[Senate Hearing 117-818]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-818
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023
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HEARINGS
BEFORE A
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
H.R. 8237/S. 4720
AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH FOR THE FISCAL
YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2023, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
__________
Architect of the Capitol
Congressional Budget Office
Government Accountability Office
Library of Congress
United States Senate Sergeant at Arms
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: https://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
46-668 PDF WASHINGTON : 2024
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
PATRICK LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman
PATTY MURRAY, Washington RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama, Vice
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California Chairman
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
JACK REED, Rhode Island SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
JON TESTER, Montana LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon ROY BLUNT, Missouri
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware JERRY MORAN, Kansas
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia Virginia
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
MARCO RUBIO, Florida
Charles E. Kieffer, Staff Director
Shannon Hutcherson Hines, Minority Staff Director
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Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch
JACK REED, Rhode Island, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut MIKE BRAUN, Indiana, Ranking
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico Member
PATRICK LEAHY, Vermont, (ex- RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama
officio) MARCO RUBIO, Florida
Professional Staff
Jessica Berry
Hannah Chauvin
Margaret Pritchard (Minority)
Lucy Gardner (Minority)
C O N T E N T S
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hearings
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Page
Architect of the Capitol......................................... 1
J. Brett Blanton, Architect of the Capitol:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 24
Statement of............................................. 23
Congressional Budget Office...................................... 1
Dr. Phillip Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 1
United States Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper............. 1
Karen Gibson, Sergeant At Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 12
Statement of............................................. 10
Questions for the Record......................................... 41
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Government Accountability Office................................. 43
Gene Dodaro, U.S. Comptroller General, Government
Accountability Office:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 54
Statement of............................................. 51
Librarian of Congress............................................ 43
Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian Of Congress:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 47
Statement of............................................. 46
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back matter
List of Witnesses, Communications, and Prepared Statements....... 99
Nondepartmental Witnesses........................................ 77
Subject Index:
Architect of the Capitol..................................... 101
Congressional Budget Office.................................. 101
Government Accountability Office............................. 101
Library of Congress.......................................... 101
United States Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper......... 101
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:02 a.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jack Reed (Chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Reed and Braun.
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, AND THE SENATE
SERGEANT AT ARMS
opening statement of senator jack reed
Senator Reed. Good morning. I will call the hearing to
order.
The subcommittee comes this morning to discuss the 2023
budget for the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee.
I look forward to continuing to work with Ranking Member
Senator Braun and the Distinguished Members of the Subcommittee
in crafting responsible funding legislation that supports the
Legislative Branch.
Today we have with us the Architect of the Capitol, Brett
Blanton, and the Senate Sergeant at Arms, General Karen Gibson.
I thank you for joining us here today to testify.
The Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Phillip
Swagel, was also scheduled to join us but cannot because he is
in medical quarantine due to COVID-19. We wish him well and I
ask unanimous consent that his written testimony be placed in
the hearing record.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Phillips Swagel, Director of the Congressional
Budget Office
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Reed. Let me begin by thanking the women and men of
your agencies that serve and protect the Capitol and Senate.
Your agencies play key roles in ensuring that our physical
space here on the Capitol Campus is safe - not just for Members
of Congress and staff, but also the millions of visitors who
are eagerly returning after 2 years as we reopen - and that our
``virtual'' security--our cyber space and IT infrastructure -
are also secure.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, both the Senate and the House
have continued to meet, which means many of your employees have
had to show up in person for work. They have provided the
Capitol Campus with enhanced cleaning, PPE, food services, and
critical IT enhancements for remote work. And then the January
6 attack on the Capitol happened, adding a whole new way in
which we must think about and approach security while
maintaining an ``open campus'' environment so that all people
can visit and share this special place.
We want to make sure the Senate Sergeant at Arms and the
Architect of the Capitol have the tools needed to continue
keeping us safe and to keep up with both known and emerging
threats. But balancing openness with security needs is not
cheap, and both of your 2023 budget requests clearly reflect
that.
The AOC's budget increase for security account alone is an
eye-popping $637 million. I know this mainly reflects the need
for adequate facilities and infrastructure support for the
Capitol Police as they add more sworn officers, analysts,
contracted security guards, and safety equipment; and the
recommendations from the Physical Infrastructure Security
Assessment of the Capitol Campus completed earlier this year.
However, this subcommittee will want a full accounting of
those projects and why we need them if we are to provide the
funding.
The Senate Sergeant at Arms seeks an increase of $4
million, including 10 new staff, to support the physical
security of Senators and staff in and around the Capitol as
well as in their home States. This is understandable given that
threats against members increased by a 107 percent last year.
General Gibson, I want to know how the SAA is making sure
Senators and their staff know how better to use the Protective
Services you provide.
This subcommittee has to make difficult decisions on
funding, reforms, mission, and operational structure, and
physical security messages that directly affect our agencies
and the Capitol Campus.
We want to make sure we find the right solutions. It will
be up to us to provide you with the tools you need to implement
those changes and hold you accountable for implementing them
successfully.
I'd also note that the U.S. Capitol was designed to a safe
accessible place for Americans to come together to witness and
participate in our democracy, but if officials continue to
inflame the public with irresponsible rhetoric and outrageous
and false conspiracy theories, then our country and taxpayers
pay a steep price and some of that price tag is reflected in
this elevated budget request.
Clearly security enhancements are needed, but all the
security personnel and equipment in the world won't be enough
to defend our institutions--and our democracy - if this
corrosive rhetoric continues and incorrect rhetoric continues.
While we do not have a broader budget agreement yet for
fiscal year 2023, we do know the legislative branch is not
insulated from that debate. Hopefully we'll have a top line
number soon from Chairman Leahy and Vice Chairman Shelby so we
can consider and move bipartisan appropriations bill.
And with that, I'd like to turn to my Ranking Member
Senator Braun. Senator Braun, please.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR MIKE BRAUN
Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr.
Blanton and General Gibson, for being here. I look forward to
crafting something that's going to make sense.
Your responsibility, Architect of the Capitol, is for the
maintenance of the grounds and office buildings. The Sergeant
at Arms is responsible for a full range of functions, from
emergency preparedness to telecommunications.
As members of the Capitol Police Board, you both play a
significant role in the security decisions made around the
campus.
Congress provided $300 million last summer in the Security
Supplemental for upgrades and we funded a number, a number, of
priority security-related projects in the Omnibus bill.
The supplemental funding was on top of substantial
increases to the Legislative Branch agencies in fiscal year
2022, a 12 percent boost over 2021.
Of course, we know there were extra-normal circumstances,
but this has to be taken in the context that our economy
generally just grows one and a half to two and a half percent a
year, and if you're not kind of in line with that, you're going
to run into problems in the long run.
Mr. Blanton, you're requesting a significant funding
increase in fiscal 2023. As we consider these requests, it's
important that we make wise investments tailored to the most
likely threats.
In addition to security, you're both responsible for daily
maintenance and operations. For hundreds of years, the American
people have had the ability to freely visit these buildings.
I've been here a little over 3 years, and part of the beauty of
being here not only as a Senator or Representative or
especially the public is that ability to migrate freely and, of
course, we won't go over the reasons why, but I think that
everyone here that works here and especially the public that
wants to visit it would appreciate that we get this thing back
to normal.
I sent a letter to Senator Schumer at the beginning of
April urging him to do so. I was a strong supporter of Senator
Haggerty's resolution to reopen the buildings, which the Senate
passed unanimously in March.
It's past time to fully reopen the Capitol to the way it
was before COVID. COVID obviously was a hopefully once-in-a-
century challenge. We learned a lot about it. Most of America
is moving in a way that we know we're going to have to live
with it. We've learned a lot about it, and we should have never
thrown caution to the wind in navigating through it, but we are
where we are. So I think we need to move on.
Majority Leader Schumer's insistence on keeping COVID
restrictions in place has real consequences for staff in this
building, and the Americans who would like to freely flow
through it I think are wondering about it as well.
Both of you are involved in reopening the Capitol, and I
look forward to discussing in a way that has common sense to do
so beyond where we are currently.
Fiscal year 2023 requests for all Leg Branch agencies is
over a billion dollars more than 2022. 20 percent increase,
seven to eight times the increase in what our net economic
growth is going to be. You look at the first quarter, we
actually fell a little bit.
I don't want to use statistics based on aberrations of the
last 2 years, but in the long run, it needs to be more in line
with what we can afford.
As we look to fiscal year 2023, we must evaluate how these
resources are going to be spent, and ideally it should be done
in the process of a real budget consideration. I'm on the
Budget Committee. It's kind of a useless appendage out here
since we haven't used it in over 10 years. That is a head
scratcher to most Americans because you couldn't get by without
it.
We ended up bumping spending through an Omnibus bill that
took it up nearly six percent, and again that's about three
times the growth of our economy.
We don't do budgets anymore. We need to get back into that,
especially for something as important as this. We've got to
address these structural issues for the future of the country,
for our kids and our grandkids. The system has got to work
differently. This is just one small part of it.
I look forward to working with Chairman Reed here to where
we at least on what we do maybe set the example for the other
areas of Appropriations and come up with something that makes
sense for the American public. Thank you.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Senator Braun.
Now I will ask our witnesses to both offer their opening
statements, approximately 5 minutes. Your written statements
will be made part of the record.
Let me begin with General Gibson.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL KAREN H. GIBSON, SERGEANT AT ARMS,
SENATE SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF
THE SENATE
General Gibson. Thank you.
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, Members of the
Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify in
support of the Sergeant at Arms fiscal year 2023 budget
request.
I want to begin by thanking you for supporting our fiscal
year 2022 request, to include the Business Continuity and
Disaster Recovery Fund, whose resources will enable the
Sergeant at Arms to respond to unanticipated business needs,
whether supporting State Offices in the aftermath of a natural
disaster or providing support in a communications degraded
environment.
I understand my fiduciary responsibilities to our taxpayers
and remain committed to transparency in all expenditures.
My team has made steady progress in strengthening our
physical and cybersecurity posture, pressing forward to
modernize systems, and enhancing our operational effectiveness
and service support to the U.S. Senate.
I am grateful for a strong working relationship with the
U.S. Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol and his team,
and with my counterparts in the House of Representatives.
Allow me a moment to highlight just a few examples of the
SAA's recent work:
--Together with the Secretary of the Senate, we developed a
consolidated Senate Operations Center or SOC. In
coordination with the Capitol Police Command Center,
the SOC provides a single point of entry for
information, situational awareness, events tracking and
queries, and communicating with the Senate community.
--We are working to further enhance the SOC, but their
situation tracking, community messaging and support to
Senate leadership and other decision-makers already
represents a vast improvement over past practices.
In terms of network communications and cybersecurity, next
month we will complete migration from a legacy data center to
two modern data centers, providing two resilient and
geographically separated centers to ensure the availability of
Senate networks during the most disruptive potential events for
years to come.
We are also expanding and modernizing the services we
provide the Senate community. We will open a Passport Office
for Senators and staff in the Hart building in June and are
already offering notary services at the Post Office in the
Dirksen building.
Printing, Graphics and Direct Mail, PGDM, is pioneering an
online storefront that will enhance customers' ability to
create, proofread and submit graphic print orders remotely.
This new software will better enable order tracking, will give
offices the ability to save frequently ordered items, and
provide a modern look, feel, and functionality to printing,
graphics, and direct mail consumers.
These are but a few of the advances made possible by the
resources you provided during fiscal year 2022. Thank you.
For fiscal year 2023, we request $285 million, that's
approximately 3.5 percent more than our request for fiscal year
2022, and 992 positions to directly support Senators, their
staff, and constituents.
This request reflects an increase of $9.7 million and 35
additional positions. We seek $5 million in no-year funding to
upgrade audiovisual equipment in committee hearing rooms and
$6.3 million to support recently authorized fellowship
programs.
Within the fiscal year 2023 budget, we request $4.8 million
in new funding to strengthen IT continuity programs. These
funds will enhance the Senate's contingency readiness through
capabilities such as CMS, Crisis Management Suite kits that
provide secure deployable communications in an emergency. The
funds will enable us to purchase satellite phones for State
offices, providing a reliable contingency communication
platform in the event cellular communications are unavailable,
as was the case last year for 11 State offices during the wake
of Hurricane Ida.
This budget will also enable our CIO, Chief Information
Officer, and cybersecurity teams to modernize aging IT systems
and remain steadfast in defending communication networks both
at the Capitol Complex and in State offices against
increasingly sophisticated and aggressive cyber adversaries.
Of the 35 additional positions requested, 10 will support
the Senate's Chief Information Officer, reinforcing the
resiliency of IT systems, improving the quality of online
applications and services that are developed for Senate users,
completing the Unified Communications and Collaboration
initiative, and expanding our capacity to respond to Help Desk
requests and equipment needs.
Ten positions directly respond to the growing number of
threats that are communicated against the Capitol and against
Senators themselves. These new hires will coordinate with the
Capitol Police as well as local, State, and Federal law
enforcement partners to improve our threat intelligence and
information-sharing and to coordinate additional law
enforcement support when needed for Senators in transit or in
their home districts.
The last 15 positions will provide operational support to
the Senate community and the Sergeant at Arms' greatest
resource, its people. These positions support the continued
demand for the Employee Assistance Program which, thanks to
your support, remains a free and confidential resource,
promoting personal resiliency among Senate employees across the
nation's time zones. Within our Office of Human Resources,
requested funding will better position us to recruit and retain
a talented, productive, and inclusive workforce. One position
provides an additional proctor for the Page Program and another
ensures our acquisition workforce and contracting officers
achieve necessary training certifications.
In sum, the additional FTEs will further strengthen our
security, support much-needed modernization, and provide better
support to the thousands of employees who sustain the Senate's
functions.
I will close by saying that the Sergeant at Arms has
accomplished much in the past year but we are just getting
started, particularly with multiyear modernization and security
initiatives. I remain deeply impressed by the professionalism
and commitment of the women and men I am honored to lead and am
tremendously proud of their contributions. With your support, I
look forward to sharing many more accomplishments in the year
to come and stand ready to answer your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Karen H. Gibson
The Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms (SAA) respectfully
requests $285,052,000 and 992 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) in
appropriations for fiscal year 2023. This is a 3.5 percent increase
over the fiscal year 2022 proposed budget and an increase of 35 FTEs.
In my second year as SAA, I am pleased to share with you how we
have made steady progress in strengthening our operational readiness
and our plans to further improve the safety and security of the Senate,
as well as our work on new initiatives to increase support to Senate
offices.
capitol operations
Senate Recording Studio (SRS)
The fiscal year 2023 budget includes a request for $5,000,000 in
no-year funding to enable the SAA to replace audiovisual equipment and
systems in Senate Hearing Rooms at, or near, the end of its serviceable
life. The Senate Recording Studio has a role in monitoring, maintaining
and repairing the audio-visual systems in all hearing rooms across the
Senate campus. The SRS plans to make targeted replacements of three to
four systems per year as they age. The SAA is working towards several
targeted replacements in fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023,
including systems in SH-216. At the same time, the SAA is working with
the AOC on an ongoing program for the complete renovation of hearing
rooms, starting with SD-342. This ongoing effort to renovate hearing
rooms will continue in fiscal year 2023 and require a permanent budget
base increase of $5,000,000 per year. To date, the SAA has completed a
targeted replacement of broadcast cameras in SD-106 and the full
renovation of the Commerce hearing room (SR-253), the Intel Hearing
Room (SH-219), and the Senate SCIF (SVC 217).
Our request also includes funding for ongoing support of Recording
Studio services to Senators, and committees. During calendar year 2021,
the Senate Recording Studio broadcast 1,167 hours of gavel-to- gavel
coverage of Senate floor proceedings and recorded the proceedings for
subsequent archiving. Since the first fully remote hearing on April 27,
2020, the Senate Recording Studio has broadcast 919 remote or hybrid
hearings enabling Senate committees to review bills, conduct oversight,
issue reports, and hold hearings despite pandemic constraints. They
also produced 700 television and 1200 radio productions enabling
Senators working in DC to communicate with the constituents and news
outlets at home. Further, the SRS provided broadcast and recording for
the 2021 Presidential Inaugural Ceremony, three Lying in State/Lying in
Honor ceremonies and, of course, January 6, 2021.
Priorities for the SRS consist of the replacement of critical
infrastructure within studio spaces including video switching, routing,
and audio mixing systems installed in CY08 which is now near or in some
cases past the end of its serviceable life. These replacements ensure
the SRS provides exceptional support in each of its functional areas.
Appointment Desk
Level funding is requested to support the network of Appointment
Desks located on the first floor of the Capitol, in the basements of
the Russell and Hart buildings, and in the Capitol VisitorCenter (CVC).
During fiscal year 2019, the most recent non-pandemic year, the
Appointment Desk processed approximately 205,000 visitors. Of these,
more than 120,000 visitors were in the Capitol complex for official
business or a meeting with a Senator or staff. The remaining 85,000
visitors consisted of staff-led tours that were processed through the
Russell Appointment Desk. In addition, nearly 30,000 international
visitors relied on the CVC Appointment Desk for Senate Gallery Passes
and information. Although the pandemic required a significant
curtailment in operations beginning March 2020, required support will
steadily increase in fiscal year 2022 and into fiscal year 2023 as the
Senate returns to normal operations.
During calendar year 2021 and into calendar year 2022, the
Appointment Desk staff provided auxiliary staff support to the New
Member Suites post-election and the Impeachment trial; reopened desks
to Official Business Visitors; created templates for daily schedules of
Official Business Visitors to share with USCP; created and implemented
new policies to allow for limited staff-led tours including
registration and scheduling; and developed a plan for the possibility
of three additional appointment desks in the Senate Office Buildings.
During fiscal year 2022 through fiscal year 2023, the Appointment
Desk will train staff on use of the new software and efficiently assist
Senate offices in registering and welcoming official business visitors.
chief information officer (cio)
Cybersecurity
The CIO is requesting an additional two FTEs for the Cybersecurity
department. The SAA proactively defends the Senate network daily
against advanced cyber threats. The Cybersecurity Department has
successfully mitigated critical events and ensured the security of the
Senate due to the dedicated staff and sophisticated technologies
deployed on the Senate network. To build on these successes, the CIO is
requesting two FTEs to support the analysis process by analyzing open-
source, commercial and government threat intelligence data to assist
with determining the extent of threats, identifying indicators of
compromise, and drafting threat intelligence reports to make risk-based
decisions.
For fiscal year 2023, we will be focused on our five main lines of
effort: Cybersecurity Resilience Assessment Methodology, Office
Cybersecurity Resilience Assessment Methodology, Insider Threat,
Awareness, and Cloud. The development of the Cybersecurity Resilience
Assessment Methodology was completed, and we are now finalizing the
testing of the standardized methodology to ensure it is effective and
efficient. Next, advanced cybersecurity resiliency assessments for
Senate offices and committees will be conducted, which includes
coordinated penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and advanced
phishing assessments, among other actions. The CIO will concentrate on
mitigating risk associated with the potential insider threat, through
education and technical means. The CIO will mature the Cybersecurity
awareness campaign in collaboration with other agencies. Finally, gaps
in cyber and privacy security will be evaluated as it relates to cloud-
based services and other technologies.
Process Management & Innovation
The CIO is requesting an additional $731,000 and three FTEs to
execute our hybrid cloud strategy framework to provide access to modern
and secure line-of-business applications and services In fiscal year
2023, the CIO will build on and adopt software-as-a-service (SaaS)
solutions to enhance office productivity, communications, and
collaboration capabilities. The CIO will also expand investments in
other cloud infrastructure, platform services, and associated
automation, management, and monitoring tools to increase responsiveness
to emerging business requirements, and to opportunistically move or
build applications, websites, and services in the cloud.
The SAA supports a lot of custom software development to meet the
unique needs of the Senate. To support this effort, and to ensure a
pipeline of talented staff, the CIO is requesting the three apprentice
FTEs for the custom software development team. This team is responsible
for creating some of the most impactful software applications such as
Quill, Otis, eFinancial Disclosure, Calendar+ and Office Application
Manager to name a few.
In January 2022, the department released the latest enhancements to
Quill, a web-based application for House and Senate member and
committee offices to manage letter workflow, with over 90 percent of
offices enrolled in Quill. Staff use Quill to create letters for their
Senators to sign and invite other offices to co-sign. Since its
release, over 1,700 letters have been authored with over 20,000 co-
signers' signatures applied in Quill. This application has modernized
the process to so that letters can be finalized and sent to industry,
legislators, leadership, and others in a fraction of the time and staff
resources previously required to complete this process.
This team is currently engaged in development of a Security Portal,
where security-related alerts and information from dozens of sources
are consolidated and made available to allow the SAA to inform Senators
of security-related matters. Additionally, the team is developing
applications for offices to request security-related assistance from
the SAA. The applications replace paper and email-based processes to
address security concerns regarding events, hearings, and incidents
occurring across the Senate and state offices.
Technology and Communications Resiliency
The CIO is requesting $4,783,000 for this department. The
Technology and Communications Resiliency Directorate oversees the
engineering, implementation, and operations for the Senate's IT
Continuity and Disaster Recovery Programs. This includes management of
the Senate's radio infrastructure, communications security (COMSEC),
emergency communications, mobile command vehicles (MCVs), satellite
communications, datacenter continuity, and support for National
Security Special Events (NSSE). Over the past year, the BCDR team
implemented functional testing for DoD Mobile Classified Capabilities
(DMCCs), satellite phones, radios, and Wireless Priority Service/
Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (WPS/GETS) to improve
the ability for users to communicate during a disruptive event. Future
efforts will seek to enhance testing for new capabilities such as
FirstNet which is a resilient cellular communication's capability.
Within the fiscal year 2023 budget, the funding will allow for the
enhancement of the Senate's IT and communication's enterprise, which
includes the geographic disbursement of technical assets across the
country to further develop our Continuity of Operations (COOP) and
Continuity of Government (COG) posture. This also includes building
more robust communication's capabilities, to include Cellular on Wheels
(COW) and Crisis Management Suite (CMS) kits for secure communications.
This funding request also includes the acquisition of satellite phones
for Member offices, extending the Unified Communications and
Collaboration (UCC) implementation to COOP sites, and implementing a
wireless infrastructure to expand network connectivity at COOP
locations.
Communication & Technology Innovation
The CIO is requesting an additional $150,000 and one FTE in this
department. This increase in funding is for expansion the digital
signage within the Hart, Dirksen, and Russell office buildings.
Currently the signage is available in seven locations, and we are
planning to add this signage to 56 new locations over the next 5 years.
The expanded digital signage system will display wayfinding information
and emergency notifications, in addition to existing directory
information and hearing schedules. Additionally, the new digital
signage will connect to the Joint Emergency Mass Notification System
(JEMNS), to enable another mechanism to ensure staff are informed
during a disruptive event.
The additional FTE is requested to lead technical editing and
marketing efforts for the CIO. This will improve how the CIO
communicates technical information to non-technical staff, as well as
the CIO's overall marketing and communication to the Senate. These
types of communications include policies, notices, the ``CIO Weekly
Bulletin,'' and communications on all CIO projects and services.
Enterprise Applications
The CIO is requesting $4,704,000 and two FTEs to provide enhanced
support for existing systems and to expand technology modernization
efforts. In fiscal year 2022, several new initiatives were started to
modernize applications using modern cloud-based applications, such as
ServiceNow for Help Desk services requests, Kronos for time and
attendance, and Cornerstone for Human Resource recruiting, learning,
and staff career management. These new applications require equipping
current staff with new skills. The requested FTEs will provide the
resources to rearchitect our approach, and train SAA CIO staff to
support these modern cloud technologies. This technology will also
increase features and functionality available to our users and reduce
contractor support. The funding request includes additional funds to
expand cloud-based applications used to provide essential services to
internal SAA offices and other customers as well as enhancements to
TranSAAct, Asset Manager, and the Technology Catalog.
Enterprise Operations
The CIO is requesting $5,375,000 in this department. The SAA had
traditionally operated two legacy data centers, which provide network
connectivity and centralized IT support of the virtual environment for
Senate data and applications. In 2020, we refined the data center
modernization strategy to include a transition to two geographically
separated and modern colocation facilities to enhance the resiliency of
critical IT services delivered to the Senate.
This funding request is to provide and operate the physical and
virtual infrastructure that supports most applications and systems that
run in the data centers. This includes funds for software licensing for
on-premises virtual infrastructure and container platforms to
accommodate planned growth, and also includes funds for consolidation
of existing office applications, such as Constituent Services Systems
into the enterprise. As such, there will be enterprise capacity
expansion required to support these systems that were previously
distributed among resources in the offices. These funds will also be
used for the new enterprise storage and backup systems and reflects the
transition from traditional capital investment to annual costs for
deployed capacity. Finally, this funding provides for the operational
costs for cloud Infrastructure contracts in support of the hybrid cloud
strategy. All these efforts directly contribute to ensuring that all
Senate IT services will be resilient and available when needed.
Lastly, in fiscal year 2023, the migration to the new Unified
Communications and Collaboration (UCC) system, which will replace the
existing telephone system will be completed. This will create a mobile,
collaborative, secure, and unified environment that is easy to use and
intuitive for the end-user. The SAA, along with a leading UCC
integrator, designed a system that supports communication and
collaboration anytime, anywhere, and on any connected device. This
includes voice messaging, voice-to-text transcription, video
integration, conferencing, common directory, Contact Center, mass
notification, and enhanced 9-1-1 connectivity. The UCC implementation
focuses on five key priorities: security and privacy, systems
integration, collaboration, mobility, and user interface and self-
service. Because the legacy telephony system must remain operational
throughout the migration process, fiscal year 2023 costs include
licensing, support, and maintenance for both the new UCC components and
the legacy components.
Technology Governance & Budget
The CIO is requesting $550,000 and two FTEs. The funding increase
supports year four of a five-year plan to ensure adequate funds are
available to support the Senate IT needs through the Economic
Allocation Fund (EAF). EAF supports the acquisition of hardware and
software for the DC and state offices. The additional two FTEs will
include project management support for the newly developed Project
Management Office, to enhance project management services for the CIO,
and to better support large scale projects for the Senate. The other
FTE will be used to develop policy, procedures, and technical
documentation for the Senate.
executive office acquisitions department
An increase of one FTE is requested for a Senior Procurement and
Contracting Specialist in Acquisitions. This additional position will
manage procurement activities for the Senate and will prepare long-
range acquisition plans, develop solicitations, manage source
selections and evaluate proposals for award and develop Independent
Government Cost Estimates, competitive range determinations, source
selection decision memoranda, limited competition justifications, and
other supporting documentation. This new position is critical to the
development of quality and timely procurements planned by the
Acquisition Division to support the Senate.
During calendar year 2022, the SAA restarted an online training
program to ensure that SAA employees who function as Contracting
Officer Representatives are trained and supported in their work.
Dedicated training has also been extended, and will be added to annual
performance objectives for SAA staff who do technical evaluations of
contracts.
employee assistance program (eap)
An increase of $103,000 and four FTEs is requested in fiscal year
2023 for EAP, which offers a variety of emotional, behavioral, and
work-related support as well as wellness resources and services to
Senate staff, their family members, Senate Pages, and interns. The
Senate EAP's mission bolsters resiliency, helps ensure psychological
readiness, and attends to the overall employee and organizational
wellness.
In calendar year 2021, the EAP met the increased demand for
services as a result of both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the need
for overarching trauma response by hiring two EAP full-time (FT)
counselors, providing telehealth and onsite support services,
delivering customized trainings to requesting Senate offices, extending
the contract of a contract counselor, and creating an innovative,
interactive website through which Senate staff can access information
and contact the EAP more effectively. During this time, more than 68
percent of Senate staff accessed EAP services across 94 percent of
Senate offices. This is nearly a 30 percent increase in programmatic
utilization from 2020. Additionally, 324 employees took an online
mental health screening; 3,875 employees attended an EAP training
activity; and 1,711 employees accessed resources for personalized
information and referrals addressing childcare, parenting, adult care,
aging, education, legal concerns, and/or financial issues.
For fiscal year 2023, we are requesting additional resources to
meet the continued increase in demand for EAP services. We are looking
to hire two additional counselors whose schedules are able to
accommodate increased demands for services across the country. These
counselors would provide confidential emotional and behavioral support
services for Senate employees and their immediate family members
through a HIPAA compliant virtual platform. We have also identified a
need for a full-time administrative specialist to assist with
scheduling, program coordination, contract management, and referrals.
