Senate Staff Levels in Member, Committee, October 19, 2020 Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2020 R. Eric Petersen The manner in which staff are deployed within an organization may reflect the missions Specialist in American and priorities of that organization. This report provides staffing levels in Senators' ’ National Government Senate committee, leadership, and other offices since 1977. From 1977 to 1986, Senate staff, excluding state-based staff, increased from 3,397 to 4,180, or 23.05%. From 1987 to 2020to 2016, all Senate staff grew from 4,916 to 5,749723, or 16.9442%. The changes in both time periods were characterized in part by increases in the number of staff working in chamber leadership offices, and, prior to 2016except for apparent declines in 2016-2018, increases in the staffing of chamber officers and officials. Additionally, staff working for MembersSenators have shifted from committees to the personal offices of Members. Since 2010, however, staff working for the Senate has decreased 6.79%personal offices. Some of these changes may be indicative of the growth of the Senate as an institution, or the value the chamber places on its various activities.

This report is one of several CRS products focusing on congressional staff. Others includecan be accessed through CRS Report RL34545R44688, Congressional Staff: CRS Products on Size, Pay, Job Tenure, and Duties, by R. Eric Petersen and Sarah J. Eckman. Congressional Research Service link to page 4 link to page 4 link to page 6 link to page 7 link to page 7 link to page 7 link to page 7 link to page 8 link to page 8 link to page 9 link to page 6 link to page 9 link to page 10 link to page 11 link to page 12 link to page 13 link to page 14 link to page 15 link to page 16 link to page 16 Senate Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2020 Contents Senate Staffing................................................................................................................................. 1 Senate Staff Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 1 Senate Staff Data ....................................................................................................................... 3 Staff in Senators’ Offices .................................................................................................... 4 Committees ......................................................................................................................... 4 Leadership Offices .............................................................................................................. 4 Officers and Officials .......................................................................................................... 4 Presiding Officers ............................................................................................................... 5 Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Data Tables ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Figures Figure 1. Senate Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2020 ................................................................... 3 Tables Table 1. Senate Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2020 ..................................................................... 6 Table 2. Staff Working in Senators’ Offices, 1977-2020 ................................................................. 7 Table 3. Senate Committee Staff by Committee, 2017-2020 .......................................................... 8 Table 4. Senate Committee Staff by Committee, 2007-2016 .......................................................... 9 Table 5. Senate Committee Staff by Committee, 1997-2006 ........................................................ 10 Table 6. Senate Committee Staff by Committee, 1987-1996 ......................................................... 11 Table 7. Senate Committee Staff by Committee, 1977-1986 ........................................................ 12 Table 8. Staff of Active Joint Committees Listed in the Senate Directories, 1977-2020 .............. 13 Contacts Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 13 Congressional Research Service link to page 6 link to page 9 link to page 9 Senate Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2020 , Congressional Staff: Duties and Functions of Selected Positions, by R. Eric Petersen; CRS Report R43947, House of Representatives Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2016, by R. Eric Petersen and Amber Hope Wilhelm; CRS Report R44324, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in Senators' Offices, FY2001-FY2015, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen; CRS Report R44323, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Member Offices, 2001-2015, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen; CRS Report R44322, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Committees, 2001-2015, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen; and CRS Report R44325, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in Senate Committees, FY2001-FY2015, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen.

The manner in which staff are deployed within an organization may reflect the missions and priorities of that organization.

T In Congress, employing authorities hire staff to carry out duties in Member-office, committee, leadership, and other settings. The extent to which staff in those settings change may lend insight into the Senate'’s work over time. Some of the insights that might be taken from staff levels include

•  an understanding of the division of congressional work between Senators working individually through their personal offices, or collectively, through committee activities;
•  the relationship between committee leaders and chamber leaders, which could have implications for the development and consideration of legislation, the use of congressional oversight, or deployment of staff; and
•  the extent to which specialized chamber administrative operations have grown over time.

