 Official seal | |
 Logo | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | March 4, 1861 |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | 732North Capitol St. NW Washington, D.C.[3] |
| Motto | "Keeping America Informed"[1] |
| Employees | 1,644 (2025)[2] |
| Annual budget | US$126,200,000 (2012); approx. US$135 million (2011)[3] |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing |
| Website | gpo.gov |
| Footnotes | |
| [3] | |
TheUnited States Government Publishing Office (USGPO orGPO), formerly theUnited States Government Printing Office, is an agency of thelegislative branch of theUnited 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 theSupreme Court, theCongress, theExecutive Office of the President,executive departments, andindependent agencies.
Anact of Congress changed the office's name to its current form in 2014.[4]
The Government Printing Office was created bycongressional joint resolution (12 Stat. 117) on June 23, 1860. It began operations March 4, 1861, with 350 employees and reached a peak employment of 8,500 in 1972.[3] 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.[3]
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 theNational 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 ofTitle 44 of the United States Code. The Director (formerly thePublic Printer), who serves as the head of the GPO, is appointed by the President with theadvice and consent of theSenate. 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 theFederal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the Cataloging and Indexing Program and the Publication Sales Program, as well as operation of theFederal Citizen Information Center inPueblo, Colorado.Adelaide Hasse was the founder of theSuperintendent of Documents classification system.[5]
The GPO first used 100 percent recycled paper for theCongressional Record andFederal Register from 1991 to 1997, under Public Printers Robert Houk and Michael DiMario. The GPO resumed using recycled paper in 2009.[citation needed]
The GPO has release several books over years that recount its history. One of the first books was released in 1881.[6]
The another book was first release in 1961 on the centennial of the office's creation describing its first hundred years of existence.[7] The book was reprinted in 2010.[8]
In March 2011, the GPO issued a new illustrated official history covering the agency's 150 years of "Keeping America Informed".[9] A revised version was release five years later in 2016.[10]
A picture book was released in 2017.[11]
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.[12] Following signature of this legislation by PresidentBarack Obama, the name change took place on December 17, 2014.[4]
Until 2014, the Public Printer headed 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.
The list of leaders for this governmental unit is located atDirector of the U.S. Government Publishing Office#List of leaders.
The GPO contracts out much of the Federal government's printing but prints the official journals of government in-house,
GPO has been producingU.S. passports since the 1920s. TheUnited States Department of State began issuinge-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 theDepartment of State receives and adjudicates applications and issues individual passports.[13][14][15][16] GPO ceased production of legacy passports in May 2007, shifting production entirely to e-passports.
In March 2008, theWashington 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.[14][17][18]
GPO designs, prints, encodes, and personalizes Trusted Traveler Program cards (NEXUS,SENTRI and FAST) for theDepartment of Homeland Security,Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Official Presidential Photographprinted by GPO | |
 American Artifacts: Government Printing Office (29:47),C-SPAN[19] |
GPO publishes theU.S. Government Publishing OfficeStyle Manual.[20] Among the venerable series areForeign Relations of the United States for theDepartment of State (since 1861), andPublic Papers of the Presidents, covering the administrations of PresidentsHerbert Hoover onward (exceptFranklin D. Roosevelt, whose papers were privately printed). GPO published theStatistical Abstract of the United States for theCensus Bureau from 1878 to 2012.
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.[21] 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, orFDsys. In 2016, GPO launchedGovInfo, a mobile-friendly website for the public to access Government information.[22] GovInfo makes available at no charge theCongressional Record, theFederal Register,Public Papers of the Presidents, theU.S. Code, and other materials.
Security and law enforcement for GPO facilities is provided by theGovernment Publishing Office Police.[23] The force is part of the GPO'sSecurity Services Division, and in 2003 it had 53 officers.[24] Officers are appointed under Title 44USC § 317 by the Public Printer (or their delegate).[25]
Their duty is to "protect persons and property in premises and adjacent areas occupied by or under the control of the Government Printing Office".
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 ofWashington, 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.[25][26] GPO Police Officers are required to maintain active certification with theWashington 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.[27]
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| National | |
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| Other | |
