United States Government Printing Office

Government Printing Office
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Agency overview
Formed	March 4, 1861
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	732 North Capitol St. NW Washington, D.C.
Employees	2,300
Agency executives	William J. Boarman[1], Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks, Chief of Staff
Parent agency	United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing
Website
gpo.gov

The United States Government Printing Office (GPO) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office prints documents produced by and for the federal government, including the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive departments, and independent agencies.

Contents 1 History 2 Published government documents 2.1 Official journals of government 2.2 Passports 2.3 Trusted Traveler Program card 2.4 GPO's Style Manual 3 Public Printers of the United States 3.1 Notable GPO publications 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

History

GPO was created by Congressional Joint Resolution 25 of June 23, 1860. It began operations March 4, 1861, with 350 employees. For its entire history, it has occupied the corner of North Capitol Street NW and H Street NW in the District of Columbia. The activities of GPO are defined in the public printing and documents chapters of Title 44 of the United States Code. The Public Printer, who serves as the head of GPO, is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Public Printer selects a Superintendent of Documents.

The Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) is in charge of the dissemination of information at the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). This is accomplished through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the Cataloging and Indexing Program and the Publication Sales Program, as well as operation of the Federal Citizen Information Center in Pueblo, Colorado. Adelaide Hasse was the founder of the Superintendent of Documents classification system.^[2]
In September 2009, the GPO produced the Congressional Record on 100 percent recycled paper for the first time.

In March 2011, GPO issued a new illustrated official history covering the agency's 150 years of Keeping America Informed.^[3]

Published government documents

Official journals of government

GPO contracts out much of the federal government's printing but prints the official journals of government in-house, including:

• Code of Federal Regulations
• Public and Private Laws
• The Congressional Record
• The Federal Register, which is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations.
• United States Code
• United States Statutes at Large
• House Journal and Senate Journal

Passports

GPO has been producing U.S. passports since the 1920s. The United States Department of State began issuing e-passports in 2006. The e-Passport includes an electronic chip embedded in the cover that contains the same information that is printed in the passport: name, date of birth, gender, place of birth, dates of passport issuance and expiration, passport number and photo image of the traveler. GPO produces the blank e-Passport, while the Department of State receives and processes applications and issues individual passports.^[4][5][6][7] GPO ceased production of legacy passports in May 2007, shifting production entirely to e-passports.

In March 2008, the Washington Times published a three-part story about the outsourcing of electronic passports to overseas companies, including one in Thailand that was victimized by Chinese espionage.^[5][8][9]

Trusted Traveler Program card

GPO designs, prints, encodes and personalizes Trusted Traveler Program cards (NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST) for the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

GPO's Style Manual

GPO publishes the United States Style Manual.^[10] Among the venerable series are Foreign Relations of the United States for the Department of State (since 1861), Statistical Abstract of the United States for the Census Bureau (since 1878) and Public Papers of the President, covering the administrations of Presidents Herbert Hoover onward (except Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose papers were privately printed).

Public Printers of the United States

By law, the Public Printer heads the GPO. The position of Public Printer traces its roots back to Benjamin Franklin and the period before the American Revolution, when he served as "publick printer," whose job was to produce official government documents for Pennsylvania and other colonies.

Public Printers:

1. Almon M. Clapp (1876–1877)
2. John D. Defrees (1877–1882)
3. Sterling P. Rounds (1882–1886)
4. Thomas E. Benedict (1886–1889)
5. Frank W. Palmer (1889–1894)
6. Thomas E. Benedict (1894–1897)
7. Frank W. Palmer (1897–1905), O.J. Ricketts (Acting, 1905-1905)
8. Charles A. Stillings (1905–1908), William S. Rossiter (Acting, 1908-1908), Capt. Henry T. Brian (Acting, 1908-1908)
9. John S. Leech (1908-1908)
10. Samuel B. Donnelly (1908–1913)
11. Cornelius Ford (1913–1921)
12. George H. Carter (1921–1934)
13. Augustus E. Giegengack (1934–1948), John J. Deviny (Acting, 1948-1948)
14. John J. Deviny (1948–1953), Phillip L. Cole (Acting, 1953-1953)
15. Raymond Blattenberger (1953–1961), John M. Wilson (Acting, 1961-1961), Felix E. Cristofane (Acting, 1961-1961)
16. James L. Harrison (1961–1970)
17. Adolphus N. Spence (1970–1972), Harry J. Humphrey (Acting, 1972–1973), L.T. Golden (Acting Deputy, 1973-1973)
18. Thomas F. McCormick (1973–1977)
19. John J. Boyle (1977–1980), Samuel Saylor (Acting, 1980–1981)
20. Danford L. Sawyer, Jr. (1981–1984), William J. Barrett (Acting, 1984-1984)
21. Ralph E. Kennickell, Jr. (1984–1989)
22. Robert Houk (1990–1993),^[11] Michael F. DiMario (Acting, 1993-1993)
23. Michael F. DiMario (1993^[12]-2002)
24. Bruce James (2002–2007),^[13] William H. Turri (Acting, 2007-2007)
25. Robert C. Tapella (2007–2010)^[14]
26. William J. Boarman (2010-

Notable GPO publications

• Cumulative Copyright Catalogs
• Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion (1870–88)
• Official Records of the American Civil War
• US Congressional Serial Set
• United States. Adjutant-General's Office. Military Information Division (1901). Publication, Issue 33. WASHINGTON: G.P.O.. http://books.google.com/books?id=T6VAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved February 19 2011. (Document (United States. War Dept.))(Original from Harvard University)
• United States. Adjutant-General's Office. Military Information Division, Stephen L'H. Slocum, Carl Reichmann, Adna Romanga Chaffee (1901). Reports on military operations in South Africa and China. July, 1901. WASHINGTON: Govt. print. off.. pp. 600. http://books.google.com/books?id=Hj8UAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved February 19 2011. (Issue 33 of Publication (United States. Adjutant-General's Office. Military Information Division) Issue 143 of Document, United States War Dept Issue 33 of Publication, United States Adjutant-General's Office)
• Stephan L'H. Slocum, Carl Reichmann, Adna Romanza Chaffee, United States. Adjutant-General's Office. Military Information Division (1901). Reports on military operations in South Africa and China. WASHINGTON: G.P.O.. pp. 600. http://books.google.com/books?id=LYYLAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved February 19 2011. (Issue 143 of Document (United States. War Dept.))(Original from the New York Public Library)
• United States. Bureau of Foreign Commerce, United States. Dept. of Commerce and Labor. Bureau of Statistics, United States. Bureau of Manufactures (1904). Commercial relations of the United States with foreign countries during the years ..., Volume 2. WASHINGTON: G.P.O.. http://books.google.com/books?id=5iEZAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-06-28. (Original from Harvard University)
• United States. Bureau of Foreign Commerce (1891). Reports from the consuls of the United States, Issues 124-127. WASHINGTON: G.P.O.. http://books.google.com/books?id=7ag8AQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 17th of July, 2011. (Original from the University of California)

See also

• Bureau of Engraving and Printing is responsible for the printing of United States currency.
• Federal Digital System (FDsys)
• National Technical Information Service
• Queen's Printer
• United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing

References

External links

• GPO Website
• 100 GPO Years, 1861-1961: A history of United States Public Printing (Sesquicentennial Edition, 2010)
• United States House and Senate Committee Hearings and Publications in the LOUISiana Digital Library

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