    [Senate Hearing 118-620]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                           S. Hrg. 118-620

             LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARINGS

                                    before a

                              SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE

                COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                       on

                               H.R. 8772/S. 4678

    AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH FOR THE FISCAL
             YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2025, 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

                            ______

                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
     55-311 PDF          WASHINGTON : 2025

                                 __________

                          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

                                     ------

                     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

                                  ----------

                                    hearings

                             Wednesday, May 8, 2024

                                                                       Page

    Government Accountability Office.................................     1
        Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General:
            Prepared Statement of....................................     6
            Statement of.............................................     4

    Government Publishing Office.....................................     1
        Honorable Hugh N. Halpern, Director:
            Prepared Statement of....................................    15
            Statement of.............................................    15

    Congressional Budget Office......................................     1
        Honorable Dr. Phillip Swagel, Director:
            Prepared Statement of....................................    23
            Statement of.............................................    21

                           Wednesday, March 15, 2024

    Library of Congress..............................................    45
        Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress:
            Prepared Statement of....................................    49
            Statement of.............................................    48

    Architect of the Capitol.........................................    45
        Joseph Dipietro, Acting Architect of the Capitol:
            Prepared Statement of....................................    62
            Statement of.............................................    61

                            Wednesday, May 22, 2024

    United States Senate Sergeant at Arms andDoorkeeper..............    75
        Honorable Karen H. Gibson:
            Prepared Statement of....................................    79
            Statement of.............................................    78

    United States Capitol Police.....................................    75
        Chief J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police:
            Prepared Statement of....................................    85
            Statement of.............................................    84
                                  ----------

                                  back matter

    List of Witnesses, Communications, and Prepared Statements.101

    Nondepartmental Witnesses.......................................?? deg.

    Subject Index:
        Architect of the Capitol.....................................   103
        Congressional Budget Office..................................   103
        Government Accountability Office.............................   103
        Library of Congress..........................................   103
        United States Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper.........   104
        United States Capitol Police.................................   104

             LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025

                                  ----------

                             WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2024

                                           U.S. Senate,
               Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                        Washington, DC.

        The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:39 p.m., in
    room SD-124, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jack Reed
    (Chairman), presiding.
        Present: Senators Reed, Murphy, Van Hollen, and Fischer.

                     U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

                          GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

                          CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

                     opening statement of senator jack reed

        Senator Reed. Good afternoon. The subcommittee will come to
    order. I'd like to welcome everyone to the first of our fiscal
    year 2025 budget hearings for the Legislative Branch
    Appropriation Subcommittee. I would also like to welcome
    Ranking Member Fischer, when she arrives, with whom I work very
    closely with. She's an extraordinary partner in our efforts.
    I'm looking forward to continuing our work together and with
    other Members of this Committee.
        Today, we have with us the Government Accountability Office
    Comptroller General, Gene Dodaro, Government Publishing Office
    Director, Hugh Halpern, and Congressional budget office
    Director, Phillip Swagel. I would like to thank you for joining
    us here today to testify on your agencies' 2025 budget. I ask
    unanimous consent that the witness's written statements be
    placed in the hearing record.
        Let me begin by again thanking the women and men of your
    agencies who work every day to facilitate the work of the
    Senate and the Congress. Without each of them, the Senate would
    not be able to perform its constitutional responsibilities on
    behalf of the American people.
        The Legislative Branch agencies have submitted fiscal year
    2025 budget requests. They account for a $544 million increase
    over the fiscal year 2024 Legislative Branch enacted
    appropriation. While we do not yet have subcommittee
    allocations, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 enacted
    strict levels for appropriations, again, in fiscal year 2025.
        As such, we'll be making very difficult decisions for the
    allocation of resources provided to the Legislative Branch in
    fiscal year 2025. It will then fall upon the heads of each
    legislative branch agency to utilize those resources to meet
    their respective missions while addressing the needs of their
    workforce. This will not be an easy fiscal year, but I'm
    confident that the Legislative Branch can meet this challenge.
        For fiscal year 2025, the Government Accountability Office
    (GAO) is requesting $915.9 million in appropriated funds, which
    is an increase of $104 million over the fiscal year 2024
    enacted level. This request would support a funded staffing
    level of 3,600 positions to fill critical skill gaps and
    fulfill GAO's mission to support Congress.
        It's important to note that the return on investment over
    the past 5 years is $113 for each $1 spent on GAO. The
    agencies' request continues the work of GAO's Science
    Technology Assessment and Analytics Team, which provides
    Congress with critical foresight and oversight of science and
    technology issues in a rapidly changing world.
        In fiscal year 2025, this includes ongoing and future work
    in aspects of artificial intelligence in both defense and
    civilian applications, regenerative medicine, medical research,
    and many other critical areas. The requested increase also
    prioritizes reporting on government-wide cybersecurity
    capabilities.
        This will continue GAO's assessment of multiple
    cybersecurity priorities such as the development and execution
    of a comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy, the
    cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, and the security of
    Federal information systems. 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'll also be reviewing the Government Publishing
    Office's request. The GPO is seeking appropriation of $136
    million of fiscal year 2025, which is an increase of $4 million
    over the fiscal year 2024 enacted level. The request for the
    Congressional Publishing Account remains at the fiscal year
    2024 enacted level of $83 million.
        The agency is requesting an increase of nearly $4.3 million
    for the public information programs of the superintendent
    documents account to meet mandatory pay price level increases
    and the cost of digitizing printed materials for easier access
    by the public.
        Additionally, the agency is requesting funding to support
    the continued development and operations of the GovInfo and
    XPub systems. The work that the agency performs on a daily
    basis of the center is critical, and again, I look forward to
    the director's testimony.
        And we'll also hear from the Congressional Budget Office
    (CBO). The CBO plays an important non-partisan role as it
    strives to provide clear, and objective, timely analysis and
    reporting on budgetary and economic information for the
    Congress. The agency is requesting $73.5 million in fiscal year
    2025, which is an increase of $3.5 million over fiscal year
    2024 enacted levels.
        This increase provides for the salary and benefit of the
    agency's workforce, and to fund a slight increase in staff 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 CBO.
        Director Swagel and I have discussed the agency's efforts
    to provide timely responses to Congressional requests and other
    important work the CBO is conducting to meet its mission. I
    look forward to hearing from Director Swagel about the CBO's
    work.
        With this said, the goal of the Senate Appropriations
    Committee is continue on a 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--who with precise timing has arrived. So I
    may recognize her. Again, completely dependable, and thoroughly
    in tune with the temple of the United States Senate.
        Senator, I will recognize you for your comments. Thank you.

                    opening statement of senator deb fischer

        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman voted quicker than I did. He scurried down
    there and got there ahead of me. But thank you all, I
    appreciate you being here today, and I look forward to working
    with Chairman Reed on the ability to craft a fiscally
    responsible bill that will meet the needs of Congress and our
    support agencies this year. I thank our three witnesses for
    appearing before the subcommittee today and for your testimony.
        Before I discuss the specific details of your budget
    requests, I want to build upon Chairman Reed's comments
    regarding this upcoming fiscal year. In fiscal year 2024, the
    Legislative Branch's allocation was an over 2 percent cut from
    the enacted funding level. Under the terms of the Fiscal
    Responsibility Act, another reduction for our bill is possible
    this year.
        As we face an uncertain fiscal year, and the potential of
    further cuts, legislative branch agencies need to be judicious
    stewards of the resources. After years of significant spending
    increases, the Federal Government as a whole must now exercise
    more fiscal restraint. The Legislative Branch will be no
    exception to that rule.
        Mr. Dodaro, the Government Accountability Office holds an
    important role in providing oversight of government spending
    and preventing waste in Federal programs. For fiscal year 2025,
    the GAO seeks an increase of $104 million in appropriated
    funding. This is a substantial request. I'd like to hear from
    you what is driving that need, and how you plan to maintain
    current services in this difficult fiscal year?
        Dr. Swagel, the Government Budget Office's fiscal year 2025
    request focuses on personnel costs and sustaining current IT
    capacity. In your testimony, I hope to hear how CBO is managing
    personnel-related costs, and how your agency is working to
    improve CBO's forecasting accuracy and transparency.
        Mr. Halpern, the Government Publishing Office's request
    will support the continued transition to digital products and
    technologies. This will achieve savings while also increasing
    accessibility 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, and
    I hope to have a productive conversation on these budget
    proposals.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Fischer. I will now ask
    our witnesses--and we'll begin with Comptroller General Dodaro,
    then Director Halpern, and then Director Swagel--to give brief
    opening statements. No more than 5 minutes, and you all should
    understand that your full text of your remarks is already in
    the record.
        Comptroller General, you're recognized.

                                    ------

                      THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

    STATEMENT OF HON. GENE DODARO, COMPTROLLER GENERAL,
                GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
        Mr. Dodaro. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Ranking
    Member Fischer. It's good to be with you this afternoon. I'm
    pleased to be here to talk about our fiscal year 2025 budget
    request.
        First, I want to thank the Subcommittee and both of you for
    your support in the past. I believe we've returned a good
    return on investment as a result of your confidence in us. Last
    year, as a result of implementation of our recommendations,
    over $70 billion accrued to the Federal Government in financial
    benefits. Our return on investment over the last 6 years is
    $133 for every $1 invested in us. We're helping to make
    government more efficient and effective through our oversight.
        Demand for our services remains high. We do work for over
    93 percent of the standing committees of the Congress. In
    addition to our support for the committees, we're also
    receiving more and more requests for technical assistance from
    individual member offices, particularly in science and
    technology, as well as other areas.
        This year so far, for the first half of the year, we've
    filled the technical requests from over 215 Members offices and
    committees. I'm very pleased to be able to provide this
    service. I think it's important too, as there's been quite a
    bit of turnover in the Congress. We're a reservoir of
    institutional knowledge that can provide advice and support in
    helping the Congress carry out its responsibilities.
        Our request for 2025 would maintain the staffing of GAO at
    what we're going to end fiscal year 2024 with. With Congress's
    support, we've built up our capacity, particularly at
    Congress's encouragement, in the science, technology, and
    analytics area, as well as the national security area. These
    areas are very important.
        In the national security area, the most recent NDAA had 115
    mandates for GAO studies. We're looking at mission-readiness
    issues, particularly given the competition with China and
    Russia. We are also reporting on the development of major
    weapons systems as well as the modernization of the nuclear
    weapons complex. We're also tracking funding to the Ukraine,
    both in terms of military assistance as well as humanitarian
    assistance.
        In the science technology area, we're doing a lot of work
    on artificial intelligence. We have work underway in generative
    AI, both in terms of what's going on in the commercial sector,
    as well as the implications for both the workforce and the
    environment as well as other areas.
        We also have work in a number of different areas, including
    regenerative medicine and in the medical applications area,
    like the development of antivirals for future pandemics. In
    addition we are reporting on hypersonic weapons with the DOD
    and other technical areas. We're also doing work on the
    Columbia-class nuclear submarine.
        We are looking into fraud. There has been epic fraud during
    the pandemic. By our latest estimate between $233 and $521
    billion was lost to fraud, and annually between 2018 and 2022.
    And we have a lot of efforts underway to help the government
    prevent fraud from occurring in the future.
        Healthcare is another area the Federal government is
    spending a lot of money on: 29 percent of Federal program
    spending goes to Medicare and Medicaid. Last year, however,
    there was over $100 billion reported in improper payments in
    Medicare and Medicaid. We have a number of recommendations to
    get the improper payment rate lower and under control.
        In cybersecurity, I'm particularly concerned about critical
    infrastructure protections. There is a lot of concern now about
    China targeting our water systems and electricity grid systems.
    The Federal Government really does not have enough knowledge
    about the status of those areas because standards are voluntary
    for the private sector to implement.
        Lastly, I want to compliment the GAO workforce, our
    dedicated talented people. For the last 3 years running we've
    been designated the best place to work in government for mid-
    size Federal agencies. That helps us attract and retain the
    caliber of people we need to take on these difficult
    assignments from the Congress.
        I'm very, very pleased. I know you'll give careful
    consideration to our request. I know there are difficult
    decisions ahead. So, thank you for your attention. I'd be happy
    to answer your questions at the appropriate time.
        [The statement follows:]
    GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT

        Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Comptroller. And now,
    Director Halpern, please.

                                    ------

                        THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    STATEMENT OF HON. HUGH N. HALPERN, DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT
                PUBLISHING OFFICE
        Mr. Halpern. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member
    Fischer. It is good to see you again. It's good that we got the
    band back together. I am pleased to appear today to testify in
    favor of GPO's fiscal year 2025 appropriations request.
        As you know, GPO is fundamentally a manufacturing
    operation. We publish, produce, and maintain materials for all
    three branches of government. And the way we operate is very
    much as a private sector business.
        Our 1,600 craftspeople and professionals produce virtually
    all of Congress's documents, along with numerous other
    publications, and we manufacture secure credential products
    like the U.S. Passport and law enforcement credentials. We also
    provide digital information through our trusted digital
    repository, govinfo.gov, or by serving data to our partners
    like the Library of Congress, which uses that data on sites
    like congress.gov.
        Only about 10 percent of the agency's operating budget is
    directly appropriated, and most of that is to cover the cost of
    Congress's own printing and publishing needs, as well as our
    public information programs, including the Federal Depository
    Library Program. We recovered the rest of our $1.3 billion
    operating budget directly from our customers.
        This year, we are requesting approximately $136 million,
    including $83 million for Congressional publishing, nearly $42
    million for our public information programs, and about $11.4
    million for special projects funded by our revolving fund. This
    represents about a 3.1 percent increase over last year, and
    reflects the inflation in labor's labor and materials over the
    past year.
        Fully funding our requests will allow us to continue
    recruiting the next generation of GPO teammates, and fund our
    ongoing modernization efforts such as developing XPub, our next
    generation composition engine, and adopting digital printing
    technologies. Likewise, it will enable us to expand the depth
    and breadth of our digital offerings like Congressionally-
    mandated reports and the Congressional serial set.
        Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Fischer, thank you for your
    past support of GPO. Supporting this committee and Congress, as
    a whole, is always one of our top priorities.
        I appreciate the opportunity to testify before the
    Subcommittee today, and I look forward to 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 appear before the Subcommittee on
    Legislative Branch Appropriations to present the Government Publishing
    Office's (GPO's) fiscal year 2025 appropriations request. I thank you
    and your staff for your past support of GPO, and I look forward to
    working closely with you again in the coming year. For fiscal year
    2025, I am requesting appropriations in the amount of $136,089,000, an
    increase of $4,090,000 over our FY 2024 appropriation.
        This marks just the fourth time in a decade that GPO has requested
    an increase in appropriated funds that incorporates increased labor and
    materials costs while accommodating certain initiatives of importance
    to Congress and the rest of the legislative branch. Our FY 2025
    requests represent a 3.1 percent increase over FY 2024. They are also
    7.7 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 budget. For FY 2024,
    about 90 percent of GPO's revenue came from billings of its other
    Federal customers, including the State Department, the courts, the
    Department of Defense, and many others. For FY 2025, we estimate that
    direct appropriations will represent a similar portion of our overall
    budget. And just as we occasionally need to adjust the rates we charge
    our other customers, we also need to request adjustments to our
    appropriation levels to ensure that we are meeting our statutory
    obligation to recover our costs and provide for investments that will
    yield additional efficiency and capability.
                        charting a course for the future
        During fiscal year 2023, GPO made considerable progress in our
    efforts to chart a new course for the Agency's future. First and
    foremost, we closed our books for fiscal year 2023 with a net positive
    income for the third consecutive year. All told, we had a net positive
    income of $61.1 million in FY 2023 and did so while making the critical
    investments in human capital and technology needed to thrive in the
    years ahead.
        One of our proudest achievements in FY 2023 was our work to fulfill
    the statutory requirements of the ``Access to Congressionally Mandated
    Reports Act'' [Public Law 117-263] to build a centralized repository
    for the congressionally mandated reports that Federal agencies are
    required to submit to Congress or committees. Fulfilling this mandate
    required us to work closely with the Office of Management and Budget
    (OMB) and our congressional stakeholders to make these reports publicly
    available online within 1 year's time. We are proud to have met our
    December 2023 deadline and to report that, as of April 24th, there are
    315 congressionally mandated reports from 62 issuing agencies posted on
    GovInfo.
        In FY 2023, we also celebrated important milestones for our
    Security and Intelligent Documents (SID) business unit. First, we
    marked our first full year of production of the state-of-the-art Next
    Generation Passports (NextGen), producing an impressive 22 million
    NextGen passports for the State Department. Additionally, we had the
    opportunity to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of our Stennis MS Secure
    Production Facility, which has produced a total of 95 million passports
    since 2008 and 9.5 million secure credentials since 2013.
        We also initiated the Project Common Press with our congressional
    partners, the first attempt to modernize the look and style of key
    congressional publications since GPO opened its doors in 1861. Today,
    advances in technology have provided us a level of flexibility with
    congressional documents that we haven't had before, whether they are
    displayed digitally or in print.
        For example, GPO uses digital inkjet presses capable of cost-
    effective printing on any size paper with a wide variety of features,
    including color. Advances like these, coupled with a congressional
    willingness to reexamine long-standing practices to improve outcomes
    for lawmakers, staff, and the public, have led to the bicameral,
    bipartisan Project Common Press effort to develop a new design template
    for committee reports and hearings.
        With the full support of the Joint Committee on Printing, GPO has
    started the Project Common Press focus group work of gathering our
    customer requirements for what a new format might look like. To date,
    we have completed our first round of focus group meetings with the JCP
    staff, House and Senate institutional officers, and House and Senate
    committees. In light of their feedback, we are further refining our
    designs and look forward to continuing that dialog with congressional
    stakeholders in the coming year.
        Last summer, GPO celebrated the 10 billionth retrieval of
    government information from our websites, coinciding with the 30th
    anniversary of the signing of the GPO Electronic Information Access
    Enhancement Act [Public Law 103-40]. It's amazing to think of where our
    digital presence is today when we consider that it all began with a
    rudimentary, pre- Netscape Navigator site to post the Congressional
    Record online in the mid-1990s.
        Throughout fiscal year 2023 our ongoing efforts to modernize and
    build a dynamic and welcoming workplace continued to attract attention.
    In fact, we were notified that Forbes Magazine again rated us--now for
    the third straight year--as one of America's Best Midsize Employers
    while also recognizing us as one of the nation's Best Employers for
    Veterans for the second consecutive year.
        Those positive sentiments were also reflected in the results of our
    first-ever employee climate survey designed to assess agency morale and
    identify challenges, which found that 90 percent of respondents are
    proud of the work they do at GPO and 76 percent agree that respect is
    high among teammates. While there is always room for improvement, the
    survey provided encouraging results we hope to build on in the years
    ahead.
        GPO's vision is of an America Informed and our mission is to
    publish trusted information for the Federal Government to the American
    people guided by four key values--honesty, kindness, effectiveness, and
    inclusiveness. Our vision and mission are supported by our FY 2023-2027
    Strategic Plan which is built on four strategic goals: to (1) Achieve
    Operational Excellence; (2) Modernize and Innovate; (3) Ensure
    Financial Stability; and (4) Develop the Workforce. (A copy of the plan
    can be found here: https://www.gpo.gov/docs/default-source/mission-
    vision-and-goals-pdfs/gpo_
    strategicplan_fy23-27.pdf.)
        It is with those goals in mind that we accepted the recommendations
    of the Task Force on a Digital Federal Depository Library Program
    (FDLP) last year to guide the evolution of the FDLP and build a strong
    digital future for all our library partners and transition the program
    to one that is primarily digital. We are currently moving forward on
    those Task Force recommendations we can implement on our own. We have
    also shared a set of legislative proposals with Congress to address
    other Task Force recommendations and guide ensure our statutes support
    the transition to a digital FDLP.
        As we look to our future, GPO's single biggest current challenge is
    attracting and maintaining a workforce prepared to fulfill our mission.
    Dramatic shifts in the newspaper and publishing industries have
    significantly diminished traditional sources of potential skilled labor
    for us. It's a serious challenge. 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 have established the Recent Graduates
    Program and restarted our Apprenticeship Program.
        Designed to appeal to talented young graduates seeking a career,
    the Recent Graduates Program attracted 22 new hires in its first year
    and another 29 in FY 2023, its second full year of operation. The
    Apprenticeship Program, created to help promising GPO teammates acquire
    the skills needed to assume larger roles throughout the Agency,
    welcomed its first eight participants and aims for 22 more in FY 2024.
        We also created a new position, Production Technician, through
    which the Agency provides promising individuals with 3 years of on-the-
    job training to earn certification as fully credentialed bookbinders.
    We have hired 56 Production Technicians in Washington and Stennis, MS
    to date and are currently working to bring an additional 24 on board in
    FY 2024.
                          a snapshot of gpo's business
        GPO has three primary lines of business: (1) producing items
    requested by our customers, either ourselves or through contracts with
    other firms across the country; (2) making government information
    available through libraries, the Internet, and direct distribution; and
    (3) building the tools that our customers use to produce their own
    content in formats that facilitate digital and physical distribution.
                                   production
        GPO's business portfolio consists of--

      --our in-house production work for Congress and the Executive Branch.
      --the passports and secure credentials we produce for the State
            Department and other Federal agencies; and
      --the print procurement and ancillary business services we provide to
            a broad range of Federal agencies.

