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Legislative Branch Appropriations: Frequently Asked Questions

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Legislative Branch Appropriations: Frequently Asked Questions

Updated January 9November 12, 2019 (R43397)
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Contents

Summary

This report responds to frequently asked questions about legislative branch appropriations. Frequently asked questions include the items that are funded within this bill; development, presentation, and consideration of the legislative branch budget requests; the legislative branch budget in historical perspective; and recent actions.

The House and Senate considered FY2019FY2020 legislative branch funding during 20182019:

  • The FY2019FY2020 legislative branch budget request of $4.960 billion5.288 billion (+9.3%) was submitted on February 12, 2018. The budget request levels were developed prior to the enactment of full-year appropriations for FY2018. Agency assessments for FY2019 may subsequently have been revised—for example, to account for items funded or not funded in the FY2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Subsequent discussions may vary from the levels or language included in the budget request due to this timing. By law, the President includes the legislative branch request in the annual budget submission without change.
  • H.R. 5895, which contained funding for the legislative branch, was passed by the House on June 8, 2018 (212-179, Roll No. 257).
  • Senate consideration of H.R. 5895 began June 18, 2018, and the Senate agreed to S.Amdt. 2910. H.R. 5895, as amended, passed the Senate on June 25, 2018 (86-5, Record Vote No. 139).
  • The Senate agreed to the conference report (H.Rept. 115-929) on September 12, 2018 (92-5, Record Vote Number 207).
  • The House agreed to the conference report on September 13, 2018 (377-20, Roll No. 399).
  • H.R. 5895 was signed into law on September 21, 2018 (P.L. 115-244; the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019).

The FY2019 act provides $4.836 billion for the legislative branch, an increase of $136.0 million (+2.9%) from the FY2018 enacted level.

For additional information, including information on the most recent legislative branch appropriations bills, see CRS Report R45214, Legislative Branch: FY2019 Appropriations, by Ida A. Brudnick and Sarah J. EckmanMarch 11, 2019.

  • The House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee held hearings in February, March, and April 2019.
  • The Senate Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee held hearings in March and April 2019.
  • The House Appropriations Committee Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a markup on May 1, 2019.
  • The House Appropriations Committee held a markup on May 9, 2019, and ordered an original bill reported (H.R. 2779, H.Rept. 116-64) by recorded vote (28-22). It would provide $3.972 billion, not including Senate items.
  • The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a May 8, 2019, letter with the Administration's position on the legislative branch budget.
  • The potential inclusion of legislative branch funding in H.R. 2740 (Rules Committee Print 116-17) was discussed in June, although the bill was ultimately agreed to in the House on June 19, 2019, without the legislative branch appropriations funding.
  • The Senate Appropriations Committee held a markup on September 26, 2019, and ordered an original bill reported (S. 2581, S.Rept. 116-124) by recorded vote (31-0). It would provide $3.600 billion, not including House items.
  • On September 27, 2019, a continuing resolution providing funding through November 21, 2019, was enacted (P.L. 116-59).
  • Previously, $4.836 billion was provided for legislative branch operations for FY2019, an increase of $136.0 million (+2.9%) from the FY2018 enacted level (P.L. 115-244, September 21, 2018).

    For additional information, including information on the most recent legislative branch appropriations bills, see CRS Report R45755, Legislative Branch: FY2020 Appropriations, by Ida A. Brudnick.


    Frequently Asked Questions

    In addition to the Senate and House of Representatives, what is funded by the legislative branch appropriations bill?

    In addition to the Senate and House of Representatives, the legislative branch bill typically funds Joint Items, including the Joint Economic Committee, Joint Committee on Taxation, Office of the Attending Physician, and Office of Congressional Accessibility Services; Capitol Police; Office of Compliance (OOCCongressional Workplace Rights (OCWR, formerly the Office of Compliance); Congressional Budget Office (CBO); Architect of the Capitol (AOC); Library of Congress (LOC), including the Congressional Research Service (CRS); Government Publishing Office (GPO); Government AccountabilityAccountability Office (GAO); and Open World Leadership Center.

    How has funding for the legislative branch changed in recent years in current and constant (inflation-adjusted) dollars?

    Table 1 provides information on the enacted funding levels provided for the legislative branch from FY2008 to FY2019. The table includes annual and supplemental appropriations, rescissions, and the FY2013 sequestration.

