Senate Committee Funding: Description of
Process and Analysis of Disbursements
Matthew E. Glassman
Analyst on the Congress
Daniel Didech
Research Associate
July 24, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R43160

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Senate Committee Funding: Description of Process and Analysis of Disbursements

Summary
Funding for Senate committees (except for the Committee on Appropriations and the Select
Committee on Ethics) follows a two-step process of authorization and appropriation. Operating
budgets for all standing and select committees of the Senate (except for the Committee on
Appropriations and the Select Committee on Ethics) are authorized pursuant to a simple
resolution, and funding is provided in the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill and other
appropriation acts.
On March 5, 2013, the Senate agreed by unanimous consent to S.Res. 64, which authorized a
total of $66.1 million for committee expenses for the period from March 1 to September 30,
2013. Due to the high level of uncertainty regarding appropriations available to committees for
the full two-year period, no authorization for committee expenses was provided beyond
September 30. One or more subsequent authorizing resolutions will be required for the remainder
of the 113th Congress.
During the 112th Congress (2011-2013), the Senate authorized a total of $242.7 million for
committee expenses, including $70.8 million for the March 2011-September 2011 period, $121.4
million for the October 2011-September 2012 period, and $50.6 million for the October 2012-
February 2013 period. Additionally, the resolution authorized a total of $15.0 million in special
reserve funds.
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration has jurisdiction over committee funding
resolutions and issues regulations governing committee expenditures and staff. Committee
expenditures and staff are also regulated by Senate rules, especially Rule XXVI, paragraph 9, and
Rule XXVII, as well as by statute. Information on individual committees’ spending is published
semi-annually in the Report of the Secretary of the Senate.
This report is organized in three sections. The first provides an overview of the committee
funding process in the Senate and analyzes funding levels since 2001. The second reviews Senate
floor and committee action on committee funding in the 112th and 113th Congresses. The final
section analyzes committee expenditure patterns during the previous five Congresses.


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Senate Committee Funding: Description of Process and Analysis of Disbursements

Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Senate Committee Funding: Process ............................................................................................... 1
Authorization ............................................................................................................................. 2
Appropriation ............................................................................................................................ 2
Majority / Minority Funding ..................................................................................................... 3
Additional Funding and Special Reserves ................................................................................. 3
Authorization Trends ................................................................................................................. 3
Senate Committee Funding: 113th Congress .................................................................................... 4
Senate Committee Funding: 112th Congress .................................................................................... 5
Committee Action ...................................................................................................................... 5
Senate Floor Action ................................................................................................................... 6
Funding ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Majority / Minority Distribution................................................................................................ 7
Senate Committee Funds: Usage ..................................................................................................... 8
Regulations ................................................................................................................................ 8
Committee Funding in Practice ................................................................................................. 8
Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 8
Expenditures as a Percentage of Authorization ................................................................... 9
Spending by Budget Category ........................................................................................... 10
Spending Over Time.......................................................................................................... 11
Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 11

Figures
Figure 1. Aggregate Senate Committee Funding Authorization ...................................................... 4
Figure 2.Committee Funding Authorizations and Expenditures for the Period of March 1st
to September 30th .......................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 3.Expenditures by Category, as a Percentage of Committee Spending .............................. 10

Tables
Table 1. Percentage of Authorization Expended .............................................................................. 9
Table 2. Expenditures by Congress ................................................................................................ 11

Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 12

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Senate Committee Funding: Description of Process and Analysis of Disbursements

