Legislative Branch Appropriations: 
October 31, 2022 
Frequently Asked Questions 
Ida A. Brudnick 
This report responds to frequently asked questions about legislative branch appropriations. 
Specialist on the Congress 
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.  
 
Division I of the FY2022  Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 117-103),  enacted on March 15, 2022, provides $5.924 
billion for legislative branch activities for FY2022 (+11.7% from the FY2021  level, not including FY2021 emergency 
appropriations; or an increase of +2.9%, when including FY2021 emergency appropriations). 
Consideration of FY2023 funding began with the submission of the budget request on March 28, 2022 ($7.233 billion, 
+22.1%; including a budget amendment submitted June 7, 2022). 
Subsequently 
  The House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee held hearings in March, April, and May 2022. 
  The Senate Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee held hearings in May and June 2022. 
  The House Appropriations Committee Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a markup on June 15, 2022. 
  The House Appropriations Committee held a markup on June 22, 2022, and ordered an original bill 
reported (H.R. 8237, H.Rept. 117-389)  by recorded vote (Roll Call #3, 32-26). It would provide $5.702 
billion, not including Senate items . 
  The chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Patrick Leahy, released drafts of the 12 
annual appropriations bills along with draft accompanying explanatory statements on July 28, 2022. 
Senator Jack Reed, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on the Legislative 
Branch, subsequently introduced the legislative branch bill text as S. 4720. It would provide $4.781 billion, 
not including House items, a $775.4 million increase (+19.4%) from the comparable FY2022 enacted level. 
  A FY2023  continuing appropriations resolution (CR) providing funding for legislative branch activities 
through December 16, 2022, was enacted on September 30, 2022 (P.L.  117-180).   
For additional information, see CRS Report R47296, Legislative Branch: FY2023 Appropriations. 
 
Congressional Research Service 
 
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Contents 
Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................................. 1 
In addition to the Senate and House of Representatives, what is funded by the 
legislative branch appropriations bil ? ................................................................... 1 
Why is the legislative  branch budget request included in the President’s budget 
request? Does the President play any role in its development? .................................. 1 
What percentage of discretionary budget authority historical y goes to the 
legislative branch? ............................................................................................. 1 
What percentage of total budget authority (mandatory and discretionary) 
historical y goes to the legislative branch? ............................................................. 2 
How is funding divided across the legislative branch? ................................................ 2 
Why do the initial  committee-reported versions of the annual bil  not fund the 
other chamber?.................................................................................................. 3 
How has funding for the legislative  branch changed in recent years in current and 
constant (inflation-adjusted) dollars? .................................................................... 4 
What funding has been provided in recent years for the Senate, House of 
Representatives, and legislative branch agencies? ................................................... 4 
Are Member salaries funded or adjusted in the legislative  branch appropriations 
bil ? ................................................................................................................. 8 
 
Figures 
Figure 1. Legislative Branch Funding: Distribution in FY2022............................................... 3 
 
Tables 
Table 1. Legislative Branch Funding, FY2008-FY2022: Current and Constant Dollars............... 5 
Table 2. Legislative Branch Appropriations: Prior Enacted Levels and FY2023 Action .............. 6 
 
Contacts 
Author Information ......................................................................................................... 9 
 
Congressional Research Service 
Legislative Branch Appropriations: Frequently Asked Questions 
 
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 bil  typical y funds 
Joint Items, including the Joint Economic Committee, Joint Committee on Taxation, Office of the 
Attending Physician, Office of Congressional Accessibility Services, and in some years, the Joint 
Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies; Capitol Police; Office of Congressional 
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 Accountability 
Office (GAO); and the Congressional Office for International Leadership (formerly the Open 
World Leadership Center, renamed in the FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act). 
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 general y 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 percentage of discretionary budget authority historically goes to the 
legislative branch? 
Discretionary budget authority is provided and controlled by the annual appropriations acts. 
                                              
