Washington, D.C.-The Government Printing Office, which produces and distributes most of the printed and electronic documents for Congress, the courts and the Federal Government, reported today a nearly complete turnaround in its fortunes. The GPO, which receives about 15% of its annual revenue in Congressional appropriations, earns the rest from providing services to other Government entities.  After losing more than $100 million over the last five years, GPO reported an operating surplus of $11.2 million in its fiscal year ending September 30, 2004. "We refocused our efforts on the changing needs of our government customers as well as taking appropriate steps to better manage our labor and overhead costs," said Bruce R. James, Public Printer of the United States and GPO's chief executive officer.  James, appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed to the position by the Senate in November 2002, has reduced GPO's overall employment by 20% in his first two years as head of the 143 year old agency.  "This has been accomplished almost completely through a program of managed attrition which did not involve layoffs," James said. "The accomplishments of the GPO under the leadership of Bruce James have been nothing short of remarkable.  He has built a first-rate team of professionals who will lead the Federal Government into the digital information world of the 21st century," said Rep. Bob Ney, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing. Judy Russell, who serves under James as the Superintendent of Documents, responsible for meeting the Federal information needs of libraries and the public, attributes much of the success to the strong support of Congress and the library community.  "Congress wants to make certain the printed and electronic documents created by all three branches of the Federal Government are made freely available for current and permanent public access.  That is what drives GPO every day," said Russell. More information is available in the just released 2004 GPO Annual Report.  Please visit GPO's Web site at http://www.gpo.gov/congressional/index.html.  This year's Annual Report is available in two formats:  PDF version or the innovative and interactive version by Zinio software.