This report provides staffing levels in Senators',¹’,1 committee, leadership, and other offices since 1977. No Senate publication appears to officially and authoritatively track the actual number of staff working in the chambers by office or entity. Data presented here are based on staff listed by chamber entity (offices of Senators, committees, leaders, officers, officials, and other entities) in Senate telephone directoriesdirectories. Figure 1 displays overall staffing levels in the Senate.

Table 1 in the "“Data Tables" ” section below provides data for all staff listed in chamber directories in the Senate through 2016.2020.2 Joint committee staff data from the Senate for panels that met in the 114^th116th Congress (2015-20162019-2020) are provided in Table 7.

8. Senate Staffing

Senate Staff Data Collection

This report provides data Data compiled for this report are based on a count of staff listed in the Senate telephone directories published since 1977.²3 Like most sources of data, telephone directory listings have potential benefits and potential drawbacks. Telephone directories were chosen for a number of reasons, including the following:

•  telephone directories published by the Senate are an official source of information about the institution that are widely available;
•  presumably, the number of directory listings closely approximates the number of staff working for the Senate;³
• 4 1 Throughout this report, the terms Member office, personal office, and Senator’s office refer to the office held by a Senator as a consequence of election or appointment to the Senate. They do not refer to the number of facilities in which that work is carried out. Discussions of how many staff are based in Washington, DC, and state facilities distinguish only between locations in Washington, DC, or in the state. It does not provide an office-by-office accounting of staff working in multiple state facilities. 2 The Senate did not publish a directory in 2019. 3 Senate directories listed some Washington, DC-based staff assigned to specific entities (e.g., Member, committee, and other offices) in 1958. The Senate did not publish a directory in 2019. The House first published a directory with detailed staff listings by entity in 1977. 4 The actual moment is the deadline that was set for the final collection of listings prior to publication. The exact date Congressional Research Service 1 Senate Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2020  while arguably not their intended purpose, the directories provide a consistent while arguably not their intended purpose, the directories provide a consistent breakdown of Senate staff by internal organization at a particular moment in time; and
•  the directories afford the opportunity to compare staff levels at similar moments across a period of decades.⁴

5 At the same time, however, data presented below should be interpreted with care for a number of reasons, including the following:

•  There is no way to determine whether all staff working for the Senate are listed in the chambers'’ telephone directories.⁵ If some staff are not listed, relying on telephone directories is likely to lead to an undercount of staff.
• In particular, staff  Staff working in Senators'’ state offices were not listed until 1987. This likely led to an undercount of staff, and makes comparisons pre-1987 and post-1987 difficult.
•  It is not possible to determine if staff who are listed were actually employed by the Senate at the time the directories were published. If the directories list individuals who are no longer employed by the Senate, then relying on them is likely to lead to an overcount of staff.
•  The extent to which the criterioncriteria for inclusion in the directories for the Senate has changed over time cannot be fully determined. Some editions of the directory do not always list staff in various entities the same way.⁶6 This may raise questions regarding the reliability of telephone directory data as a means for identifying congressional staff levels within the Senate over time.
•  Some Senate staff may have more than one telephone number, or be listed in the directory under more than one entity.⁷7 As a consequence, they might be counted more than once. This could lead to a more accurate count of staff in specific entities within the Senate, but multiple listings may also lead to an overcount of staff working in the chamber.
•  Chamber directories may reflect different organizational arrangements over time for some entities. This could lead to counting staff doing similar work in both years in different categories, or in different offices.

