GPO Assists FEMA in Hurricane Gustav Response

WASHINGTON, DC—09/02/08—Hurricane Gustav hits the Gulf Coast and the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is helping the Federal Government respond to this natural disaster. In preparation for the hurricane, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is once again turning to GPO and the GPOExpress program for printing communication materials during response and recovery efforts. The program is in collaboration with FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinko’s), which uses state-of-the-art technologies to support printing needs for all three branches of the Federal Government. This nationwide convenience printing agreement allows Federal Government personnel to place orders at any of the 1,700 FedEx Office Print and Ship Centers. In this situation, FEMA officials can place print orders from their offices to any FedEx Office location throughout the country to get fliers, brochures and forms to residents in the affected areas.

“This program gives FEMA the maximum benefit for their printing needs during a natural disaster and allows FEMA workers to concentrate on their mission of helping those who may need government assistance,” said Public Printer Robert C. Tapella. “Helping FEMA preparing for and responding to Hurricane Gustav is an example of why the relationship between GPO and FedEx Office was created; to support federal agencies in helping others through the GPOExpress program.”

“FEMA’s partnership with GPO, and in particular the GPOExpress program, provides us a quick and efficient capability to get materials into areas impacted by disaster,” said FEMA Printing Officer Ken Brown. “Getting critical information to our citizens in times of need requires extraordinary cooperation, coordination, and communication, with all working in unison to accomplish our mission. We know we can depend on GPO and their industry partners to join us in meeting this mission.”

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 Access (www.gpoaccess.gov), and through partnerships with more than 1,250 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov