Schumer Announces Step Toward Historic Name Change for Government Printing Office

SCHUMER ANNOUNCES STEP TOWARD HISTORIC NAME CHANGE FOR GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
S. 1947, The Government Publishing Office Act of 2014, Reported Out Of Senate Rules Committee
Schumer: Updating the name of the Government Printing Office to the Government Publishing Office is the next logical step in this agency’s long and proud service to our country

WASHINGTON, DC-- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, announced today that S. 1947, The Government Publishing Office Act of 2014, has been reported out of the Senate Rules Committee by voice vote. The bipartisan legislation makes a historic change in the name of the agency that has printed government documents since the time of the Civil War. The change is intended to more accurately reflect the nature of the Government Printing Office (GPO) today, since it increasingly produces and manages a large government database of digital, electronic records.   
“The Government Printing Office has stayed true to its core mission of “Keeping America Informed” since it started operations in 1861,” Schumer said. “Over the years the GPO has grown and evolved based on the needs of the government, the American people and the continuous changes in technology. Updating the name of the Government Printing Office to the Government Publishing Office is the next logical step in this agency’s long and proud service to our country.”
Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks strongly endorsed the legislation, saying, "Publishing defines a broad range of services that includes print, digital, and future technological advancements. The name Government Publishing Office better reflects the services that GPO currently provides and will provide in the future.”
On April 8th, GPO announced it had reached the milestone of one billion document retrievals. Retrievals are measured by the number of times content is viewed or downloaded from the Federal Digital System (FDsys). The one billionth document retrieved on FDsys was a Federal Register notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission. FDsys offers free public access to nearly one million searchable titles, including the Warren Commission Report, the post-President Kennedy's assassination tape recordings, President Nixon's Watergate grand jury testimony, the Budget of the U.S. Government, the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and congressional bills, hearings, and reports. New content is added daily.
The Government Publishing Office Act of 2014 also changes the titles of the Public Printer and Deputy Public Printer to Director and Deputy Director respectively. In addition, it removes gender specific terms and replaces them with gender neutral terms in the current law.