Senate Staff Data

It appears that the Senate telephone directories started listing Senate staff working in Senators' state offices in 1987. Given the lack of consistent staff data from Senators' or in different offices. for each year is not known, but the publication date for Senate directories was generally in the spring of each year. 5 Other congressional documents list staff by organizational unit, most notably the quarterly Statement of Disbursements issued by the House, and the semiannual Report of the Secretary of the Senate, issued by the Senate. At the same time, because they capture all paid staff activity for a three-month (House Statements) or six-month (Senate Reports) period, those documents do not provide as clear a picture of staffing at one point in time as the telephone directories. 6 In some instances, a listing for a Senate entity would not list staff. In other instances, there were significant changes in the number of staff from year-to-year. Finally, some editions of the directory would list the same staff under different directory headings. It could not be determined whether these differences were a consequence of changing organizational practices, or differences in the manner in which staff were included in the directory. 7 For example, some congressional staff may work on a part-time basis for more than one Member, or for a Member and a committee. In limited instances (some commissions and joint committees), it is possible that some staff are listed in both House and Senate directories. Congressional Research Service 2 link to page 6 link to page 9 link to page 9 Senate Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2020 Senate Staff Data It appears that the Senate telephone directories started listing Senate staff working in Senators’ state offices in 1987. Given the lack of consistent staff data from Senators’ offices prior to 1987, comparisons between data from those offices from 1977-1986 and 1987-20162020, as well as any analysis of total staffing levels in the Senate before 1987, would be incomplete. Staff levels from committees, leadership, and officers and officials, however, can be evaluated across the entire 1977-20162020 time period. Additionally, analysisAnalysis of total staffing levels, as well as staff distribution, since 1987 is discussed below.

In the Senate, the number of staff has grown steadily, from 4,916 in 1987 to 5,749 in 2016723 in 2020, or 16.4216.94%. Each year since 1987, the number of Senate staff has grown by an average of 29 individuals,⁸ or 0.5825 individuals,8 or 0.53%. From 1977 to 1986, excluding congressional staff from state offices, the number of staff in the Senate has growngrew steadily from 3,397 in 1977 to 4,180 in 1986, or 23.05%. Figure 1 displays staff levels in six categories (Senators' DC offices, Senators' state offices, total staff in Senators' offices, committees, leadership, and officers and officials) since 1977. Figure 2 provides the distributions among categories of offices from 1987 to 2016.

’ staff, including Washington, DC- and state-based staff, committees, leadership, and officers and officials) since 1977. Table 1 in the "“Data Tables" ” section, below, provides detailed staff levels in those categories.

Figure 1. Senate Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2016

2020 Source: Senate telephone directories, CRS calculations. Notes: All categories are based on a full ful count of directory listings.

Staff in Senators' Offices

Staff in Senators' Data exclude Senate staff working for the President of the Senate and the President Pro Tempore. The Senate did not publish a directory in 2019. 8 Rounded to reflect a whole number. Congressional Research Service 3 link to page 10 link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 11 link to page 12 link to page 13 link to page 14 link to page 15 link to page 9 Senate Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2020 Staff in Senators’ Offices Staff in Senators’ offices grew from 2,068 in 1977 to 2,474 in 1986, or 19.63%. Due to the addition of staff data in Senators' state offices, ’ state offices to the telephone directories beginning in 1987, comparisons of total staff before 1986 to after are not possible. But, but staff in Senators'’ Washington, DC, offices continued to grow. In 20162020, there were 2,342402 staff in Senators'’ DC offices, an increase of 13.2516.15% from the 1977 level, 2,068. Staff in Senators'’ offices, including state-based staff, have grown from 3,286 in 1987 to 4,120 in 2016, or 25.38094 in 2020, or 24.59%. Senators'’ office staffs have grown as a proportion of overall Senate staff over time. In 1987, Member-office staff comprised 66.84% of Senate staff. The average proportion between 1987 and 2020 is 70.73%. Senate staff. The proportion grew to 67.51% in 1990, and 72.96% in 2000, before dropping slightly to 71.66% in 2016.

