The legislative branch appropriations bill provides funding for the Senate; House of Representatives; Joint Items; Capitol Police; 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 Open World Leadership Center.
The legislative branch FY2015 budget request of $4.471 billion was submitted on March 4, 2014. By law, the President includes the requests submitted from the legislative branch in the annual budget without change.
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees’ Legislative Branch Subcommittees held hearings to consider the FY2015 legislative branch requests.
The House subcommittee held its markup on April 4, 2014, and the full committee held a markup on April 9. One amendment was offered in the full committee, but failed. The bill, which recommended $3.3 billion (not including Senate items), was reported on April 17 (H.R. 4487, H.Rept. 113-417).
The House passed H.R. 4487, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015, on May 1, 2014, by a vote of 402-14.
The Senate Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 4487, as amended, on June 19, 2014, by voice vote (S.Rept. 113-196). This version would have provided $4.3 billion.
No further action on H.R. 4487 was taken, and legislative branch activities were funded through continuing appropriations resolutions (P.L. 113-164 and P.L. 113-203) until the enactment of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235, enacted December 16, 2014). Division H of this act provides $4.3 billion dollars, an increase of $41.7 million (1.0%) from FY2014 and $164.9 million (-3.7%) less than the request.
Legislative branch funding, which peaked in FY2010, remains below the FY2009 level of $4.501 billion. In FY2014, the funding level was $4.259 billion. The FY2013 act funded legislative branch accounts at the FY2012 enacted level, with some exceptions (also known as “anomalies”), less across-the-board rescissions that applied to all appropriations in the act, and not including sequestration reductions implemented on March 1. The FY2012 level represented a decrease of $236.9 million (-5.2%) from the FY2011 level, which itself represented a $125.1 million decrease (-2.7%) from FY2010.
The smallest of the appropriations bills, the legislative branch comprises approximately 0.4% of total discretionary budget authority.
The legislative branch appropriations bill provides funding for the Senate; House of Representatives; Joint Items; Capitol Police; 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 Open World Leadership Center.
The legislative branch FY2015 budget request of $4.471 billion was submitted on March 4, 2014. By law, the President includes the requests submitted from the legislative branch in the annual budget without change.
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees' Legislative Branch Subcommittees held hearings to consider the FY2015 legislative branch requests.
The House subcommittee held its markup on April 4, 2014, and the full committee held a markup on April 9. One amendment was offered in the full committee, but failed. The bill, which recommended $3.3 billion (not including Senate items), was reported on April 17 (H.R. 4487, H.Rept. 113-417).
The House passed H.R. 4487, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015, on May 1, 2014, by a vote of 402-14.
The Senate Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 4487, as amended, on June 19, 2014, by voice vote (S.Rept. 113-196). This version would have provided $4.3 billion.
No further action on H.R. 4487 was taken, and legislative branch activities were funded through continuing appropriations resolutions (P.L. 113-164 and P.L. 113-203) until the enactment of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235, enacted December 16, 2014). Division H of this act provides $4.3 billion dollars, an increase of $41.7 million (1.0%) from FY2014 and $164.9 million (-3.7%) less than the request.
Legislative branch funding, which peaked in FY2010, remains below the FY2009 level of $4.501 billion. In FY2014, the funding level was $4.259 billion. The FY2013 act funded legislative branch accounts at the FY2012 enacted level, with some exceptions (also known as "anomalies"), less across-the-board rescissions that applied to all appropriations in the act, and not including sequestration reductions implemented on March 1. The FY2012 level represented a decrease of $236.9 million (-5.2%) from the FY2011 level, which itself represented a $125.1 million decrease (-2.7%) from FY2010.
The smallest of the appropriations bills, the legislative branch comprises approximately 0.4% of total discretionary budget authority.
The first section of this report provides an overview of the consideration of FY2015 legislative branch appropriations, with subsections covering each action, including
It is followed by a section on prior year actions and funding, which contains historical tables.
The report then addresses the FY2015 budget requests, hearings, and funding issues for individual legislative branch agencies and entities.
Finally, Table 4 through Table 8 list funding levels for FY2014, and FY2015 budget requests and House-passed, Senate-reported, and enacted levels for these accounts, while the Appendix lists House, Senate, and conference bills and reports and public law numbers and enactment dates since FY1998.
|
Committee Markup |
Conference Report Approval |
||||||||
|
House |
Senate |
House Report |
House Passage |
Senate Report |
Senate Passage |
Conference Report |
House |
Senate |
Public Law |
|
4/9/2014 |
6/19/14 (H.R. 4487) |
4/17/14 |
5/1/14 |
6/19/14 (S.Rept. 113-196) |
12/16/14 |
||||
Source: Congressional Research Service examination of congress.gov data.
Note: In recent years, the House has held a subcommittee markup, held on April 4, 2014, prior to the full committee markup.
The FY2015 U.S. Budget submitted on March 4, 2014, contains a request for $4.471 billion in new budget authority for legislative branch activities.1
By law, the legislative branch request is submitted to the President and included in the budget without change.2
Table 2 lists the dates of hearings of the legislative branch subcommittees in 2014. Prepared statements of witnesses were posted on the subcommittee websites.3
|
House of Representatives |
Senate |
|
|
Senate |
— |
March 25, 2014 |
|
House of Representatives |
March 6, 2014 |
— |
|
U.S. Capitol Police |
March 24, 2014 |
March 25, 2014 |
|
Office of Compliance |
— |
— |
|
Congressional Budget Office |
March 4, 2014 |
March 11, 2014 |
|
Architect of the Capitol |
March 4, 2014 |
April 8, 2014 |
|
Library of Congress, including the Congressional Research Service |
March 5, 2014 |
April 8, 2014 |
|
Government Printing Office |
March 4, 2014 |
— |
|
Government Accountability Office |
March 5, 2014 |
March 11, 2014 |
|
Open World Leadership Center |
—a |
April 8, 2014 |
|
Members/Public Witnesses |
—b |
— |
Source: Congressional Research Service examination of House and Senate Appropriations Committee websites.
