The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) now has all Congressional Bills available online. The Congressional Bills database contains all published versions of House and Senate bills introduced since the start of the 103d Congress.

The Congressional Bills database joins the official Government versions of the Congressional Record and the Federal Register that have been offered in electronic format over the Internet through the GPO Access service since June 1994.

The Bills database is updated by 6 a.m. each day bills are published. Bills are available in ASCII text files and in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) file format. Users with Acrobat viewers will be able to display and print typeset page facsimiles.

The Federal Register and the Congressional Record are available online by 6 a.m. and by 11 a.m. e.s.t. daily, respectively. Documents in the Register and Record databases are available as ASCII text files with all graphics in TIFF file format.

Organizations or individuals may subscribe directly from GPO for each of the three databases for $35 per month, $200 for 6 months, or $375 for 1 year for a single workstation. Special rates are available for multiple workstations.

Information about how to subscribe to the Congressional Bills, Record, or Register databases is available by calling GPO at (202) 512-1530 or by fax at (202) 512-1262. Internet E-mail should be sent to (help@eids05.eids.gpo.gov).

Users with full Internet access and local WAIS client software will be able to receive both ASCII text and all graphics as individual TIFF files or PDF files in the Congressional Record, Congressional Bills, and Federal Register databases. This is the first time that both text and graphics have been made availble electronically via an online service. GPO's customized WAIS client software, a user- interface program sepcifically designed for GPO's application, is available from GPO for $15.

Those who do not have full Internet connections can access ASCII text files, but not the PDF files or graphics, by using a phone modem to dial directly into GPO without additional software. These subscriptions provide for unlimited use for a stand alone workstation or an individual SWAIS user ID.

The Congressional Bills and the Record and Register databases are also available for free electronic searches to walk-in patrons of many of the Nation's 1400 depository libraries under a "GPO Access" program authorized by law and launched in June 1994. The Depository Library System includes academic, public, law, and Federal libraries. There is at least one Federal depository library in every Congressional district.

Source: Gil Baldwin, GPO/Library Programs Service; (202) 512-1002; (manage@access.digex.net). GPO News Release no. 94-9, September 27, 1994.

In a speech before the Telecommunications Roundtable in Washington, D.C., on October 4, 1994, Superintendent of Documents Wayne P. Kelly announced that GPO will provide free 24 hour per day access to the entire product line from GPO Access program, available to anyone with access to the Internet or personal computer and modem.

Kelly actually spent a major portion of his speech discussing the importance of public access to public information and making a strong appeal for public support for a direct government role in the dissemination of government information, cautioning against various proposals to further privatize the dissemination of public records.

In particular, he expressed his concerns over the Clinton administration's plans under the National Performance Review (NPR) to break the Government Printing Office's near monopoly over executive branch printing, by allowing agencies to do and/or subcontract out their own printing.

In short, the Clinton administration and congressional leadership have agreed to introduce legislation early next year to revamp the federal government's printing policy and practices. If successful, the NPR plan will undermine the principle of universal access to federal information as a government responsibility by gutting the Depository Library Program. If the NPR plan, supported by the Office of Management and Budget, the National Technical Information Service, and the General Services Administration, is successful, the responsibility for distribution of government documents to the depository libraries would fall to individual agencies.

"I wonder how 123 agencies and 4,500 printing entities will relate to 1,400 different depository libraries, each selecting thousands of publications to serve their own community's needs. Particularly when agency staff and printing budgets are being cut", Kelly hypothesized.

Kelly also pointed out that heavy privatization is a part of the NPR plan as well. According to the NPR plan, federal agencies may try to sell their electronic data at full market prices to defray costs of agency operations and federal documents may be marketed more heavily in private bookstores, undermining the viability of GPO's existing bookstores.

Some additional highlights from his speech include:

"...Universal Access to Federal information is a Government responsibility that should not be abandoned or privatized. In the process of reinventing government, we must be careful not to undermine one of democracy's main safeguards -- an informed electorate....This is not a partisan issue. Nor is it a budget issue. It is not a competitiveness or a business issue. It is just as fundamental as the right to vote.

...Watch out for anyone who tells you the U.S. Government Printing Office is a monopoly. About 80 percent of all printing done through GPO is procured from competitive, low-cost bids submitted by a list of some 10,000 private sector printers...."

Sources: Electronic Public Information Newsletter, October 7, 1994, p. 146; James Love, "GPO Access - Free at Last", GOVDOC-L, October 6, 1994.

