Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and
Guide to House and Senate Practices
R. Eric Petersen
Analyst in American National Government
September 8, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RL34553
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
Summary
Turnover of membership in the House and Senate necessitates closing congressional offices. The
closure of a congressional office requires an outgoing Member of Congress to evaluate pertinent
information regarding his or her staff; the disposal of personal and official records; and final
disposition of office accounts, facilities, and equipment. In the past several years, the House and
Senate have developed extensive resources to assist Members in closing their offices. These
services are most typically used at the end of a Congress, when a Member’s term of service ends,
but most of the services are available to an office that becomes vacant for other reasons. This
report provides an overview of issues that may arise in closing a congressional office, and
provides a guide to resources available through the appropriate support offices of the House and
Senate.
This report, which will be updated as warranted, is one of several CRS products focusing on
various aspects of congressional operations and administration. Others include CRS Report
RL33220, Support Offices in the House of Representatives: Roles and Authorities, by Ida A.
Brudnick; CRS Report RL34188, Congressional Official Mail Costs, by Matthew Eric Glassman;
CRS Report R40939, Legislative Branch Revolving Funds, by Ida A. Brudnick and Jacob R.
Straus; and CRS Report R41366, House of Representatives and Senate Staff Levels in Member,
Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2010, by R. Eric Petersen, Parker H. Reynolds,
and Amber Hope Wilhelm.
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Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
Contents
House Support ...................................................................................................................... 1
Senate Support ...................................................................................................................... 2
Staff...................................................................................................................................... 2
House ............................................................................................................................. 2
Senate ............................................................................................................................. 3
Records................................................................................................................................. 3
House ............................................................................................................................. 3
Senate ............................................................................................................................. 3
Accounts............................................................................................................................... 4
House ............................................................................................................................. 4
Senate ............................................................................................................................. 4
Facilities ............................................................................................................................... 4
House ............................................................................................................................. 4
Senate ............................................................................................................................. 5
Office Furniture and Equipment ............................................................................................ 5
House ............................................................................................................................. 5
Senate ............................................................................................................................. 5
Closing an Office Prior to Completion of a Member’s Term .................................................. 5
House ............................................................................................................................. 6
Senate ............................................................................................................................. 6
Tables
Table 1. Departures of Members of Congress, 100th - 111th Congresses ....................................... 1
Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 7
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Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
urnover of membership in the House and Senate necessitates closing congressional offices.
The most common reason for departure is the expiration of a Member’s term of office, but
T a congressional office may also become vacant due to resignation, death, or other reasons.
The closure of a congressional office requires an outgoing Member of Congress, or congressional
officials, in the case of a deceased Member, to evaluate pertinent information regarding staff; the
disposal of personal and official records; and final disposition of office accounts, facilities, and
equipment. Table 1 summarizes the numbers of Members leaving the House and Senate after the
110th Congress, and in the prior 10 Congresses.
The House and Senate have developed extensive resources to assist Members in closing their
offices. These services are typically used at the end of a Congress, when a Member’s term of
service ends, but most services are available to an office that becomes vacant for other reasons.
This report provides an overview of issues that may arise in closing a congressional office, and
provides a guide to resources available through the appropriate support offices of the House and
Senate.
House Support
House office closing activities are supported by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Clerk of
the House, and House Sergeant at Arms. Resources related to closing a congressional office are
available to House offices through the 112th Congress transition website on the House intranet.1
Table 1. Departures of Members of Congress,
100th - 111th Congresses
Congress Representatives Senators
111tha 47 18
110th 68 15
109th 59 10
108th 45 8
107th 57 10
106th 46 13
105th 49 8
104th 77 17
103rd 94 14
102nd 110 15
101st 44 5
100th 34 9
Sources: Various Congressional Research Service web pages, including “Congressional Departures for the 111th
Congress,” at http://crs.gov/resources/Pages/Congress_111_departures.aspx; “Congressional Departures for the
110th Congress,” at http://crs.gov/resources/Pages/Congress_110_departures.aspx; “Congressional Departures
for the 109th Congress,” at http://crs.gov/resources/Pages/Congress_109_departures.aspx; “Congressional
Departures for the108th Congress” at http://crs.gov/resources/Pages/Congress_108_departures.aspx;
1 http://112transition.house.gov/, available to House users only.
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Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
“Congressional Departures for the 107th Congress,” at http://crs.gov/resources/Pages/
Congress_107_departures.aspx; “Congressional Departures for the 106th Congress,” at http://crs.gov/resources/
Pages/Congress_106_departures.aspx. Data from Congresses prior to the 106th Congress come from articles in
Roll Call, CQ Almanac, the Senate Library, and other sources.
a. Through September 2, 2010. Includes Members who have left office, and those sitting Members who have
announced that they will retire at the conclusion of the 111th Congress.