    Table 1. Legislative Branch Funding, FY2008-FY2019: Current and Constant Dollars

    (in billions of dollars)

    Fiscal Year

    2008

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    2016

    2017

    2018

    2019

    Current Dollars

    3.970

    4.501

    4.669

    4.543

    4.307

    4.061

    4.259

    4.300

    4.363

    4.440

    4.700

    4.836

    Constant Dollars

    4.600

    705

    5.200

    331

    5.314

    434

    5.061

    174

    4.698

    802

    4.366

    457

    4.510

    603

    4.524

    621

    4.548

    654

    4.539

    655

    4.700

    804

    ___

    4.836

    Source: CRS analysis of legislative branch appropriations acts and related budget documents.

    Notes: These figures exclude permanent budget authorities, including funding for Member pay, that are not included in the annual legislative branch appropriations bill. Totals include supplementals and rescissions. Constant 20182019 dollars calculated using the "Total Non-Defense" deflator in Table 10.1—Gross Domestic Product and Deflators Used in the Historical Tables: 1940–20232024 in the President's FY2019FY2020 budget request.

    How is funding divided across the legislative branch?

    Figure 1 shows the distribution of budget authority across the legislative branch in FY2019.

    Figure 1. Legislative Branch Funding: Distribution in FY2019

    Source: CRS analysis of legislative branch appropriations acts and related budget documents.

    Notes: These figures exclude permanent budget authorities and contain supplementals and rescissions. Total does not include permanent budget authorities, including funding for Member pay, that are not included in the annual legislative branch appropriations bill. Total also excludes offsetting collections and authority to spend receipts.

    What funding has been provided in recent years for the Senate, House of Representatives, and legislative branch agencies, and what is the status of FY2019FY2020 funding?

    Table 2 provides information on funding levels for the Senate, House of Representatives, and legislative branch agencies in recent years as well as the requested, House-passedreported, Senate-passedreported, and enacted levels for FY2019.

    The FY2019 legislative branch budget request of $4.960 billion was submitted on February 12, 2018, prior to the enactment of FY2018 funding on March 23, 2018. Agency assessments for FY2019 may subsequently have been revised—for example, to account for items funded or not funded in the FY2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Subsequent discussions may vary from the levels or language included in the budget request due to this timing. By law, the President includes the legislative branch request in the annual budget submission without change.

    The House passed H.R. 5895, which contained funding for the legislative branch, on June 8, 2018.

    The Senate passed H.R. 5895, as amended (S.Amdt. 2910), on June 25, 2018.

    The Senate agreed to the conference report (H.Rept. 115-929) on H.R. 5895 on September 12, 2018. The House agreed to the conference report on September 13, 2018.

    H.R. 5895 was signed into law on September 21, 2018 (P.L. 115-244; the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019)FY2020. By law, the President includes the legislative branch request in the annual budget submission without change.

    Table 2. Legislative Branch Appropriations: Prior Enacted Levels and FY2019FY2020 Action

    (in thousands of dollars)

             

    Entity

    FY2014
    Enacted

    FY2015
    Enacted

    FY2016
    Enacted

    FY2017
    Enacted

    FY2018 Enacted

    FY2019 Enacted FY2020 Requested

    FY2019FY2020
    House-
    Passed

    Reported

    FY2019FY2020 Senate-Passed

    Reported

    FY2019FY2020 Enacted

    Senate

    $859,293

    $864,286

    $870,159

    $871,177

    $919,932

    $990,097

    934,667a

    a

    $1,046,478

    $933,461

    b

    $934,841b

    969,396  

    House of Representatives

    1,180,908

    1,180,735

    1,180,909

    1,189,223b

    1,200,173b

    1,256,971

    232,663a

    1,232,893c

    356,669

    1,232,893c

    345,725

    1,232,663

    b  

    Joint Itemsd

    c

    18,994

    19,056

    20,732

    19,565

    20,654

    20,656

    20,656

    21,143

    20,656

    21,143

    20,656

    22,643  

    Capitol Police

    338,459

    347,959

    375,000

    393,300

    426,500

    456,358

    308

    456,358

    463,341

    453,037

    463,341

    456,308

    464,341  

    Office of Compliance

    Congressional Workplace Rightsd

    3,868

    3,959

    3,959

    3,959

    4,959

    4,553

    6,333

    5,410

    6,333

    6,333

    6,333

    Congressional Budget Office

    45,700

    45,700

    46,500

    46,500

    49,945

    50,737

    50,737

    53,556

    50,295

    50,737

    52,666

    54,941

    Office of Technology Assessment

    6,000

    Architect of the Capitola

    b

    602,030

    600,261

    612,904

    617,887

    712,105

    768,424

    733,745

    641,254a

    831,694

    701,124

    624,668b

    733,745

    585,782b  

    Library of Congress, including CRS

    578,982

    590,921

    599,912

    631,958

    669,890

    672,655

    696,112

    709,878

    747,077

    687,422

    720,290

    696,112

    735,801  

    CRS

    (non-add)