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: “ T he 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. T hat 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://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/assets/
a11_current_year/s25.pdf). 
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Since FY1976, the legislative  branch as a proportion of total discretionary budget authority has 
averaged approximately 0.40%.3 The maximum level, not including the transition quarter,4 was in 
FY1995 (0.48%), and the minimum was in FY2020 (0.28%). 
What percentage 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 
0.16%. The maximum level, 0.23%, was in FY1977, and the minimum, 0.07%, was in FY2020.5 
How is funding divided across the legislative branch? 
Figure 1 shows the distribution of funding across the legislative branch in FY2022. 
                                              
3 Calculations by CRS  with data from Office of Management and Budget  (OMB), “T able 5.4 —Discretionary Budget 
Authority By Agency: 1976-2027,” in Historical T ables, Budget of the United States Governm ent, FY2023, at 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/. T he calculations have some limitations, since the OMB data do not 
completely align with items funded  in the annual and supplemental legislative branch appropriations acts. T he 
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.  T ax 
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 T ables 
reveals some differences with the reported total budget authority provided in the annual legislative branch 
appropriations acts. T he 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 
significant difference in the proportion of total discretionary budget auth ority. 
4 “Prior to 1977, the fiscal year began on July  1 and  ended on June  30 ... Fiscal  year 1976 ended on June 30, 1976, and 
fiscal year 1977 began on October 1, 1976. T he period July 1, 1976, to September 30, 1976, is calle d  the ‘transition 
quarter’ or T Q.” (Office of Management and Budget,  Budget  Analysis Branch, Public Budget Database User’s  Guide, 
Budget of the United States Governm ent, Fiscal Year 2022 , May 2021, p. 2.) 
5 FY2021 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), “T able 5.2 —Budget Authority by Agency: 1976–2027,” in 
Historical T ables, Budget of the United States Governm ent, FY2023, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-
tables/. T he 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.  
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Legislative Branch Appropriations: Frequently Asked Questions 
 
Figure 1. Legislative Branch Funding: Distribution in FY2022 
 
Source: CRS analysis of legislative  branch appropriations acts and related  budget documents. 
Notes: Total does not include permanent budget authorities,  including funding for Member  pay, that are not 
included in the annual legislative  branch appropriations bil .  Total also excludes offsetting col ections,  authority to 
spend receipts,  administrative provisions,  and scorekeeping  adjustments. COIL refers  to the Congressional 
Office for International Leadership  (formerly  the Open World  Leadership Center, renamed in the FY2022 
Consolidated Appropriations Act). 
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 bil  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.6 Similarly, the Senate does not comment on House items, 
including the account that funds the House and the House office buildings account within the 
Architect of the Capitol. The House, Senate, and conference reports on legislative branch 
appropriations bil s regularly contain language il ustrating the deference of each chamber to the 
internal practices of the other.7 If comparing the House and Senate bil  totals, or the total provided 
                                              
6 T he House and Senate office building  accounts are 2 of the 10 accounts that fund o perations of the Architect. T he 
other accounts fund capital construction and operations, Capitol building, Capitol grounds,  Capitol Power Plant, 
Library buildings  and grounds,  Capitol Police buildings  and grounds,  Capitol Visitor Center, and Botanic Garden.  
7 For example, the FY1996 conference report (U.S. Congress, House  Committee on Appropriations, FY1996 
Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, H.Rept. 104-212, report to accompany H.R. 1854, p. 9) states:  
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 (U.S. Congress, conference committee, FY2010 Legislative Branch 
Appropriations Bill, H.Rept. 111-265, report to accompany H.R. 2918, p. 33) states 
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to the Architect of the Capitol at different stages of consideration, adjustments may be necessary 
to address any omissions due to this practice. 
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 FY2022.  
What funding has been provided in recent years for the Senate, House of 
Representatives, and legislative branch agencies? 
Table 2 provides information on funding levels for the Senate, House of Representatives, and 
legislative  branch agencies in recent years as wel  as the requested, House-reported, and Senate-
introduced levels for FY2023. 
By law, the President includes the legislative  branch request in the annual budget submission 
without change. 
 
