Summary by Object Class and Analysis of Change to Budget Base

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I am pleased to transmit herewith the appropriations request of the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO) for fiscal year 2005.

Our appropriations request is designed to provide for the:

• Continuation of our congressional printing and binding operations at required levels

• Continuation of our document dissemination services at required levels

• Acceleration of the transformation of the GPO into a 21st century digital information processing facility

Chairman Campbell and Chairman Kingston, the funding that has been
provided to us for FY 2004 under your leadership has had extraordinarily
positive results. As you know, we conducted a highly successful voluntary
separation incentive program that allowed us to adjust our workforce level
to current operational demands and yielded annual savings of approximately
$21.7 million. Together with our efforts to shutter GPO's failing retail

732 North Capitol Street NW

Washington, DC 20401-0001

PublicPrinter@gpo.gov

The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell, The Honorable Jack Kingston – Page 2

bookstores, which will generate savings of $1.5 million in the first year, and the other steps we have taken to better manage our operations, we have been able to restore our finances to a positive basis in the first two months of this fiscal year. Barring any unforeseen developments, we expect to complete the fiscal year at or near the breakeven point.

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Beyond restoring our finances, we began the transformation of the GPO into 21st century digital information processing facility. We carried out a broad reorganization to redirect the GPO's management, expanded our workforce development resources, began modernizing GPO's product lines with new offerings such as Public Key Infrastructure technology, and initiated planning for the restructuring of the Federal Depository Library Program. We also improved emergency preparedness for our employees and for continuity-ofgovernment operations. Across the board-from our customers in Congress, Federal agencies, and among the public, from the printing industry, the library and information communities, and from our employee representatives-we're getting strong support for the direction we're following.

Transforming the GPO for the long term will require much more than the changes we've already achieved. As you know, the General Accounting Office is conducting its congressionally-mandated study of Federal printing and information policy. The study will establish a baseline of current operations on which we can confidently build a strategic plan for the GPO's future involving consultations with all of the GPO's stakeholders. The plan will include recommendations for reforming the 19th century statutes comprising Title 44 of the U.S. Code, the laws that authorize our programs and operations.

The transformation of the GPO will also require investments in new technology for collecting, processing, and distributing Government information. This will establish GPO's leadership in using the best leadingedge digital technology in support of Congress, Federal agencies, and the public. The GPO has a vastly expanded role to play in content management, authentication of documents, meeting the challenges associated with versioning of electronic data, on-demand printing, the transfer of information from one generation of technology to the next, and the preservation of digital information in perpetuity. The 19th century is not coming back. These are the baseline services that the GPO must be prepared to provide if we are to carry out our mission effectively in the 21st century. In addition to our request for funding for continuation of services, our appropriations request for FY 2005 reflects this investment requirement, which is essential to the GPO's future and the future information activities of the customers we by law support.

Continuation of Services For the Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation, which covers printing and related services for Congress, we are requesting $88.8 million, a net reduction of $1.8 million, or 2%, from the level provided for FY 2004. For the Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents, we are requesting $33 million, a reduction of $1.2 million, or about 3.6%, from the FY 2004 level. This appropriation provides for the cataloguing and indexing of Government publications,

The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell, The Honorable Jack Kingston – Page 3

and the distribution of Government publications to Federal Depository and International Exchange libraries and other authorized recipients. The reductions in these two appropriations have been made possible by reduced printing workloads, our continued application of cost-saving digital information technologies, and increased efficiency in operations, including savings from the buyout conducted this past year.

Investment in GPO's Future We are requesting an appropriation of $25 million to be used to transition the GPO from a predominantly ink-on-paper distributor of printing requirements to an electronic collection life-cycle manager of Government information, from its origination in Congress and Federal agencies through its dissemination, in perpetuity, to depository libraries and the public. These funds will be used in the development and purchase of an electronic web portal and indexing capability that will allow access to the output of multiple agencies and congressional entities through one source. The end-user will have the capability to print any title or document on demand remotely or view it electronically. This process is inherently less labor intensive than current operations. It will significantly reduce the requirement to stock paper inventory, cut the storage requirements for documents maintained in perpetuity, and vastly improve the speed at which access to necessary documents can be achieved. Once in place, it will represent a far more effective and efficient use of taxpayer funds than current GPO operations.

Office of Inspector General Rather than continue to fund the GPO's IG through our Revolving Fund, we are requesting that these operations be funded annually by direct appropriations. For FY 2005, we are requesting $4.2 million and 25 FTE's for this purpose. Financing the IG through the Revolving Fund requires that the fees for various services be increased to reimburse these costs. A direct appropriation will alleviate that cost burden on Congress and agency customers and make GPO services more competitively priced. Equally as important, it will provide greater independence for the IG and his staff to monitor GPO operations. The Inspector General will provide an independent justification for this appropriation.

Legislative Changes In addition to our funding request, we are requesting several authorities to support our transformational efforts and further our mission:

Extension of our early retirement and separation incentive authority, which expires at the end of FY 2004.

Authority to accept contributions of property, equipment, and services
to support and enhance the work of the GPO. We have improved
the language we submitted last year by adding additional reporting
requirements to ensure full accountability.

Elimination of the current limit of 25 percent on discounts for our sales publications, to enable us to match current sales discount practices in the private sector.