[Senate Hearing 118-539]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 118-539
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
=======================================================================
HEARINGS
before a
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
on
H.R. 4364/S. 2302
AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH FOR THE FISCAL
YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2024, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
__________
Architect of the Capitol
Congressional Budget Office
Government Accountability Office
Government Publishing Office
Library of Congress
United States Capitol Police
United States Senate Sergeant at Arms
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations
GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT
Available via the World Wide Web: https://www.govinfo.gov
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
50-527 PDF WASHINGTON : 2024
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
PATTY MURRAY, Washington, Chair
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California \1\ SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine, Vice
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois Chair
JACK REED, Rhode Island MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
JON TESTER, Montana LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon JERRY MORAN, Kansas
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut Virginia
JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
GARY PETERS, Michigan KATIE BRITT, Alabama
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona \2\ MARCO RUBIO, Florida
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
Evan Schatz, Staff Director
Elizabeth McDonnell, Minority Staff Director
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Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch
JACK REED, Rhode Island, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut DEB FISCHER, Nebraska, Ranking
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland Member
MARCO RUBIO, Florida
Professional Staff
Richard Braddock
Maria Calderon
Lucas Agnew (Minority)
Molly McCarty (Minority)
Administrative Support
Ann Tait Hall
\1\ Died September 29, 2023.
\2\ Appointed to Committee October 18, 2023.
\3\ Appointed to Subcommittee November 2, 2023. deg.
C O N T E N T S
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hearings
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Page
Government Accountability Office................................. 1
Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 6
Statement of............................................. 3
Government Publishing Office..................................... 1
Honorable Hugh N. Halpern, Director:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 27
Statement of............................................. 26
Congressional Budget Office...................................... 1
Honorable Dr. Phillip Swagel, Director:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 31
Statement of............................................. 29
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Library of Congress.............................................. 47
Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 51
Statement of............................................. 49
Architect of the Capitol......................................... 47
Chere Rexroat, Acting Architect of the Capitol:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 61
Statement of............................................. 60
Wednesday, April 25, 2023
United States Senate Sergeant at Arms andDoorkeeper.............. 73
Honorable Karen H. Gibson:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 77
Statement of............................................. 75
United States Capitol Police..................................... 73
Chief J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 92
Statement of............................................. 90
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back matter
List of Witnesses, Communications, and Prepared Statements....... 107
Subject Index:
Architect of the Capitol..................................... 109
Congressional Budget Office.................................. 109
Government Accountability Office............................. 109
Library of Congress.......................................... 109
United States Capitol Police................................. 110
United States Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper......... 110
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:01 a.m., in room SD-138, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jack Reed (Chairman), presiding.
Present: Senators Reed and Fischer.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE AND
THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
opening statement of senator jack reed
Senator Reed. 2024 budget hearing, for the Legislative
Branch Appropriations Subcommittee.
I would like to welcome the Ranking Member, Senator
Fischer, to the Appropriations Committee, and our subcommittee.
As the Ranking Member of the Committee on Rules, she brings to
this new role a wealth of knowledge about the operations of the
Senate and its support agencies.
And I know from serving with her on the Armed Services
Committee, that she is a diligent worker, and a principal
partner. I am delighted to be working with her, and the other
Members of the subcommittee, in crafting responsible funding
legislation that supports the Legislative Branch.
Today, we have with us the Comptroller General, Gene
Dodaro; Director Halpern; and Director Phillip Swagel. I would
like to thank you for joining us to testify on your agency's
fiscal year 2024 budget.
I ask unanimous consent that the witnesses' written
testimony be placed in the hearing record.
Hearing no objection, so ordered.
Again, let me begin by thanking the women and men of your
agencies who work every day to facilitate the work of the
Senate. Your agencies play key roles in ensuring that the
Senate can perform its constitutional responsibilities.
The Legislative Branch agencies have submitted to fiscal
year 2024 budget request, that account for a $259-million
increase over the fiscal year 2023 Legislative Branch
Appropriations. While it is a priority to fund the important
work of this Branch, we will be carefully considering these
requests to ensure they continue to improve our ability to meet
our responsibilities to govern effectively.
In fiscal year 2024, the GAO is requesting $859.7 million
in appropriated funds, which is an increase of $69.4 million
over the fiscal year 2023 enacted level. The request proposes
increasing the agencies' staffing level to 3,675 personnel, to
fill critical skill gaps, and fulfill the GAO's mission to
support Congress.
With the mandate required of the GAO to oversee spending of
pandemic and Ukraine assistance funding, as well as many other
mandates to conduct audits and assessments of Federal programs,
the GAO's workload continues to grow.
The agencies' request also includes funding to continue
building GAO's Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics
team to provide Congress with the most critical current
information about technology. The GAO performs critical work on
behalf of the Senate, and I look forward to hearing from
Comptroller General Dodaro on his agency's work.
Today, we will also be reviewing the Government Printing
Office request. The GPO is seeking an appropriation of $132.5
million in fiscal year 2024, which is an increase of $2.6
million over the fiscal year 2023 enacted level. The agency's
request includes funding to continue its transformation to
digital technologies which have increased productivity and
reduce cost while facilitating public access to Congressional
and other Government information.
The work that the agency performs on a daily basis for the
Senate is critical, and I look forward to the Director's
testimony.
And we will also hear from the Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO plays an important nonpartisan role as it tries to
provide clear, and objective, timely analysis, and reporting on
budgetary and economic information for the Congress.
The agency's fiscal year 2024 budget request of $70.8
million, which is an increase of $7.5 million over fiscal year
2023 enacted levels. This increase provides salary and benefits
for 11 new positions that are intended to continue to improve
the responsiveness of the agency to the Congress so that
Legislative work can be informed by the important information
provided by the agency. The increase also provides funding to
improve the agency's cyber security infrastructure.
Director Swagel and I have discussed the importance of the
CBO's work, and how critical a timely response to Congressional
requests is to our ability to conduct our work. I look forward
to hearing about the innovative things the agency is doing to
meet customer service expectations.
With that said, the goal of the Senate Appropriations
Committee is to return to normal order for appropriations
bills. As such, this subcommittee will be aggressively working
to produce a thoughtfully crafted bill that can be considered
by the Full Committee and the Senate in the coming months.
I look forward to the testimony of our witnesses, and to
working with Senator Fischer towards this goal.
And now, I will return to the Ranking Member, Senator
Fischer, for any remarks she might have. Thank you.
opening statement of senator deb fischer
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This is my first hearing with the Appropriations Committee,
and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as Ranking
Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.
Chairman Reed, I have greatly enjoyed serving with you on
the Armed Services Committee. I look forward to working with
you on this subcommittee and crafting a fiscally responsible
bill that will meet the needs of our agencies and their work to
support the Congress.
I would like to thank the three witnesses for appearing
before the subcommittee today, and for their testimony.
Before I discuss the specific details of your budget
requests, I must note that we are entering an uncertain budget
cycle. After years of significant spending increases the
Federal Government, as a whole, must exercise more fiscal
constraint. Throughout this year's appropriations process we
need to be good stewards of taxpayer funds, and make
investments where they are truly needed.
Mr. Dodaro, as the Comptroller of the United States, you
play a critical role in providing oversight of Government
spending and finding needed improvements in Federal programs.
For fiscal year 2024, the GAO seeks an increase of $69 million.
This is a sizable request. I would like to hear from you how
this proposed increase will expand audit capacity, and provide
greater oversight of the Executive Branch.
Dr. Swagel, the Congressional Budget Office--or the
Congressional Budget Office's fiscal year 2024 request focuses
on hiring new staff and building increased IT capacities. In
your testimony I hope to hear how these proposed increases will
improve CBO's forecasting accuracy and responsiveness to
Congress.
Mr. Halpern, the Government Publishing Office serves a much
needed role in producing and preserving the official documents
of the Federal Government. The GPO's budget request continues
funding the transition to digital technologies that will
achieve savings, while also increasing transparency for the
American public. I look forward to learning more about these
efforts in your testimony.
Again, thank you, to our witnesses for being here today, I
expect to have a productive conversation on these budget
requests.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Fischer.
I would like to first recognize, Comptroller General
Dodaro, and then Director Halpern; and then, finally, Director
Swagel.
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THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
STATEMENT OF HON. GENE L. DODARO, COMPTROLLER GENERAL,
THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE
General Dodaro. Thanks very much Mr. Chairman, good
afternoon to you. Ranking Member, Senator Fischer, good
afternoon. I am very pleased to be here to discuss GAO's
request for fiscal year 2024.
First, I want to thank this Committee for its past support
of GAO's work. I believe we have provided a good return on
investment. Last year as a result of the implementation of our
recommendations there were financial benefits to the government
of over $55 billion. And on average over the last 5 years, we
have returned $145 to every dollar spent on GAO.
Our work, for example, pointing out overlap duplication and
fragmentation in the Federal Government is now in its 12th
year. In the first 11 years, there have been financial savings
of $552 billion. So we have passed the half-trillion mark in
that area.
Our work continues to be in high demand. We provide
services to over 90 percent of the standing Congressional
Committees as Members, Chairs, and Ranking Members request
work. Our list of statutory mandates continues to grow. There
are 158 mandates in the National Defense Authorization Act for
this year and almost 100 mandates in the Consolidated
Appropriations Act for 2023. There are 35 mandates in the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation
Reduction Act requires GAO oversight. So far we have 32
engagements ongoing or planned in that area.
Mr. Chairman you mentioned the work in the Ukraine, where
we were directed to provide oversight of the Federal assistance
provided. We will be tracking military aid and humanitarian
assistance, and looking at the replenishment at DOD of the
military equipment provided to Ukraine.
Also, recently, given the banking situation over the
weekend, another mandate that GAO has will be triggered because
we have to look at any designation of systemic risk made by the
regulators. We also, during a global financial crisis, received
statutory authority to review any Fed Emergency Lending
Facility. So we will be looking at the lending facility the Fed
recently set up. The CHIPS Bill had about 10 mandates for us as
well.
So demand, as you point out, Mr. Chairman, continues to
grow. And I think it is a good thing because the list of our
domestic and international issues continue to grow. GAO can
provide good assistance to the Congress in addressing these
pressing national issues.
Now, Senator Fischer, of the 165 new FTEs that we want;
there are four areas that I would like to increase our
resources in. One is the science and technology area. Congress
gave GAO the responsibility to conduct technology assessments.
We are currently conducting assessments of forensic attribution
of chemical weapons, regenerative medicine, and precision
agriculture, which is one of the requirements in the CHIPS Act.
And we will conduct a technology assessment of satellite
defense technologies.
The use of artificial intelligence, biotechnology,
decarbonization technologies, and other technologies is
increasing faster than any time in human history. It is very
important that GAO provide these technology assessments to the
Congress so they can make timely and informed decisions.
Second, is National Defense: In addition to the Ukraine
assistance that we will examine, there are 158 mandates in the
National Defense Authorization Act. We have deep knowledge in
every service in the DOD. For example, we are looking at the
Air Force Modernization and the Nuclear Command Control
Communication Systems.
I would like to do more work in the readiness of the Guard
and the Reserve and in the recruitment areas. We have noted the
Army is having recruitment problems and the Air Force just
noted some recruitment problems as well. So there is much more
work to do, particularly as we strive to maintain our
competitive advantage against competitors in China, Russia, and
others. So I think that is very important.
Third, is cyber security: We have been advocating for many
years that we have a national cyber security strategy. The
Administration just issued one, but the government needs an
implementation plan to make sure it is implemented effectively.
GAO has deep knowledge in cyber security and can help to
examine this important area.
The last area I will mention is health care. Health care
costs are growing faster than any other part of the Federal
Government. And if we are going to get control over our budget
deficit and cumulative debt we must do more work to control
spending in the health care area. We have a lot of suggestions
on ways to save in that area, and can help Congress figure out
how to control those costs.
So thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Senator Fischer. I
would be happy to answer questions at the appropriate time.
[The statement follows:]
GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT
Senator Reed. Thank you, very much Comptroller General.
Director Halpern, please.
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THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
STATEMENT OF HON. HUGH N. HALPERN, DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT
PUBLISHING OFFICE
Mr. Halpern. Thank you, Mr. Chairman; Ranking Member
Fischer.
I would note, this is also my first hearing before the
Senate Appropriations Committee, so I am very happy to be here.
For fiscal year 2024, GPO is requesting about $132.5
million in appropriated funds, which is, overall, about a 2
percent increase, well below the level of inflation.
As you know GPO operates very much as a commercial
enterprise, about 88 percent of our, more than a billion-dollar
annual budget comes from directly billing our other Federal
customers. Of the three categories covered by our
appropriations request the largest is what funds Congress' own
needs.
Based on our experience we estimate that we will need about
$83 million for Congress' printing and publishing work during
fiscal year 2024. That will cover everything from the
Congressional record, bills, reports, hearings, and more
specialized publications, stationery, and unique materials,
such as the blank books that the Senate and the House use to
keep the journal.
The second category of funding is for GPO's public
information programs. We are requesting about $37 million to
fund the Federal Depository Library Program, and support the
operation of GovInfo, the world's only ISO-certified, trusted
digital repository.
Our partnership with about 1,100 libraries nationwide, and
continued investment in our digital offerings, ensures that
government documents are easily available regardless of how you
get them. This request also, notably, includes funding to
implement the recently enacted access to Congressionally
Mandated Reports Act.
Lastly, we are requesting a direct appropriation of about
$12.1 million to our revolving fund to support a few specific
agency initiatives, and that is an increase of less than $0.5
million from our last appropriation.
The specific appropriation funds the continued development
of XPub, our next-generation composition engine, among some
other priorities. This is a major agency initiative central to
our own modernization efforts, and those of our customers that
use our software in their printing stack.
I am proud that last fall XPub released the--reached the
Release 1.0 stage, and is now in testing with our customers in
the Senate, and House Offices of Legislative Council.
It is my sincere hope that our customers will be
comfortable enough to start using XPub to produce bills,
resolutions, and amendments as early as this summer. Once it
enters production, we will see new capabilities come online,
such as fully responsive and formatted text view of
legislation, which will allow that output to be repurposed for
any number of purposes
So with that, I will wrap up, and just thank you, on behalf
of myself, and everybody at GPO, our 1,600 craftspeople and
professionals; to thank you for your past support, and support
in the future.
And I am ready to answer any questions you may have.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of The Honorable Hugh Nathanial Halpern
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
Subcommittee, I am honored to present the Government Publishing
Office's (GPO's) fiscal year 2024 appropriations request. I thank you
and your staff for your past support of GPO and I look forward to
working closely with you during my time as Director. For the coming
fiscal year, I am requesting appropriations in the amount of
$132,488,000, an increase of $2,634,000 over our FY 2023 appropriation.
This marks just the third time in a decade that GPO has requested
an increase in appropriated funds and incorporates increased costs in
labor and materials, while accommodating certain initiatives of
importance to Congress. Our FY 2024 request represents a 2 percent
increase over FY 2023, less than a third of the increase in the
consumer price index during calendar year 2022. It is also 10.2 percent
lower than the Agency's all-time high appropriation of $147.5 million
in FY 2010.
GPO runs as a business enterprise and appropriated funds represent
a comparatively small portion of GPO's overall revenue and operating
capital. Over 88 percent--or $934 million--of GPO's FY 2022 revenue of
$1.06 billion came from billings of its other Federal customers,
including the State Department, the courts, the Department of Defense,
and many others. For FY 2024, we estimate that direct appropriations
may be an even smaller portion of our overall budget.
charting a course for the future in fy 2022
At GPO, fiscal year 2022 was one of significant accomplishment and
encouraging progress. After a challenging 2020, the Agency was able to
close out our books with a net positive income for the 2nd straight
year, retaining $26.2 million in FY 2022.
We are also proud that our efforts to modernize and build a dynamic
and welcoming workplace are starting to attract attention. Forbes
Magazine recently rated us--for the 2nd year running!--as one of
America's Best Midsize Employers after having also honored us as one of
the nation's Best Employers for Veterans in 2022.
To help chart a new course for our agency, in FY 2022 we released
an ambitious five-year strategic plan for fiscal years 2023 through
2027 and updated our vision and mission statements to better reflect
GPO's role in our digital present. Today, GPO's vision is that of an
America Informed, and we aim to achieve our mission of publishing
trusted information for the Federal Government to the American people
guided by four key values--honesty, kindness, effectiveness, and
inclusiveness.
We also convened the Task Force on a Digital Federal Depository
Library Program (FDLP) to modernize the FDLP to meet the challenges of
the future. The Task Force issued recommendations in December and I
recently shared with Congress a set of legislative proposals consistent
with those recommendations.
During FY 2022, GPO completed the transition from the production of
the ePassport for the State Department to the Next Generation Passport
(NGP) Program. This transition reaffirmed the United States' position
as the global leader in the most innovative and secure international
travel credentials and concluded production of the ePassport after a
production run of more than 220 million units between 2007 and 2022.
All told we produced a total of 18,151,000 ePassports and NGPs in FY
2022.
GPO's single biggest challenge is maintaining a workforce prepared
to carry on its work well into the future. Fifty percent of our
workforce is eligible to retire in the next 4 years. That's one out of
every two proofreaders, presspeople, bookbinders, carpenters,
electricians, IT specialists, contracting officers, and a host of other
trades and professions working at GPO. To ensure that GPO continues to
attract and retain an exceptional workforce in the years ahead, we
established the Recent Graduates Program and restarted our
Apprenticeship Program in FY 2022.
We also readied ourselves to execute the requirements of the
Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, which directs GPO to build a
portal to make those reports publicly available, and we celebrated the
9 billionth retrieval of government information from Agency websites
since GPO began publishing government information in 1994.
Our Customer Services business unit awarded $477 million in
competitive contracts to private-sector printers nationwide supporting
thousands of jobs in all 50 states, and their biennial survey revealed
a customer satisfaction rate of 95.3 percent.
We produced tickets and credentials for the Supreme Court
nomination hearing of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and had the solemn
honor of creating the Lying In State Memorial Programs for
Representative Don E. Young, former Senate Majority Leader Harry M.
Reid, and former Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole.
And--for the 26th consecutive year--GPO's independent outside
auditor provided us with an unmodified, or clean, opinion on our annual
financial statements.
gpo's fy 2024 appropriations request
For FY 2024, GPO is requesting an $2,634,000 increase in
appropriations to $132,488,000. This increase will account for changes
in our labor and raw materials costs and also fund certain ongoing
projects of importance to congressional customers.
This would be GPO's only third proposed increase in appropriations
since FY 2014 and is actually 10.2 percent less than our FY 2010
appropriation. Increased productivity through the adoption of new
technologies has been key to keeping GPO's needs for appropriations
down, and providing new and improved services at lower costs.
One tool we used to keep our appropriations requests low was to
repurpose prior-year unexpended balances. We appreciate the willingness
of this Subcommittee and the Full Committee to allow GPO to use those
balances in support of programs and capital investments that benefit
the original purpose of the appropriated funds.
However, those balances are declining which forces GPO to request
additional funds if we are to continue our current pace of development
and innovation.
Our FY 2024 request includes $83,000,000 for congressional
publishing, just $8,000 more than our FY 2023 appropriation. It is
based on our estimates of Congress' likely needs and available
unexpended balances. It also incorporates increased costs for raw
materials and labor. In constant-dollar terms it represents a 35
percent reduction for congressional publishing appropriations since FY
2010.
Our request for our public information programs (PIP) account,
through which we administer the nationwide Federal Depository Library
Program, is $37,388,000. This represents an increase of $2,131,000--or
6 percent--over FY 2023, and will cover the costs of providing Federal
Government publications in digital and tangible formats to 1,100
Federal depository libraries nationwide, cataloging and indexing, and
distributing documents to recipients designated by law and
international exchanges. In addition to increased compensation and
materials costs, this request also includes some implementation costs
attributed to the Congressionally Mandated Reports Act.
Even with this proposed increase, the PIP appropriation will be 8.6
percent lower than the amount appropriated in FY 2010, or 34 percent
lower in constant-dollar terms.
The final component of our appropriations request is for a total of
$12,100,000 for GPO's revolving fund to support capital investments and
information technology upgrades, which represents an increase of
$495,000 over amounts appropriated in FY 2023. This component of our
request is critically important to ensuring that GPO can make the
capital investments in equipment and technology needed to continue
providing Congress and our Federal agency customers with the high level
of service they expect.
This request will support three specific capital investment
projects that will be familiar to the Subcommittee, as they represent
longstanding GPO priorities.
First, we are seeking direct appropriations support for our
continued development of the XPub composition system, which is intended
to fully replace our proprietary MicroComp composition system, which is
more than 30 years old.
A transformational project for GPO, XPub is being deployed on a
product-by-product basis. Our current release is in testing with our
House and Senate customers and is slated to be in production with the
House, Senate, and GPO Bill End during FY 2023. Features in this
release include integration with House and Senate XML authoring tools
for bills, and a new responsive HTML display for congressional bills
and Public Laws.
If approved, our $6,575,000 appropriation request will keep XPub
development and deployment on track in FY 2024. Once development is
complete, we hope to provide XPub to our customers as a software-as-a-
service (SAAS) application, ensuring that there is a dedicated stream
of income to support continued development of the platform without the
need for separate recurring appropriations.
The second component of GPO's FY 2024 request for increased capital
investment appropriations would support continued development of the
GovInfo online portal, the world's only ISO-certified trusted digital
repository. In recent years, the Subcommittee directly appropriated
funds to refresh GovInfo's infrastructure and further develop its
content collections. This year's request of $5,375,000 for GovInfo is
$500,000 less than the amount appropriated in FY 2023, and it would be
divided between infrastructure investments ($1,875,000) and development
investments ($3,500,000), including the digitization of historical
content.
With the Subcommittee's sustained support, GPO has been able to add
hundreds of thousands of additional documents to the GovInfo online
repository each year--over 152,000 content packages were added in FY
2022--and the public's usage of GovInfo continues to grow, with more
than 868 million retrievals from GovInfo in FY 2022.
The third component of GPO's request for increased appropriations
for its business operations revolving fund account is for $150,000 to
support GPO's broad and ongoing efforts to defend against advanced
persistent threat attacks (APTs) to its information technology systems.
Lastly, before I conclude, I want to add that, as required by
section 1604(c) of the Legislative Branch Inspectors General
Independence Act, we have forwarded our Inspector General's request for
$7,243,000 in budget authority for FY 2024 as part of our FY 2024
Budget Submission. Currently that request is funded as part of GPO's
agency overhead--a component of the prices and rates GPO charges its
agency customers and Congress--and not as a separate appropriation.
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to present GPO's FY 2024
appropriations request, and for all the support you and your staff have
extended to us during these challenging past 2 years. This completes my
prepared statement, and I look forward to answering any questions you
may have.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Mr. Director.
Director Swagel, please.
------
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
STATEMENT OF HON. DR. PHILLIP SWAGEL, DIRECTOR,
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
Dr. Swagel. Thank you, Chairman Reed; Ranking Member
Fischer, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Congressional Budget Office's budget request.
The purpose of my testimony today to request an
appropriation of $70.8 million for fiscal year 2024. This is an
increase of $7.5 million, or 12 percent, over the amount
provided in 2023.
I recognize that is a large request. A big part of that
reflects inflation and paying for deferred IT costs from 2023.
Our request is targeted to support CBO's mission to provide
nonpartisan analysis to the Congress that is timely, rigorous,
and transparent. We will carry out this mission with integrity.
CBO is here to support you. We support the Appropriations
Committee and the authorizing committees in several ways. When
legislation is heading to a vote, or is on the floor, CBO staff
analyze amendments in real time, sometimes hundreds or even
thousands of them for bills such as the NDAA, or last year's
CHIPS Act and the 2022 reconciliation legislation.
CBO staff worked long hours over the past few months on
last year's major legislation, most recently the December 2022
Omnibus. We are working hard to provide Congress with timely
and accurate budget and economic projections, cost estimates,
and other information.
Our request for 2024 will enable us to do even better in
terms of our responsiveness and transparency. Roughly, two-
thirds, or 4.8 million, of the proposed $7.5-million increase
would be for personnel costs. That amount would cover salaries
and benefits to hire 11 new staff members in 2024, and to fully
fund the staff members we hired at various times in 2023.
These new hires would allow CBO to provide more analysis in
particular areas of Congressional focus, such as Defense and
Homeland Security, especially energy, infrastructure, and
climate, health policy, income security, immigration, and to
improve our long-term budget analysis.
Even while the increase would allow us to grow, most of the
request would cover inflation adjustments and performance-based
salary increases for the staff we already have.
The remaining part, about $2.8 million, would be for non-
personnel costs, and represents a 57 percent increase over last
year. The increase is large because last year CBO deferred
expenses for certain computing services and equipment.
We are now analyzing the President's budget to provide
information for the appropriations process. We support the
Appropriators Committees by providing real time provision-by-
provision estimates of the 12 annual appropriations bills, and
any supplemental appropriations bills that come. And similarly,
we will provide hundreds of cost estimates for legislation.
This year CBO is committed to returning to its historical
benchmark of providing cost estimates before a floor vote for
nearly all bills that have been ordered reported.
We will publish dozens of reports, both statutory and
requested, and we will work with member offices in both
Chambers as they consider and draft legislation. We will
publish interactive tools, presentations, slide decks, and
other products to bring our work to a wide audience, and to
increase the transparency of our analysis.
So finally, let me just recap. To achieve our goal to be as
responsive as possible, CBO requests an increase of $7.5
million. With your support, we look forward to continuing to
provide timely and high quality analysis to the Congress.
Thank you for your support. And I am happy to take any
questions.
[The statement follows:]
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your
testimony, and for the great work that you have done, and your
colleagues have done to support the Congress.
Comptroller General Dodaro, you spoke, and in fact we had a
chance to speak on the phone. I really appreciate you taking
the time from your little sabbatical with the family. And one
of the issues that we spoke about was, again, a part of today's
testimony, that is the mandates that you receive as both
Members of the Armed Forces Committee, many of them come from
us, but not all.
General Dodaro. Right.
Senator Reed. Let me put the record straight, but not all,
we carry a lot of other bills; but those mandates I think are--
if you could comment on how they impact your work and how you
have structured the budget to ensure you cover all those
mandates.
And also, I think it is worthwhile emphasizing, again, the
fact that the--and the cost benefit analyses, the benefits you
have rendered to the Congress and the Nation have been
significant. So if you could comment?
General Dodaro. Yes, absolutely. First, I believe mandates
are a very important part of GAO's work. We track every week,
every bill that is introduced in Congress, and there are
hundreds of mandates every year from committees across
Congress, including outside the Defense Committees. I think
they are important, and we try to work with the committees to
make sure that what actually gets passed are mandates within
our scope of authority and competency, and have timeframes that
we can meet. We do all of that work in advance working with the
committees.
Mandates reinforce our nonpartisan, transparent reputation,
because by definition, they are generally bicameral and
direction for GAO work. It is the broadest expression of
Congressional interest in our work. Also, the reports are
released to the entire Congress and the public when they are
ready to be released, as opposed to requests from Chairs and
Ranking Members, who can hold the report up for 30 days before
they release it.