The primary mission for this position is to alleviate the
administrative duties from counseling staff. Finally, EAP has seen an
increased demand for wellness services such as the popular Weight
Watchers program, meditation programs, and the maintenance of the EAP
website which contains on demand wellness and mind care resources.
The intent of these EAP requests is to minimize barriers to care
and meet the needs of the Senate community by enabling employees to
access services in a multitude of ways.
executive office
An increase of two FTEs is requested to support the Executive
Office's focus on messaging to the Senate community. We need to hire a
technical writer to assist with internal and external communications.
In 2021, the SAA began weekly bulletins to all offices and committees
highlighting information for the coming week: demonstrations,
announcements, door schedules, food service, training classes. A
quarterly newsletter called The Chamber also debuted in 2021, and
allows the SAA to highlight innovations, new offerings, and provide
information to the community regularly. We also created a weekly CIO
round up of technical announcements. We are gratified at the positive
response to these publications. For fiscal year 2023, our goal is to
work to ensure that SAA policies and procedures speak in one voice, and
are updated regularly. We also publish a monthly newsletter called The
Source for SAA employees and this, along with quarterly town hall
meetings, is our mechanism to announce new policies, highlight the
excellent work done by SAA teams, and inform our large workforce. We
also need to hire an Executive Assistant for the Executive Office to
help coordinate our work, our deliverables, and to assist with
scheduling and with the many projects in progress within the Executive
Office.
human resources (hr) department
The increase of seven FTEs is needed to support the additional
staff we have added to the SAA's roster in recent years. Among the
requests are a Deputy Director, Diversity Officer, two Human Resource
Administrators who will work to train and support SAA managers, and to
train and support newly hired SAA staff. We need to hire a Wounded
Warrior Fellowship Administrator, and we need two HR Technicians to
support HR's focus on modernization.
During fiscal year 2021, the Senate Placement Office received 1,038
requests for recruitment assistance from Senate offices and processed
43,441 resumes from applicants seeking Senate employment. This
represents a three-fold increase in resume traffic from the preceding
fiscal year. A similar increase in hiring needs across the SAA led to
the purchase of a Talent Acquisition System which should be implemented
this summer. This will change the way offices post job openings, and
will allow application packets to be viewed online instead of in
printed packets. Interviews can be scheduled through the Talent
Acquisition System and onboarding of new staff is also handled through
the same system. Human Resources hired a new Placement Office Manager
and transitioned SAA recruitment under the Placement Office umbrella.
The Human Resources team implemented the SAA's new hiring policy which
gives hiring managers 100 days from a staff member's departure to the
onboarding of the replacement. This has decreased the length of time it
takes to fill vacant positions.
As soon as the Talent Acquisition Program is operational, Human
Resources will begin implementing a new Performance Management system
across the SAA, and will be implementing a complementary compensation
management and succession planning system as well. This effort will
require dedicated and sustained support from our Human Resources team.
The SAA also requests $6,277,000 for the McCain-Mansfield
Fellowship Program and the SFC Sean Cooley and SPC Christopher Horton
Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program for the Senate,
established by S.Res. 442 and 443, respectively. Conversations continue
with the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of
Representatives for the joint operation of the programs.
The additional FTEs requested for fiscal year 2023 will support the
SAA's endeavors to ensure a productive, fair, and equitable workforce
throughout the SAA, and will allow us to meet our responsibilities in
the administration of the new Fellowship Programs.
page program
We request one additional FTE to provide additional supervision of
Senate Pages. The Senate Page Program provides an opportunity for high
school juniors from across the nation to witness the legislative
process firsthand while learning the value of public service. In
September 2021, the program welcomed pages back to the Senate after an
18-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Page Program
developed a robust pandemic management plan requiring routine testing,
masking, and other precautions, which resulted in few pages testing
positive for COVID-19. Page Program staff provided comfort care and
meals for those pages who became positive. The Page Program provides
supervision of Pages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Proctors have
expanded responsibilities and hours of work due to COVID-19 management
and increased support of Pages. This FTE will allow us to provide an
additional proctor for increased supervision.
In addition, Webster Hall is preparing to undergo extensive
renovations that will cause the Page Program to need to relocate both
the residence and the classrooms for about a year. The Architect of the
Capitol is working on a facilities plan, to include the costs of this
relocation of the program.
office of security, emergency preparedness & continuity (osepc)
Senate Operations Center (SOC)
We request $716,000 and one additional FTE to support the SOC which
serves as the information and situational awareness hub for the entire
Senate community. The focus of the SOC serves to relay information on
mission-critical Senate and Capitol complex activities, daily security-
related events, drills and exercises, messaging, information sharing,
and coordination. The SOC works with other Congressional and NCR
operations centers to gather and share information, develop a common
operating picture, and provide decision support to the Sergeant at Arms
and Senate leadership. The SOC acts as the clearinghouse for
information during emergencies, ensuring critical information is
coordinated and shared with stakeholders and staff.
Additionally, the SOC develops situation reports and briefing
materials related to ongoing emergency events. The daily, non-emergency
mission of the SOC is to maintain visibility on daily events, provide
facilities operating status, and share routine information on
activities affecting the Senate and Capitol complex as well as the NCR
and Senate state offices.
Emergency Preparedness (EP)
Emergency Preparedness requests one additional FTE to support the
creation of emergency action plans, to support and train Office
Emergency Coordinators, plan emergency exercises, and develop new and
updated training classes. The mission of the SAA's Emergency
Preparedness team is to educate, train, and exercise emergency plans
and procedures to ensure Senators and staff are equipped with the
necessary knowledge, skills, and tools to prepare for, respond to, and
recover from a variety of emergencies.
We updated over 200 Emergency Action Plans in calendar year 2021.
These plans provide information such as detailed evacuation routes,
elevator locations for the mobility-impaired, and office-specific
procedures for evacuation, shelter in place, relocation/internal
relocation, and escape hood use. Emergency quick cards are available
for staff to attach to their badges. For the remainder of fiscal year
2022 and fiscal year 2023, we will streamline the Emergency Action Plan
process by moving it to an online application. We will also digitize
the emergency quick cards so staff can access them via their Senate
devices.
We assisted 26 Senate offices and committees complete their
Continuity of Operations (COOP) plans, strengthening the Senate's
ability to continue performing its essential functions during and after
disruptive events. We also remained focused on working with offices on
their pandemic response, answering questions and tracking office
staffing levels throughout the pandemic.
In the past year, approximately 1,700 Senate staff attended virtual
or self-paced EP training. New to our virtual training portfolio is the
self-paced Escape Hood and EP training. For fiscal year 2022 and fiscal
year 2023, we plan to create virtual self-paced trainings on Active
Shooter, Office Emergency Coordinator responsibilities, Personal
Preparedness, and mini life-safety protective actions videos. This
Congress, we have conducted large scale life-safety training exercises
evacuation due to an internal threat (fire), and evacuation due to an
external threat (airspace intrusion).
Staff in the Senate Child Care Center, Webster Hall, and the Postal
Square building participated in a Shelter in Place exercise simulating
an active shooter by following their procedures listed within the
Emergency Action Plan for this event. We also conducted training in the
Senate Chamber to review and reinforce the execution of our Chamber
Protective Actions. The exercise covered Chamber procedures during an
external threat, an internal threat (shelter in place), evacuation, and
relocation to the CVC Briefing Center.
For fiscal year 2022, we will offer Chamber Protective Actions
training to Senators and key Senate staff such as Staff Directors and
Legislative Directors who spend a great deal of time on the Senate
Floor. This 15-minute training will educate key personnel within the
Chamber of the life-safety procedures, emergency equipment locations,
and when and how to use the emergency equipment.
In 2022, a new individual accountability tool will be implemented,
replacing the current Remote Check-In application. This will allow
every Senate staff member to account for their whereabouts during an
emergency. The tool we will be using sends emails and text messages
that staff can simply reply to in order to let their office know that
they are either away from campus, or safe on campus, or enroute to the
office gathering places.
Security, Planning & Police Coordination (SPPC)
We request one additional FTE to coordinate law enforcement support
for the Senate community. Our efforts during calendar year 2021
included coordinating 1,076 Senate campus access requests including
security coverage for 634 committee hearings and 83 Senate-specific
security support requests, such as security sweeps and security
modifications of office space. Further, SPPC partnered with USCP to
support 24 residential security assessments for Senators. This team
also conducts Security Awareness Briefings for Senate offices.
Real-time situational awareness is maintained through the Command
Center Duty Representative stationed in the USCP Command Center. We
maintain a presence in the Command Center whenever the Senate is in
session, and during normal business hours during recess periods. The
SPPC monitored approximately 791 security events through this program
in 2021.
Risk & Threat Management
We request three additional FTE to support an expected increase in
Senator-specific requests throughout fiscal year 2023 similar to the
significant increase in personal security requests observed in fiscal
year 2021 following the events of January 6. These additional personnel
are needed to increase engagement with law enforcement and the
intelligence community and obtain information needed to make
operational decisions, as well as support additional core functions
such as Law Enforcement Coordination for Senate events held throughout
the country, as well as an open-source threat monitoring. These FTEs
will participate in offsite taskforce meetings and assignments focusing
on trends regarding domestic and international incidents, as well as
threat information related to Senators, their families and the US
Capitol complex.
SAA collaborates with USCP and other law enforcement agencies to
ensure appropriate notification and communication with specifically
targeted Senators and staff while continuously monitoring, evaluating,
and conducting vulnerability, risk, and threat assessments to determine
and apply suitable security measures and protective operations
coverage. In 2020 and 2021, we tracked, monitored, and updated Senators
and staff on almost 600 active criminal threat cases compared to only
154 in 2019, a 400 percent increase. In 2021, we discovered over 505
comments of concern, which were referred to USCP, resulting in more
than 134 criminal threat violations.
Member Outreach & Security Coordination (MOSC)
Of the three FTEs requested for Risk & Threat Management, one FTE
will provide increased security support to Senators and staff in the
District of Columbia (DC) and state offices. Support includes security
assessments and law enforcement coordination for public and private
events; law enforcement notifications for identified rest overnight
locations; escort coordination at airports, train stations, and other
mass transit locations; enhanced residence patrols; overseas travel
assessments and coordination; tools for off-campus safety and reporting
procedures; SAA security training initiatives; and overall security
posture enhancements.
MOSC engaged in active outreach and discussions regarding active
threats and criminal cases directed at Senators and staff, as well as
weekly reinforcement messages to Chiefs of Staff, Administrative
Managers, State Directors, Chief Clerks, and Schedulers regarding
campus safety initiatives. Additionally, MOSC participates in security
awareness briefings for Senate office staff alongside USCP
counterparts.
Each effort is undertaken by MOSC to ensure Senators and their
staff receive the necessary guidance, tools, and support when planning
and attending national public events. We provide offices with a final
product highlighting the overall threat level, specific areas of
concern, and local law enforcement contact information. Through this
extensive outreach initiative, MOSC has completed approximately 300 law
enforcement coordination and assessment requests, 813 law enforcement
escort and travel notification requests, and 25 rest overnight
notifications and enhanced patrols during the first half of fiscal year
2022. The total number of travel escort support jumped from 200
requests in 2020, to over 1,600 in 2021. This represents an 800 percent
increase, and we are on track to exceed those total requests in fiscal
year 2023. The SAA will benefit from an additional specialist by
ensuring Senators' fluid schedules and security requests are handled in
a timely manner, beyond core business hours.
State Office Operations
We request $470,000 and three FTEs to support a proposed expansion
of the Federal Protective Service Protective Security Officer (FPS PSO)
program. This expansion will extend federally contracted security
guards to select commercial state offices. The proposed FPS PSO
expansion will provide on-demand, event, or threat-based security to
select commercial state offices. This support would be available with a
48 to 72-hour response time for offices that are pre-enrolled in the
program (enrollment requires landlord approval, staff training, and
confirmation of FPS PSO availability to support in the requested
market). Our request supports a minimum of one-third of commercial
offices for a 2-week period every year.
In addition, we request funds to reimburse FPS for conducting
facility security assessments (FSAs) at commercial facilities housing
state offices across the country. This proposed assessment program will
identify potential security risks in commercial facilities, allowing
the SAA to mitigate them through the installation of customized
countermeasures or the removal of unsuitable offices from the SAA
portfolio. This request covers one-third of existing commercial spaces
and facilities, with the plan to repeat the request annually and
complete all initial reviews by calendar year 2026. After the initial
reviews, security assessments will occur for each new commercial space
and facility or if the Senator maintains the space over a period of one
term (6 years).
We appreciate the Committee's support in fiscal year 2021 to
adequately fund the state office rent program, reimbursement to the
General Services Administration (GSA) for Federal occupancy agreements,
and standard increases in FPS security costs for Senate offices housed
in Federal buildings. The SAA works closely with commercial landlords,
the GSA, and the FPS to ensure Senator's operational and security
preparedness needs are met in their state offices. As of February
2022,we supported 458 state offices for rental payments; renovations;
installation, maintenance, and monitoring of physical security
measures; and emergency supplies and security preparedness planning and
training.
In calendar year 2021, the SAA completed 99 unique state office
projects coordinating construction, security, furniture, equipment, and
delivery of IT services. This higher-than-average workload was the
result of considerable backlog related to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions
throughout the country. We are again anticipating a high number of
projects, as we move into an election year and support numerous
transitions. Our success in managing the State Office Operations
portfolio hinges on our close and collaborative working relationship
with Senate staff, commercial landlords, and our Federal partners.
We remain committed to ensuring the safety of Senators and staff,
and leaning forward to provide customized security systems, monitoring
services, and enhanced office security construction designs to state
offices without affecting Senate office budgets. Currently, over 98
percent of state offices have adopted some level of SAA-recommended and
funded security enhancements.
In calendar year 2021, we provided initial physical security
enhancements for 11 state offices and enhanced existing security for 18
others. Maintaining state office security systems in good working order
is a priority, and to support this effort our team conducted over 593
service calls to address issues, conduct inspections, and recommend
improvements in state offices.
We believe that EP training and familiarity with security equipment
equates to higher levels of compliance and readiness. In calendar year
2021, the State Office Operations team offered twice-monthly emergency
preparedness webinars and worked closely with USCP on state office
SABs, offering both onsite and virtual options due to ongoing COVID-19
related travel restrictions. Our team also introduced two new training
classes: Security and Emergency Preparedness Review and Unwanted
Activity in State Offices. Since the deployment of these new courses,
431 Senate state staff have participated in training and detailed
security reviews. This represents a greater than 300 percent increase
in attendance over the last calendar year. Our focus on state office
readiness remains a high priority as we move into fiscal year 2023.
In addition, we remain focused on assisting state offices
contending with the operational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In
calendar year 2021, State Office Operations worked closely with state
offices around the country, ensuring they had the resources needed to
continue operations and serve their constituents. Since the pandemic
began, our team has coordinated 189 enhanced cleanings of state offices
(many as a result of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 exposures). We
focused on efforts to make facilities safer by helping offices assess
floor plans to better plan for staggered staffing. We funded and
coordinated furniture relocation and the procurement and placement of
133 plexiglass partitions to support social distancing. State Office
Operations reorganized its existing supply program to include an
expanded inventory of COVID-19 supplies in partnership with the AOC. To
date, we have provided nearly 162,000 face coverings and distributed
thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer, as well as sanitizing wipes,
disinfectant spray, and nitrile gloves to state offices. Most recently,
our team led efforts to distribute over 4,000 COVID-19 rapid home test
kits to state office staff. Our State Office Supply Program will
continue in calendar year 2022.
Access Control and Transportation--ID Access
We request one additional FTE to allow us to hire an identification
specialist. The Senate ID Office issued 17,600 new and updated
Congressional and Press identification badges to 14,700 customers in
fiscal year 2021, including Senate staff, support personnel, and
credentialed media. We anticipate our fiscal year 2022 volume to
increase in support of greater security measures at the Capitol complex
and state offices. The ID office is working to support various
capabilities, as outlined in the Homeland Security Presidential
Directive (HSPD) 12, including digital signatures in fiscal year 2022.
The SAA has started the evaluation process for upgrading badge
production software to replace end of life system. Smartcards used for
digital signatures in the Senate financial management system have been
offered to all Senate offices, committees, and support offices. We are
actively researching additional uses for Smartcards, such as point of
entry, email encryption and two-factor secure remote network access in
fiscal year 2022.
Access Control and Transportation--Parking Operations
The SAA purchased new permit printers and tablets to enhance onsite
customer service in fiscal year 2021. In fiscal year 2022 and fiscal
year 2023, we will purchase additional handheld devices and the
necessary software for these devices to instantly identify vehicles by
scanning permit barcodes or license plates, capturing photos,
documenting, and printing parking violations and any other associated
issues.
Access Control and Transportation--Fleet Operations
The SAA operates the Senate Daily Shuttle service, and provides the
Senate with emergency transportation and logistics support. The SAA
fleet includes trucks, vans, buses, SUVs, electric vehicles,
handicapped-accessible vehicles, and Segways. Due to COVID-related
reductions, the SAA Shuttle Service resumed in September of 2021,
transporting more than 1,800 passengers through December 2021. Levels
are expected to increase as Senators and staff are vaccinated and
return onsite. In addition to staff regularly sanitizing vehicles, the
SAA has procured anti-bacterial air filters for passenger buses. Fleet
Operations plans to exchange several obsolete vehicles for leased
vehicles saving funds for the Senate.
support operations
Printing, Graphics & Direct Mail
While we are not requesting additional funds this year for
Printing, Graphics and Direct Mail (PGDM), this department plays a role
in constituent mail and newsletters, printing Floor Charts, document
digitization and preservation, logistics, and secure offsite transfer
of Senate material.
PGDM is focused on providing services to Senate offices that
enhance the customer experience and respond to customer needs. They
will roll out an innovative Storefront in the summer of 2022 that
enhances the customer experience of ordering services from PGDM, and
streamlines back in processing, saving time, money, and supplies.
One of our most successful pandemic innovations is digitization of
incoming constituent mail and 81 Senate offices are using this service.
For the next iteration, PGDM has begun to research indexing technology
that will allow staff to use keywords to search for digital mail
quickly. The other successful pandemic innovation remote flag
processing. PGDM continues to innovate this process and is working with
stakeholders in the Secretary of the Senate, the House of
Representatives, and the Architect of the Capitol to streamline the
process of ordering, flying and shipping flags. As of March 2022, 87
offices have participated in remote flag processing.
In fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2022, PGDM implemented a
digital inkjet press, allowing for personalized designs, while lowering
the cost of materials and reducing setup time. This new technology has
drastically improved productivity while accommodating the demand for
smaller, more frequent print requests.
PGDM recently implemented a heat press that will generate
professional quality products such as table coverings to provide Senate
offices with better visibility at Town Hall meetings and other events.
Since February 2022, six Senate offices have requested custom printed
table coverings. PGDM anticipates requests for this service to increase
in fiscal year 2023, as the heat press portfolio of services is
gradually built out in response to the needs of the Senate community.
Senate Post Office
Level funding is requested to support the Senate Post Office. The
Senate Post Office staff screens and delivers mail and packages to more
than 180 locations within the Capitol complex, while providing a
messenger service to multiple locations throughout the Washington
metropolitan area. In fiscal year 2021,the Post Office safely processed
and delivered more than 7.1 million incoming mail items, while
intercepting 19 suspicious mailings that required an immediate response
by the USCP. We prevented delivery of an additional 1,569 mailings
bearing characteristics with the intent to disrupt Senate business and
requiring further scrutiny by USCP.
During the pandemic, we established a free forwarding service for
state offices. Working in conjunction with the United States Postal
Service, this free forwarding service has assisted with the safety of
staff during the pandemic and enabled Senate staff to quickly obtain
constituent mail and promptly respond. The Senate Post Office sorts
mail for 81 Senate and Committee offices and delivers this to PGDM to
be digitally imaged and returned to the office electronically.
With support of the Secretary of the Senate, and approval from the
Senate Rules Committee, the Senate Post Office will begin accepting
passport applications in the summer of 2022. The Senate Post Office has
been approved, by the State Department, to be an official Passport
Issuance Office through their Special Issuance Passport Program (SIPP).
We will soon be able to offer official travel and tourism passport
services for Senate members, staff, and their immediate families.
Beginning this month, the Senate Post Office offers notary services to
the Senate community, augmenting services provided by the Disbursing
Office.
Facilities Management
Level funding is requested for the Facilities Management services
to provide oversight of facility projects throughout the Capitol
Complex and offsite facilities. During fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year
2022, the Facilities Management team conducted a workplace study for
SAA staff and contractors. The goal remains to more efficiently use the
amount of space provided within the Senate office buildings and
accurately gather requirements for additional space, as the lease of
the Postal Square building nears its end. The study collected data of
all SAA employees and onsite contractors, as well as Secretary of the
Senate (SECSEN) staff located at Postal Square. This encompassed
surveying 14 buildings and collecting work statuses for over 900
individuals. Recommendations were provided to classify some spaces as
shared, either in a hot or hoteling configuration, and reassign other
spaces, to best utilize all allocated space. Facilities Management
looks to finalize a space reservation system, to provide staff with the
ability to reserve space within areas that best suit their requirements
when onsite. The requirements for leased space are being reviewed and
the group looks to work with the AOC and GSA to identify locations that
would accommodate onsite staffing levels.
Photographic Services
Level funding is requested in fiscal year 2023 to provide photo-
imaging services for Senate offices and committees. The SAA
Photographic Services team manages and maintains a unified digital
photo browser application that provides Senate offices a secure,
accessible archive of all photos accumulated during a Senator's term in
office. Currently, the photo browser contains more than 1.4 million
photo image files. Having surveyed Senate offices, Photographic
Services has begun the procurement of a new photo browser, which will
be more modern and customer friendly. This will give the Senate
community access to a unified repository of photographs with the
ability to order a preexisting or uploaded image. In fiscal year 2021,
our staff covered 1,864 assignments, photographing nearly 54,000
images, producing more than 18,000 photo prints, and coordinated
scanning for end of term archiving of more than 84,000 photo images for
Senators leaving office. We are providing the same level of service in
fiscal year 2021 with consistent funding.
Joint Office of Training & Development
Level funding is requested for The Joint Office of Training &
Development. The Joint Office of Training & Development provides
training, coaching, and professional development to Senate staff.
During fiscal year 2021, Training & Development was able to provide
remote training classes while continuing to offer development
instructions to individual Senate offices. The office provided 270
online classes and facilitated 173 conversations, one-on-one coaching,
and consultations. The office interacted with 4,332 Senate staff
through these services. In fiscal year 2023, the office will design and
implement additional online resources for training through the new
Cornerstone software suite of tools, which will allow Senate staff to
optimize efficiencies across departments working on performance,
learning, compensation, and succession. Once the initial training is
complete, the office will focus on providing multimodal learning tools
that enhance staff productivity within the learning-portal of the new
Cornerstone software suite.
The mandated Health Promotion section provides activities and
events for the Senate community that promote healthy living. Each year,
this section coordinates and hosts the two-day Wellness Fair, which
supports on average 3,000 participants. The fair offers health
promotion activities, such as screening for glucose, cholesterol, and
blood pressure; exercise demonstrations; and seminars on topics
including healthy eating and cancer prevention.
Although the pandemic restrictions forced the Senate Wellness Fair
to be cancelled in fiscal year 2021, we are investigating options to
expand online wellness to Senate staff in fiscal year 2022, while also
providing access to onsite wellness resources and activities.
Health Promotion coordination with the American College of Surgeons
(ACS) and the Stop the Bleed Coalition provides vital bleeding control
training for DC Senate staff. ACS cancelled the in-person training in
2021 and will look to offer a virtual training for Senate staff in
fiscal year 2022, and a planned return to in-person training in fiscal
year 2023.
conclusion
Thank you for your support of the SAA and for the opportunity to
discuss the SAA's fiscal year 2023 budget request. This budget remains
focused on my three primary lines of effort--hardening the Senate's
physical and cyber security, developing innovative solutions to
modernize the Senate, and strengthening our support to the operational
needs of the Senate community. With this strategy driven budget, we are
prepared to proactively plan for future events.
STATEMENT OF J. BRETT BLANTON, ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Mr. Blanton. Thank you, Chairman Reed, Ranking Member
Braun, and Members of the Subcommittee.
I do thank you for your support for our fiscal year 2022
budget, as well, and the opportunity to testify today.
In particular, I appreciate the leadership and long hours
by the two lead staffers for the subcommittee, Majority Clerk
Jessica Berry and her counterpart Margaret Wiles.
During these last 2 years, we have faced unprecedented
challenges. Every day I'm struck by the commitment and talent
of our hard-working employees. Day and night, rain or shine,
AOC employees are serving Congress and maintaining the
treasured buildings and grounds around the Capitol Complex.
AOC's budget request seeks support for critical measures to
ensure the safety of Members of Congress, staff, and visitors
across campus. United in our shared mission and goal, we are
constantly coordinating with Chief Thomas Major and the Capitol
Police to keep the campus safe.
As a member of the Capitol Police Board, I am grateful for
the strong collaboration with my partner here General Karen
Gibson as well as General William Walker on the House.
Together, we are aligning resources to reflect our shared
priorities.
While some security challenges are more visible than
others, we are working continuously on physical security
improvements. At the same time, the AOC also seeks resources to
continue rapidly responding to unplanned critical security
events.
In the area of cybersecurity, the AOC needs continued
support to safeguard our networks and utility systems from
malicious threats. The AOC's budget also reflects essential
life safety projects to protect everyone who works and visits
here.
There are areas of our aging infrastructure that are
hundreds of years old. One critical area is the very serious
and pressing need to address utility tunnel repairs.
Deteriorating concrete and high-pressure steam piping
components need immediate repair to reduce the risk of tunnel
failure. These repairs are urgent for life safety, to avoid
interruptions of electrical, water, steam, and communications
services across the Capitol for an extended period of time.
As this Committee knows, delayed funding has consequences.
We must take immediate steps to address deferred maintenance
and infrastructure repairs across the Capitol Campus.
In addition, we are requesting resources to train and
prepare AOC staff to respond to emergency situations, including
natural disasters, and other life safety emergency events.
While security and infrastructure improvements are a top
priority, I also remain focused on transformative change within
AOC. We need to cultivate and maintain a safe and positive and
productive work environment where people have the necessary
skills, training, equipment, and support to succeed.
AOC employees are constantly working across the campus to
maintain these treasured buildings and grounds. This strong
work ethic reflects the cultural transformation happening
across our agency during these tough times.
We are working constantly to reconcile the cost of historic
preservation with the pressing modern demands. Across the
agency, our team of exceptional professionals is working
tirelessly to upgrade our capabilities and facilities.
To achieve our mission, we need adequate resources to meet
the technological, space, sustainability, and accessibility
needs of a 21st Century workforce.
With the Committee's support, we can ensure the success of
Congress, the Supreme Court, and the library of Congress.
Looking ahead, I remain optimistic and determined that we
will carry out the legacy of perseverance and patriotism that
these historic buildings and grounds inspire of all who visit
here.
On behalf of the Architect of the Capitol staff, I thank
you for your support and look forward to answering your
questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of J. Brett Blanton
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and members of the
Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to present the Architect of
the Capitol's (AOC) fiscal year 2023 budget request of $1.67 billion.
Crowned by the magnificent Dome, the U.S. Capitol is the center of
the Capitol campus, as well as a widely recognized icon of the American
people and their government. The building's origins go back to our
nation's early years. Pierre Charles L'Enfant designed the city of
Washington with the U.S. Capitol Building at the center, and President
George Washington approved the building's original design in 1793.
As the nation has grown so has the U.S. Capitol: today it covers
more than 1.5 million square feet, with over 600 rooms and miles of
corridors. It has been burnt, rebuilt, extended and restored. Today,
the AOC is committed to preserving L'Enfant's legacy and to ensuring
that the U.S. Capitol endures as one of the most architecturally
impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world.
As this Subcommittee knows, the AOC is working constantly behind
the scenes to support the day-to-day operations of Congress, the
Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. Carrying on traditions of
unique craftsmanship and ingenuity, the AOC is responsible for the
operations and care of more than 18.4 million square feet of
facilities, 570 acres of grounds and thousands of works of art. There
are 30,000 people working across campus every day, and more than 2,200
AOC employees work around the clock, serving in diverse roles to
maintain and preserve the buildings and grounds.
Working together, the AOC team is committed to providing a safe and
inspiring experience for visitors as well as those who work here. The
AOC's daily success relies upon the exceptional professionalism and
hard work of our staff.
I would like to extend my appreciation for the Subcommittee's work
to achieve the bicameral, bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act of
2022. The Subcommittee's support for the AOC's work is truly
appreciated, and I commend the efforts of the Legislative Branch
Subcommittee Members and staff for their ongoing support of the AOC's
work and goals.
