The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes 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 the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive departments, and independent agencies. An act of Congress changed the office's name to its current form in 2014.

History

The Government Printing Office was created by congressional joint resolution () on June 23, 1860. It began operations March 4, 1861, with 350 employees and reached a peak employment of 8,500 in 1972. The agency began transformation to computer technology in the 1980s; along with the gradual replacement of paper with electronic document distribution, this has led to a steady decline in the number of staff at the agency. For its entire history, the GPO has occupied the corner of North Capitol Street NW and H Street NW in the District of Columbia. The large red brick building that houses the GPO was erected in 1903 and is unusual in being one of the few large, red brick government structures in a city where most government buildings are mostly marble and granite. (The Smithsonian Castle and the Pension Building, now the National Building Museum, are other exceptions.) An additional structure was attached to its north in later years. The activities of the GPO are defined in the public printing and documents chapters of Title 44 of the United States Code. The Director (formerly the Public Printer), who serves as the head of the GPO, is appointed by the President with the

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...

of the Senate. The Director selects a Superintendent of Documents. The Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) is in charge of the dissemination of information at the 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 Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most popu ...

. Adelaide Hasse was the founder of the Superintendent of Documents classification system. The GPO first used 100 percent recycled paper for the '' Congressional Record'' and ''

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on fed ...

'' from 1991 to 1997, under Public Printers Robert Houk and Michael DiMario. The GPO resumed using recycled paper in 2009. In March 2011, the GPO issued a new illustrated official history covering the agency's 150 years of "Keeping America Informed". With demand for print publications falling and a move underway to digital document production and preservation, the name of the GPO was officially changed to "Government Publishing Office" in a provision of an omnibus government funding bill passed by Congress in December 2014. Following signature of this legislation by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, the name change took place on December 17, 2014. File:Government Printing Office, restaurant - Washington, D.C..jpg, Government Printing Office, the restaurant in 1922 File:Machine shop in the Government Printing Office.jpg, Machine shop in the Government Printing Office File:Printing unemployment census questionnaires. Washington, D.C., Oct. 7. Scene at the Government Printing Office where 3,000,000 unemployment census questionnaires are being printed daily. LCCN2016872423.jpg, Scene at the Government Printing Office where 3,000,000 unemployment census questionnaires are being printed daily in 1937 File:Ready for postman. Washington, D.C., Oct. 7. After they are printed and folded for mailing at the Government Printing Office, the unemployment census questionaires are dumped into a mail LCCN2016878021.jpg, The mailroom in 1937 File:Unemployment census blanks prepared for mailing. Washington, D.C., Oct. 7. As rapidly as the presses in the Government Printing Office print the unemployment census blanks, workers trim and LCCN2016872425.jpg, As rapidly as the presses in the Government Printing Office print the unemployment census blanks, workers trim and mail.

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. When the agency was renamed in December 2014 the title "Public Printer" was also changed to "Director". Davita Vance-Cooks was therefore the first "Director" of the GPO. ''Public Printers'': # Almon M. Clapp (1876–1877) # John D. Defrees (1877–1882) # Sterling P. Rounds (1882–1886) # Thomas E. Benedict (1886–1889) # Frank W. Palmer (1889–1894) # Thomas E. Benedict (1894–1897) # Frank W. Palmer (1897–1905), O.J. Ricketts (Acting, 1905–1905) # Charles A. Stillings (1905–1908), William S. Rossiter (Acting, 1908–1908), Capt. Henry T. Brian (Acting, 1908–1908) # John S. Leech (1908–1908) # Samuel B. Donnelly (1908–1913) # Cornelius Ford (1913–1921) # George H. Carter (1921–1934) # Augustus E. Giegengack (1934–1948), John J. Deviny (Acting, 1948–1948) # John J. Deviny (1948–1953), Phillip L. Cole (Acting, 1953–1953) # Raymond Blattenberger (1953–1961), John M. Wilson (Acting, 1961–1961), Felix E. Cristofane (Acting, 1961–1961) # James L. Harrison (1961–1970) # Adolphus N. Spence (1970–1972), Harry J. Humphrey (Acting, 1972–1973), L.T. Golden (Acting Deputy, 1973–1973) # Thomas F. McCormick (1973–1977) # John J. Boyle (1977–1980), Samuel Saylor (Acting, 1980–1981) # Danford L. Sawyer, Jr. (1981–1984), William J. Barrett (Acting, 1984–1984) # Ralph E. Kennickell, Jr. (1984–1988), Joseph E. Jenifer (Acting, 1988–1990) # Robert Houk (1990–1993), Michael F. DiMario (Acting, 1993–1993) # Michael F. DiMario (1993–2002) # Bruce James (2002–2007), William H. Turri (Acting, 2007–2007) #

Robert C. Tapella Robert Charles "Bob" Tapella was the 25th Public Printer of the United States, the head of the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), which produces and distributes information products for all branches of the U.S. Government. Biography He was ...