Introduction
Funding for Senate committees (except for the Committee on Appropriations and the Select
Committee on Ethics) follows a two-step process of authorization and appropriation. Operating
budgets for all standing and select committees of the Senate (except for the Committee on
Appropriations and the Select Committee on Ethics) are authorized pursuant to a chamber
funding resolution, and funding is provided by annual appropriations in the Legislative Branch
Appropriations bill and other appropriations acts.
On March 5, 2013, the Senate agreed by unanimous consent to S.Res. 64, which authorized a
total of $66.1 million for committee expenses for the period from March 1 to September 30,
2013, 12% less than the amount authorized for the same period in the 112th Congress. Due to the
high level of uncertainty regarding appropriations available to committees for the full two-year
period, no authorization for committee expenses was provided beyond September 30. One or
more subsequent authorizing resolutions will be required for the remainder of the 113th Congress.1
During the 112th Congress, the Senate authorized a total of $242.7 million for committee
expenses, including $70.8 million for the March 2011-September 2011 period, $121.4 million for
the October 2011-September 2012 period, and $50.6 million for the October 2012-February 2013
period. Additionally, the resolution authorized a total of $15.0 million in a special reserve fund.
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration has jurisdiction over committee funding
resolutions and issues regulations governing committee expenditures and staff. Committee
expenditures and staff are also regulated by Senate rules, especially Rule XXVI, paragraph 9, and
Rule XXVII, as well as by statute.
This report is organized in three sections. The first provides an overview of the committee
funding process in the Senate and analyzes funding levels since 2001. The second reviews Senate
floor and committee action on committee funding in the 112th and 113th Congresses. The final
section analyzes committee expenditure patterns during the previous five Congresses.
Senate Committee Funding: Process
The Senate biennial committee funding process applies to all Senate committees except
Appropriations2 and Ethics,3 which have permanent authorizations for their staff and operating
expenses. The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration has jurisdiction over committee
funding resolutions and issues regulations governing committee expenditures and staff. The funds
authorized and allocated by resolution are appropriated in the Legislative Branch Appropriations
Acts.4

1 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Authorizing Expenditures by Committees of the
Senate, report to accompany S.Res. 64, 112th Cong., 1st sess., June 13, 2013, S.Rept. 113-41 (Washington: GPO, 2013).
2 P.L. 79-601, Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, Section 202(b), 60 Stat. 834, grants the Committee on
Appropriations authorization to appropriate funds for its own activities.
3 S.Res. 290, 96th Congress, adopted November 29, 1979; and S.Res. 425, 97th Congress, adopted August 12, 1982.
4 The funds are contained under the heading “Contingent Expenses of the Senate; Inquiries and Investigations.” For
(continued...)
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Authorization
Under Senate Rule XXVI, paragraph 9, each Senate committee (except Appropriations and
Ethics) is required to report a funding resolution providing for its expenses for March 1 of that
year through February 28 of the following year. The rule allows the Committee on Rules and
Administration to mandate a process by which funds may be authorized for a two-year period.
The Senate took several steps in 1999 to move to a biennial funding process that more clearly
reflects a fiscal year orientation. In the two-year funding resolution agreed to at the beginning of
subsequent Congresses, the aggregate authorization for each committee was apportioned among
three calendar periods—from March 1 to September 30 of the first year of a Congress, from
October 1 to September 30 of the following year, and from October 1 to the following February
28. This permits the Senate to identify the amounts authorized for each fiscal year and the
subsequent appropriations required.
Each committee supports its request by submitting supplementary materials, including those
specified by the Committee on Rules and Administration. In recent Congresses, that panel has
advised committees on the permissible increase, or required decrease, it hopes to impose on
Senate committees, compared to the funding level in the previous Congress. Committees
requesting funds in excess of these guidelines have been asked to include a justification in their
budget submissions.5
The Rules and Administration Committee may then hold hearings at which committee chairs,
ranking minority Members, and other Senators may testify. In recent Congresses, however, the
committee has held hearings only on certain requests, or has not held hearings. The Rules and
Administration Committee chair will normally introduce an omnibus resolution incorporating the
amounts requested by each of the Senate committees in their individual resolutions. The Rules
and Administration Committee will usually then meet to mark up the resolution and, after final
approval by the committee, report it to the Senate. In some Congresses, the committee has issued
an accompanying written report.6 On occasions where both parties have been in agreement on the
funding resolution, the Senate has discharged the committee from the consideration of the
resolution by unanimous consent, without a formal committee markup or written report. In recent
Congresses, the Senate agreed to the funding resolution by unanimous consent with little, if any,
floor discussion.
Appropriation
Funding for Senate committees is provided in the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. Line-
item appropriations are not made for individual committees, except the Committee on
Appropriations. Instead, funding is provided as a single total amount for all committees, under the
heading “Contingent Expenses of the Senate” and the subheading “Inquiries and Investigations.”
Consequently, the amount appropriated for committee funding places a ceiling on total committee

