The U.S. Government Printing Office’s core mission, Keeping America Informed, dates to 1813 when Congress determined the need to make information regarding the work of the three branches of Government available to all Americans. This is the inherent function of Government which GPO carries out for Federal agencies on behalf of the public. GPO is the Federal Government’s primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing and preserving published information in all its forms.

Many of our Nation’s most important information products, such as the Congressional Record and Federal Register, are produced at the GPO’s main plant in Washington, D.C., a 1.5 million square-foot complex that is the largest information processing, printing, and distribution facility in the world located just five blocks from the Capitol. In addition to the agency’s production facilities, GPO procures between 600 and 1,000 print-related projects a day through private sector vendors across the country. The majority of the Government’s printing needs are met through a long-standing partnership with America’s printing industry. GPO competitively buys products and services from thousands of private sector companies in all 50 States. It is one of the Government’s most successful procurement programs, assuring the most cost-effective use of the taxpayers’ printing dollars.

Today, GPO is at the epicenter of technological change, embracing a historic mission while looking to the digital future.

GPO is the Federal Government’s primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing, authenticating, and preserving published information in all its forms.

GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government.