                                              
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. 
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Table 1. Legislative Branch Funding, FY2008-FY2022: Current and Constant Dollars 
(in bil ions of dol ars) 
Fiscal 
Year 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
2012 
2013 
2014 
2015 
2016 
2017 
2018 
2019 
2020 
2021 
2022 
Current 
3.970 
4.501a 
4.669b 
4.543c 
4.307 
4.061d 
4.259 
4.300 
4.363 
4.440 
4.700e 
4.846f 
5.049g 
5.304h 
5.924 
Dol ars 
Constant 
5.133 
5.827 
5.938 
5.652 
5.249 
4.872 
5.030 
5.051 
5.091 
5.092 
5.273 
5.345 
5.454 
5.584 
5.924 
Dol ars 
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 leg islative  branch appropriations bil . 
Constant 2022 dol ars calculated using the “Total Non-Defense” deflator in Table 10.1—Gross Domestic Product  and Deflators Used in the Historical Tables: 1940–2027 in 
the President’s  FY2023 budget request. See notes below or related CRS reports for additional information on specific years. 
a.  This number contains appropriations provided by P.L. 111-8 (the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act), $25.0 mil ion  for the Government  Accountability Office 
provided by P.L.  111-5 (the American Recovery  and Reinvestment Act of 2009), and $73.6 mil ion  provided by P.L. 111-32 (the Supplemental Appropriations  Act, 
2009) for the U.S. Capitol Police  and the Congressional  Budget Office. 
b.  This number contains appropriations provided by P.L. 111-68 (the FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations  Act), and $12.96 mil ion  in supplemental appropriations 
provided for the U.S. Capitol Police in P.L.  111-212 (the Supplemental Appropriations  Act, 2010). 
c.  This number does not include scorekeeping  adjustment. 
d.  FY2013 level obtained from the CBO cost estimate  for “Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 (H.J.Res.  59), Including the Amendment  Reported by the 
House Committee  on Rules on September 18, 2013 (H.Res. 352) Discretionary  spending (in mil ions  of dol ars),” which lists  a total for legislative  branch budget 
authority of $4.061 bil ion,  noting that it “includes effects of the 2013 sequestration.” This bil  contained a smal   anomaly for the legislative  branch.  
e.  Does not include $14.0 mil ion  provided to the Government  Accountability Office “for audits and investigations relating to Hu rricanes  Harvey, Irma, and Maria and 
the 2017 wildfires”  (P.L. 115-123, Title IX of Division  B, enacted February 9, 2018). 
f. 
The total includes $10.0 mil ion  in FY2019 supplemental appropriations for  GAO for audits and investigations related to storms  and disasters  (P.L. 116-20, enacted 
June 6, 2019). 
g.  The total does not include $93.1 mil ion  in FY2020 supplemental appropriations, including $10.0 mil ion  for the Senate, $25.0 mil ion  for the House of 
Representatives,  $400,000 for the Office of the Attending Physician, $12.0 mil ion  for the Capitol Police,  $25.0 mil ion  for the Architect of the Capitol, $700,000 for 
the Library of Congress,  and $20.0 mil ion  for the Government Accountability Office (CARES Act, P.L. 116-136, enacted March 27, 2020).  
h.  The total does not include funding provided in the Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 117-31, July 30, 2021), which provided $448.6 
mil ion. 
 
