[Senate Hearing 108-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006
----------
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
MATERIAL SUBMITTED BY AGENCIES NOT APPEARING FOR FORMAL HEARINGS
[Clerk's Note.--The following agencies of the Subcommittee
on the Legislative Branch did not appear before the
subcommittee this year. Chairman Allard requested these
agencies to submit testimony in support of their fiscal year
2006 budget request. Those statements submitted by the chairman
follow:]
JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION
Prepared Statement of William M. Thomas, Chairman
Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, it is my honor to
submit the written testimony of the Joint Committee on Taxation
(``Joint Committee'') with respect to the fiscal year 2006
appropriation request for the Joint Committee.
Mr. Chairman, the request of the Joint Committee represents the
minimum amount necessary to fund the operations of the Joint Committee
during fiscal year 2006. The following summarizes the main components
of the Joint Committee's request.
--The Joint Committee is requesting an increase of $330,000 for
fiscal year 2006 to cover cost-of-living adjustments and a 1-
percent meritorious increase in personnel compensation
expenses.
--The Joint Committee is requesting an increase of $3,000 for fiscal
year 2006 to cover increased utilization of the MetroChek
program of transit benefits.
--The Joint Committee is requesting an increase of $67,464 for fiscal
year 2006 for equipment purchases. This amount represents the
amount rescinded from the Joint Committee fiscal year 2005
appropriation request.
--The Joint Committee is requesting an increase in nonpersonnel
expenses of $15,000 for fiscal year 2006 to cover cost-of-
living adjustments.
The following discussion provides (1) detailed information on the
Joint Committee appropriation request for fiscal year 2006, (2) a
review of Joint Committee operations during calendar year 2004, and (3)
a description of the anticipated workload of the Joint Committee during
calendar year 2005.
SUMMARY OF FISCAL YEAR 2006 APPROPRIATION REQUEST
The following table summarizes the Joint Committee's appropriation
request for fiscal year 2006 relative to the fiscal year 2005
appropriation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal year Fiscal year
2005 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personnel Costs:
Personnel compensation.............. $7,653,000 $7,983,000
Transit benefits.................... 20,000 23,000
Nonpersonnel Funding:
Travel.............................. 12,000 12,000
Rent, communications, and utilities. 35,000 36,000
Printing............................ 6,000 6,000
Other services...................... 125,000 127,000
Supplies and materials.............. 185,000 189,000
Equipment........................... 329,536 405,000
-------------------------------
Total fiscal year 2005 \1\ 8,365,536 ..............
appropriation....................
Total fiscal year 2006 request.... 8,781,000 ..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ After reduction for rescission amount of $67,464.
DETAILS OF FISCAL YEAR 2006 APPROPRIATION REQUEST
Personnel expenses
Details of appropriation request
The Joint Committee's appropriation for fiscal year 2006 relative
to fiscal year 2005 requests $333,000 for increased personnel costs
which includes personnel compensation and transit benefits. This
increase is attributable to the following amounts, which have been
calculated pursuant to information supplied by the House Office of
Finance:
Fiscal year 2005 cost-of-living adjustment annualized.--The Joint
Committee requests $72,000 to fund 3 months of the 3.7 percent cost-of-
living adjustment for calendar year 2005.\1\
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\1\ The $72,000 amount reflects an increase of $5,000 over the
amount included in the original JCT budget request of November 15, 2004
and supporting schedules. The increase reflects an updated COLA for
calendar year 2005 which affects the first quarter of the fiscal year
2006 request (i.e., Oct. 1, 2005-Dec. 31, 2005). This COLA postdated
the original JCT budget submission and was unilaterally added to the
original JCT budget request by the House Finance Office.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal year 2006 cost-of-living adjustment annualized.--The Joint
Committee requests $179,000 to fund 9 months of the projected 3.1
percent cost-of-living adjustment for calendar year 2006.
Meritorious increases.--The Joint Committee requests $79,000 for 1-
percent meritorious increases for fiscal year 2006.
Transit benefits.--The Joint Committee requests $3,000 for
additional Metro benefits.
Need for adequate funding for personnel expenses
The funding of adequate amounts for personnel costs is critical to
the continued ability of the Joint Committee to attract and retain
qualified professional staff.
Joint Committee professional staff include tax lawyers, certified
public accountants, Ph.D. economists, and highly trained computer
specialists. In order to provide the highly technical services required
by Joint Committee lawyers and certified public accountants, the Joint
Committee generally requires such professionals to have a minimum of 3-
4 years of private practice or comparable experience. It is becoming
increasingly difficult to attract such individuals to public service
and retain them for significant periods given the disparity between
private sector salaries and the salaries the Joint Committee can pay.
A similar problem arises with Joint Committee staff economists. The
Joint Committee typically hires economists who are just completing
their Ph.D. programs. It generally takes an entry-level economist 2-3
years of training to become proficient in the unique skills required to
prepare revenue estimates for proposed tax legislation. Once this
training period is complete, these economists have highly marketable
skills and the private sector firms that attempt to duplicate the work
of the Joint Committee offer significant salary increases to attract
Joint Committee economists.
At this time, the Joint Committee is actively recruiting to fill
open staff positions that have resulted from staff attrition during the
last Congress. However, unless adequate amounts are funded for
personnel expenses for fiscal year 2006, the Joint Committee will not
be able to fill all of its open positions. Failure to fill open
positions may result in a reduced level of service to the Congress.
Nonpersonnel expenses
In general
The Joint Committee is requesting $15,000 to cover cost-of-living
adjustments in nonpersonnel expenses for fiscal year 2006. In addition,
the Joint Committee is requesting an additional $67,464 for equipment
for fiscal year 2006. The additional money for equipment, which
represents the amount rescinded from the fiscal year 2005 request, is
requested for the combination of ongoing computer upgrades and the
additional cost of equipment to provide for necessary alternative
computing capabilities.
Travel
The Joint Committee requests $12,000 for travel during fiscal year
2006. This amount will be used to pay travel expenses of Joint
Committee consultants and Joint Committee staff attending educational
conferences.
Rent, communications, and utilities
The Joint Committee requests $36,000 for fiscal year 2006 to cover
anticipated expenses for communications and utilities.
Printing
The Joint Committee requests $6,000 to cover anticipated printing
expenses for fiscal year 2006.
Other services
The Joint Committee requests $127,000 for other services for fiscal
year 2006. The Joint Committee utilizes consultants and other service
providers to perform functions that the Joint Committee staff does not
have the time or expertise to perform. Most of these services relate to
the revenue estimating work of the Joint Committee, including the
preparation of macroeconomic analysis. As the graph in Attachment C to
this statement demonstrates, the number of revenue estimating requests
received by the Joint Committee continues to increase. The needs of the
Members for immediate responses to requests for revenue estimates and
the substantial volume of requests that the Joint Committee staff
receives each year places limitations on the ability of the Joint
Committee staff to perform certain work, such as the manipulation of
new data sets, that improves the quality of Joint Committee revenue
estimates. The Joint Committee staff has found that it is more cost
efficient to contract some of this work to outside consultants.
Supplies and materials
The Joint Committee requests $189,000 for supplies and materials
for fiscal year 2006. The largest expense in this category is a
projected $150,000 for subscriptions and publications to keep up with
current developments in tax law.
Equipment
The Joint Committee requests $405,000 for equipment for fiscal year
2006. The Joint Committee staff anticipates expending approximately
$230,000 for replacement of servers and for storage upgrades for the
Joint Committee's computing needs, which include large-scale economic
modeling, macroeconomic modeling and simulation, case tracking,
statistical analysis, and general functions such as word processing,
spreadsheets and graphing. In addition, Xerox maintenance and usage
costs are projected to be approximately $50,000, and hardware and
software maintenance are estimated to be $125,000.
REVIEW OF JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION OPERATIONS DURING CALENDAR YEAR
2004
In general
Attachments A through E provide a summary of the activity of the
Joint Committee staff for calendar year 2004. The attachments include
the following information:
Attachment A--information relating to the legislative tax reports
(Committee and Conference Reports) drafted by Joint Committee staff for
the revenue-related legislation considered by the House Committee on
Ways and Means and/or the Senate Committee on Finance and public laws
involving the Joint Committee staff during 2004.
Attachment B--a listing of all documents published by the Joint
Committee staff during 2004.
Attachment C--a graph showing the number of requests received by
the Joint Committee from revenue estimates and other assistance during
the period 1986 through 2004.
Attachment D--a table providing information on revenue estimate
requests and Joint Committee staff responses to various categories of
requesting Members for 2004.
(5) Attachment E--information relating to the Joint Committee
staff's statutorily mandated duty to review large income tax refunds.
Tax legislative reports
The Joint Committee staff assisted in the preparation of 10
Committee and Conference reports relating to tax legislation considered
by the Congress in 2004 and provided assistance on two income tax
treaty Committee reports. A complete listing of these reports is
included at Attachment A. In addition the Joint Committee staff worked
on 17 bills signed into law during 2004.
Joint Committee staff publications
In addition to its work on committee and conference reports, the
Joint Committee staff published 74 documents during 2004, including
pamphlets and other documents prepared for committee hearings and
markups and conference action (see Attachment B). All Joint Committee
staff publications are accessible from the Joint Committee's web page
(http://www.house.gov/jct).
Revenue estimates and related analysis
Attachments C and D show data relating to the Joint Committee
staff's revenue estimating activity. Attachment C shows the number of
revenue estimate requests received by the Joint Committee staff each
year from 1986 through 2004.
Attachment D also shows information on revenue estimate requests
and Joint Committee staff responses to various categories of Members
requesting revenue estimates for 2004. The Joint Committee staff is
cognizant of its responsibility to provide service to all Members who
request it and attempts to be as responsive to non-tax-writing
Committee Members as it is to the tax-writing Committee Members.
The Joint Committee staff has been developing a capacity to analyze
the effects of major tax legislation on the economy. Several
macroeconomic simulation models are used in this analysis, including
the staff's Macroeconomic Equilibrium Growth model, and commercially
available econometric and overlapping generation models requiring
outside contracts. In addition, the staff is working on an in-house
neoclassical growth model that can incorporate people's expectations
about future policy to provide additional perspective on proposals
involving phase-ins, phase-outs, and sunsets of tax policy.
Developmental work is being done in connection with anticipated
analyses of tax reform and social security reform.
JCT staff studies, investigations, and refund review
Refund review
An ongoing, statutorily mandated function of the Joint Committee is
the review of IRS refunds or credits of income tax, estate and gift
tax, or any tax on public charities, foundations, pension plans, or
real estate investment trusts in excess of $2 million. The Joint
Committee staff reviews and reports on such refund cases and makes
comments or recommendations with respect to the proposed refund case to
the IRS. Attachment E contains information concerning the Joint
Committee staff refund review work. During fiscal year 2004, the Joint
Committee refund staff reviewed 1,163 cases involving $22.97 billion in
proposed refunds and 64 large deficiency cases. The Joint Committee
staff raised concerns in 56 refund cases. Errors identified by the
Joint Committee staff produced a net reduction in refunds of $61
million in fiscal year 2004. The average annual reduction in refunds
for the last 10 years is $38.8 million.
ANTICIPATED WORKLOAD OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION FOR CALENDAR
YEAR 2005
During 2005, the Joint Committee expects an increase in workload
over 2004. The Joint Committee staff will provide support to the
Congress and the tax-writing committees as broad-based and other tax
relief proposals, including President Bush's fiscal year 2006 budget
proposals, are considered by the Congress. The Joint Committee staff is
preparing for legislative action as a result of the President's
Commission on broad based tax reform as well as the President's
initiative to reform the Social Security system. In addition, the Joint
Committee is preparing for Congressional consideration of legislation
to extend various expiring tax provisions and to reform the laws
relating to employer-provided retirement plans. As part of the
legislative process, the Joint Committee staff will (1) develop
legislative proposals, (2) assist in the drafting of such proposals,
(3) provide revenue estimates for numerous legislative options and
amendments, (4) prepare markup documents and committee reports, and (5)
provide additional economic analysis to the Members.
In addition to this anticipated legislative activity, the Joint
Committee staff will continue to satisfy its responsibilities under the
IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. Thus, the Joint Committee
staff will prepare a complexity analysis for inclusion in Committee and
Conference reports for all revenue legislation. In addition, the Joint
Committee staff has also organized the joint review in 2005 relating to
the operations of the Internal Revenue Service and prepared materials
for the use of the Congress in connection with that review.
The Joint Committee will continue to satisfy its statutory
responsibility to review large refund cases submitted to it by the IRS.