    105,350

    106,945

    106,945

    107,945

    119,279

    113,621

    125,688

    125,688

    121,572

    123,828

    119,889e

    125,688

    120,495e  

    Government Publishing Office

    119,300

    119,993

    117,068

    117,068

    117,068

    117,000

    117,000

    117,000

    117,000

    Government Accountability Office

    505,383

    522,000

    531,000

    544,506

    578,917e

    f

    616,101

    589,750g

    578,917

    647,637

    589,750

    615,604

    589,750

    639,436  

    Open World Leadership Center

    6,000

    5,700

    5,600

    5,600

    5,600

    5,800

    600

    5,600

    800

    5,600

    800

    5,600

    900  

    Stennis Center for Public Service

    430

    430

    430

    430

    430

    430

    430

    430

    430

     

    Administrative Provisions

    -1,000

    -1,000

    -1,000

    -1,000

    -2,000

    0

    -2,000

    -2,000

    -2,000f

    -2,000

    Otherg

    h

    0

    0

    0

    0

    -4,000

    16-6,000

    -67,000

    -67,000

    -6,000

    —  

    Total Legislative Branch

    $4,258,347

    $4,300,000

    $4,363,172

    $4,440,173

    $4,700,173

    $4,975,782

    836,001

    $3,811,133

    5,288,158

    $4,790,001

    $4,836,175

    3,972,000b 3,600,003b  

    Sources: P.L. 113-76, P.L. 113-235, P.L. 114-113, P.L. 115-31, P.L. 115-141, P.L. 115-244, explanatory materials for FY2014, FY2015, FY2016, FY2017, and FY2018 inserted into the Congressional Record, H.Rept. 115-929, the Budget for Fiscal Year 20192020, H.Rept. 115-199116-64, S.Rept. 116-124, and CRS calculations. a. Total does not include gratuity payments for survivors of deceased Members of Congress. b, S.Rept. 115-137, H.Rept. 115-929, and CRS calculations.

    a. By tradition, the House does not consider appropriations for the Senate or Senate office buildings, and the Senate does not consider appropriations for the House or House office buildings.

    b. This total includes one gratuity payment of $174,000.

    c. The House Salaries and Expenses account in both the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of H.R. 5895 would have provided $1,232,893,000. Due to the point of order in the House regarding the funding for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, the sum of the individually specified items in the bills is $1,232,663,000. This lower amount was continued in the enacted version of the bill.

    d. "Joint Items" generally contains funding for the Joint Economic Committee, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Office of the Attending Physician, and the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services. In fiscal years prior to an inauguration, it also contains funding for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (e.g., $1.25 million for FY2016).

    ec. "Joint Items" generally contains funding for the Joint Economic Committee, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Office of the Attending Physician, and the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services. In fiscal years prior to an inauguration, it also contains funding for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (e.g., $1.25 million for FY2016; $1.5 million recommended for FY2020 in S.Rept. 116-124). d. Formerly known as the Office of Compliance, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) was renamed by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act (P.L. 115-397). e. The House Appropriations Committee report (H.Rept. 116-64) describes "Appropriations Shifts to Reflect Centralized Funding for Information Technology" that affected the four LOC appropriations headings. The report states that the House-reported FY2020 level represents an increase of $2.99 million for CRS when reflecting the centralized IT funding. f. Does not include emergency appropriation provided by P.L. 115-123. Title IX of Division B provided $14.0 million to the Government Accountability OfficeGAO "for audits and investigations relating to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and the 2017 wildfires."

    f. S.Rept. 115-274 lists $-2.0 million for administrative provisions.

    gg. Does not include emergency appropriation provided by P.L. 116-20. Title IX provided $10.0 million to GAO for audits and investigations related to storms and disasters. h. Includes, for example, scorekeeping adjustments or prior-year outlays.

