66,500 (100) (0.2) 66,400D. Details to Congress.............................................. Hours................ 68,700 13,400 19.5 82,100 0 0.0 82,100E. Document Env. and Franks.................................. 1,000 items....... 9,400 (1,100) (11.7) 8,300 400 4.8 8,700F. Calendars............................................................. Page................. 28,000 (7,800) (27.9) 20,200 7,700 38.1 27,900G. Bills, Resolutions, & Amdts.................................. Page................. 91,000 28,800 31.6 119,800 (14,100) (11.8) 105,700H. Committee Reports.............................................. Page................. 51,500 900 1.7 52,400 2,700 5.2 55,100I. Documents.......................................................... Page................. 30,200 25,300 83.8 55,500 (9,800) (17.7) 45,700J. Hearings.............................................................. Page................. 268,685 (8,485) (3.2) 260,200 3,700 1.4 263,900K. Committee Prints.................................................. Page................. 28,500 4,400 15.4 32,900 (8,000) (24.3) 24,900

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

E-11

Increase/(Decrease) Increase/(Decrease)

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING APPROPRIATION

Volume Increase/(Decrease)
E11

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL BILLINGS FOR COMMITTEES BY CATEGORY

During FY 2014 CONGRESSIONAL BILLINGS FOR COMMITTEES BY CATEGORY During FY 2014

House Daily Record Record Misc. Misc. Doc. Doc. Committee

Committees Cong. Rec. Index Indexers Pubs. P&S Details Env. Franks Calendars Bills Reports Documents Hearings Prints TOTALS

U.S. House of Representatives 9,312,537 1,030,912 73,558 1,133,857 37,044 217,341 20,514 11,825,763

Clerk of The House 459,498 1,418,469 91,638 409,777 1,966,907 2,133 1,973 4,350,395

House Members 1,731 1,118 5,744 8,593

H. Agriculture 1,777 82,080 78,062 18,718 180,637H. Appropriations 95,187 91,103 3,915 5,407,456 412,439 6,010,100

H. Armed Services 1,979 18,440 114,534 386,854 521,807

H. Financial Services 492 522,137 522,629H. Education and the Workforce 450 101,432 25 101,907H. Foreign Affairs 19,235 655,583 674,818H. Oversight & Govt Reform 2,770 51,624 562,704 13,872 630,970H. House Administration 8,497 32,757 54,066 14,695 110,015

H. Natural Resources 65,663 71,658 191,254 1,455 330,030

H. Commerce and Energy 65,240 163,728 1,251,510 25 1,480,503H. Judiciary 46,737 590,339 22,143 659,219H. Transportation and Infrastructure 700 85,806 267,902 354,408H. Rules 104 3,900 14,269 18,273

H. Science, Space & Technology 60,958 382,866 1,906 445,730

H. Veterans' Affairs 22,039 99,792 197,131 318,962H. Ways and Means 1,710 86,568 88,278H. Small Business 51,706 285,992 337,698H. Security & Cooperation in Europe 1,293 240,246 15,510 257,049

H. Ethics 50,857 3,216 54,073

H. Office of Chief Adm Offices 26,808 68,700 70,953 166,461

H. Budget 417 24,345 18,932 43,694H. Natl Bipartisan Comm 0H. Legislative Counsel 280,782 280,782H. Homeland Security 1,465 82,620 256,664 25 340,774

H. Intelligence 0H. US Natl Security and Military/Comm Concerns 7,904 7,904

H. US-China Econ & Security Review 148,007 12,161 160,168 Total House 9,312,537 1,030,912 0 866,226 3,074,667 1,453,258 223,085 409,777 1,966,907 20,514 6,048 72,926 11,326,279 518,504 30,281,640

E-12
E12

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL BILLINGS FOR COMMITTEES BY CATEGORY

During FY 2014 CONGRESSIONAL BILLINGS FOR COMMITTEES BY CATEGORY

During FY 2014

Senate Daily Record Record Misc. Misc. Doc. Doc. Committee

Committees Cong. Rec. Index Indexers Pubs. P&S Details Env. Franks Calendars Bills Reports Documents Hearings Prints TOTALS

U. S. Senate 6,797,187 773,300 13,404 170,382 1,439,352 205,114 21,983 9,420,722

Secretary of Senate 606,840 1,371,608 360,342 23,057 2,361,847Senate Members 3,913 2,496,863 185,792 13,985 2,700,553