The Joint Committee staff expects to assist the Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations with respect to its work to review proposed tax
treaties.
The Joint Committee staff anticipates that requests from Members
for revenue estimates for proposed legislation will increase in 2005,
relative to 2004. In addition, the Joint Committee staff will continue
to work to develop a macroeconomic model that will provide information
on the possible effects on the economy of major tax legislation.
SUMMARY
Mr. Chairman, the Joint Committee has a reputation for providing
timely, high quality service to the Congress with respect to proposed
revenue legislation. However, the highly technical nature of the Joint
Committee's work makes it imperative that the Joint Committee be able
to hire and retain qualified tax professionals. If the Joint
Committee's appropriation request is not approved, the Joint Committee
will not have adequate resources to fill all of its open staff
positions.
I respectfully request that the Subcommittee approve the
appropriation request of the Joint Committee on Taxation for fiscal
year 2006. This request is the minimum amount necessary to fund the
operations of the Joint Committee during fiscal year 2006. If the
requested funding is not provided, difficult decisions will be required
concerning what staff activities can and should be funded.
Attachment A.--Committee and Conference Reports on Which the Joint
Committee on Taxation Staff Provided Assistance, and Public Laws
Involving the Joint Committee Staff During 2004
House Committee on Ways and Means
108-444--Highway Reauthorization Tax Act of 2004, March 23, 2004
108-548--American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, June 16, 2004
108-472--The Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act of
2003, July 6, 2004
108-473--John Marshall Commemorative Coin Act, July 6, 2004
108-474--Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act,
July 6, 2004
Senate Committee on Finance
108-257--Tax Administration Good Government Act, May 4, 2004
108-266--National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act,
May 14, 2004
Conference Committee Reports
108-457--Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004, April 1, 2004
108-696--Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, September 23,
2004
108-755--American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, October 7, 2004
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
108-9--Tax Convention with the Government of Japan
108-11--Tax Convention and Protocol with the Government of Sri
Lanka
Public Laws Involving Joint Committee on Taxation
108-202--Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, February 29,
2004
108-203--Social Security Protection Act of 2004, March 2, 2004
108-218--Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004, April 10, 2004
108-224--Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part II,
April 30, 2004
108-263--Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part III,
June 30, 2004
108-280--Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part IV,
July 30, 2004
108-289--Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act of
2004, August 6, 2004
108-290--John Marshall Commemorative Coin Act, August 6, 2004
108-291--Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act,
August 6, 2004
108-310--Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part V,
September 30, 2004
108-311--Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, October 4, 2004
108-357--American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, October 22, 2004
108-375--Ronald W. Reagan Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2005, October 28, 2004
108-429--Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act,
December 3, 2004
108-447--Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, December 8, 2004
108-476--YMCA Retirement Fund, December 21, 2004
108-493--Modification to the Taxation of Arrow Components, December
23, 2004
Attachment B.--Joint Committee on Taxation
JCS-04 DOCUMENTS
JCS-1-04--Explanation Of Proposed Income Tax Treaty Between The
United States And Japan Scheduled for a Hearing Before the Committee on
Foreign Relations United States Senate on February 25, 2004. February
19, 2004
JCS-2-04--Explanation Of Proposed Income Tax Treaty Between The
United States And The Democratic Socialist Republic Of Sri Lanka
Scheduled for a Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations
United States Senate on February 25, 2004. February 19, 2004
JCS-3-04--Description Of Revenue Provisions Contained In The
President's Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Proposal. February 2004
JCX-04 DOCUMENTS
JCX-1-04--List Of Expired And Expiring Federal Tax Provisions.
January 21, 2004
JCX-2-04--Description Of The Chairman's Mark Of The ``Tax
Administration Good Government Act Of 2004'' Scheduled for Markup by
the Senate Committee on Finance on February 2, 2004. January 29, 2004
JCX-3-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Chairman's Mark Of The
``Tax Administration Good Government Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For
Markup By The Committee On Finance On February 2, 2004. January 29,
2004
JCX-4-04--Description Of Chairman's Modification To The ``National
Employee Savings And Trust Equity Guarantee Act Of 2003'' As Marked Up
September 17, 2003, As Scheduled For Markup By The Senate Committee On
Finance On February 2, 2004. January 29, 2004
JCX-5-04--Description Of The ``Highway Reauthorization And Excise
Tax Simplification Act Of 2004'' Scheduled for Markup by the Senate
Committee on Finance on February 2, 2004. January 29, 2004
JCX-6-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of The ``Highway
Reauthorization And Excise Tax Simplification Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled
For Markup By The Committee On Finance On February 2, 2004. January 30,
2004
JCX-7-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of Tax And Pension Provisions
Of H.R. 3108, The ``Pension Stability Act,'' As Passed By The Senate On
January 28, 2004. January 30, 2004
JCX-8-04--Description Of Additional Chairman's Modifications To The
``National Employee Savings And Trust Equity Guarantee Act Of 2003'' As
Marked Up September 17, 2003, Scheduled For Markup By The Senate
Committee On Finance On February 2, 2004. February 2, 2004
JCX-9-04--Estimated Budget Effects Of The ``National Employee
Savings And Trust Equity Guarantee Act,'' As Ordered Reported By The
Committee On Finance On September 17, 2003, And As Proposed To Be
Modified On February 2, 2004. February 2, 2004
JCX-10-04--Modification Of The Chairman's Mark On The ``Highway
Reauthorization And Excise Tax Simplification Act Of 2004'' Scheduled
for Markup by the Senate Committee on Finance on February 2, 2004.
February 2, 2004
JCX-11-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Chairman's
Modifications To The ``Highway Reauthorization And Excise Tax
Simplification Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For Markup By The Committee On
Finance On February 2, 2004. February 2, 2004
JCX-12-04--Technical Explanation Of The Tax And Pension Provisions
Of H.R. 3108, The ``Pension Stability Act,'' As Passed By The Senate On
January 28, 2004. February 9, 2004
JCX-13-04--Testimony Of The Staff Of The Joint Committee On
Taxation Before The Senate Committee On Foreign Relations Hearing On
The Proposed Tax Treaties With Japan And Sri Lanka. February 23, 2004
JCX-14-04--Estimated Budget Effects Of Revenue Provisions Contained
In The President's Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Proposal. February 27, 2004
JCX-15-04--Updated Estimated Budget Effects Of S. 1637, The
``Jumpstart Our Business Strength (`JOBS') Act,'' As Reported By The
Committee On Finance. March 3, 2004
JCX-16-04--Present Law And Background Relating To Individual
Taxpayer Identification Numbers (``ITNS'') Scheduled for a Joint
Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and the Subcommittee on
Social Security of the House Committee on Ways and Means on March 10,
2004. March 5, 2004
JCX-17-04--Comparison Of The Tax And Pension Provisions Of H.R.