(2007–2010) # William J. Boarman (2010–2012) #

Davita Vance-Cooks Davita Vance-Cooks is an American business executive who served as the 27th Public Printer of the United States and the 1st Director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). Vance-Cooks is a business executive with more than 30 years of pri ...

(2013–2017) # Hugh Halpern (2019–present)

Published government documents

Official journals of government

The GPO contracts out much of the Federal government's printing but prints the official journals of government in-house, * Public and Private Laws * The '' Congressional Record'' * The ''

'', which is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations. * United States ''House Journal'' * '' United States Senate Journal'' *

United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of th ...

United States Statutes at Large The ''United States Statutes at Large'', commonly referred to as the ''Statutes at Large'' and abbreviated Stat., are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress. Each act and resolut ...

Passports

GPO has been producing U.S. passports since the 1920s. The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

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 and place of birth, sex, dates of passport issuance and expiration, passport number, and photo of the bearer. GPO produces the blank e-Passport, while the Department of State receives and adjudicates applications and issues individual passports. 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 subject to Chinese espionage.Bill Gertz
Outsourced passports netting govt. profits, risking national security
, ''Washington Times'', March 26, 2008

Trusted Traveler Program card

GPO designs, prints, encodes, and personalizes Trusted Traveler Program cards ( NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST) for the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-te ...

, Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

GPO publications

* '' Cumulative Copyright Catalogs'' * ''

Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion {{italic title ''The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, 1861–65'' (the ''MSHWR'') was a United States Government Printing Office publication consisting of six volumes, issued between 1870 and 1888 and "prepared Under the ...

'' (1870–88) * '' Official Records of the American Civil War'' * '' U.S. Congressional Serial Set'' * (Document (United States. War Dept.)) (Original from Harvard University) * * (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) * (Issue 143 of Document (United States. War Dept.)) (Original from the New York Public Library) *(Original from Harvard University) * (Original from the University of California) * * * * GPO publishes the ''U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual''. Among the venerable series are '' Foreign Relations of the United States'' for the Department of State (since 1861), and '' Public Papers of the Presidents'', covering the administrations of Presidents

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, holding o ...

onward (except Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose papers were privately printed). GPO published the ''

Statistical Abstract of the United States The ''Statistical Abstract of the United States'' was a publication of the United States Census Bureau, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Published annually from 1878 to 2011, the statistics described social, political and eco ...

'' for the

Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

from 1878 to 2012.

Internet access to GPO publications

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the GPO Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act, which enabled GPO to put Government information online for the first time. One year later, GPO began putting Government information online for the public to access. In 2009, GPO replaced its GPO Access website with the Federal Digital System, or FDsys. In 2016, GPO launched GovInfo, a mobile-friendly website for the public to access Government information. GovInfo makes available at no charge the Congressional Record, the

, Public Papers of the Presidents, the U.S. Code, and other materials.

GPO Police

Security and Law Enforcement for GPO facilities is provided by the Government Publishing Office Police. The force is part of the GPO's Security Services Division, and in 2003 it had 53 officers. Officers are appointed under Title 44 USC § 317 by the Public Printer (or their delegate).

Mission

Their duty is to "protect persons and property in premises and adjacent areas occupied by or under the control of the Government Printing Office".

Jurisdiction and Authority

Officers are authorized to bear and use arms in the performance of their duties, make arrests for violations of Federal and state law (and that of Washington, D.C.), and enforce the regulations of the Public Printer, including requiring the removal from GPO premises of individuals who violate such regulations. Officers have concurrent jurisdiction with the law enforcement agencies where the premises are located. GPO Police Officers are required to maintain active certification with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department as their agency holds a cooperative agreement with the city, granting GPO Police authority to enforce city laws and regulations to include Traffic Code.

References

External links

GPO website

United States House and Senate Committee Hearings and Publications in the LOUISiana Digital Library

National Federation of Advanced Information Services
{{Authority control 1861 establishments in Washington, D.C.

Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes informati ...

Government agencies established in 1861 Printing in the United States State publishers United States government information *