S. Sec - Sergeant at Arms 803,221 803,221S. Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry 1,347 88,938 34,244 124,529

S. Appropriations 25,124 393,156 292,205 35,585 746,070

S. Armed Services 5,671 242,410 248,081

S. Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs 4,064 147,150 148,115 299,329

S. Commerce, Science & Transportation 25 34,901 76,140 402,529 513,595

S. Finance 180 165,078 279,000 13,816 458,074

S. Foreign Relations 4,069 3,710 134,946 7,119 103,405 74,229 327,478

S. Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 3,256 78,408 484,724 7,423 573,811S. Energy & Natural Resources 3,792 128,466 217,752 350,010

S. Judiciary 1,935 58,266 444,854 505,055

S. Health, Education, Labor & Pensions 5,095 72,126 167,700 244,921

S. Environment & Public Works 13,029 145,584 321,290 479,903

S. Rules and Administration 7,371 9,912 37,926 1,030 56,239

S. Democratic Policy 1,896 6,702 8,598

S. Republican Policy 1,974 1,974S. Small Business & Entrepreneurship 2,044 296,215 1,674 299,933S. Special Comm on Aging 3,634 25 3,659S. Select Comm on Ethics 3,832 4,707 8,539S. Veterans' Affairs 5,644 81,216 7,893 60,715 155,468

S. Legislative Counsel 56,195 227,880 243 284,318

S. Sergeant at Arms 122,371 240,842 2,680 365,893

S. Budget 634 74,952 110,326 25 185,937

S. Legal Counsel 4,702 1,515 6,217S. Select Comm on Intelligence 1,307 4,900 6,207

S. Indian Affairs 1,727 80,352 1,550 82,135 165,764

S. Commission on Long-Term Care 8,569 8,569 Total Senate 6,797,187 773,300 0 761,825 5,279,396 2,313,000 186,035 0 1,469,899 205,114 21,983 25,737 3,739,039 141,999 21,714,514

E-13
E13

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

CONGRESSIONAL BILLINGS FOR COMMITTEES BY CATEGORY

During FY 2014 CONGRESSIONAL BILLINGS FOR COMMITTEES BY CATEGORY

During FY 2014

Joint Daily Record Record Misc. Misc. Doc. Doc. Committee

Committees Cong. Rec. Index Indexers Pubs. P&S Details Env. Franks Calendars Bills Reports Documents Hearings Prints TOTALS

Joint Committee On Printing 69,472 1,099 70,571Joint Economic Committee 2,066 65,523 67,589

Joint Committee on Taxation 15,507 11,333 26,840

Joint Select Comm on Deficit Reduction 69,143 2,165 71,308Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies 2,273 2,273

 Total Joint Committees 0 0 0 138,615 20,945 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 67,688 11,333 238,581

Miscellaneous

Bylaw 1,393,729 67,408 1,552,892 5,299,746 6,762,878 58,914 33,291 4,101,623 1,395,156 1,641,941 22,307,578

Architect of the Capitol 56,613 123,844 180,457Cong-Exec Commission on China 25 2,973 24,840 200 22,820 50,858

Senate Caucus On International Narcotics 957 957

 Total Miscellaneous 1,393,729 67,408 1,552,892 5,356,384 6,890,652 83,754 0 0 33,291 4,101,623 1,395,356 1,641,941 22,820 0 22,539,850

 TOTALS 17,503,453 1,871,620 1,552,892 7,123,050 15,265,660 3,850,012 409,120 409,777 3,470,097 4,327,251 1,423,387 1,740,604 15,155,826 671,836 74,774,585

E-14
E14

DETAILS TO CONGRESS AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 AND 2014

2013 2014

SENATE COMMITTEES

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.......................................................... 1 1

Appropriations...................................................................................... 4 3

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs........................................................ 2 2

Budget................................................................................................ 1 1

Commerce, Science, and Transportation.................................................. 1 1

Energy and Natural Resources............................................................ 2 2

Finance.............................................................................................. 2 2

Foreign Relations................................................................................. 2 2

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs........................................ 1 1

Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions...................................................... 1 1

Indian Affairs....................................................................................... 1 1

