ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES
Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program
 
 
 
Vol. 18, no. 04 GP 3.16/3-2:18/04       February 28, 1997
 
 
 
 
MICHAEL F. DIMARIO
PUBLIC PRINTER
 
PREPARED STATEMENT BEFORE THE 
SUBCOMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ON
APPROPRIATIONS ESTIMATES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1998
 
February 11, 1997
 

        CONGRESSIONAL PRINTING AND BINDING APPROPRIATION
 
        Our request of $84 million for the Congressional Printing and
Binding Appropriation is an increase of $2.4 million, or 2.9 percent, over
the amount approved for FY 1997.  However, it is $5.6 million, or 6.2
percent, less than the amount appropriated 5 years ago, without adjusting
for inflation.  Of the total request, $21.2 million, or 25 percent, is for
the Congressional Record, including the Index and the permanent edition.
Hearings constitute the second largest component of our request, totaling
$17.1 million, or 20 percent.  Bills, resolutions, and amendments together
total $11 million, or 13 percent.
 
Estimated Requirements and Workload
 
        Based on historical data, in the second session we expect to see
increases in certain categories of work, such as Congressional Record
pages, but decreases in other categories, such as hearings.  Overall
operating costs are anticipated to increase marginally due to the
increased cost of employee pay and benefits, utilities, maintenance,
materials, and supplies.  We will continue to work to offset these
increased costs with savings from technological improvements and adjusting
staffing requirements.
 
        The most significant price level changes anticipated are for the
production of the Congressional Record, where due to cost decreases
associated with improved production processes and the increased submission
of Record text electronically from Congress, we anticipate a 3.5 percent
reduction in costs for data preparation.  In most other product
categories, we anticipate marginal price increases to recover the cost of
current services, although most of the increases are at or below the rate
of inflation.  Altogether, price changes account for approximately $.7
million of the requested $2.4 million increase.
 
        We anticipate workload volume increases during the second session
for Congressional Record pages, committee reports, business and committee
calendars, bills, resolutions, and amendments, document envelopes and
franks, and documents (such as annual reports, engineers' reports, and
special reports made by Federal agencies in response to congressional
resolutions).  We anticipate workload reductions for committee prints,
hearings, miscellaneous publications (since there will be no printing of
the Congressional Directory and other publications in the second session),
miscellaneous printing and binding (such as letterheads and envelopes),
and details to Congress based on trends for reduced requirements.