ALEXANDRIA, VA (December 9, 2002) — The Board of Directors of the Printing Industries of America (PIA) has announced its approval of the Government Affairs issue ranking for the 108th Congress which will open in January 2003. The issues were developed in New Orleans at the biennial planning session conducted by the PIA Government Affairs Committee after the congressional elections. The issue setting process by the PIA Government Affairs Committee involves an industry survey in the summer of even numbered years to determine the issues of concern to PIA members. Following the congressional elections in November, the Committee conducts a Planning Meeting which is open to all PIA members to review the issues. The issues are discussed and prioritized base on the discussions and the opportunities presented by the elections. The issues developed by the Planning Meeting are then submitted to the Board of PIA for consideration. While the order of the issues may change, it is unusual for issues to be put forward which have not been part of the industry survey. While this year’s top issue – rising health care costs – came as no surprise, Postal Service Reform, Copyright and Intellectual Property Concerns, and Legal Liability Reform are new to the top five list. Benjamin Y. Cooper, PIA’s Executive Vice President for Public Policy said he was not surprised by the new additions to the list. “For several years, a growing number of printers have come to the realization that, for now, the future of the printing industry is tied to the success of the Postal Service. It is the nation’s primary distributor of printed material. Also, while we sometimes don’t think of Legal Liability Reform as a printer issue, so many of the issues we face in Congress ultimately center on tort reform. These issues include health care, terrorism insurance, worker’s comp, property and casualty insurance. We hope we can add our voice to the calls for reform,” Cooper said. PIA’s Public Priorities for the 108th Congress 1. Health care costs 2. Postal Service reform 3. Copyright and intellectual property protection 4. Tort/Legal Liability Reform 5. Ergonomics Regulations 6. Family and Medical leave 7. Death Tax 8. Workers Compensation 9. Wage and Hour issues 10. Pension issues (401k and others) 11. Insurance Costs, including property and casualty 12. Capital Gains taxes 13. State Sales and Use Tax 14. Alternative Minimum Tax 15. Energy Costs 16. Unemployment Compensation 17. Clean Air Regulations 18. State and Federal Competition from government printing offices 19. Federal government printing contracting program 20. Hazardous waste regulations 21. Industrial laundry/shop towel regulations 22. International competition other than North America 23. Computer Depreciation Reform 24. North American trade issues 25. Federal environmental reporting