The Congressional Record, Federal Register, and Congressional Bills Database are now available to off-site callers at a number of different locations from coast to coast as part of the GPO Access Gateway Program.

According to Public Printer Michael F. Dimario, the head of GPO, "in time anyone with a personal computer, a phone modem, and telecommunications software should be able to connect from their home or office to GPO Access databases through depository library gateways. Users may search the databases as frequently as they like, without charge. The full text of the documents should be available the day of publication."

"It is our goal to establish local outlets to the GPO electronic system in every state. We want these important government publications available to the American public around the clock, 7 days a week".

GPO is working with a select group of depository libraries to develop model gateways for no-fee public access to GPO's databases. Built on existing campus and public networks, the gateway depositories will serve as models for the nationwide depository library system. The first model gateways will help GPO gather data on usage and the technical support requirements for users and the participating libraries.

Until more Gateways are set up, expect problems in connecting, particularly if the number of people trying to gain access exceeds the number of access ports. That is why it is extremely important that as many libraries as possible develop gateways as soon as possible to lighten the load currently born by the first libraries to develop such gateways.

Users may reach the Columbia Online Information Network (COIN) -- the first gateway announced by GPO and located at the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Mo. and set up in cooperation with the Regional Federal Depository Library at the University of Missouri at Columbia -- by dialing (314) 884-7000 or by telnet to 128.206.1.3. Login as "guest" and take the following path:

Bernan/UNIPUB's Government Publications Network is now available using the popular Gopher Interface. Point your gopher to (kraus.com).

The Government Publications Network is designed as a locator for government publications. It provides librarians and other Internet users with up-to-date information on the latest releases from the U.S. Government Printing Office and prestigious international organizations.

Separate catalogs are provided for the U.S. Government Printing Office (including the Publications Reference File, updated twice a month), and numerous IGOs including: GATT, UNESCO, the United Nations University Press, International Atomic Energy Agency, FAO, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization, World Tourism Organization, OECD, International Labour Organization, and Asian Productivity Organization.

The Government Publications Network is also available as a bulletin board system. This can be reached by sending a telnet-ing to kraus.com and logging in as 'gpn' to start the system.

For more information, contact Jeff Steinman, Bernan Press, (jsteinmn@bernan.kraus.com) or call 1-800-274-4447.

Source: Arthur R. McGee, UN-LIB, October 19, 1994.

Documents librarians have been familiar with the Consumer Information Catalog and the television advertisements (usually late at night) announcing its availability for a very long time. In case you missed them, they announce that anyone who desires a free Consumer Information Catalog listing over 200 Federal publications covering topics such as Federal benefits, health, cars, children, housing, and money matters should send a postcard to Pueblo, Co.

To expand public access to this information, the Consumer Information Center (CIC) is now making the Catalog and the publications it covers available electronically by a variety of methods including a BBS, gopher, world wide web, anonymous FTP, telnet, and LISTSERV. For more information, or if you have a question, a comment, or the following instructions don't work properly, send an e-mail message to (catalog.pueblo@gsa.gov).

Via BBS.

Congressman Vernon Ehlers, the Grand Rapids Republican, has been picked by Speaker-in-waiting Newt Gingrich to serve on the transition team preparing for January's GOP takeover. Ehlers' assignment: get the House up to speed on the information superhighway.

That means making the members and their work instantaneously available to the public via the Internet.

"We want to make the information of Congress available to the public so that every bill, every amendment proposed, every committee report, the calendar for the day, the Congressional Record, is all online and it's online immediately," said Ehlers.

"For instance, if a committee clerk turns in a report to the clerk of the House, they will have to hand in both a paper copy and a version on computer disk." "Our goal", as Newt stated it, "is to make sure that any citizen in the United States who is interested has access that's as good as the highest-paid lobbyist".

Ehlers was one of the first ten representatives to have an e-mail address back in 1993. More are online now, but he wants to make sure everyone is. He estimates that about 10% of his constituent mail arrives via the Internet.

Source: Detroit Free Press, November 16, 1994, p.1A, 8A.

Political scientists (and other interested parties) can now obtain direct feeds of all White House press releases over a new system developed by a team of political and computer scientists at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. This feed contains all the documents published by the White House and does not pass through intermediaries. It is free and the documents are in the public domain.

An important feature of the MIT publication system is that it allows subscribers to customize their feeds according to a taxonomy of Presidential Documents (160+ categories). That means, you can select documents falling within particular subject areas and document types to be delivered directly to your e-mail address or a mailing list of your choice.