We are to the point now where we are doing more work as a
result of mandates than requests from committees. I think the
balance is good. So we built the demand from mandates into our
request. And where we are receiving more of these mandates, or
interests from the Congress, are in the four priority areas
that I previously mentioned.
Senator Reed. Mm-hmm.
General Dodaro. Science and technology, national defense,
health care, and cyber security. The number of cyber security
requests and mandates has just proliferated as that issue has
grown, and will continue to grow more complex. Those issues
will not be resolved anytime soon, and they will become more
complicated.
Now, we also plan our work to get a good return on
investment. And the work that we do on the high-risk areas--
where we designate areas that are susceptible to mismanagement,
fraud, waste, and abuse issues that has returned, in the last
17 years, $675 billion; so we get about $40 billion a year from
targeting those areas where we know that there is waste, and
abuse, and can be better management.
The overlap, duplication, and fragmentation work, as I
mentioned, is over a-half-trillion dollars in savings so far,
and that is only with Congress implementing, and the
administration, about 74 percent of our recommendations.
Many of our unimplemented recommendations can yield tens of
billions of dollars more. We will be updating the high-risk
list next month before Congress, with hearings in both the
House and Senate. We will also issue our next fragmentation,
overlap, and duplication report, which includes opportunities
for cost savings and revenue enhancements.
Senator Reed. Mm-hmm.
General Dodaro. The Inflation Reduction Act also directed
that we provide oversight. We will do a lot of work at IRS
examining the funding provided to the agency under the Act.
I am confident we can continue to provide a good return on
investment, help the Congress meet these national, pressing
issues in these areas, and respond to all the mandates in a
timely manner.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Comptroller General.
Director Halpern, your agency does very good work, we see
the paper every day, and we are not disappointed. But can you
highlight some of the improvements you intend to make, going
forward, with this budget that you suggested?
Mr. Halpern. Absolutely. I mentioned in my testimony XPub,
our next-generation composition engine, and that bears a little
bit of explanation.
Senator Reed. Please.
Mr. Halpern. So GPO built the software stack the Congress
prints on, so every time you go to the Senate Office of
Legislative Council, and they hit Control-P, our software takes
over. The problem is that software was originally written in
1982, and is still in use today. So every time Microsoft is
helpful and upgrades Windows, it takes a lot of work, on our
part, to make sure that our systems continue to function.
But this is also an opportunity, and it is an opportunity
to bring new technology that will speed up the process, and
provide Congress with new options in a very cost-effective way.
So XPub builds on the work that Congress has been doing over
the last several decades, to build the legislative process
around structured data. So instead of having a file that
describes just how something looks, this is bold, this is small
caps, or something along those lines; it is: No, this is a
heading, this is text, this is a paragraph, this is a sub-
paragraph.
Ad what that does is that enables, whether it is folks here
in Congress, or folks out in the public, to build new software
tools, to look at that data in new and different ways, ways
that can help you understand what is going on, provide lots of
links to GAO work, or CBO's work, or whatever.
So updating our system to be an XML Native system, and
improving the tools that we provide Congress to author things
like committee reports, and hearings, and all of those kinds of
things, will vastly cut down on the time it takes to prepare
them, the complexity that is involved.
You pair that with other Investments that we are making in
digital inkjet press technology. So think of that digital
inkjet printer that is sitting next to your desk, except it is
the size of two panel bands.
Senator Reed. Mm-hmm.
Mr. Halpern. And we can literally print thousands of pages
per minute. But that digital technology enables a whole host of
other options for Congress. So for instance, you look at the
report this Committee will put out on this bill, it is in small
type, it is in a weird document size, and all of those things,
that format was designed to cut down on costs in old-style
offset printing.
With digital inkjet technology, we are not constrained by
that any longer. So we can make that report whatever size you
want, we also have the ability to easily add graphics, easily
add color, all of those kinds of things. So if you take XPub,
and you take these other digital technologies and combine them,
you are really at an inflection point for Congress to decide:
How do we want our documents to look for the next, the next
century?
Senator Reed. Thank you very much. With your permission,
may I ask one more question?
Senator Fischer. Sure.
Senator Reed. Thank you. Director Swagel, you know, you
have brought up, and we have had a discussion about this, to
the timeliness of response. Now, this is a: it takes two to
tango.
Dr. Swagel. Mm-hmm.
Senator Reed. Sometimes we call you with a: We are ready to
go at 1:00 a.m., and we would like to go at 2:00 o'clock that
afternoon, we expect you to respond, correct?
Dr. Swagel. It does happen once in a while.
Senator Reed. It does happen once in a while.
Dr. Swagel. Once in a while, yes.
Senator Reed. So yes, this is not just the problems, but
can you tell us what you are doing with this proposed budget to
increase the timeliness of your response to Congressional
requests.
Dr. Swagel. Yes, sir. And that really is our focus. A
couple of things. We have innovated in some ways; we are
looking at bills that are reported out of committee to
determine how we can do things faster, maybe not a full-blown
cost estimate, but get them to the table they need to satisfy
the budget requirements.
And we have done that. We did that for Homeland Security
last Congress and we will continue to do that when it is
helpful to committees. We are doing that for bills. Regarding
the House, it is bills coming on the suspension calendar. The
same thing, we are doing a table with a group of those
together.
There is that sort of innovation too where things that are
moving quickly that maybe we haven't seen to say, well, let us
do what we need to do to get it on its way even if it is not
our full-blown process. And then what the budget request will
allow us to continue to do, is focus additional resources on
the areas where we know we have fallen behind.
And you and I have talked about National Security, Homeland
Security, we just need more people. We have great people
working on that, we just need more of them, and that is what I
am hoping to add.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Dodaro, the GAO's fiscal year 2024 request proposes an
increase to develop additional oversight capabilities in four
key areas, which you have mentioned; that includes national
security. In your written testimony you note that GAO seeks to
expand assessments of individual defense programs in DOD's
readiness posture. Can you please explain what specific
elements of the request will serve to increase GAO's national
security capacity, including conducting DOD assessments, and
fulfilling the defense-related mandates that Congress has set
for GAO?
General Dodaro. Yes. A good portion of our existing
resources are in the defense area, because it is half of the
U.S. government's discretionary budget and the defense budget
has been increasing. We see a lot of need for additional work
in this area.
Of the 165 additional FTE that our fiscal year 2024 budget
would support, Senator Fischer, I would like to put 40 more
people into the defense area. This would expand our teams that
conduct work in this area and expand our capacity to do more
work and make sure that we can meet the mandates in a timely
fashion.
Most of the mandates that are in the National Defense
Authorization Act require us to report early in the next cycle
for the next annual bill. And that timing can be a challenge.
So sometimes we have to meet the required dates with a briefing
rather than a full report being issued later. I am hoping, that
with the additional resources, we can increase our ability to
meet the mandated due dates with full reports, which would then
allow us to take on other requests from Committee Chairs and
Ranking Members across the Congress.
As I mentioned, there are some critical areas that we are
not going to be able to get to without additional resources. I
think the recruitment and retention of our military personnel
is one of those areas. The Army, I understand, reported that
they missed their recruitment goals last year by 25 percent,
and the Air Force just missed them by 10 percent or so. I would
also like to do more work on the Guard and National Reserve
readiness issues.
Also, the Defense Department is spending a lot of resources
on artificial intelligence, and I think they need to show good
results in that area. We have developed an artificial
intelligence accountability framework to help ensure that
Federal agencies use AI responsibility. Using this framework,
we can now audit agencies' algorithms and related AI systems to
make sure that they are doing what they intend to do.
And we have also tried to provide DOD more guidance to
build in computer security requirements in the development of
new weapon systems, which they weren't doing before. And so I
would like to do more work in the cyber area, in artificial
intelligence, and hypersonic weapons----
Senator Fischer. Can you?
General Dodaro. Yes.
Senator Fischer. Since I am new here.
General Dodaro. Yes.
Senator Fischer. Can you tell me how, when you are looking
for 40 more staff, what qualifications do they have to have?
Not just with regards for defense.
General Dodaro. Right.
Senator Fischer. And you are mentioning things like
``hypersonics'', and cyber----
General Dodaro. Right.
Senator Fischer [continuing]. And you talked about
satellites. What do you look for in areas of expertise in order
to have confidence in the numbers, in what they are proposing?
General Dodaro. Oh, sure. In GAO we have both subject area
and technical specialists. The subject area specialists tend to
focus on a particular program or agency and have deep subject
matter expertise and experience. For example, we have people
that know the Defense Department inside and out and have been
looking a defense issues for 20/30 years and have experience
working with the different services.
We also have technical specialists.
We have scientists looking, for example, at the
modernization of nuclear warheads. Among other subject matter
experts, we have a PhD-level nuclear physicist on board to help
with this work. Our teams are developed by putting together
interdisciplinary teams. So we assemble teams with program
experts like those with defense expertise, with technical
specialists and others. We have so many program experts in
defense, and then I have these scientists, people that are
quantum experts, I have people that are biologists and----
Senator Fischer. Do you ever reach out to the Department of
Defense, and you know, not just ask questions but do you ever
take information from them as well?
General Dodaro. Oh, absolutely, yes. As part of auditing
process, we get their views and information and documents from
them, such as test plans. For example, every year we look at
the Portfolio of Weapon Systems, to obtain information on cost
and schedule performance. We have a very multidisciplinary
workforce.
Senator Fischer. That is helpful. Thank you.
General Dodaro. Yes.
Senator Fischer. Thank you.
General Dodaro. Sure.
Senator Fischer. Dr. Swagel, in your testimony, in your
written testimony you mentioned that CBO's workload from
Congress in 2022 strained the agency's resources in many areas.
The fiscal year 2024 request seeks an 11.8 percent increase to
improve capacity through hiring more staff and spending on new
information technology systems. Can you elaborate on how the
2022 legislative period strained CBO, and why the proposed
increases are the correct answer to this problem?
Dr. Swagel. Yes. And in a sense it was. Last Congress,
there was both the regular work that we do for committees as
they develop legislation in both Chambers then, in parallel
there were legislative efforts, the larger more complex ones,
that were largely outside of the committee process; the
Omnibus, the two Reconciliation Bills, the CHIPS Act, the
Infrastructure Bill, the Guns and Mental Health Bill. In
substance, we are set up to work in regular order through the
committees. We will work however the Congress works; we are
just not set up for that. I think we managed, we innovatively
managed. But I can see we just need more people.
There is a part of it we are doing internally to make our
people more flexible, and have overlapping portfolios, so we
need to adjust inside. But I really think we just need to grow
a bit to be able to handle that.
Senator Fischer. As you are looking at adjusting what
areas, issue areas, do you see Congress maybe turning to and
focusing on that were in the near-term?
Dr. Swagel. Mm-hmm.
Senator Fischer. And how do you--how do you prepare for
that?
Dr. Swagel. Yes. We are at our best when we have our
analysis done before; when we get to the issue before you do,
and we do it sometimes. The Surprise Billing that was enacted a
few years ago, we had our analysis ready, and so we did
hundreds of iterations on that because we were ready.
We are building capacity in some things, so I mentioned
national security, we have capacity, we need more. Immigration,
we say a lot, and I think excellent work, on the fiscal impacts
of immigrants, but not on the wider impacts. What they do at
the border, what they do inside the homeland, what they do for
the economy, entrepreneurship. That is one area where I want to
build our capacity. Health care is another. There are a couple
of other topic areas where I am looking ahead thinking: Where
will Congress go?
Just one last sentence; on the near term, we are doing a
lot on the sort of near-term spending; sort of what is going to
happen in the near term on the budget. We are working very
closely with the two budget committees and the two leaderships
on that as well.
Senator Fischer. Thank you.
HIRING QUALIFIED PERSONNEL
Senator Reed. I just have a few brief questions; a question
for everyone at the panel and beginning with the Comptroller
General. One of the issues we hear consistently is the
inability to hire qualified personnel throughout the economy of
the United States, small businesses, large businesses, et
cetera.
Interestingly, today, we had a hearing where we had a
nominee for manpower in the Department of Defense, and a
nominee for Navy acquisition. It turned out, at the end, we
discovered that they are competing against each other for
personnel, shipyard workers versus, you know, sailors for the
Navy. So I wonder if you are having that same problem.
General Dodaro. No.
Senator Reed. Great.
General Dodaro. At GAO we have no problem. My entire time
as Comptroller General, which now I have been in this position
15 years, we have been ranked as one of the best places to work
in the Federal Government.
Senator Reed. Mm-hmm.
General Dodaro. The last 2 years we have been number one
across the entire Federal Government for mid-size agencies. We
have a strong intern program, a nationwide recruiting program,
we have a great mission, we provide people with flexibilities,
and our work is used by the Congress. So people can actually
see the results of their work, and they can work in a
nonpartisan environment, and help the country.
So we have no problems. We are on track to meet our 2023
hiring plan. Our attrition is only about 6 percent, so we don't
have a turnover problem, and people stay at GAO because they
are satisfied with the work that they do.
Senator Reed. All right then.
Director Halpern.
Mr. Halpern. Senator, you have hit on my number one
challenge at GPO. So 50 percent of our team will be eligible to
retire within the next 4 years. That means one out of every two
press people, proofreaders, IT specialists, contract
specialists, electricians, carpenters, book binders, you name
it, our workforce tends to be a little older than the Federal
average by three or 4 years.
And attracting the kinds of folks who can do the crafts
that we need at GPO is a challenge. So we have tried to respond
to this in a number of different ways. One is, we have
reactivated our Recent Grads Program where we are trying to
recruit heavily from recent college grads. We, too, have been
on Forbes' list of Best Places to Work, 2 years running now,
something we are very proud of.
And our first class, I want to say was 22 people this year.
We expect to double that next year. We have also restarted our
apprenticeship program, something that goes back 140 years, or
so. Our first class was eight proofreaders, a particularly
critical need for us. Next year we hope to up the
apprenticeship class to 20 people across a whole variety of
trades: press people, book binders, and the rest. We have also
responded by creating new kinds of roles.
So GPO is a heavily unionized institution. I have got 12
different bargaining units I work with, and they have actually
been a great partner throughout this. But we worked very
closely with our book binder union to create what we call
production technicians. So somebody who may not have training
as a book binder, but shows some proficiency in machine and
manufacturing operations, and we bring them in and we have a 3-
year, on-the-job training program.
So at the end of that they are earning--they are a full-
fledged book binder, and they are earning probably about $44 an
hour in today's dollars. So it is a--there are a lot of
opportunities for young people. We are working hard to make
sure we are recruiting out of high schools, and community
colleges as well to try and fill that need.
But you know, one of the reasons we are investing in
technology is to cut down on the actual number of people we
need, but we can't do it without replacing some of the folks we
know are going to leave for their well-earned retirement.
Senator Reed. Well, please keep us advised of that because
it is--you know, it is a short horizon before you are in, so it
is a significant issue.
And Director Swagel, your comments on--could you get that
microphone closer?
Dr. Swagel. Oh. I have to push the button; sorry about
that. We see it at both the macro and the micro level. At the
macro level our budget analysis takes into account that there
is over a million workers missing from the economy, and so that
is affecting the economy and then it affects us at an agency
level.
Senator Reed. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Swagel. And we hire people who are mission-oriented,
people who want to give back and enter public service. We have
been successful; we have to work at it, but we have been
successful. We also have shifted to younger workers in that we
have expanded the number we hire right out of college. Less
experience of course, but they tend to be more flexible and
that has been helpful.
The challenge we face is given the age of our workforce, we
hire people right after college; after a Master's, after a
Ph.D. The really sort of chief years of fertility, of child
rearing, and childcare. Administratively, we are part of the
House, we are at the very bottom of the priority list for
childcare in the House. And so that is one of the key
challenges that CBO faces.
Senator Reed. Well, that is something perhaps we might
consider and work on.
Senator Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Thank you. Mr. Halpern, as part of the
NDAA that passed Congress last December, the access to
Congressionally Mandated Reports Act became law. GPO is now
responsible for collecting and making publicly available all
the congressionally mandated reports from Federal agencies in
one central online portal.
The fiscal year 2024 request seeks an increase of $500,000
to develop the additional web system and contract support. Can
you explain this new responsibility for the agency, and where
you are in the process of implementing that?
Mr. Halpern. Absolutely. So let me let me start before I
came to GPO, when I was at Committee Council in the House. So I
was responsible for all of the back office operations for the
multiple committees I worked for, and one of those was handling
these executive communications when they came in.
And I will tell you exactly how it happened. The
parliamentarians in the Speaker's Office would bundle them into
an envelope, they would send them to us, we would put that
envelope in a filing cabinet, and at the end of the Congress we
would put it into a gray archive box, and send it off to the
archives, with nobody ever having actually looked at them.
If we fast forward to today, and the goal of the
Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, it is to get some eyes on
these reports, both here, inside the building, and externally
amongst the public. The good news is, we have already got the
infrastructure to support this. So GovInfo, the world's only
ISO-certified, trusted digital repository, where all of your
data is put online, and shared with our partners at the
library, and at the archives, and the public, that provides
sort of the bones that we need to build this system.
The amount that we are requesting is for those custom
elements that we are going to need to build, to put this in
place. And the idea will be that these agencies will be able to
submit these reports. We will work with them to provide
standards for them to do that, and then provide both a PDF
digital version of that, so it maintains that print fidelity,
as well as a machine-readable format.
And that is going to start out a little bit more simply; it
is going to start out as more of a simple----
Senator Fischer. What impact do you think this requirement
is going to have on future budgets?
Mr. Halpern. I am hopeful that it will not be huge;
probably in that neighborhood of about half-a-million dollars a
year. So we would like to get to the point where, in order to
facilitate this for Federal agencies we build, essentially, a
Word template. And we say: Here you go. You have got this
requirement, if you use this Word template, we can provide you
good, press-ready formatted material, and easily ingest that
into a machine-readable format as well.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, very much.
Mr. Dodaro, the agency's budget request highlights the
oversight of the Inflation Reduction Act, and that is going to
be a central part of GAO's workload in the coming years, that
includes 32 ongoing or planned audits through 2025, and there
will be more in the future, as you know. How does the request
align with this new workload? Are there any requested increases
specific to the IRA oversight?
General Dodaro. Our budget request will enable us to
conduct the oversight envisioned in the IRA while also still
meeting other demands for our services.
In other words, our budget request primarily supports the
costs of the people who are already on board. We need the funds
requested to pay for the staff on board and those that we hire
to replace those who we lose through attrition. The staff on
board already the people who are going to work on the Inflation
Reduction Act oversight. Plus, Congress already gave us $25
million in the Inflation Reduction Act to provide support for
this oversight. The people that we hire will backfill for the
people that we allocate from our current workforce to timely
conduct the IRA oversight.
Senator Fischer. When you say, ``You are going to allocate
people in your current workforce.''
General Dodaro. Yes.
Senator Fischer. Are you going to determine that a certain
amount of their time is going to be geared toward the IRA? You
are nodding, yes.
General Dodaro. Yes. Yes.
Senator Fischer. So if so, when you look at that, what is
the percentage of--how much of their workload is going to be
due to the IRA?
General Dodaro. Well, it depends on which of the teams we
need to draw people from. For example, a lot of the IRA funding
is in the IRS area; there is the $80 billion for the IRS.
Senator Fischer. Right.
General Dodaro. And so we will have our of people who are
experts in tax administration involved; a portion of their time
will be devoted to IRA oversight. But we will hire people to
backfill for those positions so we can continue to do other
work in the tax administration area that we are mandated to do.
We will do the same thing for the mandates related to rural
development, for example; in those areas, we will allocate
people in our natural resources and environment team that are
subject matter experts. The same thing for the
decarbonization----
Senator Fischer. Right.
General Dodaro [continuing]. Provisions. We will use some
of our scientists for the work. So yes, for every audit that we
do we pull people from four or five different teams.
Senator Fischer. Right.
General Dodaro. So it is hard to give you----
Senator Fischer. Now, that will increase----
General Dodaro. Yes.
Senator Fischer [continued]: That you are pulling people
off then to specifically address the IRA?
General Dodaro. Yes.
Senator Fischer. And how will GAO regularly report to
Congress with its findings on the IRA oversight?
General Dodaro. We will issue individual reports, and then
like on our coronavirus oversight work where we were also
mandated to do reports, we will send periodic reports to the
Appropriation Committees to say how many reports we have issued
already in these areas and what our work plans are. We will
keep Congress apprised of our work plans going forward. But we
will also report separately on all these different broad
oversight mandates, such as the IRA and the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act. We have done this before with special
funding for disaster-related assistance oversight.
Senator Fischer. Okay. Thank you.
General Dodaro. Sure.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Fischer.
And gentlemen, thank you for your testimony, and for your
service. And again, please compliment and commend all the
people that do the job every day. So thank you very much.
With that, unless you have additional questions?
Senator Fischer. Mr. Chairman, could I follow up with some
questions for the record, please?
Senator Reed. Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
Senator Fischer. Thank you.
ADDITONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
Senator Reed. There, we allow, say, 4 days for questions
for the record? I think you will probably have them in
tomorrow, but anyway.
[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 for the record.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Reed. Thank you, gentlemen.
And with, that I will adjourn the hearing.
[Whereupon, at 3:58 p.m., Wednesday, March 15, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
----------
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 3:00 p.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jack Reed (Chairman), presiding.
Present: Senators Reed and Fischer.
------
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL AND THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JACK REED
Senator Reed. Good afternoon. The subcommittee will come to
order. I would like to welcome everyone to the second of our
fiscal year 2024 budget hearings for the Legislative Branch
Appropriations subcommittee.
Today we have with us Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of
Congress, and Ms. Chere Rexroat, the Acting Architect of the
Capitol. I would like to thank you for joining us here today to
testify on your agency's fiscal year 2024 budget request, and I
ask unanimous consent that the witnesses written testimony be
placed in the hearing record.
And hearing no objection, so ordered. As I noted in our
first hearing last week, the Legislative Branch agencies have
submitted fiscal year 2024 budget requests that account for
$259 million increase over the fiscal year 2023 Legislative
Branch appropriation.
We will be carefully considering these requests to ensure
they continue to improve our ability to meet our responsibility
to govern effectively. For fiscal year 2024, the Library of
Congress is requesting $895.1 million in appropriated funds,
which is an increase of $66.6 million over the fiscal year 2023
enacted level.
This request includes $618.5 million for Library of
Congress operations, $57.5 million in direct appropriations for
the operations of the Copyright Office, $146.6 million for the
operations of the Congressional Research Service, and $72.5
million for the National Library Service for the Blind and
Print Disabled.
The Library of Congress's budget request includes funding
for investments in the Library's IT and cloud infrastructure,
as well as funds that can--efforts to modernize the Library's
collections management systems and processes. Further, it
requests funding for 40 positions to strengthen acquisition
planning and contract management, and to strengthen the
information technology planning and enterprise architecture
management.
The Library of Congress performs critical work that goes
far beyond serving the Legislative Branch. I look forward to
hearing from Dr. Hayden on the exceptional work of her agency
to improve access to our Nation's treasures and library
services for the American people, as well to hear about the
agency's fiscal year 2024 budget request.
Today, we will also be reviewing the Architect of the
Capitol's fiscal year 2024 budget request. Before I address the
AOC's request, I would like to thank Ms. Rexroat for stepping
in to serve as the Acting Architect of the Capitol.
She comes into this role following the removal of the
previous Architect by the President, a movement both sides of
the aisle had called for. This has been a tumultuous time for
the men and women who work at the Architect of the Capitol.
Please share our appreciation to your workforce for
everything they do to keep the families and grounds and
facilities of the Capitol complex operational each day. Each of
them is critical to not only the ability of the Congress to
fill Constitutional responsibility, but also for this
institution to serve as a symbol of democracy around the world.
Ms. Rexroat, you and I briefly discussed some of my
concerns about the manner in which the AOC estimates the
requirements for the significant properties your agency is
responsible for and the way these projects are managed during
execution.
The Architect has a history of executing projects that do
not meet estimated budgets or timelines, which result in
significant budget implications affecting the Legislative
Branch's overall budget.
I appreciate your willingness to address these concerns
head on, while a search for a new architect is underway, and to
reform the way the AOC leadership administrate its
responsibility to effectively lead your agency.
I want you to know that I support any efforts to improve
the AOC's internal operations and the effectiveness of the
leadership team. The AOC is seeking an appropriation of $1.128
billion, which is a decrease of $191 billion from fiscal year
2023.
While I appreciate that the AOC has submitted a reduced
request over the fiscal year 2023 enacted level, my team has
asked the Acting Architect to carefully review the requested
funding levels for the projects included within this budget to
ensure they promptly reflect the actual projected cost for the
project.
I look forward to receiving the Architect's updated
information once these reviews are conducted, and I look
forward to the Acting Architect's testimony today. Now, with
that, let me turn it over to Ranking Member Senator Fisher.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DEB FISCHER
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you to
our two witnesses today, Dr. Hayden and Ms. Rexroat, for being
with us this afternoon for our second Legislative Branch
hearing.
As the Chairman noted in our last hearing, it is important
to restore regular order in the appropriations process. The
American people deserve a transparent and on time budget from
their elected officials. It is my hope to craft a fiscally
responsible bill with Chairman Reed through regular order this
year.
Today, as part of that process, we will be hearing from the
librarian and also our Acting Architect as they testify
regarding their agency's fiscal year 2024 budget request. Dr.
Hayden. The Library of Congress does important work, not only
in support of Congress, but on behalf of the American people.
I want to commend you on the initiatives to expand access
and increase engagement so that more people can benefit from
the Library's collections. In particular, I want to highlight
the Veterans History Project, the program that collects,
preserves, and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of
U.S. military veterans.
Our veterans put their lives on the line in service to our
Nation, and we have a responsibility to support and honor them.
So, I am proud that my office has also helped to facilitate
some of those recollections from Nebraska and our veterans to
that project. For fiscal year 2024, the Library seeks a 7.5
percent increase over last year's enacted level.
In your testimony, I hope to hear how the increase will
enable the Library to continue to expand access, modernize
offerings, and provide research support for Congressional
staff. Ms. Rexroat, I recognize that you are in an acting role
as Architect of the Capitol, and I am hopeful that new
leadership at the AOC will allow for fresh perspectives and
improvements on the agency's processes and priorities.
The AOC is asking for $1.1 billion, and while that is a
decrease from the enacted level, it is still a significant
request. As we look for fiscal year 2024, we must evaluate how
the considerable resources we have provided over the past few
years are being implemented. Additionally, we must ensure that
projects are properly scoped on schedule and on budget.
I am looking forward to your testimony on how this budget
request will help the AOC meet its mission to serve Congress,
preserve America's Capitol, and inspire memorable experiences.
Thank you again to our witnesses for being here today. And
thank you, Chairman Reed, for leading what I know will be a
productive conversation on these agencies' budget requests.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Senator Fischer. Dr.
Hayden, your brief opening statement is now in order. As you
know, your written testimony is already part of the record. Dr.
Hayden, please.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
STATEMENT OF HON. CARLA HAYDEN, LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS,
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Dr. Hayden. Chairman Reed and Ranking Member Fischer, thank
you for this opportunity to testify in support of the Library's
fiscal year 2024 budget. I am very pleased to report that in
fiscal year 2022, the Library returned to regular operations.
