The Joint Committee on Printing (JCP) encloses its budget
estimate of $945,000 covering our operations and oversight
activities for Fiscal Year 1986, and respectfully requests
that an appropriation in that amount be authorized.

A supplementary appropriation of $23,000 for Fiscal Year 1985 is requested to provide for the cost of living increase which became effective January 1, 1985.

JURISDICTION, AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Joint Committee on Printing's jurisdiction, authority
and responsibilities are derived from Title 44, United States
Code. Section 103 empowers the Committee to "use any measures
it considers necessary to remedy neglect, delay, duplication,
or waste in the public printing and binding and the distribution
of Government publications." Other Sections of the law identify
specific actions or assignments which are subject to control
of, or must be approved by, the Joint Committee on Printing.
The responsibilities of the Committee include:

I. Establishment of policy and oversight of the printing,
binding and distribution of federal publications. The JCP
also promotes cooperation among executive departments in addressing
mutual printing, binding and distribution problems or require-
ments, (e.g., JCP/DoD Technical Information Committee).

II. Oversight of the Government Printing Office's (GPO's)
policies and operations. This includes, the JCP serving as
a final board of appeal in GPO labor/management negotiations
pertaining to wage matters.

III. Compilation, publication and distribution of certain
Congressional publications, including the Congressional Directory
and Congressional Pictorial Directory.

IV. Oversight of the Federal Printing Procurement Program, which the JCP initiated over 15 years ago, to improve service, effect cost savings, and reduce unnecessary government competition with private industry.

V. Establishment of standards and specifications for printing papers procured and used by federal departments. The JCP is also designated by law as the final arbiter for the United States in settling differences between GPO and a contractor selling paper concerning the quality of paper.

VI. Oversight of the public's right of access to government publications by monitoring the Superintendent of Document's depository library program, general sales program, by-law distribution program, and cataloging and indexing programs.

VII. Promotion of cooperation between the Senate and House of Representatives information entities in such areas as automated production of Congressional publications and automated indexing.

I. Establishment of policy and the formulation of regulations for the printing, binding, and distribution of federal publications. This responsibility is performed, in part, through the publishing of JCP Government Printing and Binding Regulations. Since the last regulations were issued in 1977, significant and rapid technological advances have occurred. Proposed new Printing, Binding and Distribution Regulations were placed in the Congressional Record November 11, 1983. After a period of public comment, the "Regulations" were revised and reconstituted as "Policies and Guidelines" and once again placed in the Record on June 26, 1984. They are designed to embrace new technologies and strengthen JCP oversight and policy-making functions.

The revised policies and guidelines are consistent with the objectives enumerated in recently completed private and government-sponsored surveys on Government publishing, and they are meant to lend support to statutory provisions aimed at the coordination and cost-effective dissemination of Federal information.

The proposed Policies and Guidelines mark a significant departure from the Joint Committee's current regulatory scheme and practice. We expect that this new format will provide the Committee with a more comprehensive overview of all of the Federal Government's printing and publishing activities and could result in saving several billion dollars over the next decade. Principal revisions include:

1. A redefinition of printing, that eliminates the distinction between copying, duplicating and traditional printing. The definition also includes new processes and procedures for electronically capturing, reproducing and distributing information.

2. A new procedure for monitoring Federal printing activities. Departments will no longer seek Joint Committee on Printing approval on an ad hoc basis to purchase individual pieces of printing equipment. Instead, they will submit annual printing and publishing plans to the JCP enumerating equipment, printing environments, planned purchases of equipment, titles and types of publications to be issued, and the means of their distribution. The JCP will review the annual plans to determine if they are consistent with Federal printing and publishing policies and goals as determined by the Committee.

In addition, departments will be asked to provide plans for a second and third year. This approach will foster better departmental planning. It will also provide the JCP with an overview of Federal publishing and printing activities that will allow us to encourage interagency cooperation to eliminate costly duplications and delays. At the same time, this approach will give department heads greater freedom to manage their printing and publications programs. Departments will report at the end of the year the actual results of their plan, and any major deviations from the approved plan during its term will require additional JCP review.

3. An upgrading of the Central Printing and Publications Management Organization in each department (created by current JCP regulations, Paragraph 30) to the level of policy-making for all information. This approach endorses the concept of an information resources manager called for in the Paperwork Reduction Act by bringing together all information resources (automatic data processing, telecommunications, publishing, printing and distribution) under a single senior manager. This provision will assist in the realization of that objective.

4. An end to the concept of "controlled equipment." The revised approach will concentrate more on the volume and coordination of output and less on the means. The JCP believes that enhancement of communication between specializations, such

as printing and automatic data processing, will help each department achieve its information goals in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The intent of the new policies and guidelines is to facilitate this process.

JCP/DOD Technical Information Committee

The Joint Committee actively monitors technological innovations and trends in the private sector and promotes the use of the latest equipment and systems throughout the Government. These efforts produce greater program efficiency and often substantial savings. The JCP-DOD Technical Information Committee has sponsored activities that continue to show results. Notably, the Department of the Army Automated Technical Manual Program has substantially decreased a documentation backlog and has greatly improved the overall operation.