(...continued)
example, see P.L. 112-74, 125 Stat. 1118, December 23, 2011.
5 The guidelines the Committee on Rules and Administration provides to Senate committees are not publicly available.
6 For example, see U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Authorizing Expenditures by
Committees of the Senate, report to accompany S.Res. 64, 113th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 113-41 (Washington: GPO,
2013).
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expenditures, but not on any individual committee’s expenditures. The expenditures of individual
committees are constrained instead by their authorization.
In addition, authorizations for committee funds are made biennially beginning March 1 and
appropriations are made annually beginning October 1. Therefore, for any individual biennial
funding resolution, funds may be drawn from money appropriated in three different fiscal years.7
Majority / Minority Funding
Senate Rule XXVII requires that each committee’s staff reflect the ratio of majority and minority
committee members and that the minority receive “fair consideration” in the appointment of staff.
A majority of the minority party members of a committee may request at least one-third of the
personnel funds for hiring minority staff. This ratio is calculated after excluding funds for staff
that perform administrative and clerical functions for the committee as a whole, if any, as agreed
to by the chair and ranking minority Member.
In practice, in recent Congresses, the distribution of committee staff and resources was
determined through negotiation by the majority and minority leadership.8 Committee staff may
also be supplemented by consultants and staff detailed to the committee from federal agencies,
subject to such restrictions as the Committee on Rules and Administration may impose.
Additional Funding and Special Reserves
If a committee requires additional funds after the omnibus resolution has been agreed to, funds
may be requested essentially in the same way as they were for its two-year budget. Since the 106th
Congress, the omnibus funding resolution has contained a special reserve from which unexpected
funding needs by a Senate committee could be met, upon the request of its chair and ranking
Member and upon the approval of the chair and ranking Member of the Rules and Administration
Committee.
Authorization Trends
Figure 1 reports the aggregate Senate committee funding authorization level from the 101st
through the 112th Congresses, in both nominal and constant (1989) dollars. Since the 101st
Congress, nominal aggregate Senate committee funding has increased by about 163%, from $97.1
million to $257.7 million in the 112th Congress, for an average increase of 15% per Congress. In
constant dollars, however, aggregate funding has increased by only 46.3% during the same
period, for a biennial average real increase of 4%.

7 For example, during the 112th Congress, appropriations for committee funding were included in FY2011 (October 1,
2010 – September 30, 2011), FY2012 (October 1, 2011 – September 30, 2012), and FY2013 (October 1, 2012 –
September 30, 2013) bills.
8 See U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Authorizing Expenditure by Committees of the
Senate, report to accompany S.Res. 81, 112th Cong., 1st sess., March 31, 2011, S.Rept. 112-9 (Washington: GPO,
2011), p. 3.
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Figure 1. Aggregate Senate Committee Funding Authorization
101st-112th Congresses

Source: CRS calculations based upon biennial committee funding authorizations. Constant dol ars based on
Consumer Price Index for Al Urban Consumers (CPI-U, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of
Labor). Base year = 1989.
Senate Committee Funding: 113th Congress
Similar to previous Congresses, funding resolutions were introduced for each Senate committee
at the outset of the 113th Congress.9 The Rules and Administration Committee considered these
resolutions as a consolidated omnibus resolution: S.Res. 64.10 On February 28, 2013, S.Res. 64
was reported favorably by the Rules Committee for consideration by the full Senate. On March 5,
2013, the Senate agreed to this resolution by unanimous consent.
Unlike previous Congresses, S.Res. 64 only authorized funding for the period from March 1 to
September 30, 2013, due to the high level of uncertainty regarding appropriations available to
committees for the full two-year period.11 Subsequent authorizing resolutions will be required for
the 12-month period from October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014, and for the five-month period
from October 1, 2014, to February 28, 2015.12
According to the chairman’s statement in the report accompanying S.Res. 64:

9 See S.Res. 38, S.Res. 39, S.Res. 40, S.Res. 42, S.Res. 44, S.Res. 45, S.Res. 46, S.Res. 47, S.Res. 48, S.Res. 49, S.Res.
50, S.Res. 51, S.Res. 52, S.Res. 53, S.Res. 54, S.Res. 55, S.Res. 59. See also S.Res. 43 (the Rules and Administration
Committee’s original funding resolution authorizing its own committee expenditures, which was consolidated into
S.Res. 64 along with the resolutions of every other committee).
10 See U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Authorizing Expenditure by Committees of the
Senate, report to accompany S.Res. 64, 113th Cong., 1st sess., June 13, 2013, S.Rept. 113-41 (Washington: GPO, 2013),
p. 4.
11 Ibid., p. 1.
12 Ibid.
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S.Res. 64 represents a reduction in committee funding authorizations of 12 percent below the
level of S.Res. 81 in the 112th Congress. The Rules Committee notified committees that it
would issue ‘expenditure guidance’ as necessary to bring actual committee spending into
closer alignment with available appropriations as necessary during the 113th Congress.13
Figure 2 reports the committee funding authorization and expenditure levels for the first seven-
month period of each authorization in real dollars.14 The seven-month period of the 113th
Congress is currently ongoing, so its expenditures have not yet been reported. As shown in the
figure, the aggregate authorized amount for the seven-month period of the 113th Congress is only
slightly more than the actual aggregate expenditures during the same period in previous
Congresses.
Figure 2.Committee Funding Authorizations and Expenditures for the Period of
March 1st to September 30th
107th-113th Senates, Constant Dol ars

Source: CRS calculations based upon biennial committee funding authorizations. Constant dol ars based on
Consumer Price Index for Al Urban Consumers (CPI-U, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of
Labor). Base year = 2001.
Senate Committee Funding: 112th Congress
Committee Action
From February 15 to February 28, 2011, funding resolutions were reported by each of the
Senate’s standing, special, and select committees,15 in conformance with the Standing Rules of

13 S.Rept. 113-41.
14 Data is presented beginning with the 107th Congress, when the Senate adopted the current three-period structure.
15 See S.Res. 50, S.Res. 52, S.Res. 53, S.Res. 54, S.Res. 56, S.Res. 57, S.Res. 58, S.Res. 59, S.Res. 61, S.Res. 62,
(continued...)
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the Senate.16 The Senate Rules and Administration Committee considered these resolutions as a
consolidated omnibus resolution: S.Res. 81.17
On March 1, 2011, the Rules Committee held a markup of S.Res. 81, a resolution authorizing
expenditures by committees of the Senate, for the periods of March 1, 2011, through September
30, 2011, October 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012, and October 1, 2012, through February
28, 2013.
Prior to this markup, the Rules Committee offered committees an opportunity to streamline the
authorization process by submitting budget requests that were within the guidelines specified by
the Joint Leadership agreement and questionnaires that were jointly signed by the chair and
ranking minority Member.18 Committees that wished to request funds that exceeded those
guidelines were directed to submit a letter to the Rules Committee, signed by the chair and
ranking minority Member, that specified the requested amount and asked for a hearing.19 Every
committee funded by S.Res. 81 submitted budgets and questionnaires that conformed to the
guidelines.20 Consequently, there was no testimony by committee chairs or ranking minority
Members at the March 1 markup.
At the March 1, 2011, markup, S.Res. 81 was agreed to by the Rules Committee by voice vote,
and was reported favorably for consideration by the full Senate.
Senate Floor Action
On March 2, 2011, the Senate agreed to S.Res. 81 by unanimous consent. The resolution
authorized a total of $242.7 million for committee expenses, including $70.8 million for the
March 2011-September 2011 period, $121.4 million for the October 2011-September 2012
period, and $50.6 million for the October 2012-February 2013 period.21
Additionally, the resolution authorized a total of $15.0 million in special reserve funds, including
$4.4 million for the March 2011-September 2011 period, $7.5 million for the October 2011-
September 2012 period, and $3.1 million for the October 2012-February 2013 period.