3108, As Passed By The House And The Senate. March 5, 2004
JCX-18-04--Comparison Of The Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Tax
And Pension Provisions Of H.R. 3108, The ``Pension Funding Equity Act
Of 2003,'' As Passed By The House Of Representatives And H.R. 3108, The
``Pension Stability Act,'' As Passed By The Senate. March 5, 2004
JCX-19-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of Certain Tax Provisions
Contained In S. 1072, The ``Safe, Accountable, Flexible, And Efficient
Transportation Equity Act Of 2004,'' As Passed By The Senate. March 12,
2004
JCX-20-04--Description Of ``The Highway Reauthorization Tax Act Of
2004'' Scheduled for Markup by the House Committee on Ways and Means on
March 17, 2004. March 15, 2004
JCX-21-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 3971, The ``Highway
Reauthorization Tax Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For Markup By The
Committee On Ways And Means On March 17, 2004. March 17, 2004
JCX-22-04--Estimated Trust Fund And General Fund Effects Of Certain
Tax Provisions Contained In H.R. 3971, The ``Highway Reauthorization
Tax Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For Markup By The Committee On Ways And
Means On March 17, 2004. March 17, 2004
JCX-23-04--Description Of Chairman's Amendment In The Nature Of A
Substitute To H.R. 3971 The ``Highway Reauthorization Tax Act Of
2004''. March 17, 2004
JCX-24-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Chairman's Amendment In
The Nature Of A Substitute To H.R. 3971, The ``Highway Reauthorization
Tax Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For Markup By The Committee On Ways And
Means On March 17, 2004. March 17, 2004
JCX-25-04--Estimated Trust Fund And General Fund Effects Of Certain
Tax Provisions Contained In The Chairman's Amendment In The Nature Of A
Substitute To H.R. 3971, The ``Highway Reauthorization Tax Act Of
2004,'' Scheduled For Markup By The Committee On Ways And Means On
March 17, 2004. March 17, 2004
JCX-26-04--Estimated Trust Fund And General Fund Effects Of Certain
Provisions In The ``Highway Reauthorization And Excise Tax
Simplification Act Of 2004,'' As Passed By The Senate. March 26, 2004
JCX-27-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of Title IX Of H.R. 3550, The
``Highway Reauthorization Tax Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For
Consideration On The House Floor. April 1, 2004
JCX-28-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Tax And Pension
Provisions Contained In The Conference Agreement For H.R. 3108, The
``Pension Funding Equity Act Of 2004''. April 2, 2004
JCX-29-04--Revised Disclosure Report For Public Inspection Pursuant
To Internal Revenue Code Section 6103(p)(3)(C) For Calendar Year 2002.
April 6, 2004
JCX-30-04--Disclosure Report For Public Inspection Pursuant To
Internal Revenue Code Section 6103(p)(3)(C) For Calendar Year 2003.
April 6, 2004
JCX-31-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 4181, Scheduled For
Consideration On The House Floor. April 28, 2004
JCX-32-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 4227, For
Consideration By The House Committee On Rules. May 5, 2004
JCX-33-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Revenue Provisions
Contained In H.R. 4279, As Passed By The House Of Representatives. May
14, 2004
JCX-34-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 4275, As Passed By The
House Of Representatives. May 14, 2004
JCX-35-04--Estimated Budget Effects Of H.R. 1528, The ``Tax
Administration Good Government Act,'' As Passed By The Senate On May
19, 2004. May 20, 2004
JCX-36-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of S. 1637, The ``Jumpstart
Our Business Strength (`JOBS') Act,'' As Passed By The Senate. May 20,
2004
JCX-37-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 4359, The ``Child
Credit Preservation And Expansion Act Of 2004,'' As Passed By The House
Of Representatives. May 21, 2004
JCX-38-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 4520, The ``American
Jobs Creation Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For Markup By The Committee On
Ways And Means On June 10, 2004. June 8, 2004
JCX-39-04--Comparison Of The Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Tax
Provisions Contained In H.R. 3550, The ``Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy For Users,'' As Passed By The House Of Representatives, And H.R.
3550, The ``Safe, Accountable, Flexible, And Efficient Transportation
Equity Act Of 2004,'' As Amended By The Senate. June 9, 2004
JCX-40-04--Comparison Of The Estimated Trust Fund And General Fund
Effects Of Certain Tax Provisions Contained In H.R. 3550, The
``Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users,'' As Passed By The
House Of Representatives, And H.R. 3550, The ``Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, And Efficient Transportation Equity Act Of 2004,'' As Amended
By The Senate. June 9, 2004
JCX-41-04--Description Of H.R. 4520, The ``American Jobs Creation
Act Of 2004'' Scheduled for Markup by the House Committee on Ways and
Means on June 14, 2004. June 10, 2004
JCX-42-04--Description Of The Chairman's Amendment In The Nature Of
A Substitute To The Provisions Of H.R. 4520, The ``American Jobs
Creation Act Of 2004''. June 10, 2004
JCX-43-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Chairman's Amendment In
The Nature Of A Substitute To H.R. 4520, The ``American Jobs Creation
Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For Markup By The Committee On Ways & Means On
June 14, 2004. June 10, 2004
JCX-44-04--Description Of Present Law Relating To Charitable And
Other Exempt Organizations And Statistical Information Regarding Growth
And Oversight Of The Tax-Exempt Sector Scheduled for a Public Hearing
Before the Senate Committee on Finance on June 22, 2004. June 22, 2004
JCX-45-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 4520, The ``American
Jobs Creation Act Of 2004,'' As Passed By The House Of Representatives.