Judiciary............................................................................................. 1 1

Veterans' Affairs ............................................................................... 1 1

Environment & Public Works............................................................... 2 2

Total Senate Committees...................................................................... 22 21

HOUSE COMMITTEES

Oversight and Government Reform...................................................... 1 1

Homeland Security........................................................................................ 1 1

Armed Services............................................................................................. 2 1

Energy and Commerce.................................................................................. 2 2

Agriculture...................................................................................................... 1 1

Veterans' Affairs............................................................................................ 1 1

Small Business.............................................................................................. 1 1

Natural Resources......................................................................................... 1 2

Transportation and Infrastructure.................................................................. 1 1

Education and the Workforce......................................................................... 0 1

Total House Committees........................................................................... 11 12

MISCELLANEOUS

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe................................... 1 1

House Legislative Counsel.................................................................... 4 4

Congressional Service Center (CRS)....................................................... 1 1

Senate Enrolling Clerk................................................................................... 1 1

Senate Legislative Counsel.................................................................... 3 3

Senate Official Reporters.............................................................................. 1 1

Senate Service Department................................................................... 1 1

House Enrolling Clerk.................................................................................... 1 1

Senate Docutech Room................................................................................ 1 1

House Parliamentarian.................................................................................. 0 1

Total Miscellaneous................................................................................. 14 15

SUMMARY

Senate Committees.............................................................................. 22 21

House Committees............................................................................... 11 12

Miscellaneous..................................................................................... 14 15

47 48

DETAILS TO CONGRESS AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 & 2014

E-15
F1

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAMS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Including Transfer of Funds

Fiscal Year 2016

Proposed Appropriation Language:

For expenses of the public information programs of the Superintendent of Documents necessary 

to provide for the cataloging and indexing of Government publications and their distribution to the 

public, Members of Congress, other Government agencies, and designated depository and international 

exchange libraries as authorized by law, [$31,500,000] $30,500,000: Provided, That amounts of not 

more than $2,000,000 from current year appropriations are authorized for producing and disseminating 

Congressional serial sets and other related publications for fiscal years [2013 and] 2014 and 2015 to 

depository and other designated libraries: Provided further, That any unobligated or unexpended 

balances in this account or accounts for similar purposes for preceding fiscal years may be transferred 

to the Government Publishing Office business operations revolving fund for carrying out the purposes 

of this heading, subject to the approval of the Committees on Appropriations of the House of 

Representatives and Senate. (Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015)

Base Budget Review:

Description of Public Information Programs of the Office of Superintendent of Documents that are 

administered through the Library Systems and Content Management (LSCM) organization: The Salaries 

and Expenses Appropriation provides for: (1) the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP); (2) 

the cataloging and indexing of Government publications; (3) the distribution of certain Government 

publications to Members of Congress and other Government agencies, as designated by law; and (4) 

the distribution of Government publications in the International Exchange Service. 

A total of $30,500,000 is requested for this appropriation for FY 2016. The request for FY 2016 includes 

funding for 94 full-time equivalents (FTE’s). The request reflects a decrease of $1,000,000 from FY 2015. 

The decrease is the result of on-going cataloging activities being funded through the use of transfer 

funds from expiring prior-year appropriations. The agency received approval in FY 2014 to transfer 

$5,675,000 from prior-year appropriations for various program activities. The use of these funds has 

enabled the agency to absorb personnel and operational cost increases for FY 2016 while continuing 

to perform vital services. The agency plans on seeking approximately $6,000,000 in transfer funds in 

FY 2015, based on the availability, to fund program activities that support expanded public access to 

digital information through the Federal Digital System (FDsys).

Federal Depository Library Program

As authorized by chapter 19 of Title 44, U.S.C., the mission of the FDLP is to disseminate information 

products from all three branches of the Federal Government to almost 1,200 libraries nationwide 

designated as Federal depository libraries, directly by law or as depositories designated by their 

Representatives and Senators. Federal depository libraries maintain and provide free access to 

Federal Government information products to the public. Providing free online access to Government 

publications is established under the authority of chapter 41 of Title 44, U.S.C., via GPO’s Federal 

Digital System (FDsys) (www.fdsys.gov). 