As we move forward from the incredible challenges over the last 2
years, I would like to work with the Subcommittee to identify areas
where multi-year funding will enable us to be more efficient and
effective in the planning, design and execution of ongoing
improvements. Otherwise, we may face vulnerabilities associated with
the deterioration and deferred maintenance of these historic buildings
and treasured grounds. As I have testified previously, delayed funding
has consequences.
This budget proposal reflects changing programs and resource needs.
The AOC's funding request seeks resources for campuswide architectural
and engineering design; project, property and construction management;
planning and development for buildings and major projects across the
Capitol campus; procurement, including major construction contracts;
congressional move designs; information technology; financial
management; legal services; and management of historic preservation and
sustainability programs.
AOC employees need to have and maintain the necessary skills and
equipment to achieve our mission on behalf of the American people.
Moreover, we are seeking support for efforts focused on our employees'
well-being and professional development. In addition, we are requesting
resources for new strategic initiatives like AOC University, an effort
to expand training and professional development opportunities for
staff.
To achieve our shared goals, we need this Subcommittee's support to
maintain a positive, productive and safe environment for AOC employees
as well as all who work and visit here. Across the board, the AOC is
focused on recruiting and retaining critical staff to accomplish this
important work and, accordingly, our fiscal year 2023 budget request
includes necessary funding to maintain a sufficient workforce.
We need to work together to adopt a long-term and comprehensive
approach for planning, design and completion of major projects.
Finally, this request reflects agencywide efforts to transform the
Capitol campus by implementing a more predictive and effective approach
to facilities maintenance.
i. prioritizing physical security projects
As this Subcommittee knows, physical security across the Capitol
campus is a top priority. In close and continuous coordination with my
counterparts at the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) and the House and Senate
Sergeants at Arms, I am working tirelessly to make the Capitol campus
as safe and open as possible.
The AOC's fiscal year 2023 budget request demonstrates an emphasis
on security needs throughout the Capitol campus and, accordingly, these
prioritized projects constitute a significant portion of our budget
request, reflecting the urgent and significant recommendations of the
comprehensive physical security assessment completed by the AOC on
behalf of the Capitol Police Board. Working with this Subcommittee, as
well as my partners on the Capitol Police Board, we must address the
top priorities arising from this assessment.
While some projects can be executed swiftly, the complexity of
others demand greater planning, consultation and design.
To that end, the AOC is requesting proportionate funds to support
and complement the USCP's increased operations and allow for full
implementation of programs to address pressing security needs. This
budget demonstrates the interdependence of the AOC and USCP security
improvement projects.
For example, the AOC seeks funding to improve direct communication
lines with USCP related to incident management, security responses and
coordination. In addition, the AOC is seeking funding to support
emergency response, security and resilience requirements of the AOC's
life, health and safety responsibilities to the Capitol Police Board.
In addition, the requested funds provide necessary support for exigent
requirements and special events that arise unexpectedly. At the same
time, the AOC is requesting resources to provide rapid response support
to unplanned critical security events as well as rapidly deployable
security elements.
In addition, the AOC is requesting resources to address a finding
by the AOC's Inspector General regarding Emergency Management Training.
With this requested funding, the AOC will be able to train and prepare
AOC staff to respond to emergency situations, including natural
disasters or other life safety emergency events. The budget request
also reflects the AOC's ongoing efforts to improve cybersecurity and to
protect our networks from any intrusion by malicious threats. The AOC
maintains continuous 24/7 monitoring to detect and respond to any cyber
incidents.
Finally, this request reflects the AOC's increased responsibility
to acquire and maintain pandemic response materials.
We know our work is essential for the safety of Members and the
staff working on the Capitol campus, and we are dedicated to ensuring
continuity of operations. With the Subcommittee's full support, the AOC
can fulfill its responsibilities to support our partners. With adequate
resources, we can keep the campus safe and secure.
ii. tackling aging infrastructure with technological approaches
I am continuing efforts to bring transformative change across
campus by deploying modern tools to tackle the challenges of aging
facilities and infrastructure. Over the past 2 years, the pandemic has
affected costs of all major projects in the form of supply chain
shortages, raw material cost increases and increases in competition for
skilled labor.
The AOC's capital budget request is focused on projects with
immediate urgency. Project funding will support the lifespan of the
facilities as well as address critical needs ranging from preserving
priceless artwork to replacing roofs, installing emergency generators
and improving campus security. The AOC's priority projects reflect
identified needs. These are well-documented areas where the period of
useful life has already been exhausted or is approaching its end.
Looking ahead, we are working on solutions that will improve
predictability of maintenance needs and create efficiencies to save
taxpayer dollars. With this approach, the AOC can mitigate future costs
associated with deferred maintenance requirements.
With the Subcommittee's support, the AOC is already launching a new
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) system that will provide a thorough
asset management strategy to inform work priorities and provide for
data-driven fiscal decisions and prioritization. Specifically, EAM will
serve as a new tool to aid decisionmaking about operating, maintaining,
and renewing building and infrastructure assets such as machinery,
vehicles and construction equipment. With sufficient resources for
ongoing implementation, EAM will allow the AOC to manage maintenance-
based strategies proactively, mitigate obsolescence, restore
reliability, reduce long-term costs and forecast resource requirements.
EAM will also maximize return on investment while enhancing
decisionmaking priorities. I am committed to implementing a
disciplined, consistent approach to annual inspections and anticipating
key infrastructure lifecycles.
Every day we work to preserve our historic and aging infrastructure
for the benefit of future generations. At the same time, we are working
tirelessly to upgrade our capabilities and facilities to meet the
technological, space, sustainability and accessibility needs of a 21st-
century workforce, some of whom are working in 19th-century buildings.
iii. supporting safety standards and solutions
The safety of everyone on the Capitol campus is a top priority. The
budget request reflects prioritization of projects based on imminent
needs. Life and safety issues, as well as components that are beyond
their service life, are high on the list. The AOC manages safety, fire,
environmental, code compliance and facility safety programs across the
Capitol campus. We serve as the main point of contact for external
regulatory agencies for occupational safety and health, fire
protection, accessibility, and environmental matters. The AOC budget
also includes the Office of Attending Physician as a service offering
medical surveillance and support of health units on campus.
The AOC's fiscal year 2023 budget request includes funding for
several life and safety related projects. Fire alarm and sprinkler
system upgrades in the U.S. Capitol and other critical areas around the
Capitol campus will address code deficiencies, reduce the risk of
system failure, and improve facility safety for building occupants.
For example, we have requested funds to replace key fire alarm
components in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Similarly, we have
requested funds to upgrade the fire alarm system in the Library of
Congress' James Madison Memorial Building and the sprinkler systems in
the John Adams Building.
Another critical area is the very serious and pressing need to
address utility tunnel repairs. Within the utility tunnels,
deteriorating concrete and piping components need immediate repair to
reduce the risk of tunnel failure. These repairs are urgent to avoid
interruptions of electrical, water, steam and communications services
to the Capitol campus for an extended period.
In this area and others, we continue to dedicate time and attention
to training, safety procedure review and communications, and
supervision of our workforce to ensure they are operating in the safest
manner possible across the entire campus. A critical component of this
effort is ensuring that all staff have access to the proper personal
protective equipment (PPE). PPE used by AOC employees is as diverse as
the jobs they perform. From hard hats to insulated tools, PPE helps
keep employees safe. Most commonly, AOC employees rely on safety
glasses, safety shoes and hard hats. But there are many not-so-common
items that our employees depend on to keep them safe. Our arborists
need specialized gear compliant for safe arboricultural operations,
including fall-resistant harnesses and safety helmets. AOC painters
wear full face respirators, gloves, head socks and lab coats to protect
lungs, eyes and skin as well as bump caps to protect their heads when
working in tight spaces or near ceilings. At times, these expert
professionals must also wear light-adjusting, ballistic-proof safety
glasses to protect against paint and UV light that provides support for
employees like stone masons, sheet metal mechanics and painters who
switch between indoor and outdoor work.
In addition, AOC electricians must wear 100 percent cotton uniforms
to prevent melting of fibers in the event of an arc flash. Metal
buttons, grommets or zippers must be avoided to circumvent shock
hazards, and employees must work with insulated tools such as
screwdrivers, ratchets, pliers and electrical hazard rated safety boots
and leather gloves to avoid workplace injuries due to shock,
electrocution or other hazards. When working around high voltage, AOC
employees must wear ear plugs, safety glasses and special suits.
All of these efforts, as well as extensive monitoring and reporting
on medical surveillance, demonstrate the AOC's deep commitment to safe
standards and environments for all employees and visitors.
iv. senate priorities and programs
Working with the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration,
the AOC is beginning a multi-year program to renovate hearing and
committee meeting rooms in the Senate office buildings. As part of this
collaborative process, the AOC will develop a comprehensive schedule
for the hearing and committee room renovation program. Each hearing
room renovation will require approximately 1 year to complete, with a
plan to renovate two hearing rooms under construction at one time. With
this endeavor, the AOC will strive for the greatest efficiencies
beneficial to the entire Senate community.
After substantial time is allowed for consultation, planning and
design, this renovation program will achieve important infrastructure
upgrades; install advanced lighting, audiovisual and HVAC systems;
enlarge the daises to support current committee sizes; and address
accessibility as well as current fire and life safety codes.
The program will also prioritize historic preservation, updating
the rooms' carpeting, furniture and finishes while ensuring that the
rooms remain true to their original architectural intent. This
important and long-term effort will benefit from the AOC's new Building
Official program, a group of dedicated experts ensuring stakeholders
follow the same set of established building codes and consistent
processes for permitting.
I am also well-aware of stakeholders' concerns to address the
limited capacity of the existing Senate Employees' Child Care Center
(SECCC), especially at the infant and toddler levels.
A congressionally directed study, completed in April 2021,
presented alternatives that would increase the capacity of the SECCC at
alternate locations. Working with this Subcommittee and the U.S. Senate
Committee on Rules & Administration, the AOC is exploring cost
estimates for the potential scope of work. Throughout this planning
process, the AOC will continue to work closely with this Subcommittee
on planning, pre-design activities, timelines and cost estimates.
Concurrently, at the Subcommittee's request, the AOC will provide
support and technical expertise for a report on an additional Senate
office building. To achieve the goals of this effort, the AOC is
already seeking input from this Subcommittee as well as the U.S. Senate
Committee on Rules & Administration on the space requirements. A
critical element of the planning process will be an updated space needs
assessment to develop program requirements for the new facility. While
there seems to be a strong consensus about the need for space, the
planning process will provide clarification about the specific types of
spaces required as well as inform the necessary design process.
Since substantial time has passed since a new building was
completed on campus, the design and construction of any new facility on
the Capitol campus would be a major project spanning a multi-year
period. At the same time, necessary and planned improvements to
existing Senate office buildings would still need to take place.
Accessibility also remains a significant priority, with
accessibility considerations incorporated into every project. This
Subcommittee's support enabled the installation of an accessible lift
on the Senate floor last year. As another example, part of the U.S.
Botanic Garden Conservatory Security Upgrade Project will include the
installation of automatic door openers to improve accessibility.
The Senate Office Buildings jurisdiction recently completed the
second sequence of the Russell Exterior Envelope Repair and Restoration
Project. This multi-phase project is designed to preserve the exterior
envelope of the historic Russell Senate Office Building, including its
exterior stone, wood windows and glazed doors. The second sequence of
the project focused on the south and east sides of the building, with
the area directly facing the U.S. Capitol finishing shortly before the
2021 Presidential Inauguration. The AOC's work will restore the
stonework and window restoration on the final sequence of the project,
which includes the west side of the building and the Rotunda area.
In addition, the ongoing Russell Courtyard renovation will address
several accessibility issues so that everyone in the Senate community
can enjoy this renewed green space. The full renovation of the Russell
Courtyard will be completed and fully opened this year. While providing
a refreshing and accessible outdoor area for senators, staff and
visitors, this project is also integral to the AOC's commitment to
preserving historic stonework across the Capitol campus.
The AOC is working hard to provide modern and functional office
space to offices across campus. For example, the Hart Senate Office
Building provides offices for 50 Senate offices, three committees and
several subcommittees. All Member suites received modular walls and
furniture between 2003 and 2008, and Senate committees received modular
walls and furniture between 2007 and 2011. As part of our effort to
renovate aging furniture and improve workspaces, the AOC plans to
replace modular furniture in 50 Member offices and 15 committee spaces
over a 16-year period.
The AOC is continuing efforts related to the Mountain and Clouds
sculpture by Alexander Calder in the Hart Building. Mountains and
Clouds was the last work of Calder (and his only work with a separate
mobile and stabile). It was originally designed as a mountain-shaped
floor installation and four oscillating clouds suspended from a single
shaft from the Hart Building roof.
The AOC has completed the parameters study to establish safety
standards for possible fabrication and installation of a new Clouds
portion of the sculpture. Presently, the Calder Foundation is
developing an official proposal for the re-creation of the Clouds
mobile that will be sent to the Senate Commission on Art for
acceptance. If approved, the AOC will help facilitate the installation
of the Clouds mobile, provide engineering information and act as a
building consultant.
While private funds will be used for the fabrication and
installation of any new mobile, the AOC will require adequate resources
to support the design, fabrication, establishment of engineering
parameters and oversight of installation.
In the fiscal year 2023 budget request, the AOC requested
substantial funding to address the 26 air handling units (AHUs) in the
Hart Building. In December 2012, a design was completed for replacement
of the AHUs. Unfortunately, funds provided in fiscal year 2020 for the
project's first year had to be allocated to emergency contingency
expenses. Presently, the AOC is conducting a redesign to update
previous drawings, provide further refurbishment details and phasing,
mitigate risks, and provide an updated Independent Government Cost
Estimate for the project.
In doing so, the AOC is seeking a cost-effective solution for this
identified need. Refurbished AHUs will have the same expected life span
of 20-30 years at approximately a third of the cost of replacement.
Refurbishment will also have less impact on the Senate community, along
with a shorter construction duration.
As a further initiative to improve services to the Senate
community, the Senate restaurant master plan study will set forth a
plan for a food service program which will transform current eating
spaces into a dining experience representative of the history, heritage
and prestige of the Senate. The study will also recommend facility
modernization concepts that will increase operating efficiencies,
improve the business model, and provide more convenient service for
customers through the implementation of technological advancements,
including online ordering and remote pick-up.
There are nine food service operations in the Senate office
buildings and on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol Building. The
Senate kitchen and dining areas cover approximately 36,500 square feet
of space. The AOC is requesting $8.1 million in the fiscal year 2023
budget for the first phase of restaurant modernization, which includes
the design of all food service outlets in the Senate office buildings.
In a companion request, the Capitol Building jurisdiction is also
requesting $40.2 million in the fiscal year 2023 budget for
modernization of Senate food service outlets in the U.S. Capitol
Building. Funding will cover the redesign and construction of all food
service outlets in the U.S. Capitol Building.
Throughout the U.S. Capitol, the AOC seeks to maintain compliance
with fire and life safety codes, to avoid potential hazards to building
occupants as well as the building's historic art and architecture.
Kitchen equipment, fixtures and interior finishes have reached the end
of their lifespan, requiring constant maintenance. This project will
combine the food service venues on both levels into a consolidated,
efficient food service venue on the basement level, with the ground-
floor kitchen exclusively supporting the Senate Dining Room. New
equipment, fixtures and finishes will support popular menu offerings,
allow for new offerings and increase service efficiency.
Increased labor is necessary to effectively address the needs of
outdated kitchen infrastructure. For instance, the existing exhaust
system jeopardizes the safety of building occupants, the U.S. Capitol's
priceless art and architecture, and the efficiency and quality of food
service on the Capitol campus.
The AOC is also working with partners at the Senate Recording
Studio to upgrade the rooms' audiovisual equipment since the current
equipment is not designed for multimedia presentations or video
conferencing.
v. sustaining our commitment to future generations
We are doing all that we can to adopt best practices to reduce the
environmental impact of Senate operations. Across campus, the AOC is
focused on sustainability and energy conservation efforts that
prioritize resource conservation. In fact, over the last 15 years, the
AOC has reduced its energy intensity levels by 50 percent, reducing
energy requirements and ultimately saving taxpayer dollars. Through its
practices, the AOC sequestered 700,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, saved
nearly 8 million gallons of water, and saved over 250,000 kilowatt-
hours of energy on an annual basis.
The AOC's Senate team is pursuing certification with the Green
Restaurants Association. This process will demonstrate our ongoing
efforts to ``green'' our operations by using transparent, science-based
standards. Working with the food-service contractors, the Senate
restaurants will be even more environmentally sustainable in energy,
water, waste, food, chemicals and disposables.
The agency has also coordinated with its food service providers to
reduce plastic waste with a wide range of approaches. We have reviewed
every aspect of the service to find ways to improve our practices. In
the Senate, the use of Styrofoam has been eliminated completely. In
addition, we have adopted compostable straws and eliminated the use of
single-use plastic straws. There is also greater use of wax paper
instead of plastic, and we have transitioned certain beverages from the
product line to large cans instead of plastic bottles. A similar effort
was made to ensure that milk could be available in bulk containers.
As another way to encourage individual practices around consumption
and waste, the Senate has continued its modest discount program for
anyone that brings their own container for coffee. In addition, we have
eliminated use of portion-controlled products (i.e., ketchup packets)
and replaced offerings with condiment wells wherever possible.
At the same time, the AOC continues to improve recycling programs,
not only for personal use inside facilities but also on construction
sites. For example, the AOC diverted 10,000 tons of construction and
demolition debris from the landfill, recycling 98 percent of all
construction debris generated. We also continue to implement
sustainable groundskeeping practices such as reducing water demand by
capturing runoff and using native plants and perennials.
In the Senate office buildings, the AOC has proposed a formal study
of waste and recycling operations by conducting a multi-phase pilot
with interested senators and committees. The pilot will collect waste,
recycling data and client feedback. With this information, we can make
informed decisions about effective recycling bin configurations, waste
collection tools and options for post-consumer compost collection.
Throughout the Senate office buildings, the AOC seeks to improve
the waste and recycling program by increasing recycling rates; creating
consistent waste and recycling bin standards; promoting awareness on
waste separation; improving AOC collection efficiency; and decreasing
clutter and tripping hazards of excess bins in workspaces.
This project also aligns AOC operations with industry best
practices by instituting centralized collection bin placement of all
waste and recycling material. In doing so, the AOC will evaluate and
analyze the impact of centralized collection bins on recycling. We will
also examine behaviors by measuring recycling rates before and after
implementation. To implement the most effective solutions, the AOC will
gather participant feedback specific to recycling collection to
understand occupants' experiences of different collection
configurations and to assess feasibility of centralized collection in
office and committee spaces. In addition, the AOC will engage with
recycling champions to identify gaps in recycling program
communications as well as the most effective methods to disseminate
information.
Beyond this initiative, the AOC will evaluate resource requirements
for post-consumer composting collection in offices and dining spaces.
As directed by this Subcommittee in 2021, the AOC is developing a
formal study to assess the feasibility of restarting post-consumer
composting in the Senate buildings, which was terminated previously.
The study includes a multi-phase pilot program and third-party
analysis, culminating in a report of recommendations, anticipated
resource requirements and prospective benefits to the Senate. The AOC
will evaluate the resources and authorities required to add post-
consumer composting to the current waste management program in both
public spaces and private offices in the Senate buildings. We will also
analyze the benefits of key aspects of the larger waste management
program, including collection methods, labor allocation and resource
use.
For example, the pilot program will contrast baseline waste
management processes with several small-scale pilot phases to assess
real-world impacts of four specific variables: bin location
configurations, waste collection procedures, post-consumer composting
collection in designated pilot offices and post-consumer composting
collection in dining spaces. Baseline and piloted processes will be
evaluated through several qualitative and quantitative methods,
including waste sampling, surveys, and measurement of resource
allocations for waste collection and transport.
Subsequently, third-party analysis will validate baseline and pilot
data; observe and analyze procedural changes; and recommend options to
improve waste management efficiency and restart a post-consumer
composting program in the Senate buildings. The AOC expects to begin
the pilot program soon.
The AOC is also pioneering new practices at the U.S. Botanic Garden
(USBG), a treasured public institution. With the Subcommittee's
support, we seek to continue the USBG's Urban Agriculture Program,
which provides educational resources, training for veterans, capacity
building programs with other public gardens, and educator professional
development programming. In a short period, this program achieved
demonstrated success to support communities facing food access
challenges.
In addition, the USBG is requesting funding to complete the design
phase of the Production Facility Renewal Project. With resources for
substantial renovation and renewal of this critical support facility,
the USBG can continue to achieve key goals related to horticulture,
operations and maintenance, education and outreach, and sustainability.
Looking to the future, the AOC will begin work on an updated
Capitol Complex Master Plan, which will serve as a foundational
document for master planning over the next 20 years. With the
Subcommittee's support, the AOC will be able to engage in necessary
planning for the future. This report will set forth a robust vision for
tomorrow's generations.
vi. pandemic procurement and preparedness
While all of us look forward to better and healthier days ahead,
the COVID-19 pandemic is still impacting our operations and projects.
As the Congress labors day and night, AOC employees are working nonstop
to keep the entire campus clean, sanitized and well maintained. From
day one of this pandemic, the AOC team has worked very closely with the
Office of Attending Physician. The AOC was designated as the
legislative branch purchasing agent for PPE and provides weekly
inventory updates as part of ongoing work to ensure that there are
adequate and authentic supplies. In addition, the AOC has ensured the
specialized cleaning of spaces throughout the Senate office buildings
whenever it has been needed. In response to a request from the Senate
community earlier this year, the AOC worked diligently to procure at-
home COVID testing kits that were distributed widely to Senate staff
working in D.C. offices. Taken together, these efforts reflect the
AOC's comprehensive effort to promote a healthier work environment for
all.
As the Subcommittee is aware, school group tours have returned to
the U.S. Capitol. As we plan to welcome even more visitors back, we are
excited to launch the CVC's Exhibition Hall Redesign Project later this
year. This project aims to provide visitors with an engaging
environment to learn about the legislative process and democracy. We
look forward to welcoming students of all ages to this wonderful new
space.
vii. conclusion
While I remain committed to ongoing improvements in our daily
operations, the AOC has already made significant progress on
transformational efforts.
Across the board, I am committed to leading the agency in long-
term, strategic planning that will prepare the campus for the next
century. With your ongoing support, we can protect and preserve this
cherished institution as well as all of those who serve here.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of our fiscal year 2023
budget request, and I look forward to the opportunity to address any
questions.
Senator Reed. I want to thank you very much, Mr. Blanton,
and let me now ask a few questions and then recognize Senator
Braun.
Both of you play critical roles in the security of the
Capitol from different perspectives. Both of you sit on the
Capitol Police Board. So we are now 17 months past January 6.
How have you changed your posture and mission on security
and protection? How have you had to adjust your own roles, and
how are the agencies working together? Let me start with
General Gibson and then Mr. Blanton.
General Gibson. Thank you, Senator Reed. I would begin with
some of the work that we've done together as part of the
Capitol Police Board.
Our first priority last year, in alignment with the
hearing, study, and recommendations from the Rules Committee,
was to select a new Chief of Police, and I think Chief Major
has done a superb job in beginning to transform the department.
Some of the other work we did was associated with revising
our Manual of Procedures for the Capitol Police Board, work
that had not been addressed since a GAO study of 2017. As a
result, we have begun to conduct our business in a manner that
is far more transparent, inclusive, and we are responsive, and
we are formalizing and memorializing deliberation and decision
in a way that was not previously done.
We have supported the department's efforts to increase
recruiting and retention, which is very critical to our ability
to reopen the Capitol in the way that it was opened prior to
the pandemic of 2020. We have worked closely with the Capitol
Police and Physical Security Working Groups and also with the
Office of the IG to get at some of those shortcomings.
I'll leave it to the Architect to talk about some of the
prioritized physical security enhancements that we've
identified. I will mention that we've built and sustained some
strong collaborative relationships with other entities, like
the Secret Service, the FBI, Metropolitan Police, Department of
Homeland Security, and others to ensure that we have a common
understanding of the threats that we face here in the National
Capital Region.
Internal to the U.S. Senate and the Sergeant at Arms, I
previously mentioned standing up the Senate Operations Center
together with the Secretary, not as a separate and competing
operations center from the Capitol Police Command Center, but
as one that is complementary. I think this concept has
demonstrated an ability to much better track events as they are
occurring and to more efficiently communicate with the Senate
community.
We are also looking to revamp the training we provide, such
as emergency preparedness, life safety, and continuity
training. We want to get beyond the in-person training that
periodically occurs, and to make sure that it's also available
on-demand, and online for those who want to refresh their
knowledge at any time.
I've mentioned in my opening statement some of the things
that we would like to do in terms of enhancing our ability to
track the threats to Senators and their families, particularly
in light of the dramatic increase in threats that you
mentioned. Our goal is to deliver a clearer understanding to
Senators, provide recommendations, and conduct outreach so
there's a full understanding of the security suite available to
them to enhance their personal security or the security of
their families.
Senator Reed. Thank you. Mr. Blanton, please.
Mr. Blanton. Thank you, and I want to echo the comments
about the Capitol Police Board. It has truly been a
transformative year for the Board and it was needed and I want
you to understand that we have a great team now and are working
on some great initiatives.
I also wanted to say that with the funding we received last
year in the Security Supplemental, it's going to go a long way
to protecting the Capitol Campus. We spent the last year
utilizing in-house designing and planning resources in order
for us to be able to maximize the amount of actual product that
we were going to put into the security measures as opposed to
using those funds by having a contractor have to design it.
In addition, we had our Comprehensive Physical Security
Assessment and the biggest outcome of that Physical Security
Assessment, besides the projects and the dollars, and I realize
they're expensive, is the fact that we now have agreement of
Security Standards on the Capitol Campus. That's something that
we had not had previously, and it's very important for everyone
to know that we have standards now to maintain the safety for
members, staff, and visitors.
Internal to the organization, we also took a really strong
look at our Emergency Management Program in conjunction with
the work done by the Capitol Police and the Capitol Police
Board for the drills with the Sergeant at Arms.
We had to really realize that in an emergency situation,
many times AOC's work begins after the drill actually is over
and so then we had to really focus on how are we responding
when everybody can evacuate a building and now we need to make
sure we get people to come back in and so we're focusing our
training on that aspect of the emergency response.
Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much.
General, you mentioned the coordination with local
authorities. Can you--and again I think I'll commend you, and
the Sergeant, the Architect of the Capitol and local
authorities for the recent incident involving the truck
demonstrations--but are there other steps that you must take to
improve coordination?
General Gibson. Thank you for that question, Senator. I
think that while the strong relationships we have built, both
with domestic agencies and local law enforcement require
continued sustainment to keep those relationships strong, there
is an understanding within the law enforcement community at the
Capitol that imminent threats, like the trucker convoy, remains
very strong.
One area specifically where we do need increased support,
and I thank you for the language that was in the National
Defense Authorization Act, is in the area of cybersecurity.
What we've found is that policies for sharing intelligence
between the Executive and Legislative Branch are written
entirely with legislative oversight in mind without having
previously considered that there might be people in the
Legislative Branch, such as our cyber-security teams, that need
to make operational decisions in real-time.
And so, thanks to that language, our collective counsel
teams have begun work with the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence to re-craft some of the policies that
would allow intelligence-sharing for operational requirements,
separate from oversight, and my greatest priority would be for
cybersecurity so we can have immediate communications with our
Cybersecurity Operations Center instead of having to run those
types of threat reports through legislative liaison channels.
Thank you.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much.
Senator Braun, please.
Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
So, of course, the Capitol has been basically shut down
since the pandemic. We currently are in Phase 1 where school
groups can come in through office buildings. Phase 2 is
supposed to begin on May 30 and that means that school groups
and maybe pre-identified groups can enter through the Capitol
Visitor Center.
Is that still definitely going to happen on May 30? That's
just around the corner. General Gibson.
General Gibson. Thank you for that question, Senator, and I
appreciate the opportunity to address the phased reopening.
I, too, am eager to reopen the Capitol in the way that it
was before the pandemic and share the beauty and history of
this building with the American public and foreign visitors.
The limiting factor right now is not COVID-related but,
rather, an insufficient number of Uniformed Police Officers to
man the many positions associated with the Capitol Visitor
Center. To answer directly your question, yes, we do anticipate
entering Phase 2 as planned.
Senator Braun. On May 30.
General Gibson. On May 30, yes.