Visitors and researchers returned on site, reading rooms
reopened, and in-person events multiplied, all while popular
virtual programing continued. And with the support of Congress,
the Library continued to build collections in multiple formats
and engage users in a variety of ways.
Today, the physical collections contained nearly 175
million items, with many in digital form, and the Library's
digital engagement has increased dramatically. I would like to
express my support here and my gratitude for the support of
Congress, in particular for funding our recent IT investments.
Also, special thanks to Congress for support of the Visitor
Experience Initiative.
We have raised over almost $20 million from donors
nationwide for this impactful initiative, and our goal is to
have these engaging new spaces open in the Thomas Jefferson
Building to the public for the Nation's celebration, 250-year
celebration in 2026.
I come before you to discuss the Library's fiscal year 2024
appropriations request, and this request does include $45.8
million in mandatory pay and price level increases, and the
remaining increases represent critical investments necessary to
continue to meet the Library's mission.
With modern IT infrastructure and systems now in place,
thanks to your support, we are using a continuous development
approach to ensure ongoing improvements as we manage the
Library's technology landscape.
Several of the Library's requests this year include
resources for congress.gov and to allow us to build capacity
throughout all of our IT systems. For instance, the U.S.
Copyright Office continues to reach major milestones toward a
new enterprise copyright system, ECS, which is transforming the
entire copyright process.
The budget requests a permanent base for continuous
development to the ECS to accommodate changing needs and
technological advancements. The Library's special
responsibility for the National Library for the Blind and Print
Disabled extends to critical IT systems that ensure
accessibility for NLS patrons and blind staff.
The request includes staffing dedicated to continuous
innovation and development for their systems, and other new
funds would replace obsolete talking book machines with web-
based systems and make refresh of all braille e-readers
available to patrons.
In addition to the continuous development process that is
led by Library staff, contracted services support a growing
portion of our IT development. And to support the increase
volume and complexity of these contracts, additional
experienced staff are requested for the Library's contracts and
grants director.
Other important staffing requests will ensure that we
continue the responsive service that Congress needs and
expects. Given the significant increase in the annual volume
and complexity of bills introduced, the Congressional Research
Service requests funding for additional staff to accommodate
the growing build digest workload and to enhance their
Legislative Information Service support for Congress.
This request also supports a series CRS pilot program for
quantitative analysis of research and operation of big data to
meet emerging Congressional demand. The Library's 2024
Congressional budget justification advances necessary work
initiated in previous years to move the Library forward, all
while preserving its world class resources and making them
accessible for generations to come.
We recognize the challenges resulting from the current
fiscal environment, and our programmatic requests represent the
most necessary and impactful priorities that will enhance the
Library service to Congress and the American people.
Thank you again for supporting the Library and for your
consideration of our fiscal 2024 budget, and I look forward to
your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of The Honorable Carla Hayden, The Librarian of
Congress
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of
the Library's fiscal 2024 budget request.
The Library of Congress (Library) has built one of the largest
collections of human knowledge ever assembled, in support of our
mission to engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people
with a universal and enduring source of information and creativity. In
pursuit of its vision that all Americans are connected to the Library
of Congress, the Library is committed to making this knowledge and
creativity more discoverable, accessible, relevant, and useful.
The Library is an authoritative source of knowledge that enriches
the American people in countless ways. We serve many customers:
Congress, Copyright users, researchers, visitors, and blind and print
disabled citizens, among many others. We directly serve the American
public with programs like the Veterans History Project that preserve
and make accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military
veterans, and Teaching with Primary Sources that allows teachers in
local school districts to create curricula and develop apps using the
Library's digitized primary sources. The Library is in the forefront of
making its resources available and useful to those who come here and in
digital form for those who cannot.
In fiscal 2022, the Library returned to normal operations for the
visiting public after building capacity limits and mask requirements
were lifted in the third quarter. More visitors and researchers
returned on site, reading rooms reopened and in-person events
multiplied, while popular virtual programming that began during the
pandemic continued. With the support of Congress, the Library continued
to build collections in multiple formats and engage users in a variety
of ways. Today, the physical collections contain nearly 175 million
items, with many more in digital form.
Robust service to Congress and all Americans continued across the
Library. The Congressional Research Service's (CRS's) Congress.gov
sites--the Constitution Annotated, CRS Reports and Congress.gov--drew
40.8 million visits during the fiscal year. The U.S. Copyright Office
(USCO) transferred 626,595 works, with an estimated value of nearly $48
million, to the Library for possible addition to the collections. The
Library's Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement produced a year
full of in-person and virtual programming, including the National Book
Festival. At the end of fiscal 2022, new collections Module 6,
completed in 2021, was 36 percent filled. Over the past year, the
Library's Preservation Directorate performed 8.7 million preservation
actions on books, serials, prints, photographs, manuscripts and other
items.
Notably, the Library's digital engagement increased dramatically
since the start of the pandemic. In fiscal 2022, loc.gov recorded 392.4
million page views during 105 million visits from 74 million unique
users to National Library sites. On the Library's social media
platforms, engagement has doubled and even tripled on Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram, and Library YouTube content received 15.8 million views.
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 initial funding you have
provided for major Information Technology (IT) investments that we are
implementing and continuously improving to meet user expectations for
greater access and new and enhanced tools. These investments include
the Enterprise Copyright System (ECS); CRS's Integrated Research and
Information System (IRIS); the National Library Service's Braille Audio
Reading by Download (BARD) and next generation devices; the Library
Collections Access Platform (L-CAP); Congress.gov; and the Library's
core IT infrastructure and IT security.
I would also like to give special thanks for your support of the
Library's Visitor Experience initiative over the last 4 years. We are
working closely with the Architect of the Capitol on final designs, and
construction is expected to be underway by the end of the fiscal year.
Our goal is to have our engaging new gallery spaces open to the public
for the nation's semiquincentennial, in 2026. Further, in addition to
the funds appropriated by Congress, we are close to having raised $20
million in private donations for this effort. It is a testament to the
Library's public engagement and offerings that donors large and small
from across the country are contributing to this impactful initiative
that will ultimately provide significant value for Congress and its
constituents.
I come before you today to discuss the Library's fiscal 2024
appropriations request of $940.8 million, which represents a 7.5
percent increase over the Library's fiscal 2023 enacted appropriation,
including $45.8 million in mandatory pay and price level increases. The
budget request reflects the resources needed to sustain the Library's
mission of service to Congress and the American people, and its vision-
driven efforts to make the Library more user centered, digitally
enabled, and data driven. It builds on multiyear strategic efforts to
stabilize and optimize advanced IT systems and business processes,
while at the same time enhancing access and customer services. And it
invests in the future, ensuring that the Library can safeguard and
support its collections, services, and workforce in person and online.
The budget request is carefully aligned with the goals and
objectives of the Library's Strategic Plan: to expand access, enhance
services, optimize resources, and measure impact. Requests for
additional resources to support new or expanded programs are grouped in
three interconnected and mutually reinforcing areas: (1) sustaining
continuous technology development; (2) enhancing services and expanding
access; and (3) strengthening expertise in other key areas.
With the understanding that mandatory pay increases and the effects
of inflation on the cost of materials and services we procure are
driving 70 percent of our fiscal 2024 request, we have taken great care
to make only programmatic requests that are necessary and have the
greatest impact on our service to Congress and the American people. We
understand the current fiscal environment and the challenge you face in
trying to meet the needs of the Library of Congress while being mindful
of the taxpayer.
sustaining continuous technology development
Recognizing that technology is essential to its mission of
engaging, inspiring, and informing Congress and the American people
with an enduring source of knowledge and creativity, the Library has
adopted a continuous development model to sustainably evolve business
operations and digital offerings. This approach integrates IT
innovation, design, and delivery efforts to manage the increasingly
complex technology landscape, reduce risk, and sustain digital
transformation. Following industry best practices, and recommendations
from the Government Accountability Office and the Library's Office of
the Inspector General, the Library's continuous development approach
ensures major IT investments are continuously improved in incremental,
manageable steps, to meet user expectations for greater access and new
and enhanced tools. The requested funding and staffing will bolster the
Library's ability to sustain continuous development efforts, keep pace
with digital advancement, and ensure that technology can continue to be
harnessed to deliver exceptional services to all Library users.
USCO Enterprise Copyright System--Technology Transformation
The USCO continues to reach major milestones in developing the new
Enterprise Copyright System (ECS), a transformative technological
investment. The once paper-based Copyright Recordation process is now
online, and the new Copyright Public Records system is now in
operation. By 2024, ECS Recordation, ECS Public Records, ECS Licensing,
and ECS Service Requests will be in full public use. Additional ECS
applications will be available to the public in fiscal 2025, with the
ECS Registration system planned to go live in fiscal 2026.
The budget requests a permanent base for continuous development of
the ECS. Requested funding will bring in new staff and sustain a number
of existing staff to implement a collaborative USCO/Office of the Chief
Information Officer (OCIO) continuous development program that will
sustain and keep ECS and other systems up-to-date with new features,
enhancements and applications. It will also increase the functionality
of ECS core services and add new services. Building an innovative ECS
not only meets the expectations of today's copyright users, but also
can accommodate changing needs and technological advances thanks to the
continuous development approach. Sustained investment is essential for
our long-term success in meeting the needs of the copyright community.
NLS--Technology and Service Delivery
Congressional investment in the National Library Service for the
Blind and Print Disabled's (NLS's) efforts to modernize its business
practices and associated IT systems, implement digital braille
delivery, and develop cost-effective digital content delivery to new
devices has resulted in important improvements for NLS patrons. To meet
the evolving needs and expectations of its expanding patron base, NLS
developed and piloted next generation devices, including DA2 (Digital
Advanced Player 2), a web-based wireless system that replaces the
original digital talking-book machine, which is an end-of-life product
based on 20-year-old technology, and the eReader, a refreshable braille
device that is in growing demand. Both the digital talking-book machine
and eReader devices connect to the BARD Braille and audio download
service. Requested funding will significantly increase the reach of
these popular devices, making available 145,000 DA2 devices and 4,000
eReader devices to blind and print disabled patrons over a five-year
period.
As an outgrowth of technology modernization, today, NLS is
critically dependent on 19 IT systems for content delivery, content
production, library services, marketing and communications, customer
service, and project and program management. Consistent with NLS's
mission, these systems must always provide the highest level of
accessibility to NLS patrons and blind staff, and must allow these
staff to be as productive as sighted persons when using them. Requested
funding includes staffing in NLS and the OCIO dedicated to continuous
development for NLS systems that will enhance efficiency and improve
access to services for the growing population of blind and print
disabled Americans. Again, sustained investment is essential for our
long-term success.
enhancing services and access
Legislative Support--CRS Bill Summaries, Congress.gov, and Quantitative
``Big Data'' Analysis
CRS has experienced greater demand for CRS Bill Summaries, one of
its most widely used products, thanks in part to technological
advancements that have resulted in new applications to automate the
functions for Members to introduce bills. The volume of bills has
increased by about one-third since the 115th Congress. Although CRS
took extraordinary measures to keep pace with the volume and increased
complexity of incoming bills, such as significantly shortening the
length of bill summaries, a bill summary backlog of over 2,400 items
remains. The request includes funding for additional staff with subject
matter expertise to support CRS Bill Summaries and other analytical
products created by the Legislative Information Services team, which
makes searchable content available to congressional and public users of
Congress.gov.
The request also seeks additional staff to enhance support for
Congress and to create a permanent capacity for continuous development
for Congress.gov. Increased staffing will ensure the day-to-day data
integrity of the system and provide congressional operational support
to include continuous modernization of congressional collections,
formats, and capabilities, as well as support of congressional access
to emerging application programming interfaces.
Lastly, to meet emerging demand, the budget additionally requests
funding for a pilot program to augment and enhance CRS's ability to
perform quantitative analysis of both research and operational ``big
data'' for congressional clients. The request includes staffing to
strengthen existing capabilities and an investment in the tools and
datasets required to broaden the depth of quantitative analysis and
models by leveraging big data. This program investment will establish a
base process and increased capacity for in-depth data analysis in CRS.
strengthening expertise in key areas
Contracts and Grants--Support for IT and Other Acquisitions
The request includes additional staffing for the Library's
Contracts and Grants Directorate to keep pace with increasing demands
for contracted products and services for everything from new collection
display cases to major IT systems. The Library, like other Federal
agencies, is facing substantial attrition of its contracting staff as
workloads increase and contracts become more complex, particularly for
IT-related acquisitions. These are hard-to-fill positions and a
government-wide shortage of contract specialists makes recruitment and
retention even more challenging. The requested funds will also acquire
a Web-enabled solution for the grants lifecycle to support the
application, award, and management processes.
OCIO--Enterprise Architecture and Digital Accessibility
The Library requests funding to establish a Digital Accessibility
program within OCIO to meet growing demands for accessibility services
including consultation, compliance assessment, and remediation and to
improve access to the Library's digital products, materials, and
services for Americans with disabilities. Direct patron and staff
feedback, along with preliminary expert assessments, point to a large
gap between the Library's products, materials, and services and
Federal/international accessibility standards. The Library seeks to
expand the program within OCIO so that accessibility is addressed at
the beginning of the software development cycle while also enhancing
current digital products.
The Library also requests funding to strengthen its Enterprise
Architecture Program Office (EAPO) given the increasing complexity of
the Library's IT programs and portfolios, together with a rapidly
growing demand for new and enhanced user tools and technology
solutions. The budget requests funding and staff to increase EAPO's
capacity to produce complex architectural artifacts such as
technological roadmaps and solution overviews, and to support robust
strategic IT planning with detailed technology solution proposals that
include accurate project cost and schedule estimations.
In closing, the Library's fiscal 2024 Congressional Budget
Justification advances necessary work begun in previous years to move
the Library forward into the future in an enduring way that preserves
its resources, unrivaled anywhere else in the world, and makes them
accessible for those who will come after us, as technological change
accelerates. We recognize the challenges resulting from the current
fiscal environment, and these programmatic requests represent the most
necessary and impactful priorities that will enhance the Library's
service to Congress and the American people.
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you again for supporting the Library of Congress
and for your consideration of our fiscal 2024 budget request.
______
Prepared Statement of Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and
Director, U.S. Copyright Office
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit the United States Copyright
Office's fiscal 2024 budget request. The Copyright Office is tasked
with overseeing the national copyright registration and recordation
systems, advising Congress on copyright policy and legislation, working
with the Department of Justice and other Federal agencies on copyright
litigation and international copyright matters, conducting
administrative and regulatory activity including with respect to
statutory licenses, and educating the public about copyright. We
accomplish this with a talented and diverse staff of about 450 people,
all dedicated to copyright's Constitutional mission of ``promot[ing]
the progress of science and useful arts.''\1\
key accomplishments over the past year
The Copyright Office has achieved many noteworthy successes over
the past year, and has fully restored on-site operations.
Registration and Recordation
The Office continues to effectively administer the national
copyright registration and recordation systems. We have eliminated the
backup of physical deposits caused by the pandemic and have markedly
improved registration processing times: the average for examining all
copyright claims stands at 2.7 months for the second half of fiscal
2022, and for fully electronic claims that do not require
correspondence, the average is down to just 1.2 months.\2\ While the
pandemic temporarily impacted processing times for electronic
applications with physical deposits as well as for paper applications,
we have reduced these timeframes to an average of 6.5 months and 6.1
months, respectively. With respect to recordation, in fiscal 2022 the
Office recorded 14,714 documents containing titles of 1,165,653
works.\3\ Our online recordation pilot, opened to the general public in
August 2022 now offers an alternative to the older paper-based process,
and has shortened processing times from months to weeks.
Other Activities
The Office continued its longstanding roles of providing advice to
Congress and the courts, and information to the public. In fiscal 2022,
we launched the Copyright Claims Board (described below). We responded
to numerous requests from Congress on topics ranging from music
licensing issues to the effectiveness of copyright protection for press
publishers, the feasibility and advisability of creating a deferred
examination option for copyright registration, and technical measures
used to identify or protect copyrighted works. We initiated a study on
non-fungible tokens and intellectual property jointly with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office. And after completing implementation of the
Music Modernization Act (MMA) in 2021, we maintain an oversight role as
directed by the statute and the legislative history, as well as
engaging in education and outreach activities. The Office also provided
legal advice and assistance across the government, including on
litigation and international trade.
The Office maintained our effective stewardship of over $1.2
billion in statutory licensing revenues as of the end of fiscal 2022.
We also engaged in numerous outreach activities; in fiscal 2022, we
hosted 47 public events and spoke at over 100 more, roughly double the
prior year. The Office transferred 573,152 works with an estimated
value of $45 million to the Library collections. We hired our first
ever Chief Economist and released a report on women authors'
participation in the copyright system.
significant ongoing initiatives
Below we highlight progress on two particularly important
initiatives: IT continuous development and the Copyright Claims Board
(CCB).
Continuous Development
Working with the Library of Congress's Office of the Chief
Information Officer (OCIO), we have completed the fourth year of the
appropriated five-year funding (fiscal 2019--2023) for modernization of
our IT systems. The planned Enterprise Copyright System (ECS) includes
major workstreams on recordation, public records, registration, and
licensing.
Recordation.--Our new recordation system was the first ECS
component to be released to the public, enabling electronic recordation
of documents under section 205 of title 17. We are now incorporating
user feedback to make iterative improvements as well as to build the
functionality to process notices of termination. We anticipate the
recordation component will move into continuous development in fiscal
2024.
Public Records.--Our second ECS application to be publicly released
was a pilot for the new Copyright Public Records System (CPRS). This
system provides an improved interface for our public records, along
with advanced search functionality. We anticipate that this component
too will move into continuous development in fiscal 2024.
Registration.--Registration is the most complex of the Office's
services and there is a lot of public interest in the success of the
ECS registration component. We have made considerable progress on both
the external (public) and internal (staff) sides. With continued
support, we aim to have the standard registration application in a
limited pilot by the end of calendar 2024. We then hope to expand to
group registrations and ultimately retire the legacy eCO system by the
end of calendar 2026. We are working with OCIO to increase the
resources devoted to registration, in order to attain the pace needed
to achieve these goals.
Licensing.--The Office has been developing user experience design
and initial automated workflows for licensing processes to replace
outdated systems. We are focusing on migrating the statement of account
examination process to ECS and migrating all royalty accounting
processes to the Legislative Branch Financial Management System. The
new licensing component will move into continuous development in spring
2024.
Historical Public Records.--As part of the Office's commitment to
providing access to our historical records, we are digitizing print and
microfilm records and making them available online. This includes the
card catalog,\4\ the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCEs), and the
record books. Digitization will be followed by metadata capture for
searchability, with all records eventually available through the new
CPRS. Considerable progress has been made this year with respect to the
record books, which contain well over 26 million pages of records
between 1870 and 1977. The first 500 books were digitized and published
on the Library's website in February 2022,\5\ and now over 5,600 are
available.
Warehouse Consolidation.--The Office has almost finished
consolidating copyright deposit materials and other stored records from
several geographically dispersed storage facilities into a single,
modern facility in Landover, Maryland. This will allow us to provide
faster location services, better tracking, and improved security.
Contact Center.--The Office's work to modernize call routing and
reporting continued in fiscal 2022, with a contract to develop a state-
of-the-art contact center awarded in September 2022 through the GSA
Centers of Excellence program.
Launching the Copyright Claims Board
The groundbreaking copyright small claims tribunal, the CCB, opened
its doors to the public on June 16, 2022.\6\ Within the tight statutory
timeframe set by the CASE Act, we completed extensive regulatory work,
hired the officers and other staff, and collaborated with other Library
service units to prepare an electronic case management system (eCCB),
virtual hearing facilities, and office space. As of March 15, 2023,
over 380 claims have been filed and are now being processed, and we
continue our efforts to inform and educate the public about the
existence and operations of the CCB.
funding and fiscal update to 2024 budget request
Current financial support for our modernization initiative,
initially funded as part of the fiscal 2019 budget, continues through
fiscal 2024. Additional support will be needed as the Office begins to
maintain the ECS in order to avoid repeating the overhaul of severely
outdated legacy systems.
For fiscal 2024, the Office requests an overall budget of $103.1
million in funding and 481 full time employees (FTEs), of which $45.6
million would be funded through offsetting fees collected in fiscal
2022 and prior years. Specifically, in conjunction with OCIO, we
request $7.220 million in additional fiscal 2024 funding to support
software development and provide capacity for continuous development of
ECS, including 16 FTEs. Thirteen of these would be used to convert
current temporary OCIO employees to full-time staff; the other three
would serve in the Copyright Office. Our requests are as follows:
--Basic Budget\7\: $93.0 million and 448 FTEs, comprising $38 million
in offsetting fee collections (41%) and $55 million (59%) in
appropriated dollars. The request includes mandatory pay-
related and price level increases of $4.347 million, and one
program increase of $4.323 million for mission-critical
Copyright Office Information Technology Continuous Development.
The $4.323 million request will provide essential investment
and ongoing funding needed to develop , test, and integrate
multiple ECS applications with related systems and ensure they
are kept up-to-date. This shared program increase requires a
total of $7.220 million, $4.323 million and 3 FTE for Copyright
and $2.897 million and 13 FTE for OCIO. Notably, the Office's
portion of this request would be supported through sustained
funding and is a minor increase in offsetting collections
authority; it will not require an increase in appropriated
funds.
--Licensing Division Budget\8\: $6.9 million and 26 FTEs, all to be
funded via filing and royalty fees. The requested increase is
to cover mandatory pay-related and price level increases of
$0.327 million.
--Copyright Royalty Judges Budget\9\: $3.2 million and 7 FTEs, with
$0.2 million to support mandatory pay-related and price level
increases. Of this total, royalties and participation fees
offset $0.603 million (for non-personnel-related expenses). The
remainder, $2.590 million in appropriated dollars, is to cover
the personnel and other related expenses of the three judges
and their staff.
The Copyright Office appreciates the Subcommittee's and Committee's
continued support of our work to promote and improve the copyright
system, including the critically important continuous development of
the ECS to benefit all users.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ U.S. CONST. art. I, Sec. 8, cl. 8.
\2\ Registration processing times are posted at https://
copyright.gov/registration/docs/processing-times-faqs.pdf. For the
April 1 to September 30, 2022 timeframe, 81% of all registration claims
were eService claims (online claims and electronic deposits); about 17%
were deposit ticket claims (online claims with separately mailed
physical deposit materials); and about 2% were mail claims (paper claim
forms and physical deposits).
\3\ There are three primary types of documents that may be
submitted for recordation: transfers of copyright ownership, other
documents pertaining to a copyright, and notices of termination. The
pilot and newly released system are currently focused on only the first
category (section 205 documents).
\4\ See https://copyright.gov/vcc/. The Office already digitized
and made available online our physical card catalog, which is available
in the Virtual Card Catalog (VCC), as well as the CCEs.
\5\ See U.S. Copyright, NewsNet 947, Copyright Office Launches
Digitized Copyright Historical Record Books Collection (Feb. 7, 2022),
https://www.copyright.gov/newsnet/2022/947.html. The scans are posted
at https://www.loc.gov/collections/copyright-historical-record-books-
1870-to-1977/about-this-collection/.
\6\ U.S. Copyright Office, NewsNet 969, Copyright Office Announces
Claims Board Is Open for Filing, https://www.copyright.gov/newsnet/
2022/969.html.
\7\ The Basic Budget funds most of the Office's operations and
initiatives, including the majority of payroll-related expenses.
Historically, this has been composed of a combination of appropriated
dollars and authority to spend fee revenue, with fees constituting
close to half of this budget.
\8\ The Licensing Budget is derived completely from collections of
royalties payable to copyright owners and filing fees paid by cable and
satellite licensees pursuant to statutory licenses.
\9\ Although the CRJ program is not part of the Office, we provide
it with budget formulation and execution support on behalf of the
Library. Appropriated funding supports payroll and partially funds non-
pay expenses that are not funded by fees and royalty payments.
______
Prepared Statement of Mary B. Mazanec, Director, Congressional Research
Service
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to present the fiscal 2024 budget
request for the Congressional Research Service (CRS). I would also like
to express my appreciation to the Committee for your support of our
fiscal 2023 request.
With today's testimony, I outline CRS's budget requirements for
fiscal 2024, including two proposed programmatic increases that will
bolster the Service's analytic capabilities and enhance the level of
service provided to Congress. In addition, I will provide an overview
of several noteworthy CRS accomplishments in its support for Congress
during fiscal 2022, and update you on the Service's progress on a
number of our strategic initiatives.
fiscal 2024 budget request and program increases
The CRS budget request for fiscal 2024 is 146.574 million dollars,
an increase of 12.974 million dollars (or 9.7 percent) over the amount
appropriated for fiscal 2023. The requested increase includes 7.71
million dollars for mandatory pay and price increases. The proposal
also includes program increases of 5.264 million dollars to build
analytical capacity for CRS's bill digesting services, to support the
continued development of Congress.gov, and to enhance the Service's
quantitative analysis capabilities. As in previous fiscal years, staff
pay and benefits account for approximately 90 percent of the amount
requested by CRS.
Increased Capacity for Bill Summaries and Congress.gov
As part of its proposed program increase, CRS is requesting 2.671
million dollars and 16 FTE to address a backlog of legislative
summaries and to continue development of Congress.gov. The publication
of bill summaries is a function mandated in CRS's authorizing statute
and is a critical component of the searchable content on the
Congess.gov website. Due to an increase in the volume of bills
introduced, the growing complexity of legislative proposals, along with
inadequate staff capacity within the Legislative Information Services
(LIS) Bill Digesting team, there is a backlog of bills requiring
summarization. At present, a single LIS analyst serves as the sole
subject matter expert for a subject area and each analyst is
responsible for multiple areas. This ``one-deep'' staffing
configuration has proven problematic and is insufficient to keep pace
with the rapid legislative activity occurring over the most recent
Congresses.
Twelve (12) additional FTEs will allow CRS to create needed
redundancies in subject area coverage to better respond to competing
priorities and spikes in workload; to more efficiently distribute and
manage the workload of incoming bills; and to improve the depth of
expertise necessary to authoritatively analyze and summarize complex
legislation proposed by the modern-day Congress. In requesting these
new hires, CRS's objective is to remedy the existing backlog and
improve the overall timeliness of bill summary publication.
In addition to addressing the backlog, CRS's request includes 4
FTEs to support the continuous development and day-to-day operation of
Congress.gov. LIS staff work in close concert with congressional staff
and the Library's OCIO on the modernization of congressional
collections, formats, and capabilities for Congress.gov. The additional
FTEs will be vital to sustain these enhancements as well as ensuring
the day to day integrity of the Congress.gov system.
