In FY 1991, OTA expended these funds for U.S. Postal Service franked (penalty) mail and for supplemental mailings (described below) which are not included in OTA's basic annual agreement with the U.S. Postal Service. Further, OTA utilizes private freight and mail services as well as Express Mail service through the U.S. Postal Service to deliver a myriad of time sensitive materials throughout the world. OTA also leases a small van and a station wagon from the General Services Administration. The annual agreement includes maintenance.

The breakdown of these costs in and between fiscal years is as follows:

1

Supplemental mailings are those mailings of 50 or more identical items. Routine franked mail is billed to OTA based on the results of four sampling periods during each fiscal year. Under our agreement with the U.S. Postal Service, supplemental mailings are weighed, counted, and billed separately.

In estimating its FY 1992 costs for the U.S. Postal Service, OTA assumed that regular franked mail rates (first class) would remain constant. The increase in supplemental mailings is based on actual projected usage for FY 1992 due to OTA's assessment cycle. An estimated 3% inflation factor was applied to the FY 1991 base for private carriers. The FY 1993 estimates for both regular franked mail and for supplemental mailings assumes that the U.S. Postal Service will at last receive its much sought after $.01 increase in first class rates or 3.4% which will be passed on to the agency. A 3% inflation factor was likewise applied to the FY 1992 base for private carriers of mail and freight. OTA assumes that it will turn in its current GSA leased vehicles for newer models in FY 1993 thereby permitting OTA to benefit from slightly lower maintenance

The decrease in printing and reproduction costs between the FY 1991 actual and FY 1992 estimate is due to the 20% reduction in the number of full reports expected to be issued in FY 1992 and the increasing number of background papers, staff papers, special reports, and administrative documents that will be published inhouse. The increase between the estimated FY 1992 expenditures and those estimated for FY 1993 of 3.5% or $16,000 are estimates which are slightly lower than GPO's estimate of 4% for FY 1993.

OTA's estimated $169,000 increase in spending for other services (exclusive of the Library of Congress support contract for financial services and the CBIS facilities support agreement) in FY 1992 is made up of two components. OTA intends to increase the number of advisory panel and working group participants by 119 individuals in FY 1992 at an average cost of $820 per participant for an increase of $97,580. These costs are principally reimbursement of travel costs for meetings held at OTA. The remaining $71,420 or 2 percent of the remainder of the FY 1992 estimate will be used to fund modest inflationary increases in in-house contracting and in the large number of other goods and services procured under object class 25. OTA does not, however, believe that 2 percent will be sufficient and has, therefore, found it necessary to decrease research contracting in FY 1992 in order to ameliorate anticipated increases.

The FY 1993 increase for object class 25 (less workload increases, the Library of Congress agreement, and the CBIS contract) is $100,000 over the FY 1992 estimated base and represents OTA's best estimate of inflationary cost increases associated with the

The Office of Technology Assessment has contracted with Cincinnati Bell Information Systems Federal, Inc. (CBIS) since FY 1986 to provide personnel for on-site facilities management services.

Persons employed through the CBIS, Inc. contract receive one adjustment in their salaries per year. Permanent and temporary OTA staff receive the Federal cost of living increase in January of each year and a merit increase (the OTA has budgeted a 3.5% average increase for FY 1992) in July. CBIS, Inc. contractor employees receive their single annual adjustment in October. While an OTA employee is eligible to receive a merit increase (or partial merit increase depending on his/her date of employment) and a cost of living increase during the first year of employment, the CBIS, Inc. contract staff person must wait until October after his/her hire date for an increase. Typically, new slots are filled during the first month of the Federal fiscal year and turnover is relatively low.

Although a rough parity is maintained in the base rates at the end of a year, the OTA employee has raised his/her base in 9 months as opposed to 12 months and has enjoyed the benefit of increased

A comparison of the CBIS contract costs for FY 1991 and FY 1992 are as follows:

The increase in labor costs between FY 1991 and FY 1992 is less than was anticipated in last year's Justification of Estimates due to unplanned turnover in the OTA Publishing Office and a less than full-time-equivalent in the OTA Budget Office for FY 1992. CBIS staff received an 8% salary increase effective October 1, 1991. Overhead and G&A rates rose from 35% and 4% respectively in FY 1991 to 35.9% and 4.5% in FY 1992.

At this time, OTA is planning to recompete this contract for FY 1993. Because OTA will wish to retain current staff under any new contract arrangement and will wish to offer salary increases to that staff as in past years, labor costs are expected to increase by 8 percent in FY 1993. Further, it is unclear at this time whether any bidder will be able to offer significant or any relief in terms of overhead or G&A. OTA's FY 1993 estimate for the facilities management agreement is based on the following guesses about the rates that we believe CBIS may offer in FY 1993 should that organization win the recompetition. OTA cannot query CBIS concerning its actual intentions without tainting the competitive procurement process.

The interagency agreement between OTA and the Library of

Congress for financial support services increased by 8.8% between FY 1991 and FY 1992. OTA assumed for the purposes of the Justification of Estimates a flat 8% increase for FY 1993.

The estimated decrease from FY 1991 to FY 1992 for supplies and materials is based on budgetary constraints both in the Operations Division and the Programs. The 3% increase of the FY 1992 estimate reflects continued concern with stabilizing discretionary costs and OTA's estimate of the impact of inflation on that base in FY 1993.

Object class 31 baseline and price level amounts include. expenditures for replacement furniture, permanent additions to OTA's library, ADP equipment (replacement and repair of current systems),