Senator Braun. Okay.
General Gibson. The shortcoming of officers is due to three
principal factors. One, increased attrition in 2020 and 2021,
largely due to the pandemic, January 6 and the aftermath of
January 6, and the bubble due to the large number of officers
who joined after 9/11, becoming retirement eligible.
Second, a lack of recruitment due to the Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center being closed during the pandemic.
So, we had a larger than normal attrition and no recruitment
offset.
And the third is an increased number of policing posts,
some of which are associated with ongoing repair to damage that
was done in 2021. So increased attrition, no recruitment, and
increased policing requirements, all contribute to the
shortfall of trained officers.
The Capitol Police Board has been working with the Chief on
a get-well plan that includes offering retention incentives and
updating pay schedules and increasing recruiting efforts.
We've also begun to bring on contracted Capitol Security
Officers to augment the Uniformed Force at some of the
secondary positions, places like the Library of Congress, the
Botanical Gardens, and parking garages. This allows us to put
more USCP officers in the Capitol Visitor Center and eventually
the Senate galleries. Also, with the Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center reopening, we've had a new class of
approximately 115 recruits who recently joined and seven
additional classes are scheduled for fiscal year 2022.
So that's the get-well plan, but it does not allow us to
immediately reopen to the extent that we would like because
there are significant posts that are associated with the
Capitol Visitor Center and in and around the Senate floor.
We do anticipate entering Phase 2 as planned and I would
offer that, in addition to the school groups, we remain open to
staff-led tours in the Capitol. We look forward to expanding
further to the extent that we can as additional police staffing
allows.
Senator Braun. So Phase 2 is scheduled on time. It's just a
little under three weeks.
General Gibson. Right.
Senator Braun. So Phase 3, let's just call that back to
normal, which to me that should be the real aspiration.
General Gibson. Yes.
Senator Braun. I think it would beg the question has there
been any imminent threat? January 6 obviously being the focal
point. You mentioned truckers earlier. Many wonder how
palpable, how real that threat is, and would you care to
discuss--you mentioned--have the truckers done anything during
that issue to where it impacted the Capitol or was that just on
the roadways in the city?
General Gibson. Certainly. I'll address that in two parts,
first the trucker convoy and then, more generally, threats as
we see them to the Capitol.
As for the trucker convoys, I think we were able to learn a
great deal from the example in Ottawa where the Parliament was
essentially besieged. As soon as we began to see that situation
evolving in Canada, the Capitol Police and others started to
talk to their counterparts in Ontario to gain an understanding
of what was occurring and to develop a plan with the rest of
the local government and law enforcement entities in the D.C.
region to counter any similar activities should it occur.
It was largely traffic-related, but it did impose a
significant manpower cost initially for the Capitol Police as
they were required to man additional posts.
Senator Braun. Did you erect fence during that stage?
Because that's a really costly and timely process. I'm just
curious.
General Gibson. We did not erect fencing.
Senator Braun. Okay.
General Gibson.
Senator Braun. You did enough to where you learned from
what happened in Canada----
General Gibson. Absolutely.
Senator Braun [continuing]. And so was there any other
incident that you'd call an imminent threat, other than that?
General Gibson. Yes, I would actually. When I think of
threats, and I'll set aside cyber threats, which are daily, but
in terms of physical threats to the Capitol, State offices, and
Senators, I would say the most likely threat is always lone
actors, individuals, whether those with mental health issues,
like we----
Senator Braun. But I know that, but were there any?
General Gibson [continuing]. Yes, April 2, August 19, and
October 5 of last year.--In fact, we had a fatality on April 2,
August 19 was the gentleman who parked his truck outside the
Library of Congress and threatened to blow up the Library of
Congress, and October 5, when another gentleman in a truck who
refused to move it from in front of the Supreme Court.
Senator Braun. And that would have been out of character
with what happens routinely in prior years?
General Gibson. No. I think that that is something
Senator Braun. Well, and you don't need to--what I'm saying
is generally it looks like, just from my observation, we've
gotten back into a rhythm where we've learned a lot from the
incident, even with averting the truckers from maybe impacting
the Capitol, and I just think there's a strong kind of err on
the side of caution, especially since our heads are up.
I mean, we're attentive to it, to get back into where we're
erring on the side of Phase 3 or what was happening before all
of this.
So, what is the timeline in your mind of where we get it
back to where it was before?
General Gibson. Sure. I would defer to the Chief, but I
think he anticipates that it will not be until 2023, until we
have enough of the new recruits on the force to open and man
the positions in and around the Capitol that were manned in
2019.
Senator Braun. And is the workforce--this will be my last
question before I hand it back over. Is the workforce--how
close is it with the new recruits to where it was pre-January 6
number-wise?
General Gibson. I didn't come prepared, Senator, with those
numbers. We can easily get them.
Senator Braun. I'd say with the additional over hundred
that you've brought on that it's got to be close to where it
was, and then it's a question of how you manage that risk of
getting back to where we were before and that you know you're
going to add more individuals over time. I would personally
like to hear when in 2023, if you could say January versus
December, that would be good for the country and for the people
that work around here. Thank you.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Braun.
Let me begin Round 2. Mr. Blanton, your request includes
$500 million in construction projects recommended by the
Physical Security Assessment of the Capitol Campus. It also
includes a $100 million for the design and construction of
screening vestibules for the Capitol and Senate and House
Office Buildings. These are significant amounts of money.
General Gibson, in your role on the Capitol Police Board,
feel free to comment as well. But to the extent you can share
with us what security construction projects are considered to
be the most important and urgent to the campus so we can have a
sense of priorities?
Mr. Blanton. Thank you, Senator, for that question, and I
will----
Senator Reed. Would you bring your microphone a little bit
closer?
Mr. Blanton [continuing]. I will say that we are going to
provide you within the next couple of weeks a fidelity, a very
high fidelity list of projects that are prioritized from one to
N.
In general, I would say that the completing of the exterior
doors and windows to meet the standard that we have developed
as part of the assessment would be the highest absolute
priority.
Senator Reed. In looking at these projects, there's always
a tension and a balance between security and aesthetics, for
want of a better term. So this doesn't look like a fortified
zone. It looks like the Capitol of the United States.
So in fact things like the anti-scale fencing up around the
court today obviously detract from the historic vision of the
Capitol.
Have you been able to balance those successfully and I
would assume we would obviously increase the costs of the
project to do so?
Mr. Blanton. Yes, I'll say that's actually one of the
specialties of my Chief Security Officer that does the security
projects. I always say that a good security project is
something that you don't recognize. You don't realize it's
there.
We have artisans that can take the historic nature and
preserve that while still having the doors or equipment look as
if it did when it was originally installed and I would
reference--I know it's not on the set-aside, but I would
reference the work we did at the Speaker's Lobby on the House
Chamber where there's brand-new doors look exactly like the
original doors but they're now rated.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much.
The issue of the personnel and, General, you spoke about it
in terms of the major factor, it's also related to the type of
security infrastructure you have to have. If you've got more
personnel, then presumably you need more infrastructure and
that's another question of balance.
Has that been taken into consideration by both of you in
terms of your overall plan, the number of personnel you and the
Chief need, and the facilities you're building? I'll start with
you, General.
General Gibson. Yes, Senator, I would say it is, which is
why we are requesting 35 additional FTEs. A high number of
those will go to our Chief Information Officer and to our
Physical Security/Operational Security Teams.
Senator Reed. And with respect to the Visitor Center, you
pointed out that that's a major issue in terms of the personnel
drains. My assumption is that you're not expanding the number
of personnel in the Center, you just don't have----
General Gibson. And actually it's----
Senator Reed [continuing]. The numbers.
General Gibson. Senator, it's not me, it's the Capitol
Police.
Senator Reed. Capitol Police.
General Gibson. When the Capitol Visitor Center is open, it
requires some number of officers, and I don't want to speak for
the Chief, but I believe it's in the range of 50 to 70 officers
to man the Capitol Visitor Center----
Senator Reed. Thank you.
General Gibson [continuing]. As it was in 2019.
Senator Reed. So we're not----
General Gibson. It is not an increase.
Senator Reed [continuing]. We're not enhancing the number,
we're just----
General Gibson. No.
Senator Reed [continuing]. Simply trying to get back----
General Gibson. We're trying to get back to 2019.
Senator Reed [continuing]. To 2019 which was the norm that
we thought at that point.
This is an area you've touched upon and I don't know if you
can add further details, but part of your request, General, is
for additional resources for the protection of Senators, staff,
both here and at home.
Can you further elaborate on, you know, the monies you
need, how you're going to spend them, and the threat?
General Gibson. Thank you, Senator. That is an area where
we seek to increase the number of personnel and it would be 10
personnel, 3 of them specifically for State operations, and 3
of them for threat tracking together with the Department of
Homeland Security, Capitol Police, and other agencies, in order
to do liaison and information-sharing with the Senators and
their officers, increase understanding of the security kit
available to them, and to ensure we have adequate security at
State offices, not just here at the Capitol itself.
Senator Reed. And with respect to State offices and State
locales, it'll be a coordinated position. You'll be using local
law enforcement presumably as the actual physical security
personnel.
General Gibson. Absolutely, Senator. It is very rare when
that's been the reason for a plus-up of Capitol Police. It is
typically law enforcement liaison per the Senator's request. It
is always at their request that they may want augmented
security at an event or if we've had a heightened spike of
threats against a Senator.
Sometimes we coordinate with law enforcement support, again
at the Senator's request to have additional drive-bys of
residences. We also provide physical security. The Capitol
Police do physical security assessments of the residence and
make recommendations for ways in which a Senator and his or her
family might be better protected.
Senator Reed. Thank you.
Senator Braun. Thank you. Mr. Blanton, so I think our
restaurant operations within the Capitol have been hurt
significantly because we haven't had any people here. That
again was one of the highlights, I think, of some visits,
especially when Senators would be able to take folks into the
dining room and so forth, but general traffic is just way down.
I think that they are getting some type of help through the
end of the year, and that's why I think it's important if
2023's the target for normal that we need to really aspire to
get there then, otherwise that will rise again as an issue.
What is the health and status of the restaurant services
currently? And rather than have to put a stipend, enhanced help
in there, I think that fixes itself, saves the taxpayers money,
and we have services that I think the public appreciate back to
normal--what's the status currently?
Mr. Blanton. So due to COVID and the restrictions in the
building, the revenue from the restaurants at one point was
down 90 percent. It has since rebounded 37 percent above that,
but there's----
Senator Braun. That means it's still off around 60 percent
or so.
Mr. Blanton [continuing]. Yes, and they are still
hemorrhaging money. There is a delta between what the Senate
expects the restaurants to be able to deliver and the cost for
the services that they are providing.
Senator Braun. Have you calculated what Phase 2 reopening
will do for the restaurants?
Mr. Blanton. So right now, it will do more for the CVC
restaurant than it would be for the restaurants in the Senate
buildings because it's just pure amount of traffic coming in
and sitting down and eating.
We spent the past year working with the Senate community on
a restaurants master plan and in this actual budget, we have
$8.1 million for the Senate side to redesign their restaurants
and $41 million on the Capitol Building to re-envision the
kitchens for the Senate Dining Room so they'd be more
efficient.
Senator Braun. And that's all good. So you've eliminated
the COVID as a reason for whatever the current status is. It'd
just be general security concerns, correct?
Mr. Blanton. As the Sergeants at Arms said, it's the
concern with the number of police personnel to open up the CVC.
I can say from a business continuity perspective, I would love
to have the two million plus visitors a year back because that
will make a----
Senator Braun. So COVID is endemic. We're all going to be
dealing with it from government to business with everything
we've learned from it. There's no imminent threat, other than
the others that you cited that may happen now and then during a
normal year.
I just think that everything I'm hearing, we're kind of
erring on the side of maybe this thing occurring deep into
2023, and I believe that's not an aggressive enough goal, and
it begs the question will those basic services that we were
using before be able to hang on without more government help.
So let me move to another concern, fencing. I see that
there's $6.4 million there, and is that a fee that we're paying
to the fencing company regardless of whether we use fencing or
not? Is that kind of like just a contingency fee, and would it
cost us any more than that, say, if you had to put fencing up
seven or eight times in a year versus once or twice? Explain
the $6.4 million.
Mr. Blanton. So the fencing budget is a combination of a
readiness fee so that we can have the fencing available to be
installed within 24 hours and an expectation of the number of
installations that we would do the fence for large events.
Senator Braun. And is there another cost in addition to it
once you'd actually have the need for fencing to put up on some
occasion?
Mr. Blanton. Yes, you pay for the labor now for the
contractor who's installing the fencing.
Senator Braun. You're kind of reserving the ability for
$6.4 million to have them on call, you said within 72 hours?
Mr. Blanton. 24 hours.
Senator Braun. 24 hours. Okay. Again, that may in the big
scheme of things here not sound like a lot of money. In most
places that is a lot, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't have
some type of holding fee for it, but again this is above and
beyond what we would have ever done before, and I think you're
going to need to find that proper balance and not maybe
generalize based upon what did occur. I'm assuming this would
be an annual fee that we'd need to renew each year?
Mr. Blanton. Yes.
Senator Braun. Okay. Keep me informed, keep us informed
here on this Committee, and again I think that that is
something that we've got to be careful with because we're
building in another cost that I wonder, especially as we can
taper away from it over time, whether it's necessary.
This may not mean much, but I'm going to mention it because
it's maybe symptomatic, emblematic of how the place runs in
general. Inspector General review found that the Architect of
the Capitol had reimbursed $38,529 in unallowable costs to a
contractor over in the Cannon Building, including items such as
baby gifts, florist costs, and business cards. While this is, I
guess, chump change in the big scheme of things here anymore,
it's concerning that there were so many unallowable costs that
were reimbursed and the renewal project, by the way, is a $182
million in total over budget to begin with.
You care to comment on either the being over budget that
much or the fact that somehow 38 grand slipped through in what
should have been caught fairly quickly before it got
reimbursed?
Mr. Blanton. Yes, Senator. So I'll address the 38,000.
Remember, this is a program that is $900 million. So it is
small and our goal is zero obviously, but the bulk of that
money was reimbursed in previous phases of the contract and we
have since received a credit back from the contractor for the
unallowable costs.
In the current phase, it was only $1,550 worth of
unallowable costs that we did receive a credit for.
Senator Braun. Would that normally be caught by an
Inspector General review or would that normally--do you have
protocols in place where your own auditors or accountants would
try to find that before it had to be caught at the last resort?
Mr. Blanton. So ideally it's during the invoicing process,
but as you may guess, in a $900 million program, the invoices
are large and sometimes things slip through.
We have set much more rigor involved in our invoice
processing which is why the number in this phase is so low
comparatively.
Senator Braun. I would agree with your proportionality. I
think the $182 million over budget would be a much more
concerning figure.
Thank you for the answer.
Senator Reed. Do you have any additional questions,
Senator?
Senator Braun. I'm good.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much then.
There could be and likely additional written questions that
we'll submit to you and ask you to respond, but this concludes
the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee hearing
regarding fiscal year 2023 Funding for the Architect of the
Capitol, the Senate Sergeant at Arms, and the Congressional
Budget Office.
I want to thank Mr. Blanton and General Gibson for their
testifying today.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
The hearing record will remain open for 7 days, allowing
Members to submit statements and/or questions for the record
which should be sent to the subcommittee by close of business
on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.
The next hearing of the subcommittee will be held on
Wednesday, May 25, at 3:30 p.m., in S-128 of the Capitol when
we will hear testimony from the Chief of the U.S. Capitol
Police, the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller of the
Government Accountability Office regarding the fiscal year 2023
budget request.
[The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but
were submitted to the agencies for response subsequent to the
hearing:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Reed. Until then, the Committee will stand
adjourned. Thank you much.
[Whereupon, at 10:54 a.m., Wednesday, May 11, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023
----------
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2022
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 4:15 p.m., in room SD-138, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jack Reed, (Chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Reed and Braun.
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE AND
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JACK REED
Senator Reed. I call the hearing to order. Good afternoon.
The subcommittee will continue its efforts for the fiscal year
2023 budget for the Legislative Branch Appropriations. I am
joined by our Ranking Member, Senator Braun. I look forward to
working with him and the distinguished Members of the
Subcommittee in crafting a responsible fiscal year 2023 funding
legislation that supports the Legislative Branch.
Today we have with us the Library of Congress, Dr. Carla
Hayden, and the Comptroller General of the United States, Gene
Dodaro. Welcome, and I thank you for joining us today. The
Library and GAO are critical to making sure that Congress
serves the American people well. They help Congress, supporting
us in our basic responsibilities to be informed and educated on
behalf of our constituents.
So I want to begin by thanking the women and men of your
agencies who work very hard every day to make sure that
Congress can perform its Constitutional duties and that we use
taxpayer dollars responsibly. The past few years have been
difficult. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress has
continued to meet. This means we have asked your employees to
show up for work, either in personal or remotely, to help us do
our jobs.
Then the January 6 attack on the Capitol happened, changing
how we must think about and approach security while maintaining
an open campus environment so that all people can visit and
share this special place. But these challenges didn't stop the
Library and its agencies, and the GAO from delivering for
Congress and for the American people. CRS ramped up its science
and technology analysis capacity to prepare and update
thousands of new products to inform Congress on COVID-19
related Details.
GAO has been hard at work auditing the trillions of dollars
provided by Congress, the Government wide response to the
pandemic, including the American Rescue Plan Act, and the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. And GAO has churned out
numerous flash reports in response to the January 6 attack on
the Capitol. The agency worked tirelessly to respond to
Congressional inquiries, conduct oversight, and provide
valuable recommendations to the United States Capitol Police,
the Architect of the Capitol, and the Capitol Police Board on
much needed reforms and security upgrades.
The Library intensified its public outreach to include a
variety of virtual events, webinars, and workshops so that
researchers, teachers, parents, and especially our children
could still access and learn from its rich and diverse
collections. The Library also sacrificed a major collection
storage construction project so that we could cover
unanticipated and unmet costs from the pandemic and the January
6 attack on the Capitol campus.
We need to make good on our promises and make it a priority
to refund that project in our fiscal year 2023 bill. We want to
make sure that your agencies have the tools needed to gradually
reopen and responsibly resume normal operations. Congress owes
it to your employees not only to provide the resources needed
to do their jobs, but also to meet any new demands or
innovations identified in the pandemic.
That means continuing to make critical investments in IT
modernization, cybersecurity, and collections, and staffing up
your science and technology analysis and auditing teams. As
Congress's independent and nonpartisan watchdog, our demands on
GAO for audits and evaluations of Federal agencies to root out
waste, fraud, and abuse while improving governance efficiently
only grow greater and more complex.
Your request reflects a return to optimal pre-sequester
staffing levels and is the result of multiple years of careful
investment and prioritizing by both your agency and Congress. I
look forward to hearing from Comptroller Dodaro on how we can
continue to build on the progress in fiscal year 2023, and how
GAO aims to recruit and retain a talented and diverse
workforce.
And as we welcome back visitors and look to a brighter
future, I want to hear from Dr. Hayden on the progress of the
Library's visitor experience initiative. This is an exciting
public, private partnership that will make the Library's
treasures more accessible to students, researchers, and
visitors to the nation's capital for generations to come.
We do not yet have a broader budget agreement of fiscal
year 2203, but I hope in the coming months this committee can
unveil a strong appropriations bill that will support the needs
of your agencies and the rest of the Legislative Branch. And
now let me turn it over to my Ranking Member, Senator Braun.
Senator Braun, please.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MIKE BRAUN
Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Dr.
Hayden and Mr. Dodaro, for being here. It is our second
Legislative Branch hearing. Look forward to working with the
Chairman to get things fleshed out. Dr. Hayden, I participated
in the Veterans History Project Workshop with you in April,
where we discussed how veterans and their families can engage
with the Library of Congress.
The Library is doing important work to preserve the
personal stories of American veterans. I think that is
important. As we discussed a few weeks ago, I am pleased with
the progress you have made in opening the Library of Congress
back up to the public. Frankly, you have made a lot more
progress and we have had here in the Senate, and for that you
should be commended. Reopening the buildings on and around
Capitol Hill to the public must be a top priority to the
Committee.
The Senate has lagged behind virtually all of America in
reopening and getting back to normal. When we shut our economy
down a couple of years ago, we are now dealing with the ripple
effects from that in terms of high inflation and other things.
We ought to at least get the buildings of the people back open
to the people.
Dr. Hayden, you are asking for $871 million in change, a
3.9 percent increase over the fiscal year 2022 enacted level.
That is definitely more sober than most of the requests I have
seen come in from other parts of the Government. Remember, an
economy, when it is robust, grows maybe 2 to 3 percent. We
should never be growing this place with the results that we
produce for more than what the economy is growing. That ends up
with unsustainable debt and it is not a good long term business
plan.
We will look at your request very carefully. Mr. Dodaro, we
have had the chance to talk many times about how the Federal
Government works in terms of spending more than we take in.
Mentioned just a little bit ago we were around $18 trillion in
debt when I got here a little over 3 years ago and now we are
$30 trillion in debt. We have got a blueprint for our country,
for our kids, let's look at it that way, to live by that puts
us $45 trillion in debt. We have become a country of consumers
and spenders.
And many of our geopolitical opponents out there or
otherwise--you know, they believe in things, were investing and
saving. And as a result, they probably don't run chronic
deficits like we do. We have got to be careful. You can get
beyond the point of no return. And when the budget that we have
got as a blueprint in 10 years shows that we are spending as
much on interest, and we are underestimating inflation and
interest in that budget, as we will either on domestic
discretionary spending or defense spending, look out,
Americans, that is going to be a rough ride.
This is a small part of what we do, the smallest
appropriations category. But I think it needs to be consistent
with what it is going to take, I think, to turn this juggernaut
around, from running into the ditch very hard and it has got to
start somewhere. You can at least show where we are getting
some type of return on our investment. I think in 2021 alone,
GAO's work yielded $66.2 billion in financial benefits.
Hardly any other part of the Government where what you do,
you can say, is actually saving money. Not a lot when you look
at the big scheme of things, but it is at least doing the right
thing. It is the right dynamic. You are asking, I think, for a
12 to 13 percent increase. If there is one place where we ought
to be spending more, it ought to be in a place where we get a
decent return on investment.
I trust that whatever we do give to you, it will be spent
well. I would like just even symbolically to see that be reined
in a little bit because we need to practice what we preach. I,
again, look forward to working with the Chairman to get through
this and hopefully to get it done on a timely basis. The
American public deserves it.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Senator Braun. Now I
will ask the witnesses, beginning with Dr. Hayden, to give a
brief opening statement of approximately 5 minutes to allow
adequate time for questions. The written testimony of each
witness will be printed in full in the hearing record. Dr.
Hayden, you are recognized, please.
STATEMENT OF DR. CARLA HAYDEN, LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS
Dr. Hayden. Thank you. Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun,
for this opportunity to provide testimony in support of the
Library's fiscal year 2023 budget. Yes, 2 years ago, the
Library had to close its doors as the pandemic began. However,
we moved quickly and successfully to adopt new and innovative
approaches to serving Congress and the American people
virtually under unprecedented conditions.
And in fact, the pandemic accelerated our ongoing efforts
to engage the public virtually and share our collections and
services in new and exciting ways and allowing us to reach more
people across the nation. And thanks to the dedication and
innovation of our workforce during the past year, mission
critical services, including the Congressional Research Service
and the United States Copyright Office, were able to operate
largely as normal.
The Library did produce a full year of exciting virtual and
hybrid programing, including the 21st National Book Festival.
And with the Congressional support and private philanthropy, we
continued to work toward unveiling the Library's enhanced
visitor experience in phases, beginning with the opening of a
treasures gallery in late 2023. I would like to express my
gratitude for the ongoing support that this Committee and the
entire Congress provides to the Library.
In particular, our high priority needs in fiscal year 2022,
such as the new Library collections access platform, L-CAP.
That is the heart of our Library operations. Replacements for
the Library's outmoded electronic security system and the 3G
cellular system. And a cloud based office productivity suite
for all Library employees. I come before you today to discuss
the Library's fiscal year 2023 request of $871.8 million, an
increase of 3.9 percent over the enacted fiscal year 2022
appropriation.
This request includes $30.8 million in mandatory pay and
price level increases, and the balance of the increase
represents critical program investments necessary to meet our
mission. With new and modern IT infrastructure in place, thanks
to your support, we are now using continuous innovation and
delivery to ensure that we are constantly optimizing and
modernizing the technology used to meet the Library's mission.
The cloud has become an important part of IT planning at
the Library and the fiscal year 2023 request seeks to establish
a dedicated cloud management program that will enable us to
integrate our cloud solutions with our traditional IT
infrastructure. The Congressional Research Service needs to
adapt and optimize its integrated research and information
system, IRIS, using commercially available cloud based tools.
And this request is critical to enable CRS to track
Congressional requests, manage data and analysis, and
facilitate the development and distribution of CRS products to
Congress. We are also seeking funding to continue stabilizing
and optimizing our financial infrastructure, which is essential
to all of our Library operations.
And this includes funds for increased Legislative Branch
financial management system hosting and application management
costs. This is a request made by the Library on behalf of eight
Legislative Branch agencies that all benefit from this valuable
and cost effective shared service.
The 2023 request also includes funding for phase two of the
Enterprise Planning and Management Program and for the
Library's Cost Management Center of Excellence. To modernize
and optimize payroll operations, we are requesting funds to
implement a new integrated personnel and payroll processing
system managed by the Department of the Interior's Integrated
Business Center.
The Copyright Office seeks to expand its data analysis
capacities in economic research, fee, and cost analysis, and
statistics in order to make better informed decisions about its
fees. This request is fully funded with Copyright Office's
offsetting collections. And as we prepare to unveil the
Library's enhanced visitor experience, we are requesting funds
to add additional visitor engagement staff, which will support
the expanded public spaces in the Jefferson Building.
We expect to see a significant increase in visitors in the
next 3 to 5 years, and this additional staff will ensure that
everyone has the best possible experience. So in closing, the
Library's 2023 Congressional budget justification continues a
sequence of strategically planned modernization efforts
throughout the institution.
And with the support of Congress, we will continue to
strengthen our capacity to carry out our mission. Thank you,
and we look forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Dr. Carla Hayden, The Librarian of Congress
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the Subcommittee,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of
the Library's fiscal year 2023 budget.
The Library of Congress has built one of the largest collections of
human knowledge ever assembled in support of our mission to engage,
inspire, and inform the Congress and the American people with a
universal and enduring source of information and creativity. My top
priority as Librarian of Congress remains expanded user access to the
Library's resources and services. We are an authoritative source of
knowledge that enriches the American people in countless ways. We
constantly strive to find new ways to share our extraordinary riches
with the nation.
Two years ago, the Library had to close its doors as the pandemic
began. We moved quickly and successfully to adopt new and innovative
approaches to serving the Congress and the American people. I am
pleased to report that we continued to make progress in sharing more of
the Library's collections, programming, and staff expertise beyond the
four walls of the Library. In fact, the pandemic accelerated our
efforts to engage the public virtually and share our collections and
services in new and exciting ways, allowing us to reach even more
people across the nation. In fiscal year 2021, with the support of the
Congress, the Library continued to build the collections and engage
users. The Library reduced the cataloging arrearage by 1.2 million
items, created online resources, reopened reading rooms, welcomed
visitors and researchers, and resumed the Surplus Books Program, among
many other activities. The Library's Center for Learning and Engagement
produced a year full of exciting virtual and hybrid programming,
including the 21st National Book Festival. Essential services,
including the Congressional Research Service and the United States
Copyright Office, were able to operate largely as normal. The National
Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled implemented a long-
awaited change that made it easier for people with reading disabilities
to enroll for services. With congressional support and private
philanthropy, we continued to work toward unveiling the Library's
enhanced Visitor Experience in phases, beginning with the Treasures
Gallery in late 2023. The Library also reached an important milestone
during the pandemic, with over 7.5 million items under inventory
control in its preservation facility at Fort Meade and a new collection
storage module completed. In another significant marker, for the first
time, the Library's production information technology foundation exists
fully outside of the Capitol Hill campus. With the completion of the
Library's Data Center Transformation effort, the Office of the Chief
Information Officer (OCIO) is now hosting the Library's more than 100
production IT systems and nearly 90 petabytes of data across a modern
hybrid hosting environment.
Today, the Library holds nearly 174 million physical items,
including special collections consisting of audio materials, maps,
moving images, sheet music and much more. A single copy of our digital
collections requires 26 petabytes of storage--that is roughly the
equivalent of 13 trillion pages of printed text. If you piled up that
many pages, you could reach the moon more than three times with these
stacks of stored knowledge. The material on the Library's websites
alone totals five petabytes.