        For Congress, in-house work includes the Congressional Record, the
    House and Senate calendars, bills, resolutions, committee reports and
    hearings, and the United States Code. For the executive branch, we
    produce the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations, the
    President's Budget, the Economic Report of the President, and many
    other high-profile publications. Notably, daily production of the
    Congressional Record and the Federal Register is like producing two
    major city newspapers every day.
        Additionally, our craftspeople frequently produce a wide array of
    programs, invitations, and ceremonial and commemorative documents for
    both the executive and legislative branches.
             making government information available to the public
        Still, another core enterprise of GPO is administering the Federal
    Depository Library Program (FDLP), through which GPO provides important
    public documents to the over 1,100 FDLP- affiliated libraries
    nationwide, many of which are then also made available to the public at
    no charge through our ISO-certified secure digital repository,
    GovInfo.gov. Through the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP),
    the public can identify and access over 1 million current and historic
    government titles and resources housed in FDLP libraries throughout the
    country or linked to in digital collections at libraries and Federal
    agencies.
        GPO's Superintendent of Documents and Library Services and Content
    Management (LSCM) units support the FDLP libraries in the
    identification and access to new government content, maintenance of
    their tangible collections, digitization of aging and rare tangible
    documents, and education, outreach, and training to ensure that the
    staff of FDLP libraries can assist their patrons in finding government
    information in both tangible and digital collections. Additionally,
    LSCM distributes new tangible publications to the FDLP libraries.
        The Superintendent of Documents also supervises a sales and
    distribution program offering current, high-interest Federal
    publications to the public. They also provide logistics and warehousing
    services for Federal customers distributing printed materials.
       building the tools to deliver on the vision of an america informed
        As technology has evolved, GPO has updated its operations to keep
    pace. With the development of GPO's proprietary MicroComp composition
    engine in the 1980s, GPO got into the business of building tools that
    would later be incorporated into our customers' workflows. Soon after
    adoption by GPO, Congress incorporated MicroComp into its workflows in
    the House and Senate offices of Legislative Counsel and the legislative
    operations teams of the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate.
    While MicroComp is still in use today, GPO is hard at work on its
    replacement, XPub, which will leverage several commercial and open-
    source technologies to produce a composition system worthy of the 21st
    century.
        The current version of XPub is in the user acceptance testing phase
    with the House and Senate for congressional bills, resolutions,
    amendments, and public laws. When our customers adopt XPub, hopefully
    later this year, features will include integration with House and
    Senate XML authoring tools for bills and a new responsive HTML format
    for congressional bills and public laws.
        GPO also works closely with the Clerk of the House, the Secretary
    of the Senate, the Library of Congress, and the Congressional Data Task
    Force to develop and enhance United States Legislative Markup (USLM),
    an XML standard in the Legislative Branch and a critical data format
    for XPub.
        GPO's ISO-certified secure digital repository, GovInfo, is also a
    key technology for supporting our customers. The data in GovInfo
    supports many public and private sector databases, such as
    Congress.gov, through open application programming interfaces (APIs).
    In FY 2023, there were 96 million average monthly information
    retrievals from GovInfo's collection of more than 2.3 million content
    packages--as we hit 1 billion annual retrievals for the first time
    ever.
                          breaking down gpo's revenue
        In fiscal year 2023, GPO's overall revenues totaled $1,229.8
    million. Of that amount, $1,109 million--or about 90 percent--came from
    direct billings to our non-congressional customers. This category
    includes the Next Generation passports produced for the State
    Department and secure credentials produced for numerous Federal
    agencies, including the Capitol Police, government publications sales
    and distribution, and Federal print procurement contracts managed by
    GPO.
        Another six percent--or $69 million--came from billings to Congress
    for the provision of specific requested services, including the
    Congressional Record, congressional hearings, bills, resolutions,
    calendars, and other publications. Still another three percent--or $36
    million-- came from appropriations we used to administer the Federal
    Depository Library Program and provide critical public information
    program services. And finally, the remaining one percent-- or $16
    million--came from appropriations this Subcommittee provided to enable
    GPO to make critical information technology and cybersecurity
    investments for the future.
                            some key accomplishments
        In fiscal year 2023, our first full year of operations under our
    ambitious FY 2023--2027 Strategic Plan, GPO continued charting a new
    course for success in this digital age and achieved some notable
    successes:

        Our GovInfo digital repository earned recertification to retain its
    status as the world's only ISO 16363 Trustworthy Digital Repository and
    hit a record of over 1.1 billion information retrievals in a single
    year--the first time we have ever topped 1 billion retrievals in a
    year.
        Our Customer Services business unit awarded $496 million in
    competitive contracts to private- sector printers nationwide supporting
    thousands of jobs in all 50 states.
        Our Security & Intelligent Documents business unit produced a total
    of 21,889,000 Next Generation Passports for the U.S. Department of
    State, and another 6,547,000 secure card credentials for our Federal
    agency customers.
        We closed 11 regional print procurement offices transitioning 58
    customer service employees to remote work, saving $1 million per year
    in rent and other costs.
        We removed the antiquated Group 98 web presses that our new inkjet
    presses have rendered obsolete and initiated a state-of-the-art RTB-480
    machine that fully automates the paper roll-to- book form conversions.
        We produced the Final Report from the January 6th Committee and the
    latest report from the House Committee on Modernization with our new
    XPub composition engine.
        Our Creative Services and Digital Media Team won four awards from
    Graphic Design USA for the high quality of their productions for
    Federal agency customers.
        For the 2d consecutive year, we designed the logo for the United
    States Capitol Christmas tree, which came from Monongahela National
    Forest in West Virginia this year.
        Our Plant Operations unit was honored by the In-Plant Printing and
    Mailing Association at their Annual Education Conference with the
    IPMA's 2023 Innovation and Best of Show Awards for their inkjet press
    work quality.
        We had the privilege of producing the White House Holiday Greeting
    Card for the fourth consecutive year as well as producing ``Holidays at
    the White House,'' a White House tour book.
        We completed Supplement IV of the Annual Supplements to the United
    States Code via XPub.
        And for the 27th consecutive year, GPO's independent outside
    auditor provided us with an unmodified, or clean, opinion on our annual
    financial statements.
                      gpo's fy 2025 appropriations request
        GPO is requesting an increase in its FY 2025 appropriations to
    $136,089,000, a $4,090,000 increase over our FY 2024 appropriation.
    This increase will account for changes in our labor and raw materials
    costs and fund certain ongoing projects of importance to our
    congressional customers.
        This would be GPO's only fourth proposed increase in appropriations
    since FY 2014 and is 7.7 percent less than our FY 2010 appropriation.
    Increased productivity through the adoption of new technologies has
    been key to keeping GPO's appropriations needs down, providing new and
    improved services at lower costs, and reducing overall headcounts.
    Currently, we have 1,622 GPO teammates, compared to 2,284 in FY 2010.
        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, as I have informed your predecessors in recent years,
    those balances are declining, forcing GPO to request additional funds
    if we are to continue our current pace of development and innovation.
        Our FY 2025 request includes $83,000,000 for congressional
    publishing, the same amount as our FY 2024 appropriation. It is based
    on our estimates of Congress' likely needs, informed by historical
    trends, available unexpended balances, and increased raw materials and
    labor costs. In constant dollar terms, it represents a 75 percent
    reduction for congressional publishing appropriations since FY 1980 and
    a 36 percent reduction since FY 2010.
        Our request for our public information programs (PIP) account,
    through which we administer the nationwide Federal Depository Library
    Program, is $41,664,000. This represents an increase of $4,296,000--or
    11.4 percent--over FY 2024, 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. Rising labor and compensation costs as well as
    increased materials costs are the driving factors behind this increase
    in our FY 2025 PIP appropriation request. With this proposed increase,
    the PIP appropriation will be just 1.8 percent higher than the amount
    appropriated in FY 2010, but 29 percent lower in constant-dollar terms.
        The final component of our overall appropriations request is for a
    total of $11,425,000 for GPO's revolving fund to support capital
    investments and information technology upgrades, which is $186,000 less
    than amounts appropriated in FY 2024.
        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 appropriations request
    will be used to support two specific longstanding priority capital
    investment projects that will be familiar to the Subcommittee.
        First, we are seeking direct appropriations support for our
    continued development of the XPub composition system, which is intended
    to replace our more than 40-year-old proprietary MicroComp composition
    system.
        XPub is a transformational project for GPO. It will enable GPO and
    our customers to move to an all XML-composition workflow, simplifying
    authoring and production while also providing data in a format where it
    can easily be posted on the web, delivered to mobile devices, and
    repurposed into e-books, mobile web applications, or other forms of
    content delivery which contribute to openness and transparency in
    Government.
        XPub is being deployed on a product-by-product basis. In FY 2019,
    GPO took a major step forward by publishing the 2018 Main Edition of
    the United States Code, a nearly 60,000-page publication, through XPub.
    Since then, GPO continues to work on bringing additional publications
    into XPub's production process, with a focus on congressional bills,
    resolutions, amendments, public laws, Statutes at Large, House and
    Senate calendars, the Congressional Record, and the Federal Register.
        In FY 2022, GPO obtained the internal authority to operate for the
    upcoming production release of congressional bills and public laws.
    This release is currently being tested by our House and Senate
    customers and is slated to be in production with the House, Senate, and
    GPO Bill End during FY 2024. Features in this release include
    integration with House and Senate XML authoring tools for bills and a
    new responsive HTML format for congressional bills and public laws.
        Prior to FY 2022, much of the initial development of XPub had been
    funded through the annual reprogramming of unexpended appropriations
    with the Subcommittee's support, but given GPO's mostly static
    appropriations requests in recent years, those prior-year funds have
    been largely expended. In recognition of the importance of the XPub
    project, the Subcommittee generously provided direct appropriations of
    $3,370,000 in FY 2022, $5,630,000 in FY 2023, and $6,086,000 in FY
    2024.
        If approved, our $5,975,000 appropriation request will keep XPub
    development and deployment on track in FY 2025. 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 request for increased capital
    investment appropriations in FY 2025 relates to the continued
    development of our peerless 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 $5,450,000 for GovInfo is $75,000 more than the Subcommittee
    provided in FY 2024, and it would be divided between infrastructure
    investments ($1,800,000) and development investments ($3,650,000),
    including development required to support the digitization of
    historical content.
        Investments in GovInfo support the distribution of much of the
    legislative data that supports the Library of Congress' Congress.gov
    site as well as the bulk data made available for other public uses. In
    addition, GovInfo helps keep the costs of administering the Federal
    Depository Library Program down by making hundreds of thousands of
    critical Government publications available online free of charge,
    obviating the need to print and distribute thousands of volumes
    annually.
        With the Subcommittee's sustained support, GPO has been able to add
    hundreds of thousands of additional documents and publications to the
    GovInfo online repository each year--over 195,000 content packages were
    added in FY 2023--and the public's usage of GovInfo continues to grow,
    with more than 96 million retrievals per month from GovInfo in FY 2023.
        GPO successfully completed its recertification to retain ISO
    certification as the world's only ISO-certified trusted digital
    repository. With this designation, end users can be comfortable knowing
    that information accessed via GovInfo is both safely secured and
    authentic, two invaluable attributes for government information.
        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
    $7,540,000 in budget authority for FY 2025 as part of our FY 2025
    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 2025
    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, Director Halpern.
        Director Swagel, please.

