Public printing reform and the 105th congress

Statutory provisions governing federal printing largely constitute the opening chapters of Title 44 of the United States Code. The Government Printing Office (GPO) is designated the principal agent for almost all federal government printing. Oversight responsibility for the GPO printing system is vested principally in the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP), which also is authorized to exercise discretionary remedial powers to improve public printing operations and the distribution of government publications. Much of the content of the public printing chapters of Title 44 derives from the Printing Act of 1895, the first comprehensive government printing law. This body of law has been amended and modified by Congress from time to time to accommodate changing technology and policy developments. During the past two decades, however, major challenges to current printing policy and practice have arisen. Consequently, early in the 105th Congress, staff of the JCP and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration began deliberations concerning public printing reform. These discussions proceeded on a bipartisan, bicameral basis, with participation by representatives of the Clinton administration. Subsequently, a consensus reform bill emerged, S. 2288, the Wendell H. Ford Government Publications Reform Act of 1998. Although this proposal initially appeared to enjoy broad support, several developments in the closing weeks of the 105th Congress militated against its enactment. Recounted here is the record of this reform effort.