Over the last year, approximately 2.2 million Preservation actions
were performed on items in the Library's physical collections, with a
further 3.4 million pages of materials prepared and shipped to vendors
for preservation reformatting services. The Library responded to
730,562 reference requests from Congress, the public, and other Federal
agencies, including direct use of CRS reports. The Copyright Office
issued over 403,771 copyright registrations and recorded 8,252
documents containing 961,291 titles. Library web sites recorded more
than 178 million visits and nearly 618 million page views. We
circulated more than 21.5 million copies of braille, audio and large
print items to patrons, via the National Library Service for the Blind
and Print Disabled and its network of State and local libraries.
Moreover, even with pandemic restrictions, the Library welcomed nearly
30,000 in-person visitors.
The Library also continued direct services to the public with
programs like the Veterans History Project which collects the stories
of our Nation's veterans and Teaching with Primary Sources, which
allows teachers in local school districts to create curricula and
develop apps using the Library's digitized primary sources.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the ongoing and
remarkable support that this committee and all of Congress give to the
Library. In particular, I appreciate the funding you have provided in
fiscal year 2022 to meet high-priority needs such as the new L-CAP--
Library Collections Access Platform--that is the heart of Library
operations; replacements for the Library's outmoded Integrated
Electronic Security System and the 3G Cellular Distributed Antenna
System; and installation of a cloud-based office productivity suite for
all Library employees.
I come before you today to discuss the Library's fiscal year 2023
appropriations request. This budget request reflects the resources
needed for us to sustain the Library's mission of service to Congress,
access to the creative record of the United States, and stewardship of
the cultural heritage of the American people. The budget request is
aligned with the goals and objectives of the Library's Strategic Plan:
Expand access, enhance services, optimize resources, and measure
impact. To advance these strategic goals, the budget requests
additional resources for several new or expanded programs. All of the
requests are in support of the Library's mission and vision that all
Americans are connected to the Library of Congress and invest in a
vibrant future for this institution.
The Library of Congress fiscal year 2023 budget request is for
$871.8 million, which represents a 3.9 percent increase over the
Library's fiscal year 2022 enacted appropriation. This request includes
$30.8 million in mandatory pay and price level increases. The balance
of the increase represents critical program investments necessary to
fulfill the Library's role and to sustain continuous technology
innovation and delivery; continue stabilization and optimization of the
financial infrastructure; expand active engagement with visitors to the
Library; and strengthen data analysis expertise in life cycle costing
and cost estimating as well as data analysis for evaluating and setting
Copyright fees.
The fiscal year 2023 budget continues many of the strategic
modernization and optimization efforts the Congress has supported in
recent years for the Library. As I am sure other government agencies
are experiencing, rapidly evolving technology and public expectations
have required us to adjust, and in some cases expand, multiyear efforts
that are underway to enhance the IT and operations of many of the
Library's service units. The budget request also addresses staffing
gaps that have arisen as a result of absorption of mandatory pay and
price level increases. It builds staff capacity we must have to respond
to technological advancement and addresses skills in areas such as data
analysis and cost estimation that are required to meet the Library's
fiduciary responsibilities.
sustaining continuous technology innovation and delivery
As I have reported before, at the Library, we have fundamentally
rebuilt our technology foundation. The large investment in Library IT
over the last few years is already paying dividends. As the Nation
continued to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Library's more
robust IT infrastructure allowed us to sustain remote operations for
the majority of the Library's workforce for the entire fiscal year. It
also paves the way for ongoing efforts to expand and enhance the major
IT systems that support the Library's business operations and its
digital offerings to Congress and the public.
Most importantly, we are not merely updating existing applications
and systems. We have completely re-envisioned how we manage and use
technology at the Library. With new, modern IT infrastructure in place,
we have stabilized our operations and we are moving to a model of
carefully constructed continuous innovation and continuous delivery to
ensure that we are constantly optimizing and modernizing the technology
needed to meet the needs of Congress and the American people.
As in the private sector and other government agencies, the cloud
has become an important part of our IT planning at the Library. Its
ability to quickly scale services to meet changing needs and its
capacity to support accessibility and collaborations across a wide
range of users are powerful tools that are essential as we continue our
digital transformation. As we mature our use of the cloud at the
Library, we are following the Federal ``Cloud Smart'' strategy, which
calls for cloud solutions to be integrated with our traditional IT
infrastructure to seamlessly support our business needs.
Of course, greater use of the cloud comes with some challenges too.
The Library requires specialized resources to properly implement and
administer cloud services and ensure that we can make the most of our
cloud operations. The Library's request for a dedicated Cloud
Management Program will provide OCIO with the expertise necessary to
ensure essential cloud management practices, monitor cloud-based
applications for compliance and security, coordinate development of
advanced IT solutions, and ensure maximum value from existing IT
infrastructure.
The Library must also continue to mature its IT planning, project
management, and governance to sustain the pace of digital
transformation and the growing demand for new and enhanced technology
to support services to Congress and the Nation. Audit findings from the
Government Accountability Office and the Office of the Inspector
General have reinforced the need for the Library to mature its IT cost
estimating, schedule management and quality review practices, and
improve OCIO's ability to meet Federal standards and industry best
practices for IT project management. The Library's fiscal year 2023
request includes in-house expertise and contract support to respond to
the significant volume of pre-planning project-related activities,
project challenges, and evolving audit recommendations.
The Congressional Research Service also seeks, in partnership with
OCIO, to adapt and optimize its Integrated Research and Information
System (IRIS) in a technology landscape that changed dramatically since
its initial planning and procurement in 2018. This request is critical
for the completion of the initial IRIS configuration using commercially
available cloud-based tools to meet specific CRS requirements for
authoring and publishing, content management, and congressional
relations management, while insuring integration with CRS legacy IT
systems and research tools. It will also establish and staff a
sustainment and development program, using the continuous innovation
and continuous delivery (CI/CD) model employed for major Library IT
systems, including Congress.gov. IRIS will significantly improve the
manner in which CRS analytical staff author and publish reports and
memoranda, manage data and tacit knowledge, and maintain timely and
functional analytics on products and services. CRS IT systems must be
up-to-date to meet congressional needs.
continuing stabilization and optimization of financial infrastructure
A stable and optimized financial infrastructure is essential to
everything the Library does. A necessary shift to the cloud for the
Legislative Branch Financial Management System (LBFMS) added workload
in financial reporting, and an unintegrated personnel and payroll
system also need prompt attention.
The Library's Financial Systems continues to manage hosting of the
LBFMS as a shared service for the legislative branch. The LBFMS funding
model, and support provided by the Congress, are essential to the
success of the initiative. Sharing a financial system and consolidating
some financial management tasks save the Legislative Branch more than
$3.3 million annually, across the eight participating agencies.
However, with the migration of the LBFMS to the cloud, funding
challenges exist because system hosting and application management
costs exceed the $1.06 million annually received from the Congress. The
increased cost has been pro-rated among LBFMS agencies and covered by
the Library's funds. At the request of the LBFMS Steering Committee,
comprised of representatives of the partner agencies, the Library
requests funding to cover the $700,000 increase in the cost of hosting
and operating the system in the cloud. The Library's intention is to
maintain consistent year-to-year funding requirements for both the
Library and our partner LBFMS agencies cost share, so that all can
better plan for LBFMS costs for future years. The eight Legislative
Branch agencies cross-serviced through the LBFMS believe the most
efficient method to address the additional costs is for Congress to
provide the funding directly to the Library for LBFMS operations,
rather than increase each agency's budget by a prorated amount and then
have the Library charge each agency separately. The Library cannot
unilaterally cover the increased costs from its budget.
Stabilization and optimization efforts continue to meet challenges
in financial reporting. Important improvements have been made,
including hiring the Library's first comptroller. The Library also
recently received its 25th consecutive unmodified audit opinion.
However, Financial Reports (FR) now has an increased workload to
support the Library's cross-servicing partners and to meet expanded
Department of the Treasury reporting requirements. Continued
stabilization and optimization of the financial reporting functions are
important not only to fulfill the Library's external reporting
requirements, but also to meet FR's responsibility for setting
accounting standards and preparing Library of Congress regulations and
process directives, which ensure that the Library has good internal
controls that are tested and validated throughout the year. The request
includes FTE to address additional accounting workload and reporting
responsibilities, as well as contractor services to update and create
essential financial reporting and financial system documentation,
procedure guides, and training materials.
The Library also requests funding to implement an integrated and
optimized personnel and payroll processing system. Currently, staff
must enter data in different legacy systems, causing leave balance
discrepancies and issues resulting from manual payroll and personnel
action request reconciliation, and the use of manual forms causes
errors. It also presents challenges with retirement package tracking,
making it difficult for retirees to get the information they need. This
request would shift the Library's personnel and payroll processing
service provider from the National Finance Center system to the
Department of the Interior's Integrated Business Center (IBC). A full-
scale migration to the IBC personnel and payroll system will result in
significant cost avoidance and mitigate the lost time currently devoted
to correcting problems in a non- integrated and non-automated system.
expanding active engagement with visitors to the library
The Library is reimagining the visitor engagement model to meet the
changing needs of audiences in a post-pandemic world. Visitor
operations will increase dramatically with the opening of the Treasures
Gallery, the first phase of the Visitor Experience, when it opens in
fall 2023. The Library expects to welcome more than 2 million visitors
annually in the next 3 to 5 years, compared to 1.6 million in 2019. The
Visitor Experience will add 12,000 square feet of public space to the
Library. Funding is requested to add staffing for the Library's Visitor
Engagement Program, which will support the expanded public space and
will enhance the active engagement and safety of visitors, including
your constituents, and the use of the Jefferson Building and the
collections.
strengthening data analysis expertise in life cycle costing and cost
estimating as well as in evaluating and setting copyright fees
In concert with efforts to stabilize and optimize its financial
infrastructure, the Library requests funding for the second phase of
the Enterprise Planning & Management (EPM) initiative, which will
enable the strategic use of the Library's planning and operational data
as a catalyst to drive more effective decisionmaking and improved
performance of Library projects, programs, and investments. Phase two
is the next step in implementing an integrated planning process and
maturing a Cost Management Center of Excellence, which will pilot new
cost estimating and data analytics capabilities by establishing the
staff expertise and processes necessary to optimize cost management.
Subsequent requests will include a new technology platform to replace
legacy systems nearing the end of their useful lives.
Finally, the Copyright Office seeks to expand its capabilities in
economic research, fee and cost analysis, and statistics funded fully
with Copyright Office offsetting collections. There is a mission-
critical need to establish expertise in economic research and analysis
specific to issues of copyright and the impact of fee changes on
participation in the copyright system. The Office must also improve its
capacity to perform cost and fee analysis and to manage, validate, and
report on the statistics and metrics that affect its costs, revenue,
and fee analysis. These capabilities are crucial for the Office to
manage its operations effectively and to better demonstrate to the
Congress, its users, and other stakeholders that it is using an
evidence-based process for evaluating and setting fees, which currently
make up approximately 50 percent of the Office's annual budget.
In closing, the Library's 2023 Congressional Budget Justification
continues a sequence of strategically planned modernization efforts
across the enterprise. With the strong support of Congress, the Library
continues to optimize and modernize operations and technology to
strengthen institutional capacity to carry out the mission undeterred
by changing realities. Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members
of the Subcommittee, thank you again for supporting the Library of
Congress and for your consideration of our fiscal year 2023 request.
Senator Reed. Thank you, doctor. Comptroller General,
please.
STATEMENT OF HON. GENE DODARO, U.S. COMPTROLLER
GENERAL, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Mr. Dodaro. Good afternoon Mr. Chairman, Senator Braun. It
is a pleasure to be here to discuss GAO's budget proposal for
fiscal year 2023. I want to first thank the Committee for its
past support for our work. I believe we have provided a good
return on investment of the money you have given GAO over the
last 5 years. We have averaged a return on investment of $158
back to the Government for every $1 invested in GAO.
In addition, we have averaged over 1,300 other benefits to
the Government, such as improvements in public safety and
better efficiency and effectiveness of Government operations
and programs. In addition to our normal array of work that we
do on a regular basis to support 90 percent of the committees
of the Congress, we have undertaken some special assignments
on, as the Chairman mentioned, the extra spending on the COVID-
19 pandemic. We have issued 10 Government-wide reports that
examine the full breadth of the COVID experience and track the
Federal spending. We have also issued over 100 individual GAO
reports on specific pandemic-related areas.
We have made about 280 recommendations, including 15
matters for Congressional consideration. I testified before the
Senate in March about 10 of these recommendations for improving
transparency and accountability of not only COVID spending, but
all Federal spending, reining in improper payments and dealing
with a growing problem of fraud, particularly in the pandemic
programs.
In the high risk series, we have added two new additions.
The last time I was here, I talked about adding drug misuse
across Government, and a need for greater Federal leadership.
Since then we added HHS leadership and coordination of public
health emergencies to the high risk list. There are still not
clear definitions of roles and responsibilities. There is
miscommunication, challenges that haven't been fully met, and
data collection issues, among others. I am concerned about the
preparations to deal with future public health emergencies.
We also recently added the unemployment insurance program.
It has been subject to a lot of fraud, and it is also badly in
need of transformation for the 21st century. The program needs
to adapt to a different type of economy and workforce. The
State systems are antiquated and are not up to the challenge.
In addition, we do an annual report on overlap,
duplication, and fragmentation in the Federal Government. The
Administration and the Congress have acted on 74 percent of our
approximate 1,300 recommendations. So far that has produced
$552 billion of financial benefits to the Government. I expect
that amount to continue to grow into the future.
Now we are asking, as Senator Braun mentioned, for an
increase in our funding and that will go to five important
areas. One is science and technology. Science and technology is
becoming ubiquitous to all aspects of the Federal Government's
operations. We have been asked to take on the responsibilities
of the former Office of Technology Assessment.
We have done technology assessments of artificial
intelligence in health care, one for drug development, and
another on diagnostics, such as one on forensic algorithms. We
also did technology assessments of Operation Warp Speed's
development of the vaccines and defense navigation
capabilities. We have many other assessments in the works on
topics such as, regenerative medicine, and carbon management.
Our second priority area for funding is cybersecurity. We
have an expert cybersecurity team.
We are getting inundated with requests for cybersecurity
work, not just for evaluations of information systems, but also
for weapon systems and critical infrastructure systems that
span the full breadth and scope of our economy, both inside and
outside the Federal Government.
Our third priority area is defense or the national security
enterprise, which include work related to threats and
competition from China and Russia as well as the war in
Ukraine.
I expect many more requests in the defense arena.
Our fourth priority area is health care. It is the fastest
growing part of the Federal Government's budget. There is $148
billion in improper payments in Medicare and Medicaid alone for
2021. We have and will continue to do work on prescription drug
pricing as well.
The fifth priority area is infrastructure. There are 35
mandates in the Infrastructure and Jobs Act for GAO, and 7 more
in the fiscal year 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act. We
need some additional funding to help us carry out those
responsibilities.
Mr. Chairman, you mentioned recruiting and retaining
people. We have hired over a 1,000 people since the pandemic
started. We are very effective in attracting and retaining
talent.
We are on track to meet 99 percent of our FTE goals for
this fiscal year. Moreover, GAO was ranked number one in best
places to work in midsize agencies last year. I am very proud
of our record. We have no problem recruiting and retaining
people. We just need your continued support. I know you will
take careful consideration of our request and I appreciate the
opportunity to be here today.
[The statement follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS--SECURITY COORDINATION POST JANUARY 6
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Comptroller General.
Dr. Hayden, after January 6, the security situation changed
dramatically. That is probably an understatement. How have you
changed your--how are you collaborating with the Capitol Police
and other agencies, and any adjustments in addition to those
that you have made?
Dr. Hayden. The Library has worked closely with the U.S.
Capitol Police. And in fact, we hosted the National Guard
personnel right after January 6. And we have been continuing
with helping with limited entrances to our facilities so that
they have additional personnel to take care of the things that
they need to.
And we also were very appreciative of the funding that we
received in fiscal year 2022 for two major things that were in
the work, but the need was reinforced on January the 6. One,
cellular communications. We needed to upgrade to 5G from 3G,
and the Capitol Police and the Architect of the Capitol staff
had difficulty, significant trouble, maintaining communications
in the Library buildings during the events.
And immediately after that, funding has been appropriated,
and we are implementing that. And the other was our physical
security and video surveillance. The events on January 6
reinforced the importance of that request that was funded last
year. And Library cameras, for instance, if they had been
sufficient and updated, they would have been able to provide
more visibility around the perimeter, the Library's Jefferson
Building is directly behind the Capitol, and more high
resolution video data would have been available.
And so with this new security system, we are replacing the
monitors, all of the things that go with it, plus life cycle
improvements so that we can keep up with the technology that is
also being implemented. You did mention funding that was
deferred for our high priority preservation in module seven was
used for security purposes and we sincerely hope that it will
be reinstated.
Senator Reed. Thank you. Comptroller General, after the
January 6 attack, you issued five reports on aspects of the
attack from additional actions needed to better prepare a
Capitol Police coordination with the Federal agencies. What do
you consider to be the most important recommendation, and are
they being implemented to your satisfaction?
Mr. Dodaro. Not yet. All 11 recommendations we made were
still outstanding. We received some resistance from DHS about
updating their requirements and explanation of how to designate
something a special event ahead of time.
I will continue to follow up with them on this issue. The
other recommendations draw on two areas that I think are
equally important. One is the physical protection of the
Capitol building and having comprehensive risk assessments
done.
We have heard from the US Capitol Police. We really haven't
heard from the Capitol Police Board yet in terms of what they
are doing. The other area of recommendations were related to
training for the police. More realistic training and training
on the use of force is needed. All the recommendations, I
believe, are important, Mr. Chairman, and I would like to see
fuller and quicker implementation.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much. And let me direct your
question to both you. Senator Braun touched upon it.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS--LIBRARY REOPENING
Senator Reed. What are your plans, Dr. Hayden, about
reopening, fully reopening? Where are we, or where are you, I
should say?
Dr. Hayden. Well, the Library began reopening actually in
September of 2020 just for electronic research. People had to
make appointments. The reading rooms opened in June and July of
2021 and the general public in July of 2021. And we worked
closely with the Capitol Police. And we also are very fortunate
in terms of our health services staff.
So we have 98 percent of our staff members vaccinated,
there are regular health screening, and then we establish timed
entry passes for the public, and that has been very successful
because we can monitor the number of people in the buildings,
and we can also issue passes the same day.
These are free passes, and it helps us in case of an
emergency, for instance, if we have to contact people and say
that for--or anything, that we are able to do that. So we have
expanded our information kiosks. We had virtual docents and
volunteers that could stay at home but also give guidance and
talk to visitors, and that we are going to continue because
that was very successful.
So with the staff members that were able to roam around and
help people, but also those timed entry passes have been very,
very helpful.
Senator Reed. Thank you. And Comptroller General, your sort
of quick assessment of your reopening process?
Mr. Dodaro. For the last decade, we have had a very robust
telework arrangement. Staff could work up to 66 hours of the 80
hours, 2 week pay period remotely. Most information is now
digitized in an electronic format, allowing the work to be done
remotely, and teleworking helps us recruit and retain the
caliber of people that we need. But we have people back now
full time in the offices working with classified information.
We are coming up with a future of work plan in GAO, in
which we will continue to have a robust, telework arrangement.
We are going to have some remote options. We found during the
pandemic, for example, that by offering remote options we could
recruit interns--and we recruit about 200 interns every year--
from areas across this great country of ours that weren't close
to a GAO facility.
And it really helped us to diversify and get a better pool
of applicants for our positions. So we are going to have a
remote option for our employees in the future, along with a
telework option, and an in-person presence. But everybody will
be here when Congress needs us to be here for meetings and
things of that nature, and they will be on site at the agencies
when they need to be to do the work. I think we have a proven
track record over the last decade and also during the pandemic
that we can operate in this way.
To have the caliber of workforce that we need it is
essential that we retain people. Our attrition rate is only 6
percent. During the pandemic it was only 5 percent. We put a
big investment in our people to train them, and we need to have
institutional knowledge. You need to retain the people in order
to do that.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much. Senator Braun is
recognized, and then we will have a second round.
Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We talked earlier
about the current debt that we are in as a country, around $30
trillion. And might point out that the last time we were this
far in debt would have been coming out of World War II. That
was a generation that would be appalled at where we are at now.
They were savers. They were investors. Paid all that debt off
from World War II. And it was probably the equivalent of
around, in today's dollars who knows? It might be more than
what we have got.
Nevertheless, they paid it off and built the interstate
highway system, a very capital intensive project. That is
reflective of how we built our status as a country across the
world. Generous in helping rebuild our enemies into trading
partners, and now end up doing things that just don't make
sense in terms of a solid financial posture into the future.
You know, they call it the modern monetary theory, where annual
deficits and cumulative debt don't make any difference anymore.
You seem to be the one bright spot within our Federal
Government that, to the extent you can, reins things in. Would
you like to comment about where you think we will be if we stay
on that course? Even doing all of this seems to be a moot point
if we don't get it done on a timely basis. And it still
incorporates now with President Biden's blueprint for our
country over the next 10 years, another $15 trillion in debt,
averaging $1.5 trillion a year. Where does that take us?
Mr. Dodaro. We are basically on an unsustainable long term
fiscal path. At the end of 2021 debt held by the public was
already about 100 percent of the GDP. Absent any fiscal change
in policy, our simulations show that this ration could rise to
over 200 of GDP within the next 40 years, and it will continue
to go up absent that change. By 2035, we could be paying $1
trillion a year just to service our debt and interest. And I
think that is a problem.
There are also short term issues, such as Social Security
funding and, Medicare Part A funding, where we are going to hit
a wall within the next decade for both of those programs. That
is going to force us to come to grips with the size of the
benefit levels and to deal with those programs. I am also very
concerned about our interest rate exposure into the future.
I have issued an annual report on the nation's fiscal year
for the last 6 years. Even before the reports, I was talking
about the nation's unsustainable fiscal path for a long time,
because you could see this coming due to demographic shifts and
the rising costs of health care, which are the main drivers of
this issue. I have also called for a change in how we set the
debt limit. The debt limit, right now, does nothing to control
the debt.
Rather it makes markets nervous about whether we are going
to raise the limit in time to make timely payments. People
avoid Treasury securities that might mature around that period
of time. It disrupts the liquidity in the secondary market. It
doesn't do anything for us, except create an opportunity to
talk about this issue, but it rarely produces enough change to
alter the long term trajectory. I am very concerned about how
we set and use the debt limit.
Senator Braun. I am going to put a budget out here in a
couple of weeks that will do what Americans should expect of
us, and that would balance the budget over 10 years. And it
takes political will. It takes discipline if we are going to do
it. And you mentioned the two programs that most would look to
the Federal Government to be healthy, to be there would be
Medicare and Social Security.
And I hope the American public knows and in 4 years, we
will have depleted every penny. We have paid into the Medicare
trust fund. And will we do something ahead of time? We will
probably let it run into the ditch and then borrow money to
backfill the shortage because it be close to 15 to 18 percent
benefit cuts.
Social Security, we have known actuarially for decades, and
that will be a bigger issue, and we have been paying into that
since the Depression. All of that will be gone. It does take
some serious consideration. We seem not to do it. I am just
hoping that we wise up here quickly.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS--WELCOMING VISITORS POST COVID
Senator Braun. Dr. Hayden, when you were talking earlier
about the Library of Congress getting back open, what
percentage of your normal activities would you say you are back
to in terms of what--you mentioned, a few of them that are back
up and running again. Where are you at pre-COVID compared to
pre-COVID now?
Dr. Hayden. I would have to say that we are at least 80
percent back, and that is basically with the number of visitors
who are coming in. Before COVID, we had approximately 2 million
visitors per year coming physically into Library facilities.
And so now with the timed entry, we have capacity for about
6,000 people daily. If anyone comes up and they don't have the
pass, we give them same day passes.
We just left the building, the Thomas Jefferson building
today and there were school groups and tour groups. We really
are seeing the increase in visitors. When the Capital Visitor
Center opens, in fact staff from the Capital Visitor Center
have been on detail to the Library helping us with our plans
for increased visitor attendance, and when that opens we
anticipate that we will be very much in demand.
Senator Braun. Well, I wish the capital and the folks in
charge of it, you know, would be as kind of good at getting
back to normal as what you have done in the Library of
Congress. I get complaints often from folks not only from
Indiana but across the country that why aren't we back closer
to normal?
I know that the Capitol Police, they have got some concerns
as well as leadership currently in the House and Senate. And I
think that that needs to be at least where we are at. You say
you are back to 80 percent of normal. We need to be much closer
to that than where we are. And I do have a few more questions.
I yield back.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Senator Braun. Both Dr.
Hayden and the Comptroller General, how are you coping with
inflation in this budget and going forward for your agencies?
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS--MITIGATING INFLATION
Dr. Hayden. Well, in terms of the Library, in every cycle,
we plan for it, and we use the CBO inflation rate that is used
by all of the Legislative Branch agencies. And that current
inflation rate is about 8.3 percent and the Library used 4.6
percent for pay and a CBO rate of 2.8. Our budget is 65 percent
pay. And some units, for instance, are CRS is 90 percent pay.
We see the costs escalating in contractual labor, with some of
the hard to fill categories that OPM has even identified,
contract specialists and IT.
What we do to mitigate inflation is a combination of
things. We slow down hiring and backfills - though sometimes
that hinders us from ever backfilling because the costs have
been shifted to other areas. We de-scope and delay some
contracts when we can. And if necessary, we would consider more
severe methods, furloughs and RIFs and we haven't had to do
that and slowing down certain programs.
One aspect that we are concerned about is we talk about the
visitor experience, for instance, and the Fort Meade module. We
have already been told by the Architect of the Capitol that we
will probably see significant increases in costs. Supply chain,
all of these types of things. So that is what we are watching
very closely, working with them on value engineering, on these
projects.
Fort Meade, there is not much more we can value engineer
there, but the visitor experience has more opportunities there.
But that is our one concern that it is hard for us to control.
Senator Reed. Thank you. Comptroller General, please.
Mr. Dodaro. 85 percent of our costs are personnel costs. So
we are always concerned about whether we are getting enough
funds to cover the cost of living increases that Congress
ultimately authorizes.
We also have performance based pay as well, and then
benefits go up each year as well. These increase always factor
into what size of workforce you can have and how many people
you can hire. Now, the other two main costs outside of pay are
IT and building costs. For our IT, we are on pace with our
modernization effort in which we are moving to the cloud to
save costs over the long run.
And we have to make sure we invest what we need to for
computer security purposes to protect our information and all
the information we gather from other agencies across the
Federal Government. That is always a top priority. We also need
to modernize our content management systems for our audit
documentation. Our systems is over 30 years old.
We are trying to modernize it, but the pace of that
modernization will be dictated by how much money we receive and
what the pace of inflation will be going forward.
The other main cost outside of pay is our building. We own
our headquarters building. And in the past what we have done
due to constrained budgets is defer maintenance on the
building.
We have over $80 million in deferred maintenance costs
right now. We are trying to have a plan to fix that problem
over time. And so, what we will do is pace it with the amount
of money that we have over the period of time. It is all we can
do--we will prioritize the investments; for example the blast
protections on our windows, particularly around the first
floor, is a high priority.
We have a daycare center on the first floor and I want to
make sure those children are protected. So I want to make sure
we upgrade the blast protection on the windows on that floor.
Our building is one complete block so it is very exposed to the
streets.
Senator Reed. Let me follow up Comptroller. A somewhat
related question. You have a high retention in your workforce,
you have an extremely capable workforce. You prove it every
day. You are talking about the challenges to our IT systems.
Other Federal agencies have, I am--my observation is that
workforce shortages and problems with very old IT. Have you
been asked, or have you done an assessment of different
agencies throughout the Federal Government? And can you give us
sort of the worst, the best?
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. First of all, on our high risk list, we
have human capital management across the Federal Government. We
have had it on that list since 2001. I am very concerned about
the State of the Federal Government's workforce. There is a lot
of critical skill gaps.
Of the 36 areas we have on our high risk list, plus the two
new areas we added this year, about 24 are on there in part
because of critical skill gaps in those areas. So we have
problems. I think the Defense Department does probably one of
the better jobs of recruiting and retaining people. But even at
DOD there are cybersecurity skill gaps and acquisition
workforce skill gaps. NASA and Department of Interior also have
skill gap problems; for example, Interior has problems
retaining sufficient staff to oversee and manage oil and gas
operations.