                                    ------

                          CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

    STATEMENT OF HON. DR. PHILLIP SWAGEL, DIRECTOR,
                CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
        Dr. Swagel. Thank you, Chairman Reed, and Ranking Member
    Fischer. Thank you for the opportunity to present this
    Congressional Budget Office's budget request.
        Let me start by thanking you for providing nearly the full
    amount we requested for the current fiscal year, and more
    broadly, for your continued support of the agency. CBO's
    requesting an appropriation of $73.5 million for 2025. That's
    an increase of $3.5 million, or 5 percent from the amount
    provided in 2024 that would address increased costs from
    inflation. It would sustain our investments in IT
    infrastructure, and enable CBO to expand our staff in key
    areas.
        The CBO's mission is to provide nonpartisan analysis to the
    Congress that's timely, rigorous, and transparent. My
    commitment is to get you the information you need when you need
    it. When legislation is heading to a vote, we provide cost
    estimates, real time analysis of amendments, often hundreds or
    even thousands, for the House NDAA for example.
        We do analysis of large complex legislation such as the
    reauthorization of the Farm Bill that we're working hard on
    now. And we produce budget and economic projections, and
    incorporate the effects of recent legislation and economic
    developments. We're working on our update of the 10-year budget
    right now for June release.
        There's continued strong interest in CBO's work from the
    Congressional leadership, from committees, and from members.
    The additional resources we're requesting for this year would
    allow CBO to do even better in terms of our responsiveness and
    our transparency. The fiscal year 2024 funding we receive will
    permit us to grow from about 267 people--that was at the end of
    March--to 276 by the end of this year.
        Our request for 2025 would allow us to grow by an
    additional 9, that's 285, and I would say that staffing level
    would allow CBO to fulfill the agency's requirements under the
    Congressional Budget Act. In particular, CBO would add more
    analysts in areas of particular Congressional focus; defense
    and homeland security. Right now, we're advertising to hire
    three more people in those areas. Also, economic implications
    of fiscal policy, long-term projections, healthcare, including
    Medicare and Medicaid, and others, and social security.
        The requested increase is entirely for personnel expenses,
    and that's largely to cover the salaries and benefits for
    current employees, and then to a much lesser extent, to fund
    the new staff I mentioned.
        The non-personnel expenses will decline by about 3 percent,
    and that's because some of our spending for information
    technology in 2024 is for projects that we deferred over the
    last year or so while operating under the continuing
    resolution. And those expenses will not recur next year.
        Let me just focus on the appropriations committees. So, we
    will support the appropriators with real time provision by
    provision estimates of the 12 annual appropriations bills, well
    as any supplemental appropriations bills should they come, and
    then, any continuing resolutions.
        We will respond to thousands of requests for technical
    assistance, and do cost estimates of amendments. And we're
    ready to do this for the appropriators this year, you know,
    again, on the schedule that the appropriators want, and getting
    you the information when you need it.
        In addition, we'll provide hundreds of cost estimates for
    legislation that's required by statute, provide cost estimates
    before a floor vote for nearly all bills. We'll publish dozens
    of reports, both statutory reports and requested reports on a
    wide variety of topics.
        In summary, to achieve our goal of being as responsive as
    possible and as transparent as possible, CBO requests an
    increase of $3.5 million. With your support, we look forward to
    continuing to provide timely and high-quality analysis to the
    Congress.
        Thank you very much, and I'm happy to answer your questions
        [The statement follows:]
        GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT

        Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Doctor.
        My first question for each of you, and if you could respond
    as briefly as you think possible, because we'll follow up and
    ask you for some written comments too.
        Senator Reed. If the Legislative Branch fiscal year 2025
    allocation requires your agency's budget to remain at the
    fiscal year 2024 level, what are the impacts your agency's
    ability to achieve its mission? And begin with, Doctor, so I go
    on then down the line.
        Dr. Swagel. Thank you. Looking ahead, we will be prudent in
    our expansion. We're advertising for people. We'll hire people,
    but I will make sure that we don't hire more than we can
    support at CR level. You know, we will hire in the key areas;
    healthcare, and national security, defense, and veterans, the
    key things that we're advertising for now. So that will help
    improve our responsiveness.
        The additional people I would hope to hire with our fiscal
    year 2025 request would let us do even more. So operating at
    the CR, I think, we will do better than we did last year. But
    there will still be areas where, you know, I would say we'll
    have gaps, and it will affect our responsiveness.
        Senator Reed. Very good.

