Letter from Public Printer (fwd)

[James Love <love@essential.org>]

Distributed to TAP-INFO, a free Internet Distribution List
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TAXPAYER ASSETS PROJECT - INFORMATION POLICY NOTE
CROWN JEWELS CAMPAIGN - Congressional Record and Federal Register
July 8, 1994

The following is a letter received today from Michael DiMario, the GPO 
Public Printer, regarding our letter of July 6.  The letter is very 
positive on every issue we raised.  Although it wasn't mentioned in our 
July 6 letter or Mr. DiMario's response, readers of tap-info will be 
interested to know that during our meeting of July 5 Mr. DiMario 
promissed to expand the GPO product line to include all pending bills, 
although there was no date mentioned.  Mr. DiMario's letter does 
indicate that GPO will consider our requrest for "free after six," 
special subscription rates for non-dispository libraries and schools, and 
and number of other items, including the creation of an internet 
discussion list about GPO Access product lines and prices. Letters or 
faxes (202/512-1347) to Mr. DiMario in support of the "free after 
six" proposal are encouraged.  The letter follows:  jamie

  ------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
Mr. James Love
Taxpayer Assets Project
P.O. Box 19367
Washington, DC  20036
Fax:  202-234-5176
 
Dear Mr. Love:
 
Thank you for your letter of July 6, 1994, concerning our meeting on July 
5.  Your colleagues Dr. Patrice McDermott and Mr. Gary Ruskin have also 
written to me, so I would like to use this one letter to be responsive to 
all of you, including Mr. Andrew Green.
 
As we discussed, I will direct GPO staff to investigate the legal, 
technical, and administrative feasibility of establishing alternative 
pricing and use mechanisms for the GPO Access system to facilitate 
utilization of the system by episodic users.  Mechanisms to be 
investigated will include peak and off-peak pricing of the kind used by 
Department of Commerce to price the Electronic Bulletin Board; the 
"free-after-six" proposal; and the concept for discounted pricing for 
certain public institutions, such as schools and non-depository 
libraries.  As I said, we will include public interest groups as well as 
other interests in this process.  Further, we will test any alternative 
system we decide upon on a pilot basis prior to fully implementing it.
 
I have no problems with your concept for an Internet forum devoted to the 
discussions of the GPO Access service.  My staff will advise me of the 
requirements to establish this forum.
 
I also have no problems in releasing the financial basis for our pricing, 
as Mr. Green requested.  I understand that a meeting is scheduled for 
next week between Mr. Green and Mr. Bill Guy, GPO's Budget Director, for 
this purpose.

Dr. McDermott has written to me about reconsidering our current 
no-free-test policy.  I am not opposed to providing some type of trial 
period for no-fee evaluation of the service if that would help promote 
the service among potential customers, and have directed my staff to 
investigate the feasibility of doing this.   
 
Finally, we are planning to host a public meeting for public interest and 
associated groups on the GPO Access service, along the lines of the 
public meetings on the service conducted at GPO this week.  The meeting 
can also be used to demonstrate the Access product.  We will be in touch 
with you about this meeting.
 
Thank you again for coming in to meet with me.  I think the discussion 
was fruitful and will lead to improvements in public access.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
 
 
MICHAEL F. DiMARIO
Public Printer
 
cc:
 
Dr. Patrice McDermott
OMB Watch
1731 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Fourth Floor
Washington, DC  20009-1146
Fax:  202-234-8584
 
Mr. Gary Ruskin
Congressional Accountability Project
P.O. Box 19446
Washington, DC  20036
Fax:  202-833-2406
 
Mr. Andrew Green
People for the American Way
2000 M Street, NW
Washington, DC  20036
Fax:  202-293-2672

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