Note:
a. The Open World Leadership Center was discussed during House hearing on the Library of Congress, but no Open World staff provided testimony.
b. The House subcommittee announced that it would accept testimony for the record from Members and outside witnesses through March 7, 2014.
On April 4, 2014, the House subcommittee met to mark up the FY2015 bill. The mark provided $3.3 billion (not including Senate items, which are determined by the Senate). No amendments were offered, and it was reported to the full committee by voice vote.
On April 9, 2014, the full House Appropriations Committee held a markup of the FY2015 bill. One amendment was considered before the bill was ordered reported to the House. Representative Moran proposed the creation of an optional housing stipend of $25 per day for Members who live 50 or more miles away from Washington, DC, which failed.
The House of Representatives took up consideration of H.R. 4487 on May 1, 2014. Pursuant to a rule (H.Res. 557, agreed to by voice vote on April 30, 2014), eight amendments were considered, including the following:
H.R. 4487, as amended, was passed by the House by a vote of 402-14.
The Senate Appropriations Committee considered H.R. 4487 on June 19, 2014. It ordered the bill reported favorably with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
No further action was taken on H.R. 4487 prior to the start of FY2015 on October 1, 2014.
The enactment of two continuing appropriations resolutions (P.L. 113-164 and P.L. 113-203) provided funding for the legislative branch until the enactment of funding for the remainder of FY2015 in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, on December 16, 2014 (P.L. 113-235). The FY2015 act provides $4.3 billion for legislative branch operations, an increase of 1.0% from the FY2014 enacted level.
Neither a legislative branch appropriations bill, nor a continuing appropriations resolution (CR), containing FY2014 funding was enacted prior to the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1, 2013. A funding gap, which resulted in a partial government shutdown, ensued for 16 days. The funding gap was terminated by the enactment of a CR (P.L. 113-46) on October 17, 2013. The CR provided funding through January 15, 2014.4 Following enactment of a temporary continuing resolution on January 15, 2014 (P.L. 113-73), a consolidated appropriations bill was enacted on January 17 (P.L. 113-76), providing $4.259 billion for the legislative branch for FY2014.
FY2013 funding of approximately $4.061 billion was provided by P.L. 113-6, which was signed into law on March 26, 2013.5 The act funded legislative branch accounts at the FY2012 enacted level, with some exceptions (also known as "anomalies"), and less across-the-board rescissions required by Section 3004 of P.L. 113-6. Section 3004 was intended to eliminate any amount by which the new budget authority provided in the act exceeds the FY2013 discretionary spending limits in Section 251(c)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Subsequent to the enactment of P.L. 113-6, OMB calculated that additional rescissions of 0.032% of security budget authority, and 0.2% of nonsecurity budget authority, would be required. The act did not alter the sequestration reductions implemented on March 1, which reduced most legislative branch accounts by 5.0%.6 The accompanying OMB report indicated a dollar amount of budget authority to be canceled in each account containing non-exempt funds.7
Division G of the FY2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 112-74) provided $4.307 billion for the legislative branch. This level was $236.9 million (-5.2%) below the FY2011 enacted level. P.L. 112-10 provided $4.543 billion for legislative branch operations in FY2011. This level represented a $125.1 million decrease from the $4.668 billion provided in the FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-68) and the FY2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-212). The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act provided $4.402 billion. In FY2009, an additional $25.0 million was provided for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.8 P.L. 111-32, the FY2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act, also contained funding for a new Capitol Police radio system ($71.6 million) and for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ($2.0 million).9
As seen in Table 3, the legislative branch budget in constant dollars remains below the FY2004 level.
Table 3. Legislative Branch Funding Since FY2004: Current and Constant Dollars
(in billions of dollars)
|
Fiscal Year |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
Current Dollars |
3.528a |
3.640b |
3.793c |
3.852d |
3.970 |
4.501e |
4.669f |
4.543g |
4.307 |
4.061h |
4.259 |
|
Constant Dollars |
4.352 |
4.353 |
4.393 |
4.352 |
4.338 |
4.903 |
5.016 |
4.782 |
4.440 |
4.120 |
4.259 |
Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of legislative branch appropriations acts and related budget documents.
Notes: These figures exclude permanent budget authorities and contain supplementals and rescissions. Permanent budget authorities, including funding for Member pay, are not included in the annual legislative branch appropriations bill but are automatically funded each year. Constant 2014 dollars calculated using the "Total Non-Defense" deflator in Table 10.1—Gross Domestic Product and Deflators Used in the Historical Tables: 1940–2019 in the President's FY2015 budget request.
a. This figure contains appropriations provided by P.L. 108-83 (the FY2004 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act). Additional FY2004 provisions which did not contain appropriations were contained in P.L. 108-199 (the FY2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act).
b. This number contains appropriations provided by P.L. 108-447 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2005, adjusted by a 0.80% rescission also contained in P.L. 108-447), and P.L. 109-13 (the FY2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act).
c. This number contains appropriations provided by P.L. 109-55 (the FY2006 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, adjusted by a 1.0% rescission contained in P.L. 109-148), and P.L. 109-234 (the FY2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act).
d. This number contains appropriations provided by P.L. 110-5 (the Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007), and funding for the House of Representatives, Government Accountability Office, U.S. Capitol Police, Architect of the Capitol, and gratuity payments provided in P.L. 110-28 (the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007).
e. This number contains appropriations provided by P.L. 110-161 (the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act), $25.0 million for the Government Accountability Office provided by P.L. 111-5 (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), and $73.6 million provided by P.L. 111-32 for the U.S. Capitol Police and the Congressional Budget Office (the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009).
f. This number contains appropriations provided by P.L. 111-68 (the FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act), and $12.96 million in supplemental appropriations provided for the U.S. Capitol Police in P.L. 111-212 (the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010).
g. This number does not include scorekeeping adjustment.
h. 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 millions of dollars)" (http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/hjres59amendment.pdf), which lists a total for legislative branch budget authority of $4.061 billion, noting that it "includes effects of the 2013 sequestration." This bill contained a small anomaly for the legislative branch.
