THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
Statement by The Press Secretary
OMB, COMMERCE INTRODUCE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF BUDGET
Today, for the first time ever, a CD-ROM disc with the complete electronic version of President Clinton's 1995 plan for the U.S. Government Fiscal Year 1995 Budget, as transmitted to Congress, was offered to the public.
OMB Director Leon Panetta said today, "In the spirit of the National Performance Review we are pleased to use CD-ROM technology to make the 1995 Budget proposal readily available to more Americans at a lower cost."
The four budget documents that are available immediately will be cheaper than the printed versions and they will be more versatile: users will be able to display exact images of the printed pages, search for key words, and copy or print portions for further reference.
The documents available include:
CD-ROM's (compact disc, read only memory) can be ordered from the Department of Commerce for $30, compared with $56 for the printed versions of the four documents ordered from the Government Printing Office [202/ 783-3238]. The CD-ROMs will be available for pickup DOC, first class mail, or via overnight delivery ($10 extra). These documents can be used on three popular versions of personal computer software -- MS-DOS, Windows, and Apple Macintosh, all trade-marked systems of private companies.
[more]
Budget on CD-ROM, page 2
These documents also will be available, at no charge, to subscribers to Commerce's Economic Bulletin Board (EBB) at (202) 482-3870, which provides rapid online delivery of all major Federal economic news releases. This BBS may also be reached via telnet at: ebb.stat-usa.gov
Plain text [ASCII] versions of these documents are available from several other sources.
On the internet:
PUBLICATIONS@WHITEHOUSE.GOV
telnet to NTIABBS.NTIA.DOC.GOV
Budget95@ACE.ESUSDA.GOV or gopher to: ace.esusda.gov
SUNSITE.UNC.EDU (152.2.22.81)
On various BBSs, including:
NTIA BBS: 202-482-1199
NTIS FEDWORLD BBS: 703-321-8020
US NEWSWIRE: 410-363-0834
And later today from commercial vendors such as:
America Online
Compuserve
GEnie
MCI Mail
The appendix, which contains highly detailed data on the budget, will not be available until later this month. However, the entire budget will be available in the February 1994 issue of Commerce's National Economic, Social, and Environmental Data Bank (NESE.DB). The NESE.DB costs $360 for four issues a year or $95 for a single CD-ROM. One disc contains more than 100,000 documents including current Internal Revenue Service tax forms that can be reproduced just like the printed versions. Those who purchase the four immediately available documents for $30 will be able to purchase the February 1994 NESE-DB for $65.
[more]
Budget on CD-ROM, page 3
Orders may be placed by writing to:
Office of Business Analysis
Room H4885
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, D.C. 20230
Or by telephone:
For budget and NESE.DB CD-ROMS, please call:
1-800-STAT-USA
(1-800-782-8872).
For fax: 1-202-482-1986.
For technical assistance, please call:
Ken Rogers, 202-482-0434 or Paul Christy, 202-482-0123.
This is the first major electronic release of budget documents. We would like to receive your comments on this effort and suggestions you have for additional steps we might consider. Please send your comments to:
Jonathan P. Gill
Office of Media Affairs, Special Projects
Old Executive Office Building, Room 161
Washington, DC 20500
internet: jgill@eop.gov
Your Comments and suggestions will be more useful if you tell us about:
Your occupation and organization
The topics in the budget that interest you; and
The kinds of work you do with budget information
We look forward to hearing from you.
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