Quantitative Data Analysis Pilot
CRS's requested program increase for fiscal 2024 includes 3.080
million dollars and 2 NTE to pilot and enhance the Service's capability
for quantitative data analysis and policy simulation. In the Joint
Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2023, Congress encouraged CRS ``to explore ways to expand its ability
to perform quantitative analysis of research data . . . .'' and
directed the Service to ``engage with an external entity to produce a
report detailing the feasibility of CRS engaging in the analysis and
modeling of big data sets by highlighting the information technology
infrastructure, staffing, and analytical support required to establish
and maintain such a capability.'' This report language reflects the
growing demand among Members and Committees for this type of analytical
support from CRS. While CRS has conducted limited quantitative analysis
and policy simulation to evaluate the effects of legislation, it lacks
the capacity to provide this service on a broader scale. Enhancing this
area would enable CRS to provide congressional requestors with a more
granular perspective of the impact of legislative proposals on various
demographic groups, as well as the interaction of such policies with
other programs.
CRS would utilize 2.593 million dollars of the requested amount to
contract personnel (data scientists, programmers, and digital interface
designers) to process data and maintain simulation models in a cloud
computing environment. The funds would also be used to invest in the
software, data sets, and infrastructure required to perform and
maintain the data analysis and policy simulations. An additional 487
thousand dollars is requested for OCIO to hire 2 NTE to design, support
and implement systems, and to contract for IT security services. The
entire 3.080 million dollars requested for this pilot will non-recur in
fiscal 2028.
service to congress
As in previous years, CRS provided support to almost every Member
and Committee office. In fiscal 2022, CRS experts responded to over
73,000 congressional requests; prepared nearly 1,100 new products;
updated over 1,900 existing products; and conducted 264 seminars that
were attended by approximately 10,000 congressional participants. In
addition, CRS information specialists completed over 200 Geographical
Information System (GIS) projects. The Service also produced 86 videos
and podcasts featuring discussions by CRS analysts and legislative
attorneys covering a myriad of topics including: defense and
intelligence; homeland security and emergency management; science and
technology; and healthcare.
CRS supported Congress during every stage of the legislative
process and across a range of issues including China's global
ambitions, policies and activities; border security; climate change;
cybersecurity; constitutional law, international trade and finance, and
the conflict in Ukraine. CRS experts worked closely with Congress on
issues presented in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the CHIPS and
Science Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.
strategic initiatives
CRS is committed to achieving the goals and objectives included in
its 2019-2023 Directional Plan. In addition, the Service is developing
its next Directional Plan (FY2024-2028) in coordination with the
Library's strategic planning effort. CRS's priorities for fiscal 2024
include execution of the Continuing Legal Education Forum (CLEF);
continuing to work with OCIO to modernize its IT infrastructure; and
strengthening the diversity and inclusiveness of the CRS workforce and
working environment. Of course, CRS's primary focus will remain the
efficient delivery of its core products and services to support the
118th Congress. The following is a summary of the Service's progress
during fiscal 2022 in advancing key initiatives.
IT Modernization/Integrated Research and Information Systems (IRIS)
The Integrated Research and Information System (IRIS) initiative is
a multi-year effort to update the Service's mission-specific
information technology to enable CRS staff to create and deliver
products and services to Congress. During fiscal 2022 CRS, in
collaboration with LC OCIO, continued several major work streams
including Authoring System; Content Management; CRS.gov website
redesign; as well as the Text Analysis Program (TAP), CRS's legislative
analysis application. The selected solutions align with the Library's
technical roadmap and Legislative Branch cloud strategies. Solutions
are developed using an agile framework, permitting stakeholders to
incrementally validate the solution during the development phase,
ensuring the delivered product meets all defined requirements.
Solutions are informed by both internal CRS staff as well as our
congressional stakeholders. These efforts are essential to modernizing
CRS mission critical applications to achieve the Library's ``digital
first'' strategy and meet the evolving needs of Congress. CRS
anticipates releasing both the Authoring and Document Management
solution as well as the TAP solution into production in fiscal 2023.
(CONAN) Modernization
Known officially as the ``Constitution of the United States of
America: Analysis and Interpretation,'' CONAN serves as the official
record of the U.S. Constitution for Congress. In 2019, CRS collaborated
with OCIO and the Law Library to introduce a new website for CONAN:
constitution.congress.gov. The new site features hundreds of pages of
updated constitutional analysis and content. Since the launch of the
public website in 2019, CONAN has received over fourteen million unique
visitors to the site and its pages have been viewed over thirty-five
million times. During fiscal 2022, CRS legislative attorneys continued
to provide comprehensive analysis of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence
as it relates to every provision of the U.S. Constitution, including
the implications of recently decided cases. To make CONAN more
accessible to online users, new and existing content has been drafted
and revised in the form of short, granular essays that focus on
specific, discrete topics. CRS legal experts have also been preparing
the print decennial 2022 edition of CONAN. Covering Supreme Court
interpretations of the Constitution through the Court's October 2021
term, the decennial 2022 edition features a revised format designed to
integrate the print version of CONAN with its digital counterpart.
Recruitment and Retention of a Diverse and Productive Workforce
CRS continues to recruit, retain, and professionally develop a
diverse, highly skilled workforce. Specific goals for diversity and
inclusion are identified in the CRS Operations Plan around recruitment,
training, and communications. Updates on diversity and inclusion
efforts are communicated to staff from leadership, in CRS's staff
newsletter, and it's newly developed internal Diversity and Inclusion
website.
The Service has developed and executed a recruitment plan for merit
selection positions that includes outreach to potential applicants from
underrepresented groups. During fiscal 2022, CRS participated in over
30 recruitment events many of which were sponsored by minority-serving
institutions with a focus on underrepresented groups and has
participated in 8 events thus far in fiscal 2023. The Service also
supported a variety of paid summer internships through the Student
Diversity and Inclusion Internship Program. In fiscal 2022, CRS
completed its capstone project with Texas A&M University's Bush School
of Government to research strategies for improving the recruitment and
retention of a diverse workforce. CRS is in the process of reviewing
and implementing the capstone recommendations. Additionally, CRS is
actively engaged with other Library offices to conduct a barrier
analysis focused on the CRS workforce.
CRS hosted a number of programs for staff that were aimed at
fostering a more inclusive and respectful workplace including ``Leaving
the Door Open for Inclusion;'' ``Generational Diversity;'' and ``Anti-
Harassment Training.'' In addition, the Service continues to offer
training opportunities for leadership, writing, and presentation skills
and has developed customized statistics and data training courses to
support professional development.
Knowledge Management
CRS is developing and implementing strategies to capture and
preserve the institutional knowledge that it relies on to provide
exceptional service to Congress. The Service utilizes its Research
Portal as a hub for digital resources for quick and easy access to
information needed to research and analyze legislative issues. The
Research Portal was particularly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic
when most CRS staff were working remotely, and its utility has
continued since the resumption of onsite operations. By the end of
fiscal 2022, four additional sites were added to bring the total number
of collections on the Portal to 46. In addition, CRS continued to
capture and transfer tacit knowledge held by senior analysts,
attorneys, and information professionals. Activities to facilitate the
sharing of information, knowledge, and best practices have enabled new
staff to learn from the experience of their colleagues. The Service
also continued to implement its information resource instructional
program, which provides staff with best practices on training
techniques such as adult learning and virtual instruction, to enrich
the learning experience of congressional patrons.
Congress.gov
CRS partnered with OCIO to actively engage with the House Clerk and
Secretary of the Senate data partners to modernize legislative data
interchanges. Targeted to be completed by the end of fiscal 2023,
replacing legacy data processing workflows with new data interchanges
will better safeguard congressional data and enable potential future
enhancements. Fiscal 2022 enhancements to Congress.gov that have
improved access to accurate and timely legislative information include:
the release of the beta Application Programming Interface (API) that
enables direct access to structured Congress.gov legislative and
congressional data; and customizable data elements for downloading, as
well as increasing the download limit to 5,000 rows from 1,000.
Additional enhancements included automated appropriations measure
searches by specific fiscal years and an alerts capability available
for appropriations measures considered by Congress. CRS and its Library
colleagues continue to be appreciative of the ongoing high-performing
partnerships with House, Senate, and GPO colleagues as legislative data
workflows, tools, and standards continue to be modernized through
collaborative efforts.
conclusion
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
Subcommittee, the requested budget resources reflect CRS's ongoing
commitment to meet the important responsibility that Congress has
entrusted to it and to do so as comprehensively and efficiently as
possible. On behalf of my colleagues at CRS, I would like to thank the
Committee for your support and consideration of our fiscal 2024
request.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Dr. Hayden. Acting Architect
Rexroat, please.
------
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
STATEMENT OF CHERE REXROAT, ACTING ARCHITECT OF THE
CAPITOL, ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Ms. Rexroat. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Chairman Reed,
and Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in the
Architect of the Capitol's fiscal year 2024 budget request. I
am pleased to be here alongside Dr. Hayden.
Working together, we continue to align our efforts by
reflecting shared priorities. I would also like to thank and
acknowledge my coworkers, colleagues, and dedicated employees
who work diligently every day to support the functions of
Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Library.
I am proud to have served with the agency in various roles
over the last 5 years. Since assuming this new role, I have
used this first month to meet with subcommittees' clerks, Rules
Committee staff, and House stakeholders. In order to learn more
about key initiatives and identify areas of concern, I am now
taking all this information into account to continue a plan and
formulate a plan for the future, including recommendations.
The AOC's $1.28 billion fiscal year 2024 budget request is
focused on three key priorities, security, safety, and
accountability. Security remains the agency's top budgetary
requirement. With this recommendation and support of this
subcommittee, the AOC has made significant process--progress to
improve the security posture across campus.
While some of these security changes are more visible than
others, we will continue to balance and maintain the critical
physical infrastructure while remaining prepared to respond
rapidly to new developments.
Safety is another significant priority. Across the agency
we dedicate time and attention to safety training, processes,
procedures, and operations. This budget request recognizes
these essential measures with a focused effort to avoid
hazards, risks, and interruptions.
The third key budgetary priority is accountability, fiscal
accountability, especially as it relates to the overall AOC
culture and corresponding cultural change as stewards of the
taxpayer dollars.
Our current organizational framework is a siloed
organization. The structure is antiquated, sluggish, and rigid.
It has not kept up with the current industry practices and has
not set consistent standards, policies, or procedures causing
inequities in application, thus impacting agency morale.
For example, the inconsistent application of policy across
the agency is the norm. This inconsistency has resulted in the
lack of accountability seen over the past few years, and if not
solved now, will remain the standard business-as-usual
practice.
Serving as a Chief Architect, I am very familiar with the
AOC's project management processes. We have traditionally
managed our programs through a design, bid, then build
environment, prompting the completion of one step before
starting another.
This process causes inefficiencies through duplication of
efforts, lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities, leading
to unbalanced workload assignments, thereby causing delays in
project development, leading to redesign, scope creep, and
modifications. This, coupled with the ongoing economic and
labor challenges, has resulted in what we have seen as
increased costs.
To keep up with the current standards of practice, the AOC
needs to realign operational functions in order to streamline
management for a more collaborative matrixed organization.
Ultimately, we have to change how we operate to improve our
processes and procedures for the timeliness of responses to
speak as one AOC with one voice.
For the agency to succeed moving forward, we owe it to each
other, our employees, taxpayer, and the future of the AOC to
make these changes now. So, I thank you and ask for your
support as we continue to transform and modernize the agency.
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
subcommittee, thank you again for supporting the Architect of
the Capitol's request for the fiscal year 2024 budget.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Chere Rexroat, Acting Architect & Chief Engineer,
Architect of the Capitol
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the Fiscal Year
(FY) 2024 budget for the Architect of the Capitol (AOC). We are
committed to working closely with you, your staff, and the Senate
Committee on Rules & Administration (Rules) to ensure that the AOC
meets the needs and expectations of the Senate community.
We are truly grateful for the agency's hard-working, mission-
focused employees who get the job done every day in order to support
the functions of Congress, the Supreme Court and the Library of
Congress (Library).
Serving as the Acting Architect over this past month has been a
privilege. I began my tenure by meeting with Committee staff to
understand their concerns, issues, and priorities. I have also met with
AOC staff to reestablish trust and confidence in leadership and ensure
they know they are valued for their excellent work. I am personally
committed to open and timely communication to be transparent and
accountable, guaranteeing coordination with this Subcommittee,
Congress, and internal entities, such as the AOC Inspector General.
I joined the AOC in 2018 serving as the Deputy Chief Engineer and
became the Chief Engineer in July 2022. The Office of the Chief
Engineer's (OCE) mission is to provide consolidated services across the
AOC for safe and efficient project delivery to include maintenance of
critical infrastructure. OCE is predominantly known for planning,
programming, design, acquisition, and execution of the agency's major
construction projects, listed in the budget submission as the line-
item construction program (LICP).
The AOC's top priorities for the FY 2024 budget are security,
safety and accountability.
i. overview
The AOC supports the day-to-day operations of Congress, the Supreme
Court and the Library. Every day, more than 2,400 AOC employees are
responsible for preserving and maintaining more than 18.4 million
square feet of facilities, 570 acres of grounds and thousands of works
of art. Around the clock, our team is committed to ensuring these
historic buildings and aging infrastructure are preserved for the
benefit of future generations. At the same time, we are working
tirelessly to upgrade our capabilities and facilities to meet current
needs.
The FY 2024 budget request of $1.128 billion represents a 14.5
percent decrease from the FY 2023 enacted appropriation. The requested
funding supports critical program investments in physical security,
safety and facility management priorities. The FY 2024 request also
includes funding for major special events that require significant
planning, coordination and resources, such as the next Presidential
inauguration.
ii. prioritizing physical security & safety
Physical security and safety are top priorities. With the support
of this Committee, the AOC has made significant progress in improving
the security posture across campus. The AOC continues to take steps to
address projects prioritized in the comprehensive physical security
assessment completed last year. As part of this process, the AOC is on
track to implement consistent security standards across the Capitol
campus. The FY 2024 budget request reflects the ongoing coordinated
approach for projects, including repairing and replacing security
kiosks, vehicle barriers and other protective measures throughout the
Capitol campus. Moreover, in coordination with the United States
Capitol Police (USCP), and the Senate and House Sergeant at Arms, the
AOC stands ready to respond to emerging requirements.
The overall safety of the AOC workforce, as well as everyone who
works or visits here, is another significant priority. Across the
agency, we continue to dedicate time and attention to training,
procedures and supervision to ensure our workforce operates safely.
This budget request addresses important areas of need, including fire
alarm system upgrades, code deficiencies and system failure risks. One
example of aging utility infrastructure is deteriorating concrete and
piping components supporting the campus. These components demand
immediate attention to avoid service interruptions or failures.
iii. supporting the senate community
The AOC's FY 2024 budget request contains significant priorities
for the Senate office buildings and Senate operations. The AOC plans to
address necessary repairs and improvements for committee hearing rooms,
elevators and air handling units.
The AOC has commenced a long-term program to renovate 32 committee
hearing rooms throughout the Senate office buildings. These renovations
aim to improve technology and accessibility while prioritizing historic
preservation. The requested funding supports the completion of two
hearing rooms each year.
This request proposes a multi-year program to refurbish and
modernize 46 elevators and associated elevator machine rooms in all
Senate buildings. The elevators require full refurbishment every 15 to
20 years, and the AOC has proposed a schedule to refurbish the
elevators to meet safety and code standards with minimized disruption
to regular operations.
In addition, the AOC will focus on several projects in the Hart
Senate Office Building. One ongoing effort relates to the refurbishment
of the air handling units. Originally installed in 1982, the units are
nearing the end of their operational life, and the FY 2024 budget
request will support the second phase of this construction project.
AOC's funding request covers the second year of a multi-year
program to renovate Senate food service operations. The Senate
jurisdiction oversees nine food service facilities in the Senate office
buildings and on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol Building, which
include vending and catering services on the Senate side of the Capitol
campus. In addition, as requested by this Committee and Rules, the AOC
has proposed a renovation program to transform current food service
outlets into a dining experience reflecting the history and traditions
of the United States Senate.
The AOC will continue the Senate Recycling Program, reducing
single-use plastics and advancing waste management in Senate facilities
as part of ongoing maintenance and process improvement. In FY 2022,
over 426 tons of non-construction waste was recycled through the AOC's
program, including 231 tons of paper and cardboard; 60 tons of pre-
consumer compostable materials and cooking oil; 11 tons of mixed
plastic, metal and glass containers; and 5.5 tons of used toner
cartridges and electronic waste. Beyond existing measures, the AOC
continues to further evaluate strategies to reduce single-use plastics
and expand sustainable measures.
Finally, as part of an ongoing collaboration with the Senate
Sergeant at Arms, the FY 2024 request also includes a comprehensive
building renovation at the Daniel Webster Page Residence to improve the
building's functionality and accessibility.
iv. modern management of aging infrastructure
Aging facilities and infrastructure present a variety of issues and
concerns. The past 3 years have only compounded many of these concerns,
as supply chain shortages, raw material cost increases and the
competition for skilled laborers have increased the difficulty of
addressing existing deficiencies. Across the board, the AOC's funding
request supports facility management and addresses an array of
essential issues, including roof replacement and installation of
emergency generators.
Implementing an asset management system allows us to prioritize
work through data-driven decisions. As we continue to develop our asset
management system, we will promote proactive maintenance-based
strategies. This program provides a disciplined, consistent approach to
annual inspections based on the average lifecycle of key infrastructure
elements. With this approach, the AOC will develop a long-term strategy
to address existing backlogs and the associated costs of deferred
maintenance requirements.
The AOC also remains focused on comprehensive planning for the
entire campus, taking into consideration immediate and long-term needs.
With the Committee's support, this forward- looking plan and
accompanying recommendations will set forth a robust approach for
future generations.
Over the past year, our staff has been delighted to welcome back
the public to the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) and the U.S. Botanic
Garden (Garden). Already during FY 2023, the CVC has hosted over
360,000 visitors, and with this Committee's support, the redesigned
Exhibition Hall has welcomed hundreds of enthusiastic students. This
innovative space provides a series of new interactive experiences
sharing the story of the U.S. Capitol and the legislative process. In
addition, the new Democracy Lab provides a hands-on educational area
with an array of activities for both the young and the young-at-heart,
and staff offer on-site and online educational programs. Also, in FY
2023, AOC websites, including the sites maintained by the CVC and the
Garden, have recorded more than 1.3 million visitors and nearly 3.5
million pageviews.
v. recognizing employee accomplishments & meeting mission requirements
The AOC remains focused on initiatives to improve employee morale.
For example, the AOC is expanding training programs at all levels of
the workforce. Every AOC employee can work with their supervisor on
professional development plans and training opportunities. In addition,
the agency's Chief Security Officer is leading implementation of
emergency management and resiliency training.
As the AOC strives to meet its strategic benchmarks on hiring and
retention, we remain focused on ensuring that we have the appropriate
training and resources our employees need to be successful. Most of our
workforce is required to be on-site to perform their roles and
responsibilities. At the same time, certain functions can be performed
off-site and, as appropriate, we have implemented standardized
government telework agreements that support our continuous and
uninterrupted ability to serve and respond from anywhere, any time.
To ensure that the AOC continues to attract and retain an
exceptional workforce in the years ahead, we are also expanding
outreach to educational institutions across the U.S. In just a few
months, the AOC will welcome eight new apprentices who will be working
throughout the agency with experienced mentors. Through this program
and other training initiatives, the AOC is preparing to carry on the
traditions of unique craftsmanship and ingenuity needed to work behind
the scenes to support Congress, the Supreme Court and the Library.
conclusion
On behalf of our dedicated public servants who carry out the
mission every day, I appreciate the support provided by this Committee.
Your support has been essential to our daily operations, sustained
recruitment and retention efforts, and strengthened collaboration with
Congress, the Supreme Court, the Library, USCP, and Senate and House
Sergeant at Arms.
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for your time and support in consideration of
the AOC's FY 2024 budget request.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS' STRATEGIC PLAN
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Acting Architect. Dr.
Hayden, as we have talked about it, the Library of Congress has
recently completed its prior 5-year strategic plan and recently
initiated a new plan that further expands on your efforts to
modernize the Library. And can you give us an idea of how the
goals of the previous plan were achieved, or met, or not met?
Dr. Hayden. We are in the final year of our current 5-year
strategic plan. The title of the plan and the guiding force is
enhancing the Library experience, and that is in-person and in
the digital realm as well.
We have had four basic goals, expand access, enhance
services, optimize our resources, and measure impact.
Modernization has been at the heart of all of those efforts. We
have had great success in modernizing many of our IT systems
and working toward that as possible.
We expanded our digital scan center, completed Fort Meade
Module 6, continued work on the visitor experience in the
Thomas Jefferson Building, and we have started this past summer
on the next strategic plan, and it will be ready by October 1
of 2023. It will carry us from fiscal year 2024 to 2028, and it
builds on the current plan to maintain a user-centered focus.
Our digital strategy is what will be different with the new
plan as it will be incorporated into the larger strategic plan,
and that was a major step, because now as our CIO says,
technology and digital is baked into everything we do. And so
having that now be part of all of our efforts will be quite
remarkable for us.
LIBRARY'S FISCAL 2024 BUDGET REQUEST
Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much. And in your fiscal
year 2024 budget request, how does it--you can pick out some
highlights of how it further is your strategic plan, both the
one that is being completed and the one that will emerge.
Dr. Hayden. Well, when you look at the fiscal year 2024
request and the crucial part of expanding the access for all of
our users and whatever unit we have, the copyright continuous
development of the copyright system for all of its users and
stakeholders will be key.
We have made great progress so far, and we really are
heartened by the fact that we will be able to continue that.
Also, the National Library for the Blind and the Print
Disabled, the continuous development there.
They have had great success with introducing new braille e-
readers. The response has been phenomenal, as they have said,
and really working on that. Expanding our access to, I would
say, vulnerable users who really need to have the latest
technology.
So one of the requests was specific to that. And so, the
request to also strengthen our service to Congress directly
will also be something that we are looking at, optimizing and
enhancing services.
Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much, doctor. Acting
Architect Rexroat, the Architect of the Capitol is a very
dynamic agency. It faces many challenges, security, historic
preservation, requests from Senators and representatives,
etcetera.
And as I mentioned in my opening statement, many people
have indicated to me that the programmatic practice and
leadership structure need to be reformed. And since taking over
as the Acting Architect, what observations can you share with
us about the operation and leadership of the organization?
Ms. Rexroat. Thank you, sir, for the question. The
observations that I have seen to date, again as I noted in my
opening statement, are the unequitable application of policies.
We find that the policies and procedures, because we were
siloed, the jurisdictions were siloed, that they applied them
differently.
So now is trying to be one AOC. The main focus for the
future is going to be make sure that we apply those equitably
across the board. We also found that with that silo that we get
piecemeal of information. What may happen in one jurisdiction
may not be the same for the other jurisdictions.
So, if we can get those synergies back together, that would
help as well. And then, of course, differing priorities. We
know, as you noted, that there are different priorities that
come about, and it is a matter of getting those expectations
aligned and making sure that we are addressing those as needed.
So, sir, I hope that answers your question.
Senator Reed. Indeed. Have you experienced any obstacles as
you have stepped in? I mean, this has to be ultimately a
cooperative, collegial effort in which, you know, mutual
support and mutual effort are critical. Have you got that
support?
Ms. Rexroat. At this point in time, sir, it is still to be
determined. I will say that I have had the pleasure of meeting
with the Rules Committees, the subcommittees, and some of the
major stakeholders.
It has been my pleasure to be able to hear from them with
their priorities are. Now I need to take those priorities back
to my leadership so that we are in alignment moving forward.
Some of the other obstacles, as you are aware of, or at least
have been out there for the last few years is our hiring
processes.
That alignment also has to do with our management practices
as well, making sure that we take care of those. And then, of
course, succession planning. Make sure we have a left and right
seat, right, so that if there is a gap in leadership, that we
have the coverage that we need.
Senator Reed. Right. And one of the problems that we have
all addressed here is scoping these projects. We always end up
realizing that they weren't scoped properly, they are more
expensive, they are more complicated, etcetera. You have
addressed that in your statement and I know you will address it
in action, too. With that, let me recognize the Ranking Member.
CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE BUDGET REQUEST
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Hayden, I see
that you are seeking about a 10 percent increase for the
Congressional Research Service. There is a demand for their
work, obviously, and that demand grows.
The request includes additional funding for new information
products for congress.gov and a new data analysis pilot
program. You have mentioned that briefly in your opening
comments and I would like to hear more about it.
Can you explain how the request will improve congress.gov
to provide the public with greater transparency into Congress's
work? And how will the proposed data pilot program enhance the
CRS's ability to provide Congress with greater quantitative
research analysis?
CRS DATA ANALYSIS REQUEST
Dr. Hayden. Thank you for that, because the request for the
data analysis pilot is directly a result of a feasibility study
that Congress requested, and to help CRS determine what its
capacity is, what it needs to help with big data sets and that
research.
The feasibility study was completed and recommended the
pilot, and the request that is in this year is for the pilot.
It could be very exciting because it will take us into
different types of things like data modeling and project
software and cloud computing and all of these tools.
But it is something that there is additional Congressional
interest and need for being able to have CRS help with those
types of requests. And then the bill summaries and the
congress.gov enhancement. Right now, we are able to, for
instance, every three weeks, add new features to congress.gov.
And so being able to increase the timeliness of responses
with congress.gov as well will help. The estimate is a 40
percent enhancement in timelines, and that is really something
when you think about it.
Senator Fischer. When they made the estimate on that, on
the feasibility study, did they take into account certain
percentage for the growth increase that we are seeing? Congress
is requesting a lot from CRS now, and is that going to be
considered, that increase in the time required to get reports
back?
Dr. Hayden. Yes.
Senator Fischer. It is all exciting.
Dr. Hayden. It is something because we want to be able to
give Congress the most timely, most efficient service. You have
your own special forces and we are your research arm.
Senator Fischer. And we appreciate that.
Dr. Hayden. You being able to have the latest tools, the
latest types of things, really, I think would enhance. And so
these efforts are dedicated to making sure that Congress has
the most up to date and sometimes cutting edge.
Senator Fischer. Great. Thank you. Ms. Rexroat, I am aware
that there is a significant number of deferred maintenance
needs across the Capitol campus, but I see in the fiscal year
2024 budget request, it is going to fund an additional 50 full
time staff, as well as prioritize other operating budget
increases.
Given the scale of the backlog that we see here, can you
explain why you prioritize the operational costs, and how the
agency--how you figure out how to balance those operational
costs and major construction costs when you are budget
forecasting? How do you do that?
Ms. Rexroat. Thank you, Senator. That is a very good
question. I am looking into that right now and trying to digest
the most of it as sitting in the seat. So, I will be happy to
get back with you on that.
I know that it is weighed against what we can--what the
projects are, and then, of course, what we can support with
resources against those projects themselves. So, the staffing
to make sure that we are able to execute.
Senator Fischer. Okay. When you get back to us, could you
let me know how the AOC tracks its deferred maintenance backlog
as well?
Ms. Rexroat. Yes, of course.
LIBRARY'S REQUEST AND STRATEGIC VISION
Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Dr.
Hayden, a key aspect in the Library's strategic plan is
expanding Americans' access to all of the Library's resources.
How does the Library's fiscal year 2024 request align with that
strategic vision, and what are the primary initiatives the
request would fund so that we can enhance every American's
access to the Library?