Another Government wide high risk area is IT acquisition
and management. I don't think the Federal Government gets a
fair return on it's almost now $100 billion a year invested in
IT. A lot of improvements need to be made in that area as well.
And so we work every day to try to get better practices in
place, to get a better return on our investment from the IT
funding that is provided to agencies. I think, everybody is in
need of improvement in that area.
Senator Reed. And those improvements would presumably
increase productivity significantly.
Mr. Dodaro. Oh, absolutely. And also increase computer
security, Senator. I mean, one of the biggest problems we have
now is we are still carrying legacy systems that are decades
old, that were never designed to build security into those
systems. It is like a millstone around our neck from a computer
security standpoint.
Senator Reed. Well, I can recall learning basic as a plebe
at West Point, and computer security was making sure you didn't
drop the box of cards, and that is a program. So with that, let
me recognize Senator Braun.
Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You mentioned
earlier, Comptroller, that there was fraud in our extended
unemployment insurance benefits. I would like to point out that
I think we spent nearly $800 to $900 billion in total in that
neighborhood, about the same amount that we did back in 2008
and 2009.
So it is just to have a comparison of how much money we
spent navigating through COVID, $4 trillion, I think, due to
the uncertainty of the CARES Act and so forth. And then another
$3 trillion, and I think mostly we didn't need, that generated
a lot of what we are wrestling with now.
On the fraud associated with the extended unemployment
benefits, I have heard estimates anywhere from $70 billion to
$250 billion. I mean, these are unbelievable numbers. And then
the PPP loan program. I hear a lot about that as well. How much
is your agency weighing in on it and what can you tell us about
it?
Mr. Dodaro. Yes, well, first we placed the SBA emergency
loan programs on the High Risk List in 2021. Both the Paycheck
Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan
program were fraught with problems. SBA wasn't able to get an
opinion on their financial statements because they couldn't
support the balances on their financial statements. I had
trouble getting the attention of the SBA early in the pandemic.
I was very concerned about those two programs from the outset.
On the unemployment area, there are a lot of problems. We
have been asked the question of how much fraud has occurred?
And of course, that won't be known for years because you got to
go through a legal process before it is determined to be fraud
at the end. But it is a significant amount of money. There
are----
Senator Braun. Over $100 billion, would you say?
Mr. Dodaro. I hesitate to give a guess.
Senator Braun. I think the Labor Department estimated $70
or $80 and said it could be up to 2 to 3 times that much, so.
Mr. Dodaro. Well, sometimes these estimates get conflated
with improper payment estimates.
Senator Braun. We will get to that in a moment.
Mr. Dodaro. Yes so it is really not clear. We will be
issuing a report that will clarify these differences between
fraud and improper payments and give the Labor Department
estimates of fraud and improper payments, to include estimates
developed by the Department itself and by the Inspector
General. We are working on this report now.
Senator Braun. Good. And I would love to hear that amount
when you get it fleshed out, even in the long run, when we get
to the real figures. And I think that whenever we do something
like this, I think the American public was appalled by that
much. But when you spend that much and you do it that quickly,
there is going to be some of it. But these figures are an
abomination if they are even close to true.
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. I was very disappointed with SBA and
Labor. We worked with Congress on a 2016 law called the Fraud
Reduction and Data Analytics Act. The act reflected best
practices and a framework to prevent fraud from occurring in
the first place. SBA and Labor were slow off the dime in
implementing this law and weren't prepared as well as they
should have been before the pandemic.
So part of the legislative recommendations that I have made
to the Congress is to put a better spotlight on how agencies
are preparing to prevent fraud. Because if with these numbers
being what they could be, the rule of thumb is you are only
going to get about 10 percent back of----
Senator Braun. It is not a good collection rate.
Mr. Dodaro. No, it is not. And the longer it goes----
Senator Braun. Before we run out of time because I have a
question for Dr. Hayden as well. But while we are on the
subject of improper payments, I about fell out of my seat when
you told me back, I think in 2021 that there were $281 billion
of improper payments. That, again, is a figure so large.
How can any entity make that many improper payments and not
be able to mitigate it somewhere along the way? And would you
explain to me and the American public how you come up with $281
billion worth of improper payments?
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. Well, first of all, I want to make it
clear, that is not a complete estimate. There are a number of
programs that didn't even make an estimate. And I believe----
Senator Braun. So it could be more?
Mr. Dodaro. Oh, it definitely is more. The question is how
much more. There are 86 programs that made estimates at 16
different agencies. 26 of those programs had rates in excess of
10 percent. This is----
Senator Braun. Like wrong amounts that----
Mr. Dodaro. Overpayments----
Senator Braun. Wrong payee, all that kind of stuff?
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. Some of it is underpayments, but that is
less than about 10 percent of the total estimate.
Senator Braun. This is netting out in terms of overpayments
or improper pay----
Mr. Dodaro. It counts both. These count both.
Senator Braun. Okay.
Mr. Dodaro. But the amount of underpayments--which is a
problem, too, means somebody who should have been getting the
money, wasn't getting the money. We certainly found that in the
unemployment area. Payments weren't made in a timely manner in
addition to the issues of fraud.
So there are problems on both sides of the equation-that is
over- and underpayments.
The Medicaid program had over $98 billion in improper
payments in 2021. Unemployment insurance had over $78 billion
in 2021. These two programs drove the big increase between 2020
and 2021. Regarding Medicaid, I have been concerned about the
accuracy of the estimates, particularly for Medicaid's managed
care portion, which is accounts for about 50 percent of
programs spending. The estimate for managed care does not
capture all program risks. So this problem is bigger than it
even appears.
Senator Braun. I need to get to Dr. Hayden. And just so the
American public knows, we spent, back in 2021, somewhere
between $4 and $4.5 trillion. Big numbers. $281 billion was an
improper payment. That is a big percentage of our total
expenditures.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS--VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT
Senator Braun. Dr. Hayden, when it comes to the Veterans
History Project, we've been supportive of it over the past
several years. Can you share some of the activities you have
been working on over this past fiscal year and what you have
planned for 2023 when it comes to the Veterans History Project?
Dr. Hayden. Thank you for that, Senator, because we have
been able in the last year to work with 63 Members of Congress
directly with opportunities for workshops. In fact, you were
part of that in your State. And training volunteers. We have
also had promotional videos that Members of Congress have
participated in, and we have also been able to expand our
virtual and live programs.
The role of veterans in farming, for instance, was very
popular. And also how veterans cope with PTSD and using the
power of music. So these are some of the customized programs
and the live events. And we just signed a memorandum of
agreement with the VA Center for Women's Veterans, and we are
going to expand programing with that, and also capturing the
voices of veterans who helped with disaster relief first
responder stories, including pandemic, for instance, the USS
Mercury and the Comfort.
We are getting their stories from those veterans, and also
Haitian relief and disease outbreaks like Ebola. So that is
another area that we are really expanding and making sure that
we work with the gold star families as well. That legislation
was passed and that has been a real opportunity for us to use
with our virtual programing as well.
Senator Braun. Very good. Keep up the good work. And Mr.
Chairman, I have one short question----
Senator Reed. Please go ahead.
Senator Braun. And then it will be the end of my questions
for the day. Back in 2019, we did get across the finish line
the Payment Information Integrity Act. And I think it was based
upon the first conversation we had. Has that been a tool that
has been helpful, and do we need to do more?
Mr. Dodaro. That tool has been helpful. It has caused
people to make better estimates. Part of this problem is that
there are not good estimates made in a lot of cases. Some
programs don't estimate at all. There should be estimates for
all high risk programs.
So it has helped quite a bit. What we need to do more is
get the CFOs more engaged in the process. Right now it is the
program people who make the estimates and monitor the
corrective action plans. And to some extent that is kind of
like monitoring your own work. There are not enough financial
people involved.
Secondly we need to keep the IGs involved in those areas. I
have legislative suggestions. I will be happy to provide----
Senator Braun. Please bring those to our office and we
would be happy to flesh those in the legislation. We certainly
need the effort to be made. Thank you.
Mr. Dodaro. Yes, sure.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator. Thank you very much. This
concludes the Legislative Branch Appropriations subcommittee
hearing regarding the fiscal year 2023 funding for the Library
of Congress and the GAO. And I want to particularly thank Dr.
Hayden and Comptroller General Dodaro for your, not only your
testimony today, but your efforts every day and those of your
colleagues at the Library of Congress and GAO.
Thank you very, very much.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
The record will remain open for 7 days, allowing Members to
submit statements and, or questions for the record, which
should be sent to the subcommittee by close of business on
Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
[The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but
were submitted to the agencies for response subsequent to the
hearing:]
No questions were submitted.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Reed. At this point, the Committee stands
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 5:10 p.m., Wednesday, June 22, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023
----------
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
[Clerk's note.--The subcommittee was unable to hold
hearings on nondepartmental witnesses. The statements and
letters of those submitting written testimony are as follows:]
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
Prepared Statement of the American Association of Law Libraries
Dear Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the
subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of the
American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) in support of the Fiscal
Year (FY) 2023 budget requests of the U.S. Government Publishing Office
(GPO) and the Library of Congress.
AALL is a national organization representing more than 3,500 law
librarians and legal information professionals. AALL members work in
many library settings, including law schools and law firms; federal,
state, and county governments; and Federal and State courts. Law
librarians and legal information professionals rely on resources and
publications provided for free by the GPO, the Library of Congress, and
the Law Library of Congress to support the legal research needs of
students, attorneys, self-represented litigants, and members of the
public.
AALL thanks the subcommittee for its support of the prior year's
funding requests of the GPO and the Library of Congress. Past funding
has allowed the GPO and the Library of Congress to develop innovative
partnerships with Federal agencies and law libraries to digitize,
preserve, and provide public access to primary legal materials,
including the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations.
Partnerships between law libraries, the GPO, and the Law Library of
Congress promote access to justice by making legal materials easier for
legal researchers and the public to find, understand, and use. Recent
funding has also enabled the GPO and the Law Library of Congress to
create new public resources including legal research guides and online
trainings on a variety of government information topics that are
helpful to legal researchers, such as how to find Federal legislation
on Congress.gov and how to track Federal regulations.
AALL supports the FY 2023 funding requests of the GPO and the
Library of Congress because this funding will allow these agencies to
continue to build valuable partnerships with law libraries and other
stakeholders, pursue digitization initiatives, and expand projects that
provide greater access to current and historical legal information in
print and online. We urge the subcommittee to approve the FY 2023
funding requests of the GPO and the Library of Congress.
funding for the u.s. government publishing office
The GPO produces, organizes, authenticates, disseminates, and
preserves official Federal legal information and government documents
for the public. Approximately 200 law libraries partner with the GPO
through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) to provide public
access to legal materials in print and online. Law librarians and legal
information professionals also frequently use the govinfo website to
support the legal research needs of law library patrons.
With the subcommittee's support of the GPO's past funding requests,
the GPO has increased access to electronic Federal information through
the FDLP; partnered with libraries to digitize, preserve, and provide
public access to core legal materials and government publications; and
added new public collections of primary legal materials to govinfo,
including digitized historical volumes of the United States
Congressional Serial Set which are now available to the public at no
cost for the first time.
AALL urges the subcommittee to approve the GPO's FY 2023 funding
request of $130.9 million. The request will provide the funds the GPO
needs to make Federal Government publications available to Federal
depository libraries in digital and print formats. AALL is supportive
of the goals of the GPO's new task force to study the feasibility of an
all-digital FDLP, which comes at a time when some law libraries are
updating their collection development policies to select more
electronic resources because of changing patron preferences due to the
COVID-19 pandemic or for other reasons.
The GPO's funding will also be used to develop the govinfo website,
which provides free public access to official publications such as
bills and statutes, Federal regulations, and Federal court opinions. We
are excited about the GPO's plans to collaborate with Federal partners
and libraries to add more information to the govinfo website. Adding
information such as historical agency documents and Congressional
reports and hearings to govinfo will promote the principles of open,
equitable, and reliable public access to legal information that are
described in the AALL Guiding Principles for Public Access to Legal
Information on Government Websites (AALL Guiding Principles). AALL is
proud that GPO endorsed the AALL Guiding Principles in May 2021, and we
appreciate the GPO's plans to further develop govinfo.
funding for the library of congress
The Law Library of Congress provides legal research services and
public access to an extensive collection of foreign, comparative,
international, and United States law. Law librarians and legal
information professionals at academic law libraries and public law
libraries often refer patrons to the Law Library of Congress for its
unique collections of legal materials in print and online, including
the digitized United States Statutes at Large dating back to 1781,
official foreign legal gazettes, and Spanish legal documents from the
15th to 19th centuries.
The subcommittee's approval of past funding for the Library of
Congress and the Law Library of Congress has enabled the Law Library to
digitize, preserve, and provide the public with access to many
collections of legal materials from the United States and other
countries. The Law Library of Congress' current project to digitize and
ingest its legal reports on foreign, comparative, and international law
topics including cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and data
protection is especially helpful to law librarians and legal
information professionals because these reports analyze laws in many
countries and link to primary sources. The Law Library of Congress'
extensive collections of print and online foreign official gazettes
dating back to the mid-19th century are also very useful to law
librarians and legal information professionals because many of these
materials are not available at other law libraries.
AALL urges the subcommittee to support the Library of Congress' FY
2023 funding request of $871.8 million, including $17.6 million for the
Law Library of Congress. This request will lead to increased access to
the Law Library of Congress' collections of legal materials.
The Law Library of Congress' FY 2023 funding request will
accelerate progress on the digitization of additional volumes of the
United States Congressional Serial Set in partnership with the GPO and
the digitization of the United States Supreme Court Records and Briefs.
These publications are important to legal researchers and will become
even more useful once they are digitized and available for free. The
funding request will also allow the Law Library to continue to
reclassify legal materials in its collection to make these materials
more accessible to the public and to protect important print materials
contained in storage.
conclusion
AALL appreciates the opportunity to provide written testimony in
support of the FY 2023 funding requests of the U.S. Government
Publishing Office and the Library of Congress. Please let us know if we
can provide additional information as you develop the FY 2023
Legislative Branch funding bill.
[This statement was submitted by Diane M. Rodriguez, President]
______
Prepared Statement of American Bar Association
Chairman Reed and Ranking Member Braun:
I am Reginald Turner, President of the American Bar Association
(ABA), which is the largest voluntary association of lawyers and legal
professionals in the world. I am pleased to submit this testimony on
behalf of the ABA to urge your strong support for the FY 2023 budget
request of the Library of Congress. As consumers of the resources of
the Library and Law Library of Congress, we cannot overstate the value
of these unrivaled world-class institutions to Congress, the legal
profession, American business, academia, and the public. We appreciate
your support for the much-needed funding increase that the Library of
Congress received in FY 2022, and we respectfully request that you fund
the Library's FY 2023 budget request in its entirety.
As you know, the Library of Congress is requesting a modest
increase for FY 2023 over its FY 2022 enacted appropriation. That
increase would, among other things, fund the completion of key
projects, increase the Library's resilience against cybersecurity
threats, and improve public access to the Library's physical and
virtual collections, an increasingly important function as the country
emerges from the COVID-19-related quarantine. The proposed increase
would also help provide necessary support for the Law Library of
Congress, and it would help the Copyright Office to improve its ability
to manage, validate, and report on the metrics that affect its user
fees that comprise half of its budget.
Founded by Congress in 1800 as its research arm, the Library of
Congress is the oldest Federal cultural institution in the Nation. Over
its history, the Library has grown into an unparalleled public resource
of staggering proportion, housing more than 168 million items in 90
collections, including books, periodicals, film, and audio recordings.
Similarly, the Law Library of Congress, authorized by Congress in 1832,
has grown from its modest beginnings to become the world's largest
repository of legal materials, including more than 2.9 million legal
volumes and periodicals.
The magnitude of these priceless collections in both size and
significance to our Nation and to the world cannot be overstated. Their
immense scope creates unique challenges, including managing their daily
growth and administration. These are our National treasures, and the
funding required to keep the Library of Congress and Law Library of
Congress running at full capacity is a wise investment of taxpayer
dollars.
We know through our 90-year collaboration with the Law Library that
it supports all three branches of government with complex foreign,
comparative, and international research and guidance. In addition, the
executive branch's reliance on the Law Library's foreign law expertise
is steadily increasing, as is the number of requests for legal opinions
from Federal executive branch agencies.
The Law Library's contributions to Congress during the current
pandemic have included over 550 reports on many different subjects,
including many involving national security and issues of comparative
law relating to government operations in emergency situations. The Law
Library conducted research, prepared reports, and collaborated with
Federal officials at numerous agencies including the Department of
Homeland Security, Department of State, and Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA). Responding quickly to the war in Ukraine, Law Library foreign
law specialists provided important country-specific information to
congressional and CIA staff. In addition to supporting Congress and the
executive branch, the Law Library also has continued to leverage
technology to increase its contributions to the judiciary, the public,
and the legal profession through webinars offered through its Legal
Research Institute; expanded access to digitized materials; and
continued operation of services such as ``Ask a Librarian,'' its In
Custodia Legis blog, and Congress.gov.
The Law Library remains committed to fulfilling its mission of
serving Congress and the Nation through the priorities outlined last
year, including preserving hard copies of legal materials, further
developing access to these materials online through digitization, and
strengthening staff expertise in foreign law and collection
stewardship. Another important priority is modernizing the Law
Library's facilities by replacing its third quadrant of compact
shelving, which has become dangerously unusable and houses a
significant portion of the world's largest and most comprehensive
collection of international, foreign, national, and comparative legal
resources. The Law Library of Congress must also address the critical
area of cybersecurity to protect congressional and other high-value
digital assets within the Law Library. We strongly support these
priorities. Because the Law Library does not have an independent line
item in the Federal budget, one of the best ways to ensure adequate
funding for these priorities is by fully funding the Library of
Congress' overall request.
In closing, we respectfully urge you to grant the Library of
Congress' funding request for FY 2023 in its entirety. We appreciate
the support you have shown for the Library of Congress and Law Library
of Congress and hope you will continue to find the means to protect and
enhance the value of these treasures built over the past 220 years for
all Americans, now and for generations to come.
Thank you for your consideration.
______
Prepared Statement of American Library Association
Chair Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the subcommittee:
On behalf of the American Library Association, thank you for the
opportunity to submit this testimony regarding Legislative Branch
Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2023. We respectfully request the
Committee's support for the Library of Congress and the Government
Publishing Office, which provide important services to libraries and
residents nationwide.
library of congress
The Library of Congress not only serves Congress, but also delivers
important benefits for libraries across the country and the American
public.
After several years of investment in the Library's Visitor
Experience Initiative, the first phase is expected to open in fall
2023. Carrying through on these investments will highlight the
Library's unique collections and inspire millions of visitors to learn,
create, and innovate.
The Library's services also reach far beyond its walls through
programs such as the National Library Service for the Blind and Print
Disabled, which serves readers nationwide who cannot see print or
handle print materials. The service supports a network of regional
libraries, such as the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information
Services' Talking Books Library and the Indiana Talking Book & Braille
Library, and is expanding delivery of specialized eReaders to more
efficiently and effectively serve braille and talking book users.
government publishing office
The Government Publishing Office provides essential information to
America's businesses, legal system, and researchers.
Through the Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of
Documents, the Office provides Federal publications in digital and
tangible formats to 1,113 libraries nationwide through the Federal
Depository Library Program, as well as cataloging and indexing of
Federal publications to improve public access. The program supports
Americans' access to these publications--including Federal laws,
regulations, and reports--through participating libraries, such as the
Indiana State Library and the Westerly Library in Rhode Island.
In addition, the Office annually collects and provides access to
thousands of new Federal publications to its free online repository,
govinfo.gov. To preserve these important documents of our republic, GPO
manages a cooperative preservation program with libraries across the
country.
conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the subcommittee in
support of the Fiscal Year 2023 requests of the Library of Congress and
the Government Publishing Office. We ask for the subcommittee's support
in meeting the requests for these important national programs that
serve Congress, libraries, and the American public.
Sincerely,
Gavin Baker
Deputy Director, Public Policy and Government Relations
American Library Association
The American Library Association (``ALA'') is the foremost national
organization providing resources to inspire library and information
professionals to transform their communities through essential programs
and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted
voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries,
advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing
learning and ensuring access to information for all.
______
Prepared Statement of Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action)
Dear Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and members of the
subcommittee:
The Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action) and our affiliate
organization Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) have actively engaged in
strengthening the capacity of our country's governing institutions and
building a Congress that is responsive to a diverse nation. BPC Action
and BPC believe that if Congress is to effectively govern, it must have
the ability to operate effectively and efficiently. Given this
challenge, we understand the critical importance of ensuring that the
legislative branch has adequate resources and direction to support this
mission.
BPC Action's testimony builds on our ongoing work with the Senate
including our work to support the Senate subcommittee on Legislative
Branch Appropriations' mission. Their work and diverse recommendations,
aimed at improving the workings of the legislative branch, including
administrative responsibilities, civility and collaboration, staff
retention, and science and technology capabilities, are critical to
improve the daily functioning of the House. Regarding Fiscal Year 2023
(FY23), we would ask that the subcommittee on Legislative Branch
Appropriations consider the following recommendations to further
increase congressional capacity.
Promoting civility and collaboration.--BPC Action's core mission is
to foster bipartisanship and uphold the best policy proposals from both
parties with a pragmatic approach. This means we must push for more
ways members and staff can collaborate on legislation and policy
priorities. This can be achieved in a multitude of ways, including
promoting civility, collaboration, and leadership in party by directing
the Architect of the Capitol to explore bipartisan co-working spaces
for staff.
Expanding connectivity and technology availability.--For years,
civil society organizations have worked with committees and members on
Capitol Hill to foster bipartisan conversations and relationships. From
presenting research to best practices, these groups have been a vital
source of information and have created a forum to promote policy
recommendations to help the American people. To continue these efforts,
resources should be used to provide information on organizations and
resources members can utilize to participate in facilitated
conversations with the goal of fostering common ground.
1. Establish a web portal with staff contact information for the
House, Senate, and congressional support agencies to enhance the
exchange of information. The portal should contain a directory with
standardized indicators of issue areas and committees connected with
each staff member.
2. Develop and deploy new technology tools to better enable
Members and staff to identify policy areas of common interest on which
to collaborate.
Focusing on engagement regarding near- and long-term advice by GAO
(Government Accountability Office).--Over its history, the GAO has
provided critical support through its audits, legal options, program
evaluation, technology assessments, and other activities. Despite the
tremendous governmental benefits, the agency's capabilities have been
limited in keeping pace with the expanse of the Federal Government's
programs and expenditures. The GAO's work to provide essential
'oversight, insight, and foresight' requires ongoing vigilance to
support Congress' core functions.
1. GAO and other support agencies must take steps to ensure that
their products, services, and outreach are designed to adapt to and
meet the customer needs of an evolving Congress. This is especially
true in terms of timely responses to members' and committees' enquiries
to the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) Team. In
the near term, we urge the GAO to direct additional staff to address
responses to congressional requests.
2. In the longer term, the GAO should provide additional attention
to the ``foresight element'' when considering issues that are
fundamental to impacting longer-term trends and how Congress should be
prepared to respond. This horizon-scanning focus within the STAA on
health, defense, information technology, climate, and other vital
issues is crucial and requires more attention by the agency.
Continuing the GAO audits of congressionally directed spending from
members.--The subcommittee should provide report language direction to
the GAO to allow them to review and audit members' community project
funding requests for FY23. If such requests are included in the
appropriate, final subcommittee bills, then the GAO will likely need
such approval to continue to examine these additional requests beyond
FY22.
Ensuring accessibility.--Changes to the Capitol complex can be a
challenging undertaking, but it is important to modernize the space
just as much as the governing body. BPC Action supports removing
accessibility barriers in the Capitol Complex and believes a directed
study is necessary to explore what would help staff, members, and the
public with accessibility needs.
Our organization looks forward to continuing to engage with the
subcommittee as the FY23 process continues. BPC Action recognizes the
challenges you face to ensure that funds and statutory direction is
provided for the legislative branch are targeted to address a
multiplicity of critical needs.
[This statement was submitted by Michele Stockwell, Executive
Director]
______
Prepared Statement of Demand Progress
Dear Chair Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for your continuing stewardship of Senate operations
during these challenging times. This testimony encourages you to
further improve access to bills and amendments considered on the Senate
floor. Specifically, I urge you to bolster timely access within the
Senate to the full text of legislation and amendments being considered
on the floor and to improve the tools through which the text can be
analyzed. Furthermore, I encourage the contemporaneous publication of
bills and amendments considered on the Senate floor to the public.
These recommendations implicate the operations of the Secretary of the
Senate, the Government Publishing Office, and others.
In making these recommendations, I am aware of the geometrically
increasing responsibilities placed on the support offices and agencies
that manage the legislative workflow, notably the Secretary of the
Senate, Senate Office of the Legislative Counsel, the Parliamentarian
of the Senate, Government Publishing Office, and the House analogues.
Efforts to improve the transparency of legislative activity should be
coupled with improved workflow and efficiency that lessen the burdens
placed on these offices. Accordingly, it is appropriate to consider the
full processes by which legislative information is managed in the
Senate and elsewhere.
The Congressional Record provides the most complete public source
for information for bill text and amendments. However, it is published
after the conclusion of legislative proceedings and thereby provides a
retrospective look at what happened. In circumstances where bills or
amendments were offered on the same day they were considered, there is
no systematic concurrent public availability of the text with the
deliberations.
The legislative information website Congress.gov provides a user-
friendly resource for bill text for congressional staff and the public
alike. For various reasons, at times it can take days or weeks for the
text of legislation to be available on Congress.gov, and publication
may occur after a measure has been considered by the Senate. The
Government Publishing Office noted in recent testimony that, on
average, it takes a week for introduced legislation to show up online,
and at the height of the pandemic there was an 1,800 bill publication
backlog that took several months to resolve.\1\ Furthermore,
Congress.gov does not include the text of Senate floor amendments, but
instead provides a hyperlink to the Congressional Record, which is not
as user-friendly.
The Senate maintains an internal website available only to
individuals with a Senate IP address that provides significant
contemporaneous information about pending bills and amendments.\2\ This
internal system publishes only the first hundred or so pages of a
measure and the text is internally published as image PDFs. These
practices add a level of difficulty to reviewing the entire text of a
measure and searching and analyzing its contents.
By comparison, the House of Representatives, which operates under
significantly different rules, publishes the full text of legislation
to be considered on the floor and all proposed amendments thereto on
public websites prior to consideration.\3\ Generally speaking, the
legislation is published both as a PDF and as an XML file, the latter
of which contains important bill metadata. The House-run websites
provide the best official resource for timely access to this
information, although in time it becomes available in the Congressional
Record and on Congress.gov. In addition, the House's comparative print
project uses this data to make it possible for some--and soon all--
staff to see in real time how a proposed amendment would modify a bill
and how a proposed bill would change the law. One limitation to the
House's approach is that most users start their search for legislative
information at Congress.gov, which publishes only a subset of this
information.
It would be superfluous to address in this testimony the strengths
and limitations for internal stakeholders of the current Senate
amendment tracking system. With respect to external stakeholders, the
current system creates unequal access to information, whereby those
with connections to Senate offices can at times gain access to
information more readily than those who do not. While some information
asymmetries are inevitable, privileged access to public business that
currently is the subject of floor debate should be minimized to the
extent practically possible.
Congressional offices, the public, and the press need greater
assistance with tracking and accessing bills and amendments being
debated on the Senate floor. In our modern era, this suggests
contemporaneous online availability of the text of legislation and
amendments and improved archival access. I encourage the Senate to
consider a multi-pronged approach.
First, I suggest a review of the current mechanisms the Senate uses
to publish legislative information internally, the fitness and
adaptability of technologies used in the House, and an exploration of
technologies and tools currently employed inside the Legislative branch
(such as Congress.gov) as well as those in other legislatures (such as
the UK Parliament).
Second, I suggest an examination of the extent to which the text of
legislation and amendments printed in the Congressional Record also are
contemporaneously published on Congress.gov, and an exploration of the
various points in the legislative process where bill text and
amendments exist in final form.
Third, I urge a review of the Senate legislative workflow to
facilitate an improved understanding of whether greater efficiencies
can be brought to bear on that process. In doing so, it would be
productive to sound out a wide variety of perspectives from internal
and external stakeholders. Establishing a working group to surface and
evaluate these perspectives may yield outsized benefits to the Senate,
just as the work of the Legislative Branch Bulk Data Task Force is an
ongoing boon for the Legislative branch.
