The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) was recognized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for strengthening the security of DHS HSPD-12 personal identification cards. DHS Undersecretary for Management Rafael Borras recently presented GPO with an award and praised GPO employees for their efforts in the nationwide deployment of the ID cards. GPO is responsible for designing and printing security features for identification cards used by DHS employees and contractors at the following agencies:

* Federal Emergency Management Agency
* Transportation Security Administration
* U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
* U.S. Coast Guard
* U.S. Customs and Border Protection
* U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
* U.S. Secret Service

GPO employees use security design and printing techniques to add a layer of security to blank cards.  The individual DHS agencies are responsible for personalizing the identification cards on-site. GPO was certified by the General Services Administration last year to provide Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) services to Federal agencies. HSPD-12 mandates all Federal and contract employees to carry a smart card identification credential to gain access to Federal facilities. GPO's employees perform the security printing at the agency's ISO-9001 secure card production facility in Washington, D.C. GPO also produces other secure credentials for the Federal Government including Trusted Traveler Program cards for DHS' Customs and Border Protection and the Nation's passports for the Department of State.

"GPO has developed a reputation for producing the most secure credentials in the Federal Government," said Public Printer Bill Boarman. "GPO offers secure Government-to-Government credential services that any Federal agency can utilize. Our work with DHS attests to GPO's outstanding capabilities in the secure credential market."