 
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Table 2. Legislative Branch Appropriations: Prior Enacted Levels and FY2023 Action 
(in thousands of dol ars) 
FY2023  
House- 
FY2023 
Reported 
Senate 
FY2014 
FY2015  
FY2016  
FY2017  
FY2018 
FY2019 
FY2020 
FY2021 
FY2022 
FY2023 
(H.R. 
Intro.  
Entity 
Enacted 
Enacted 
Enacted 
Enacted 
Enacteda 
Enactedb 
Enactedc 
Enactedd 
Enacted 
Requestl 
8237) 
(S. 4720) 
Senate 
$859,293 
$864,286 
$870,159 
$871,177 
$919,932    $934,667e 
$969,396 
$998,560  $1,094,894  $1,156,069 
—f  $1,135,180 
House  
1,180,908 
1,180,735 
1,180,909 
1,189,223 
1,200,173 
1,232,663e 
1,365,725 
1,476,607 
 1,715,170 
1,829,474 
 1,868,785 
—f 
Joint 
18,994 
19,056 
20,732 
19,565 
20,654 
20,656 
22,643 
21,513 
 22,337 
 23,042 
23,042 
23,114 
Itemsg 
USCP 
338,459 
347,959 
375,000 
393,300 
426,500 
456,308 
464,341 
515,541 
 602,509 
 708,098 
   708,098 
707,098 
OCWRh 
3,868 
3,959 
3,959 
3,959 
4,959 
6,333 
6,333 
7,500 
 7,500 
 7,500 
      8,000 
7,500 
CBO 
45,700 
45,700 
46,500 
46,500 
49,945 
50,737 
54,941 
57,292 
 60,953 
 64,637 
     64,637 
64,637 
AOCf 
602,030 
600,261 
612,904 
617,887 
712,105 
733,745 
695,933 
675,073 
 773,898 
1,669,417 
1,268,130f 
1,100,028f 
LOC 
578,982 
590,921 
599,912 
631,958 
669,890 
696,112 
725,359 
757,346 
 794,019 
824,895 
831,395 
819,264 
(w/CRS) 
CRS 
105,350 
106,945 
106,945 
107,945 
119,279 
125,688 
120,495i 
125,495 
129,106 
132,600 
133,600 
132,600 
(non-add) 
GPO 
119,300 
119,993 
117,068 
117,068 
117,068 
117,000 
117,000 
117,000 
124,237 
 130,904 
 130,904 
129,854 
GAO 
505,383 
522,000 
531,000 
544,506 
578,917a 
589,750b 
630,000 
661,139 
719,230   
 810,319 
 790,319 
785,832 
COILj 
6,000 
5,700 
5,600 
5,600 
5,600 
5,600 
5,900 
6,000 
6,000 
 6,000 
 6,000 
6,000 
Stennis  
430 
430 
430 
430 
430 
430 
430 
430 
430    
 430  
 430  
430 
Admin. 
-1,000 
-1,000 
-1,000 
-1,000 
-2,000 
-2,000 
-2,000 
-2,000 
-2,000 
-3,000 
-3,000 
-3,000 
Prov. 
Otherk 
0 
0 
0 
0 
-4,000 
-6,000 
-7,000 
7,000 
5,000 
5,000 
5,000 
5,000 
Total 
$4,258,347 
$4,300,000 
$4,363,172 
$4,440,173 
$4,700,173a 
$4,836,001b 
$5,049,000c    $5,304,213d 
$5,924,177 
$7,232,785l 
$5,701,740f 
$4,780,937f 
Leg. 
Branch 
CRS-6 
 
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, P.L. 116-94, P.L. 116-260, P.L. 117-103, explanatory materials  for FY2014, 
FY2015, FY2016, FY2017, FY2018, FY2020, FY2021, and FY2022 inserted into the Congressional  Record,  H.Rept. 115-929, the Budget for Fiscal Year 2023, the budget 
amendment submitted on June 7, 2022, H.R. 8237 (117th Cong.), H.Rept. 117-389, S. 4720 (117th Cong.), the Senate Appropriations  Committee  chairman’s draft 
explanatory statement, and CRS calculations. See notes below or related CRS reports  for additional information on specific years. 
a.  Does not include emergency appropriation provided by P.L. 115-123. Title IX of Division  B provided $14.0 mil ion  to GAO  “for audits and investigations relating to 
Hurricanes Harvey,  Irma, and Maria and the 2017 wildfires.”   
b.  Does not include emergency appropriation provided by P.L. 116-20. Title IX provided $10.0 mil ion  to GAO for audits and investigations  related to storms  and 
disasters.   
c.  The table does not include emergency  appropriations of $93.1 mil ion  provided in P.L.  116-136 ($10.0 mil ion for the Senate, $25.0 mil ion  for the House of 
Representatives,  $400,000 for the Office of the Attending Physician, $12.0 mil ion  for the Capitol Police,  $25.0 mil ion  for the Architect of the Capitol, $700,000 for 
the Library of Congress,  and $20.0 mil ion  for the Government Accountability Office).  
d.  The table does not include provisions  in the Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations  Act, 2021 ( P.L. 117-31, enacted on July 30, 2021) for the House of 
Representatives,  Senate, Capitol Police,  or Architect of the Capitol, or emergency  appropriations included in P.L. 116-260. Total includes a rescission  of $5.212 
mil ion. 
e.  Total does not include gratuity payments for survivors of deceased Members  of Congress. 
f. 
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. The levels  in the FY2023 House-reported bil   column do not include Senate or Senate office building funding, and the Senate-introduced 
bil  does not include House or House office building funding. 
g.  “Joint Items” general y 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 Con gressional  Committee  on Inaugural 
Ceremonies  (e.g., $1.25 mil ion  for FY2016; $1.5 mil ion  for FY2020). 
h.  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). 
i. 
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 mil ion  for CRS when 
reflecting the centralized IT funding.  
j. 
The FY2022 appropriations act contained a provision  changing the name from the Open World  Leadership Center to the Congressional  Office for International 
Leadership (COIL).  
k.  Includes, for example,  scorekeeping  adjustments or prior-year  outlays.  
l. 
The President submitted a budget amendment on June 7, 2022. The amendments impacted the funding request for the Senate and Library of Congress  (President 
Joseph R. Biden,  “Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives  on Fiscal Year  2023 Budget Amendments,”  June 7, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/
briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/06/07/letter-to-the-speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives-on-fiscal-year-2023-budget-amendments/). The budget requests 
in the table reflect  the revised  requested levels. 
CRS-7 
Legislative Branch Appropriations: Frequently Asked Questions 
 
