Newsgroups: alt.etext From: dell@wiretap.spies.com (Thomas Dell) Subject: [GOVDOC-L] President Signs GPO Access Bill Message-ID: Organization: The Internet Wiretap Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 23:07:05 GMT Newsgroups: bit.listserv.govdoc-l From: Vigdor Schreibman - FINS Sender: Discussion of Government Document Issues Approved-By: RAED@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU Subject: GPO ACCESS LAW Message-ID: Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 16:11:29 CDT Lines: 61 ================================================================== FINS - NEWS BREAK 9 JUNE 1993 ================================================================== Ten-Year Struggle For Electronic Public Information PRESIDENT SIGNS GPO ACCESS BILL President Clinton approved and signed into law Tuesday, June 8, 1993, the GPO Access bill (known as the "Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993"), Pub. L. No. 103-40, 107 State. 112 (1993) [codified at 44 U.S.C. 4101-4104 (1993)]. The Act is to establish in the Government Printing Office (GPO) a means of enhancing electronic public access to a wide range of Federal electronic information. When approved and signed by the President, the bill would require the GPO to: (1) Create and maintain a directory of federal publications in electronic format; (2) Provide on-line computer access to the directory as well as the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, and possibly other documents; and (3) Operate an electronic storage facility for the information provided through the on-line system. The GPO is authorized to charge reasonable fees for use of the directory and the system of on-line computer access (not exceeding the incremental cost of dissemination of the information involved), but the use of the directory and the system "shall be made available to depository libraries without charge." The President's signing marks the end of a long struggle by members of the Joint Committee on Printing, library groups, and public interest groups to secure access to electronic public information for citizens. Almost ten years have passed since the Ad Hoc Committee on Depository Library Access to Federal Automated Data Bases (which broadly represented the producers, disseminators, and users of Government information), issued their 1984 report. The Committee "unanimously support[ed] the principle that the Federal Government should provide access to Federal information . . . in electronic form through the depository library system." [S. Prt. 98-260]. The Chairman of the JCP, which initiated that report was Frank Annunzio, Vice Chairman was Charles McC. Mathias, Jr., and Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee was Bernadine Abbott Hoduski, who has continued to serve as a professional staff person on the JCP and will presumably carry forward the implementation of the GPO Access Act. Congress did not approve or appropriated any funds to carry out the provisions of the GPO Access bill,reportedly because opponents threatened to block passage if funds were approved for FY94. However, Capital Hill sources told FINS that this "foot in the door" for public access to electronic public information, is "just te start of the fight for citizen access to this important source of information about the Government of the United States." **************************************************************** * * * Vigdor Schreibman, Editor & Publisher * * Federal Information News Syndicate (FINS) * * 18 - 9th Street, NE #206 * * Washington, DC 20002-6042 * * Voice: 202-547-6106 * * Internet: fins@access.digex.net * * * ****************************************************************