Public Printer Issues White House Press Secretary Kinko's Card
WASHINGTON, DC—January 12, 2010—The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) appreciates White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' tongue-in-cheek plug for Kinko's (now FedEx Office) and the printing of the federal budget in his January 11th press briefing.
According to the transcript published on www.whitehouse.gov, Gibbs' briefing with the press corp included the following question-answer exchange:
MR. GIBBS: I'm not going to get into details and specifics on a budget that will be released at a later day.
Q. It's at the printers?
MR. GIBBS: And when it comes back from Kinko's, we'll be able to talk about it. It's not really at Kinko's, though, I was just — go ahead.
"The Kinko's name is synonymous with quick printing, which is why I am so pleased with the partnership between GPO and FedEx Office," said Public Printer Bob Tapella. "While the printing of the federal budget is not ideal for GPOExpress, more than 40,000 jobs have gone through the program, saving taxpayers 70% off retail prices. I will send Mr. Gibbs his own personal GPOExpress card, so the White House Press Office can take advantage of the discounts offered by the program."
GPO has a long standing partnership with FedEx Office in developing the GPOExpress program. This program uses convenient, quick printing and document solutions to support printing needs for all three branches of the federal government. By using a GPOExpress card, federal government personnel can place orders at any of the 1,800 FedEx Office Print and Ship Centers day or night. Customers can receive discounts of up to 70% on their printing orders, thus saving taxpayers money. Since GPOExpress was launched in 2005, the program has generated more than $20 million.
More information on GPOExpress: http://www.gpo.gov/gpoexpress.htm
The federal budget is printed by GPO employees for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). For decades GPO and OMB have worked together, often times up to the night before the release, to produce copies of the budget. GPO is already hard at work with OMB for the printing of the federal budget for fiscal year 2011.
"GPO obviously does not take offense to Mr. Gibbs' tongue-in-cheek comments on the printing of the budget," said Tapella. "In fact, GPO appreciates the opportunity to let the public know the hard work employees put into the printing of the budget every year and letting federal agencies know about the success of GPOExpress."
About the GPO
The GPO is the Federal Government's primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing, authenticating, and preserving published U.S. Government information in all its forms. GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three Branches of the Federal Government. In addition to publication sales, GPO makes Government information available at no cost to the public through GPO's Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov) GPO Access (www.gpoaccess.gov), and through partnerships with approximately 1,250 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov.
- People:
- Bob Tapella