The following sections discuss the various legislative branch accounts as well as issues discussed during the hearings on the budget requests.
The Senate requested $907.2 million for FY2015, a 5.6% increase over the $859.3 million provided in FY2014. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommended $865.9 million, an increase of 0.8% from FY2014. The FY2015 act provides $864.3 million, an increase of 0.6%.
Additional information on the Senate account is presented in Table 5.
Appropriations for Senate committees are contained in two accounts:10
The Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA) provides each Senator with funds to administer an office. It consists of an administrative and clerical assistance allowance, a legislative assistance allowance, and an official office expense allowance. The funds may be used for any category of expenses, subject to limitations on official mail.
The Senate requested $429.7 million for FY2015. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommended, and the FY2015 act provided, $390.0 million, the same level provided in FY2014.
The House requested $1.20 billion for FY2015, an increase of 1.7%. The House-passed FY2015 level of $1.18 billion, which was continued in the FY2015 act, is equivalent to the FY2014 level.11
Additional information on headings in the House of Representatives account is presented in Table 6.
Funding for House committees is contained in the appropriation heading "committee employees," which comprises two subheadings.
The first subheading contains funds for personnel and nonpersonnel expenses of House committees, except the Appropriations Committee, as authorized by the House in a committee expense resolution. The House requested $126.3 million (+2.0%). The House-passed bill and the FY2015 act contained $123.9 million, the same level provided for FY2014.
The second subheading contains funds for the personnel and nonpersonnel expenses of the Committee on Appropriations. The House requested $23.7 million (+2.0%). The House-passed bill and the FY2015 act contained the same level of funding as the FY2014 act, $23.3 million.
The Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) is available to support Members in their official and representational duties. For FY2015, $565.4 million was requested (+2.0%). The House-passed bill and the FY2015 act contained $554.3 million, the same level provided for FY2014.
The U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) are responsible for the security of the Capitol Complex, including the U.S. Capitol, the House and Senate office buildings, the U.S. Botanic Garden, and the Library of Congress buildings and adjacent grounds.
The USCP requested $355.7 million for FY2015, an increase of 5.1% from the $338.5 million the USCP received in FY2014. The House-passed bill would have provided $348.0 million (+2.8%), while the Senate-reported version would have provided $344.0 million (+1.7%). The House-passed level was provided in the FY2015 act.
Additional information on the USCP is presented in Table 7.
Appropriations for the police are contained in two accounts—a salaries account and a general expenses account. The salaries account contains funds for the salaries of employees; overtime pay; hazardous duty pay differential; and government contributions for employee health, retirement, Social Security, professional liability insurance, and other benefit programs. The general expenses account contains funds for expenses of vehicles; communications equipment; security equipment and its installation; dignitary protection; intelligence analysis; hazardous material response; uniforms; weapons; training programs; medical, forensic, and communications services; travel; relocation of instructors for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; and other administrative and technical support, among other expenses.
Another appropriation relating to the Capitol Police appears within the Architect of the Capitol account for Capitol Police buildings and grounds. USCP requested $25.6 million, an increase of 32.3% from the $19.3 million provided in FY2014. The House-passed bill would have provided $19.5 million (+0.7%), and the Senate-reported bill recommended $20.7 million (+6.8%). The FY2015 act provided $19.2 million (-1.0%).
On March 24, 2014, the House subcommittee discussed the Capitol Police training requests, radio modernization program, recent incidents in which USCP was involved, and overtime use, and discrimination complaints issues related to door closures in the House side of the Capitol were discussed extensively.
At a hearing on March 25, 2014, the Senate subcommittee discussed the incidents in which USCP was involved, and questions of increased access as funding returned to post-sequestration levels.
The Office of Compliance is an independent and nonpartisan agency within the legislative branch. It was established to administer and enforce the Congressional Accountability Act, which was enacted in 1995.14 The act applies various employment and workplace safety laws to Congress and certain legislative branch entities.15
The Office of Compliance requested $4.02 million for FY2015, an increase of $152,000 (+3.9%) from the $3.87 million in the FY2014 act. The House Appropriations Committee recommended $3.96 million. The House-passed bill would have provided $4.5 million (+15.3%), including the $500,000 provided in the amendment offered by Representative Speier to provide sexual harassment training for House offices, with funds offset from the general administration fund of the Architect of the Capitol. The Senate-reported bill would have provided $3.96 million, an increase of $91,000 (+2.4%) from FY2014. The FY2015 act provided the Senate-reported level.
The Senate-reported version of H.R. 4487 contained language, subsequently included in the FY2015 act, authorizing the Office of Compliance to send notifications to covered employees electronically rather than through the mail.
CBO is a nonpartisan congressional agency created to provide objective economic and budgetary analysis to Congress. CBO cost estimates are required for any measure reported by a regular or conference committee that may vary revenues or expenditures.16
CBO requested $46.1 million for FY2015 (+0.8%). The House-passed bill would have provided $45.7 million, which was the level contained in the FY2014 act. The Senate-reported bill would have provided $46.1 million. The House-passed level was provided in the FY2015 act.
At the House hearing on March 4, 2014, the subcommittee discussed the volume of CBO projections, and findings and projections in recent CBO products.
Among the items discussed at the March 11, 2014, Senate subcommittee hearing were the number of requests received by CBO and its methodologies.
CBO requested two administrative provisions. One provision would make FY2015 funds available for the compensation of employees in specialty occupations with non-immigrant visas and another provision would make certain limited FY2015 unobligated balances available through FY2016. Neither the House-passed and Senate-reported versions of H.R. 4487, nor the FY2015 act, contained these provisions.