June 22, 2004
JCX-46-04--Description Of The Chairman's Amendment To H.R. 1914,
The ``Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act Of 2003,''
H.R. 2768, The ``John Marshall Commemorative Coin Act,'' And H.R. 3277,
The ``Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act''. June 22,
2004
JCX-47-04--Comparison Of The Tax Provisions Contained In H.R. 3550,
The ``Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users,'' As Passed By The
House Of Representatives, And H.R. 3550, The ``Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, And Efficient Transportation Equity Act Of 2004,'' As Amended
By The Senate. June 25, 2004
JCX-48-04--Present Law And Background Relating To The Tax Treatment
Of Tip Income. July 13, 2004
JCX-49-04--Description Of H.R. 982, A Bill ``To Clarify The Tax
Treatment Of Bonds And Other Obligations Issued By The Government Of
American Samoa''. July 16, 2004
JCX-50-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 4841, The ``Tax
Simplification For Americans Act Of 2004,'' As Amended, And Scheduled
For Consideration By The House Of Representatives. July 21, 2004
JCX-51-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 4840, The ``Tax
Simplification For America's Job Creators Act Of 2004,'' Scheduled For
Consideration By The House Of Representatives. July 21, 2004
JCX-52-04--Present Law And Analysis Relating To Tax Benefits For
Higher Education Scheduled for a Public Hearing Before the Senate
Committee on Finance on July 22, 2004. July 21, 2004
JCX-53-04--Comparison Of The Estimated Budget Effects Of H.R. 4520,
The ``American Jobs Creation Act Of 2004,'' As Passed By The House Of
Representatives, And H.R. 4520, The ``Jumpstart Our Business Strength
(`JOBS') Act, As Amended By The Senate. July 23, 2004
JCX-54-04--Explanation Of Proposed Protocol To The Income Tax
Treaty Between The United States And The Netherlands Scheduled for a
Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate
on September 24, 2004. September 16, 2004
JCX-55-04--Explanation Of Proposed Protocol To The Income Tax
Treaty Between The United States And Barbados Scheduled for a Hearing
Before the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate on
September 24, 2004. September 16, 2004
JCX-56-04--Present Law And Background Relating To Tax-Exempt
Financing Of Indian Tribal Prisons Scheduled for a Public Hearing
Before the Senate Committee on Finance on September 21, 2004. September
20, 2004
JCX-57-04--Comparison Of Provisions Contained In H.R. 1308, The
``All-American Tax Relief Act Of 2003,'' As Passed By The House Of
Representatives On June 12, 2003, And H.R. 1308, The ``Relief For
Working Families Tax Act Of 2003,'' As Passed By The Senate On June 5,
2003. September 21, 2004
JCX-58-04--Testimony Of The Staff Of The Joint Committee On
Taxation Before The Senate Committee On Foreign Relations Hearing On
The Proposed Tax Protocols With Barbados And The Netherlands. September
22, 2004
JCX-59-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 1057, The ``Adoption
Tax Relief Guarantee Act,'' Scheduled For Consideration By The House Of
Representatives. September 22, 2004
JCX-60-04--Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Conference Agreement
For H.R. 1308, The ``Working Families Tax Relief Act Of 2004''.
September 23, 2004
JCX-61-04--Comparison Of Certain Provisions Of H.R. 4520 As Passed
By The House Of Representatives And As Amended By The Senate:
Provisions Relating To The Repeal Of The Exclusion For Extraterritorial
Income, Domestic Production, And The Corporate Income Tax Rates
Applicable To Small Corporations. September 29, 2004
JCX-62-04--Comparison Of Certain Provisions Of H.R. 4520 As Passed
By The House Of Representatives And As Amended By The Senate: Job
Creation Tax Incentives For Manufacturing, Small Business, And Farming.
September 29, 2004
JCX-63-04--Comparison Of Certain Provisions Of H.R. 4520 As Passed
By The House Of Representatives And As Amended By The Senate:
Provisions Relating To International Tax Reform And Simplification For
United States Businesses. September 29, 2004
JCX-64-04--Comparison Of Certain Provisions Of H.R. 4520 As Passed
By The House Of Representatives And As Amended By The Senate: Revenue
Provisions. September 29, 2004
JCX-65-04--Comparison Of Certain Provisions Of H.R. 4520 As Passed
By The House Of Representatives And As Amended By The Senate: Alcohol
Fuels And Fuel Fraud Provisions. September 29, 2004
JCX-66-04--Comparison Of Certain Provisions Of H.R. 4520 As Passed
By The House Of Representatives And As Amended By The Senate: Expiring
Provisions. September 29, 2004
JCX-67-04--Budget Impact Of The Proposed Protocols To The Income
Tax Treaties Between The United States And The Netherlands And Between
The United States And Barbados. September 30, 2004
JCX-68-04R--Estimated Budget Effects Of The Chairman's Mark
Relating To H.R. 4520, The ``American Jobs Creation Act Of 2004,''
Scheduled For Consideration By The House And Senate Conferees
Continuing On October 5, 2004. October 5, 2004
JCX-69-04--Estimated Budget Effects Of The Conference Agreement For
H.R. 4520, The ``American Jobs Creation Act Of 2004''. October 7, 2004
JCX-70-04--Description Of The Tax Technical Corrections Act Of
2004. November 19, 2004
JCX-71-04--List Of Expiring Federal Tax Provisions 2004-2014.
December 23, 2004
ATTACHMENT C.--JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION REVENUE ESTIMATE REQUESTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
No. of
Calendar year requests
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986......................................................... 474
1987......................................................... 420
1988......................................................... 900
1989......................................................... 1,290
1990......................................................... 1,286
1991......................................................... 1,461
1992......................................................... 2,350
1993......................................................... 2,380
1994......................................................... 1,259
1995......................................................... 2,278
1996......................................................... 1,792
1997......................................................... 2,079
1998......................................................... 2,729
1999......................................................... 4,150
2000......................................................... 2,807
2001......................................................... 4,491
2002......................................................... 3,583
2003......................................................... 4,839
2004......................................................... 3,580
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTACHMENT D.--REQUEST DATA RELATING TO THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 108TH
CONGRESS \1\
[Calendar Year 2004]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requests Requests Requests Percent
Requestors Received Pending Closed Closed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ways and Means Committee:
Republicans............. 842 66 776 92.2
Democrats............... 188 19 169 89.9
Senate Finance Committee:
Republicans............. 933 91 842 90.2
Democrats............... 1,162 97 1,065 91.7
Non-Ways and Means
Committee:
Republicans............. 71 7 64 90.1
Democrats/Independent... 78 10 68 87.2
Non-Senate Finance
Committee:
Republicans............. 81 10 71 87.7
Democrats............... 131 10 121 92.4
Others...................... 94 9 85 90.4
-------------------------------------------
Total................. 3,580 319 3,261 91.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Totals include both revenue and non-revenue requests.