(...continued)
S.Res. 64, S.Res. 66, S.Res. 67, S.Res. 68, S.Res. 69, S.Res. 71, S.Res. 79. See also S.Res. 70 (the Rules Committee’s
original funding resolution authorizing its own committee expenditures, which was consolidated into S.Res. 81 along
with the resolutions of every other committee).
16 See Standing Rules of the Senate (112th Congress), Rule XXVI, paragraph 9.
17 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Authorizing Expenditure by Committees of the
Senate, report to accompany S.Res. 81, 112th Cong., 1st sess., March 31, 2011, S.Rept. 112-9 (Washington: GPO,
2011), p. 4.
18 Ibid, pp. 2,4. In The Joint Leadership agreement, Senators Reid and McConnell agreed that funds for committee
expenses would be made available to each chair consistent with Senate rules and practices of the previous Congress,
except that the amount of funding authorized for each committee in the 112th Congress would be reduced by the
amount that was allocated to that committee from the Special Reserve in the previous Congress. See “Special
Reserves” in this Report for background on the Special Reserve Fund.
19 Ibid., p. 4.
20 Ibid.
21 For specific authorization levels of individual committees, see CRS Report R40424, Senate Committee Expenditures
Resolutions, 113th Congress, and Funding Authorizations Since 1999, by Matthew E. Glassman.
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Funding
Appropriations for Senate committees are typically included annually in the Legislative Branch
Appropriations bill. For FY2011, $140.5 million was appropriated for Senate committees in the
Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, to remain available
until December 31, 2012.22 For FY2012, $131.3 million was appropriated for Senate committees
in Division G of the FY2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act.23 For FY2013, a continuing
appropriation was provided in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act,
2013, subject to the effects of across-the-board rescissions and sequestration.24
Majority / Minority Distribution
For the 112th Congress, the majority and minority leaders agreed to a new, standardized approach
to the distribution of committee funding, which they also agreed should be adopted by future
Congresses.25
The formula for determining the distribution is as follows, as described by the chairman’s
statement in S.Rept. 112-9: First, 10% of the total salary baseline, after excluding non-designated
staff, is apportioned to the majority for administrative expenses. The remaining 90% of the total
salary baseline is to be apportioned based on the party division of the Senate. However, regardless
of the party division of the Senate, under the current arrangement the minority share shall never
be less than 40% of the total committee funding.26
At the beginning of the 112th Congress, the party division of the Senate was 53 Democrats27 and
47 Republicans. The majority party was first apportioned the 10% of the total salary baseline,
after excluding non-designated staff, for administrative expenses. The remaining 90% of the
salary baseline was to be distributed at a ratio of 53% for the majority party and 47% for the
minority party.