The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the U.S. Capitol Complex, which includes the Capitol and its grounds, House and Senate office buildings, Library of Congress buildings and grounds, Capitol power plant, Botanic Garden, Capitol Visitor Center, and Capitol Police buildings and grounds. The Architect is responsible for the Supreme Court buildings and grounds, but appropriations for their expenses are not contained in the legislative branch appropriations bill.
Operations of the Architect are funded in the following 10 accounts: general administration, Capitol building, Capitol grounds, Senate office buildings, House office buildings, Capitol power plant, Library buildings and grounds, Capitol Police buildings and grounds, Capitol Visitor Center, and Botanic Garden.
The Architect requested $676.6 million for FY2015, an increase of 12.4% from the FY2014 level of $602.0 million, which included $15.94 million for the next phase of the Capitol Dome restoration project.
The House-reported bill would have provided $488.6 million, not including funding for the Senate office buildings. The House-passed bill would have provided $484.9 million, including an amendment offered by Representative Gosar to reduce funding for the Botanic Garden to FY2014 levels and an amendment offered by Representative Speier to offset from the general administration fund of the Architect of the Capitol training provided by the Office of Compliance.
The Senate-reported bill would have provided $600.0 million.
The FY2015 act provided $600.2 million (-0.3%).
The FY2014 request and the FY2015 House-passed, Senate-reported, and enacted levels for each of the AOC accounts is presented in Table 8.
The House-passed version of H.R. 4487 contained an administrative provision preventing the use of scrims containing photographs of building façades during restoration or construction projects performed by AOC. The Senate-reported version of H.R. 4487 contained an administrative provision related to educational outreach efforts of the U.S. Botanic Garden. The FY2015 act contained the Botanic Garden educational outreach language as well as language prohibiting the use of funds for bonuses for contractors behind schedule or over budget.
Among the items discussed at the House subcommittee hearing on March 4, 2014, were funding for the Capitol Dome rehabilitation project, the prioritization of projects, and plans for the renovation of the Cannon House Office Building.
At a hearing on April 8, 2014, the Senate subcommittee discussed the restoration of the Capitol Dome, and the prioritization of projects.
The Library of Congress serves simultaneously as Congress's parliamentary library and the de facto national library of the United States. Its broader services to the nation include the acquisition, maintenance, and preservation of a collection of more than 158 million items17 in a wide range of traditional and new media; service to the general public and scholarly and library communities; administration of U.S. copyright laws by its Copyright Office; and administration of a national program to provide reading material to the blind and physically handicapped. Its direct services to Congress include the provision of legal research and law-related services by the Law Library of Congress, and a broad range of activities by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), including in-depth and nonpartisan public policy research, analysis, and legislative assistance for Members and committees and their staff; congressional staff training; information and statistics retrieval; and continuing legal education for Members of both chambers and congressional staff.
The Library requested $593.1 million for FY2015, an increase of 2.4% from the $578.98 million provided in FY2014. The House-passed bill would have provided $594.95 million (+2.8%). The Senate-reported bill would have provided $587.4 million (+1.5%). The FY2015 act provided $590.9 million, an increase of $11.9 million (+2.1%).
These figures do not include additional authority to spend receipts.18
The FY2015 budget contains the following headings:
The Architect's budget also contains funds for the Library buildings and grounds. The FY2014 act provided $53.4 million, including $18.2 million for the requested collection storage module at Ft. Meade. A total of $62.8 million (+17.5%) was requested for FY2015. The House-passed bill would have provided $41.7 million (-21.8%), and the Senate-reported bill would have provided $47.6 million (-10.8%). The FY2015 act provided $42.2 million (-21.0%).
The Library requested authority to obligate funds for reimbursable and revolving fund activities, which was included in the House-passed and Senate-reported bills and the FY2015 act.
At a hearing on March 5, 2014, the House subcommittee discussed issues in the Copyright Office, management and planning within the Library, plans for the Twitter archive, and book preservation.
At a hearing on April 8, 2014, the Senate subcommittee asked about core services of the Library, the status of the Open World Leadership Center, and book preservation.
GPO requested $128.9 million for FY2015, an increase of 8.1% from the $119.3 million provided in the FY2014 act. The House-passed bill would have provided $122.6 million (+2.8%), while the Senate-reported bill would have provided $122.1 million (+2.4%). The FY2015 act provided $119.99 million (+0.6%).
GPO's budget authority is contained in three accounts. The FY2015 act renamed these accounts: (1) congressional printing and binding became congressional publishing, (2) Office of Superintendent of Documents (salaries and expenses) became Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents (salaries and expenses), and (3) the revolving fund became the Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund.
The Senate-reported version of the bill includes a provision redesignating the Government Printing Office as the Government Publishing Office. Under this provision, the Public Printer would also be renamed the Director of the Government Publishing Office, while also making all references to staff gender neutral. This language was included in the FY2015 act.
A separate bill redesignating GPO, S. 1947, previously was reported by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration in April 2014.
The House subcommittee met on March 4, 2014, to discuss GPO's FY2015 budget request. The topics discussed included activities of the agency during the funding lapse, costs of printing and digital provision of government information, production of passports and secure credentials, the revolving fund, equal employment opportunity complaints, and the Federal Digital System (FDSys).
GAO responds to requests for studies of federal government programs and expenditures. GAO may also initiate its own work.21
GAO requested $525.1 million for FY2015, not including offsetting collections. This represents an increase of 3.9% from the $505.4 million received in FY2014. The House-passed bill would have provided $519.6 million (+2.8%), while the Senate-reported bill would have provided $525.5 (+4.0%). The FY2015 act provided $522.0 million, an increase of $16.6 million (+3.3%).