    Why is the legislative branch budget request included in the President's budget request? Does the President play any role in its development?

    The President has no formal role in the development of the legislative branch budget request, even though it is included in the President's annual budget request documents.

    By long-standing law and practice, the legislative branch request and any supplemental requests are submitted to the President and included in the budget without change.1 While the executive branch budget submissions generally involve interaction between an agency and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the legislative branch requests do not. The executive branch does not review or maintain documentation in support of the legislative branch requests.2

    What percent of discretionary budget authority historically goes to the legislative branch?

    Discretionary budget authority is provided and controlled by the annual appropriations acts.

    Since FY1976, the legislative branch as a proportion of total discretionary budget authority has averaged approximately 0.40%.3 The maximum level, 0.48%, was in FY1995 and the minimum, 0.31%, was in FY2009. Discretionary budget authority is provided and controlled by the annual appropriations acts.

    What percent of total budget authority (mandatory and discretionary) historically goes to the legislative branch?

    Total budget authority includes both discretionary budget authority controlled by the annual appropriations acts and mandatory budget authority controlled by previous laws, including entitlements.

    Since FY1976, the legislative branch as a proportion of total budget authority has averaged 0.1716%. The maximum level, 0.23%, was in FY1977, and the minimum, 0.11%, was in FY2017 and FY2018.4 .4 Total budget authority includes both budget authority controlled by the annual appropriations acts and budget authority controlled by previous laws, including entitlements.

    Are Member salaries funded or adjusted in the legislative branch appropriations bill?

    No, salaries for Members of Congress are neither funded nor increased in the legislative branch bill.

    Member salaries have been included as mandatory spending since FY1983, and the amount of potential Member pay adjustments is calculated pursuant to the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, which established a formula based on changes in the Employment Cost Index (ECI).5 The adjustment automatically takes effect unless (1) Congress statutorily prohibits the adjustment; (2) Congress statutorily revises the adjustment; or (3) the annual base pay adjustment of General Schedule (GS) federal employees is established at a rate less than the scheduled increase for Members, in which case the percentage adjustment for Member pay is automatically lowered to match the percentage adjustment in GS base pay.

    Members of Congress last received a pay adjustment in January 2009. Since then, the compensation for most Senators, Representatives, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico has been $174,000. The maximum potential January 20192020 member pay adjustment was 2.3%, or $4,000. The FY2019 act included a provision prohibiting this adjustment. As in prior years, the Member pay adjustment prohibition was included in the legislation as introduced, and no separate votes were held on the pay issueis 2.6%, or $4,500.6 The Senate-reported bill contained an administrative provision prohibiting this adjustment. The House-reported bill did not contain this provision. No separate votes have been held on the Member pay adjustment.

    Although discussion of Member pay is often associated with appropriations bills, these bills do not contain language funding or increasing Member pay, and a prohibition on the automatic annual Member pay adjustmentsadjustments could be included in any bill, or be introduced as a separate bill. For a list of the laws that have previously contained provisions prohibiting the annual pay adjustments, see "Table 3. Legislative Vehicles Used for Pay Prohibitions, Enacted Dates, and Pay Language" in CRS Report 97-1011, Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables, by Ida A. Brudnick.

    In contrast, the salaries and benefits for legislative branch employees are provided by the legislative branch appropriations acts, although they generally do not address pay adjustments.67

    Why do the initial committee-reported versions of the annual bill not fund the other chamber?

    The House and Senate both consider funding levels for the legislative branch agencies and joint entities. By long-standing tradition, however, the House bill does not propose funding levels for Senate items, including the account that funds the Senate and the Senate office buildings account within the Architect of the Capitol.78 Similarly, the Senate does not comment on House items, including the account that funds the House or the House office buildings account within the Architect of the Capitol. The House, Senate, and conference reports on legislative branch appropriations bills regularly contain language illustrating the deference of each chamber to the internal practices of the other.89 If comparing the House and Senate bill totals, or the total provided to the Architect of the Capitol at different stages of consideration, adjustments may be necessary to address any omissions due to this practice.

    Author Contact Information

    Ida A. Brudnick, Specialist on the Congress ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

    Footnotes

    Rather, adjustments may be determined by employing authorities (in the case of House and Senate employees) or broader or agency-specific pay systems. For example, see the Orders of the Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives (issued pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 4532 note); Orders of the President pro Tempore (issued pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 4571); and laws governing employment for individual agencies, positions, or pay systems.