22 P.L. 112-10, a continuing resolution referencing the funds appropriated in the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act,
2010, P.L. 111-68.
23 P.L. 112-74.
24 P.L. 113-6. For further information on sequestration, see CRS Report R42972, Sequestration as a Budget
Enforcement Process: Frequently Asked Questions, by Megan S. Lynch.
25 See S.Rept. 112-9, “Colloquy” and “Joint Leadership Letter,” p. 2. In his colloquy with Senator McConnell, Senator
Reid explained that over the past decade, the distribution of committee funding was determined during biennial
negotiations. Prior to that, during the 1990s, committee funding was distributed by a fixed proportion of two-thirds for
the majority and one-third for the minority.
26 Ibid.
27 This included two independent Senators, Joseph Lieberman and Bernard Sanders, who caucused with the Democratic
Party.
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Senate Committee Funds: Usage
Regulations
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration has jurisdiction over committee funding
resolutions and issues regulations governing committee expenditures and staff. Committee
expenditures and staff are also regulated by Senate rules, especially Rule XXVI, clause 9, and
Rule XXVII, as well as by statute.
Committee Funding in Practice
The following sections provide an analysis of committee expenditures during the 107th through
111th Congresses. Total expenditures of individual committees were examined to ascertain
aggregate committee costs and the percentage of the annual authorization expended. Data were
also examined on individual expenditures across budget categories to better understand how
committees had used their authorized funds.
Methodology
Data
Data on committee expenditures were compiled using the semi-annual Report of the Secretary of
the Senate, which reports Senate expenditures disbursed during the previous six months.28 The
Report of the Secretary of the Senate aggregates expenditures for individual committees across
standard budget object classes used by the federal government. Data were examined for five
Congresses: 107th (2001-2003), 108th (2003-2005), 109th (2005-2007), 110th (2007-2009), and
111th (2009-2011), for a total of 10 years of expenditures. The universe of data includes over
3,500 observations.29 For each year analyzed, multiple out-year disbursement reports were
examined, since, pursuant to law, late-arriving bills may be paid for up to two years following the
end of the fiscal period that funds were appropriated.30

28 The Report of the Secretary of the Senate is published as a Senate document. Beginning with the 6-month period
ending September 30, 2011, reports are available on the Senate website, at http://www.senate.gov/legislative/
common/generic/report_secsen.htm.
29 The data provide only a snapshot of committee expenditures in particular years, which may be used to assess the
general contours of committee spending patterns. They do not predict future spending, either by individual committees
or in aggregate.
30 Pursuant to law, late-arriving bills may be paid for up to two years following the end of an appropriation. The
permissibility of payment for late-arriving bills does not provide flexibility in the timing of the obligation. The two-
year period for late receipts for Congress is shorter relative to annual appropriations for much of the rest of the federal
government, which is subject to a five-year period (31 U.S.C. §1551 et al.). This subject is discussed in the Principles
of Federal Appropriations Law, which states: “For appropriations of the House and Senate, unobligated balances more
than two years old cannot be used short of an act of Congress. Instead, obligations chargeable to appropriations that
have been expired for more than 2 years ‘shall be liquidated from any appropriations for the same general purpose,
which, at the time of payment, are available for disbursement.’ 2 U.S.C. §102a.” United States General Accounting
Office, Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, Third Edition, vol. I, January 2004, at http://www.gao.gov/
special.pubs/3rdEditionVol1.pdf, page 5-76 – 5-77.
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Categories of Spending
Senate spending is categorized by standard budget object classes used for the federal
government.31 These include
• Net Payroll Expenses;
• Travel and Transportation;
• Rent, Communications, and Utilities;
• Printing and Reproduction;
• Other Contractual Services;
• Supplies and Materials; and
• Acquisition of Assets.
The disbursement volumes also contain data on supplemental funding from further authorizations
or special reserves.32
Expenditures as a Percentage of Authorization
Table 1 demonstrates that most committees have not used all of the funds authorized to them.
Across all years, about 25% of committees spent less than 80% of their authorization, whereas
about 44% of committees spent between 80% and 90% of their authorization, and about 31% of
committees spent more than 90% of their authorization. In the 107th Congress, seven committees
spent less than 80% of their authorizations, while four committees spent between 90% and 95%.
Similar levels were seen in the 111th Congress, where nine spent less than 80% and three spent
between 90% and 95%.
Table 1. Percentage of Authorization Expended
Senate Standing and Select Committees (excluding Appropriations and Ethics Committees)
Total
Congress <
80% 80-85% 85-90% 90-95% >95% Number
107th
7 4 4 4 0 19
(2001-2003)
108th
5 2 4 8 0 19
(2003-2005)
109th
2 2 6 8 1 19
(2005-2007)
110th
1 2 11 3 2 19
(2007-2009)