These levels do not include offsetting collections.22
GAO requested three administrative provisions: (1) amending the reviews and reports required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; (2) authorizing the detail of personnel from other branches or agencies of the Federal Government to GAO; and (3) establishing a Center for Audit Excellence to be operated on a fee-based basis.
H.R. 4487, as passed by the House and reported by the Senate, included language establishing the Center. The FY2015 act also included this language.
At the House hearing on March 5, 2014, the subcommittee discussed issues including the number of requests accepted by GAO, savings achieved from GAO recommendations, and plans and justification for the Center for Audit Excellence.
The Senate subcommittee met on March 11, 2014, and discussed the number of requests received from Congress, performance management, and plans for the Center for Audit Excellence.
The Open World Leadership Center administers a program that supports democratic changes in other countries by inviting their leaders to observe democracy and free enterprise in the United States. The first program was authorized by Congress in 1999 to support the relationship between Russia and the United States. The program encouraged young federal and local Russian leaders to visit the United States and observe its government and society.
Established at the Library of Congress as the Center for Russian Leadership Development in 2000, the center was renamed the Open World Leadership Center in 2003, when the program was expanded to include specified additional countries.23 In 2004, Congress further extended the program's eligibility to other countries designated by the center's board of trustees, subject to congressional consideration.24 The center is housed in the Library and receives services from the Library through an inter-agency agreement.
Open World requested $8.0 million for FY2015, an increase of 33.3% from the $6.0 million provided in FY2014.
The House-passed bill would have provided $3.42 million (-43.0%). In discussion during the subcommittee markup of the bill, subcommittee chair Tom Cole of Oklahoma stated that the reduction was developed in consultation with House leadership, and represented the percentage of Russian participants in Open World programs.
The Senate-reported bill would have provided $5.7 million, a decrease of $300,000 (-5.0%) from FY2014. This level was provided in the FY2015 act.
The center was created by Congress in 1988 to encourage public service by congressional staff through training and development programs.25 The center requested $430,000 for FY2015, the same as provided in the FY2014 act. This level was provided in the House-passed and Senate-reported bills and the FY2015 act.
Previously, $430,000, not including the across-board-rescission or sequestration, was provided for the center in FY2013. The FY2013 Senate-reported bill would have provided the requested level of $430,000. The FY2013 House-passed bill did not provide funding for the Stennis Center, and the House report stated the following:
The fiscal year 2012 Conference Agreement (H.Rept. 112-331) directed that future budget requests from the John C. Stennis Center be accompanied by an appropriately detailed budget justification as requested in H.Rept. 112-148. The Committee did not receive such justification and therefore has not provided the requested funding.26
The $430,000 and directive for budget justifications included in the FY2012 conference report followed language in H.Rept. 112-148, the FY2012 House report, which stated the following:
The Center was created by Congress in 1988 with an appropriation of $7.5 million which subsequently was transferred to the John C. Stennis Trust Fund and invested in non-expendable corpus Special Issue Certificates of Indebtedness with the U.S. Treasury. As reflected in the current Budget of the United States, the Center has $15 million invested with the Treasury, and at a 2 percent return should generate $300,000 that can be utilized for the annual operation of the program. Since the principal of the fund has doubled from the original appropriation and with reduced funding within the Legislative Branch, the Committee has provided zero funding for the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development.
The Committee directs that any further budget request from the John C. Stennis Center be accompanied by an appropriately detailed budget justification.
The Stennis Center was funded at $430,000 in FY2011 (less 0.2% from an across-the-board rescission), FY2010, FY2009, FY2008 (less 0.25% rescission from an across-the-board rescission), and FY2007.
The House-passed and Senate-reported versions of H.R. 4487, as well as P.L. 113-235, included recurring general provisions prohibiting appropriated funds for the maintenance and care of private vehicles; limiting funds to FY2015 unless otherwise expressly provided; making any changes in rates of compensation and designation permanent; making consulting services contracts a matter of public record; authorizing the costs of Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council (LBFMC); authorizing landscape maintenance by the AOC in a specified area; limiting transfers; and prohibiting restrictions on guided staff tours of the Capitol.
Both the House-passed and Senate-reported versions of H.R. 4487 also included a provision freezing pay for Members of Congress in 2015. Division N (Section 8) of the FY2015 act enacted this freeze. Salaries for Members of Congress, however, are neither funded nor increased in the legislative branch or any other appropriations bill. In other years, provisions to prohibit the automatic adjustments have been discussed during consideration of other bills, and a prohibition 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 [author name scrubbed].
The Senate-reported bill also included restrictions for bonus awards to contractors for work on projects for which the contractor is behind schedule or over budget. A version of this language was included as an administrative provision in the Architect of the Capitol section of the FY2015 act.
A provision of P.L. 113-235 (Section 736) also prohibits the use of funds for the painting of a portrait of an officer or employee of the federal government, including Members of Congress and the head of any office in the legislative branch.
Table 4 through Table 8 provide information on funding levels for the legislative branch overall, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Capitol Police, and the Architect of the Capitol.
The tables are followed by an Appendix, which lists House, Senate, and conference bills and reports and public law numbers and enactment dates since FY1998.