In FY 2014, approximately 6,200 tangible titles consisting of 1,363,365 copies were distributed to 

Federal depository libraries. In keeping with the direction of the Legislative Appropriations Act for 

FY 1996, GPO has transitioned the FDLP to a predominantly digital electronic program. The total 

number of Federal Government information titles available to the public online via FDsys is over 1 

million searchable documents. In FY 2015, GPO continues to adjust its workflows and operations to 

accommodate a primarily digital FDLP. The costs of the program are related to identifying, acquiring, 

cataloging, linking to, authenticating, modernizing, and providing permanent public access to digital 

Government information. Included in these costs are on-going maintenance and update expenses for 

needed digital resources. 
F2

In FY 2015, LSCM began a project to upgrade the program’s technology infrastructure in order to 

improve existing services and develop new offerings for Federal depository libraries and the general 

public. The future Library Services System includes a replacement of the existing Integrated Library 

System (ILS) and the development and deployment of new digital tools. A majority of the cost of the 

new ILS system will be covered by prior-year funding but other system aspects will require FY 2016 

funds for the implementation of this suite of systems and services. 

Cataloging and Indexing Program

Under the requirements of sections 1710 and 1711 of Title 44, U.S.C., GPO is charged with creating 

access to all Federal Government publications that are not confidential in nature via catalogs and 

indexes. The principal tool to do that is the Web-based Catalog of U.S. Government Publications 

(CGP) (http://catalog.gpo.gov) that has over 824,000 records identifying and providing access to 

tangible and digital Federal Government publications. In FY 2014, there were 27,516,190 successful 

searches of the CGP and 13,830 new records added to the catalog. GPO’s goals for the CGP are to 

expand this catalog to be a comprehensive title listing of all public Federal Government publications, 

both historic and electronic, and increase the visibility and use of Government information products, 

including eBooks. In the past year, over 150 free, Government eBooks from various agencies were 

made available in the CGP with more being continuously added. 

A major undertaking of the program is the National Bibliographic Records Inventory Initiative 

(NBRII). The initiative comprises of various multi-year projects to bring fugitive material and historic 

publications under bibliographic control and to make those records available through the CGP. In 

FY 2014, LSCM completed holdings records for 41,500 serial issues, transcribed bibliographic records 

for over 18 drawers of the historic shelflist, completed transcription of the 1895 and 1898 volumes 

of the Monthly Catalog, and added 3,923 bibliographic records through four cooperative cataloging 

partnerships. These various NBRII projects will be on-going in FY 2015 with the addition of two new 

cooperative cataloging partners and the creation of holding records for historic issues of serial titles. 

Prior years’ transfer funds will be used to fund on-going historic cataloging efforts in FY 2016. The use 

of these funds is reflected in the $1,000,000 decrease in requested funds from the FY 2014 actual and 

FY 2015 approved amounts for the program. 

International Exchange Service

As authorized by Section 1719 of Title 44, U.S.C., and pursuant to an international treaty establishing 

the exchange of official publications, GPO distributes U.S. Government publications in microfiche, 

print and tangible electronic formats to foreign governments. In exchange, those foreign governments 

agree to send their similar government publications to the United States for deposit at the Library of 

Congress (LOC). LOC designates which publications are to be distributed abroad and GPO performs 

the actual distribution.

By-Law Distribution Program

Under various provisions of Title 44, U.S.C., GPO distributes certain tangible publications to recipients 

designated by law. Two or more copies of every publication printed by GPO are provided to Library 

of Congress (LOC), even if the publication is not distributed to the Federal depository libraries. In 

addition, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) receives up to three copies of 

printed publications. GPO also maintains mailing lists of specific publications that are designated to 

be distributed by law and provides copies of publications to foreign legations as directed by the State 

Department.
F3

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAMS 

SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Analysis of Change 2015 to 2016

(Dollars in Thousands)

FTE Amount

FY 2015 94 $ 31,500

FY 2016

Mandatory Pay and Related Costs

Annualization of pay raise for FY 2016 199

Within-grade increases for FY 2016 103

Additional work day in FY 2016 40

Total Mandatory Pay and Related Costs 342

Total Price Level Changes 175

Program/Project/Activity Increases/Decreases for FY 2016

Cataloging and Indexing activities funded through transfer funds (1,517)

Total Net Change - (1,000)

Total 2016 Appropriation 94 $ 30,500

F-5

(Dollars in Thousands)