Senate Support
When it becomes known that a Senate office will be closing, the Sergeant at Arms contacts that
office to initiate closing support services.2 The Senate Sergeant at Arms provides office closing
services through an Office Support Services Customer Support Analyst (CSA) assigned to each
Senate office. A CSA helps coordinate an initial closing office planning meeting between the
office and all Senate support offices, and it facilitates the provision of the following:
• office equipment inventory reports
• assistance with archiving documents
• information on closing out financial obligations
• information on benefits and entitlements available to a Senator after leaving
office
Staff
House
Payroll for staff of Members who are leaving office at the conclusion of a Congress typically
terminates automatically on January 2. The employing authority, a Member in the case of a
personal office that is closing, determines whether outgoing staff are eligible to receive a lump
sum payment for any accrued annual leave. Other potential benefits, including retirement plans,
post-employment life or health insurance benefits, and student loan repayment programs, are
administered through the House Office of Human Resources, according to statute and chamber
regulation. The office will continue to interact with former House employees on a wide range of
post-employment matters, including wage and earning statements, employee benefits, and any
forms that must be completed by former employees.
In addition to staff procedures to support the closing of a Representative’s office, the House
provides certain post-employment services to departing staff, including
• a résumé referral service to House staff who desire employment with Members-
elect, provided by the CAO;
• individual outplacement and technical assistance, as well as job search strategies
and transitional techniques to separating employees of the House, provided by
the House Outplacement Services Resource Center; and
2 Materials regarding Senate practices in this report principally are drawn from U.S. Senate, Sergeant at Arms, Closing
a Senate Office: Handbook for the 109th Congress (Washington: 2006); and U.S. Senate Handbook, appendix 1-C,
“Closing a Senator’s Office,” available to Senate offices at http://webster.senate.gov; and other sources as noted.
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Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
• help for affected employees focused on designing and developing a successful
job search, provided by the Office of Employee Assistance.
Senate
Staffs of Senators who will leave office when their term of office officially expires at noon on
January 3 of the year in which such a term ends remain on the payroll until the close of business
on January 2 of the year in which the Senator’s term of office expires, unless terminated sooner.3
The Senate Disbursing Office addresses issues related to the termination of employment of
departing staff and provides information on the available options to staff regarding post-
employment insurance and retirement programs and other benefits.
The Senate Placement Office provides application and referral service for professionals and
support staff, and it can assist outgoing Senate employees who are seeking positions in new
congressional offices. The departing staff who are interested in this service must complete an
application form and be interviewed by a personnel specialist. Placement office personnel then
review applications and send them to offices with matching available positions.
Records4
House
According to the Clerk of the House, the files generated by a Member’s congressional office and
accumulated in the course of service in the House are the personal property of the Member. The
House pays for point-to-point shipping of all official records and papers for departing Members
of that chamber. Official papers are generally described as those materials that may be mailed
under franking regulations. Other materials, including memorabilia, photographs, and documents
that do not relate to official business, must be shipped or disposed of at the outgoing Member’s
expense. Guidance regarding records management is available from the Office of the Clerk.
Shipping of records is carried out by the House CAO.
Senate
The Senate Records Management Handbook notes that neither statute nor the standing rules of
the Senate define which items constitute a Senator’s papers. For management purposes, the
Secretary of the Senate defines Senators’ papers as “all records, regardless of physical form and
characteristics, that are made or received in connection with an individual’s career as a United
States Senator.”5 The manual notes that, by tradition and practice, any such records are the private
3 The regular term for a United States Senator is from noon on January 3 of the year following election to noon on
January 3, six years later. See U.S. Senate, Senate Manual, S. Doc. 110-1, 110th Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO,
2008), p. 275. For accounting purposes, the period for pay and allowances, including staff salaries, has been established
by the Senate as the full day of January 3 through the full day of January 2.
4 House material in this section is based on U.S. House, Office of the Clerk, Records Management Manual for
Members of the U.S. House Of Representatives, Publication M-1 (Washington: Dec. 2005), and other sources as noted.
Senate material is based on U.S. Senate, Secretary of the Senate, Records Management Handbook for United States
Senators and Their Archival Repositories, S.Pub. 109-19 (Washington: GPO, 2006), and other sources as noted.
5 U.S. Senate, Records Management Handbook, p. 5.
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Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
property of the individual Senator. The principal exclusion from Senators’ papers are committee
records that are defined by statute and Senate standing rules to be records of the Senate.6 Senate
office closing guidelines specify a detailed process for the handling of a Senator’s records.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides courtesy storage facilities
to Members of Congress for records created in Capitol Hill offices at the Washington National
Records Center (WNRC) in Suitland, MD, and at regional storage facilities around the country
for records generated in state or district offices. NARA courtesy storage expires at the conclusion
of a Member’s term of office.7 WNRC can be reached at 301-778-1650. Contact information for
NARA regional facilities is available at http://www.archives.gov/locations/.