Taken together, this should result in a deeper, shared
understanding of the current processes, ongoing efforts to address
these issues, and the identification of potential improvements that are
implementable in the short-term as well as possible enhancements to the
system over the long-term. The perfect should not be the enemy of the
good, and steady progress would be most welcome with respect to
improving public availability of legislative information with an eye to
its publication in interoperable, structured-data formats.\4\ We expect
the Legislative Branch Bulk Data Task Force would be an invaluable
sounding board concerning building a robust system that can endure and
be extended over time.
I encourage you to consider inclusion of the following report language:
--Improving Accessibility of Senate Legislation: The Secretary of the
Senate will create a working group to investigate and provide a
report within 180 days of enactment to the Appropriations
Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, which shall be
published online by the Secretary within two weeks of
submission, concerning potential issues and possible approaches
to develop and implement a timely, centralized, publicly-
available repository for Senate bills and amendments set for
consideration on the Senate floor. In doing so, consideration
should be given to providing that bills, amendments, and other
related documents are publicly available prior to or
contemporaneously with their consideration by the Senate as
well as publication of that information in a structured data
format such as United States Legislative Markup (USLM).
--The Senate Accessible Legislation Task Force should be led by the
Secretary of the Senate and include the stakeholders she seems
appropriate. In formering her recommendations, the Secretary
should consult with relevant Senate leadership, committee, and
member offices; relevant Senate support offices and agencies;
equivalent House leadership, committee, personal, and support
offices; members of the Bulk Data Task Force; members of the
Legislative Branch XML Working Group; the Government Publishing
Office; the National Archives and Records Administration;
public stakeholders, including publishers, users, and experts
on legislative data as well as repositories of legislative
information; select national legislatures from around the
world; and others as appropriate. The Secretary should also
examine the House document repository docs.house.gov, the House
Rules committee website rules.house.gov, and third party free
and paid services that publish information about Senate
legislation.
--The report should address the feasibility and costs of upgrading
the current system used by the Senate, developing a new system
inside the Senate or in collaboration with Legislative branch
partners, using or extending the House's system as is or with
modifications, and doing so with the focus of ensuring that
Senate bills and amendments are publicly accessible online for
years to come. Furthermore, the Secretary should factor in the
extensibility of such a system to incorporate technology
similar in purpose to the House's comparative print project as
well as to potentially extend to hosting documents and media
that relate to the various stages of deliberations, including
in committees. The Secretary should also make recommendations
concerning facilitating internal and external stakeholder
engagement regarding the planning, implementation, and
operation of this and successor systems, including drafting a
continuing mission statement for the Senate Accessible
Legislation Task Force after the delivery of the report.
Finally, the Secretary should address how her recommendations
improve the workflow and efficient management of legislative
information.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Testimony of Government Publishing Office Director Hugh
Nathanial Halpern before the Select Committee on the Modernization of
Congress Hearing entitled ``Modernizing the Legislative Process''
(April 2022), https://modernizecongress.house.gov/imo/media/doc/
GPO_TESTIMONY_
Modernizing%20the%20Legislative%20Process.pdf.
\2\ The website is the Amendment Tracking System, available at
ats.senate.gov. According to the Congressional Research Service, ``ATS
is a web application that displays images of submitted and proposed
amendments to legislation pending before the U.S. Senate. Amendments
are available on ATS approximately 15 minutes after the Bill Clerk
receives them.'' See Policy and Legislative Research for Congressional
Staff: Finding Documents, Analysis, News, and Training (2019),
Congressional Research Service (R43434), https://
www.everycrsreport.com/
reports/R43434.html.
\3\ The text of legislation scheduled to be considered on the House
floor is published at https://docs.house.gov/floor/and prior notice of
legislation expected to be considered is published by the House
Majority Leader. The text of amendments to legislation scheduled to be
considered on the floor is published by the House Rules Committee at
https://rules.house.gov/legislation.
\4\ The United States Legislative Markup Schema already in use by
the Congress would easily satisfy this request. See https://github.com/
usgpo/uslm.
[This statement was submitted by Daniel Schuman, Policy Director]
______
Prepared Statement of Lincoln Network
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the subcommittee:
My name is Dan Lips. I am head of policy at Lincoln Network. I
respectfully urge the subcommittee to fully fund the Comptroller
General's budget request of $810 million for the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO) for FY2023 (an increase of $91 million or
12.7 percent).\1\ Fully funding this request would allow the
Comptroller General to increase GAO's staffing by 100 FTEs. In addition
to providing funding, I respectfully urge the subcommittee to consider
ways to increase GAO's return-on-investment through several reporting
requirements aimed to leverage its nonpartisan oversight to achieve
taxpayer savings and other government improvements.
The Comptroller General estimates that GAO's annual return-on-
investment has been $158 to $1 over the past 5 years. During that
period, GAO's work resulted in more than 1,300 program and operational
improvements. Overall, GAO's work has resulted in more than $1.2
trillion in financial benefits since 2002.\2\
But these positive financial contributions for the Federal
Government are only the tip of the iceberg of what GAO could accomplish
if the nonpartisan watchdog agency had additional resources and its
recommendations were implemented in a timelier manner. For example, GAO
States that there are 4,681 open recommendations as of May 27, 2022,
including 416 priority recommendations. The latter recommendations
could ``save large amounts of money'' according to GAO.\3\
How much could be saved if GAO had more resources and agencies
acted upon its recommendations in a timely manner? The answer is likely
tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars. For example, my review of
nonpublic data showing GAO's financial accomplishments from 2002 to
2019 found that more than 200 of GAO's recommendations have resulted in
more than $1 billion in financial benefits during that period.\4\
Fully funding the Comptroller General's FY2023 budget request will
increase GAO's capacity to conduct nonpartisan oversight and improve
government operations for Congress and American taxpayers. In addition,
Congress should explore other ways to increase GAO's return on
investment. In the report accompanying the FY2023 funding bill, the
subcommittee should include reporting requirements to identify how
Congress could achieve taxpayer savings and other government
improvements by leveraging GAO's nonpartisan oversight.
First, the Committee should direct the Comptroller General to
report to Congress about the feasibility of setting deadlines for
Federal agencies to implement open recommendations. According to GAO's
2021 performance and accountability report, GAO's 4-year implementation
rate for recommendations made in FY2017 was 76 percent.\5\ That is
below GAO's target of 80 percent. Moreover, only 45 percent of GAO's
recommendations made in FY2019 were implemented within 2 years.\6\
Improving the timeliness of this implementation rate and helping GAO to
achieve its goal of 80 percent implementation within 4 years would
drive significant taxpayer savings and government improvements.
In 2015, Deloitte published an analysis of past GAO reports and
examined the issue of the timeliness of implementation. Authors Daniel
Byler, Steve Berman, and William D. Eggers explained that,
``GAO could address this issue by setting target completion
dates for implementing each recommendation and then making
real-time data available to the public showing how long it is
taking each agency to implement GAO recommendations.'' \7\
Congress should require the Comptroller General to study and report
on the feasibility of establishing target completion dates for open
recommendations and publicly tracking the status of agencies'
implementation to improve transparency and government accountability.
Second, the Committee should instruct the Comptroller General to
report to Congress recommendations for curbing improper payments by
establishing a ``permanent analytics center of excellence'' within the
oversight community. In March 2022 testimony, Comptroller General Gene
Dodaro explained that Federal agencies reported making $281 billion in
improper payments in FY2021.\8\ This was an increase of $75 billion in
improper payments made compared to the prior fiscal year.
GAO has issued several recommendations for how Congress and Federal
agencies could curb improper payments. In addition, GAO's Science,
Technology Assessment, and Analytics team has been developing
technology solutions to improve payment integrity. The Comptroller
General recently described ``10 ways to improve oversight of emergency
relief funds and future Federal spending.'' \9\ He recommended that
Congress establish ``a permanent analytics center of excellence to help
the oversight community better identify improper payments and fraud.''
To help address the annual $271 billion and growing problem of improper
payments, the Committee should require the Comptroller General to
provide a report to Congress with specific recommendations to curb
improper payments including by establishing a permanent analytic center
of excellence within the oversight community.
Third, the Committee should ask the Comptroller General to provide
a report to Congress with a blueprint for how the Government
Accountability Office could use a more substantial funding increase to
expand its oversight, enhance GAO's technical capabilities and create
additional taxpayer savings and other government benefits. While the
Committee and Congress have provided GAO with funding increases in
recent years, the Government Accountability Office continues to operate
below its historic funding and staffing levels. Specifically, budget
reductions in the 1990s resulted in significant staffing and budget
cuts to GAO's operations. If GAO was funded at the same percentage of
discretionary spending as it was in the early 1990s, its budget would
be more than $1 billion today.
In 2022 and beyond, additional funding for GAO could be used to
enhance the agency's information technology systems and capabilities.
Such investments could serve as a force multiplier for the entire
organization's work by improving productivity, expanding the work of
GAO's Innovation Lab, and protecting sensitive information.
Since GAO routinely returns more than $150 in financial benefits to
taxpayers for each dollar that it is provided, Congress should
recognize the substantial taxpayer savings and other government
improvements that could be made if GAO fully recovered from the 1990s
era budget and staffing reductions. In its FY2023 report, the
subcommittee should require the Comptroller General to describe how GAO
would expand its staffing and operations if its budget was increased to
more than $1 billion, or more. Specifically, it should explain what it
could accomplish and its estimated return on investment should its
funding be increased by $100 million, $200 million, $300 million, or
more, and the annual rate at which it could absorb such an increase.
This report should include a description of how a larger GAO could
improve oversight and governance, achieve taxpayer savings, and deepen
its responsiveness to members of Congress. GAO should also explore
whether there are alternative funding models that might be appropriate
to support its work.
conclusion
The funds that Congress appropriates to the Government
Accountability Office are among the best tax dollars that the
government spends on behalf of the American people. GAO regularly
reports a return-on-investment of more than $150 to $1. In FY2023, the
Committee should fully fund the Comptroller General's budget request
and require the Comptroller General to report to Congress on new ways
that the Legislative Branch can leverage GAO's nonpartisan oversight to
make the Federal Government work more efficiently for taxpayers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-22-900396, Fiscal
Year 2023 Budget Request (2021), https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-
900396.pdf.
\2\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-22-4SP, Performance
and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2021 (2021), https://www.gao.gov/
assets/720/717654.pdf.
\3\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-21-591PR, Priority
Open Recommendations: Department of Transportation (2021), https://
www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-591pr.
\4\ Dan Lips, ``Reviewing the Data: How GAO Saves Taxpayer
Dollars,'' Lincoln Network, September 2021, https://lincolnpolicy.org/
2021/how-gao-saves-taxpayer-dollars/.
\5\ GAO, Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2021,
op. cit.
\6\ Ibid.
\7\ Daniel Byler, Steve Berman, and William D. Eggers,
``"Accountability quantified: What 26 years of GAO reports can teach us
about government management,'' Deloitte Insights, February 2015,
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/analytics/text-
analytics-and-gao-reports.
html.
\8\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, Emergency Relief Funds
Significant Improvements Are Needed to Ensure Transparency and
Accountability for COVID-19 and Beyond (2022), https://www.gao.gov/
assets/gao-22-105715.pdf.
\9\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, ``GAO Urges Action: 10
Ways to Improve Oversight of Emergency Relief Funds and Future Federal
Spending,'' March 2022, ``https://www.gao.gov/press-release/gao-urges-
action-10-ways-improve-oversight-emergency-relief-funds-and-future-
federal-spending.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
______
Prepared Statement of National Association of Latino Elected and
Appointed Officials (NALEO)
Dear Chair Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the Legislative
Branch Appropriations subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony concerning our
request for the creation of a Senate Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
We are a cross-partisan coalition of organizations concerned about
strengthening the diversity of staff that support the work of the
United States Senate.
When the 117th Congress was sworn in, it made history as the most
diverse congressional class our Nation has ever seen. Despite this
historic moment in our country's history, top Senate staffers do not
often reflect the makeup of the constituencies they serve, including
staffers of racial and ethnic minority groups, veterans, and people
with disabilities. An August 2020 report from the Joint Center for
Political and Economic Studies revealed that people of color account
for nearly 40 percent of the population of the United States, but only
11 percent of top Senate personal office staff.\1\
This shortfall reflects a fundamental problem our government has
with ensuring that the full spectrum of America's backgrounds and
experiences is represented by congressional staff. These discrepancies
are particularly troublesome in the wake of an increasing number of
elections that continue to produce diverse congressional makeup. In
addition, research has found that inclusive staffing is associated with
many positive benefits, including creativity, innovation, objectivity,
productivity and positive working environments.\2\
Congressional staff provide indispensable assistance and
irreplaceable institutional knowledge to senators as they conduct their
legislative, oversight, and constituent services duties. Nevertheless,
low staff pay is a barrier to entry into the senatorial hiring
pipeline, inadvertently biasing the hiring pool towards those
individuals with sufficient financial resources to supplement their
salaries. In addition, low pay creates incentives for experienced staff
to depart the Senate to the Executive branch and private sector, which
have significantly higher average salaries. These two factors, working
in tandem, impact staff diversity.
In 2019, the House of Representatives took a major step toward
addressing diversity and created its Office of Diversity and Inclusion
(OD&I) in its Rules package at the start of the 116th Congress,\3\
which may serve as a useful model for the Senate. House Rules required
the OD&I to develop a diversity plan,\4\ which addresses:
1. policies to direct and guide House offices to recruit, hire,
train, develop, advance, promote and retain a diverse workforce;
2. the development of a survey to evaluate diversity in House
offices;
3. a framework for the House of Representatives diversity report;
and
4. a proposal for the composition of an Advisory Council to inform
the work of the Office.
House Rules also require the OD&I to submit an annual demographic
and diversity report. The study involves surveying House staffers to
determine their demographic characteristics (e.g., race/ethnicity,
gender, military status), and analyze how demographic diversity within
the House of Representatives compares to that of private sector
organizations and the broader Federal Government. Furthermore, the OD&I
proposed it oversee the undertaking of the House's annual compensation
and diversity study, in part to record staff job satisfaction, benefits
and compensation satisfaction, and perceptions of their workplace
diversity climate. These suggestions are reasonable, and we commend
them to you.
The purpose of gathering and publishing this information on staff
diversity is to strengthen the pipeline of capable and diverse staff
hired and retained by the Senate by providing information about the
current stay of play. This will let us know how the Senate is doing as
an institution and suggest where further improvements can be made. It
is not intended to draw public attention to the operations of any
particular office, nor should it intrude upon the privacy of any
individual.
We urge the committee to appropriate funds for the creation of its
own OD&I Office. The House established the OD&I as an independent
office, reporting directly to the authorizing committee, and has seen
immense success in its operations and information gathering. We do not
have a perspective on where to situate a Senate OD&I, although there is
value in having it be more visible and independent because that would
assist with its mission of supporting the hiring and retention of
capable, expert, diverse staff.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony to the committee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See, ``Racial Diversity Among Top Staff In Senate Personal
Offices'' p. 2. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
(August 2020). https://jointcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-
Senate-Report-Draft_08-21-20-5AM.pdf.
\2\ Dutton, Jane E. and Robert B. Duncan, ``Strategic Issue
Diagnosis and Creation of Momentum for Change.'' Strategic Management
Journal 8, no. 3 (1987): 279-295; Wiersma, Margarethe F. and Karen A.
Bantel, ``Top Management Team Demography and Corporate Strategic
Change.'' The Academy of Management Journal 35, no. 1 (March 1992): 91-
121; Maddock, Su. ``Change You Can Believe In: The Leadership of
Innovation.'' The Whitehall Innovation Hub, Sunningdale Institute,
National School of Government. (April 2009) https://
www.researchgate.net/publication/
264541467_Change_you_can_believe_in_the_
leadership_of_innovation.
\3\ See, H. Res 6 (116th), section 104(d) (p. 40), https://
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116hres6eh/pdf/BILLS-116hres6eh.pdf.
\4\ See, Section by Section Analysis of H. Res 6 (116th Congress),
House Rules Committee p. 11 at https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/
20181231/116-HRes6-SxS-U1.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
______
Prepared Statement of National Security Counselors
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and members of the Legislative
Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
submit this written testimony.
The Government Accountability Office plays a critical role in
Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch. Unfortunately, that
role may be stymied when it comes to the Intelligence Community
(``IC''). Despite the fact that, by statute, GAO already has the
purview to conduct oversight of all Federal agencies \1\ and has since
its creation in 1921,\2\ the IC has, with a few exceptions, insisted
that it is not subject to such audits since its inception. This
effectively deprives Congress of one of the most effective tools in its
arsenal, especially at a time when the activities of the IC present
some of the most pressing needs for robust oversight in the Executive
Branch. I respectfully recommend that Congress take steps to
conclusively validate GAO's jurisdiction in such matters.
In response to the IC's recalcitrance, some Members of Congress
have periodically attempted to resolve the matter over the past few
decades. For instance, then-Congressman Leon Panetta introduced a bill
in 1987 called the CIA Accountability Act to officially clarify GAO's
authority vis-a-vis the Central Intelligence Agency (``CIA'') and the
IC as a whole.\3\ Unfortunately, it was not enacted. In 1988, GAO
attempted to conduct an investigation ``[i]n order to evaluate whether
`information about illegal activities by high level officials of other
nations may not be adequately considered in U.S. foreign policy
decisions,''' leading the National Security Council to request an
opinion from the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel which
has been cited ever since:
We therefore conclude based on the nature of the GAO request
that the subject of the GAO investigation is the Executive's
discharge of its constitutional foreign policy
responsibilities, not its statutory responsibilities. The
subject is thus not ``a program or activity the Government
carries out under existing law,'' and it is beyond GAO's
authority under 31 U.S.C. Sec. 717(b) . . .
In addition to the infirmity in GAO's statutory authority to
pursue this investigation, we believe that GAO is specifically
precluded by statute from access to intelligence information.
In establishing by law the oversight relationship between the
intelligence committees and the executive branch, Congress
indicated that such oversight would be the exclusive means for
Congress to gain access to confidential intelligence
information in the possession of the executive branch.
This intelligence oversight system has been codified at 50
U.S.C. Sec. 413. That section sets forth requirements for the
Director of Central Intelligence, the heads of all other
Federal agencies involved in intelligence activities, and the
President to inform the Congress through the intelligence
committees (and in some circumstances the Speaker and minority
leader of the House of Representatives and the majority and
minority leaders of the Senate) of intelligence activities.\4\
Over two decades later, this fight was still underway. When an
amendment to the FY2010 Intelligence Authorization Act (``IAA'') sought
to reaffirm GAO authority, it prompted a veto threat in the form of a
letter from Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter
Orszag,\5\ which Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro thoroughly
refuted, demonstrating that ``[n]either the language of section 413 nor
its legislative history provides support for this position'' and that
the IC's resistance ``has greatly impeded GAO's work for the
intelligence committees and also jeopardizes some of GAO's work for
other committees of jurisdiction, including Armed Services,
Appropriations, Judiciary, and Foreign Relations, among others.'' \6\
Despite Mr. Dodaro's testimony, the enacted law took a middle-of-
the-road approach, stating that clarification was necessary but
deferring to the Executive for that clarification, instructing the
Director of National Intelligence (``DNI'') to ``issue a written
directive governing the access of the Comptroller General to
information in the possession of an element of the intelligence
community.'' \7\ The DNI, for his part, issued Intelligence Community
Directive 114 the following year, which reluctantly admitted that GAO
had some authority to investigate the IC, but adopted a severely
restrictive interpretation of the scope of that authority:
Information that falls within the purview of the congressional
intelligence oversight committees generally shall not be made
available to GAO to support a GAO audit or review of core
national intelligence capabilities and activities, which
include intelligence collection operations, intelligence
analyses and analytical techniques, counterintelligence
operations, and intelligence funding. IC elements may on a
case-by-case basis provide information in response to any GAO
requests not related to GAO audits or reviews of core national
intelligence capabilities and activities.\8\
In other words, GAO can investigate anything involving the IC that
the Intelligence Committees cannot, which amounts to basically nothing.
Moreover, this is not an academic dispute: in response to a question
about this matter from Congressman Yoder in 2018, Mr. Dodaro explained
that this remained an ongoing controversy, although the situation is
minimally better than it was before 2010:
Mr. YODER. Do you need additional support from Congress--
Mr. DODARO. Yes.
Mr. YODER [continuing]. Or direction to the intel agencies to
make sure they are aware that this is an authority you have?
Mr. DODARO. Yes, that would be helpful.\9\
When Mr. Dodaro testified before the House subcommittee in 2019
regarding GAO's FY2020 budget, Chairman Ryan again asked him about this
matter, and Mr. Dodaro again remarked that GAO needs ``the cooperation
of the Intelligence Community'' because GAO ``ha[s] more difficulties
when the request comes from non-intelligence committees,'' concluding,
``I think we could do more, particularly in the management area, and in
the investments that are made, in that area, whether there's good
return on the investments in all cases.'' \10\ And in his testimony
before that subcommittee in 2020, Mr. Dodaro testified, ``It's the same
status as it was last year. Congress could work with the Intelligence
Committees to provide better direction to the intelligence agencies to
cooperate with us.'' \11\
In fact, however, even the involvement of the Intelligence
Committees is not sufficient to overcome the IC's reliance on ICD 114
to obstruct meaningful GAO access. In a meeting in 2019 with staffers
from the House Legislative Branch and Defense Appropriations
subcommittees, a member of the Defense subcommittee's staff dismissed
the need for reform, arguing that IC components do not refuse GAO
requests for information if GAO was acting pursuant to an Intelligence
Committee request. That presumption is unfortunately false. One need
only consider the example of AR 13-5, the internal CIA regulation which
implements ICD 114. This regulation directly addresses the question of
how the Agency should respond to a GAO request for information when GAO
is acting under the direction of an Intelligence Committee:
As a general rule, if GAO makes a request on behalf of or to
obtain information responsive to a tasking by an intelligence
oversight committee, the [Point of Contact (``POC'')] will
ensure that the CIA response to GAO does not contain
information prohibited in paragraph b.(2)(c)(3) above.\12\ The
response to GAO shall indicate that information responsive to
the tasking, but not authorized for release to GAO under the
provisions of ICD 114, shall be made directly available to the
requesting intelligence oversight committee. The POC shall
prepare an additional response for the intelligence oversight
committee that contains information responsive to the committee
request, but not authorized for GAO access.\13\
In other words, if GAO asks CIA for any information which would
fall under the jurisdiction of an Intelligence Committee, CIA will
simply refuse to cooperate, but if an Intelligence Committee tasks GAO
to make the request, CIA will still refuse to provide the information
to GAO, but instead will send the information directly to the relevant
Intelligence Committee. In neither situation does GAO receive the
requested information.
GAO possesses significantly more resources and institutional
expertise in certain kinds of Executive Branch investigations than even
the most robust committee staff, and there is frankly no reason for
this arbitrary restriction on its authority. Congress gave the
Executive Branch a chance to establish reasonable limitations which
balanced the Executive's legitimate interests with one of the most
important functions of Congress-effective oversight. Instead of
crafting a reasonable policy, the DNI memorialized the IC's original
hard-line position.
I recommend this subcommittee include language to remove any doubt
concerning GAO's audit power over the IC by advancing a measure that
reStates Section 335 of the FY2010 IAA, as engrossed by the House of
Representatives in February 2010.\14\
Not only would taking such a measure resolve a longstanding
problem, but it would be revenue neutral, since it would not require
GAO to take on any more responsibilities than it already has; it would
only open the universe of matters it may investigate. When one
considers the fact that the number of GAO employees with Top Secret/
Sensitive Compartmented Information (``TS/SCI'') clearances is higher
than the combined number of staffers employed by both Intelligence
Committees, it is clear that these artificial restrictions on GAO's
authority are causing Congress to expend more financial and manpower
resources to accomplish less oversight over a significant portion of
the Executive Branch. In a time of crisis, when agencies across the
Government are spending vast amounts of time, money, and resources to
combat a once-in-a-century threat, it is more important that ever that
GAO be able to investigate allegations of governmental waste, fraud,
abuse, and violations of law wherever they may be found. It is time for
Congress to assert its prerogatives to protect its oversight
capabilities over all agencies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See 31 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 712, 717, 3523(a) (GAO has authority to
investigate each ``department, agency, or instrumentality of the United
States Government.'').
\2\ Budget and Accounting Act, Public Law 67-13, 42 Stat. 26, June
10, 1921 (``All departments and establishments shall furnish to the
Comptroller General such information regarding the powers, duties,
activities, organization, financial transactions, and methods of
business of their respective offices as he may from time to time
require of them.'').
\3\ H.R. 3603, available at https://fas.org/irp/eprint/panetta-
1987.pdf.
\4\ Investigative Authority of the General Accounting Office, 12
Op. Off. Legal Counsel 171 (1988).
\5\ Letter from Orszag to Feinstein of 3/15/10, available at
https://fas.org/irp/news/2010/03/omb031610.pdf.
\6\ Letter from Dodaro to Feinstein of 3/18/10, available at http:/
/www.pogoarchives.org/m/co/dodaro-letter-to-intel-committees-
20100318.pdf. Mr. Dodaro concluded that reaffirming GAO's authority in
this area ``would prove beneficial both to the conduct of oversight by
the intelligence committees and to the efficiency and effectiveness of
IC operations.''
\7\ 50 U.S.C. Sec. 3308.
\8\ ICD 114(D)(4)(b), available at https://www.dni.gov/files/
documents/ICD/ICD_114.pdf.
\9\ Legislative Branch Appropriations for 2019: Part 2, Fiscal Year
2019 Legislative Branch Appropriations Requests, Hearings before the
Subcomm. on the Legislative Branch of the House Comm. on
Appropriations, 115th Cong., 2d Sess. 310 (Apr. 25, 2018) (testimony of
Comp. Gen. Gene Dodaro) (testifying that GAO has been able to
investigate peripheral matters in the IC such as ``a facilities area''
and contract management in the last few years).
\10\ Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3WU2uZMlyk.
\11\ Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaRnD62qun4. Mr.
Dodaro's testimony last year reiterated the same point, see https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PQWaMSJG7Y.
\12\ That paragraph reads: Information that falls within the
purview of the congressional intelligence oversight committees
generally shall not be made available to GAO to support an audit or
review of intelligence collection operations; covert action;
intelligence capabilities related to national intelligence activities;
counterintelligence operations; intelligence analysis and analytical
techniques; intelligence sources and methods; or intelligence budgets
or funding; (including records or expenditures made under the authority
of 22 U.S.C. 2396(a)(8) or 10 U.S.C. 127, 7231 and 50 U.S.C. 403j(b)).
\13\ CIA, AR 13-5: Comptroller General Access to Information in the
Possession of the CIA, Sec. (b)(3), available at http://docs.house.gov/
meetings/AP/AP24/20200304/110517/HHRG-116-AP24-Wstate-McClanahanK-
20200304-SD001.pdf.
\14\ Available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr2701eh/
pdf/BILLS-111hr2701eh.pdf.
[This statement was submitted by LiKel McClanahan, Executive
Director]
______
Prepared Statement of Preservation Technologies, L.P.
issue
The Fiscal 2022 budget for the Library of Congress included
language regarding the mass deacidification program budget request:
``Preservation of the Collection.-The Committees recognize the Library
currently has over $2,000,000 available through September 30, 2022, for
the purposes of the de-acidification preservation program. Upon the
exhaustion or expiration of those funds, whichever comes first, the
Committees will evaluate the need for the continuation of the
program.'' The funds allocated for the mass deacidification program
will be exhausted before the end of this September. This testimony is a
request to continue funding for this program for fiscal 2023.
request to congress
We respectfully encourage Congress for Fiscal Year 2023 to
reinstate the mass deacidification line item as was included in Fiscal
Year 2021 for $3.0 million with the intention to focus on the
preservation of the remaining high value acidic titles expected to stay
in the Library's collections and for newly acquired acidic material
upon receipt by the Library.
justification
The Library of Congress has been a world leader in the development
and use of mass deacidification for preventive preservation of acidic
collections. The Library has used mass deacidification to preserve more
than five million acidic books and nearly 20 million acidic documents
in the past 22 years as part of a 30-year plan to preserve up to 7.5
million books identified as candidates for treatment. Acidic books have
pages that contain residual acid from the paper making process. The
acid turns the paper brittle, sometimes in just a matter of decades.
Deacidification is a chemical process that neutralizes the acid in
paper, thereby extending the useful life of books and documents by
hundreds of years. Institutions across the country benefit by using
this technology to preserve their collections.
