WASHINGTON-The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has created an online form on the agency's Web site allowing congressional offices to update their printed publication needs:  http://www.gpo.gov/gpo/search/beginPublication.action.

By law and regulation, House and Senate offices and committees are provided by GPO with printed copies of the Congressional Record and the Congressional Record Index, and-on behalf of the Office of the Federal Register (OFR)-with copies of the Federal Register, the Federal Register Index, and the Code of Federal Regulations.  At the same time, GPO makes all of these publications available online on its Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov), a comprehensive, one-stop site to the official online versions of congressional and other Federal agency information products.  Since 1994, when GPO first began providing congressional information products in online digital formats, the number of printed copies of the Congressional Record that GPO has been required to produce overnight has declined from nearly 20,000 to about 3,200 today.

In May 2011, GPO developed and conducted the first-ever online survey of congressional offices and committees on their need for printed Congressional Record and OFR publications.  The survey was advertised by Dear Colleague letters circulated in the House and the Senate. The survey elicited about a 50% response rate, with many--though not all--offices and committees requesting to reduce or opt out of their receipt of these publications.  The new online form allows congressional offices and committees to update their need for printed publications from GPO quickly and easily.  In addition, GPO is following up with offices and committees that did not respond to the survey or the new Web form to ensure the agency is providing only the number of printed information products that congressional offices need.

"GPO's job is to ensure that congressional offices get the information products they need to carry out their work," said Public Printer Bill Boarman. "For a hundred and fifty years GPO has been providing the information products Congress requires, and since 1994 we have made these products available in both digital and print formats.  The survey we have conducted and our new online form are giving us a clearer picture of the information product formats congressional offices need to do their jobs today and we are adjusting our output accordingly."