Ranking Member Espaillat Statement at the Fiscal Year 2024 United States Government Publishing Office Budget Request Hearing

Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee's hearing on the fiscal year 2024 budget request for the Government Publishing Office:

**As prepared for delivery**

Thank you, Chairman Amodei.

Mr. Halpern, thank you for appearing before our subcommittee today.

We appreciate your time here to discuss the fiscal year 2024 budget request for the Government Publishing Office.

Congratulations to GPO for being named by Forbes Magazine as one of America’s Best Places to Work two years in a row and one of the Nation’s best employers for veterans.

That is quite an accomplishment!

GPO’s fundamental function is to make information about the operations of government—particularly the Congress— readily available to the public. That’s a crucial function in a democracy.

It has been interesting to witness GPO’s evolution of technology for disseminating information from ink on paper to digital media.

GPO is now distributing more and more information by digital means, such as through its upgraded and steadily growing website now called, “GovInfo”.

These technological advances have produced real cost savings, as typesetting and printing processes have become more efficient, and as the rise of electronic documents have greatly reduced the volume of printed material produced.

GPO’s appropriations request for fiscal year 2024 is $132.5 million, an increase of $2.6 million or 2% over the fiscal year 2023 enacted level.

As mentioned in your request, this amount represents an overall 10% reduction from GPO’s FY 2010 appropriation.  

Mr. Halpern, I look forward to your testimony today and with that, I yield back.