The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMEMBERING WILLIAM J. ``BILL'' BOARMAN, 26TH PUBLIC PRINTER OF THE
UNITED STATES
______
HON. ZOE LOFGREN
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great friend of the U.S. Government Publishing Office and of the U.S. Congress itself, former Public Printer William J. ``Bill'' Boarman, who passed away on August 22, 2021.
Appointed by President Barack Obama, Bill served as the 26th Public Printer of the United States, the former title for the head of the U.S. Government Printing Office, as it was then known. As Rep. Steny Hoyer has said, Bill's service set a new standard of achievement for his successors to emulate.
Bill's arrival at GPO found the agency confronting worrisome fiscal and technology challenges. He moved quickly to cut agency spending and aggressively collected funds owed to GPO throughout the government. In committee hearings and visits with Members of Congress, Bill provided persuasive testimony on the value of the services that GPO performs while at the same time ordering the first-ever survey of Congress's printing requirements, resulting in the largest single-year reduction in the number of printed Congressional Record copies delivered to Congress since GPO began an online version in 1994.
Bill made customer service GPO's primary strategic goal, a direction that earned the agency applause throughout the government. He ordered the development and release of GPO's first mobile web application. He devised and won congressional approval for a new investment and spending plan that put GPO on the path it is continuing to follow today. As a former GPO compositor, his return to the agency restored confidence and bolstered employee morale. While heralding technology change at GPO he appeared in ``Linotype: The Film,'' an independent production extolling the virtues of that long gone machine. Under his watch GPO observed its 150th anniversary, opening an exhibit of its history to the public and issuing an official history with a foreword by Bill. In addition to leaving the agency better than he found it, Bill made GPO history by appointing Ms. Davita Vance-Cooks as deputy public printer, the first woman ever to hold that post, and in 2013 the Senate confirmed her appointment to become the first woman and the first African American ever to head the agency.
The road to Bill's success at the GPO was paved from the beginning of his career. Bill spent his life in printing, frequently claiming that he had ``ink in my veins,'' and in his work supporting the rights and welfare of printers nationwide. Following high school in Hyattsville, MD, he took a four-year apprenticeship with the International Typographical Union (ITU) and became a journeyman printer at McArdle Printing in Washington, D.C. In 1974, Bill began his career as a proofreader at the GPO and eventually moved up to linotype operator. He quickly became a shop steward and at age 30 was elected president of the Columbia Typographical Union, Local 101, his home local and a craft union that traces its beginning to before the Civil War.
Bill served on the ITU executive board in 1987 where he was a key player in that organization's merger with the Communication Workers of America. He was elected to head the ITU as it moved to merger, and he subsequently became head of the CWA's Printing Sector.
As the chief executive of the newly-merged organization, Bill oversaw bargaining and organizing in the printing industry. He also served as chair of the $1 billion CWA/ITU Negotiated Pension Plan and the $125 million counterpart serving Canadian printers. His experience with pension investing, funding, and administration led to his appointment to a number of high-level pension policy councils.
Over the span of his career, Bill was a fierce advocate for workers' rights. He was frequently in attendance at labor rallies across the country, marching with Cesar Chavez in San Diego in 1990 and supporting Richard Trumka at the Detroit News Building during its newspaper strike in 1996. His advocacy for workers was especially focused on GPO. For more than 40 years Bill advocated strongly and tirelessly for the agency, defending its essential role and the role played by its employees in supporting Congress and the Federal Government. His advice and counsel were sought and welcomed by Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, as well as Presidents.
After his retirement from GPO in 2012, Bill remained committed to public service. He was appointed by Maryland's governor to serve on both the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities and the Anne Arundel Board of Elections. He was an avid boater who loved his home port on the Severn River and enjoyed the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay. He had a keen understanding of American history and thrived on lively political discussions. He loved sports, especially University of Maryland basketball and the Washington Football Team.
In Bill Boarman, American printers nationwide had a true friend; the Congress, an honorable and skillful servant; GPO, a champion whose impact continues to be felt. I ask my fellow Members of the House to join me in extending our deepest condolences to Bill's family and friends, as well as the thanks of a grateful nation for his dedicated service.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 152
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