Attachment E.--Memorandum
December 8, 2004.
TO: Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation
FROM: Senior Refund Counsel
SUBJECT: Refund Section--Operations Report October 1, 2003 through
September 30, 2004
This is a report on the more significant developments in this
Office during this period.
summary
Volume--Refund Cases.--1,163 reports were received during this
period. The total dollar amount of refunds was $22,977,809,443.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reports Received 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Examination Division............................................... 550 406 487 555 1,058
Appeals Division................................................... 99 76 95 82 92
Department of Justice.............................................. 10 14 4 7 9
Chief Counsel...................................................... 5 6 2 5 4
--------------------------------------------
Total........................................................ 664 502 588 649 1,163
============================================
Concerns \1\....................................................... 49 51 41 39 56
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes 0 post review deficiency cases for 2000, 4 for 2001, 0 for 2002, 1 for 2003 and 2 for 2004.
Post Review.--The Service reports 64 large deficiency cases to us
on an annual basis.
Other Action.--We made recommendations that the Service publish
guidance in certain areas we also made five legislative
recommendations.
Exhibits and Appendices provide detailed information on most of the
foregoing.
Errors identified by us in fiscal year 2004 and prior years, and
settled in fiscal year 2004 produced a net reduction in refunds or an
increase in deficiencies of $61 million. The average annual reduction
for the last ten years is $38.8 million. Such corrections also reduced
NOLs by $9.8 million; reduced credits by $133,000 reduced AMT NOLs by
$103.2 million and decreased basis and amortization by $31 million.
We hope that we are satisfactorily accomplishing our assigned
portion of the Committee's mission and meeting your expectations. We
look forward to a productive, challenging year.
Appendix A.--Proposals for Statutory, Ruling, Manual and Regulatory
Changes
Raised the possibility of legislation to amend section 305(c) to
reference section 1272(d). (NB)
Suggested the IRS review procedures for reporting section 835(d)
credits to Joint Committee in view of recent failure to timely report
credit. (RG)
Raised for future reference the issue of longer carryback periods
from certain years, and the problem that arises when taxpayers file for
a change in period to obtain more than one tax year ending in the
relevant year. (NB)
Raised the issue of the characterization issue of licenses in the
section 367/351 contexts. (NB)
Raised the fact that section 172(h) has never been amended to
conform to the 5-year periods contained in 172(b)(1)(H). (RG)
Amend section 1033 to clarify that merger termination fees do not
qualify. (NB & RG)
Suggested the IRS review two compensation rulings. (CS & NF)
EXHIBIT I.--REPORTS TO JC AS REQUIRED BY IRS CODE SECTION 6405--FISCAL YEAR 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No. of Cumulative
Month Cases Cumulative Monthly Dollar Receipts Cumulative
Received Total Average Dollar Receipts
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October.............................. 73 73 73 $2,004,276,357 $2,004,276,357
November............................. 43 116 58 488,511,179 2,492,787,536
December............................. 52 168 56 1,290,914,965 3,783,702,501
January.............................. 65 233 58 1,010,727,485 4,794,429,986
February............................. 119 352 70 4,214,438,769 9,008,868,755
March................................ 109 461 77 1,114,379,529 10,123,248,284
April................................ 109 570 81 1,395,622,914 11,518,871,198
May.................................. 168 738 92 5,487,895,592 17,006,766,790
June................................. 105 843 94 1,278,596,373 18,285,363,163
July................................. 109 952 95 2,007,877,685 20,293,240,848
August............................... 121 1,073 98 1,696,776,685 21,990,017,533
September............................ 90 1,163 97 987,791,779 22,977,809,312
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXHIBIT II.--JOINT COMMITTEE CASES RECEIVED BY TYPES OF TAXPAYER AND SOURCE--FISCAL YEAR 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount Percent Amount Percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TYPES OF TAXPAYERS SOURCE OF REPORTS
Individuals.............................. 40 3.4 Compliance.................. 1,058 91.0
Estates.................................. 5 .4 Appeals..................... 92 7.9
Trusts................................... 4 .3 Justice..................... 9 .8
Corporations............................. 1,114 95.9 Tax Court................... 4 .3
--------------------- -------------------
Total.............................. 1,163 100.0 Total................. 1,163 100.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXHIBIT III.--JOINT COMMITTEE MONTHLY RECEIPTS--REFUND REPORTS FROM COMPLIANCE AND APPEALS--FISCAL YEAR 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Month Compliance Cumulative Appeals Cumulative
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October......................................... 69 69 3 3
November........................................ 39 108 4 7
December........................................ 48 156 3 10
January......................................... 57 213 8 18
February........................................ 105 318 11 29
March........................................... 102 420 5 34
April........................................... 105 525 4 38
May............................................. 153 678 13 51
June............................................ 91 769 13 64
July............................................ 98 867 10 74
August.......................................... 109 976 10 84
September....................................... 82 1,058 8 92
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXHIBIT IV.--JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION CONCERNS ON REFUND REPORTS--
FISCAL YEAR 2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Percentage of
Concerns Total Concerns
Issued Issued
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compliance.............................. 48 85
Appeals................................. 7 13
Tax Court............................... 1 2
-------------------------------
Total............................. 56 100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL REPORTS RECEIVED
------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CMP..................................................... 1,058
AP...................................................... 92
TC...................................................... 4
J....................................................... 9
---------------
Total............................................. 1,163
------------------------------------------------------------------------
______
JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
Prepared Statement of Jim Saxton, Chairman
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, it is a pleasure to
express my strong support for the fiscal year 2006 budget request of
the Joint Economic Committee (JEC).
This budget request will support the JEC's focus on quality
research and economic analysis needed by Congress and the public. The
Committee's research and activities are substantive and credible, and
have been cited in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes,
Time, Washington Post, New York Times, Institutional Investor, and many
other publications.
As you know, the Committee's research covers a broad array of issue
areas including both domestic and international economic policies. In
addition, the Committee closely monitors and analyzes current economic,
financial, and employment conditions. The Committee has several ongoing
research programs including fiscal and monetary policy, tax policy,
insurance reform, and reform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and the World Bank.