Table 4. Legislative Branch Appropriations: Funding Levels by Agency or Entity
(in thousands of dollars)
|
Entity |
FY2014 |
FY2015 Requested |
FY2015 |
FY2015 Senate-Reported |
FY2015 Enacted |
|
|
Title 1: Legislative Branch Appropriations |
||||||
|
Senate |
$859,293 |
$907,271 |
—a |
$865,913 |
$864,286 |
|
|
House of Representatives |
1,180,908 |
1,200,509 |
1,180,735 |
1,180,735b |
1,180,735 |
|
|
Joint Itemsc |
18,994 |
19,195 |
18,965 |
19,112 |
19,056 |
|
|
Capitol Police |
338,459 |
355,663 |
347,959 |
344,047 |
347,959 |
|
|
Office of Compliance |
3,868 |
4,020 |
4,459 |
3,959 |
3,959 |
|
|
Congressional Budget Office |
45,700 |
46,078 |
45,700 |
46,057 |
45,700 |
|
|
Architect of the Capitol |
602,030 |
676,631 |
484,898a |
600,000b |
600,261 |
|
|
Library of Congress, Including CRS |
578,982 |
593,066 |
594,952 |
587,425 |
590,921 |
|
|
Congressional Research Service, Lib. of Cong. |
105,350 |
108,382 |
106,095 |
107,796 |
106,945 |
|
|
Government Printing Office |
119,300 |
128,919 |
122,584 |
122,109 |
119,993 |
|
|
Government Accountability Office |
505,383 |
525,116 |
519,622 |
525,513 |
522,000 |
|
|
Open World Leadership Center |
6,000 |
8,000 |
3,420 |
5,700 |
5,700 |
|
|
Stennis Center for Public Service |
430 |
430 |
430 |
430 |
430 |
|
|
Other |
-1,000 |
0 |
-1,000 |
-1,000 |
-1,000 |
|
|
Title II: General Provisions |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Total Legislative Branch |
$4,258,347 |
$4,464,898 |
$3,322,724a |
$4,300,000 |
$4,300,000 |
|
Source: P.L. 113-76, the FY2015 U.S. Budget, H.Rept. 113-417, S.Rept. 113-196, and P.L. 113-235.
Notes:
a. By tradition, the House does not consider appropriations for Senate operations or Senate Office Buildings.
b. By tradition, the Senate does not consider appropriations for House operations or House Office Buildings.
c. The FY2015 budget request contains the following under "Joint Items": the Joint Economic Committee, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Office of the Attending Physician, and the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services.
|
Accounts |
FY2014 |
FY2015 |
FY2015 |
FY2015 Senate-Reported |
FY2015 Enacted |
|
Payments—Heirs of Deceased Members of Congress |
$174b |
$0 |
— |
$0 |
$0 |
|
Expense Allowances and Representation |
205 |
205 |
— |
205 |
205 |
|
Salaries, Officers, and Employees |
175,950 |
179,863 |
— |
177,350 |
177,723 |
|
Office of Legislative Counsel |
5,192 |
5,277 |
— |
5,409 |
5,409 |
|
Office of Legal Counsel |
1,109 |
1,126 |
— |
1,120 |
1,120 |
|
Expense Allowances for Secretary of Senate, et al. |
28 |
28 |
— |
28 |
28 |
|
Contingent Expenses (subtotal) |
676,635 |
720,772 |
— |
681,801 |
679,801 |
|
Inquiries and Investigations |
132,000 |
134,000 |
— |
133,265 |
133,265 |
|
Senate Intl. Narcotics Caucus |
494 |
520 |
— |
508 |
508 |
|
Secretary of the Senatec |
6,250 |
6,250 |
— |
6,250 |
6,250 |
|
Sergeant at Arms/Doorkeeperd |
128,210 |
128,800 |
— |
130,300 |
128,300 |
|
Miscellaneous Items |
19,400 |
21,178 |
— |
21,178 |
21,178 |
|
Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account |
390,000 |
429,724 |
— |
390,000 |
390,000 |
|
Official Mail Costs |
281 |
300 |
— |
300 |
300 |
|
Total, Senate |
$859,293 |
$907,271 |
—a |
$865,913 |
864,286 |
Source: P.L. 113-76, the FY2015 U.S. Budget, H.Rept. 113-417, S.Rept. 113-196, and P.L. 113-235.
Notes:
a. By tradition, the House does not consider appropriations for Senate operations.
b. Provided in P.L. 113-46.
c. Office operations of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate are also funded under "Salaries, Officers, and Employees."
d. Office operations of the Office of Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper are also funded under "Salaries, Officers, and Employees."
|
Accounts |
FY2014 |
FY2015 |
FY2015 |
FY2015 Senate-Reporteda |
FY2015 Enacted |
|
Payments—Heirs of Deceased Members of Congress |
$174 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
House Leadership Offices |
22,278 |
22,725 |
22,278 |
22,278 |
22,278 |
|
Members' Representational Allowance |
554,318 |
565,404 |
554,318 |
554,318 |
554,318 |
|
Committee Employees (subtotal) |
147,174 |
150,071 |
147,174 |
147,174 |
147,174 |
|
Standing Committees, Special and Select, except Appropriations |
123,903 |
126,335 |
123,903 |
123,903 |
123,903 |
|
Appropriations Committee |
23,271 |
23,736 |
23,271 |
23,271 |
23,271 |
|
Salaries, Officers, and Employees (subtotal) |
172,655 |
175,226 |
171,345 |
171,345 |
171,345 |
|
Office of the Clerk |
24,009 |
24,639 |
24,009 |
24,009 |
24,009 |
|
Office of the Sergeant at Arms |
14,777 |
12,058 |
11,927 |
11,927 |
11,927 |
|
Office of Chief Administrative Officer |
113,100 |
116,163 |
113,100 |
113,100 |
113,100 |
|
Office of Inspector General |
4,742 |
4,742 |
4,742 |
4,742 |
4,742 |
|
Office of General Counsel |
1,341 |
1,353 |
1,341 |
1,341 |
1,341 |
|
Office of the Parliamentarian |
1,952 |
1,971 |
1,952 |
1,952 |
1,952 |
|
Office of the Law Revision Counsel |
3,088 |
4,114 |
4,088 |
4,088 |
4,088 |
|
Office of the Legislative Counsel |
8,353 |
8,893 |
8,893 |
8,893 |
8,893 |
|
Office of Interparliamentary Affairs |
814 |
814 |
814 |
814 |
814 |
|
Other Authorized Employees |
479 |
479 |
479 |
479 |
479 |
|
Allowances and Expenses (subtotal) |
284,309 |
287,083 |
285,620 |
285,620 |
285,620 |
|
Supplies, Materials, Administrative Costs and Federal Tort Claims |
3,503 |
4,153 |
4,153 |
4,153 |
4,153 |
|
Official Mail for committees, leadership, administrative and legislative offices |
190 |
190 |
190 |
190 |
190 |
|
Government Contributions |
258,081 |
258,081 |
256,636 |
256,636 |
256,636 |
|
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Emergency Appropriations |
16,217 |
16,217 |
16,217 |
16,217 |
16,217 |
|
Miscellaneous Items |
720 |
720 |
720 |
720 |
720 |
|
Transition Activities |
1,631 |
3,737 |
3,737 |
3,737 |
3,737 |
|
Wounded Warrior Program |
2,500 |
2,500 |
2,500 |
2,500 |
2,500 |
|
Office of Congressional Ethics |
1,467 |
1,485 |
1,467 |
1,467 |
1,467 |
|
House of Representatives, Total |
$1,180,908 |
$1,200,509 |
$1,180,735 |
$1,180,735a |
$1,180,735 |
Sources: P.L. 113-76, the FY2015 U.S. Budget, H.Rept. 113-417, S.Rept. 113-196, and P.L. 113-235.