Most of the growth in Senators'’ staffs since 1987 appears to have been among state-based staff, which nearly doubled in size from 935 in 1987 to 1,778 in 2016692 in 2020. More staff work in Washington, DC, offices than in state offices, but the percentage of Senators'’ staff based in states has grown steadily since 1987, while the number of staff in Senators'’ Washington, DC, offices has remained relatively flat. In 2016, 56.842020, 58.67% of staff listed in the Senate telephone directory as working in Senators'Senators’ offices did so in Washington, DC, down from a high of 72.18% in 1988. Table 2 in the "“Data Tables" ” section below provides the number of staff working in Senators'’ offices in Washington, DC, and state offices.

Committees

Committees Senate committee staff levels have shown the smallest change among Senate staff categories, increasing from 1,084 in 1977 to 1,153 in 2016, or 6.37099 in 2020, or 1.38%. Change among Senate committee staff may be characterized in threefive stages: an increase during 1977-1980 (20.57%); a period of decline in 1980-1999 (-27.93%); and a period of growth from 1999 to 2016 (22.40%).

Between 1987 and 20162011 (33.97%); a decline in 2011-2013 (-11.57%); followed by flat growth 2014-2020 (-0.03%). Between 1987 and 2020, committee staff comprised a decreasing proportion of Senate staff, falling from a peak of 23.39% of Senate staff in 1987 to a low of 17.49% of staff in 1995. The proportion of Senate committee staff grew to 20.06% in 201619.20% in 2020, still below its 1987 peak.

In the "“Data Tables" ” section below, threefive tables provide staff levels in various Senate committees. Table 3 Data for 2017-2020 are available in Table 3; Table 4 provides data for 2007-2016; data for 1997-2006 are available inin Table 4,5; Table 5 6 provides data for 1987-1996,; and data for 1977-1986 are inin Table 6.7. Totals for each year, which include Senate joint committee staff found in Table 78, are provided inin Table 1.

Leadership Offices

The number of staff in Senate leadership offices grew from 44 in 1977 to 160 in 2016143 in 2020. The majority of the growth in leadership staff occurred between 1977 and 1981, from 44 to 119, or 170.45%. The number of leadership staff peaked in 2012 at 234. As a proportion of Senate staff, leadership employees were 2.69% in 1987 and 2.7850% in 2020. % in 2016.

Officers and Officials

Staff working in the offices of Senate officers and officials has grown 57.21increased 89.56% since 1977. Staff levels have grown from 201 in 1977 to 316 in 2016381 in 2020, but were characterized by sharp decreases in 1988, from 1998-2001, in 2012, and in 2016.

2016. Increases were observed in 2013, 2018, and 2020. Congressional Research Service 4 Senate Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2020 Despite the growth, Senate officers and officials'’ staff decreased as a proportion of Senate staff, falling from 7.08% in 1987 to a low of 5.21% in 2012. In 20162020, the proportion of officers and officials'officials’ staff was 6.66%. Presiding Officers The smallest category of staff includes those working in the Senate for the President of the Senate and the President Pro Tempore. Staff in those offices ranged from a high of 14 in 1981 to a low of three in 2013 and 2014. The average number of staff in the Senate offices of presiding officers between 1977 and 2020 is nine. Discussion staff was 5.50%.

Figure 2. Percentage of Senate Staff in Each Category, 1987-2016

Source: Senate telephone directories, CRS calculations. Notes: All categories are based on a full count of directory listings.

Discussion

Since 1987, the number of staff working for the Senate has grown. There have been increases in the number of staff working in Senate leadership offices, and larger increases in the staffing of officers and officials through 2015, though 2016 saw a dip in those numbers. Staff working for Senators have shifted from committee settings to leadership settings or the personal offices. Some of these changes may be indicative of the growth of the Senate as an institution, or the value the chamber places on its various activities.