You can access the system by sending e-mail message to (Publications@Research.ai.mit.edu) with the subject line "help". You will receive an answer itemizing all the different services available from this server.

This new system replaces an earlier and more primitive system that has served as a distribution hub for these documents since the 1992 Presidential Campaign. In the near future, the new system will replace Clinton-Info in the White House FAQs.

Source: Gary Klass, Illinois State University, PSRT-L@MIZZOUL, September 6, 1994.

In a speech at the National Postal Forum (NPF) in Washington, D.C. last September, Postal Vice President of Technology Applications Robert A. F. Reisner unveiled a new information sharing program centered on the idea of a kiosk in every post office. According to Reisner, "the Postal Service sees in the kiosk an opportunity to provide a single, accessible and easy-to-use way for citizens to interact with their government in a rapid fashion. It extends our 200-plus-year tradition of providing a trusted, third-party delivery of information and services to everyone, regardless of their financial means."

Providing more detail, Susan Smoter, Kiosk Program Manager for Technology Integration, stated that the USPS has been exploring ways to provide services electronically via a prototype kiosk for some time and reports that hyperlinks to other government agencies via the Internet have already been developed.

For example, a kiosk could:

Under an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, NTIS FedWorld will begin offering free World Wide Web, FTP, telnet, and dialup access to about 500 IRS forms and their supporting publications. These forms and publications will be available in at least four different formats, including Postscript, SGML, PDF, and the HP laser printer format.

To help reduce the anticipated demand for these publications, particularly during the tax season next year, FedWorld Staff are soliciting volunteer sites where these materials may also be accessed, either for world use, or institutional use. Contact Tim Feinstein at or call (703) 487-4808.

Source: "IRS Tax Forms and Pubs on FedWorld", GOVDOC-L, October 4, 1994.

Uh-oh. That toaster-oven you got for your birthday isn't working and your're wondering if it's safe. Maybe there has been a recall, but you didn't send in the registration card, so the manufacturer couldn't alert you.

Or maybe you have some concerns about that used car you bought. Has it been subject to any recalls? Were the repairs made?

What to do?

The quickest way to get information is to call the manufacturer.

To find out if there has been a recall on a product under the Food and Drug Administration's jurisdiction, call your local FDA office. Or take a look at the FDA Enforcement Report, available at many federal depository libraries, which contains information on recalls. Or if you have a computer and a modem, you can get the enforcement report -- and other information -- free via the FDA's electronic bulletin board at (800) 222-0185. Set your modem at full duplex, 7-(NU)-1. At the log-in prompt, type BBS. Or better yet, if you have access to the Internet, take a look at the FDA gopher or web server. Or maybe FEDWORLD.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration oversees recalls involving vehicles. The offer of a free repair for a recalled vehicle extends eight years from the time the recall if issued.

To receive information on recalls involving automobiles or light trucks, consumers should call the toll-free Auto Safety Hotline, (800) 424-9393. A voice menu will explain the procedure. The TTY number for the hearing-impaired is (800) 424-9153. The agency has information on recalls from 1966 to the present.

You will need to provide the make, model, and year of the vehicle for which you want recall data. You'll receive the information in the mail.

But you also can call the automobile manufacturer's customer- service line to get recall information on specific models. Usually the call is toll-free.

The NHTSA's hotline also provides crash-test information; tire quality grading; and an explanation ofother safety literature that's available, including a child safety seat recall package.

And consumers can reprot suspected defects in vehicles. Such complaints can help identify defects and lead to recall campaigns.

If you know that the used vehicle you're buying or already have bought was recalled, how can you determine if the repair was done? Call the previous owner and ask. Or take the car or truck to a dealer -- preferably the one where the automobile was first purchased. The dealer is obligated to make the repair if it has not been made. (The manufacturer picks up the tab, so it really doesn't matter which dealer does the work.)

Car manufacturers are obligated to mail recall notices to new owners, and they try to track down subsequent owners as well.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has all the recall announcements that have been issued since the agency's inception in 1973. If you have a computer, modem, and access to the Internet, the agency's gopher server at info@cpsc.gov has recall information from the past decade or more. For recall information about an older product, call the agency's public affairs office at (301) 504-0580.

Both computer users and hotline callers can register safety complaints and products.

To keep up to date on product safety, write to CPSC, Washington, D.C. 20207, and request the commission's bimonthly brochure -- a compilation of all press releases issued by the agency the previsous two months. Include your name, address and phone numbers, and just write "mailing list".

For Help

There are three federal agencies that handle recall information.