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 
bil .   
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).8 The adjustment 
automatical y 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 automatical y 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 2022 member pay adjustment based on the ECI was 2.3%, or 
$4,000. The 2022 GS base pay adjustment was 2.2%, automatical y limiting any Member pay 
adjustment to $3,800.9 Both the FY2022 House-passed legislative branch appropriations bil  
(H.R. 4346), and the Senate Appropriations Committee majority print included a provision 
prohibiting any Member pay adjustment in 2022. P.L. 117-43, which provided continuing funding 
for legislative branch operations for FY2022, extended Section 7 of P.L. 116-260, which had 
prohibited the pay adjustment in 2021. This language was further extended by P.L. 117-70, and 
then enacted for the remainder of the year by the FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 
117-103).   
The House-reported FY2023 legislative branch appropriations bil  (H.R. 8237) and the Senate-
introduced bil  (S. 4720) both contain language to continue the pay freeze for another year 
(Section 212).  
Although discussion of Member pay is often associated with appropriations bil s, these bil s do 
not contain language funding or increasing Member pay, and a prohibition on the automatic 
annual Member pay adjustments could be included in any bil , or be introduced as a separate bil .  
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. 
                                              
8 For mandatory spending language,  see P.L. 97-51, 95 Stat. 966, September 11, 1981; and, for example, “T able 26-1. 
Federal  Budget  By Agency and Account” in Analytical Perspectives,  Budget of the United States Governm ent, Fiscal 
Year 2023, pp. 2, 3. For the Ethics Reform Act, see P.L. 101-194, 103 Stat. 1767-1768, November 30, 1989. 
9 T he 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%. T he 2.3% potential adjustment was determined by taking the percentage increase in 
the index between  the quarters ending  December 2019 and December 2020, which was  2.8%, and subtracting 0.5%. 
U.S.  Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Em ploym ent Cost Index—Decem ber 2020, January 31, 2020, p. 
3. Pursuant to 2 U.S.C.  §4501(2)(A), this amount is “rounded to the nearest multiple of $100.” 
Congressional Research Service  
 
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Legislative Branch Appropriations: Frequently Asked Questions 
 
In contrast, the salaries and benefits for legislative branch employees are provided by the 
legislative  branch appropriations acts, although they general y do not address pay adjustments.10 
 
Author Information 
 
Ida A. Brudnick 
   
Specialist on the Congress 
    
 
 
Disclaimer 
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan 
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and 
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should n ot be relied upon for purposes other 
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in 
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10 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 of Representatives 
(issued  pursuant to 2 U.S.C.  §4532 note); Orders of the President pro Tem pore (issued  pursuant to 2 U.S.C.  4571); and 
laws  governing employment for individual agencies,  positions, or pay systems. 
Congressional Research Service  
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