Director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office


The director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office, formerly the public printer of the United States, is the head of the United States Government Publishing Office. Pursuant to, this officer is nominated by the president of the United States and approved by the United States Senate. The title was changed to "Director" when in December 2014, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law H.R. 83, which consolidated and continued appropriations for FY 2015. Section 1301 of that act changed the name of the Government Printing Office to the Government Publishing Office and the title of public printer to director. Thus, Davita Vance-Cooks was the last public printer of the United States and the first director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office.
The director is responsible for the administration of the GPO. The GPO, a legislative agency of the government, provides electronic access to and produced most printed matter for government, including the Congressional Record, Supreme Court decisions, passports, tax forms, internal government documents, and agency publications. The GPO did not print money, as that is a duty of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

History

Benjamin Franklin served as Public Printer for several of the American colonies prior to the establishment of the United States. The House and Senate had separate printers until 1861, when the GPO was established; its first superintendent was John D. Defrees. The first man with the title Public Printer of the United States was Almon M. Clapp.

List of leaders

Superintendents (1861–1876)

The follow persons served as superintendent of the General Printing Office:
ImageSuperintendentTerm startTerm end
1John D. DefreesMarch 4, 18611866
2Cornelius WendellSeptember 1, 1866February 28, 1867
3John D. DefreesMarch 1, 1867April 14, 1869
4Almon M. ClappApril 15, 1869July 31, 1876

Public printers (1876-2014)

The follow persons served as public printer of the General Printing Office:
ImagePublic printerTerm startTerm end
1Almon M. ClappAugust 1, 1876May 30, 1877
2John D. DefreesJune 1, 18771882
3Sterling P. RoundsApril 15, 1882September 12, 1886
4Thomas E. BenedictSeptember 13, 1886May 6, 1889
5Francis W. PalmerMay 7, 1889May 2, 1894
6Thomas E. BenedictMay 3, 1894March 30, 1897
7Francis W. PalmerMarch 31, 1897September 8, 1905
8Charles A. StillingsNovember 1, 1905
February 5, 1908		-
9John S. LeechJune 9, 1908November 30, 1908
10Samuel B. DonnellyDecember 1, 1908June 25, 1913
11Cornelius FordJune 26, 19131921
12George H. CarterApril 5, 19211934
13Augustus E. GiegengackJuly 2, 1934March 9, 1948
14John J. DevinyMay 6, 1948February 28, 1953
15Raymond BlattenbergerApril 28, 1953January 20, 1961
16James L. HarrisonMarch 17, 1961March 31, 1970
17Adolphus N. SpenceApril 1, 1970January 11, 1972
18Thomas F. McCormickMarch 1, 1973October 31, 1977
19John J. BoyleNovember 1, 1977February 29, 1980
20Danford L. Sawyer, Jr.19811984
21Ralph E. Kennickell, Jr.19841988
22Robert Houk19901993
23Michael F. DiMario19932002
24Bruce James20022006
ActingWilliam H. TurriJanuary 2007November 5, 2007
25Robert C. TapellaNovember 6, 2007December 29, 2010
ActingPaul EricksonDecember 30, 2010January 4, 2011
26William J. BoarmanJanuary 5, 2011January 2, 2012
ActingDavita E. Vance-CooksJanuary 3, 2012August 21, 2012
27Davita E. Vance-CooksAugust 21, 2012December 17, 2014

Directors (since 2014)

ImageDirectorTerm startTerm end
1Davita E. Vance-CooksDecember 17, 2014November 1, 2017
ActingJim BradleyNovember 2, 2017March 6, 2018
ActingAndrew M. ShermanMarch 6, 2018June 30, 2018
ActingHerbert H. Jackson, Jr.,July 1, 2018March 31, 2019
ActingJohn CrawfordApril 1, 2019December 10, 2019
2Hugh Nathanial HalpernDecember 11, 2019present

Table notes