The focus of the deacidification program has been to preserve
important book collections documenting American history, family
genealogy, literature, law, science, rare foreign titles, and nearly
all sections of the Library. Documents preserved from the Library's
Gold Manuscript collections include the NAACP archives including Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s papers and also the Federal Writers Project, part of
the depression era Works Progress Administration (WPA) featuring
authors like Eudora Welty and William Faulkner.
The Library proposed for FY 2021 to stop the deacidification
program and reassign the budget to other activities. The Library is
stopping the program too suddenly when there are still several hundred
thousand high value books and millions of manuscript pages considered
as top priority for preservation, and in a way that will ultimately
hurt the preservation programs of other important institutions.
Concluding the program by a controlled reduction is in the best
interest of the Library and its collections. Stopping the program cold
jeopardizes collections, jobs, and the long term preservation of books
and archives across the Nation.
As justification for closing the program, the Library has asserted
that storage at Fort Meade is more cost effective than deacidification.
This plan is flawed for several reasons:
Reduced temperature storage is not the same as deacidification.
--Reduced temperature storage slows but does not stop the chemical
reaction between acid and paper. The acidic paper will still
age much quicker than alkaline paper no matter how it is stored
and at any temperature. Deacidified paper will last 3-5 times
longer than acidic paper under all storage temperatures, and
the benefit of deacidification is further enhanced if stored at
lower temperatures.
--All modern paper is produced in an alkaline process.
Deacidification turns the older, acidic paper into alkaline
paper. To achieve the life extension equivalent to alkaline
paper, whether stored in the current stacks on the Hill or in
new storage at reduced temperatures, the acidic paper still
needs to be deacidified.
Cold storage is not a practical solution.
--The Library has consistently reported on the significant quantity
of important acidic material remaining in their collections--
more than 2 million books and millions of documents--that would
benefit from deacidification. Paper is acidic because of the
method of production, and acidic materials are distributed
throughout the collections in the Library. To send the
remaining millions of acidic books to cold storage requires the
Library to do what we are already doing--search for these books
one by one to extract them from the collections. Then they must
send them to perpetual cold storage instead of deacidifying and
returning them to stay with their collections.
--The other method would be to send entire collections into cold
storage as a way to make sure the acidic books are protected.
The projected cold storage capacity will not have nearly enough
space to allow this option.
--Neither method is practical. The Library has not indicated how to
deal with the remaining millions of acidic books and over what
time schedule. It should be clear that a significant quantity
will remain on the Hill for the foreseeable future continuing
to weaken from acidic attack.
Cold storage is not a guaranteed solution.
--There are cost and energy policies to consider. Using cold storage
to slow the rate of deterioration only works if the paper is
stored in cold conditions forever, incurring higher energy and
maintenance costs. It is easy to envision a future situation
when the temperature in the storage facility will be increased
either to save costs and/or to reduce energy consumption driven
by climate change, energy policy, or simple budget
requirements. The point is that deacidification fixes the
problem today for life. Cold storage reduces the problem only
as long as the storage temperature is cold.
The Library needs to continue the Fort Meade storage module program
because it is out of space for proper storage of its collections.
Reducing the temperature is better for all paper, but cold storage is
not a ``quick fix'' to eliminate the need to deacidify the collections.
The current modules at Fort Meade are already near their storage
capacity and still the stacks in the Capitol Hill complex are full.
Construction of new modules has been delayed by budget concerns. The
Library has testified that the rate of construction of new modules at
Fort Meade is unable to keep up with the acquisition rate of new
materials. This means the collections stored on the Hill will continue
to exist in roughly the same quantity and storage conditions for the
foreseeable future. Those acidic materials kept in the storage on
Capitol Hill for the next 20 years will be losing 100 years or more of
usable condition.
Recommendations to Congress:
Preservation of the most critical acidic books and unique
manuscript materials via deacidification should remain a priority for
the Library. Mass deacidification is the most effective and lowest cost
program for preserving the Library's acidic materials. For the past 20
years, Congress and the Library of Congress have been making the
financially responsible decision to use deacidification as the primary
method of preservation for our acidic collections. The best policy
would be to finish the program as originally envisioned. Recognizing
that the Library has other priorities, and it desires to retire the
program, we believe the best course is to allow for a controlled ramp
down rather than a hard stop to the program.
1. We respectfully request Congress reaffirm its strong support
for mass deacidification and direct the Library of Congress to continue
the program of mass deacidification to preserve the Library's unique
manuscript collections and the remaining high value acidic books.
2. We respectfully request Congress restore the line item for mass
deacidification and appropriate an amount of $3.0 million to fund this
program of mass deacidification for one additional year with the
intention to preserve the remaining ``Top Priority'' books as quickly
as possible to give maximum benefit to the collection before retiring
the program.
3. We respectfully request Congress to consider that cancelling
the deacidification program now would have a significant negative
impact on research institutions outside the Library. The Library is the
largest customer for deacidification services and establishes the
standards and the market for this technology for other institutions.
Current estimates are that 90 percent of culturally important materials
held outside the Library on acidic paper are at risk of loss and not
available in digital or other means of access. Programs to preserve
these materials are underway but not yet sufficiently developed.
Cancelling the Library's program effectively eliminates the
availability of the service to other institutions.
who we are
Preservation Technologies, L.P. is the recognized worldwide leader
in this field with the only technology capable of meeting the standards
for preservation by deacidification set by the Library of Congress.
From its headquarters location just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
Preservation Technologies provides preservation services, equipment,
and supplies to institutions throughout the U.S. and internationally.
In 2017, the company won the President's ``E'' Award for Export Service
presented by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
[This statement was submitted by James Burd, CEO]
______
Prepared Statement of Project On Government Oversight
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the Senate
Appropriations subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, thank you for
the opportunity to submit testimony on closing the gaps in legislative
branch inspectors general coverage and coordination. I am Liz
Hempowicz, director of public policy at the Project On Government
Oversight (POGO). POGO is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that
investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when
the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report
wrongdoing. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical,
and accountable Federal Government that safeguards constitutional
principles.
Inspectors general (IGs) provide independent, professional, and
nonpartisan oversight over various government operations, helping to
uncover evidence of waste, fraud, abuse, and malfeasance. The inspector
general system that was established for the executive branch in 1978
has largely been a success. Similarly independent watchdogs are also
uniquely positioned to provide objective oversight of legislative
branch components.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol
laid bare the urgent need to increase coordination across Congress and
its agencies related to cyber security and information sharing.
Currently, congressional information and technology is too often
managed on an ad-hoc basis and in multiple silos. The legislative
inspector general community is not immune to those challenges.
Within the legislative branch, there are a number of information,
technology, and cybersecurity gaps in inspector general coverage. There
are currently five inspectors general situated within legislative
branch agencies: the inspector general for the Library of Congress, the
inspector general for the United States Capitol Police, the inspector
general for the Government Accountability Office, the inspector general
for the Government Publishing Office, and the inspector general for the
Architect of the Capitol.\1\
However, significant offices remain without oversight, including
the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Office of Attending
Physician, and others. Additionally, while the rules of the House
establish an inspector general for the House of Representatives, there
is no similar inspector general overseeing the work of the Senate.\2\
And even when individual watchdogs are in place, gaps in the
legislative inspector general system can limit their efficacy. There is
no coordinating council for legislative branch inspectors general that
enables information sharing and the creation of best practices
standards, as the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and
Efficiency (CIGIE) does for executive branch IGs.\3\ Perhaps most
importantly, current legislative IGs may lack sufficient independence
to best enable rigorous oversight.\4\
With all of this in mind, I urge the Appropriations Committee to
request the Government Accountability Office to produce a report
examining the gaps in independent oversight within the legislative
branch inspector general system. Specifically, the report shall
determine these gaps, identify conflict areas and offices that are not
covered, and make recommendations around structures and best practices
to properly protect IG independence within the legislative branch,
using the executive branch as a model where it may be helpful. In doing
so, I would encourage the GAO to consult with CIGIE and other internal
and external stakeholders with expertise around inspectors general.
Given the urgency around these issues, I would recommend the committee
ask for such a report to be published no later than 180 days after the
passage of the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill.
Thank you again for the opportunity to submit this testimony.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Ben Wilhelm, Congressional Research Service, Appointment
Methods for Legislative Branch Inspectors General, IN11763 (September
28, 2021), 2, https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2021-09-
28_IN11763_00e696b72ee4f22f53ad6b5af75c55e7e2721847.pdf.
\2\ Rules of the House of Representatives, 117th Cong., Rules II-
III (February 2, 2021), https://rules.house.gov/sites/
democrats.rules.house.gov/files/117-House-Rules-Clerk.pdf.
\3\ 5 U.S.C. App. Sec. 11 (2022), https://www.law.cornell.edu/
uscode/text/5a/compiledact-95-452/
section-11.
\4\ To give executive branch inspectors general the requisite
independence, the Inspector General Act of 1978 includes a requirement
that inspector general nominees are selected ``without regard to
political affiliation and solely on the basis of integrity and
demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law,
management analysis, public administration, or investigations"; a
prohibition against the head of an agency from interfering in IG
investigations; and a dual reporting structure where an inspector
general reports to both the agency head and to Congress. 5 U.S.C. App.
Sec. 3 (2022), https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5a/compiledact-
95-452/section-3; Kathryn A. Francis and Michael Green, Congressional
Research Service, Federal Inspectors General: History, Characteristics,
and Recent Congressional Actions, R43814 (July 20, 2016), 5, 7, https:/
/www.everycrsreport.com/files/20160720_R43814_
c8b393d645313cc24a2b7a1bb8c1cb4abe072ccd.pdf; Restoring Independence:
Rebuilding the Federal Offices of Inspectors General: Hearing before
the House Oversight and Reform Committee subcommittee on Government
Operations, 117th Cong, 1, (April 20, 2021) (testimony of Liz
Hempowicz, director of public policy, Project On Government Oversight,
https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/
Hempowicz%20Testimony.pdf.
[This statement was submitted by Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public
Policy]
______
Prepared Statement of Thomas Susman
Introduction. Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of
the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony
addressing the need to enhance public access to Legislative Branch
information. My name is Thomas Susman, and I am testifying today in my
personal capacity. I'm no stranger to either the Legislative Branch or
to transparency: I served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and various
subcommittee staffs for over 12 years and am currently on the boards of
a number of organizations whose mission is to enhance public access to
government information, including Open The Government, the National
Freedom of Information Coalition, and the D.C. Open Government
Coalition. By way of background, as a Senate staffer I helped shepherd
through the post-Watergate amendments to the Freedom of Information Act
in 1974 that largely created the law we know today and have been
involved in access-to-information matters ever since.
background
The Federal Advisory Committee on the Freedom of Information Act,
appointed by the Archivist of the United States and comprised of an
equal number of government and private sector representatives, adopted
the following recommendation \1\ by unanimous vote in November 2020:
Congress should adopt rules or enact legislation to establish
procedures for effecting public access to legislative branch
records in the possession of congressional support offices and
agencies modeled after those procedures contained in the
Freedom of Information Act. These should include requirements
for proactive disclosure of certain information, procedures
governing public requests for records, time limits for
responding to requests, exemptions to be narrowly applied, and
an appeal from any initial decision to deny access.
Congress has, in many ways, historically been the most transparent
of the branches and in recent decades has taken additional steps to
increase public access to its work. Every congressional committee has a
website that contains bills and hearing transcripts, and every House
and Senate member has a website replete with information about the
member's positions, speeches, activities, and bills. Congressional
leadership offices publish details of the legislative agendas, and
Congress.gov provides online access to bills and legislative histories.
Congress has in many ways already taken steps to embrace transparency
in recognition of its importance to the public.
The legislatures of many States and foreign countries have long
been fully subject to the requirements of their access-to-information
laws. However, you will note that the recommendation quoted above does
not propose that the U.S Congress be subject to the Federal Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA); it recognizes and respects unique features of
the Legislative Branch and the special relationships that members have
with each other, with staff, and with constituents, as well as the
potential constitutional issues that application of the FOIA might
implicate. There are still, however, a number of steps that Congress
should take to enhance public understanding of legislation and the
legislative process, to improve accountability of some of its offices,
and to make its records more readily available to the public and media.
The case for greater transparency.--There is no principled reason
why the public's right to know should not apply to support offices and
agencies of the Congress, discussed in greater detail below. Most of
those offices perform functions similar or even identical to those
performed by executive branch entities that are fully covered by FOIA,
such as law enforcement (Capitol Police); auditing, buildings and
grounds maintenance (Architect of the Capitol); inspecting and
adjudicating (Government Accountability Office); budgeting
(Congressional Budget Office); publishing (Government Publishing
Office); enforcing rights (Office of Congressional Workplace Rights);
maintaining the library (Library of Congress); and performing research
and drafting reports (Congressional Research Service and Law Library of
Congress).
It is not just their functions that these legislative branch
entities have in common with their executive branch counterparts; they
are funded by the same taxpayer dollars that pay for executive
agencies, and they often have the same or greater impact on the lives
of individuals, the viability and profitability of businesses, and the
activities of all levels of government and all the political
subdivisions in our Nation. While confidential aspects of the lawmaking
process may merit special consideration, the routine work of government
does not.
Some of the congressional offices and support agencies understand
this message. The Government Accountability Office, although not
legally subject to FOIA, has adopted ``FOIA-like'' regulations. GAO
acknowledges that ``While GAO is not subject to the [FOIA] . . . GAO's
disclosure policy follows the spirit of the act consistent with its
duties and functions and responsibility to the Congress.'' GAO reports
and an array of other GAO resources are available online. And the U.S.
Copyright Office is fully subject to the FOIA and has adopted
regulations implementing the procedures for administering its
requirements.
I'd like to highlight two support agencies where Congress has
expressed concern in the past regarding public access to information
and where this Committee should press forward toward requiring that
information be more readily available to the public.
U.S. Capitol Police.--A call for greater transparency of the U.S.
Capitol Police (USCP) began before the events of January 6, 2021.
Congressional appropriators inserted language in the House report on
the 2021 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill calling for ``USCP
Information Sharing'' as follows:
While the USCP is not subject to the [FOIA] . . . the
Committee encourages the USCP to develop a policy and procedure
for the sharing of information that follows the spirit of the
Freedom of Information Act. This policy should be consistent
with, and not interfere with, USCP's primary function of
protecting the Congress.
The Joint Explanatory Statement echoed this refrain:
USCP Information Sharing.--The Department is encouraged to
continue increasing its efforts to communicate with Members of
Congress, congressional employees, and the public about events
occurring around the Capitol complex in a manner that is
consistent with and does not interfere with its primary mission
of protecting the Congress and the legislative process.
After January 6, 2021, the calls for greater public access to USCP
information increased, and last year congressional appropriators once
again, this time in more forceful terms, included language in the House
report of the 2022 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bills, which
directed:
USCP Information Sharing.--While the USCP is not subject to the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 USC 552), the Committee
directs the USCP to develop a policy and procedure for the
sharing of information that follows the spirit of the Freedom
of Information Act. This policy should be consistent with, and
not interfere with, USCP's primary function of protecting the
Congress.
The Joint Explanatory Statement repeated the call for information
sharing:
USCP Information Sharing.--The Department is encouraged to continue
increasing its efforts to communicate with Members of Congress,
congressional employees, and the public about events occurring around
the Capitol complex in a manner that is consistent with and does not
interfere with its primary mission of protecting the Congress and the
legislative process.
Police departments across the country are waking up to the value of
increasing transparency; it may be time for a wake-up call for the USCP
in next year's appropriations bill with clearer and even stronger
direction to USCP to move forward with a FOIA-like information access
regime.
Congressional Research Service.--The Congressional Research Service
(CRS) of the Library of Congress has been producing informative reports
for decades. And the public--also for decades--has been denied direct,
full access to that body of taxpayer-funded knowledge. Yes, there has
been significant progress, made at the direction and encouragement of
this committee. But there is still a long way to go. Historical CRS
reports need to be proactively available to the public online. They are
already digitized by-and-large, so the next step of providing the
public access to all these reports is but an easy one--and one that
Congress should mandate. This is not a call for public availability of
confidential CRS reports, but rather the ones that already can be
shared with any staffer who asks. For a model of what can be
accomplished, look to the Law Library of Congress, which undertook a
digitization and online publication effort for its Legal Reports, with
thousands of reports now online from the 1940s forward and with efforts
to publish additional historical reports on the internet that continue
on a rolling basis.
Proactive disclosure.--Beyond CRS reports, there are other sets of
records that should routinely be made available to the public without
the need for a request. Examples include the following: Legislative
Branch inspectors general reports; Congressional Budget Office
conflicts-of-interest disclosure forms; Legislative Branch budget
justifications and semiannual reports; and unclassified reports from
agencies to Congress. Some of these documents are already published
online, but that practice should be consistent and universal.
Conclusion and recommendations.--In proposing to expand access to
Legislative Branch records--both through FOIA-like procedures and
through proactive disclosure on a congressional website--I am mindful
that there may be a need for redaction of specific information that may
involve disclosing classified matters, revealing ongoing criminal
investigations, or constituting a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy. Every access regime respects the need to protect
certain categories of information. In addition, there may be
circumstances that are unique to the legislative branch that would
require further investigation prior to implementation.
Accordingly, I encourage the Committee to charge the GAO, which has
the most robust FOIA-like process, to make recommendations for applying
a FOIA-like process to congressional support offices and agencies. This
analysis should exclude the personal, committee, and leadership offices
in the House and Senate. I recommend the following report language:
Public Records Information Sharing for Legislative Agencies Based
on FOIA Advisory Committee Recommendations.--Within 180 days, the
Government Accountability Office shall make recommendations to the
House and Senate Legislative Branch Appropriations committees, the
Committee on House Administration, the Senate Rules Committee, and
publish on its website recommendations concerning the creation and
implementation of a uniform public records request process for
congressional support offices and agencies modeled after the Freedom of
Information Act and inspired by the recommendations of the FOIA
Advisory Committee. In constructing an implementation plan, the GAO
shall consult with the FOIA Advisory Committee, experts on the Freedom
of Information Act, representatives of civil society and the press,
affected congressional offices and agencies, and others as it deems
fit. The GAO shall recommend statutory language and regulations to
implement a public records request-and-appeals process that vindicates
the public's right to know to the maximum extent practicable, sets
standards for information that an agency should proactively disclose,
establishes uniform processes and standards to all congressional
support offices and agencies, and provides for independent review of
agency determinations consistent with our constitutional framework.
Congress has come a long way in opening its proceedings and records
to access by the public. But its work is not complete, and this
subcommittee has the jurisdiction and authority to press forward to the
next level of legislative transparency.
I appreciate the opportunity to present this testimony.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Recommendation 2021-01 available from the National Archives
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at https://
www.archives.gov/files/ogis/assets/fac-rec-2021-01.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
______
Prepared Statement of Verdance LLC
Chair Reed, Chair Leahy, Ranking Member Braun, Vice Chair Shelby,
and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to submit
testimony on establishing a Task Force to study how and whether
Congress should create a Congressional Digital Service.
My name is Alex Prokop, and I am a public interest technologist. I
was a software engineer on the team that rebuilt HealthCare.gov in the
wake of its technology failure. In 2020 and 2021, I had the opportunity
to serve the House Select Committee for the Modernization of Congress
as a digital service fellow under Chairman Kilmer and Ranking Member
Graves. Last year, I founded a company called Verdance to pursue the
mission of making government digital services more adaptable,
efficient, and effective.
Over the past 2 years, Congress has made laudable technology
improvements. The Senate Sergeant At Arms developed the e-signature
tool Quill that now is successfully deployed in both chambers, making
digital signatures on sign-on letters commonplace. Additionally, the
Senate has successfully implemented remote and hybrid hearings. The
Senate should build on this progress and position legislative branch
technology for transformational change.
I urge the committee to establish a Congressional Digital Service
Task Force, which also has been recommended by the House Select
Committee on the Modernization of Congress.\1\ The purpose of this task
force would be to assess and evaluate the technology challenges across
the entirety of the Legislative branch, to evaluate the various
approaches to ensuring Congressional technology evolves at a healthy
pace and meets Congress's institutional challenges, and to make
recommendations on how best to constitute a Congressional Digital
Service that serves the entirety of the Legislative branch.
The list of potential challenges for a digital service team is
long, but here are a few:
A Congressional Digital Service could act as a bridge to create
software tools shared by chambers and offices.
The Senate, House, and support office and agency technology
ecosystems are almost completely fractured. Even for broadly comparable
needs, the Senate and House develop their own solutions. The rollout of
Quill was one bright moment of successful technology collaboration. A
properly empowered Congressional Digital Service would ensure that
Quill is an exemplar of things to come, and that Congress can share and
co-develop technology between the chambers and offices where
appropriate, creating cost savings and increasing productivity.
A Congressional Digital Service could develop a unified cloud services
strategy for the Congressional technology ecosystem.
The Legislative branch currently lacks a consistent and mature
approach to cloud hosting of software systems. Cloud hosting offers
many cost and efficiency savings over on-premise services and will
unlock the development of new, productivity-increasing tools, which is
why the private sector and many executive branch agencies have long ago
moved many of their systems to the cloud. Despite some progress,
Legislative branch offices and agencies have yet to widely adopt cloud
hosting services as a leading choice for new systems. A Congressional
Digital Service could consult with offices and develop a unified cloud
strategy--it is unlikely that one will come to exist otherwise.
A Congressional Digital Service could assess unserved committee
technology needs.
Committees have inconsistent support concerning putting together
their technology toolset. While there are bespoke projects, so far
there is not yet a comprehensive look across committee needs to
discover where the biggest common pain points and potential solutions
are. A Congressional Digital Service could spearhead such an effort and
uncover tools to save taxpayer dollars and streamline committee
operations.
A Congressional Digital Service could help fill gaps in legislative
processes that are currently unsupported by digital tools.
The absence of digital tools supporting some Congressional
processes wastes valuable staff time and causes avoidable errors. House
Majority Leader Hoyer and Leader McCarthy sponsored a Congressional
Hackathon in April 2022. At the hackathon, a team of Congressional
staff and technologists outlined a list of technology gaps. A
Congressional Digital Service could identify those gaps on an ongoing
basis, and ensure that the right bridges are built between offices to
handle them.
A Congressional Digital Service could create a standing, high level
technology capacity to support Congress in times of crisis.
Investment in a modern digital service organization will give the
Legislative branch needed standing capacity to solve urgent
technological needs as they arise. The U.S. Digital Service was
established in the wake of the HealthCare.gov crisis, and serves as a
non-partisan home for expert technologists in the executive branch. The
injection of talent it provided has kept many tech issues from reaching
front-page status across both Democratic and Republican
administrations. Last year, many compared the launch of CovidTests.gov
to the launch of HealthCare.gov. Where the latter was famously unusable
for weeks after launch, the former delivered on its promises from day
one, and did not suffer downtime or major glitches. When the urgent
need arose, expert U.S. Digital Service staff was already in place to
connect the dots between organizations to handle it. Congress will face
such moments in the future, and a Congressional Digital Service would
bolster this branch with needed high-level technology capacity.
Since the U.S. Digital Service was started in 2014, many States and
cities have started their own digital service offices. These digital
service organizations are not cure-alls, but on balance and over the
long term we have seen government technology capacity increase
dramatically since 2014 as a result of digital service offices and
initiatives. If properly constituted, empowered, and funded, a
Congressional Digital Service could play the same role in the
Legislative branch. We believe the committee should create a task force
composed of internal and external stakeholders to study how to properly
constitute a Congressional Digital Service and make recommendations to
you.
We recommend the following report language to accomplish this
purpose:
Congressional Digital Service Task Force.--Congressional
operations depend upon technology, but the Legislative branch
is often insufficiently empowered and coordinated when it comes
to purchasing technology and providing technological services.
The Executive branch responded to similar operational
challenges by creating the U.S. Digital Service, which hires
technologists to build tools that make government work better
for the American people. We note with favor the recent creation
of the Congressional Digital Service within the House's Chief
Administrative Office. A more expansive, sophisticated, and
coordinated approach to the provision of technology and
technological services across the Legislative branch would help
members better serve their constituents.
To address these and other questions, the committee directs the
establishment of a Congressional Digital Services Task Force
composed of staff representatives of the Secretary of the
Senate; the Senate Sergeant at Arms; Member, Committee, and
Leadership offices; the Library of Congress; the Congressional
Research Service; the Government Publishing Office; the
Government Accountability Office; and such other congressional
offices as may be appropriate and invites the participation of
public stakeholders and representatives from appropriate
offices in the House to examine these and any additional issues
it considers relevant and to provide a report to the committee
within 180 days that also shall be made publicly available.
Thank you once again for the opportunity to provide testimony to
the Committee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress--116th
Congress Recommendations, 95th recommendation https://
modernizecongress.house.gov/116th-recommendations.
[This statement was submitted by LiAlex Prokop, Founder]
LIST OF WITNESSES, COMMUNICATIONS, AND PREPARED STATEMENTS
----------
Page
American:
Association of Law Libraries, Prepared Statement of the...... 77
Bar Association, Prepared Statement of....................... 79
Library Association, Prepared Statement of................... 80
Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action), Prepared Statement
of............................................................. 81
Blanton, J. Brett, Architect of the Capitol:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 24
Statement of................................................. 23
Braun, Senator Mike, U.S. Senator From Indiana:
Opening Statement of......................................... 44
Statement of................................................. 9
Demand Progress, Prepared Statement of........................... 82
Dodaro, Hon. Gene, U.S. Comptroller General, Government
Accountability Office, Statement of............................ 51
Gibson, Hon. Karen H., General, Sergeant at Arms, Senate Sergeant
at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 12
Statement of................................................. 10
Hayden, Hon. Dr. Carla, The Librarian of Congress:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 47
Statement of................................................. 46
Lincoln Network, Prepared Statement of........................... 84
National:
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
(NALEO), Prepared Statement of............................. 86
Security Counselors, Prepared Statement of................... 87
Preservation Technologies, L.P., Prepared Statement of........... 90
Project on Government Oversight, Prepared Statement of........... 92
Reed, Senator Jack, U.S. Senator From Rhode Island, Opening
Statement of
Susman, Thomas, Prepared Statement of............................ 93
Swagel, Phillips, Director of the Congressional Budget Office,
Prepared Statement of.......................................... 1
Verdance LLC, Prepared Statement of.............................. 96
SUBJECT INDEX
----------
Page
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Additional Committee Questions................................... 40
Architect of the Capitol......................................... 23
I. GPrioritizing Physical Security Projects.................. 25
II. GTackling Aging Infrastructure with Technological
Approaches................................................. 26
III. GSupporting Safety Standards and Solutions.............. 26
IV. GSenate Priorities and Programs.......................... 27
V. GSustaining our Commitment to Future Generations.......... 29
VI. GPandemic Procurement and Preparedness................... 30
__________
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
Additional Committee Questions................................... 40
Answers to Questions for the Record.............................. 41
CBO's Appropriation Request for Fiscal Year 2023................. 2
Enhancing Transparency....................................... 5
Figure 1--Components of Requested $3.7 Million Increase...... 4
Strengthening Responsiveness................................. 4
Table 1--The Congressional Budget Office's Major Products,
Calendar Years 2021 to 2023................................ 5
__________
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Additional Committee Questions................................... 75
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request.................................. 54
Concluding Remarks........................................... 62
GAO's Mission................................................ 65
Highlights from FY 2021 and Recent Results................... 60
Table 1: FY 2021-2023 Summary of Resources by Program........ 56
__________
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Additional Committee Questions................................... 75
Continuing Stabilization and Optimization of Financial
Infrastructure................................................. 50
Expanding Active Engagement With Visitors to the Library......... 50
Library of Congress:
Library Reopening............................................ 67
Mitigating Inflation......................................... 70
Security Coordination Post January 6......................... 66
Strengthening Data Analysis Expertise in Life Cycle Costing and
Cost Estimating as well as in Evaluating and Setting Copyright
Fees........................................................... 51
Sustaining Continuous Technology Innovation and Delivery......... 49
Veterans History Project..................................... 73
Welcoming Visitors Post COVID................................ 69
__________
SENATE SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE
Additional Committee Questions................................... 40
Capitol Operations............................................... 12
Chief Information Officer (CIO).................................. 13
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)................................ 16
Executive Office................................................. 16
Executive Office Acquisitions Department......................... 16
Human Resources (HR) Department.................................. 17
Office of Security, Emergency Preparedness & Continuity (OSEPC).. 17
Page Program..................................................... 17
Support Operations............................................... 21
[all]