One example that may be an indication of institutional development arguably is found in the growth of the number of staff working in leadership and officers and officials'’ offices. A potential explanation for these changes may be found in what some might characterize as an ongoing professionalization and institutionalization of congressional management and administration. Some note that as organizations such as governing institutions develop, they identify needs for expertise and develop specialized practices and processes.⁹9 In Congress, some of those areas of specialization arguably include supporting the legislative process through the drafting of measures, oversight and support of floor activities, and the management of legislation in a bicameral, partisan environment. Another potential explanation related to a more institutionalized, professionalized Congress could be the demands for professional management and support. This could arise as a result of congressional use of communications technologies, and the deployment of systematic, professionalized human resources processes, business operations, and financial management. Consequently, increased specialized support of congressional legislative and administrative activities may explain increases among staff working for chamber leaders, and officers and officials.

In another example, the distribution of staff working directly for Senators has shifted from committee settings to personal office settings. Staff in Member offices has grown while staff in Senate committees has decreased, both in real numbers and in percentage of total staff. This may represent a shift from collective congressional activities typically carried out in committees (including legislative, oversight, and investigative work) to individualized activities typically carried out in Senators'’ personal offices (including direct representational activities, constituent service and education, and political activity).10 9 See, for example, Nelson W. Polsby, “The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives,” The American Political Science Review, vol. 62, no. 1 (March 1968), pp. 144-168. 10 See Robert H. Salisbury and Kenneth A. Shepsle, “U.S. Congressman as Enterprise,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, vol. 6, no. 4 (November 1981), pp. 559-576; CRS Report RL33686, Roles and Duties of a Member of Congress: Brief Overview, by R. Eric Petersen; CRS Report RL34035, Grants Work in a Congressional Office, by Maria Kreiser; CRS Report RL33209, Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources, by R. Eric Petersen and Sarah J. Eckman; and CRS Report RL33213, Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management, by R. Eric Petersen and Sarah J. Eckman. Congressional Research Service 5 Data Tables Table 1. Senate Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2020 Year 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Senators’ Offices 2,068 2,215 2,173 2,296 2,308 2,385 2,454 2,430 2,409 2,474 3,286 Committee 1,084 1,244 1,209 1,307 1,161 1,228 1,200 1,191 1,137 1,177 1,150 Leadership 44 103 55 49 119 132 136 138 121 131 132 Officers and Officials 201 213 230 261 253 264 327 354 376 398 348 Totals 3,397 3,775 3,667 3,913 3,841 4,009 4,117 4,113 4,043 4,180 4,916 Year 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Senators’ Offices 3,393 3,354 3,445 3,612 3,707 3,593 3,826 3,771 3,773 3,678 3,876 Committee 1,147 1,167 1,174 1,176 1,216 1,141 1094 915 929 899 955 Leadership 133 138 144 146 156 147 163 157 156 166 162 Officers and Officials 276 350 340 321 362 425 393 388 353 353 280 Totals 4,949 5,009 5,103 5,255 5,441 5,306 5,476 5,231 5,211 5,096 5,273 Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Senators’ Offices 3,801 3,823 3,639 3,855 3,915 4,091 4,047 4,232 4,044 4,221 4,029 Committee 942 979 915 1,071 1,047 1,126 1,078 1,146 1,147 1,182 1,153 Leadership 166 159 154 166 176 167 193 220 204 182 175 Officers and Officials 282 279 260 282 309 315 297 325 326 361 372 Totals 5,191 5,240 4,968 5,374 5,447 5,699 5,615 5,923 5721 5946 5732 Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Senators’ Offices 4,346 4,180 4,219 4,037 4,071 3,965 4,120 4,035 4,112 – 4,094 Committee 1,246 1,262 1,200 1,116 1,131 1,114 1,153 1,110 1,137 – 1,099 Leadership 180 126 234 164 158 177 160 173 172 – 143 Officers and Officials 396 372 311 379 398 381 316 315 357 – 381 Totals 6168 5,940 5,964 5,696 5,758 5,637 5,749 5,633 5,778 – 5,717 service and education, and political activity).¹⁰

Data Tables