DELAYS IN COMPLETING WORK ORDERS Senator BARTLETT. You said, "Our experience reveals that only 65 percent of the work on the orders placed during the fiscal year is completed by the close of the fiscal year." Is this in part because there is a rush of orders near the close of the fiscal year? Mr. HARRISON. Some of that is true but basically it is because we have not been given the order to print. We have set much of this material in type, the proofs have been given to the committees or to the ordering source, and we have not been given the final OK to print. 1964 JOBS Senator BARTLETT. You said that additional funds will be needed for fiscal years 1964 through 1967. Since this is the first time I have been privileged to hear the testimony from the Government Printing Office, I wish you would explain for my education why it is that additional funds will be needed as far back as 1964. Mr. HARRISON. Because, Senator, there are still some jobs in 1964 that we have not completed. Senator BARTLETT. What kinds of jobs would those be? Mr. HARRISON. We have one job, Mr. Chairman, "Immigration Aspects of Exchange Program," which is still in the uncompleted stage. We have another job, "Report on Pershing Hall" which is in the uncompleted stage. Another job, "Medals for the 150th Anniversary for Horse Shoe Bend," which is in the uncompleted stage. "Suggestions for Tariff Revision," is another title. "Bylaw" is another title. "Miscellaneous Reports on Public Bills, V-3" is another title. I have a full page of them. Senator BARTLETT. Is the delay occasioned because the texts have not been furnished to you or just because you are so overburdened? Mr. HARRISON. The texts have undoubtedly been furnished to us. We have put it in type and pulled proofs and they are being held by the ordering source for their own reasons, probably subject to revision before they are finally printed. Senator BARTLETT. You just haven't had clearance? Mr. HARRISON. We have not had the final OK to print. WORKING CAPITAL FUND Senator BARTLETT. What does your working capital fund stand at now? Mr. HARRISON. The total assets at the moment, Mr. Chairman, as of March 31, 1967, was $94,282,373. That is the total amount in the printing and binding operation of our revolving fund. Senator BARTLETT. Will you have a shortage before then for the fiscal year? Mr. HARRISON. We hope not. We hope that revised methods of collecting from our customer-agencies will leave us with sufficient funds to operate. Through the 12th of May, we have about three times the cash that was required on that date. ORIGINAL INVESTMENT AND INCREASES Senator BARTLETT. How much was your working capital fund before the Congress last year allowed an increase of $15 million? What was the limit, I mean, before that? Mr. HARRISON. Since the revolving-fund type of operation was established in 1953 there had been $11 million voted by Congress prior to last year, in addition to the original revolving fund. Last year they voted $15 million, so that would be a total of $26 million. Senator BARTLETT. The original fund was $11 million? Mr. HARRISON. No. $11 million was voted after the original fund was set up. The original paid in capital was $31 million. Senator BARTLETT. You have had two increases, one of $11 million and one of $15 million since then? Mr. HARRISON. I am not sure that the $11 million was all in one. Senator. Senator BARTLETT. At least in the aggregate. Mr. HARRISON. At least in the aggregate. There was $11 million put in prior to last year and last year we put in $15 million. REVOLVING FUND OPERATION Senator BARTLETT. Now, Mr. Harrison, will you explain how your revolving fund operates? Mr. HARRISON. When we get an order from one of our customeragencies we print the order. We deliver the order and bill the agency. They pay us by check. We deposit that check to our account in the Treasury, which is our revolving fund. We operate the Printing Office against that fund. PRINTING COST RATES Senator BARTLETT. When you do a job for the Department of the Interior, for example, they pay you? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir. Senator BARTLETT. Do they pay you what would be roughly equivalent to a commercial rate or is it lower? Mr. HARRISON. We have a schedule of rates which are determined to cover our costs. They are billed on that basis. Senator BARTLETT. Cost plus nothing? PLANT MODERNIZATION AND EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE Mr. HARRISON. If it is plus anything it is a slight plus, because we also have to keep our plant modern and maintain our equipment out of our revolving fund. Senator BARTLETT. What does that cost you during a typical year, keeping your plant up to date? Mr. HARRISON. We have been estimating about $12 million a year for equipment. Sometimes we do not use that much; sometimes we need more, depending on the good service or bad service that we might have with the equipment in the plant. ANNUAL REVENUES AND PAYEES Senator BARTLETT. How much money do you take in during the year? Mr. HARRISON. Our volume this past year, fiscal 1966, was $175,878,649. Senator BARTLETT. Does the Congress reimburse the Government Printing Office for work done for the Congress? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir. The $22 million is the amount that we are estimating Congress will need to pay us for their printing for next year. Senator BARTLETT. How much of the Government Printing Office revenues are derived from Government and how much from the sale of Government documents to the public? Mr. HARRISON. All of the volume that I gave you for fiscal year 1966, the $175,878,000, is for work ordered through the Office. PUBLIC DOCUMENT SALES AND COST FORMULA Mr. BUCKLEY. For the last fiscal year the sale of publications amounted to $14,700,000 roughly. Senator BARTLETT. Are these public documents sold at cost? Mr. HARRISON. No. There is a formula that is set up by law. Senator BARTLETT. But your income from the sale to the public of these documents is minor compared to your income from Government agencies? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir. I might add that the income from the sale of documents always exceeds the cost of the operation. Senator BARTLETT. You make a little money there? CONGRESSIONAL RECORD PRINTING COST INCREASE Senator BARTLETT. The committee notes that in 1961 it cost $95.05 to print a page of the Congressional Record and that the cost has increased steadily year by year; that it was estimated at $110 for this fiscal year and $3 more for the coming fiscal year. Do these increases represent the added cost of doing business now as compared with former years? Mr. HARRISON. That is right; increase in wages, the increase in cost. of materials, that is the overall added cost increase. OTHER COST INCREASES Senator BARTLETT. And those same increases, it is noted, apply to miscellaneous printing and binding, and franked envelopes, documents franked, committee and business calendars, right down the line. Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir. Senator BARTLETT. The reasons for those additions are identical? LINOTYPE UTILIZATION Senator BARTLETT. Do you have many linotypes in the Government Printing Office? Mr. HARRISON. Yes. Senator BARTLETT. You still use those two different types? PERSONNEL AND SALARIES Senator BARTLETT. How many employees do you have here in Washington? Mr. HARRISON. About 7,000. I can put it in the record exactly if you like. Senator BARTLETT. If you will please. (The information follows:) The Government Printing Office has 7,272 employees in the Washington area. CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES AND BLUE-COLLAR WORKERS Mr. HARRISON. The regular employees under the Civil Service Act are paid in accordance with the pay scales which Congress sets. Our journeymen, our blue-collar workers, are paid under a formula which is set up under the Kiess Act. This law, which has been on the books quite a while, states that the Public Printer may set the wages of his blue-collar workers to be just to the people employed and for the interest of the Government. The basis that has been used has been a weighted-average formula of the 25 major cities in this country by population. The Bureau of Labor Statistics gets the union wages in these cities, weights them by the number of men, and advises us what that weighted average is. That is submitted to the Joint Committee on Printing for approval. approval. Senator BARTLETT. The wages are comparable for the blue-collar workers to what the union people receive elsewhere? Mr. HARRISON. I would say yes, sir. Some cities more, some cities less. We try to hit this average. Senator BARTLETT. In arriving at the average do you have many disputes with the employees? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, we do from time to time, Mr. Chairman. They have the right of appeal if they do not wish to accept my offer. They can appeal to the Joint Committee on Printing. I have had only one appeal in the 6 years that I have been in office. That appeal was not heard. They finally accepted the offer. MACHINISTS Senator BARTLETT. For example, I would assume that a linotype repairman, a linotype, mechanic, is a blue-collar worker? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir. Senator BARTLETT. What will he be paid per hour? Mr. HARRISON. Not the operator of the machine? Senator BARTLETT. No, not the operator of the machine. Mr. HARRISON. $4.49 an hour is the new rate which has just been established for the machinist. That applies to all the machinists in our Office. Senator BARTLETT. Whatever his job might be? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir. LINOTYPE OPERATORS Senator BARTLETT. How about the linotype operator? Senator BARTLETT. The same? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir. That is the day rate, Senator. There is a 15-percent differential for the night rate. BUSINESS VOLUME INCREASES Senator BARTLETT. You informed the committee that the volume of business for the first 8 months of the year, current fiscal year, is 21 percent greater than for the same period of the preceding year. This is a dramatic increase. Has it been matched in previous years? Mr. HARRISON. Last year the total increase was 26 percent. Now this 21 percent is through February. This could very well be increased before the end of this fiscal year. Senator BARTLETT. What is your projection for the years immediately ahead. Will there be further great increases? Mr. HARRISON. We believe there will. I see no end to the increases in printing requirements. NEW BUILDING PLANS Senator BARTLETT. You are making no plea this year for new or additional plant facilities? Mr. HARRISON. Not so far, Senator. We still need space to put a facility and at the moment this space has not been approved. Senator BARTLETT. That has been pending for several years, has it not? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir. It has been pending now for 4 years. Senator BARTLETT. Do you see any light coming through the clouds? Mr. HARRISON. Yes, sir, I do. We have had one meeting with the Joint Committee on Printing and proposed a site which several of the Senate members of the committee have seen. It is an adaptable site, a very nicely located site. It will give us ample room to put up the type of building we need. I am in hopes before this year is up that I can come back to the committees with an approved site and ask for the planning money to be returned to us so that we can get underway with our plans. PROJECTED BUILDING COST AND SPACE Senator BARTLETT. What is your rough estimate as to the cost for the new facilities? Mr. HARRISON. Four years ago we estimated the cost would be $46 million. Senator BARTLETT. That would give you how much space? |