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FINS SPECIAL REPORTS                                     January 6, 1995
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INFORMATION ROLE OF CONGRESS UNDER THE GUN AGAIN
Public Information Reform Bill Introduced

Washington, DC--Congressman Scott Klug (R-WI), introduced Jan 4, 1995,
H.Res. 20, a resolution calling for radical reform of the information role
of Congress and its support agencies, the Government Printing Office and
the Superintendent of Documents.  The resolution calls for an 8-point
reform program to be completed before the end of the first session of the
104th Congress that includes in pertinent part: 1) transfer of executive
branch printing from the GPO to the General Services Administration; 2)
transfer of functions of the SuDocs to the Librarian of Congress; 3)
abolition of the Joint Committee on Printing; 4) reduction of the in-house
printing capacity of the GPO; 5) procurement of congressional printing from
the private sector whenever possible; and 6) reduction of the GPO
workforce to 800 positions; and various GPO reports and audits. 

  The Joint Committee on Printing has already been hit by moves toward
abolishment.  All permanent staff members were let go Jan 3, 1994, as a
preliminary step toward dismantling the JCP.  However, coming to grips
with the full implications of abolishment of the JCP while carrying out
its vital functions, has the quick reform advocates in a bind, it seems. 
The committee is now working in a transitional mode, with reduced staff,
pending determination of a viable strategy to shift the great number of
responsibilities of the JCP built up over more than a century of
successful operations, under title 44, United States Code, to other bodies
of the U.S. Congress.