Accounts
House
The House Office of Finance requests that contact information for each closing office be provided
to expedite resolution of final payments to vendors.
Senate
Closing offices must settle several accounts, with units of the Secretary of the Senate and the
Sergeant at Arms, as well as other government agencies.8 The Senate Disbursing Office is
authorized to withhold from Senators’ pay, reimbursements, mileage, or expense money for
delinquent indebtedness to the Senate.9
Facilities
House
At the conclusion of a Congress, the Architect of the Capitol has in the past advised that departing
Members must vacate their Washington, DC, offices not later than noon on December 1, of the
second year of a Congress. A Departing Member Service Center has provided functional
workspace for departing Members and staff once their office suites are vacated. The center is
typically secured by the U.S. Capitol Police and has a central administrative facility that is staffed
by CAO employees. Each departing Member office is assigned a single cubicle that can
accommodate the Member and one other person at any given time. Each cubicle is equipped with
a telephone, networked computer, and basic supplies.
6 Committee rules are defined as records of the Senate in 44 U.S.C. 2118; 2 U.S.C. 72 a; and Senate Rules XI and
XXVI.
7 Based on discussions with NARA staff in the Congressional Affairs Office, Oct. 3-4, 2006.
8 Other government agencies include the Architect of the Capitol, Office of the Attending Physician, Senate restaurants,
United States Botanic Garden, Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art, and Federal Election Commission.
9 U.S. Senate, Senate Manual, p. 328.
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Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
Senate
Senators may remain in their personal offices in Washington, DC, until their terms of office
expire. Senators leasing federal office premises or commercial space in their home states must
notify the General Services Administration (GSA) or private landlord in writing at least 30 days
in advance of their intention to vacate the premises. The Sergeant at Arms requires that a copy of
an intent to vacate letter be provided to his office at the same time it is provided to landlords. All
office space must be vacated by the close of business on January 2 of the year in which the
Senator’s term expires.
Office Furniture and Equipment
House
House Support Services (HSS) staff will begin scheduling final equipment inventories for the
Capitol Hill offices of departing Members shortly after the November elections. GSA is
responsible for performing the final inventory for the district office locations of departing
Members. All furniture and equipment (including copiers, faxes, telecommunication systems,
computers, personal digital assistants, and any other equipment used to support office operations),
whether used in office settings, or in the residences of Members and staff, must be accounted for
in those inventories. Representatives are allowed to purchase their chairs and desks only from the
Washington, DC, inventory. In district offices, succeeding Members will inherit all of the
equipment and furniture items of the outgoing Member. If the succeeding Member chooses not to
use office items of the departing Member, those items will then become available for purchase by
the departing Member.
Senate
Furnishings in a departing Senator’s personal and Capitol offices10 remain in place. Keys for
Capitol offices must be returned to Sergeant at Arms Capitol Facilities. The Asset Management
Section of the Sergeant at Arms conducts an inventory of all office and information technology
(IT) related equipment in closing offices. Telecommunications equipment must be returned to the
Senate. Outgoing Senators may purchase select office equipment and non-historical furniture
used in their Capitol Hill offices. Emergency equipment, including annunciators, escape hoods,
emergency supply kits (go kits), and victim rescue units, will be inventoried by the Office of
Security and Emergency Preparedness (OSEP). Outgoing Senators may purchase office
furnishings from their state offices at a price equal to the acquisition price less depreciation.11
Closing an Office Prior to Completion of a Member’s Term
A Member of Congress may leave office prior to the expiration of his or her term, due to
resignation, death,12 or for other reasons.
10 This refers to a Senator’s personal Capitol office, which is sometimes referred to as a “hideaway” office.
11 2 U.S.C. 59b.
12 For consideration of a range of issues related to the death of a sitting member of Congress, see CRS Report
RL34347, Members of Congress Who Die in Office: Historic and Current Practices, by R. Eric Petersen and Jennifer
(continued...)
