Flat Budget Proposed for GPO; Agency Produced Super Bowl Credentials
WASHINGTON, DC—Feb. 7, 2012—Acting Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks presented the fiscal year 2013 (FY2013)appropriations request for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) today before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations. GPO is requesting no increase over the level of funding the agency is receiving for the current year due to savings garnered from cost-cutting activities last year, as well as projected workload changes for FY2013.
GPO’s budget request also includes a significant shift in funding away from conventional printing and distribution toward digital systems. The current level of $126.2 million is a 6.6 percent reduction from the previous year and about a 15 percent reduction from fiscal year 2010. GPO’s funding level for FY2013 is provided through three separate accounts in the annual Legislative Branch Appropriations bill:
• The Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation covers the cost of information products in digital and print formats that GPO produces for Congress. About 70 percent of this cost is for preparing the electronic files used for both digital access and printing. For FY2013, GPO is requesting $83.6 million, a decrease of about $7 million.
• The Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents primarily covers the cost of the Federal Depository Library Program, which works in partnership with 1,220 libraries nationwide to provide public access to Federal Government information. For FY2013, GPO is requesting $34.7 million, a decrease of about $300,000.
• The GPO Revolving Fund receives appropriated funds for specific technology investment and facility improvements. For FY2013, GPO is requesting $7.8 million. The request includes funding for the continued development of GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) to support increased online access to congressional and Federal agency information as well as other digital information technology improvements.
GPO achieved significant savings in last year by reducing unnecessary overhead expenses and conducting a buyout that helped reduce staffing by about 15 percent. As a result, GPO achieved positive net income of $5.6 million for the year. The agency, whose information production and dissemination operations have transitioned to digital technologies, is currently operating with its smallest workforce in more than a century.
“GPO is doing more with less in meeting the digital information needs of Congress, Federal agencies, and the public,” said Acting Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks. “GPO’s plan of reducing costs while continuing to expand services to our customers is working and showing real and measurable benefits.”
In other GPO news, the agency used its security design and printing techniques to produce the FBI special events credentials that were used at Super Bowl XLVI by public safety personnel. GPO produced approximately 10,000 of these secure credentials at the agency’s secure production facility in Washington, DC.
The special event credentials are issued to approved public safety and security personnel from local, state, and Federal agencies who required access to secure areas during major special events. The FBI sought GPO’s services due to the agency’s reputation of providing secure government-to-government products that have a proven record of securing our Nation.
“GPO is honored to assist the FBI by creating this secure credential that was used at one of the biggest events in the country,” said Acting Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks. “GPO has a highly skilled staff that is dedicated to producing the best products for our customers and committed to protecting our national security through the manufacturing of secure credentials.”
“The FBI is very pleased GPO has provided us with a very secure state of the art public safety official credential,” said Section Chief Juan Molina of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group. “GPO was able to design a secure credential and a single production and distribution process for all local, state, and federal agency personnel who each provide vital safety and security roles during major special events.”
GPO also produces other secure credentials for the Federal Government including Trusted Traveler Program cards for DHS’ Customs and Border Protection and the Nation’s passports for the Department of State. GPO has also been certified by the General Services Administration to provide Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) services to Federal agencies.
About the GPO
GPO is the Federal Government’s primary resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government in both digital and tangible formats. GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies. In addition to publication sales, GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through GPO’s Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov) and through partnerships with approximately 1,220 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program.
Source: GPO.