One of our research programs, for example, focuses on recent
Federal Reserve monetary policy. A series of JEC research papers and
hearings continues to explore the specific features of the most
successful monetary policy in U.S. history. Our research in this area
indicates that the Federal Reserve has essentially been conducting
informal inflation targeting for a number of years.
Since this monetary policy has proved so effective and beneficial
to the economy, it is important to provide Congress with an explanation
of inflation targeting and how it works. Inflation targets are usually
ranges setting permissible changes in some broad price index. For
example, one might choose to set a formal inflation target of 1 to 3
percent in such an index. Monetary policy is then geared to achieve
this inflation target over a designated timeframe.
A number of JEC research papers also have documented that many
other nations have successfully implemented inflation targeting, with
very positive effects. I continue to believe that it would be
beneficial for the United States to set more formal inflation targets
and to institutionalize this approach to monetary policy.
In the area of taxation, a number of JEC studies have analyzed
various tax provisions in light of their impact on capital formation.
These studies examine how various features of the income tax can
undermine incentives for saving and investment. Other JEC related
research reviews U.S. tax policy and compares it to the tax policies of
other nations. Another research project demonstrates the deficiencies
in commonly used tax distribution tables.
An additional research program involves reform of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Some of this JEC research has
resulted in legislation changing IMF lending policies, producing
taxpayer savings of many millions of dollars. More recent JEC research
has exposed hundreds of millions in hidden taxpayer subsidies that
could result from new IMF proposals currently under consideration.
In recent weeks, the JEC has expanded its international research
program to include a review of allegations concerning accounting
irregularities at the World Bank. The Committee has verified that
accounting errors of tens of millions of dollars did in fact occur and
were not effectively addressed by World Bank management in a timely
manner. While many of these accounting problems occurred several years
ago, some of the problems are much more recent. We will continue to
explore these World Bank accounting issues in coming months.
Insurance reform is another ongoing research program of the
Committee. A number of Committee studies examine policy issues related
to terrorism insurance, medical liability reform, and tort reform.
In closing, I would like to emphasize that the quality and
productivity of Committee research products will continue in the 109th
Congress as we execute an aggressive research agenda. I would also like
to thank the Members of this Committee as well as other Members of
Congress for their support of the work of the Joint Economic Committee.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
[Clerk's note.--The subcommittee was unable to hold
hearings on nondepartmental witnesses. The statements of those
submitting written testimony are as follows:]
Prepared Statement of the Association of Research Libraries and the
Council on Library and Information Resources
This statement is submitted on behalf of the Association of
Research Libraries (ARL) and the Council on Library and
Information Resources (CLIR) in support of the fiscal year 2006
budget request of $627,802,000 for the Library of Congress
(LC).
The funding request for fiscal year 2006 will allow the
Library to fund ongoing operational activities while at the
same time, support a number of key activities of interest to
the library community and the Nation. Importantly, several of
these initiatives focus on enhancing preservation of and access
to the Library's collections. These projects include the
National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC), the National
Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program
(NDIIPP), digitization and deacidification initiatives.
The National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) in
Culpeper, Virginia will serve as the central storage and
conservation facility for the Library's audiovisual collections
and will also be home to specialized preservation laboratories
for audiovisual media. This project was put on a five-year plan
three years ago and progress is moving according to schedule.
The fiscal year 2006 funding request for this project is $16.17
million. This facility will provide sufficient capacities and
capabilities for the Library to store, preserve and provide
access to its collections of moving images and recorded sound
for well over the next 25 years. ARL and CLIR support the
Library's fiscal year 2006 request of $16.17 million for
collections relocation, digital preservation activities, and
more relating to the NAVCC.
To preserve our past, libraries have established
collaborative programs to protect millions of books and other
materials, much of which is becoming unreadable due to the
acidic paper on which they are printed. This is a national
crisis and our response must be sustained over many years. ARL
and CLIR thank the Congress for your continuing support of the
Library's deacidification and related preservation efforts. We
support the request for $3.375 million to preserve an
additional 4.5 million items.
The library community supports many preservation
initiatives. ARL recently released a paper, ``Recognizing
Digitization as a Preservation Reformatting Method,'' (http://
www.arl.org/preserv/digit_final.html) that supports
digitization as a viable preservation reformatting strategy.
CLIR and the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) endorsed
this paper and approach. This paper is but a first step in
building community support and facilitating the development of
policies, standards, guidelines, and best practices. It is
recognized that there are many methods available to preserve
paper-based materials with digitization becoming more widely
accepted by many communities.
ARL and CLIR support the mission of the National Digital
Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) to
develop a national strategy to collect, archive, catalog, and
preserve the rapidly increasing amount of digital content for
current and future generations, especially materials that are
created only in digital formats. Libraries throughout the
United States are investing in comparable initiatives, thus
cooperation among institutions will be fundamental to the
success of these endeavors. ARL and CLIR support the request to
extend by five years, the securing of commitments by other
organizations and entities to partner in the NDIIPP. In 2004,
the Library awarded more than $13.9 million to eight U.S.
institutions to collect and preserve digital materials under
the NDIIPP.
The Library created the National Film Preservation
Foundation (NFPF) in 1996 to preserve American films, such as
documentaries, silent-era films, avant-garde works, ethnic
films, newsreels, home movies and independent works. In
addition to protecting films from disintegration, NFPF
organizes, obtains funding, and manages collaborative projects
that enable film archives to work together on national
preservation initiatives. These are important activities and
merit Congress' full support. Indeed, ARL supported legislation
before Congress to reauthorize these important activities.
Funding to assist the Library in its long-term preservation
and access initiatives is critical to ensuring that the
American public benefits from our Nation's cultural resources
as well as from the Library's global resources. We look forward
to working with members of the Subcommittee on Legislative
Branch and very much appreciate the Subcommittee's continued
support for the Library of Congress and its programs.
------
Prepared Statement of the Association of Research Libraries and the
Council on Library and Information Resources
On behalf of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
and the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), we
write in support of the fiscal year 2006 appropriations request
for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). We request your
support for GPO's fiscal year 2006 budget request of
$131,120,000 and in particular the request of $33,837,000 for
the Salaries and Expenses (S&E) Appropriation of the
Superintendent of Documents. This appropriation supports the
Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the cataloging and
indexing of government publications, the distribution of
government publications to the International Exchange Program
and more. We commend GPO for investing in technologies and
systems to support enhanced access to electronic government
information and in programs to ensure the authenticity and
preservation of this information.