 Agency Request

2016

Government Publishing Office

Superintendent of Documents

Salaries and Expenses

Analysis of Change 2015 to 2016

Public Information Programs
F4

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAMS 

SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Summary

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2015/2016

Actual (1) Approved (2) Requested (3) Net Change

Summary by Program

By-Law Distribution $ 315 $ 315 $ 315 $ (0) (4)

Cataloging and Indexing 9,765 9,765 8,765 (1,000) (5)

Federal Depository Library 20,475 20,475 20,475 (0) (4)

International Exchange 945 945 945 (0) (4)

Total Appropriation $ 31,500 $ 31,500 $ 30,500 $ (1,000)

Summary by OMB Object Class

11 Personnel Compensation $ 8,049 $ 8,039 $ 8,304 $ 265 (6)

12 Personnel Benefits 2,372 2,331 $ 2,408 77 (7)

21 Travel 68 41 42 1 (8)

22 Transportation of Things 825 775 790 15 (8)

23 Rents Communications and Utilities 111 64 65 1 (8)

24 Printing and Reproduction 8,500 8,000 8,152 152 (8)

25 Other Services 11,095 11,907 10,390 (1,517) (5)(9)

26 Supplies and Materials 476 339 345 6 (8)

31 Equipment 4 4 4 0

Total Appropriation $ 31,500 $ 31,500 $ 30,500 $ (1,000)

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Amount reflects a reduced request for Other Services for Cataloging and Indexing projects that are expected to be funded 

through prior-years transfer funds.

(Dollars in Thousands)

Government Publishing Office

Superintendent of Documents

Salaries and Expenses

Summary

Public Information Programs

F-6

Actual and obligated expenditures against the 2014 S&E Appropriation through 09/30/14 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2014 P.L. 113-76). The agency also requested $5.67M in transfer funds to cover projects including bulk harvesting and content 

management of Federal agencies' information ($1M), development of Bound Congressional Record and Federal Register 

metadata and parser ($1.5M), continue shelflist project for pre-1976 collection, increase access to Federal information through 

enhanced web applications ($500k), and reserve funds for future program shortfalls.

Inflation factors have been absorbed through cost savings in Other Services.

Amount reflects the funding of merit and within grade and pay increases, inflation and one additional work day for 94 FTEs 

for FY 2016. 

Reflects anticipated benefit expenditures based on 29% of Personnel Compensation figure.

FY 2015 approved funding is based on the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015. Inflation factors for all personnel and 

other expenses are being absorbed in each area through cost-saving measures.

Includes Workers' Compensation, Shared Services, overhead and contractual services. Inflation has been applied to all 

categories but a reduction in Catalogng and Indexing contractual services has resulted in a lower request than previous years.

Reflects price level increase due to inflation.

Requested amount is based on FY 2015 funding levels with inflation for salary and all non-salary categories. Personnel 

compensation was calculated based on staffing needs, inflation and appropriate work days for the year. The agency is 

expecting to request transfer funds to cover projects that support the transition from traditional printed material to digitized 

information to align with the Agency goal to provide greater access to Government information to the public. 
G1

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

BUSINESS OPERATIONS 

REVOLVING FUND

Fiscal Year 2016

Proposed Appropriations Language:

For payment to the Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund, [$8,757,000] 

$9,764,000, to remain available until expended, for information technology development and 

facilities repair: Provided, That the Government Publishing Office is hereby authorized to make such 

expenditures, within the limits of funds available and in accordance with law, and to make such 

contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as provided by section 9104 of title 

31, United States Code, as may be necessary in carrying out the programs and purposes set forth in the 

budget for the current fiscal year for the Government Publishing Office business operations revolving 

fund: Provided further, That not more than $7,500 may be expended on the certification of the

Director of the Government Publishing Office in connection with official representation and reception 

expenses: Provided further, That the business operations revolving fund shall be available for the hire 

or purchase of not more than 12 passenger motor vehicles: Provided further, That expenditures in 

connection with travel expenses of the advisory councils to the Director of the Government Publishing 

Office shall be deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of title 44, United States Code: Provided 

further, That the business operations revolving fund shall be available for temporary or intermittent 

services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not more than 

the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

5316 of such title: Provided further, That activities financed through the business operations revolving 

fund may provide information in any format: Provided further, That the business operations revolving 

fund and the funds provided under the heading “Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of 

Documents” may not be used for contracted security services at GPO’s passport facility in the District of 

Columbia. (Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015.)

