Government Printing Office: Issues Faced in Obtaining a New Facility

The Government Printing Office (GPO), within the legislative branch, is the federal government's primary resource for gathering, producing, and preserving published federal information. GPO's main facility --located 5 blocks from the U.S. Capitol--encompasses about 1.5 million square feet and consists of four buildings that range in age from 68 to 105 years. According to GPO officials, the facility is inefficiently configured, aging, and much larger than needed. As a result, GPO has examined several options for obtaining a new facility. In 1982, GAO recommended that GPO conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the various options available to address the inefficiencies in its facilities. GAO was asked to examine GPO's efforts to obtain a new facility. Accordingly, this briefing provides preliminary information on (1) GPO's analysis of options to obtain a new facility and the extent to which GPO has followed leading practices for capital decision-making and (2) issues, if any, that impede GPO's efforts to obtain a new facility. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed GPO studies and interviewed GPO and District government officials, among others. GPO officials reviewed a draft of this briefing and generally agreed with the findings, including the need to conduct a cost-benefit analysis. However, they maintained that the analysis should be done after legislative authority is granted. They also provided technical corrections, which we incorporated as appropriate.