Dr. Hayden. I will start with the National Library for the
Blind and Print Disabled, and the new devices and the efforts
to establish continuous development for that user group. And it
was part of the previous strategic plan and now is a vital part
of what we know will be an increased need with the expansion of
the eligibility of people who can use NLS services.
People who have dyslexia, for instance, and a generational
shift, whether they are going to be coming to us with their own
devices and being able to respond to that. And so, the request
this year will facilitate and establish that.
And also, with the copyright system and continuing the
development to get to the most important part of copyright
system, the registration system. We have a very active public
advisory committee that is very anxious that we continue that.
And also, CRS and support for Congress. So, there are
different users. Congress first and the people Congress serves.
Senator Fischer. When you say that the--when Americans come
in with their own devices, are you talking about computers or--
--
Dr. Hayden. Different devices so they can download from the
cloud----
Senator Fischer. So, you will make it compatible with any
device that comes in, or----?
Dr. Hayden. That is the challenge----
Senator Fischer [continuing]. At least to try to adapt to
it?
CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT OF LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY
Dr. Hayden. And the adapting. You really hit on the
continuous development part, and so you will see that term used
with all of our technology efforts that we are shifting.
We want to establish systems that can change as technology
changes and I know personally, the tech changes quickly and we
will have to be--another part of that, though, you will see in
our efforts that we are very concerned as we increase access
through technology, that our cybersecurity is and continues to
be a major focus and strengthened.
Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Fischer. Ms. Rexroat, let
me resume where I stopped, which is basically this issue of
scoping, of course, estimation seems to be inadequate because
of cost overruns. So, what do you believe are the issues within
the AOC that preclude the agency from doing accurate project
scoping cost estimations and timelines?
Ms. Rexroat. Initial, sir, response has to do with the
planning. We have to start with our planning processes and make
sure that we get the scopes identified clear and upfront. If we
can't do that, then we are just tracing the scope as the
project continues to move.
So, I will be happy to get back to you with some more
information on that, but I know we have to look at our initial
planning processes in order to get it cleared down the line.
Senator Reed. Now, as Chief Engineer, prior to becoming the
Acting Architect, will you take any steps to try to improve
this process?
Ms. Rexroat. Yes, sir.
Senator Reed. Could you allude to those?
Ms. Rexroat. Sure. I had taken the same approach with being
the Chief Engineer here and started with some initial
observations. With those observations, I did find that, again,
we were siloed and we had a little bit more of a stop, start,
stop, start process.
With that in mind, we were taking a look at how we could
get more of a matrixed organization. Once a team is initially
identified that team then stays on the project from the very
beginning all the way through the end, cradle to grave, as you
have heard. That way we get the continuity of ownership.
We get the continuity of what happened on the project and
how the project was initially planned, scoped, and outlined.
Along with that change, I also was taking a look at a project
controls branch, which would then come in and be my quality
control, quality assurance arm of the OCE. Therefore, we had
checks and balances along with that team structure.
Senator Reed. Now, are there any issues regarding
contracting? Because I would presume that you would have to
engage contractors, subcontractors, etcetera.
Ms. Rexroat. Contracting does currently fall under OCE, so
we have had them in the mix through the entire process and will
continue to have them as we develop the new changes moving
forward.
Senator Reed. And what resources or other support do you
believe you need in order to correct these factors long term?
And is it reflected in this budget?
Ms. Rexroat. It is, sir, to some degree. We have been
asking for staff over the past few budget cycles with regards
to management, project management, and construction management.
It has been a challenge.
We did stay, completely opened and our projects did stay
operational throughout the entire pandemic. There is a lot of
competition within the metro area for qualified managers and
construction managers, so we have that resource to contend
with.
But knowing that we can continue to get our projects
outlined and identify upfront early, we will be able to take a
look at what the staffing requirements are for projects versus
trying to do them after the fact.
LIBRARY RECRUITMENT AND STAFFING
Senator Reed. Thank you very much. And Dr. Hayden, one of
the issues that seems to be everywhere is the difficulty of
securing talented, qualified personnel to fill the ranks. You
are asking for additional FTEs, and the question is, can you
fill them, etcetera.
Every business I go to, and I think Senator Fischer has the
same experience, we can't find the workers--we can't find good
workers.
This morning we had the Army, the Navy, and Air Force about
recruiting and surprise, they are having a very challenging
time finding recruits. So, can you comment upon your ability to
recruit and retain the highest quality?
Dr. Hayden. In our fiscal year 2024 budget request, we are
asking for support to help with contract specialists. That is
one of the areas that has been identified throughout the
government.
We are working on trying to help keep our staff - in a
number of ways. We opened our vacancy announcements and are
continuing. When we revised our telework policy, we found that
it is also something that helps in terms of recruitment, and
diversity, and being able to do that.
And also looking at more outreach to organizations and
events that might help us with recruitment. But that is a
definite problem that we share. There are other positions
besides the contracting that are difficult.
Attorneys with foreign legal specialties, our law Library
is the largest in the world, and specifically supports Congress
as well, and finding people who have those types of skills,
especially in foreign language, is very difficult.
So, we have to find ways that we can make our positions
attractive, but also do the technical things to get them here.
Senator Reed. Well, please keep us apprized, both of you,
of this issue of qualified workers, finding them, keeping them
because it is critical to the success of both your agencies.
Senator Fischer, please.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ms. Rexroat,
recently we have seen the misuse of government resources at the
highest level of the agency, and it has been a point of public
discussion. It is important that the American people understand
that the AOC is a financial steward of those resources that
they receive.
What does your organization need for better internal
controls, and does this budget reflect that priority? Have you
had those discussions? Are you ready to, you know, figure out
how to get a handle on things, what needs to happen, and more
importantly, how can we help?
Ms. Rexroat. Thank you very much for that. Yes, ma'am, I am
taking a look into that. As I noted earlier, we have found that
with the silos, there has been definitely disparate application
of how policies and which, of course, have led to some of the
challenges we have seen over the past few years.
I am looking into that, and my goal is to make sure that we
get those into alignment, to have greater accountability,
equitability across the whole agency, and ensure that the staff
and the supervisors know what is the correct path forward.
So, with that in mind, yes, absolutely. I am taking a look
at that and look forward to your support with that. We will
need it.
Senator Fischer. Are you looking just within the agency?
Are you asking for any outside consultation to come in and be
able to offer suggestions as well to, you know, go through an
analysis of the agency, or do you want to keep it in the
agency? Where are you at this point?
Ms. Rexroat. Sorry to interrupt, but yes, I have broached
that option. I do want to put all the options on the table in
order to see what can best serve the agency moving forward, and
that option is out there.
I am working through right now the scope and, of course,
the financial requirements in order to get that done. But it is
an option that is under consideration and on the table.
Senator Fischer. Well, thank you very much for stepping
forward to address it. I know you understand it.
Ms. Rexroat. Thank you, ma'am.
VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT
Senator Fischer. Dr. Hayden, as I mentioned in my opening
comments about the Veterans History Project, I personally had a
wonderful experience with that, and I know that we all share
the goal of ensuring that the program has the resources that it
needs so it can continue to be a success.
Could you walk us through the projects and digitization
efforts of the material that has already been collected? I
mean, I would imagine you have a lot of material there. You
know, how do you plan to do that, and can it be done in a
fairly timely manner, or is this something that is going to
take a long period of time? And then how do you hope to reach
more veterans to tell their story?
Dr. Hayden. The veteran's history website was recently
updated and it is the first time in about 20 years. And so
that--in terms of being able to attract more people, we had 3
million visitors to the website just last year, and we have
114,000 collections that are available.
That includes also our ability to work with Gold Star
families, and that has really expanded our reach as well. We
were able to work with over 50 congressional offices. Members
were able to do videos and put them on their websites, and
really, as you know, do workshops virtually.
And we are working with our IT systems to make sure that
people in the future will be able to use the latest digital
tools to send materials to us, the recordings. And we see that
that aspect, beyond the workshops that we give and we have all
types of programing, and we have been doing quite a bit of that
and did a lot during the pandemic, in fact.
But being able to make it easier for people to send in
materials. And our Folklife Center has a program called
Paprika, like the spice, we have invested quite a bit in terms
of making that technology easier so that we can ingest
different types of digital input. We would love to give you a
kind of a briefing on that. We have our Chief Information
Officer, Judith Conklin.
And I just want to take this opportunity to express our
appreciation for her. She is a certified cyber security expert.
She is a veteran herself. She left as a Major and she is here
behind me. We are so proud because she has just won, for the
second time, an award for Federal workers for her efforts in
cyber security.
So, all of the things, when we talk digital, when we talk
technology, we are led by Judith Conklin.
Senator Fischer. Thank you. Congratulations, ma'am, on your
award.
Ms. Conklin. Thank you.
Senator Fischer. And thank you for the work that you do.
Ms. Rexroat, we are seeing more visitors come. You know, March,
we have seen a huge uptick in the number of visitors to the
Capitol.
We have a lot of folks coming out to meet with us, but also
to learn more about Washington D.C., the history that is here,
and all that it offers. And so, I want to acknowledge the CDCs
staff, along with the Capitol Police officers.
They have helped to open the Capitol campus. But how is the
AOC managing the influx? Is there anything from an
appropriations perspective that we can provide to make that
experience for our friends and neighbors even better?
Ms. Rexroat. Thank you, ma'am. From my understanding right
now, the answer is I think we have got what we need. But I will
definitely check back and make sure that that is the truth.
Senator Fischer. Yes.
Ms. Rexroat. I will find out for you.
Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
CHAIRMEN'S CLOSING REMARKS
Senator Reed. Well, thank you both, not only for your
testimony, but for your service. And I just have one final
question. Major Conklin, is that Major in the United States
Army?
Ms. Conklin. Yes.
Senator Reed. Well, bravo. I really--I mean, I applaud you,
and I am not surprised either. Thank you for your work. And
thank you for the work from all your colleagues at the Library
of Congress and also the architect of the counsel's office.
This concludes the Legislative Branch Appropriations
subcommittee hearing regarding fiscal year 2024 funding for the
Library of Congress and the Architecture of the Capitol. Again,
I thank you, Dr. Hayden and Ms. Rexroat, for your testimony.
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, March 29, 2023.
[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. The next hearing of the subcommittee will be
held on Tuesday, April 21 at 3:30 p.m. in room 124 of the
Dirksen Senate Office Building. We will hear testimony from the
Senate Sergeant at Arms and the Chief of the Capitol Police
regarding their fiscal year 2024 budget request.
Until then, the Committee stands adjourned. Thank you,
again.
[Whereupon, at 3:45 p.m., Wednesday, March 22, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
----------
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 3:32 p.m., in room SD-124, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jack Reed (Chairman), presiding.
Present: Senators Reed, Murray, Murphy, Van Hollen,
Fischer, and Rubio.
UNITED STATES SENATE SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER AND
UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JACK REED
Senator Reed. Good afternoon. Senator Fischer is on her
way. But at this point I will call this subcommittee to order.
I would like to welcome everyone, to the last of fiscal
year 2024 Budget Hearings for the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Subcommittee.
Today, we have with us the Senate's Sergeant at Arms, Ms.
Karen Gibson, General, United States Army, retired. And Chief
of the United States Capitol Police, Chief J. Thomas Manger.
Thank you, both.
I would like to thank you for joining us to testify. And I
would ask for unanimous consent that the witnesses' written
testimony be placed in the hearing record.
And hearing no objection, so ordered.
As I noted in our earlier hearings, the Legislative Branch
agencies have submitted fiscal year 2024 budget requests that
account for a $215 million increase over the enacted fiscal
year 2023 Legislative Branch appropriation. We will be
carefully considering these requests to ensure they continue to
improve our ability to meet our responsibility to govern
effectively.
For fiscal year 2024, the Sergeant at Arms is requesting
$319.8 million in appropriated funds, which is an increase of
$32.7 million over the fiscal year 2023 enacted level. This
increase provides funding for COLA-related costs in locality
for 43 new positions to support various Sergeant at Arms
organizational elements, and for salary adjustments for onboard
personnel.
This increase also provides for the mandatory Postal Square
move of certain SAA operations, inauguration support cost, IT
infrastructure, and cybersecurity requirements, various
technology upgrades within the Senate, and the Senate
Residential Security System Program.
Today, we will also be reviewing the United States Capitol
Police's fiscal year 2024 budget request.
And before I address the USCP request, I would like to
thank you, Chief Manger, and your team for all you do to
support the safety and security of the Capitol Complex each and
every day.
Included in the President's budget request, is a request
for appropriation of $840.9 million for the Capitol Police,
which is an increase of $106.3 million from the fiscal year
2023 enacted level. This is an increase in both the salaries
and the general expense appropriations. This increase provides
for the annualization of salaries for onboard personnel in
fiscal year 2023, increased over time for core mission, and
national political conventions, funding for new positions, and
COLA and miscellaneous payments--funding.
This increase also provides for increased protective
services support during an election year, to include at
national political conventions, funding to support the purchase
and lease of various fleet vehicles, funding to support the
continuation of the contract to the Security Guard Program,
technical and physical security equipment, and lifecycle
replacements and upgrades, and various other non-personnel
related costs.
I look forward to hearing from both of our witnesses today.
We will be joined shortly by Senator Murray, the Chair of
the Senate Appropriations Committee. We have been joined by
Ranking Member, Senator Fischer. Thank you.
And at this point I would like to recognize Senator Fischer
for her opening remarks.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DEB FISCHER
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you General Gibson, and Chief Manger, for being
with us today, for our Third Legislative Branch Hearing.
I want to begin by thanking the men and women of your
agencies for the work they do to keep Members of Congress,
staff, and visitors on the Capitol Campus safe every day. I am
deeply grateful for their service, and acknowledge that their
support is what enables us to do our job in a secure and open
environment.
Both the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police are
responsible for maintaining the security of the Capitol Campus,
and both agencies have a no-fail mission. In recent years, the
SAA and the Department have faced increasing threats against
the Congress and evolving mission requirements.
General Gibson, as the Senate Sergeant at Arms, you have a
vast range of responsibilities, which span from ensuring the
physical, personal, and electronic safety of Senators and
staff, to providing support operations to keep the Senate
functioning efficiently and effectively.
For fiscal year 2024 the SAA seeks an 11.4 percent increase
over last year's enacted level. The request includes funding
for physical security efforts, information technology, and
cybersecurity initiatives, and 31 additional FTEs to support
the Office of Security Emergency Preparedness and Continuity,
and the Chief Information Officer. In your testimony I hope to
hear how the requested increase will enable the SAA to improve
and expand the physical security and cyber defenses of the
Senate.
Chief Manger, it is nice to see you again. Thank you for
hosting me earlier this year at headquarters. I enjoyed our
conversation and the tour of the Command Center.
The Department is requesting $841 million, an increase of
14.4 percent over the fiscal year 2023 enacted level. Congress
has invested considerable funds in the Department over the past
couple of years. We have provided funding to hire additional
officers, upgrade equipment, expand training, improve
operations, and offer benefits to new and current personnel.
I look forward to hearing the impact these investments have
had, and examining how we can best position the Capitol Police
for the future. We are committed to the safety and security of
Members, their families, staff, visitors, and Capitol
facilities. We must carefully consider the significant needs of
all our security-related agencies, and ensure coordination and
cooperation in their efforts.
To that end, Chairman Reed and I will continue to work
together, in a bipartisan manner, to meet the mission
requirements for the SAA and the Capitol Police.
Thank you, again, to our witnesses for being here. And I
look forward to your testimony.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Fischer.
And I now ask our witnesses, beginning with the Sergeant at
Arms, General Gibson, to give a brief opening statement. As you
know, the written testimony of each witness will be printed in
full in the hearing record.
General.
------
UNITED STATES SENATE SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER
STATEMENT OF HON. KAREN H. GIBSON, SERGEANT AT ARMS AND
DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE
General Gibson. Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer,
Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to
testify in support of the Sergeant at Arms fiscal year 2024
Budget Request.
I want to thank the subcommittee for supporting our
initiatives over the last 2 years, which have allowed us to
improve security and continue critical modernization. We remain
dedicated to meeting the personal, physical, and cybersecurity
needs of the Senate, as well as providing essential
administrative and logistical support. We do so, seeking at all
times, to improve our effectiveness through innovation and a
dedication to customer satisfaction.
In that spirit, we created a security portal through which
offices and committees can directly request security services
which are tracked and responded to in real time.
Two years ago, security support requests were made via
paper letters, physically routed through distribution, the same
portal shows my team the status of Emergency Preparedness plans
and training, the recency of residential security assessments,
and the nature of threats against senators.
We are also fielding an accountability tool for use on a
mobile device that allows staff to directly report their
personal status and location in an emergency, providing real-
time visibility to office emergency coordinators. Another
emergency preparedness app readily provides staff with office-
specific procedures and contacts during an emergency.
Finally, rather than relying on staffs' availability to
attend in-person training, we have developed numerous videos
that can be viewed at the time and place of one's choosing on a
broad variety of topics. Our security mission expands beyond
the Capitol grounds. To demonstrate and promote security at
State offices, with the assistance of the Rules Committee, we
constructed a life-sized model of a State office in the
basement of the Russell Senate Office Building, complete with
recommended security equipment and design features, which has
led to the adoption of important features, such as video,
intercoms, IT security closets, duress buttons, and secure
reception areas.
Because this room is outfitted with remote learning
technology, we will expand its use to include virtual classes
on state security topics.
Working hand-in-glove with the Capitol Police, we have a
renewed focus on personal and residential security, as you will
see in our request, for the Residential Security System
Program.
To date, 37 Senators have received requested Residential
Security Assessments led by Capitol Police physical security
experts, and we are on track to start installing security
equipment identified by the assessments this summer.
That said, the most persistent threats we face are in the
cyber domain. We have carefully applied funds to improve the
resilience, security, and modernization of Senate
communications. The Senate network is now backed up in two
modern dispersed data centers, and we protect the network with
a myriad of software, hardware, and trained professionals. This
comes at a cost, as you see in our budget request that asks for
an additional $2.945 million to assist in proactive defense.
We have also prioritized modernization, including updating
TranSAAct, partnering with the Secretary of the Senate to
enhance office payroll processes, and fielding the Unified
Communication and Collaboration System. Our commitment to
innovation and customer satisfaction extends to every service
we provide.
Last year, we opened the Senate's first Passport Office,
completing over 1,200 passports in 9 months. We enacted a
portal system, Direct Express, which allows offices to order
services through an innovative web-to-print storefront, it cuts
processing by 90 percent, saving time, money, and supplies.
Custom flag certificates can take less than a minute using this
storefront, rather than the 3 to 4 previous hours.
I am especially proud of our innovative work to support the
new need for closed captioning on the Senate floor and in
hearings. In just weeks we developed a bespoke solution for the
floor and built a temporary system to support closed captioning
in select committees. Contracts in place will allow us to scale
as needed, and for the first time provide closed captioning for
all hearings in D.C. by the end of the year. This is a great
illustration of the innovation I see daily across the Sergeant
at Arms.
This budget request is focused on three core
responsibilities: The security and safety of senators, staff,
constituents, and visitors; the security and reliability of
Senate communications, and innovative solutions to support the
Senate's needs.
We seek $5 million in no-year funding to upgrade audio-
visual equipment in committee hearing rooms, $2 million to fund
the Senate's share of the campus-wide Joint Audible Warning
System; and $2.5 million for the Residential Security System
Program. We also request $4 million for costs associated with
moving out of Postal Square.
We request 43 additional positions, 20 will support
physical security programs, such as the Senate Residential
Security System Program. Eleven will support critical functions
for the Chief Information Officer. The remaining 12 address
additional needs of other personal support efforts, such as
rolling out the Green and Gold Congressional Aide Program for
veterans at the Senate.
In closing, I want to highlight the work also of the
Capitol Police Board, which I chair this year. I am grateful
for the strong working relationship with the Capitol Police,
the Architect of the Capitol, and my counterparts in the House.
We have reopened the Capitol complex, while ensuring the
police are properly staffed to meet mission requirements. We
hired a new Inspector General and established a working group
to ensure the Board makes the best use of IG reports as an
oversight tool.
With the assistance of Congress and this Committee, we
completed a comprehensive security review of the campus,
prioritized repairs, and worked to support the men and women of
the police.
I am especially pleased that the General Accountability
Office recently found the Capitol Police Board has fully
incorporated leading governance practices to enhance
accountability, transparency, and external communication.
As Chair, I will continue to ensure the protection of the
Congressional community remains at the forefront of all we do.
Finally, thank you for your support of the Sergeant at
Arms, and for the opportunity to discuss our accomplishments in
our fiscal year 2024 budget request.
I stand ready for your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Honorable Karen H. Gibson, Sergeant at Arms and
Doorkeeper of the Senate
For Fiscal Year 2024, the Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms
(SAA) respectfully requests $319,776,000 and 1,037 Full-Time
Equivalents (FTEs) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). This is an 11.4%
increase over the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) enacted budget and an
increase of 43 FTEs. This request includes no-year funding totaling
$9,500,000 for the Senate hearing room renovations, Senate Residential
Security System Program, and for the shared use of the Senate's Joint
Audible Warning System.
Before I detail our specific requests for FY24, I want to highlight
some of the many initiatives the SAA has undertaken in the 2 years I
have been the Sergeant at Arms.
Communication with Senate offices is a top priority. In partnership
with the Secretary of the Senate, we created the Senate Operations
Center (SOC). This one-stop shop disseminates information to Senate
offices during emergencies or security incidents. The SOC is
operational weekdays from 7:00 am--10:00 pm, or until the Senate
adjourns, and is tied into the USCP Command Center for timely
information on events on or near the Capitol and Senate Office
Buildings. By consolidating Senate emergency and security information
into the SOC, we have streamlined and centralized emergency messaging
to the Senate Community, and are able to provide accurate and timely
information to facilitate decisions.
Each Monday morning, the SAA sends out a weekly bulletin to all
Senate Offices, Committees, and support entities. The bulletin
consolidates what were multiple daily emails into one reference
document that details door hours, permitted demonstrations for the
upcoming week, upcoming trainings, and announcements on new services,
software, and events.The communications team also created The Chamber,
a quarterly publication by the SAA highlighting issues and services in
a format that allows greater depth. Our upcoming Chamber will highlight
ADA accessibility information for Senate staff and visitors. The
bulletin and The Chamber have been very well received by the Senate
Community. In order to receive feedback from the offices, we launched a
Feedback portal on Webster that allows direct feedback to the SAA, the
Deputy SAA and the Chief of Staff on any issues related to the SAA or
the USCP. This feedback can be anonymous or individuals may leave
contact information for a direct response.
We hired a new Director of the Joint Office of Training and
Development and that team has been prioritizing emergency and security
training. They have created a series of short videos on responses to
various types of emergencies and created a self-paced webinar on
Responding to an Active Shooter. This training is online, accessible
24/7 and makes the information easier for staff to access any emergency
training as often as they need. We also introduced a new class: Event
Planning: Best Practices in Safety and Security. This class is designed
to educate Senate staff who plan events in D.C. or in State offices on
ways to include security in the event planning process. Our State
office team developed specialized training to enhance security options
in State offices and offers CPR, First Aid, and Stop the Bleed classes
for State Offices.
In March 2023, we rolled out the Account Tool application which
sends messages to each D.C.-based Senate staff during an incident or
emergency so that they can report their own location and status. Each
Office Emergency Coordinator can see a dashboard of all their employees
who have reported their status during the incident. This is an
advancement in how we handle accountability: no longer is one person
responsible for reporting in for their entire office. Now, every staff
member reports their own status during an emergency. This application
allows for rapid accounting of personnel, allows offices to easily
reach out to staff who have not reported their status, and allows staff
to ask for help or report injuries.
By May of 2023, we will have fully implemented our new Emergency
Preparation (EP) application which will allow staff in each office to
find and follow their office's specific plan for emergencies. It will
show evacuation routes, internal relocation areas, and the designated
shelter-in-place location for each individual office. This is an
advancement in how offices provide information to their staff by
literally putting this information in their hand on their mobile
device.
SAA teams coordinate security requests for Senators when they
travel or hold events in the home state. We also coordinate security at
hearings and arrange residential security assessments for Senators. Two
years ago, these requests were all via individual letters to me. We now
have a security portal where all requests are entered by an office and
action is taken and tracked without the time-consuming exchange of
letters.
As we continue to enhance Capitol campus and Senator residential
security we are also working to enhance security for our state offices.
We have set up a state office demonstration room in the Russell
Building where Senators and staff can come and see all the security
measures available in state offices. We used the demonstration room
during the transition to the 118th Congress and were able to show
incoming Senators all the security features available in their State
Offices. I encourage all Senators to bring their Chief of Staff and
their Administrative Director to our demo room and learn what security
enhancements you already have in place in each of your state offices,
and what additional options are available.
With the support of the Secretary of the Senate, and approval from
the Senate Rules Committee, the Senate Post Office began accepting
passport applications on June 13, 2022. The Senate Post Office was
approved, by the State Department, to be an official Passport Issuance
Office through their Special Issuance Passport Program (SIPP). The
Senate Passport Office offers official travel and tourism passport
services for Senate members, staff, and their immediate families. In
the 10 months since the Passport Office has been open, we have
completed over 1283 passports for the Senate community. On April 4,
2022, the Senate Post Office began offering notary services to the
Senate community, augmenting services provided by the Disbursing Office
and SAA Human Resources. To date, notary public services were provided
to 262 Senate staff.
The CIO team does a tremendous job ensuring our enterprise network
has near zero downtime, and is backed up in two geographically
dispersed data centers. This not only makes the Senate network safer
but it also provides resiliency and emergency backup should one of our
data centers experience an outage. This type of architecture and
resiliency is not inexpensive as our appropriations request
demonstrates, but it is required to ensure that the Senate can function
at all times. The CIO team manages our communications and has recently
undertaken the Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) project
which will replace every desk phone in the Senate--both in Washington
DC, and in every state office. Our commitment to the Senate is that
communications are resilient and that offices have the equipment and
the software they need to do their jobs.
The Cybersecurity team protects our network with perimeter pen-
testing and multiple monitoring tools, and a highly trained 24/7 cyber
team. We have increased our training to the Senate community enhancing
the cybersecurity training required of all Senate staff with customized
training for offices to help secure Senate data both on-premises and in
the cloud. We have extended our cybersecurity protections to our cloud-
based services to ensure they exceed current Federal standards. We have
enhanced the security of our mobile devices to protect data on the
devices and prevent malware from being transferred to our network. In
terms of innovation, our software developers are about to begin work
with the Senate Disbursing Office to make payroll and overtime payments
secure, auditable, and easier to create and submit for Senate Offices
and Committees. We are also modernizing TranSAAct, one of the core
systems Senate offices use for SAA services such as parking,
identification cards, smart cards, floor privileges, and asset
management.
When I testified before this committee in April of 2021, after 30
days in this role, I discussed my top priority: working with my Capitol
Police Board (CPB) partners to develop a comprehensive plan to keep the
Capitol and its occupants safe, guided by the desire to maintain a
secure, open campus that balances access and security.
