****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 3, Number 39 July 29, 1994 In this issue: (157 lines) PRESIDENT SIGNS GPO FUNDING LAW WITH RESERVATIONS *************************************************************************** PRESIDENT SIGNS GPO FUNDING LAW WITH RESERVATIONS As President Clinton signed H.R. 4454, Legislative Branch Appropriations for FY 1995, he announced that he will interpret recent amendments to this law (P.L. 103-283) in a restrictive manner. He said that the authority of the Government Printing Office over "the procurement of any printing related to the production of Government publications" will be restricted to procurement of documents intended primarily for distribution to and use by the general public. Such an interpretation may narrow the scope of current law governing printing and procurement of government publications. For example, many documents in the Depository Library Program and GPO's sales program are not intended primarily for distribution to and use by the general public, but they are of great value and interest to the general public. Two highly visible examples are the Budget of the United States and the United States Government Manual. Likewise, the announced narrow interpretation of the term "duplicating," to exclude reproduction by laser printers and photocopying machines, appears at odds with the fact that an ever-growing segment of GPO's contracts to procure printing from the private sector is accomplished by these technologies. The President also announced his eagerness and resolve to pursue a comprehensive reform of federal printing in the next Congress, an effort that began last year with Vice President Gore's National Performance Review. The President did not mention that when his Administration sent Congress a bill in October 1993 to implement the NPR recommendations concerning printing. The House of Representatives rejected the Administration's legislative language and passed an entirely different version of Title XIV of H.R. 3400. The ALA Washington Office just received the President's statement of July 22, 1994, and are analyzing its potential effect on GPO's sales and Depository Library Program. We are interested in the reaction of others to the following information. To the best of our knowledge, the usual sources of presidential statements failed to make the following "Statement by the President" available in electronic format. The full text of the release is as follows: THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release July 22, 1994 STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT Today I have signed into law H.R. 4454, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1995. H.R. 4454 provides fiscal year 1995 appropriations to fund the Congress, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Architect of the Capitol, the General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, and the Library of Congress. In signing the bill into law, I note that this Act, the purpose of which is to provide appropriations for the legislative branch, also contains provisions affecting the operations of the executive branch. As a matter of comity, legislative branch appropriations acts historically have not contained provisions affecting the executive branch, and the executive branch has not commented on provisions of these acts. Since this Act contains provisions that depart from that standard, it is appropriate to express my views on these provisions. These provisions concern the involvement of the Public Printer and the Government Printing Office in executive branch printing related to the production of Government publications. Specifically, the Act includes amendments to existing law that expand the involvement of the Public Printer and the Government Printing Office in executive branch functions. The Act raises serious constitutional concerns by requiring that executive branch agencies receive a certification from the Public Printer before procuring the production of certain Government documents outside of the Government Printing Office. In addition, the Act expands the types of material that are to be produced by the Government Printing Office beyond that commonly recognized as "printing." In light of these concerns, I will interpret the amendments to the public printing provisions in a manner that minimizes the potential constitutional deficiencies in the Act. In this regard, the exclusive authority of the Government Printing Office over "the procurement of any printing related to the production of Government publications" will be restricted to procurement of documents intended primarily for distribution to and use by the general public. Additionally, in light of the substantial expansion of the role of the Government Printing Office that would be occasioned by a broad reading of the term, "duplicating," that term will be read to encompass only the reproduction inherent in traditional printing processes, such as composition and presswork, and not reproduced by other means, such as laser printers or photocopying machines. The concerns raised by this Act reinforce my eagerness and resolve to accomplish a comprehensive reform of Federal printing in accordance with constitutional principles, an effort that began last year with the Vice President's National Performance Review. Reform legislation can improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of Government printing by maximizing the use of private sector printing capability through open competitive procedures and by limiting Government-owned printing resources to only those necessary to maintain a minimum core capacity. Reform of Federal printing practices can also serve to enhance public access to public information, through a diversity of sources and in a variety of forms and formats, by improving the printing and information dissemination practices of the Federal Government. I look forward to pursuing this effort in the next Congress. WILLIAM J. CLINTON THE WHITE HOUSE, July 22, 1994. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. Editor: Lee G. Enyart (lge@alawash.org). ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet). Back issues and other documents are available from the list server. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. To get a particular file, issue the command "send filename filetype" to the listserv. Do not include the quotes in your commands. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. For other reprinting or redistribution, address requests to the ALA Washington Office (alawash@alawash.org). *************************************************************************** ***End of file******************End of file******************End of file***