a. By tradition, the Senate does not consider appropriations for House operations. Amounts in this column are unchanged from the amounts in the House-passed bill.
|
Accounts |
FY2014 |
FY2015 Request |
FY2015 |
FY2015 |
FY2015 |
|
Salaries, Capitol Police |
$279,000 |
$291,403 |
$286,500 |
$284,588 |
$286,500 |
|
General Expenses |
59,459 |
64,260 |
61,459 |
59,459 |
61,459 |
|
Total, Capitol Police |
$338,459 |
$355,663 |
$347,959 |
$344,047 |
347,959 |
Source: P.L. 113-76, the FY2015 U.S. Budget, H.Rept. 113-417, S.Rept. 113-196, and P.L. 113-235.
|
Accounts |
FY2014 |
FY2015 Request |
FY2015 |
FY2015 |
FY2015 |
|
General administration |
$90,277 |
$96,433 |
$91,055a |
$93,348 |
91,455 |
|
Capitol building |
61,376 |
57,545 |
53,126 |
53,313 |
54,665 |
|
Capitol grounds |
13,860 |
14,366 |
11,993 |
11,973 |
11,973 |
|
Senate office buildings |
72,990 |
109,221 |
—b |
100,272 |
94,313 |
|
House of Representatives |
|||||
|
House office buildings |
71,622 |
108,934 |
71,622 |
71,622c |
89,447 |
|
House Historic Buildings Revitalization Fund |
70,000 |
70,000 |
70,000 |
70,000c |
70,000 |
|
Capitol power plantd |
116,678 |
94,990 |
93,152 |
94,768 |
90,652 |
|
Library buildings and grounds |
53,391 |
62,756 |
41,733 |
47,628 |
42,180 |
|
Capitol Police buildings and grounds |
19,348 |
25,605 |
19,486 |
20,659 |
19,159 |
|
Botanic garden |
11,856 |
15,686 |
11,856a |
15,573 |
15,573 |
|
Capitol Visitor Center |
20,632 |
21,095 |
20,875 |
20,844 |
20,844 |
|
Total, Architect of the Capitol |
$602,030 |
$676,631 |
$484,898a |
$600,000 |
$600,261 |
Source: P.L. 113-76, the FY2015 U.S. Budget, H.Rept. 113-417, S.Rept. 113-196, and and P.L. 113-235.
Notes:
a. Levels include amendments passed on the House floor related to General Administration and the Botanic Garden (H.Amdt. 644 and H.Amdt. 643).
b. The House does not consider appropriations for Senate office buildings.
c. The Senate does not consider appropriations for House office buildings.
Table A-1. Overview of Legislative Branch Appropriations: FY1998-FY2015
House, Senate, Conference, and CRS Reports and Related Legislative Vehicles
|
Fiscal Year |
House |
Senate |
Conference |
Enacted |
Enactment |
CRS |
|
2015 |
explanatory materials inserted into the Congressional Record |
12/16/2014 (P.L. 113-235) |
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 |
CRS Report R43557, Legislative Branch: FY2015 Appropriations |
||
|
2014 |
explanatory materials inserted into the Congressional Record |
1/17/2014 (P.L. 113-76) |
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 |
CRS Report R43151, Legislative Branch: FY2014 Appropriations |
||
|
2013 |
___ |
3/26/2013 (P.L. 113-6) |
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 |
CRS Report R42500, Legislative Branch: FY2013 Appropriations |
||
|
2012 |
12/23/2011 |
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 |
CRS Report R41870, Legislative Branch: FY2012 Appropriations |
|||
|
2011 |
___ |
___ |
4/15/2011 |
Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 |
CRS Report R41214, Legislative Branch: FY2011 Appropriations |
|
|
2010 |
10/1/2009 |
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010 |
CRS Report R40617, Legislative Branch: FY2010 Appropriations |
|||
|
2009 |
___ |
___ |
explanatory materials inserted into the Congressional Record and issued in a committee print |
3/11/2009 |
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 |
CRS Report RL34490, Legislative Branch: FY2009 Appropriations |
|
2008 |
explanatory materials inserted into the Congressional Record |
12/26/2007 |
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 |
CRS Report RL34031, Legislative Branch: FY2008 Appropriations |
||
|
2007 |
___ |
2/15/2007 |
Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 |
CRS Report RL33379, Legislative Branch: FY2007 Appropriations |
||
|
2006 |
8/02/2005 |
FY2006 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act |
CRS Report RL32819, Legislative Branch: FY2006 Appropriations |
|||
|
2005 |
H.Rept. 108-792 |
12/8/2004 |
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 |
CRS Report RL32312, Appropriations for FY2005: Legislative Branch |
||
|
2004 |
9/30/2003 |
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2004 |
CRS Report RL31812, Appropriations for FY2004: Legislative Branch |
|||
|
2003 |
___ |
2/20/2003 |
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 |
CRS Report RL31312, Appropriations for FY2003: Legislative Branch |
||
|
2002 |
11/12/2001 |
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2002 |
CRS Report RL31012, Appropriations for FY2002: Legislative Branch |
|||
|
2001 |
H.Rept. 106-796 |
12/21/2000 |
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001 |
CRS Report RL30512, Appropriations for FY2001: Legislative Branch |
||
|
2000 |
9/29/1999 |
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2000 |
CRS Report RL30212, Appropriations for FY2000: Legislative Branch |
|||
|
1999 |
10/21/1998 |
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999 |
CRS Report 98-212, Appropriations for FY1999: Legislative Branch |
|||
|
1998 |
10/7/1997 |
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1998 |
CRS Report 97-212, Appropriations for FY1998: Legislative Branch (pdf) |
Source: Congressional Research Service examination of LIS.