There is much more work ahead, but we have made significant
progress as a Board. With the assistance of Congress and this
Committee, we completed a comprehensive security review of the campus,
prioritized repairs and improvements to our security infrastructure,
and worked to provide needed relief and support to the men and women of
the United States Capitol Police (USCP) that protect our entire
community. I will continue to ensure the protection of the
Congressional community remains at the forefront of all we do.
USCP Reorganization
The Capitol Police Board has worked with Chief Manger to support
his vision for the future of the USCP. His reorganization plan focuses
on expanding the Department's intelligence, threat assessment,
operational planning, and dignitary protection capabilities while it
continues to increase its staffing level. We support the Chief's work
to transform the USCP to ensure USCP's current and future missions
address feedback from USCP officers and our Congressional stakeholders.
USCP Hiring and Staffing
The Board has worked closely with the Department and Congress to
improve USCP's ability to attract, hire, and retain professional law
enforcement officers to protect the Capitol complex and its occupants.
At its lowest point after January 6, USCP had just over 1800 officers.
Today, that number stands at more than 1900, with almost 200 recruit
officers graduating this October. The Board has assisted the department
in setting pay and retention policies aimed to attract both new and
experienced law enforcement officers, established a lateral transfer
program for experienced officers, and created a retired annuitant
program for lighter work posts. The Board also authorized the use of
Capitol Security Officers to augment USCP at select posts.
While these efforts have been successful, we still have more work
to do. We are close to our pre-January 6 staffing numbers, however, the
mission demand in certain areas of the Department has increased
considerably. The Board will continue to work closely with the Chief
and our stakeholders to ensure the Department is able to meet its
expanding mission at the same time as it is able to provide its
officers with the support and work-life balance they deserve.
Reopening
The Capitol Police Board has spent much of the past 2 years working
with the Department and our stakeholders to fully reopen the Capitol
Complex while ensuring USCP is properly staffed to meet the mission.
I'm pleased to report to you today that we are very close to a complete
reopening of the Campus. On the Senate side, we have re-opened all pre-
COVID doors, and only the vehicle barricade at 1st and Constitution
Avenue remains closed. For the American People, we have re-opened the
CVC on Saturdays. USCP should be staffed to support the traditional
summer visitor load following Memorial Day. We will reopen the vehicle
barricade when staffing allows.
Temporary Fencing
One area of focus for the Board this year will be the development
of consistent guidelines and decision points for the deployment of
temporary fencing surrounding the Capitol. These guidelines will
include a balance of threat, event, and Continuity of Congress
considerations that can be applied to routine events such as National
Special Security Events as well as unplanned events. I believe these
guidelines will assist the Board in evaluating the balance between
security and access, as well as communicating decisions with our
stakeholders.
GAO Report/Communication With Stakeholders
The Capitol Police Board has taken seriously our responsibility to
be transparent, accountable, and responsive to our stakeholders. In
response to a 2017 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, as
Board Chair in 2021, I led the Board as it finalized updates and
implemented those changes to its governance practices. We held
stakeholder meetings and updated and issued a revised Manual of
Procedures. The GAO noted: ``We reviewed the Manual to assess its
inclusion of leading practices, and, in the spring and summer of 2022,
we conferred with Congressional stakeholders to understand their
knowledge of the Manual's updates and the scope and nature of their
interactions with the Board. Based on our reviews of the Manual and the
information we collected from Congressional stakeholders about their
engagement with the Board, the Board has complied with the
recommendation, and we will close it as implemented.'' Our work does
not end with the closure of that recommendation, and I look forward to
continued engagement with our stakeholders.
Inspector General Reports and Hiring
I take very seriously my role on the Board overseeing the Capitol
Police. A critical part of that oversight is ensuring that the Capitol
Police is properly responding to its Inspector General and implementing
recommendations from the IG and other outside reports. The Department
has approximately 61 open recommendations from the USCP IG, of which 28
are related to the January 6 flash reports. In 2021, the Board
established a working group to assist in reviewing the flash reports
that assist the Board in prioritizing and reviewing the Department's
efforts to implement the IG's recommendations. This year, the Board
leveraged the working group to provide the Department with guidance and
direction on moving outstanding IG recommendations to closure.
After consultation with the IGs from the Library of Congress,
Government Publishing Office, and GAO, we conducted a national search
and selected Mr. Ron Russo as the USCP's new Inspector General. Mr.
Russo is an experienced law enforcement professional who has served in
audit, investigatory, and law enforcement roles. The Board looks
forward to supporting Mr. Russo as he continues the critical mission of
the USCP IG.
The achievements of the SAA in the last 2 years have been in
security, training, communications and IT systems. Our focus has been
modernization, innovation, communication and customer service. I am
proud of all we have accomplished. Thank you to all the dedicated SAA
staff who make all of this good work possible, and to this Committee
for your trust, guidance and support.
Requests for FY24
The projects we will be undertaking in FY24 are focused on my core
responsibilities: security and safety of Senators and staff, security
and reliability of the enterprise network, and ensuring we meet the
needs of our customers.
capitol operations division
The FY24 budget request includes a $659,000 increase to enable the
Senate Recording Studio to provide closed captioning services for
Senate Committee Hearings, a $50,000 increase to allow us to replace
equipment in the cabinetry shop, and a $5,000,000 increase 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.
There are no FTE requests in Capitol Operations for FY24.
Appointment Desk
Appointment Desk requests level funding to support the network of
Appointment Desks located on the first floor of the Capitol, the
basements of Russell and Hart, and the Congressional Visitor Center.
The Appointment Desk is utilizing updated software to more efficiently
assist Senate offices in registering and welcoming official business
visitors.
Capitol Facilities
During the pandemic, in addition to the standard nightly cleaning
services, the Environmental Services Division procured and used
advanced equipment and chemicals to disinfect offices, restrooms, and
hallways. Our Cabinet Shop builds and maintains furniture for the
Senate Chamber and Capitol offices, and we are requesting an additional
$50,000 in FY24 to cover the cost of equipment replacement.
Doorkeepers
Level funding is requested for the Senate Doorkeepers. The
Doorkeepers provide access to those with Senate floor privileges;
enforce the rules of the Senate floor; and facilitate the needs of
Senators, Senate floor staff, and Senate Pages. The Doorkeepers serve
in key roles for special events at the Capitol, including
inaugurations, joint sessions of Congress, and swearing-in and lying-
in-state ceremonies. Further, they ensure the Senate chamber is
prepared in the event of an emergency.
Media Galleries
Level funding is requested to support the Senate's four media
galleries. The media galleries serve as liaisons between the media and
the Senate community and coordinate press coverage of hearings, news
conferences, stakeouts, and other media events in the Capitol and
Senate office buildings. Gallery staff support press logistics at many
high-profile hearings and events, including the Presidential
Inauguration, Impeachments, State of the Union, and Swearing in of new
Senators.
Periodical Press
The Senate Periodical Press Gallery (Senate PPG) assists over one
thousand correspondents working for magazines, newsletters, non-daily
newspapers, or online publications and serves Members of Congress and
Congressional staff with any periodical press-related questions or
issues.
Daily Press
The Senate Press Gallery staff supports those reporters who work
for daily newspapers and online publications. The gallery's first
responsibility--since the House and Senate assigned press accreditation
to the Standing Committee of Correspondents more than 140 years ago--
has always been the maintenance of high standards of journalistic
independence. In 2021, the Senate Daily Press Gallery credentialed
approximately 1,500 correspondents. At a time when the media landscape
is rapidly changing, the Standing Committee of Correspondents relies on
this Gallery staff to supply the research and the institutional
judgment needed for tough and, sometimes, precedent-setting decisions
about credential applications.
Gallery staff continues to innovate how best to serve its
constituency. An example is the Gallery's Twitter presence. The @Senate
press currently has over 27,000 followers, an increase of approximately
10,000 from the previous year.
Press Photographers
The Press Photographers Gallery supports press photographers
representing news organizations from across the United States and
around the world. Their chief responsibility is to be a liaison between
news photographers and Congress. Under the guidance of the Standing
Committee of Press Photographers, staff research new credential
applications, certify credential renewal requests and issue credentials
to bona fide news photographers. Staff ensures news photographers have
the access, information and representation to effectively cover
Congress, while the Gallery provides filing, office and storage space
for credentialed press photographers.
Radio & TV
The Senate Radio and Television Gallery is the office where the
radio and television correspondents work when they cover the Senate.
Correspondents from major news outlets occupy work areas in the gallery
daily. Gallery staff serve as liaisons between Congressional offices
and members of the electronic news media. Gallery staff work closely
with Senate staff and more than 4,000 credentialed members of the
electronic media to facilitate coverage of Senate news events in and
around the Capitol. Senate staff relies on the Gallery's personnel for
information on legislative business and press conference details in the
Gallery's state-of-the-art studio.
The Gallery staff is also responsible for maintaining the media
technical infrastructure in Senate committee hearing rooms and other
news event locations throughout the Senate campus. For example, last
year the gallery staff oversaw the completion of a maintenance program
of all Senate media fiber that exists throughout the Senate office
buildings and in the Capitol. The maintenance program included
upgrading old fiber optic cables to new ones in order to extend the
current fiber network's lifecycle.
Senate Recording Studio (SRS)
The Senate Recording Studio monitors, maintains and repairs the
audio-visual systems in all hearing rooms across the Senate campus. In
FY24, the Recording Studio requests a $659,000 increase for committee
closed captioning services. Closed captioning services provide real
time closed captioning of the committee broadcast for the deaf and hard
of hearing. This service ensures the Senate is compliant with the 21st
Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAAA) and allows
all constituents the ability to participate in Senate hearings. This
increase allows the Senate to provide captioning to constituents in the
same manner they receive captioning from networks.
The FY24 budget request also includes a $5,000,000 increase 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 SRS plans to make targeted replacements of 3 to 4 systems per
year as they age. The SAA is working towards several targeted
replacements in FY23 and FY24, including systems in SH-562 and SDG-50,
as well as central ``press system'' components. 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 and continuing with
SD-406. To date, the SAA has completed a targeted replacement of audio/
video teleconferencing equipment in SR-188, as well as broadcast
cameras in SD-106 and SH-216 and a large replacement of audio and
control systems in SH-216 and the full renovation of the Commerce
hearing room (SR-253), the Intel Hearing Room (SH-219), and the Senate
SCIF (SVC 217). This ongoing effort to renovate hearing rooms will
continue in FY24.
The request also includes funding for the ongoing support of
Recording Studio services to Senators, committees, SAA and Secretary of
the Senate offices. During 2022, the Senate Recording Studio broadcast
987 hours of gavel-to-gavel coverage of Senate floor proceedings and
recorded the proceedings for subsequent archiving. The Recording Studio
broadcasted, streamed, recorded, and archived 601 hearings. They also
produced 514 TV studio shows and 716 Radio shows/services. ``In the
field'' SRS supported 87 events, some of which were Statue Dedications,
Police Graduations, a Capitol Police Memorial Dedication, a Gold Medal
Ceremony, press conferences and other various events on/around Capitol
Hill. The Video Post-Production Department (Tape Room) fulfilled 442
orders, as well as completed 172 hours of editing.
Priorities for the SRS consist of the replacement of critical
infrastructure within studio spaces including video switching, routing,
and audio mixing systems installed in 2008, which are now near or, in
some cases, past the end of their serviceable life. These replacements
ensure the SRS provides exceptional support in each of its functional
areas.
chief information officer (cio)
In the FY24 budget request, the CIO is requesting an increase of
$2,945,000 and three FTEs for Cybersecurity, $5,181,000 and three FTEs
to enhance the posture of the modern and geographically separated data
centers, $5,493,000 and two FTEs to directly support the modernization
and replacement of the Senate's Asset Manager application, complete the
final phase of the Legislative Systems Amendment Tracking System,
migrate and improve TranSAAct, and expand the capabilities of new
secure cloud applications.
Additionally, the CIO is requesting one Senior System Engineer FTE
to support the increase in vendors and projects within the Constituent
Systems and Services team. The CIO is requesting an additional $550,000
to support the final year of the five-year plan to ensure adequate
funds are available to support the Senate office's technology needs
through the Economic Allocation Fund (EAF). EAF supports the
acquisition of supported hardware and software for Senators,
committees, leadership, and support offices. Finally, the CIO is
requesting an additional two FTEs to better support and manage large-
scale projects for the Senate, and to more effectively manage cloud
licenses within the Senate environment.
Senate Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a critical priority for the SAA, which ensures the
Senate network, cloud services, and data remain secure so the Senate
can conduct its Legislative business. The CIO is requesting an increase
of $2,945,000 and an additional three 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 FTEs for two Cybersecurity Apprentices and one Threat
Intelligence Cybersecurity Senior Specialist. While phishing continues
to be a primary motivation of the advanced cybersecurity adversary,
threat intelligence has revealed a renewed adversary interest in
performing denial-of-service and ransomware attacks against
organizations to deny access to their network or more importantly,
their data.
For FY24, we will be focused on three main lines of effort: (1)
continued emphasis on resilience assessments for offices; (2)
collaboration with Executive Branch Threat Intelligence partners such
as the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the National Cyber
Investigative Joint Task Force, and the Department of Homeland Security
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Joint Cyber Defense
Collaborative; and (3) Zero Trust efforts, to include continued
maturation of the cybersecurity model of securely accessing data
located in modern cloud services.
Leveraging the previously developed Cybersecurity Resilience
Assessment Methodology, the Department will use this methodology to
perform an estimated 175 coordinated annual assessments against
offices, committees, and critical systems to protect against denial of
service and ransomware attacks. The SAA made great strides to build
collaborative relationships with Executive Branch threat intelligence
agencies, and in FY24, the Department will focus on integrating
cybersecurity threat intelligence staff directly with our intelligence
partners to continue to mature information-sharing processes and
procedures to better protect the Senate. As the Senate continues to
migrate services to the cloud, the Cybersecurity Department will
continue to focus on building the procedures and technologies to
accurately evaluate the level of risk associated with using these
modern services.
Enhancing the Technical Resilience of the Senate
Following the events of January 6, 2021, and the ever-evolving
threat landscape, enhancing the technical resiliency of the Senate
remains a key area of focus. The CIO oversees the engineering,
implementation, and operations for the Senate's information technology
continuity and disaster recovery programs, as well as emergency and
secure communications. This includes the Senate's radio infrastructure,
communications security, mobile command vehicles, satellite
communications, data center continuity, and support for National
Security Special Events.
In FY24, the CIO will enhance communications capabilities for
Senators and staff by purchasing DoD-Mobility Classified Capability-Top
Secret (DMCC-TS) devices and provision services via the Defense
Information Systems Agency. This capability offers a mobile solution to
receive classified information when traveling, or when not in the
proximity of a fixed secure communication device. The CIO will also
focus on critical emergency communications efforts designed to better
protect the Senate's staff and resources to include the Joint Audible
Warning System (JAWS) and Joint Emergency Mass Notification System
(JEMNS). We are requesting $2,000,000 in no-year funds to support the
proposed cost increase due to supply chain issues and modification to
the original scope which increased from three to five transmitter sites
to increase the coverage area and ensure redundancy. Additionally, the
CIO will work to enhance the data center posture and strategic
satellite communications capabilities of the Senate, to ensure a
redundant and secure means of communication during a disruptive event.
The CIO is requesting an increase of $5,181,000 and three FTEs to
continue to enhance the posture of our modern and geographically
separated data centers. These data centers provide network
connectivity, communications, and centralized support of the virtual
server environment for Senate data and applications. They will support
the growth of office and vendor-managed systems and applications, such
as Constituent Services Systems, which are being migrated into the
Senate data centers and enterprise to improve the performance,
security, and resiliency of these systems and applications.
The Senate's public-facing websites and applications are in high
demand and an attractive cyber target for adversaries. The funding
request also includes expanded reliable hosting capacity for Senate
websites to defend against denial-of-service attacks and state-of-the-
art toolsets to quickly detect and remediate atypical activity
occurring on Senate websites and applications such as attempts to gain
access to data or alter a website's content. There is a cost to
resiliency and this request reflects that reality.
Modernizing Technical Services to Better Serve Our Customers
Modernizing technical services is critical to enhancing the
Senate's ability to work effectively and efficiently when preparing and
passing legislation and communicating with constituents. Funding for
FY24 will build on current modernization efforts, as well as add new
capabilities. The focus for FY24 is on two key areas: (1) Legislative
and Administrative Systems; and (2) Senate Communications.
The CIO is working closely with the Senate community to modernize
key legislative and administrative systems. To that end, the CIO is
requesting an increase of $5,493,000 and two FTEs to directly support
the modernization and replacement of the Senate's Asset Manager
application, to complete the final phase of the Legislative Systems
Amendment Tracking System, and to expand the capabilities of new secure
cloud applications such as ServiceNow (IT Help Desk Ticketing),
Cornerstone (recruitment, talent performance and learning management),
and Kronos (timekeeping and leave management).
Additionally, the CIO is requesting one Senior System Engineer FTE
to support the increase in vendors and projects within the Constituent
Systems and Services team. This critical team is working with new cloud
vendors to provide modern systems to better serve constituents. This
same team is credited with delivering the Senate's ``Communicating with
Congress'' application, which sees a yearly volume of over 11,200,000
emails between constituents and Senate offices.
A major effort to implement a modern and secure Senate
communications platform at both the Capitol Campus, as well as the
state offices, will be completed in early FY24. The new Unified
Communications and Collaboration (UCC) system 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 official device.
This includes voice messaging, voice-to-text transcription, video
integration, conferencing, common directory, Contact Center, mass
notification, and enhanced 9-1-1 connectivity. Additionally, the CIO
leveraged an opportunity to fold the state offices into the UCC effort
to deliver a cohesive and secure experience for all Senate users. When
complete, this project will have replaced every desk phone in the U.S.
Senate, both in Washington, D.C. and in every state office. Because the
legacy telephony systems must remain operational throughout the
migration process, FY24 costs include licensing, support, and
maintenance for legacy components. Once this project is compete, these
legacy systems will be decommissioned.
The CIO is requesting an additional $550,000 to support the final
year of the five-year plan to ensure adequate funds are available to
support the Senate office's technology needs through the Economic
Allocation Fund (EAF). EAF supports the acquisition of supported
hardware and software for Senators, committees, leadership, and support
offices so that these expenses do not come out of their office budgets
but are instead paid for by the SAA.
executive and staff offices
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
An increase of $307,000 and two FTEs is requested in FY24 for EAP,
which offers a variety of emotional, behavioral, and work-related
support as well as wellness resources and services to nationwide Senate
staff, their family members, Senate Pages, and interns. The Senate
EAP's mission is to bolster resiliency, help ensure psychological
readiness, and attend to the overall employee and organizational
wellness.
In 2022, the EAP addressed the continual increased demand for
services by hiring an additional full-time EAP counselor, providing
telehealth and onsite support services, delivering customized trainings
to requesting Senate offices, and extending the contract of a contract
counselor in order to efficiently and effectively serve the Senate
community. This included the expansion of service hours from 8:00 am--
9:00 pm to accommodate multiple time zone and work shifts. In 2022,
more than 74% of Senate staff accessed EAP services across 90% of
Senate offices. This was nearly a 30% increase in programmatic
utilization from 2021. Additionally, 194 employees took an online
mental health screening; 4,434 employees attended an EAP training
activity; and 1,749 employees accessed resources for personalized
information and referrals addressing childcare, parenting, adult care,
aging, education, legal concerns, and/or financial issues.
For FY24, 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 can accommodate increased
demands for services in various time zones 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 as well as wellness coaching
and consultation. Additionally, the requested budget increase is
intended to fund the phased in development of a whole-health wellness
program and the expansion of services to state offices. We plan to
capitalize on already existing U.S. House of Representatives contracts
to provide nationwide Senate employees access to wellness apps such as
a meditation app, a food and nutrition app and a fitness challenge app.
Further, we will look to expand our dependent care resources with the
availability of limited backup childcare and tutoring services in
partnership with LifeCare. Research shows that robust wellness programs
and resources improve health, energize people and positively impact
productivity and reduce burnout. This compliments the expansion of EAP
virtual opportunities, programming and support hours to provide a more
inclusive, engaging service for staff located in state offices. 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. One FTE is for an attorney who will review matters impacting
internal procedures and operations including compliance with Senate
Ethics, and the Congressional Accountability Act. A second FTE is for a
legislative liaison to work with Senate Offices and Senate Committees
on a wide range of initiatives, including organizing monthly oversight
meetings and ensuring required reports and information requests are on
time and fully responsive.
Human Resources (HR)
An increase of five FTEs is requested to support the Human
Resources department to support the SAA's endeavors in modernizing and
improving employee relations, HR system management, recruitment efforts
in support of Senate Offices, as well as establishment and support of
the new Fellowship Program.
As our employees increase, the work of the Human Resources
Department also increases. Our HR Department is requesting a software
specialist to serve as the subject matter expert for our new HR
software program, Cornerstone, a Recruitment Coordinator to assist
Senate Offices and Committees through the Senate Employment Office, a
division of SAA's HR Department, and an Employee Relations Specialist
who can assist in conducting and overseeing employee relations
investigations into employee concerns. We are also requesting two FTE's
in support of the new Senate fellowship program. We need to hire a
Program Manager and a Recruitment and Placement Coordinator in support
of the McCain-Mansfield Fellowship Program, as established under Senate
Resolution 443 (117th Congress) and the SFC Sean Cooley and SPC
Christopher Horton Congressional Gold Star Fellowship Program, as
established under Senate Resolution 442 (117th Congress).
Inauguration Support
The SAA is requesting $500,000 in funding to support the 60th
Inaugural Ceremonies. The SAA provides ongoing support to the Joint
Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. We rent large-scale video boards,
take the inaugural photographs presented to the President and Vice
President, develop and maintain event and credentialing software,
assist with Printing and Graphics, signage, parking, campus access, and
support credentialing of staff press and contractors working in the
Capitol on Inauguration Day. We are honored to provide this support to
the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies but we do
incur expenses including overtime. Based on prior costs, we are
formally requesting funds to continue providing these services.
Page Program
The Page Program requests a permanent increase of $35,000 in FY24
to replace enrollment software. The current Page Program enrollment
software does not serve the needs of the program and requires
significant daily maintenance and communication with new pages to
ensure paperwork is completed correctly. The new enrollment software
would increase efficiency, accuracy and security. 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, seven
days a week.
State Office Operations
For FY24, State Office Operations is requesting $964,000 as a
permanent base increase for Federal rents, $300,000 in support of our
secure reception room project, and one additional FTE to lead records
and data management to support a data-drive approach to delivering
security and design improvements in state offices.
We appreciate the Committee's support to adequately fund the state
office rent program, reimbursement to the General Services
Administration (GSA) for Federal occupancy agreements, and standard
increases in Federal Protective Services (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 March 2023, we support 460 state offices for rental
payments; renovations; installation, maintenance, and monitoring of
physical security measures; and emergency supplies and security
preparedness planning and training.
In 2022, the SAA completed 151 unique state office projects
coordinating construction, security, furniture, equipment, and delivery
of IT services. We are again anticipating a high number of projects, as
we support numerous Class III transitions expected in the year
following the mid-term elections. An uptick in work is also expected,
related to our ongoing efforts to move Senators from facilities with
minimal security to Federal and commercial buildings that offer better
access control, guard services, and other important countermeasures.
Our success in managing the State Office Operations portfolio hinges on
our close and collaborative working relationship with Senate staff,
commercial landlords, and Federal partners.
In 2022, we rolled out a new state office alert and notification
service for all state staff. This platform uses both artificial
intelligence and analyst support to quickly monitor, evaluate, and
release customized emergency notifications to Senators and staff
working and traveling across the country. The tool is also used in our
Senate Operations Center to monitor emergency events that may be
impactful to state office or Senate operations outside of the National
Capitol Region (NCR). We expect the costs associated with this service
to rise slightly, as more Senate staff adopt its use and we expand
services to include mobile duress button features.
Our partnership with FPS also grew significantly in 2022. The SAA
and FPS Administrator signed a historic memorandum of agreement (MOA)
allowing for the use of armed guards (Protective Security Officers-
PSOs) at commercial Senate state offices. FPS will begin authorizing
facility security assessments and deployment of PSOs at select Senate
state offices, beginning in FY23 and continuing into FY24.
We remain committed to ensuring the safety of Senators and staff
and leaning forward to providing customized security systems,
monitoring services, and enhanced office security construction designs
to state offices without affecting Senate office budgets. Currently,
over 98% of state offices have adopted some level of SAA-recommended
and funded security enhancements. Our goal is to achieve a 100%
adoption rate and we will work through FY24 to ensure all offices in
our state portfolio have access to appropriate levels of security.
Our team provided initial physical security enhancements for 31
offices and improved existing security for 52 others in 2022.
Maintaining security systems in good working order is a priority, and
to support this effort our team conducted over 622 service calls to
maintain, repair, and or test and inspect state office physical
security systems in 2022. In FY24, we will continue supporting state
office visits to assess security, confirm that all installed equipment
is in good working order, and ensure the office design meets the
Senator's operational needs.
We believe that emergency preparedness training and familiarity
with security equipment equate to higher levels of compliance and
readiness. In 2022, the State Office Operations team offered twice-
monthly emergency preparedness webinars and worked closely with USCP on
state office Security Awareness Briefings. Our team also introduced a
new SAA-sponsored Stop the Bleed training class, offering both in-
person and virtual learning options. We are evaluating the potential
deployment of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), resilient
communications capabilities, and portable power sources. Our focus on
state office readiness remains a high priority as we move into FY24.
office of security, emergency preparedness and continuity (osepc)
For FY24, OSEPC is requesting an increase of 20 FTE's to provide
additional support to Senators during travel and with residential
security assessments, as well as in emergency preparation and
contingency work, management of parking lots and the SAA fleet, as well
as additional staff to handle logistics and customer support. We are
also requesting $2,500,000 in no-year funds for the Senate Residential
Security Program.
OSEPC Administration
OSEPC Administration requests two additional FTEs to support the
development and maintenance for all aspects of the Senate Test,
Training, and Exercise Program. Work involves coordinating, designing,
and implementing training and exercises, to include both classified and
unclassified Senate life-safety and continuity programs. These FTEs
will also develop annual short and long-term training and exercise
goals, schedules, and guidance.
Access Control and Transportation
Access Control and Transportation (ACT) requests five additional
FTEs to supplement current staffing levels in Parking Operations (4
FTEs) and Transportation and Fleet (1 FTE).
Identification and Access
The Identification and Access Office is requesting level funding in
FY24 for the production of identification badges for Senators and their
families, staff, interns, Pages, support staff, credentialed
Congressional press, and liaisons approved by the SAA. The
Identification and Access Office coordinates with the House of
Representatives and USCP to ensure badge issuance policies are
standardized to meet security requirements.
Parking Operations
Parking Operations is requesting four FTEs in FY24 to will ensure
adequate coverage of Senate parking lots and associated kiosks, which
require daily monitoring and issue resolution, as well as maintaining
presence during construction projects and scheduled events impacting
the Senate. The Parking Operations office manages space availability in
Senate parking lots and streets for Senate staff, provides onsite
customer service and emergency assistance, including jumpstarts,
vehicle entry, and damage claims. Staff collaborate with the Senate
Committee on Rules and Administration, USCP, and Architect of the
Capitol to issue and secure parking for permit holders throughout the
Senate campus.