Base Budget Review:

By law, GPO’s Business Operations Revolving Fund is used to finance GPO’s publishing operations. 

Approximately 70 percent of GPO’s publishing revenue is from procuring publications and related 

services for customer agencies. This work is procured through GPO’s Customer Services business unit 

utilizing the private sector printing and information product industry. The majority of the Government’s 

publishing requirements are effectively satisfied through this procurement activity because the highly 

competitive process provides access to the vast resources, expertise, and specialization within the 

commercial sector at the most cost effective price.

GPO’s in-plant facility provides digital and tangible products in support of the information and dayto-day business needs of Congress and Federal agencies. GPO produces the Congressional Record

overnight when Congress is in session, and bills, hearings, documents, reports and committee prints in 

time to support Congress’ legislative needs. Also produced are the Federal Register, the Code of Federal 

Regulations, and other key Government documents, such as the annual U.S. Budget.

With a few exceptions, the paper used to produce tangible documents by GPO and its contractors meets 

or exceeds Federal recycled paper requirements and all GPO inks are manufactured from vegetable oil 

in accordance with the Vegetable Ink Printing Act of 1994.

GPO plays a critical role in America’s security by producing secure Federal credentials, including the 

U.S Passport for the Department of State, that combine digital and print security measures. GPO’s 

publications sales program provides the public with an opportunity to purchase a wide variety of low 

cost, consumer-oriented publications, Congressional documents, and Executive and Judicial publications. 
G2

Documents can be ordered through GPO’s secure Online Bookstore site at http://bookstore.gpo.gov

or from GPO’s bookstore in Washington, D.C. Free and low cost publications are distributed through 

the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) in Pueblo, CO. GPO also provides warehousing and 

publication distribution services for Federal agencies on a reimbursable basis. Thousands of titles are for 

sale at any given time, including books, CD-ROMs, eBooks and other digital formats.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS REVOLVING FUND REQUESTS

For FY 2016, GPO is requesting a total of $9,764,000 for the Revolving Fund to remain available until expended, for 

the following projects:

Information Technology Development Projects

Enterprise Storage $ 300,000

Core Router/Switch Replacements 400,000

Data Communications Equipment 232,000

Itanium Servers 400,000

Web Filtering 200,000

Total Information Technology Development 1,532,000 

FDsys Projects

 

General Development 3,050,000

Next Generation FDsys Public Website 450,000

Certification of FDsys as a Trustworthy Digital Repository 250,000

FDsys Infrastructure 250,000

Total FDsys 4,000,000 

Facilities Projects

Upgrade Electrical Substation 3,500,000 

Structural Evaluation and Remedy Actions 400,000

Roof Replacement (Main Building) 332,000

Total Facilities 4,232,000

Total Revolving Fund Project Requests $ 9,764,000

Information Technology Development Projects

 

Enterprise Storage ($300,000). Infrastructure funding is necessary to ensure that GPO’s IT storage capacity 

continues to grow to support the agency’s application and data storage requirements. 

Core Router/Switch Replacements – technology refresh ($400,000). Replacement and upgrade for segments 

of GPO’s existing core routing infrastructure that have reached end of life. 

Data Communications Equipment – technology refresh ($232,000). Replacement and upgrade of core 

communications equipment that have reached end of life. 
G3

Itanium Servers – technology refresh ($400,000). Replacement and upgrade of the servers (that have 

reached end of life) that support GPO’s publishing and printing capabilities. 

Web Filtering – technology refresh ($200,000). Replacement and upgrade of the web filtering 

equipment (that have reached end of life) that protects GPO users from accessing malicious and/or 

inappropriate internet sites. 

FDsys Projects

GPO General Development ($3,050,000). Development of new FDsys features to support identified 

needs of key stakeholders, including developing new content collections, increasing content in existing 

collections, enhancing the accessibility of content, and increasing the discoverability of information in 

FDsys.

NextGen FDsys Public Website ($450,000). Completion of development and launch of FDsys NextGen 

to support a responsive user interface, search engine replacement, publication linking, user interface 

improvements, and content curation. 