            IMPACT TO GAO OF A FLATLINE FISCAL YEAR 2025 ALLOCATION

        Comptroller General.
        Mr. Dodaro. Since 80 percent of our costs are salaries and
    benefits, operating at a CR level means a smaller GAO with less
    services to the Congress in meeting congressional demands and
    priorities. This would be especially true in areas Congress has
    specifically asked us to increase our capabilities.
        A flat budget would erode our capabilities in the science
    and technology area at a time when artificial intelligence is
    exploding. It would undermine our abilities in the national
    defense area to have the full coverage of all the mandates in
    the NDAA. As I mentioned, there's 115 mandates, and we receive
    a lot of requests from Committee Chairs and Ranking Members.
        In addition to those mandates from the Congress, a flat
    fiscal year 2025 budget allocation would impede our ability to
    deal with fraud prevention in the Federal Government. I'm very
    concerned that Federal Government is not anywhere near
    adequately prepared. Fraud has become more sophisticated with
    organized crime involved both domestically and internationally.
    A flat budget would also undermine our ability to deal with the
    cybersecurity issues. And particularly, in critical
    infrastructure protections we are vulnerable but I think we're
    vulnerable in weapon systems and our space programs. These are
    all critical, important areas.
        Since our costs are mostly people, less resources means we
    can hire less people. Less staffing means less support for the
    Congress.
        Senator Reed. Thank you.
        Director Halpern, please.
        Mr. Halpern. Mr. Chairman, the short answer is whatever
    level you're going to give us, we'll manage because that's what
    we have to do. What we would ask is that if there are cuts
    necessary, that we have a discussion about which accounts they
    come out of.
        So, the Appropriations Committee funds three accounts.
    Congressional printing, which we estimate the amount that
    Congress will need each year. So, there's probably some play in
    that account. Similarly, the amounts that come out of our
    revolving fund are for special projects. And while those are
    important projects to the agency, if we have to defer them and
    slow our rollout of some of those projects, we can do that.
        Where we have a much tighter budget is in our public
    information programs, because that is a directly appropriated
    program. And we've asked for what we need, and should that
    account be cut, it would likely mean we would either be unable
    to backfill some of our librarian and other public information
    specialist roles or that we wouldn't be able to meet the demand
    that we have on that front.
        So if, overall, you would need to trim our overall request,
    our request to you is that we have a discussion about where
    that comes from ahead of time so that we can best manage the
    impact on the agency.
        Senator Reed. Could you give us an example of your public
    information role? One of the programs you're----
        Mr. Halpern. Sure. The best recent example is Congress's
    mandate to make Congressionally-mandated reports available. So,
    there are lots of exceptions to what goes online, but
    traditionally, these were reports that were received by
    committees. They went into a filing cabinet and then they went
    into an archive box.
        Now, there's a process where we are working with the
    agencies as they deliver those reports to you to get them
    online to-date. We have, I think, as of yesterday, about 331
    Congressionally-mandated reports over this Congress, and the
    prior Congress, and from about 60-some-odd agencies. We're
    trying to expand that and build that. If we don't have the
    personnel to work on that, that mandate, that new mandate,
    that's going to slow down our ability to comply with Congress's
    mandate on that front.
        Senator Reed. Thank you.
        Comptroller to Dorado, you mentioned the mandates which you
    received from Congress. Many of them emanated from the Armed
    Services Committee. So, I will have a discussion with my
    colleagues there. I'm being somewhat facetious.
        What is the impact of these mandates? I mean, does it
    prevent you from doing more valuable things, or is--you know,
    just give me a sense because I----
        Mr. Dodaro. I think the mandates are good. They're good
    work. We have a dialogue with congressional staffers throughout
    the process. Congress is focused on the big investments that
    they have been making in areas such as defense, and the
    Department of Energy, particularly on a nuclear weapons
    modernization. So, I think the mandates are good.
        We've worked with the committee on the new FAA
    Reauthorization Bill where there are over 30 mandates for GAO.
    In the Infrastructure Bill we are still working through 34
    mandates for GAO. So, it's not just Armed Services. Just over
    half our work now is a result of mandates, but I think they're
    fine because we reach out early on when the bills are
    introduced.
        Since we have an ongoing dialogue with staff, the mandates
    for GAO work are shaped appropriately. Our fiscal year 2025
    request, would keep us at our current staffing level. However,
    the cost of personnel has gone up, including, cost-of-living
    increases, healthcare benefits, et cetera. We can meet all the
    priorities of the Congress, but if we're operating at the same
    funding level from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025, it's
    probably in the order of 300 or 400 less people in GAO.
        That would mean that if there's emerging issues that come
    up where there's another, global crisis for example or there's
    a domestic crisis it would be difficult for us to provide real
    time oversight. For example, experts are expecting a big
    hurricane season this year of more intense hurricane season.
    GAO is always involved in reporting on national disasters. If
    we are under a flatline budget we will not have flexibility to
    take on other emerging domestic or international issues that
    may come up.
        I feel like we've got a good relationship with the
    committees across the Congress to set priorities. If we have
    the resources, we'll meet them. If not, we're going to have to
    reprioritize and make tough decisions across all the
    committees.
        Senator Reed. Thank you very much.
        Senator Fischer, please.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Chairman Reed.
        Mr. Dodaro, you were talking about the fraud prevention
    work that you do. And you mentioned hiring new staff, and
    having the resources for staff available to you to do that. But
    along with hiring new staff for those audits and the
    investigative service team, what efforts is GAO taking to
    better find and eliminate fraud at the Federal level? The
    number that you gave, from 2018 to 2022, is staggering.
        Mr. Dodaro. Yes. One thing is to convince people of the
    scope of the problem. In the unemployment insurance program
    alone, we estimated between $100 billion and $135 billion of
    fraud during the pandemic. The Inspector General from SBA
    estimated about $200 billion in fraud in the PPP Program and
    the EIDL Program.
        I have a number of legislative proposals that I've given to
    the Congress. We worked with the Congress in 2015 to put a
    fraud prevention framework in place. Since 2016, agencies are
    supposed to have dedicated resources and conduct risk
    assessments, but they haven't done them. We need to do more in
    depth work. For example----
        Senator Fischer. How many haven't done them?
        Mr. Dodaro. Most of the 40 programs that we have examined,
    including several key agencies. We have 173 recommendations to
    address these gaps. But just to give you one example, SBA, the
    first fraud risk assessment they did was in February 2022,
    after all the money had been allocated. Right now there isn't
    enough effort to prevent fraud. That is the only effective way
    to make progress.
        You're going to catch some of these people. But most money
    lost to fraud will not be recovered. At best, you'll get 10
    percent back. The Department of Labor Inspector General
    overseeing the Unemployment Insurance system is trying to
    extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting fraud to 10
    years rather than 5. I support that.
        I'm trying to convince Congress to keep an analytic center
    within the pandemic response accountability community made up
    of the Inspectors General. It's very effective, but it's going
    to go out of business soon. I think it ought to be made
    permanent. I made a similar suggestion after the Recovery Act
    back in 2009.
        That operation was very effective in preventing fraud. It
    was supposed to be picked up by Treasury but that never
    happened. I recommended Congress make it permanent; but the
    Congress never acted. Then during the pandemic with trillions
    of dollars pouring out an analytic center needed to be
    reestablished, but it was too late to prevent the fraud that
    occurred.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you.
        Dr. Swagel, you talked about the cost estimates for nearly
    every bill that passes through the House or the Senate, or in
    the committee when it comes out of committee, and the workload
    that you have there. For calendar years, 2024 and 2025, CBO
    cost estimates that you're going to be conducting, cost
    estimates for 900 authorizing bills each year. That's a 34
    percent increase compared to 2023.
        How are you going to be able to absorb that increase in
    workload for cost estimates of authorizing bills? Can you tell
    us something about the efficiencies that your agency can deploy
    to improve the work product, the output, without sacrificing
    the detail that you are able to include in that?
        Dr. Swagel. So, my key goal is to have nearly every bill
    have a cost estimate published before it goes to the floor. You
    know, as soon as it comes out of a committee, but before it
    goes to the floor of either chamber. We hit that 97 percent of
    the time.
        One of the key things we've done is to have more flexible
    staff that we're hiring, since it's more generalists, where
    they tend to be younger staff, and we cross train them across
    different areas. So instead of someone who's only looking at,
    like, you know, unemployment insurance, like Gene just talked
    about, they'll be able to work on a portfolio of activities.
    And so, for example, on the Farm Bill, which has just been an
    all hands on deck exercise, you can imagine----
        Senator Fischer. You're mentioning every committee that I'm
    on. So, I'm trying hard not to take this personally.
        Dr. Swagel. I wish I was----
        Senator Fischer. It was Appropriations, with Armed Services
    now, and now the Farm Bill, I think you mentioned FAA, too?
        [Laughter.]
        Dr. Swagel. So, you know, on the Farm Bill, that's just
    across the agency, and we're drawing in people. So, that's
    really been the key for us is, you know, maintaining the
    expertise, but being more flexible and hiring people in a way
    that's more flexible. So that's really a key initiative.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you.
        Mr. Dodaro, you're in the midst right now of a 5-year
    multi-phase effort to modernize the agency's internal
    information technologies. So, the IT infrastructure that you
    have there.
        In fiscal year 2025, you're requesting, I think, $3.75
    million to build upon and continue that modernization effort.
    Hopefully, that's going to give us more predictable operating
    costs going forward. But given the nature of GAO's work, the
    agency, you have to have, first of all, effective, but also
    secure IT systems.
        Can you give us an update on the status of that IT
    modernization effort, and specifically what projects the agency
    is undertaking to improve that infrastructure, please?
        Mr. Dodaro. Yes. We're moving to a cloud-based
    infrastructure. That will give us more flexibility and
    predictability in operating costs. We've moved many
    applications there already such as our email systems and our
    Internet website. But we still need to modernize our document
    management system and move it to the cloud.
        The document management system houses all the information
    we collect during an audit, and it includes a lot of sensitive
    information that has to be protected. The system needs to be
    moved to the cloud. The technology we are using now is over 30
    years old. That's one of the main things we need to do during
    this next year.
        We also are going to been moving to get all our reports
    published in the HTML format so they're more easily searchable
    and accessible on any device. Those are the two main projects
    that we're trying to complete during this period of time. This
    will better serve our people, and make us more efficient
    sharing the documentation. We will also be better able to
    protect sensitive information with cloud-based security.
        Senator Fischer. What reports are most searched for? What
    agency gets the most hits?
        Mr. Dodaro. I'd have to check the records for more detail,
    but it'd be a safe bet to say Defense is one of the top areas
    of demand for GAO reports. We do a lot of work in that area.
    Healthcare is also a highly searched subject. GAO does a lot of
    work in that area too. There is demand for almost everything
    GAO produces.
        GAO is a very well cited organization. I get a report every
    morning of all the broadcast media, the print media, blogs, and
    tweets where GAO's work is cited to make sure it's accurate. If
    it's not accurate, I try to get it corrected as soon as
    possible. Every day there's probably about 50 or so different
    things in there.
        And we push our reports out to different media groups.
    People who cover healthcare, defense, or other key areas sign
    up to regularly receive GAO reports. They automatically get
    every report on that issue. Last year, GAO published about 670
    reports, and of course, we send our expert witnesses to testify
    before committees as well.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you.
        Mr. Dodaro. Sure.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Senator Fischer.
        Dr. Swagel, you're an essential part of the legislative
    process. We can't move legislation without a score from CBO.
    And you have a reputation for objectivity, thoroughness, and
    transparency in your work. My assumption would be that if there
    is budgetary pressure, something's going to give, and that
    probably would be the thoroughness or the accuracy of your
    work. So what's your, sort of, take on that?
        Dr. Swagel. I mean, you know, as I said, my goal is what
    you need when you need it. And that's often a key balancing, is
    how thorough against the time that we have.
        And, you know, if we didn't have the resources, didn't have
    the people, those tradeoffs would be harder. You know, so I
    won't sacrifice the integrity and the quality, but it's just
    the comprehensiveness is where the tradeoff would come.
        Senator Reed. Well, that'll impact our ability to function
    properly and thoroughly. And in every field, we see situations
    where our initial concept of the cost of a particular program
    is much less than what it turns out to be, and you've gotten
    into, as well as the Comptrollers guidance helped us immensely.
        Mr. Halpern, you are working on your new system, the XPub
    system. What's the status?
        Mr. Halpern. So, the status is that we are--it's actually
    farther along than it ever has been. Just to give you a sense
    of what XPub will do and where it fits in the system; for
    roughly four decades GPO has produced the software that allows
    Congress to print. So, when you hit Control P, it's our
    software that takes over.
        The current software called MicroComp was originally
    created when I was 12, and to say it's long in the tooth is an
    understatement. XPub is that that program's replacement. The
    good news is that XPub for bills, resolutions, and amendments,
    is at the stage where it's ready for testing. And we believe
    the House and Senate will begin that user acceptance testing
    very shortly. We are very optimistic for how that testing will
    go and its ability to function well in the Senate's IT
    environment.
        Once that is complete, then it will be up to the House and
    the Senate for when they decide to roll this out to replace
    MicroComp for bills, resolutions, and amendments. Once that
    happens, we think you'll see some improvements because XPub
    composes at least as fast, if not faster, than MicroComp, and
    the public will see benefits because our current terrible text-
    only display, and there's no other way to put it, will go away.
    And a new modern HTML-based display will take its place for new
    measures produced with XPub.
        Once that's complete, we'll start moving to reports, and
    hearings, and the Federal register, and the Congressional
    record. But this Bill's resolutions and amendments is our first
    major milestone, and we are on track to meet that.
        Senator Reed. Thank you very much.
        Comptroller General, we've all, and you've all talked about
    the accelerating changes in technology, particularly AI. But we
    also have in the world of medicine, mRNA, which was the
    platform to produce the Covid vaccine. It seems every day
    something new is being discovered, et cetera.
        And how does your budget try to anticipate not just what we
    know now, but within weeks, for days, a month, we'll discover?
        Mr. Dodaro. Yes. We do strategic planning to look on a
    longer time horizon. We have a strategic foresight center with
    some futurists and experts. We've got a special panel on
    science, technology, and engineering that has all the
    presidents from national academies serving on it along with
    people from academia and the private sector. We do a lot of
    thinking ahead.
        Right now, we're working on brain computer interfaces,
    which has medical application for people with paralysis. These
    can be either implantable or worn as a type of a headgear. And
    in defense, we're talking about developing technologies to be
    able to direct drones through waves processes.
        GAO has done a lot of work in regenerative medicine.
    There's a lot of legal and ethical issues in that subject.
    We're also doing a lot of work on modeling for infectious
    diseases. Quantum computing is another area producing change.
    It will completely change encryption. We try to think ahead and
    anticipate emerging changes in technology, AI, medicine,
    defense and other areas.
        For example, we publish two-page reports called Spotlights
    on emerging technologies. Years ago we did one on deep fakes.
    We started reporting on artificial intelligence back in 2018.
    We did 50 reports on artificial intelligence before it exploded
    on the national scene and captivated everybody's attention.
        We have a lot of advisors. I pay attention to the defense
    and intelligence community assessments that are made. I think
    we have a good cadre of people in that area and that work
    should continue.
        Senator Reed. And your analysis extends into classified
    material as well as unclassified?
        Mr. Dodaro. Oh, absolutely.
        Senator Reed. Let me ask Dr. Swagel on any comments you
    have in this whole area of the new technology.
        Dr. Swagel. You know, we face the same challenge trying to
    be ready for legislation in such as--I want to get there with
    our analysis before you do. You know, is that we're ready to
    support you on things like AI, whether it's the legislation or
    the effects of AI on the economy. It's something that we're
    looking at very carefully.
        It's a little early to say what the effect is on the
    overall economy, but we're following the literature. We're
    using it a little bit within CBO. We're converting one of our
    models from an old programming language to a newer one, from
    Fortran to Python. And there's AI tools that basically help
    with the translation. They don't do it for us, but they help.
        Senator Reed. Now, Fortran, that's a name that's from the
    backside.
        Dr. Swagel. Yes. I learned Fortran in high school.
        Senator Reed. Well, I learned basic at West Point, so I'm a
    behind you or head of you depending on the----
        Senator Fischer.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Chairman.
        Mr. Halpern, GPO is working with the executive branch,
    particularly OMB, to implement the access to Congressionally
    Mandated Reports Act. And this law charged GPO with collecting
    and making publicly available congressionally-mandated reports
    from Federal agencies in one central online portal.
        Since our last hearing, I know that you've done significant
    work to implement that law. Is the executive branch proving to
    be a constructive partner in meeting the requirements of the
    law?
        Mr. Halpern. I think, in general, the answer is yes. There
    are always going to be pockets of different agencies where
    complying with the requirements of the law may not be their
    highest priority at the moment. We are doing a lot of outreach
    to a variety of different agencies, and we are getting more and
    more agencies that are participating regularly.
        A good example is we're actually getting some assistance
    from the public as well. A good friend of mine who writes a
    transportation newsletter emailed me about 3 or 4 months ago
    and said, ``Why isn't DOT submitting Congressionally-mandated
    reports?'' And I said, ``Well, I don't know. You should ask
    them.'' He did, and suddenly, DOT started making sure that we
    were getting those documents.
        So we're working through a variety of different channels to
    make sure agencies understand their requirements under the law,
    and we're trying to make this as easy for them as possible. So,
    we've been doing this for about a year. We have over 330
    reports as of yesterday, and we are hoping that that grows
    exponentially in the year to come.
        Senator Fischer. To me, it wouldn't make a lot of sense if
    you would have to double-check every agency, you know, if you
    would have to go through what reports were required of that
    agency, and then check up on them. You can't depend on your
    friend with the DOT reports all the time. So how do you address
    that? Just to send reminders out?
        Mr. Halpern. We send reminders. We work with our colleagues
    at OMB. OMB Director, Young, is an old friend, and has been
    very supportive of our efforts here. And we think as agencies
    get acclimated to this particular requirement, it's going to be
    easier for them to comply.
        Eventually, we would like to, frankly, be in the business
    of helping them comply with these kinds of rules by building
    systems that will enable us to easily get this data from them,
    both in a nice-looking PDF that looks great in print, but also
    in structured data that we can then make available through
    Gov.Info for those folks who want that information that way.
        Senator Fischer. I know that GPO is also working with the
    National Archives and Records Administration on the Center for
    Legislative Archives Project, which will provide space for
    Congress's important records for the next 50 years. While phase
    1 of the project is complete, phase 2 has not moved past the
    design stage. Can you give us an update on the Archives Project
    especially the current status of phase 2, please?
        Mr. Halpern. Absolutely. So, as you mentioned, phase 1 is
    up and operational and will give Congress probably decades of
    storage space. The goal is to get phase two, which will
    complete that 50-year storage requirement.
        Congress appropriated dollars for this project before the
    pandemic, and for a whole lot of reasons, the project didn't
    get launched before the pandemic hit. And we have been working,
    basically, since we came back from the pandemic to get that
    operational.
        We know that that project will now cost more than Congress
    previously appropriated for that. We are working very closely
    with the archives, and Dr. Shogan has been a great partner here
    in trying to get this project off the ground.
        Right now, we are working with the staff at the National
    Archives to establish a memorandum of agreement so that we can
    move forward in two parts for phase 2. First part, we are going
    to use the dollars that have already been appropriated to get
    as far as we possibly can, and we think that will be most of
    the build out of the space.
        The second part of phase 2 will be things like shelving and
    some of the environmental controls, and we'll have to work with
    the Archives and Congress to get the funding that we need to
    finish building that out.
        We think we're very close. As I'm sure you can understand,
    there is sometimes some bureaucratic inertia that we have to
    overcome to get this done, but our primary mission is to
    support Congress. And this is just another aspect of that, and
    we will get this done.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you.
        One last question, please, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Reed. Please, go ahead.
        Senator Fischer. Dr. Swagel, CBO's budget request
    highlights the agency's efforts to enhance transparency of its
    analysis and projections. In particular, the request notes that
    CBO will work to explain analytical methods and release data
    used in major reports.
        How do you plan to continue recent efforts to promote that
    transparency and CBO's work products, and how will the fiscal
    year 2025 requests build on those existing efforts?
        Dr. Swagel. No, thank you. It's a key priority for the
    agency, and we've been working on it, and we'll continue to
    work on it in a variety of ways. So some of it will be
    publishing reports, looking at our models and explaining them,
    and then interacting with outside groups.
        As an example, our work on drug price negotiation, we
    published an initial report and then did some presentations.
    Industry groups came to us and they basically said you're
    missing things on, you know, how drugs are--drug development is
    financed.
        We said, you're right. We changed the methodology. We went
    back to them. You know, they're not going to say, oh, yes, it's
    fine, but we're trying to be responsive. So that's one group.
        Another group of efforts is posting data and then posting
    parts of our models, essentially code snippets. And we're
    trying to do the data in a way that's as flexible as possible
    so outside groups can, you know, manipulate it in a good way
    and tell the story that they want to tell.
        I'll just give you one example, then I'll stop. We have an
    annual series on income distribution that is started by Senator
    Baucus, and now continued by Senator Wyden. He has directed us
    to do this. And we publish the data that goes into that in a
    spreadsheet, and then others will use it, and have given us
    feedback. And we've taken that on board and since, we publish
    more data because of that feedback.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Reed. Well, thank you, Senator Fischer.
        Gentlemen, thank you for your excellent testimony. As we
    understand, we'll take all your advice into consideration. And
    we have a challenging budget ahead of us, both Senator Fischer
    and I, but your service is essential to our operation and to
    the operation of the government. You do it well, and once
    again, would you please thank all of the men and women who make
    it happen?

