Office of the Doorkeeper-History of publications distribution overtime January 1976 through September 1978 $3,005 5,666 5,604 2,755 16,116 11,156 18,400 2,996 29,123 11,959 2,808 3,713 40,200 153,501 PUBLICATION DISTRIBUTION SERVICE Mr. MOLLOY. I have both of these charts for the record. In that area, again, this is the largest section under the Doorkeeper with 126 employees. I am responsible for inventory, storage and delivery of GPO publications which Congressmen have access to for their constituents such as Agriculture Year Books, Congressional Directories, Infant Care as well as file boxes, and packing supplies which are dispersed on request to Members' offices. There is a limitation on copies of each publication for Members, and we keep individual up to date accounts. There are approximately 25 publications that are available to Members, The Capitol, Congressional Record, The Constitution, debate material, high school debate material, How Our Laws Are Made, Our American Government, Our Flag, et cetera. We handle mass mailings for Members including postal patron mailings, and odd-sized mailings, when called for, which is seldom. We offer a complete packaging operation, and at the beginning of this month we are moving it to new facilities from the back of the Longworth Building to the front of the Longworth Building, where it will take it out of that bad traffic pattern in the back and be more easily acccessible. We have a whole series of supplies that are available, mail tubes, cord, tape, boxes, envelopes, cardboard, and various things that the Congressional offices have needed over the years, and we provide a pickup and delivery service as required. We provide paper cutter service. Activity has escalated in collating and stapling, and we are in the process now of trying to purchase a sturdy industrial paper punch. Just 3 years ago we had a part-time person handling this operation but a reassignment of duties has resulted in full time service being available. Activities have escalated on demand of Congressional offices in the areas of collating, stamping, punching and sundry such services offered. Annual reports are available. That would be the end of the publications distribution. Are there any questions? Mr. MICHEL. On that last point, what kind of requests are those? Are the Members pushing onto you things that ought to be done in their own offices? Mr. MOLLOY. No, sir. Let us say you have a 40-page item to collate. You probably would not have the facilities to collate the thing. You might put out a report of one of these subcommittees. You might want to put out your own individual report. Mr. MICHEL. Are the committee members doing this thing? Mr. MICHEL. I do not use this service myself, personally. Mr. MOLLOY. I have in the back of my own mind without going into detail the individuals who do. It is growing quite a bit. Somebody will have a 10-page report on the Defense Department spending, for example, that they will send us to collate for them, and we can do it a lot cheaper than someone in your office who is paid at a comparatively higher salary. Cutting, or bursting, computer prepared letters, requiring return index cards, is a recent requirement for PDS service. 35-533 79 21 (Pt. 2) There is an acceleration in this computer printing, which is done on and off the Hill. PDS will receive a mass print, 3 to 5 miles long, that has to be systematically cut by machine. There is no practical way that any Member's office could do it. By the way, the mass mailings are all things that have been approved by House Administration. We are just the mechanics providing the service. Mr. MICHEL. I am trying to think of ways we can put a cap on it. As I said, I do not use it and I would not ask you to do it for me. If we are contracting this stuff out, with all the money we get as individual Members for personal computerization and all that stuff, they do not do it unless it is done the right way. I just do not think we ought to be shifting that burden from our own personal office onto you. It is just that much more. If we do not say anything about it now, why it will be doubled and tripled next year. I will want to take a little closer look at it. Mr. MOLLOY. Yes, sir. That will be covered extensively in this annual report, too. [The information follows:] 1. Distribution, maintenance of accounts, and storage of thirty-two titles of publications; such as Infant 2. Mass production folding and inserting of bulk mailings 3. Counting, packaging, and frank processing of Postal 4. Technical assistance and advice to members offices |