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Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
House
On the first business day after the death, resignation, or expulsion of a Member of the House, his
or her office is renamed the Office of the ___ Congressional District of State/Territory. Pursuant
to House Rule II, cl.2(i)(1),13 staff on payroll of the congressional office when the outgoing
Member departs remain employed by the House, and carry out their duties under the supervision
of the Clerk of the House until a successor is elected.14
Senate
Senate practice regarding the closing of the office of a Senator who leaves office prior to the
expiration of his or her term of office varies according to the circumstances of the departure. In
addition to the expiration of the regular term of office, the Senate Handbook notes that a Senate
office might be closed due to the following categories:
• resignation
• termination of the service of a Senator who is appointed and who does not stand
for election, or is defeated
• death of a Senator
Resignation
Employees in the personal office of a Senator who resigns are continued on the Senate payroll at
their respective salaries for up to 60 days after the Senator leaves office, unless the Senator’s term
of office expires sooner. Employee duties are performed under the direction of the Secretary of
the Senate.15
An amount equal to one-tenth of the official office expense account portion of the Senator’s
Official Personnel and Office Expense Account16 is available to the Secretary of the Senate to
defray those expenses directly related to closing a Senator’s office. Expenses are paid from the
Contingent Fund of the Senate as Miscellaneous Items.
(...continued)
E. Manning.
13 House Rule II, cl. 2(i)(1) provides that “[t]he Clerk shall supervise the staff and manage the office of a Member,
Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who has died, resigned, or been expelled until a successor is elected.” 2 U.S.C.
92a, on the other hand, provides that staff of a deceased Member of the House or Senate are continued on the payroll
for 30 days. As Article 1, Section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution provides that “[e]ach House may determine the Rules
of its Proceedings,” House Rule II, cl.2(i)(1) arguably provides the House with sufficient authority to take actions
related to its administrative operations beyond the scope of the limitations specified in 2 U.S.C. 92.
14 A new Member of the House would have authority to hire staff, and is not required to retain staff members of the
deceased Member.
15 U.S. Senate, United States Senate Handbook, p. I-90.
16 Senators have three official allowances available to them for personnel and official office expenses. They are the
administrative and clerical assistance allowance, the legislative assistance allowance, and the official office expense
allowance. The three allowances are funded together in a “Senators’ Official Personnel and Office Expense Account,”
within the “Contingent Expenses of the Senate” in the annual legislative branch appropriations bill. For further
information, see CRS Report RL30064, Congressional Salaries and Allowances, by Ida A. Brudnick.
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Closing a Congressional Office: Overview and Guide to House and Senate Practices
Terminated Appointment
Employees in the personal office of a Senator whose appointment is terminated are continued on
the Senate payroll at their respective salaries for up to 30 days after the termination of the
Senator’s service, or until they have become otherwise gainfully employed, whichever is earlier.
The office space in Washington, DC, and in the state of an appointed Senator must be vacated on
the day preceding the swearing-in of the successor, if the Senate is in session. If the Senate has
adjourned sine die, an appointed Senator who will not continue to serve in the Senate must vacate
office facilities the day before a successor is certified, or 30 days after a successor has been
elected, whichever is earlier.
Death of a Senator
Employees in the personal office of a deceased sitting Senator17 are continued on the Senate
payroll at their respective salaries for up to 60 days after the Senator’s death, unless the Senator’s
term of office expires sooner. The Committee on Rules and Administration may extend this
period in cases where it will take longer to close a deceased Senator’s office. Employee duties are
performed under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.18
An amount equal to one-tenth of the official office expense account portion of the Senator’s
Official Personnel and Office Expense Account is available to the Secretary of the Senate to
defray those expenses directly related to closing a Senator’s office. Expenses are paid from the
Contingent Fund of the Senate as Miscellaneous Items. The Senate Financial Clerk provides
information concerning allowances for the operation of the deceased Senator’s office during the
60-day period.19
Author Contact Information
R. Eric Petersen
Analyst in American National Government
epetersen@crs.loc.gov, 7-0643
17 Employees of Senators who die while holding the office of President pro tempore, Deputy President pro tempore,
President pro tempore emeritus, majority leader, minority leader, majority whip, minority whip, secretary of the
Conference of the Majority, secretary of the Conference of the Minority, the chairman of the Conference of the
Majority, the chairman of the Conference of the Minority, the chairman of the majority Policy Committee, or the
chairman of the minority Policy Committee, are also continued in their positions at their respective salaries for up to 60
days, subject to the same limitations of employees working in personal offices.
18 S.Res. 458, 98th Congress, adopted Oct. 4, 1984, as amended. Incorporated as a standing rule of the Senate in U.S.
Senate, Senate Manual, pp. 165-167. 2 U.S.C. 92a, on the other hand, provides that staff of a deceased Member of the
House or Senate are continued on the payroll for 30 days. As Article 1, Section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution provides
that “[e]ach House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings,” S.Res. 458, as amended, arguably provides the Senate
with sufficient authority to take actions related to its administrative operations beyond the scope of the limitations
specified in 2 U.S.C. 92.
19 U.S. Senate, United States Senate Handbook, p. I-91.
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