The FDLP is a long-standing partnership between the Federal
Government, the library community and the public. The FDLP
provides the American public with access to a wide array of
Federal information. GPO Access provides the public with access
to information in an increasingly electronic environment. In
addition to Congress, the White House, approximately 130
Federal departments and agencies, and the courts rely on GPO's
services to create and disseminate government information
through the World Wide Web.
The GPO and the participating Federal Depository Libraries
(FDLs) are undergoing an exciting transformation. This
transformation is a result of the new capabilities and
opportunities that are possible with the adoption of digital
technologies and the explosive growth of the Internet.
Researchers, students and members of the public can engage in
sophisticated searching and manipulation of information and
data including ready access to data, image files and more.
Increasingly, the data and information available is both
current and historical as many libraries and others digitize
special collections that are rich in the cultural and political
history of our Nation.
As noted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project,
``the Internet has reached into, and in some cases, reshaped
just about every realm of modern life.'' This shift to the
adoption and use of electronic information resources reflects
the interests and activities of the public. According to a
recent Nielsen/NR survey (March 2005), there are 200,933,147
Internet users in the United States or 67.8 percent of the
population. This represents an increase in usage of the
Internet of 104.9 percent between 2000-2005. These statistics
demonstrate how the American public is now engaging in online
activities--education, e-commerce, politics and a wide range of
other activities. The findings of the Electronic Publishing
Initiative (EPIC) at Columbia University are illustrative of
this change. EPIC found that electronic resources have become
the most used tool for information gathering by students. In
particular, undergraduate students rely upon the World Wide Web
and graduate students are more dependent upon library
electronic services. The GPO Strategic Vision for the 21st
Century clearly recognizes how the American public depends upon
E-services and how they use information.
Research libraries, indeed all libraries, are experiencing
an explosive growth in the acquisition and use of electronic
resources. As a result, there is a dramatic rise in digital
services in libraries and in teaching, learning and research
applications. The acceleration to electronic services is due in
large part to the new opportunities to provide access to
information more effectively. Data collected by ARL members
over the past decade indicate that the portion of the library
materials budget that is spent on electronic resources is
growing rapidly. The percentage of the average library budget
that is spent on electronic materials has increased more than
eightfold, from an estimated 3.6 percent in 1992-93 to 25
percent in 2002-03.
Since the early 1990's, the library community has actively
advocated for the inclusion of electronic government
information in the FDLP. Congress, with guidance from this
Committee, has supported this move to an increasingly
electronic FDLP. This direction recognized the enhanced
capabilities that electronic services provide to users of
government information.
Most recently, the move to electronic delivery of
information in the FDLP has increased at a fast pace. By
October-November 2004, 95 percent of the titles in the FDLP
were available electronically (even if tangible forms were also
available) and only 5 percent had no electronic counterpart.
The shift to a predominantly electronic FDLP signals a
change in nature of the Program. The FDLP is moving from a
collection-based program to a service-based program and from
print-based to electronic. The focus of the program is on
expertise and access to the information resources, not on the
physical collection. In addition, the future of the FDLP will
be in building shared collections where resources are managed
and interoperated. These may also include print collections
that are digitized. It is expected that different models of
shared repositories are likely to emerge and diversity is
desirable and encouraged.
Participating libraries make significant local
contributions to ensure effective public access to government
information. For example, as a participating regional federal
depository library (since 1879), the University of Colorado-
Boulder Library spends approximately $675,000 for staff,
material purchases, equipment and a variety of projects that
enhance public access to government information. In addition,
the Colorado State University selects approximately 60 percent
of materials available via the FDLP and spends $200,000 on
staff. The average yearly cost for 6 academic FDL's in Illinois
is $348,107 and all select over 78 percent of the government
information available via the program.
One hundred and eight ARL members are federal depository
libraries located in congressional districts throughout the
United States. Of the 108 participating ARL libraries, 22 are
regional depositories that collect and maintain all information
available via the FDLP. As of the fall of 2003, the average
annual investment in the program by ARL selective FDLs was
$352,680 and was $386,251 for ARL regional FDLs. Moreover, a
recent survey of ARL FDLs and non-ARL regional libraries
reports a jump in the reliance upon no-fee government E-
resources as well as an increase in the licensing of commercial
E-resources. Finally, 99 percent of ARL selective FDLs report
links to electronic government information in their online
catalogs and 100 percent of all regional FDLs link to
government E-resources. Clearly, many participating FDLs have
embraced the use of electronic products and services.
The GPO fiscal year 2006 funding request, including that
for Salaries and Expenses, includes key initiatives that focus
on ensuring that GPO is well positioned to provide needed
information services in the evolving networked environment. GPO
is investing in new strategic initiatives that define its and
the FDLP's future. For example, GPO is supporting the
development of authentication services, preservation planning
and implementation, improvements to GPO Access, web harvesting,
and reallocation of resources to manage the electronic
collection. The Salaries and Expenses request of $33,837,000
supports several critically important programs such as the
FDLP, the Cataloging and Indexing Program, and the
International Exchange Program. This amount includes necessary
increases to support the continued operation of the FDLP, and
the increased demands upon GPO Access. In particular, we
strongly support the request of $1 million in support of
digitization of government information. We urge you to approve
the full Salaries and Expenses appropriations request for
fiscal year 2006.
ARL recently released a paper, ``Recognizing Digitization
as a Preservation Reformatting Method,'' (http://www.arl.org/
preserv/digit_final.html) that supports digitization as a
viable preservation reformatting strategy. CLIR and the
Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) endorsed this paper
and approach. This paper is but a first step in building
community support and facilitating the development of policies,
standards, guidelines, and best practices. It is recognized
that there are many methods available to preserve paper-based
materials with digitization becoming more widely accepted by
many communities.
In closing Mr. Chairman, we very much appreciate your and
the Subcommittee's support of GPO and the FDLP over the course
of many years. The continuing investment in systems and
services to provide the public with effective access to
government information will ensure that valuable electronic
government information will be available and preserved for
future generations. We respectfully ask for your continued
support by approving the Government Printing Office's fiscal
year 2006 appropriations request in its entirety. We also ask
that this statement be included as part of the hearing record.
Thank you very much for your consideration of this request.