Certification of FDsys as a Trustworthy Digital Repository ($250,000). Development to support the 

certification of the FDsys Preservation Repository as a Trustworthy Digital Repository.

FDsys Infrastructure ($250,000). Infrastructure for the hardware, storage and infrastructure 

environments to manage system performance as FDsys content and usage continues to grow, including 

support for GPO efforts to migrate FDsys infrastructure components to the Cloud.

Facilities Projects

Upgrade Electrical Substation ($3,500,000). GPO has only one 480V substation in all of Buildings A, 

B and C. Since new equipment is 480V by standard (elevators, presses, etc.). GPO will either run out 

of 480V power, or be forced to use 208V power that is run through a “step-up transformer” to 480V. 

The latter option is extremely inefficient in operating from a cost perspective. A $350,000 investment 

in FY 2015 was approved for the design of a new substation. It represents approximately 10% of the 

total estimated construction cost, which is the $3,500,000 requested here. As a reference, the new 480V 

substation in GPO Building D was approximately $4,000,000.

Structural Evaluations and Remedy Actions ($400,000). GPO has areas of concrete floors that are 

degrading to the point where they may catastrophically fail; specifically, the garage and areas under the 

sidewalk have been compromised by water leaks, etc. This funding is to continue third party structural 

analysis, and for ongoing repairs on the areas in the worst condition.

Roof replacement (main) ($332,000). This represents the next remaining phase of GPO’s multi-year 

roof upgrade to improve energy efficiency and reduce the potential for damage and health & safety 

concerns that can result from leaks in areas that are currently compromised.
G4

Analysis of Change 2015 to 2016

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2016

Agency Request

FTE Amount

Obligational Authority, FY 2015 1,790 $ 666,126

Non-recurring Costs - Equipment to be obligated in FY 2015 - (35,301)

Mandatory Pay and Related Costs

Annualization of pay raise for FY 2015 - 476

Pay raise for FY 2016 - 3,139

Within-grade increases FY 2016 - 1,902

Additional Workday in FY 2016 - 735

Total Mandatory Pay and Related Costs - 6,252

Total Price Level Changes - 8,370

Program/Project/Activity Increases/Decreases for FY 2016

Capital expenditures equipment, systems, and facilities - 24,842

Enterprise Storage - 300

Core Router/Switch Replacement - 400

Data Communications Equipment - 232

Itanium Servers - 400

Web Filtering - 200

FDsys General Development - 3,050

FDsys Next Generation Public Website - 450

FDsys Certification as a Trustworthy Digital Depository - 250

FDsys Infrastructure - 250

Upgrade Electrical Substation - 3,500

Structural Evaluation and Remedy Actions - 400

Roof Replacement (Main) - 332

 - 9,764

Pers Comp and Benefits Savings from Buyout (93) (3,805)

Net change requested (93) $ 10,122

Total Budget FY 2016 1,697 676,248

Total Offsetting Collections - 666,484

Total 2016 Appropriation - $ 9,764

G6

Capital Expenditures to be funded by an Appropriation

Total Expenditures to be funded by an Appropriation

Government Publishing Office

Business Operations Revolving Fund

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

BUSINESS OPERATIONS REVOLVING FUND

Analysis of Change 2015 to 2016

(Dollars in Thousands)
G5

Government Publishing Office

Business Operations Revolving Fund

Summary By Object Class

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2015/2016

Object Class Actual Enacted Request Net Change

11 Personnel Compensation $ 148,501 $ 143,838 $ 145,709 $ 1,871

12 Personnel Benefits 47,192 46,402 46,978 576

21 Travel 638 761 775 14

22 Transportation of Things 6,525 7,234 7,371 137

23 Rents, Communications and Utilities 14,939 16,908 17,229 321

24 Printing and Reproduction 270,053 246,509 251,193 4,684

25 Other Services 29,253 37,840 38,559 719

26 Supplies and Materials 122,278 131,333 133,828 2,495

31 Equipment 36,489 35,301 34,606 (695)

Total Budget $ 675,868 $ 666,126 $ 676,248 $ 10,122

G7

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

BUSINESS OPERATIONS REVOLVING FUND

Summary by Object Class

(Dollars in Thousands)
U . S . G O V E R N M E N T P U B L I S H I N G O F F I C E

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