                         ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

        [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but
    were submitted to the agencies for response subsequent to the
    hearing:]
     Questions Submitted to Hon. Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General Dodaro,
                        Government Accountability Office
                    Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed
        Question. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 resulted in strict
    levels for appropriations in Fiscal Year 2024 and has similarly strict
    levels for Fiscal Year 2025. As a result, the Committee will have to
    make tough decisions regarding the allocation of resources in the
    upcoming year. It will then be up to each legislative branch agency to
    utilize those resources to meet their respective missions, while
    addressing the needs of their workforce.
        Please describe the impacts to your agency if the Fiscal Year 2025
    allocation requires your agency's budget to remain at the Fiscal Year
    2024 level. In particular, please describe the specific impacts the
    allocation would have on your personnel as well as your ability to meet
    the agency's short and long-term goals.

        GAO Answer. A flat budget for the FY2025 year would have a
    devastating effect on our ability to meet congressional needs. With
    mandatory, annual personnel and inflationary cost increases, a flat
    budget is a budget cut. We would not be able to maintain the size of
    our current workforce. Thus, our capacity to respond to congressional
    needs would be reduced.
        We are a knowledge and people-based organization. Over eighty
    percent of our budget is devoted to personnel costs. We would not be
    able to achieve the necessary cost savings to operate under a flat
    budget without reducing personnel costs. Thus, we would be forced to
    reduce the size of the workforce. We would attempt to do this through
    attrition and limiting hiring to only the most critical vacancies. If
    we were not able to achieve the necessary reductions in the size of the
    workforce through attrition, we would need to consider other options to
    cut personnel costs, including furlough days, buy-outs, and a
    reduction-in-force. We would also eliminate other personnel benefits
    that we use to attract and retain staff, such as student loan
    repayments.
        We would also need to reduce audit support spending, including
    limiting travel for important audit site visits and the purchase of
    specialized data, such as prescription drug pricing data. We would also
    pause efforts to modernize our IT systems and equipment and continue to
    defer needed maintenance on the building. These actions increase the
    risk of system or equipment failures, decrease efficiency, and
    undermine our ability to conduct empirical research to respond to
    Congressional needs.
        With a smaller workforce, we would not be able effectively support
    Congress. We routinely receive over 600 requests for reviews each year,
    in addition to hundreds of requests for testimonies and technical
    assistance. The 2024 NDAA alone required 115 GAO studies. With fewer
    staff resources, it would take longer for us to get to these requests,
    if at all. Each year our work yields tens of billions of dollars in
    financial benefits and hundreds of programmatic and operational
    benefits. In FY 2023 alone, our work generated about $70.4 billion in
    financial benefits, a return of $84 on every dollar invested in GAO. We
    also recorded over 1200 programmatic and operational benefits in the
    areas of public health, national security, and public safety, among
    others. With fewer staff resources and, in turn, fewer audits, we would
    be unlikely to continue to deliver these levels of returns.
        Our experience with past budget cuts has shown it takes years to
    fully recover. For example, during the budget sequestration of the
    early 2010s, the size of our workforce dropped from 3,350 FTE to below
    2,850 FTE. It took us until 2022 to build back to this level of
    capacity. To prevent furloughs during the sequestration, we delayed
    much needed IT upgrades; this led to system failures, inefficiencies,
    and cost increases. We are in the middle of our 5-year IT modernization
    plan; we would again need to pause these efforts with a flat budget.
        Limiting hiring, even for a year, also has long term staffing
    consequences. This would be particularly problematic in areas we have
    bolstered in recent years to meet Congressional priorities. This
    includes science and technology, national security, healthcare,
    computer security, and fraud prevention.
        We recruit across the nation to bring on the top talent needed to
    address the challenging public policy, management, and technical issues
    we get asked to examine. A key source of talent for us is our intern
    program, through which we hire many employees. Not being able to hire
    graduating interns creates a chilling effect with the students and the
    top-tier universities and colleges with whom we partner. Building back
    the trust and confidence with the students and universities that we are
    a reliable and viable employer takes time.
        A flat budget for FY2025 would have both short- and long-term
    consequences for GAO and our ability to serve Congress. It also reduces
    the amount of congressional oversight over Federal programs at a time
    when these programs and the domestic and international challenges
    facing the United States have grown in scope and complexity.
                                     ______

        Questions Submitted to Hon. Hugh Halpern, Director, Government
                               Publishing Office
                    Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed
        Question. In GPO's FY 2025 budget request, the agency discusses the
    investments it has made in modernizing internal printing and
    information technology systems, and discusses some of the services it
    provides to other Federal agencies. Those other Federal departments and
    agencies are similarly working to leverage modern technology and
    systems to improve their own communications.
        Please describe how GPO is working with other Federal agencies on
    strategies to procure and implement modernized printing and
    transactional communications to improve these agencies direct
    interactions with taxpayers, beneficiaries, veterans, and other
    constituencies. In particular, please describe how GPO is encouraging
    the use of color, cameras, modern interfaces and software, and other
    existing technology and solutions to improve service and increase
    efficiency in these modernizing efforts.