Selected Websites
These sites contain information on the FY2015 legislative branch appropriations requests and legislation, and the appropriations process:
House Committee on Appropriations
http://appropriations.house.gov/
Senate Committee on Appropriations
http://appropriations.senate.gov/
CRS Appropriations Products Guide
http://www.crs.gov/Pages/AppropriationsStatusTable.aspx?source=QuickLinks
Congressional Budget Office
http://www.cbo.gov
Government Accountability Office
http://www.gao.gov
Office of Management and Budget
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
| 1. |
Office of Management and Budget, Appendix, Budget of the United States Government, FY2015 (Washington: GPO, 2014), pp. 15-48, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2015/assets/leg.pdf. |
| 2. |
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." |
| 3. |
The House hearings are available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-113hhrg87540/pdf/CHRG-113hhrg87540.pdf. |
| 4. |
The legislative branch previously experienced a funding gap in FY1996 (November 14-18, 1995). |
| 5. |
FY2013 level 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 millions of dollars)" (http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/hjres59amendment.pdf), which lists a total for legislative branch budget authority of $4.061 billion, noting that it "includes effects of the 2013 sequestration." This bill contained a small anomaly for the legislative branch. |
| 6. |
White House, President Obama, Sequestration Order for Fiscal Year 2013 Pursuant to Section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, As Amended, March 1, 2013, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/2013sequestration-order-rel.pdf. |
| 7. |
Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, OMB Report to the Congress on the Joint Committee Sequestration for Fiscal Year 2013, March 1, 2013, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/legislative_reports/fy13ombjcsequestrationreport.pdf. |
| 8. |
P.L. 111-5, February 17, 2009, 123 Stat. 191. |
| 9. |
U.S. Congress, conference committee, Making Supplemental Appropriations for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2009, and for Other Purposes, report to accompany H.R. 2346, 111th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 111-151 (Washington: GPO, 2009), p. 117. |
| 10. |
For additional information on committee funding, see CRS Report R40424, Senate Committee Expenditures Resolutions, 113th Congress, and Funding Authorizations Since 1999, Senate Committee Expenditures Resolutions, 113th Congress, and Funding Authorizations Since 1999, by [author name scrubbed]. |
| 11. |
Not including one gratuity paid to the heirs of a deceased Member in FY2014. |
| 12. |
For additional information on committee funding, CRS Report RL32794, House Committee Funding Requests and Authorizations, 104th-113th Congresses, by [author name scrubbed]. |
| 13. |
For additional information, see CRS Report R40962, Members' Representational Allowance: History and Usage, by [author name scrubbed]. |
| 14. |
P.L. 104-1, 109 Stat. 3, January 23, 1995. The act, as amended, applies 12 civil rights, labor, and workplace safety laws to Congress and certain legislative branch agencies. These laws are the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Employee Polygraph Protection Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Federal Services Labor-Management Relations Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Rehabilitation Act of 1970, Veterans' employment and reemployment rights at Chapter 43 of Title 38 of the U.S. Code, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, and Veterans Employment Opportunities Act. |
| 15. |
Among the office's activities are administration of a dispute resolution process, investigation and enforcement of occupational safety and health and disability provisions of the act, investigation of labor relations and enforcement of applicable provisions, and development of educational programs regarding the act's provisions. |
| 16. |
The Congressional Budget Office is required to use estimates provided by the Joint Committee on Taxation for all revenue legislation (Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, P.L. 99-177, §273, 99 Stat.1098, December 12, 1985; 2 U.S.C. §621 (et seq.)). |
| 17. |
Figure obtained from the Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress for Fiscal Year 2013, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 2014, p. 9. Available at http://www.loc.gov/about/reports/. |
| 18. |
An example of receipts are fees paid to the LOC for copyright registration. |
| 19. |
For additional information on GPO, see CRS Report R40897, Congressional Printing: Background and Issues for Congress, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]. |
| 20. |
For additional information, see CRS Report R40939, Legislative Branch Revolving Funds, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]. |
| 21. |
GAO's guidelines for initiating studies are contained in U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO's Congressional Protocols, GAO-04-310G (Washington: GAO, 2004). Posted on the website of the Government Accountability Office at http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/d04310g.pdf. |
| 22. |
Offsetting collections include funds derived from reimbursable audits and rental of space in the GAO building. |
| 23. |
P.L. 106-554, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-120, December 21, 2000; P.L. 108-7, 117 Stat. 382, February 20, 2003. According to the 2003 act, the additional countries include "any country specified in §3 of the FREEDOM Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5801)," and "Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania." The countries specified in 22 U.S.C. 5801 are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. |
| 24. |
P.L. 108-447, 118 Stat. 3192, December 8, 2004. |
| 25. |
2 U.S.C. 1105. See also http://www.stennis.gov/. |
| 26. |
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, FY2013 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, H.Rept. 112-511, report to accompany H.R. 5882 (Washington: GPO, 2012), p. 20. |