31 This classification system is derived from U.S. Office of Management and Budget, OMB Circular A-11, 2009
edition, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/Circulars_a11_current_year_a11_toc/.
32 Certain expenses are not included in committee expenditures and are reflected in these totals. These include the
salaries of Members and certain benefits—including health and life insurance and retirement—for both Members and
staff.
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Total
Congress <
80% 80-85% 85-90% 90-95% >95% Number
111th
9 6 1 3 0 19
(2009-2011)
Total
24 (25%)
16 (17%)
26 (27%)
26 (27%)
3 (3%)
95 (100%)
Source: CRS analysis of Report of the Secretary of the Senate.
Spending by Budget Category
Figure 3 shows that the largest category of spending in the five observed Senates, accounting for
just over 95% of total committee spending, was for “Net Payroll Expenses.” Beyond these staff
expenses, committees spent an aggregate of 1.6% of their expenditures on “Supplies and
Materials,” 1% on “Travel and Transportation,” and 1% on “Rent, Communications, and
Utilities.” The use of most committee funds on personnel was true both across time and across
individual committees. Only one committee—the Indian Affairs Committee in the 110th Senate—
spent less than 90% of its funds on net payroll expenses.
Figure 3.Expenditures by Category, as a Percentage of Committee Spending
Senate Committees (excluding Appropriations and Ethics Committees)

Source: CRS calculations based on the Report of the Secretary of the Senate for 2001-2013.
Notes: The figures represent only spending supported by committee funds. For example, this spending does not
include Member salaries, government contributions for employee benefits, the cost of DC office space, or
various services provided by Senate administrative offices.
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Spending Over Time
Table 2 reports the aggregate Senate committee expenditures from the 107th to the 111th
Congresses, in both nominal and constant dollars, and includes the annual percentage increase in
total expenditures. Since the 107th Congress, aggregate Senate committee expenditures have
increased by 58.2%, from $131.0 million to $207.3 million in the 112th Senate, for an average
increase of slightly less than 15% per Congress. In constant dollars, however, aggregate
expenditures increased by only 30.6% during the same period, for a biennial average real increase
of 7.6%.
Table 2. Expenditures by Congress
Senate Committees (excluding Appropriations and Ethics Committees)
% change from
% change from
Senate Nominal
previous Senate
Constant
previous Senate
107th
131.0 - 131.0 -
108th 146.7 11.98% 141.2 7.79%
109th 166.2 13.29% 150.7 6.74%
110th 177.3 6.68% 151.4 0.48%
111th 207.3 16.92% 171.1 13.00%
Source: CRS calculations based on the Report of the Secretary of the Senate for 2001-2013.
Notes: The table represents only spending supported by committee funds. For example, this spending does not
include Member salaries, government contributions for employee benefits, the cost of DC office space, and
various services provided by Senate administrative offices.
Discussion
The data presented here show that most committee resources went to personnel expenses, with
approximately 95% of committee expenditures going toward net payroll expenses. This finding
was stable across the 107th through 111th Congresses. The data also show that aggregate
authorizations over these Congresses were somewhat larger than aggregate committee
expenditures, leaving most individual committees with spending flexibility.
The reduction in aggregate authorization for the first seven months of the 113th Congress,
however, suggests that the total aggregate authorization for the 113th Congress may provide less
excess resources than in past Congresses if typical committee expenditure levels remain the same
as in previous Congresses. If future authorization levels continue to decline, individual
committees could see a shortfall in resources. Given the large proportion of resources that go to
personnel expenses, such a shortfall would likely require a reduction of staff or reduction of staff
salaries, as well as a reduction of committee activities relative to previous Congresses.


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Author Contact Information

Matthew E. Glassman
Daniel Didech
Analyst on the Congress
Research Associate
mglassman@crs.loc.gov, 7-3467
ddidech@crs.loc.gov, 7-5821


Congressional Research Service
12

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