        Answer. GPO is helping Federal agencies improve their
    communications with the American people--and promote an American
    informed--in several key ways. Perhaps the most prominent examples are
    the capabilities we can now share with our customers through GovInfo
    and XPub.
        As you know, GovInfo is our online digital repository--the only ISO
    16363 Trusted Digital Repository in the world--which supported over 1
    billion downloads of public information in the past fiscal year. It is
    a marvel made possible by the continued support of this Committee and
    has transformed the way we make publications available to the public.
    Where GPO once had to print more than 20,000 copies of the daily
    Congressional Record and mail them across the country, we can now reach
    millions of Americans by simply posting the daily Congressional Record
    online, which we aim to do by the beginning of each new business day.
        Each year, we also upload more than 100,000 digital packages (i.e.,
    a published volume) to GovInfo, so the collection of government
    information available at one's fingertips at www.govinfo.gov is
    growing. We just added the complete set of United States Statutes at
    Large dating back to 1789 to GovInfo, including the text of the
    Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the
    Constitution, amendments to the Constitution, treaties with Indians and
    foreign nations, presidential proclamations, and treaties and
    international agreements approved by the Senate.
        One of GovInfo's most significant recent contributions to enhancing
    our Federal customers' ability to communicate with the American people
    has come through the development of the new Congressionally Mandated
    Reports (CMR) web portal, which was created at the direction of
    Congress.
        Federal agencies are now required by law to send reports mandated
    by Congress to GPO so that we can make them electronically available
    through GovInfo's CMR portal, which went live in December 2023. As of
    May 22nd, the portal had 352 CMRs posted by 66 agencies.
        We are also encouraged that the development of our new composition
    engine, XPub, is nearing completion after more than a decade of hard
    work. XPub will fundamentally transform how GPO and Congress work
    together to produce bills, resolutions, amendments, the Congressional
    Record, committee reports, and other congressional publications. It
    will improve our workflows' speed, accuracy, and efficiency and
    decrease the likelihood of breakdowns in production.
        The old system XPub is replacing is called MicroComp. It was put
    into service in the early 1980s and is barely holding together. A
    workhorse tool that has proven its worth over the past five decades,
    MicroComp just really can't be modified any further to deliver the
    functionality that Congress needs today. It is obsolete, challenging to
    maintain, and prone to breakdowns.
        The current version of XPub is in the user acceptance testing phase
    with the House and Senate for congressional bills, resolutions,
    amendments, and public laws. When our customers adopt XPub, hopefully
    later this year, features will include integration with House and
    Senate XML authoring tools for bills and a new responsive HTML format
    for congressional bills and public laws. It is going to take some time
    to transition to XPub fully, but once the shift is complete,
    congressional users are going to be working with a much more user-
    friendly and productive tool.
        The development of XPub and other advances in printing technology
    are providing us with an entirely new level of flexibility with
    congressional documents, whether they are displayed digitally or in
    print. For example, the new digital inkjet presses GPO employs are
    capable of cost-effective printing on any size paper with a wide
    variety of features, including color.
        We hope to leverage our investment in XPub for other agencies,
    whether that's OMB's production of the Budget of the United States, or
    many other agencies that must submit reports to Congress. While it will
    take time to build out other applications, we believe that XPub holds
    promise for almost all our customers.
        Advances like these, coupled with a congressional willingness to
    reexamine long-standing practices to improve outcomes for lawmakers,
    staff, and the public, have led to a bicameral, bipartisan effort to
    develop a new design template for committee reports and hearings called
    Project Common Press.
        With the full support of the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP), GPO
    has started the Project Common Press focus group work of gathering our
    customer requirements for what a new format might look like. To date,
    we have completed our first round of focus group meetings with the JCP
    staff, House and Senate institutional officers, and House and Senate
    committees. With their feedback, we are further refining our designs
    and look forward to continuing that dialog with congressional
    stakeholders in the coming year.
        Beyond our work for Congress, GPO's Creative Services and Digital
    Media team helps a great number of Federal agency customers apply the
    latest in computer-assisted design technology and contemporary styles
    to their publications and media products. Their work is exceptional,
    and they have earned well-deserved recognition for the high-quality
    products they created throughout this past year. In fact, after
    reviewing more than 10,000 entries in 2023, Graphic Design USA magazine
    conferred four Graphic Design awards on Creative Services for their
    impressive work including the 2023 Capitol Christmas Tree logo for the
    U.S. Forest Service; an Early Stages Development Guide for the District
    of Columbia Public Schools; a Conflict De-escalation Toolkit for the
    National Park Service; and the National Science Foundation's Office of
    the Inspector General logo.
        In addition, our Customer Services business unit, which manages our
    print procurement and associated operations, also provides Federal
    agency customers with a broad range of contemporary services employing
    the latest in print and digital document production technologies.
        For example, Customer Services contracts 508 compliance services
    for customer agencies to make legacy PDF documents and forms more
    accessible for citizens. Such services fulfill section 508 of the
    Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 7949(d)) requirement that agencies
    give disabled employees and members of the public access to information
    comparable to that available to others. GPO provides Federal agencies
    with 508 services that include compliance consulting as well as the
    creation, remediation, and distribution of section 508 compliant PDF
    files from legacy documents or electronic files.
        Customer Services also provides customer agencies with contracted
    scanning and digitization solutions of tangible documents, including
    optical character recognition (OCR) for searchability, indexing, and
    metadata creation to enhance access and efficiency of accessing records
    for beneficiaries and veterans. Often these services include scanning
    of microfiche and 35 mm slides or comparable outdated media and the
    digitization of records consistent with National Archives and Records
    Administration (NARA) archival standards.
        Customer Services also provides expert-level guidance, support, and
    contract management services through our 951-M Program. This program
    provides equipment solutions for customer agencies seeking to deploy
    sophisticated printing and reproduction technologies to enable them to
    produce the high-quality products they need in-house to communicate
    with veterans, beneficiaries, and taxpayers nationwide. This contract
    vehicle also allows agencies to procure high-speed scanning and
    digitization equipment and services, an increasingly popular product.

        Question. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 resulted in strict
    levels for appropriations in Fiscal Year 2024 and has similarly strict
    levels for Fiscal Year 2025. As a result, the Committee will have to
    make tough decisions regarding the allocation of resources in the
    upcoming year. It will then be up to each legislative branch agency to
    utilize those resources to meet their respective missions, while
    addressing the needs of their workforce.
        Please describe the impacts to your agency if the Fiscal Year 2025
    allocation requires your agency's budget to remain at the Fiscal Year
    2024 level. In particular, please describe the specific impacts the
    allocation would have on your personnel as well as your ability to meet
    the agency's short and long-term goals.

        Answer. Aware of the possible funding constraints next year, GPO
    developed our FY 2025 Budget with the goal of requesting adequate
    resources to maintain key technology investments, fulfill all our
    obligations to our congressional and Federal agency customers, and
    continue the aggressive workforce development efforts we need to thrive
    in the future.
        We believe we succeeded in that goal. Our FY 2025 appropriations
    request of $136,089,000 is comprised of three critical components, two
    of which we requested be funded at or slightly below FY 2024 levels:
    our FY 2025 request for the Congressional Publishing account remains
    flat at the FY 2024 level of $83,000,000 and our FY 2025 Business
    Operations Revolving Fund account request of $11,425,000 is slightly
    below the $11,605,000 the Committee provided in FY 2024. It is through
    this Building Operations Revolving Fund account that GPO funds critical
    technology investments including the XPub composition engine and our
    GovInfo online digital repository.
        Overall, GPO's FY 2025 appropriation request of $136,089,000
    represents a 3.1 percent increase over the FY 2024 appropriation of
    $131,999,000. That increase is driven primarily by mandatory pay
    increases and price level changes affecting our Public Information
    Programs of the Superintendent of Documents (PIP) appropriations
    account, the third component of GPO's FY 2025 request.
        Nearly half (43 percent) of the PIP appropriation covers employee
    compensation and benefits--in FY 2025 that would be $17.8 million of
    the overall $41.7 million request. Should our FY 2025 PIP request not
    be funded in its entirety, the mandatory Federal pay raise expected in
    January 2025 may need to be funded by reducing staffing in the program
    which could diminish the program's ability to accomplish its mission.
        As such, we are particularly concerned about the operational
    impacts of any reductions in our FY 2025 requested PIP appropriation,
    and would welcome the opportunity to temper such impacts on our request
    for the PIP account should the Committee not be able to fulfill GPO's
    overall FY 2025 appropriations request.
        Potential reductions to GPO's request for our other two
    appropriations accounts would impact staffing in different ways. For
    instance, while reductions to GPO's request for the Congressional
    Publishing Appropriation account would not directly impact staffing,
    they could cause some production costs, including mandatory pay raises,
    to be under-recovered in publishing services provided to Congress.
        Reductions to GPO's request for the Business Operations Revolving
    Fund appropriation account would also not have a direct impact on
    staffing, but could hinder the development of both the GovInfo and XPUB
    initiatives funded through this appropriation. These investments have
    been congressional priorities and support the transition to an all-
    digital workflow and expanded and improved access to Government
    information. Our FY 2025 appropriations request was designed to keep
    these two initiatives on schedule and a reduction in funding would
    likely cause improvements in these projects to slow down and fall
    behind the current schedule.
                                     ______

    Questions Submitted to Hon. Dr. Phillip Swagel, Director, Congressional
                                 Budget Office
                    Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed
        Question. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 resulted in strict
    levels for appropriations in Fiscal Year 2024 and has similarly strict
    levels for Fiscal Year 2025. As a result, the Committee will have to
    make tough decisions regard- ing the allocation of resources in the
    upcoming year. It will then be up to each legislative branch agency to
    utilize those resources to meet their respective missions, while
    addressing the needs of their workforce.
        Please describe the impacts to your agency if the Fiscal Year 2025
    allocation requires your agency's budget to remain at the Fiscal Year
    2024 level. In particular, please describe the specific impacts the
    allocation would have on your personnel as well as your ability to meet
    the agency's short and long-term goals.