    1.

    Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1105, "Estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for the legislative branch and the judicial branch to be included in each budget ... shall be submitted to the President ... and included in the budget by the President without change." Division C of the FY2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 112-74) added language to 31 U.S.C. 1107 relating to budget amendments, stating: "The President shall transmit promptly to Congress without change, proposed deficiency and supplemental appropriations submitted to the President by the legislative branch and the judicial branch."

    2.

    OMB Circular A-11, part 2, "Preparation and Submission of Budget Estimates," section 25, provides the following information for agencies and entities, including the legislative branch, "not subject to Executive Branch review by law or custom. That means that the requirements for submitting materials in support of your budget request do not apply to you. However, you do need to submit the information required for inclusion in the budget database and documents, which OMB incorporates without revision" (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/circulars_a11_current_year_a11_tocwww.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/assets/a11_current_year/s25.pdf).

    3.

    FY2017FY2018 is the most recent year for which actual, rather than estimated, data are available. Calculations by CRS with data from Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, FY2019, Table 5.4—Discretionary Budget Authority By Agency: 1976–2023, at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals"Table 5.4—Discretionary Budget Authority By Agency: 1976–2024," in Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, FY2020, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/. The calculations have some limitations, since the OMB data do not completely align with items funded in the annual and supplemental legislative branch appropriations acts. The differences may be partially traced to the definition of "legislative branch" in the OMB Public Budget Database user's guide. Some entities regularly included with the legislative branch in many OMB budget documents, like the U.S. Tax Court and some Legislative Branch Boards and Commissions, are not funded through the annual legislative branch appropriations acts. Consequently, an examination of the discretionary budget authority listed in the Historical Tables reveals some differences with the reported total budget authority provided in the annual legislative branch appropriations acts. The difference in legislative branch budget authority resulting from the different definitions of the legislative branch in the OMB budget documents and in the appropriations acts, however, does not represent a largesignificant difference in the proportion of total discretionary budget authority.

    4.

    FY2017FY2018 is the most recent year for which actual, rather than estimated, data are available. Calculations by CRS with data from Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, FY2019, Table 5.2—Budget Authority by Agency: 1976–2023"Table 5.2—Budget Authority by Agency: 1976–2024," in Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, FY2020, at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals. The calculations have some limitations, since, as stated above, the OMB data do not completely align with items funded in the annual and supplemental legislative branch appropriations acts.

    5.

    For mandatory spending language, see P.L. 97-51, 95 Stat. 966, September 11, 1981; and, for example, "Table 27-1. Federal Programs By Agency and Account" in Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2019 (Washington, GPO: 2018), pp. 2, 3. For the Ethics Reform Act, see P.L. 101-194, 103 Stat. 1767-1768, November 30, 1989.

    6.

    The potential Member pay adjustment was determined by a formula using the Employment Cost Index (private industry wages and salaries, not seasonally adjusted), based on the 12-month percentage change reported for the quarter ending December 31, minus 0.5%. The 2.6% adjustment was determined by taking the percentage increase in the Index between the quarters ending December 2017 and December 2018, which was 3.1%, and subtracting 0.5%. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index—December 2018 (Washington: January 31, 2019), p. 3. Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 4501(2)(A), this amount is "rounded to the nearest multiple of $100."

    7.
    78.

    The House and Senate office building accounts are two2 of the 10 accounts that fund operations of the Architect. The other accounts fund general administration, Capitol building, Capitol grounds, Capitol power plant, Library buildings and grounds, Capitol Police buildings and grounds, Capitol Visitor Center, and Botanic Garden.

    89.

    For example, the FY1996 conference report states (U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, FY1996 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, H.Rept. 104-212, report to accompany H.R. 1854 [Washington: GPO, 1995], p. 9.):

    Inasmuch as the amendment relates solely to the Senate and in accord with long practice under which each body concurs without intervention, the managers on the part of the House, at the request of the managers on the part of the Senate, have receded to the Senate amendment, as amended.

    Similarly, the FY2010 conference report states (U.S. Congress, conference committee, FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, H.Rept. 111-265, report to accompany H.R. 2918 [Washington: GPO, 2009], p. 33.):

    Inasmuch as these items relate solely to the House, and in accord with long practice under which each body determines its own housekeeping requirements and the other concurs without intervention, the managers on the part of the Senate, at the request of the managers on the part of the House, have receded to the amendment of the House as amended.