In order to enhance the security and safety of parking areas,
Parking Operations requested improvements on all five fenced lots,
including kiosk renovations, barrier installations, and parking
configuration enhancements. The office also staffs and monitors
additional parking lots and streets at alternate facilities during
emergencies and training exercises. Parking Operations will purchase
additional handheld devices and the necessary software to instantly
identify vehicles by scanning permit barcodes, capturing photos,
documenting, and printing parking violations or other associated
issues.
Transportation and Fleet Operations
The Transportation and Fleet Office is requesting one additional
FTE to cover the increased requests for vehicle transports of Senators,
as well as continued minor maintenance of SAA fleet vehicles and assist
with the additional coverage of the expanded shuttle bus route.
Emergency Preparedness (EP)
For FY24, Emergency Preparedness requests a total of three
additional FTEs. One FTE will join the Emergency Equipment team to
enhance its ability procure, store, deliver, and life cycle manage over
20,000 items of emergency equipment supporting the Senate community.
The remaining two FTEs will perform duties supporting both classified
and unclassified life safety planning, including Disaster Response and
Recovery, community outreach, and initiatives. These two FTE will
enhance SAA EP customer focused efforts to ensure the safety of Senate
community members.
Annual activities performed by SAA EP include, but are not limited
to, focusing on the needs of the Senate community by (1) helping
develop and update individual Senate and Committee office emergency
action plans, and continuity of operations plans; (2) identifying
evacuation routes, relocation areas, and internal relocation sites,
including coordinating with Capitol Police for the safety and movement
of mobility challenged individuals during emergencies; (3) acquiring,
distributing, managing and providing training on the use of emergency
equipment; (4) delivering virtual and self-paced learning for the
Senate community to take at their convenience; and (5) conducting
multiple drills and exercises designed to increase the Senate
community's preparedness to respond to and recover from emergencies.
Contingency Programs (CP)
For FY24, SAA CP requests level funding and two additional FTEs.
One FTE will focus on the logistical activities associated with
managing contingency facilities, resources, and supplies, including
individual office and committee continuity fly-away kits. This position
will also create and maintain accurate records of inventory and develop
plans to execute deployment and distribution of equipment and supplies
to relocation sites, as well as perform inspections and walkthroughs of
contingency facilities and monitor and report on the status of Senate
continuity resources and capabilities. The second FTE will perform
analytical and planning duties under the supervision. As the continuity
portfolio continues to grow and mature across the spectrum, additional
planner support is needed to manage the increasing number of
unclassified and classified capabilities.
Member Outreach and Security Coordination (MOSC)
The two FTEs requested will respond to the increased demand for
security support to Senators and staff in the District of Columbia (DC)
and state offices. Support includes security awareness briefings for
Senators and staff, arranging security escorts for Senators during
travel, and coordinating with local law enforcement for events in the
home State.
MOSC engaged in active outreach and discussions regarding active
threats and criminal cases directed at Senators and staff, and use a
suite of online tools to monitor social media for actionable threats
against Senators and reports them to law enforcement. MOSC also
participates in security awareness briefings for Senate office staff
alongside USCP counterparts and develops security training for Senators
and staff. Working with USCP, they provide offices with a final product
highlighting the overall threat level, specific areas of concern, and
local law enforcement contact information.
Through an extensive outreach initiative, MOSC has completed
approximately 1,228 law enforcement coordination and assessment
requests, 2,182 law enforcement escort and travel notification
requests, and 98 rest overnight notifications and enhanced patrols
during FY22. The total number of travel escort support jumped from
1,581 requests in 2021, to nearly 2,200 in 2022. This represents a 40%
increase, and we are on track to exceed those total requests in FY24.
The SAA will benefit from an additional specialist by ensuring
Senators' security requests are handled in a timely manner, beyond core
business hours.
Security, Planning and Police Coordination (SPPC)
The new Senate Residential Security Program will assist with the
costs and coordination of certain residential security upgrades to
reinforce the security of Senators and their families. We request four
additional FTEs to support this endeavor. These additional personnel
would manage the program and its related financial and administrative
requirements. We are requesting a fifth FTE to help monitor and plan
for the large volume of ongoing security projects on the Congressional
campus.
Our efforts during 2022 included coordinating 1,402 Senate campus
access requests including security coverage for 525 committee hearings
and 117 Senate-specific security support requests, such as security
sweeps and security modifications of office space. Further, SPPC
partnered with the USCP to support 17 residential security assessments
for Senators. This team also conducts bi-monthly Security Awareness
Briefings for the Senate staff.
Senate Operations Center (SOC)
I've already discussed the new SOC and its role as the information
and situational awareness hub for the Senate Community. The SOC is
currently staffed with a Director, Watch Manager, three two-person
watch teams, and an administrative support specialist. For FY24, the
SOC requests level funding and one additional FTE to perform duties as
the SOC Information Management Specialist (IMS). The IMS is a technical
professional who maintains technology systems and applications and
provides training on the SOC's incident management, knowledge
management, situational awareness, Geospatial Information Systems
(GIS), communications, and information technology (IT) platforms and
solutions. The IMS will develop, maintain, and train SOC and other SAA
staff as needed on situational awareness solutions using GIS platforms
for real time situational awareness. The addition of this position will
allow SOC Watch standers to devote all efforts to the SOC primary
mission while the IMS ensures the SOC possesses and is trained on the
necessary technology and tools to be successful.
support operations
The FY24 budget request for Support Operations includes $4,000,000
for Facilities Management and $171,000 and two FTEs for Photographic
Services.
Facilities Management
Facilities Management requests a $4,000,000 increase to support the
move out cost from the Postal Square building. The occupancy agreement
for the Postal Square building expires in May 2024 and Facilities
Management is working with the Architect of the Capitol and the General
Services Administration to identify space for support staff. Following
a recent internal workspace survey, the amount of space required will
be approximately two-thirds less than what is currently occupied. We
are hopeful that new space will be in close proximity of Capitol Hill,
which will allow us to utilize the current shuttle infrastructure
offered by Fleet and Transportation Services.
Photographic Services
Photographic Services requests $171,000 and two FTEs in FY24 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 with a secure,
accessible archive of all photos accumulated during a Senator's term in
office. Currently, the photo browser contains more than 1.5 million
photo image files. Having surveyed Senate offices, Photographic
Services is finalizing 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 FY22, our staff
covered 3,307 assignments, photographing over 92,000 images, and
producing more than 25,000 photo prints. In FY24, Photographic Services
looks to purchase new camera kits with improved technology that
facilitates real-time transmission of imagery to Senate customers. This
new functionality will provide high-quality, professional imagery to
Senate staff during key events, which compliments their growing demand
of social media and mass communication content.
Joint Office of Training & Development
The Joint Senate Office of Training and Development (T&D) requests
level funding to provide employee training and development
opportunities for Senate learners. There are two sections within the
department: Technical and Performance Skills Training along with Health
Promotion. Technical trainers provide documentation and training for
Senate-supported software packages through instructor-led classes, one-
on-one coaching sessions, and demos. Performance skills trainers
provide courses, one-on-one coaching, and facilitation for all Senate
staff in areas including management and leadership development, staff
development, and office/team development. Training & Development 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.
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. In addition, Health
Promotion serves the Senate community by hosting four blood drives each
year and providing quarterly Stop the Bleed training.
Printing, Graphics & Direct Mail
Printing, Graphics and Direct Mail (PGDM) request level funding in
FY24. 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. Direct
XPress, an innovative web-to-print storefront solution, has enhanced
the customer experience of ordering services from PGDM and has cut
processing time by 90%, saving time, money, and supplies.
PGDM has worked with the Secretary of the Senate, the House of
Representatives, and the Architect of the Capitol to streamline the
steps related to flying flags over the Capitol. The Layout and Design
Tem has created a user-friendly template in Direct Xpress to allow
offices to order flags, easily search and retrieve orders, proof their
certificates online and send the necessary forms to all stakeholders.
So far, this fiscal year, 33 Senate offices ordered 405 flag
certificates.
Our Digital mail service is in high demand and utilized by eighty
offices. PGDM's heat press, which generates professional quality
products, such as table coverings, to provide Senate offices with
better visibility at Town Hall meetings and other events has been used
by 18 Senate offices for a total of 89 custom-printed table coverings.
Senate Post Office
The Post Office requests level funding and continued support of a
security maintenance contract at the offsite mail screening facility.
In FY22 and FY23, new and enhanced security video equipment has been
installed at the off-campus Mail Screening facility. The enhanced, and
newly added cameras, provide additional and newly added cameras,
provide additional functionality with clearer imagery, storage, and
zoom capabilities. Other features include remote viewing capabilities,
which could be utilized by USCP during an HMRT response, and an ability
to capture clearer images of mail processed within the bio-safety
cabinets. The new cameras and DVR provide necessary components in
ensuring employee safety for Post Office staff and USCP First
Responders.
Within 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 FY22, the Post Office safely processed
and delivered more than 4.9 million incoming mail items, while
intercepting 17 suspicious mailings that required an immediate response
by the USCP. We prevented the delivery of an additional 734 suspicious
mailings that required further scrutiny by USCP.
During the pandemic, in conjunction with the United States Postal
Service, the Senate Post Office established a free forwarding service
for state offices to enable them to forward state office mail to DC for
security screening, or to forward mail to a centralized location in
their state and 51 offices now use this service. In addition, the
Senate Post Office sorts mail for 78 Senate and Committee offices and
delivers their mail to PGDM to be digitally imaged and returned to the
office electronically.
conclusion
Thank you for your support of the SAA and for the opportunity to
discuss the SAA's accomplishments and our FY24 budget request. This
budget remains focused on my three core responsibilities: the security
and safety of Senators and staff, constituents and visitors; the
security and reliability of the enterprise network that allows all of
us to do our work; and innovative solutions to support the needs of the
Senate community.
Senator Reed. Thank you, General.
Chief Manger, please.
------
UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
STATEMENT OF CHIEF J. THOMAS MANGER, CHIEF OF POLICE,
UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
Chief Manger. Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer,
Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
present the United States Capitol Police Budget Request for
fiscal year 2024. The Department greatly appreciates the
subcommittee's consistent support of the men and women of the
United States Capitol Police.
Congress' support has been invaluable in providing the
resources needed to continue our transformation into a
stronger, more protection-oriented law enforcement agency,
while meeting dramatic workload increases in an increasingly
volatile threat environment.
The Capitol Police is unique among Federal law enforcement
agencies, we patrol a Campus that is completely open, and now
that the Campus is fully reopened we again host millions of
visitors each year, all the while investigating evolving and
increasing threats against Members of Congress and their
families. The 2024 budget request reflects this reality.
In my testimony today I will present the fiscal year 2024
budget requests within the context of three general themes that
explain the Department's forward trajectory. First, the
enduring impact of all the deficiencies identified in the
Inspector General's reports over the last two-and-a-half years;
second, the Department's future challenges and continued
transformation; and third, the need to usher in a new phase of
protective policing.
First, I asked the Committee to understand that even with
our recent staffing increases we remain significantly
understaffed for an agency that has nationwide jurisdiction and
responsibilities, and a growing mission, and increasing
workload. Therefore, our past two budgets have been attempts to
work toward right-sizing the Department by elevating its
budgetary baseline to a more normalized level.
The fiscal year 2024 budget request incorporates a critical
request to expand dignitary protection, our threat
investigations, and enhance security operations for the Members
of Congress and their families, both in D.C., and in their home
districts.
Within the 2024 budget request, the Department is asking
for increased salaries to fund 2,126 sworn employees at a full-
year rate, and 78 sworn employees at half-year. The budget
request also includes funding for 555 civilian employees at a
full-year rate, and 81 civilians at a half-year rate. The
general expense request is $228.6 million. The total fiscal
year 2024 budget increase is $106.3 million.
I fully recognize the Department's requested increase is
significant, but equally significant are the Department's
growing responsibilities and challenges. The fact is, we engage
in a no-fail mission every day, recognizing that there will be
no tolerance for leadership or organizational failures. The
Department's 2024 budget request reflects the reality that as
the Department's mission and environment changes and evolves
so, too, must its staffing and resources.
Therefore, I want to highlight six areas that continue to
be central to our growth and transformation. They are: expanded
dignitary protection capabilities, continued normalization of
sworn and civilian staffing levels, enhanced intelligence
capabilities, expanded capabilities to address threats against
members, cybersecurity and investigative activity, expanded
physical and technical security capabilities to secure the
Capitol Complex, and strengthen training capabilities for
recruit officers, in-service training, physical skills,
professional and leadership development.
Over the last year the world has continuously changed,
becoming more violent and uncertain. A member of Congress was
brutally assaulted, and the husband of the former House Speaker
was critically wounded in a politically motivated attack.
Increasingly, sophisticated cyber tools are more widely
available to malicious actors who employ them to infiltrate
data networks and steal private information. The sheer increase
in the numbers of threats against Members of Congress,
approximately 400 percent over the past 6 years, requires new
and innovative techniques, to identify, deter, and mitigate
threats.
Upcoming elections, the political conventions, and the
campaign activities that go along with them, and the
increasingly heated political rhetoric, further heighten the
prospect of future security risks and challenges. We must
adequately--we must be adequately staffed to handle these
events. We are not currently.
The United States Capitol Police traditional model of law
enforcement no longer applies to the current landscape, the old
approach to member security has been replaced by the need to
protect the member's environment, as well as the member's
family, both in Washington, D.C., and at their home.
Keeping you and your family safe is a paramount objective.
There is, in fact, a new normal for our Protective Operations.
The fiscal year 2024 budget request will allow the Department
to transition to the next phase of its transformation.
I thank the Committee for its support, and greatly
appreciate our continued partnership with the Congress.
We welcome any questions or comments.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of J. Thomas Manger Chief, United States Capitol
Police
Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the United
States Capitol Police (USCP or Department) budget request for Fiscal
Year 2024 (FY 2024 budget request). The Department greatly appreciates
the Subcommittee's consistent support of the women and men of the U.S.
Capitol Police, who courageously carry out their duties of protecting
the Members of Congress, the Capitol Complex, and the legislative
process each and every day. Congress' support has been invaluable in
providing the resources needed to continue our transformation into a
stronger, more protective-oriented law enforcement agency, while
meeting dramatic workload increases in an increasing volatile threat
environment.
The United States Capitol Police is unique among Federal law
enforcement agencies. We patrol a campus that is completely open. The
public has a constitutional right to visit, protest, or do an early
morning run through this public forum. Our officers work 24/7 to keep
you safe, whether here on Capitol Hill, when you travel to your home
districts, or when you travel abroad as part of a Congressional
delegation. We staff the doors, corridors, plazas, garages, and street
corners--in sum, every square foot of the Capitol Grounds, which
includes the Capitol, eight Congressional office buildings, as well as
three Library of Congress buildings. Prior to the pandemic, the Capitol
was visited every year by an estimated seven to ten million people from
around the world. Now that the campus is fully reopened, the Department
is once again managing this increased level of visitor activity--all
within the context of evolving and increasing threats against Members
of Congress and their families. The FY 2024 budget request reflects
this reality.
Thanks to the Emergency Security Supplemental Act (Emergency
Supplemental) and the enacted FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act
funding (FY 2023 budget), the Department was able to direct its efforts
to bolstering salaries, general expenses, and mutual aid to partner law
enforcement agencies as a stop-gap measure. These appropriations, while
invaluable, represented the next step in the U.S. Capitol's evolution,
not the final destination. Thus, the FY 2024 budget request is
predicated upon the Department's continued transformation in a post-
January 6, 2021 environment, one increasingly defined by evolving
technologies, an increased threat climate, and a shift towards a more
protective model of law enforcement. The Concept of Operations
strategic plan being developed at Congress' request will further shape
and define the increased staffing and resources needed to support the
Department's expanded mission.
While the Department is not defined by the events of January 6,
2021, the structural changes and recommendations issued in the
aftermath continue to impact our resource needs, as do the hiring
delays and other lingering effects of the pandemic. In my testimony
today, therefore, I will present the FY 2024 budget request within the
context of three general themes that explain the Department's forward
trajectory and support our request for the funding needed to keep us on
that path:
1. The Enduring Impact of January 6 and the Pandemic;
2. The Department's Future Challenges and Continued Transformation;
and
3. The Need to Usher in a New Phase of Protective Policing.
Enduring Impact of January 6 and Pandemic
In the last 2 years, the Department confronted two events of epic
proportions that are unprecedented in our nation's history: the January
6 attack on the Capitol and the coronavirus pandemic. These
transformative events directly impacted the Capitol community,
particularly the men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police, who
responded to each crisis with courage and resilience, adjusting and
pivoting when needed, and within extremely compressed timelines.
The January 6 attack on the Capitol exposed failures and weaknesses
within the organization that were profound. The more than dozen after
action reports shifted the Department's priorities and accelerated the
timeline for executing them. Working closely with the Congress to
identify mission requirements in response to the attack, Congress
appropriated $106.06 million in emergency funding through the Emergency
Supplemental. This emergency funding allowed the Department to provide
hazardous duty pay and retention bonuses; increase staffing levels for
the Intelligence and Interagency Coordination Division; formally
establish the Howard C. Liebengood Center for Wellness; onboard trauma-
informed Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and wellness specialists;
procure additional civil disturbance equipment for our sworn officers;
provide funding for our Dignitary Protection Agents to travel and
protect Members of Congress; update Department technology to enhance
intelligence analysis and investigative capabilities; provide iPhones
to the entire sworn workforce for information dissemination; and
support Department-wide and specialty training. The emergency
appropriation also allowed for the installation of physical barriers at
vulnerable vehicular access points on Capitol Grounds. Congress'
support at that time cannot be sufficiently overstated--it was
invaluable.
The audit and oversight review of the Department's response
following January 6 was another pivotal point. The Department dedicated
a significant amount of time and resources to the implementation of
recommendations issued by the various stakeholders and oversight
entities, including the USCP Office of Inspector General (OIG), the
Senate Homeland Security Committee, the General Honore January 6 Task
Force, and other third party reviewers. The OIG alone issued
approximately 103 recommendations. Thanks to the Department's sustained
efforts, and the support of the Congress, the vast majority of
recommendations issued have been addressed, and those that remain are
on a glide path to completion. However, with over 2,000 individuals
currently identified in connection with the attack on the Capitol,
January 6-related investigations and prosecutions are expected to
continue for the foreseeable future. This will require a continued
commitment of Department staffing and resources.
The pandemic represented another historic and unprecedented event
that required the USCP to quickly recalibrate and move to an entirely
new operational and administrative model. While House and Senate office
buildings were closed to the public, the work of the Congress had to
proceed unimpeded and within strict pandemic safety protocols. Under
these circumstances, the men and woman of the USCP performed critical
job functions with the additional risk of harm to their personal
health. The Department had to manage delayed recruitment efforts due to
the closure of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, a move that
affected the hiring and deployment of new sworn officers--essentially
bringing our sworn hiring to a halt. Low officer morale, and the
public's declining confidence in law enforcement, put a further strain
on the organization. Hiring within law enforcement remains challenging
in the post-pandemic environment, not just for the Department but
nation-wide, as men and women consider other options that provide a
better work-life balance.
Future Challenges and Continued Transformation
January 6 and the pandemic were unforeseen crises that occurred in
rapid-fire succession, requiring the Department to act quickly to
triage operational priorities. Given the exigencies it faced, the
Department's funding requests were submitted under an accelerated
timeline and, as a result, the Department's overall resource and
staffing needs were not sufficiently recognized or addressed internally
in order to develop more appropriate budget requests. Thus, the FY 2023
and FY 2024 budget requests reflect a critical reality--that prior to
January 6, the Department was operating at a reduced staffing and
resource baseline. Subsequent requests, therefore, have been attempts
to ``right-size'' the Department by elevating its budgetary baseline to
a more normalized level, a level that will be further impacted by the
recommendations contained in the Concept of Operations strategic plan
under development.
The FY 2024 budget request incorporates both the lessons learned
from January 6, as well as the Department's articulation of its vision
for the future as it moves towards a more protective law enforcement
model. It reflects the need to improve intelligence functions by
increasing analytical expertise, and operational planning and support.
It reflects the need to strengthen physical security, fortify the
capability of Civil Disturbance front-line responders, enhance
coordination with National Capitol Region partners, strengthen physical
infrastructure, and expand dignitary protection and security.
Within the FY 2024 budget request, therefore, the Department is
asking for increased Salaries to fund 2,126 sworn employees at a full
year rate and 78 sworn employees at a half year rate, which equates to
2,165 full-time sworn employees. The budget request also includes
funding for 555 civilian employees at a full year rate and 81 civilians
at a half year rate, which equates to 596 full-time civilian employees.
The General Expense request is $228.672 million. The total FY 2024
budget increase is $106,366 million.
I fully recognize that the Department's requested increase is
significant. But equally significant are the Department's growing
responsibilities and challenges. Unlike other law enforcement agencies,
we have been asked in the last 2 years to develop and implement
transformational structural and strategic changes within extremely
accelerated time lines, while simultaneously maintaining the staffing
and resources needed to carry out the Department's daily core mission.
And the effort and manpower resource allocation that undergirds these
efforts are not sufficiently recognized or understood. The opening of
doors throughout the Congressional Campus exemplifies this challenge.
Adequately staffing a campus door requires 3 to 4 officers per shift to
ensure a proper level of security (3 shifts per day, often 5-6 days per
week.) Long lines are not only an inconvenience to Members, staff, and
visitors, they represent a security risk that, in these increasingly
volatile times, the Department must address. While the ``big picture''
reforms are significant and important, staffing daily mission
requirements are vital. We engage in a ``no fail'' mission every day,
recognizing there is no tolerance for leadership or organizational
failures post-January 6.
The Department's FY 2024 budget request reflects the reality that
as the Department's mission and environment changes and evolves, so too
must its staffing and resources. Therefore, the U.S. Capitol Police's
FY 2024 budget request focuses on the nine areas that continue to be
central to its efforts to grow and transform. They are:
-- Continued normalization of sworn and civilian staffing levels;
-- Enhanced intelligence capabilities;
-- Expanded Dignitary Protection capabilities;
-- Expanded capabilities to address threats against Members, cyber-
security, and other investigative activity;
-- Expanded physical and technical security capabilities to secure
the Capitol Complex;
-- Enhanced event planning, and command and control coordination;
-- Enhanced response and special operations capabilities;
-- Strengthened training capabilities for recruit officer, in-
service, physical skills, professional development, and
leadership development; and
-- Enhanced administrative support infrastructure to support
operational and mission-oriented requirements.
Even in the relatively short time since the FY 2023 budget request
was submitted, the world has continuously changed, becoming more
violent and uncertain. A Member of Congress was brutally assaulted and
the husband of the former House Speaker was critically wounded in a
politically-motivated attack. Increasingly sophisticated cyber tools
are more widely available to malicious actors who employ them to
infiltrate data networks and steal private information. The sheer
increase in the number of threats against Members of Congress--
approximately 400% over the past 6 years--requires new and innovative
techniques to identify, deter, and mitigate threats before they
materialize. Upcoming elections, the campaign activities that precede
them, and the increasingly heated political rhetoric further heighten
the prospect of future security risks and challenges.
Ushering In a New Phase of Protective Policing
The FY 2024 budget request accounts for these growing risks. The
Department recognizes that new and evolving challenges will continue to
emerge, rendering it imperative that the USCP be positioned, equipped,
and resourced to meet and defeat threats to Members of Congress and the
Capitol Complex. Strategic planning, forward thinking, proactive versus
reactive policing is the new operational model that is best suited to
confront the operational challenges facing the Department today and in
the future. The USCP's traditional model of law enforcement no longer
applies to the current context. The old approach of Member protection
has been replaced by the need to protect a Member's environment, as
well as a Member's family. Keeping you and your families safe is my
paramount objective.
The work the Department began prior to January 6, 2021, which has
since been enhanced and fine-tuned through subsequent appropriations
and the Congress' support, will allow the Department to transition to
the next phase of its transformation. Informed by the Concept of
Operations strategic plan that is under development, the move towards a
more protective-oriented model of policing will better serve the
Members of Congress and will increase the safety of the Capitol
Complex. The Department's proposed reorganization plan complements this
strategic vision. It exemplifies the reality that a strong
organizational structure fosters positive change and growth, reinforces
accountability, internal controls, and employee development. With the
funding provided by the FY 2024 budget request, the Department will be
able to successfully transition to the next phase of its evolution,
further strengthening the ability of the men and women of the U.S.
Capitol Police to carry out their vital mission.
While the Department has made significant strides towards right-
sizing Department personnel and pivoting toward a more protective
operational model, more work remains to be done. Thus, it is critically
important to maintain this momentum. The USCP has risen to meet
emerging challenges at every turn, and the FY 2024 budget reflects the
Department's determination to continue this upward trajectory.
Madam Chair, we thank the Subcommittee for its support and greatly
appreciate our continued partnership with the Congress. We welcome any
questions or comments.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Chief.
General Gibson, you mentioned modernization efforts that
you have undertaken. Could you highlight some that you have
accomplished, and the most significant ones that still have to
be achieved?
General Gibson. Certainly, Senator. Thank you. So, some of
the ones I mentioned appear simple but not always so; such as
creating portals, a security portal as well as the Direct
Express portal that allows and facilitates the ordering of
services from the Sergeant at Arms. The Passport Office is
another one that I mentioned, as well as some of the tools that
we are creating for emergency preparedness and accountability.
I mentioned the Senate Recording Studio renovation that
will be a modernization project that will continue on an annual
basis for a number of years. We also have things that we are
trying to modernize in our Printing, Graphics, and Direct Mail
division. But one in particular that I would like to mention,
because it is a heavy lift for our CIO team, is the Unified
Communications and Collaboration System, or UCC. This is a
major effort to implement a modern and secure Senate
communications platform, both on the Capitol campus and at
State offices across the Nation.
It will create a mobile, collaborative, secure, and unified
environment that is easy to use and supports communication and
collaboration, anytime, anywhere, and on any connected official
device, to include voice messaging, voice to text, video
integration, conferencing, common directory, contact center,
mass notification, and enhance 911 connectivity.
When a phone rings, or when the phone on my desk rings it
could ring on my phone in my home. Because our legacy telephony
systems must remain operational throughout this migration, our
fiscal year 2024 costs will include licensing, support, and
maintenance for the legacy components, until they are
decommissioned with the project's completion next year. That is
one of the principal modernization efforts that we will be
undergoing in the year to come.
Senator Reed. And within this new system there will be a
significant emphasis on security of the system so that hacking
and intrusions will be minimized?
General Gibson. Absolutely. Yes, Senator. And this is part
of what drives the cost and makes it a more challenging upgrade
for us, than simply replacing the phones on the desks.
Senator Reed. And you have been coordinating with the
Secretary of the Senate team on a number of initiatives. Could
you give us an idea of those initiatives?
General Gibson. So one that we are working through is to
modernize pay processes with the Disbursing Office. That will
affect all Senate offices and when completed should make life
much easier for those Senate offices. I think that is perhaps
the most significant one that we are coordinating with the
Secretary of the Senate on. Yes.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much.
