GPO Celebrates Federal Register’s 70th Birthday

WASHINGTON--The Government Printing Office celebrated the 70th birthday of the Federal Register last week, serving birthday cake at the government building where the Register has been printed every federal workday since March 14, 1936. The Federal Register chronicles all federal rules and regulations.

The first issue held 16 pages; Tuesday’s 70th anniversary edition had 256. The largest single document ever published in the Federal Register was the 6,653-page antitrust settlement between the Justice Department and Microsoft Corp. on May, 3, 2002, according to an Associated Press article.

Public Printer Bruce James was recently asked by Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) whether privatization could bring more cost savings at the GPO. James said GPO plays a critical role in archiving and preserving congressional documents like the Register, and that such work is better handled by GPO than a private contractor.