It turns out that Members of Congress will not have to pay for printed copies of President Bush’s fiscal 2009 budget proposal after all.

[IMGCAP(1)]Citing a desire to cut costs, the Office of Management and Budget announced earlier this month that the agency wouldn’t give printed copies to Congress this year. Instead, the agency suggested that Members buy printed copies for $197 or a CD-ROM for $24.95 from the Government Printing Office — or review the budget online for free.

But in a “Dear Colleague” letter sent to Members on Wednesday night, Joint Committee on Printing Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.) and Vice Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced that they have arranged to have the printed budget delivered to Member, leadership and committee offices for free.

“Useful as it is, on-line access to a multi-volume, 200+page document cannot provide Members and staff with the same degree of functionality as the printed version,” the pair wrote.

— Elizabeth Brotherton