General Gibson. I think--you know, I also mentioned closed
captioning, that is a modernization effort, and will be a
capability that constituents, and our broader Senate community
will benefit from. And that is also a significant ask in our
budget request for $695,000 to provide that capability.
DIGNITARY PROTECTION
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, General.
Chief, just a clarification, when you speak of dignitary
protection, are those visitors to the Capitol, and they are not
members?
Chief Manger. No, I am talking about the protection that we
offer to the leadership, and threat-based details.
Senator Reed. Yes. So those would be the individuals who
have basically 24-hour coverage by the Capitol Police.
Chief Manger. That is correct.
INTELLIGENCE SHARING WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES
Senator Reed. I understand. Can you comment on the
intelligence sharing progress that you have made with other
Federal agencies? And anything in this budget that would be
directed at enhancing that sharing?
Chief Manger. We have hired, about a year ago, a little
over a year ago, a new Director of Intelligence, he has built,
what I believe, is a world-class intelligence operation. It
wasn't a difficult challenge to raise the bar on our
intelligence operation, but what he has done, I mean in terms
of our ability to gather intelligence in the first place, to
share it with other agencies, to operationalize that
intelligence for our operational planning, and to disseminate
that information to those who need to have the information,
have all been--we have put processes in place to do all of
those things.
We continue to put members of the U.S. Capitol Police, our
civilian analysts, in taskforces around the region so that we
have our folks spread out in the intelligence community to
ensure that information we have is shared with them, and
information they have is shared with us. But probably one of
the most important things to my officers is the fact that
everyone was issued a cell phone, and they get daily intel
briefs, every day, over their phone.
HIRING CHALLENGES
Senator Reed. Very good. You mentioned the biggest
challenge is staffing, and I don't think that is unique to the
Capitol Police. As I travel throughout Rhode Island, and I am
sure Senator Fischer, and Senator Murray, hear the first thing.
Recruitment to Police Department, Fire Department, Public
Safety organizations, is very, very challenging. Are you
running into those problems of recruiting?
Chief Manger. Not as much as my colleagues from around the
country. And I think that is due to a number of things: That
the retention bonus that we have been able to offer, and that
we plan to offer at fiscal year 2024 as well, that has really
lowered our attrition. But also, the change in the pay scale,
made us competitive in terms of being able to attract
applicants in the first place.
I have put other strategies in place where we have waived
the mandatory 57-year-old retirement, bumped it up to 60. You
would be surprised how many folks that are at 57 years old and
don't want to leave and--or would be willing to stay for a few
extra years.
So we have put a lot of strategies in place to reduce
attrition and increase retention, and I think it is making a
difference for us.
Senator Reed. I will just note, 57 is very young in the
Senate.
Chief Manger. I will take your word for that, Senator Reed.
Senator Reed. Thank you. I have a question, but I will wait
until the second round, General.
Senator Fischer, please.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
General Gibson, in your opening comments you were talking
about, in regards to the budget, and new hires, and your
expansion there, could you--would you like to highlight any of
those specific new hires? You went through a list of them, but
could you highlight some and say why you decided that these
were the hires that you needed?
General Gibson. Certainly, Senator. As we stand up the
Residential Security System Program, we are requesting
specifically five FTEs, that is for a security engineering
specialist, an expert in physical security enhancements, and
construction, a financial administrative specialist, since
there will be a significant amount of money that we deal with
in this regard, two program managers and a senior program
manager.
Some of the other ones that we are asking----
Senator Fischer. Do you see that program growing in the
future?
General Gibson. I do not see it--we are estimating perhaps
a participation rate of 50 percent, and you know, it is going
well so far. Actually, approximately half of the senators who
are currently in office have had residential security
assessments. In the last year--or this year alone, I think we
have had 25, and another 12 who have requested them.
So the interest in having the surveys and receiving the
recommendations has been strong, but I don't know that we will
see it grow, and increase, you know, once one has a duress
button----
Senator Fischer. The set up--instead?
General Gibson. Yes. Yes. But it is not something that I
would see us asking for additional people for in out years.
Senator Fischer. Okay.
General Gibson. Yes. Some of the other requests that we
have made, we have two for our emergency preparedness team that
will be replacing the escape hoods, Victim Rescue Units, and
the emergency supply kits around the Capitol buildings. Two,
for our continuity programs to help ensure that we are prepared
to execute Enduring Constitutional Government functions; two,
for our member outreach and security coordination; for things
like, law enforcement coordination and, transportation security
requests.
And in particular, as the Department stands up and moves
towards this stronger protective operations capacity for our
Senators, writ large, to look at their personal security, I
would probably seek to have an embed in the Protective
Intelligence Operations Center, much as we have now on the
seventh floor in the Command Center.
Senator Fischer. When you talk about the Operations Center,
the Senate Operations Center; what is your vision for that? And
how does that request align with it?
General Gibson. So we have a Senate Operations Center now,
Senator. The only additional request I am making there is for
an information manager. The personnel are on board and fully
hired for our Senate Operations Center, which is complementary
to the Capitol Police Command Center, and focuses specifically
on Senate needs and communication with the Senate community.
In the future, as the Department stands up a broader
protective operations capacity, we will perhaps take someone
who is already resident in our staff, and position them there.
Senator Fischer. Okay. You have also, in your opening
comments; you were talking about our State offices.
General Gibson. Yes.
Senator Fischer. And staff, and the physical and cyber
security that is needed there. You described some of the
opportunities, such as the setup in the basement of Russell.
Are there any other initiatives, or ongoing work that you are
doing with our State offices at this time?
General Gibson. I am very proud of our State Office
Operations Center, and the demonstration room has just been
terrific. I very much appreciate the support from the Rules
Committee, and others, to allow us to do that. And really to
reach out to senators directly to show them some of the
enhancements that they could have in their State offices. That
team is very responsive to emerging requirements, whether it is
flooding, wildfires, and other things. And most recently they
have been fielding satellite radios, or satellite communication
devices to senators for use in emergencies in some of those
State offices, in the event of an emergency that takes out
communications.
We also are working with them on capabilities to identify,
in very short time, threats to Senate offices in the vicinity
there, whether it is a violent activity of some kind, a
building lock down, a fire, or whatever. And these are some of
the initiatives that we have been pursuing.
Senator Fischer. Thank you.
TRAINING IMPROVEMENTS
Chief Manger, in your budget request there is a section
that details open GAO and Inspector General recommendations,
and several of those instruct the Department to provide
additional, more realistic and hands-On training for your
officers. In your budget request, how does that align with the
priority to provide better training for your officers?
Chief Manger. So we have recently begun doing active
shooter training in the Senate and House Office buildings
themselves, as well as the Capitol. This is exactly what the
recommendation talked about, training where folks are actually
working.
In addition to that, we have gotten a number of, what we
call ``virtual machines'', they are virtual training pods where
we can do any number of--types of training, whether it is use
of force, whether it is de-escalation, any number of different
kinds of training that can be done with the virtual machines.
So we are ensuring that with--even with the staffing levels
that we have, that we are able to train officers without
actually removing them from their posts and making them go to
the Academy, we are trying to do the training here, on the
Campus, which allows us more options.
SWORN WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Senator Fischer. And you know, when we arrive here in the
morning, we see your officers greeting us every day when we
come to work, and we form relationships with them. When we look
at the needs that they have, and to really take time off to
spend time with their families, how do you balance the
personnel to be able to take those scheduled leaves, and be
able to use their overtime to address these mission
requirements?
Chief Manger. So this has been the--one of the main reasons
we have tried to increase our staffing levels over the past
several years, because we still are forcing officers to work
overtime that they wouldn't necessarily volunteer for. We are
holding them over at the end of their shifts, you know,
canceling days off to make sure we have enough folks for a
particular event.
And I know that this is not a sustainable strategy. And the
only way we are going to be able to fix that is to get our
staffing levels up to what I have asked for in fiscal year
2024, so that we will have the ability to ensure officers get
their days off, and have the--that appropriate work-life
balance.
Senator Fischer. Thank you.
Senator Reed. Chairwoman Murray, please.
Senator Murray. Thank you. Thank you Chair Reed, and
Ranking Member Fischer. Delighted to join you today as we
continue to work to return to regular order for the first time
in years, and pass our funding bills in a responsible way.
This hearing is really an important opportunity to make
sure we are providing the people who protect us, and our
staffs, and our Nation's Capitol, with the resources that they
need.
Sergeant at Arms Gibson, I would like to thank you and your
team for the dedication you all show each and every day, your
office plays a really crucial role keeping the work of the
people running smoothly, and we have seen that work continue to
evolve and improve since you joined in 2021.
The Senate Sergeant at Arms helps each of our offices work
effectively for the people that we serve, by improving the
internal Senate communication, that you talked about, keeping
our technology safe, and effective, and up to date, preparing
for emergencies, and maintaining an open environment for
constituents, and visitors, and a lot more.
Chief Manger, I would like to thank you and all of the
Capitol Police for the work you do to keep everyone who works
here safe. Every day, and every hour members of our staff are
here--members of your staff are here keeping an eye out for all
of us who work here in the Nation's Capitol, and everyone who
comes to visit.
I am incredibly grateful to you, and all the Capitol Police
Officers, for working so hard, for putting in late hours, like
you just talked about, for sacrificing weekends, and a lot
more, to keep everyone safe. And I know it has certainly not
been an easy few years. We owe a lot to both of your agencies,
starting with making sure you have the resources to do your
jobs.
So I am really glad to have this opportunity to hear more
today about your agency's needs for the year ahead.
Sergeant at Arms Gibson, let me start with you. You know,
across the country our workers are facing some very real
barriers to obtaining and retaining employment, including
livable wages, and quality, affordable child care, critical
mental health supports, wellness programs, resources for
education and training, and that challenge, I know is reflected
here in the Senate as well.
We really rely on the men and women who work hard every day
to support this institution. So we need to work to address
those barriers. So I want to ask you today: What programs are
most critical to supporting the SSA workforce? And what would
they mean for your workforce if they were funded?
General Gibson. So in terms of supporting the workforce,
both my own, and those who work for our offices and committees,
our most significant request in this budget is for the Employee
Assistance Program. I am requesting two additional FTEs. Those
are counselors that would support, and I should back up to talk
about, briefly, the significant increase in utilization that we
have had. 30 percent over 2021, in 2021----
Senator Murray. 30 percent increase.
General Gibson. 30 percent increase in utilization, 74
percent of the Senate staff have accessed EAP services across
90 percent of the Senate offices, for an increase, in 2022, of
30 percent over what we saw in 2021. So hiring these two
additional FTEs, in particular, will help with virtual after-
hour support for people working in State offices on the West
Coast, for instance, or for people who are working later at
night, or cannot come in during the day because of committee,
or other work that they are doing.
We are also requesting $307,000 to augment wellness
resources, and some of that is for purchasing apps that are
available much like it is done in the House; nutrition apps,
consumers' checkbook, mindfulness apps. But it is also to
expand dependent care resources, we would like to contract with
Life-Care for back-up child care and tutoring services; this is
a service that would help staff with locating, and assist with
paying for, adult or child care when regular arrangements have
fallen through, and that staff member must still come to work.
The House already provides this support, we would be
leveraging their contact--their contract to do this. But that
is our most significant budget request in terms of taking care
of our staff. Other things that we appreciate are the ability
to fund Senate provided professional certification, whether
that is licensing for our counselors, for some of our CPAs,
project managers, that has been approved periodically by the
Senate, it is in effect right now and we benefit from that
tremendously.
Senator Murray. Okay. Thank you. Those are really
important. I appreciate that. And I want to ask you about the
residential security program for senators' homes. How is the
role out of that program going, and have had you any chance to
review any of the lessons learned that we should know about?
General Gibson. Certainly, so it is going well. We have a
bit of enthusiasm for participation. As I mentioned, we have
had 25 surveys so far this year, that- is 25 percent,
obviously, of the Senate, a third of the year in, with another
12 requests for services that are--or for assessments that are
on the books, to have Capitol Police physical security experts
go out and identify things that could be done at the homes. We
look forward to being able to provide the first installations
of some of that additional support later this summer.
Some of our initial lessons learned, I think it has been
largely positive. I have been able to participate in surveys
here in the Washington, D.C., area, just to ensure I understood
how they were conducted, and how that went. So in terms of
identifying alarms, intrusion detection systems, a need for
duress buttons, flood lights, deadbolts, lock work, et cetera,
it has been very appreciated by those Senators and Senate
spouses with whom we have worked so far.
Senator Murray. Okay. Thank you very much.
RETENTION BONUSES
Chief, I know that you and your team have been very focused
on addressing the recommendations that resulted from the events
of January 6, 2021, and are working to continue to enhance the
capabilities to meet emerging mission requirements. Those are
all costly initiatives, but I am glad that we have been working
to provide you the resources that you need for that.
But I also know that your workforce spends time away from
their families, and makes a lot of personal sacrifice, you just
mentioned that in your comments. I want to make sure we are
focused on all their needs as well, while we fund those
mission-critical items.
Over the last couple of years, you have increased your
sworn hiring and training to bolster your sworn workforce. Have
you found the retention bonuses we were--where the fund have
helped to curb attrition?
Chief Manger. I think there is no question that that has
helped. I mean, but in addition the--just changing the pay
scale which was done last year, helped as well. And so we, I
think it is--we had 2,037 employees accepted last year, we are
getting ready to put it out again. And I expect a similar
response. But the difference this year is, many of the officers
that were hired right after 9/11 are now becoming eligible.
And we have between 300 and 400 officers that are eligible
to retire now. So I think it is very important for us to not
only continue the retention bonuses but to, as I mentioned
earlier, waive the mandatory retirement age up to 60, so
hopefully that will keep some of the officers around for a
couple extra years.
Senator Murray. Okay. And have you been getting the support
you need from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center?
Chief Manger. Absolutely. As you know, during the pandemic
that was the choke point. They shut down for the better part of
a year, and so we had--we were doing zero hiring, and we are
still, actually, recovering from that, but they have given us
all the assistance. In fact, we have multiple classes ongoing
for most of the year.
EMPLOYEE IN-HOUSE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION
Senator Murray. Okay. And I am really glad that you were
able to launch the Wellness Center for Members of the Capitol
Police, obviously named after Officer Howard Liebengood. As I
mentioned in the Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations
Act, and in the Omnibus, we were able to provide funding to
continue to build on that effort. Are your employees using the
In-House Employee Assistance Program?
Chief Manger. Yes. There is always room for improvement. We
are aware that oftentimes, folks that choose public safety for
an occupation are hesitant to ask for help. And we are trying
to overcome those barriers. But we have had, actually, a very
good response. The Center is fully focused on outreach and
awareness for all USCP employees sworn and civilian.
So we can continue to track the utilization, and the
service requests, and we have seen these numbers increasing as
time has----
Senator Murray. And real quickly, can you just tell us what
your future plans for the Center are as you try to meet the
needs of your employees?
Chief Manger. You know, we always have to be an employee
assistance organization, but I think what makes us unique is we
have trauma-informed counselors, so that when we have folks
that have gone through a crisis that we can provide services
for them.
But we are also making sure that we are listening to the
users, listening to our workforce, and say, you know, what is
it that you would like; whether it is, yoga, meditation,
physical fitness, nutrition, coaching, peer support? We are
asking our workforce what is it that you would like that we may
not be offering yet?
Senator Murray. Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Senator Van Hollen, please.
HIRING TO CLOSE THE STAFFING SHORTAGE
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And
thank both of you for your leadership, and for the
participation, and good work and service of all your teams, in
making sure that our Capitol can be safe, and functioning well.
And many of the folks who work for each of you are my
constituents in Maryland, and it is always good to see them
here every day, performing their duties for our democracy.
Chief Manger, as you have said in your testimony, Capitol
Police have been under tremendous pressure, we had COVID, we
had January 6, and you saw, in the aftermath of those events,
attrition. As you just mentioned, you are also facing the fact
that a lot of folks who join the force after 9/11 are now
eligible for retirement.
I know you have spoken a little bit about how the budget
you are requesting will address those issues, but can you
specifically talk about the numbers of folks that you need to
bring on in order to close the gap? And how confident are you
that the measures you are asking for in this budget will allow
you to reach your goals?
Chief Manger. Well, first of all, I am very confident that
if we are able to reach the levels for our salary, budget, to
raise the number of people that we can hire, that that will go
a long way to solving these attrition issues.
I mean, there is one big reason that we are facing the
attrition that we are facing; and that is that officers are
being burnt out. When you have your days off cancelled, when
you are at the end of your shift and your sergeant comes and
tells you: Oh, by the way, you have got to work 6 or 8 more
hours because we are short on the next shift. I mean, those are
things that just, after a while, will demoralize your
workforce. And this is, this happens much too often in our
daily work days.
So the only way that we are able to solve that is through
increased staffing, both in our Uniformed Services, but what we
are also finding, is in our Dignitary Protection. Those
officers that are traveling with leadership, traveling with
CODELs to provide protection all over the country, all over the
world, that those were short there as well.
And so that is why we asked for 64 additional DPD agents
last year, and additional ones this year, so that we could get
those staffing levels up to a point where those folks could see
their families. This still remains one of the biggest
challenges that we face with the Capitol Police, is trying to
balance that work-life balance for our employees.
FALSE NARRATIVES SURROUNDING JANUARY 6
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. In I think, February or
early March of this year, Speaker McCarthy authorized the
release of more than 40,000 hours of security footage from the
awful events of January 6. He released them to former Fox News
Host, Tucker Carlson, who then used them to create a false
narrative surrounding the events of that day, concluding that
the attack on the Capitol was, quote, ``Mostly peaceful
chaos,'' unquote, and that, quote, ``The footage does not show
an insurrection or riot in progress.''
Chief Manger, Tucker Carlson is now no longer with Fox
News, but a lot of the damage has been done. Can you talk about
the impact this false narrative has had on the men and women
who work for you?
Chief Manger. The following day when he did that program, I
put out a message to all of my employees, and I talked to them
about what--the narrative that he tried to put forth, how
disrespectful it was to the men and women of the Capitol
Police. And I think what was fortunate, is that that narrative
that Mr. Carlson tried to put out had no legs. I think most
folks understood exactly what it was. And so I think that was
very gratifying to the members of the Capitol Police, to see
that the public did not agree with that assessment.
I appreciate that. And I agree with you, that despite his
best efforts, the American public understood exactly what
happened on that day, and that it was not the narrative that he
put out.
Ms. Gibson, thank you and your team as well, for all that
you do. Obviously, one of the critical functions that you have,
together with the Chief and the Chief's team, is security here
at the Capitol. And we want to make sure we provide that
security. We also, of course, want to make sure that the
Capitol remains open as much as possible to the public, so that
lawmakers are accessible to the people they represent.
Senator Blunt and I had previously introduced--
formerSenator Blunt and I, had previously introduced
legislation to make sure we did not have a permanent wall, and
I know that no one is proposing one. You have outlined some of
the--you plans, I think, to develop some criteria.
General Gibson. Mm-hmm.
Senator Van Hollen. For when you would put up temporary
fencing, under emergency situations, which is certainly
understandable and justifiable. Could you talk a little bit
about the time line for all of that?
General Gibson. Thank you, Senator. We are working
collaboratively, across the Capitol Police Board, to establish
some general guidelines, not requirements, for how we would
make decisions regarding the implementation of security
measures like that, based on the imminence of a threat, the
credibility of a threat, the size of the threat, the ability of
the Capitol Police to respond to a potential threat.
As well as, if we did not have a fence for instance, what
other resources would we apply, and what would the cost of that
be. And I think that we have demonstrated--in the past the
Board has demonstrated wise use, constrained use of the fence
for select events such as the State of the Union Address, and
has not seen a need to erect the fence for other kinds of
events.
So even though we have not yet finalized what that kind of
framework and guidance would look like, I think we have
operated well, in terms of making those decisions in the past.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. Thank you both. Appreciate
it.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen.
I just have a few questions. General Gibson, you are the
Chair of the Capitol Police Board, which is an inherently
difficult job, not many police departments are led by
committees, so you have got your work cut out for you. But in
the wake of January 6 there was, I think, some justifiable
criticism of the Board's actions, and the Board's abilities.
Can you please tell us what you have done, together with your
colleagues, to improve the Operational Board, and the
supervision of the Capitol Police?
General Gibson. Certainly. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate
that question. I would start by thanking Congress for the
statutory change in 2021 that allows the Chief to call on
resources in an emergency without convening the Board to do so,
and I think that was an important change that has certainly
made the security response far more agile.
The role of the Capitol Police Board is to hire and
supervise the Chief of Police, and to provide oversight of and
support to the Capitol Police in the execution of their
mission, while serving as a touch point between the Police and
Congress.
And I think we have done this, you know, through our
regulating of policing on the Campus, traffic regulations,
reviewing and approving the overall security measures, and
establishing broad policy guidelines to manage the Department.
Our decisions do, generally, require consensus, and a
consensus that is acceptable to all, which is especially
important in this bicameral, bipartisan environment, to arrive
at security decisions that provide for the security of the
entire campus, and the people who come here, while facilitating
operations.
I think an example of one that we would--that I could point
to where we, as a Board, have worked collaboratively to develop
a solution would be, the Department's hiring of contract
security officers. As the Chief, you know, examines the
security shortage, and the personnel shortage, and identified
some, potentially, short-term and long-term solutions to that.
One that was proposed was to deploy contract security
officers at select secondary locations within the building,
say, as people are getting on or off of the subway. They have
already been through screening and magnetometers; perhaps it
doesn't have to be a sworn officer there. And we work together
with the Department to develop a proposal that would both meet
the Department's needs, was respectful of the feedback that we
received from our key stakeholders, and was performed with an
understanding of the budgetary implications.
And so this is, I think, an example of a way in which the
Capitol Police Board can work collaboratively, outside of
emergency situations, to develop a solution.
As I noted in my oral statement, I am especially proud that
the GAO has determined that a finding from 2017 that had been
previously unresolved that said that we were not following good
governance measures that they have said, based on our update of
the manual of procedures, and are following our manual of
procedures for the last 18 months, that they now find us to be
in good standing with the best practices of governance, of
oversight boards like this.
And I think that is also a testament to the progress that
my fellow Board Members and I have made.
MUTUAL AID AND COLLABORATIVE POLICING
Senator Reed. Thank you. And just finally, Chief; the
General pointed out that you have the authority in a situation
to call upon additional support, if necessary, which raises the
issue of mutual aid, practical, coordination, on a constant
basis, with other departments, both the Metropolitan, and
Washington, D.C. Police, surrounding Community Police, Federal
agencies. Can you just come at about how we are doing in that
regard?
Chief Manger. We are doing very well. And I can say that
with great confidence, because we have utilized those
agreements that we have put into place many times, whether it
is just getting a couple of police departments to send us a
civil disturbance unit component for a large event that we
might be having, or getting, you know, eight to ten different
agencies here to provide us with the assistance.
So it is something that not only have we put into place, we
have dozens of MOUs with agencies in and around the D.C. area,
but we have put it into practice enough times that it is pretty
seamless.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much. I want to thank both of
you for your dedication and your service. And I particularly
want to thank all of your uniformed and non-uniformed personnel
who do so much each day.
And as one of my colleagues said, as we come in the morning
we are greeted, and we feel, I think, a little bit more secure
as well as a little happier when we see the Capitol Police, and
your personnel, General Gibson. Thank you.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
[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. With that, I will to declare the hearing
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:27 p.m., Tuesday, April 25, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]
LIST OF WITNESSES, COMMUNICATIONS, AND PREPARED STATEMENTS
----------
Page
Dodaro, Hon. Gene L., Comptroller General, The United States
Government Accountability Office, Statement of................. 3
Fischer, Senator Deb, U.S. Senator From Nebraska, Opening
Statement of
Gibson, Hon. Karen H., Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the
Senate:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 77
Statement of................................................. 75
Halpern, Honorable Hugh Nathanial, Director, Government
Publishing Office:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 27
Statement of................................................. 26
Hayden, Hon. Carla, Librarian of Congress:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 51
Statement of................................................. 49
Manger, Chief J. Thomas, Chief of Police, United States Capitol
Police:........................................................
Prepared Statement of........................................ 92
Statement of................................................. 90
Mazanec, Mary B., Director, Congressional Research Service,
Prepared Statement of.......................................... 57
Perlmutter, Shira, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S.
Copyright Office, Prepared Statement of........................ 54
Reed, Senator Jack, U.S. Senator From Rhode Island, Opening
Statement of
Rexroat, Chere, Acting Architect of the Capitol:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 61
Statement of................................................. 60
Swagel, Hon. Dr. Phillip, Director, Congressional Budget Office,
Statement of................................................... 29
SUBJECT INDEX
----------
Page
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Additional Committee Questions................................... 71
Chairmen's Closing Remarks....................................... 71
Congressional Research Service Budget Request.................... 66
Continuous Development of Library Technology..................... 68
CRSs Data Analysis Request....................................... 66
Library Recruitment and Staffing................................. 69
Library's Request and Strategic Vision........................... 67
Veterans History Project......................................... 70
__________
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
Additonal Committee Questions.................................... 46
CBO:
Budget Request and its Consequences for Staffing and Output.. 32
Strengthening Responsiveness................................. 34
Enhancing Transparency....................................... 34
Hiring Qualified Personnel....................................... 42
__________
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Concluding Remarks............................................... 21
Contacts......................................................... 21
Fiscal Year 2024:
Budget Request............................................... 25
Request...................................................... 3
Highlights From Fiscal Year 2022 and Recent Results.............. 18
__________
GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
Charting a Course for the Future in Fiscal Year 2022............. 27
GPO's Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Request.................... 28
__________
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Conclusion....................................................... 60
Enhancing Services and Access.................................... 53
Fiscal 2024 Budget Request and Program Increases................. 57
Funding and Fiscal Update to 2024 Budget Request................. 56
Key Accomplishments Over the Past Year........................... 54
Library of Congress' Strategic Plan.............................. 64
Library's Fiscal 2024 Budget Request............................. 64
Service to Congress.............................................. 58
Significant Ongoing Initiatives.................................. 55
Strategic Initiatives............................................ 58
Strengthening Expertise in Key Areas............................. 53
Sustaining Continuous Technology Development..................... 52
__________
UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
Additional Committee Questions................................... 106
Dignitary Protection............................................. 96
Employee In-House Assistance Program Participation............... 102
False Narratives Surrounding January 6........................... 103
Hiring:
Challenges................................................... 97
To Close the Staffing Shortage............................... 103
Intelligence Sharing With Federal Agencies....................... 96
Mutual Aid and Collaborative Policing............................ 106
Retention Bonuses................................................ 101
Sworn Work-Life Balance.......................................... 99
Training Improvements............................................ 99
__________
UNITED STATES SENATE SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER
Capitol Operations Division...................................... 80
Chief Information Officer (CIO).................................. 82
Conclusion....................................................... 90
Executive and Staff Offices...................................... 84
Office of Security, Emergency Preparedness and Continuity (OSEPC) 86
Support Operations............................................... 89
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