        Answer. If the 2025 allocation required CBO to remain at its fiscal
    year 2024 level, the agency would not be able to continue to add to its
    workforce, and its responsiveness to the Congress would be constrained.
    CBO's fiscal year 2024 appropriation of $70 million is enabling the
    agency to grow from 267 at the end of March 2024 to 276 positions by
    the end of September 2024. CBO will fill key positions in the areas of
    healthcare, national security, and long-term analysis.
        Operating at its fiscal year 2024 level in fiscal year 2025 would
    result in gaps in the agency's responsiveness to the Congress. CBO's
    fiscal year 2025 request of $73.5 million is designed to support
    growing to 285 employees. Remaining at the fiscal year 2024 funding
    level would preclude hiring additional analysts to improve the agency's
    capabilities to produce dynamic analysis, long-term estimates, analysis
    of defense weapons systems, and estimates of credit programs (like
    student loan programs), as well as to enhance the agency's responsive-
    ness in producing cost estimates and providing technical assistance.
        To avoid having to shrink next year with a $70 million budget, CBO
    would also have to take other steps to limit spending, possibly
    including reducing the use of outside experts, shifting to more junior
    personnel, deferring training, constraining the compensation of current
    employees, and limiting purchases of data and information technology.
    Such steps would diminish CBO's effectiveness.

                              SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

        Senator Reed. With that, unless you have a comment, I would
    adjourn the hearing.
        [Whereupon, at 2:46 p.m., Wednesday, May 8, the
    subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
    the Chair.]

             LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025

                                  ----------

                            WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2024

                                           U.S. Senate,
               Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                        Washington, DC.

        The subcommittee met at 2:32 p.m., in room SD-124, Dirksen
    Senate Office Building, Hon. Jack Reed (Chairman), presiding.
        Present: Senators Reed, Murphy, Van Hollen, and Fischer.

                          U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND

                            ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

                     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 2025 budget hearings for the Legislative Branch
    Appropriations Subcommittee.
        Today, we have with us Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of
    Congress, and Mr. Joseph DiPietro, 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 2025 budget request.
        I would also like to welcome Ranking Member Fischer, with
    whom I work very closely in the Senate, and thank her for her
    cooperation.
        Let me begin by, again, thanking the women and men of your
    agencies who work every day to facilitate the work of the
    Senate. Without each of them, the Senate would not be able to
    perform its constitutional responsibilities on behalf of the
    American people.
        And I would ask unanimous consent that the witnesses'
    written testimony be placed in the hearing record; without
    objection, so ordered.
        As I noted in our first hearing last week, the Legislative
    Branch Agencies have submitted fiscal year 2025 budget request
    that account for a $544 million increase over the fiscal year
    2024 Legislative Branch enacted appropriation. While we do not
    yet have subcommittee allocations, the Fiscal Responsibility
    Act of 2023, enacted strict levels for appropriations again in
    fiscal year 2025.
        As I said in our previous hearing, we will be making very
    difficult decisions for the allocation of resources provided to
    the Legislative Branch in fiscal year 2025. It will then fall
    upon the heads of each Legislative Branch Agency to utilize
    those resources to meet their respective missions while
    addressing the needs of their workforce. This will not be an
    easy fiscal year, but I am confident that the Legislative
    Branch can meet the challenge.
        For fiscal year 2025, the Library of Congress is requesting
    $943.7 million in spending authority, including $897.8 million
    in appropriated funds, which is an increase of $46 million over
    the fiscal year 2024 enacted level.
        This request includes $625 million for Library of Congress
    operations, $61.5 million in direct appropriations for the
    operations of the Copyright Office, $145.5 million for the
    operations of the Congressional Research Service, and $66
    million for the National Library Service for the Blind and
    Print Disabled.
        The Library of Congress' budget request includes funding
    for such things as the continuation of upgrades to
    preservation, technical systems, and equipment used to digitize
    and preserve collection items, increasing the digital
    collections processing capacity and infrastructure at the
    Library, and the continued support of the Veterans History
    Project, the Louis-Houghton Civics and Democracy Initiative,
    Teaching with Primary Sources, and many, many other important
    initiatives.
        Additionally, the request includes funds to continue to
    expand the data analytics capacity of the Congressional
    Research Service, the continued modernization of systems and
    processes at the U.S. Copyright Office, and the continuation of
    services at the National Library Services for the Blind and
    Print Disabled.
        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 as hear about the
    Agency's fiscal year 2025 budget request.
        Today, we will also be reviewing the Architect of the
    Capitol's fiscal year 2025 budget request.
        Before I address the Architect of the Capitol's request, I
    would like to thank Mr. DiPietro for stepping in to serve as
    the second Acting Architect of the Capitol. He comes to this
    role to continue the efforts started by Ms. Rexroat who served
    as the caretaker of the Agency until a new Architect of the
    Capitol is selected. Thank you very much.
        The last few years have 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 facilities and grounds of the Capitol Complex
    operational every day.
        The Architect of the Capitol is seeking an appropriation of
    just over $1 billion, which is an increase of $83.8 million
    over the fiscal year 2024 enacted level.
        While the fiscal year 2025 budget request includes many
    important projects, it represents a small part of the Deferred
    Maintenance, Capitol Renewal, and capital Improvement projects
    that need to be addressed across the Capitol Complex. The
    request includes funding to support such items as the
    renovation of the Senate's Daniel Webster Page Residence, the
    continued refurbishment of elevators within the Senate Office
    Building, the Cannon Office Building renewal, the first phase
    of the replacement of the sprinkler system within the Library
    of Congress' Jefferson Building, the repairs to the fire alarms
    within the Jefferson Building, and funding to support continued
    infrastructure requirements resulting from security assessments
    across the Capitol complex.
        The increase also includes a number of new positions across
    multiple jurisdictions that are intended to enhance the
    operations of the Agency.
        Again, thank you, Mr. DiPietro, for your service, and I
    look forward to hearing the Acting Architect's testimony today.
        Both agencies have presented very thoughtful budget
    requests. However, in a challenging fiscal year, it will be
    difficult to fulfill the requests of our Legislative Branch
    agencies. The subcommittee will carefully review each budget
    request and work to address the most critical needs of each
    Agency to meet its mission and the needs of the workforce.
        With that said, the goal of the Senate Appropriations
    Committee is to continue the 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.
        And I look forward to the testimony of witnesses, and
    obviously to working again with Senator Fischer toward this
    goal.
        Now, let me turn to the Ranking Member, Senator Fischer,
    for her remarks.

                    OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DEB FISCHER

        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to
    our two witnesses today, Dr. Hayden and Dr. DiPietro, for being
    with us this afternoon for our second Legislative Branch budget
    hearing.
        I want to begin by commenting on the upcoming fiscal year.
    In fiscal year 2024, the Legislative Branch received an overall
    cut compared to the enacted level. Under the terms of the
    Fiscal Responsibility Act, a further cut to the Legislative
    Branch's allocation for fiscal year 2025 is possible.
        We face an uncertain and a likely volatile fiscal year
    ahead. As we navigate the process and the potential for further
    cuts, our agencies must be prudent and responsible with their
    resources. I made this point in our first hearing and I want to
    make it here as well.
        Turning to the budget request, both the Library and AOC are
    seeking substantial increases. I hope to hear from both of you
    what your Agency's minimum needs are for fiscal year 2025 and
    any cost savings that you plan to achieve.
        Dr. Hayden, the Library of Congress has a new strategic
    plan for the next 5 fiscal years that focuses on deploying new
    technology and digital products to better serve Congress and
    the American people.
        For fiscal year 2025, the Library seeks a 5.1 percent
    increase above last year's enacted level. In your testimony, I
    look forward to hearing how the request will help execute the
    new strategic plan.
        Mr. DiPietro, you are the second Acting Architect of the
    Capitol to come before our subcommittee in the last 2 years,
    and I am sure you will agree that we need new and more
    permanent leadership at the AOC. There is much work to be done
    in stabilizing that Agency going forward, but I do appreciate,
    totally appreciate everything you are doing to achieve that.
        The AOC is requesting slightly over $1 billion for fiscal
    year 2025, an almost 9 percent increase above the enacted
    level. Given the scale of the resources at issue, we must
    ensure that construction projects are properly scoped, on
    schedule, and on budget. In your testimony, I hope to hear how
    the AOC is improving its project management practices.
        Thank you again to both of our witnesses for being here
    today; and thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Fischer.
        And now, let me recognize Dr. Hayden, please.
    STATEMENT OF HON. DR. CARLA HAYDEN, LIBRARIAN OF
                CONGRESS
        Dr. Hayden. Thank you, Chairman Reed, Ranking Member
    Fischer, for the opportunity to----
        Senator Reed. Bring that microphone in as close as
    possible.
        Dr. Hayden. Thank you both for the opportunity to provide
    testimony in support of the Library's fiscal 2025 budget. In
    fiscal 2023 and 2024, the Library, with the support of
    Congress, met its mission to, ``Engage, inspire, and inform the
    Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring
    source of knowledge and creativity in both traditional and
    innovative ways.''
        And today, with nearly 178 million items in the physical
    collections, and many more in digital form, the Library remains
    the steward of the largest collection of information and
    resources ever assembled, not as a memorial, but as a living
    source of knowledge and creativity for Congress and the
    betterment of all.
        I would like to also express my gratitude for the ongoing
    support of the Library, from Congress, and this committee,
    subcommittee in particular, for funding our IT investments. And
    I would like to give special thanks for your support of the
    Visitor Experience.
        We will open the first permanent Treasures Gallery in June,
    this June, and expect that the Youth Center, called The Source,
    will open in 2025, in time for the Nation's Sesquicentennial in
    2026.
        I come before you today to discuss the Library of
    Congress's fiscal 2025 appropriations request for $943.7
    million, a 5.1 increase over the Library's fiscal 2024
    appropriation. This request includes $38.9 million in mandatory
    pay and price level increases, and the remaining increases
    represent critical investments needed to meet the Library's
    mission.
        Recognizing that economic conditions are different than
    they were 8 years ago when I became Librarian, we are
    requesting the lowest programmatic increase of my tenure. The
    two new requests for fiscal 2025 further the goals for the
    Library's new strategic plan, A Library for All, to enhance
    services, expand access, and strengthen capacity, and foster
    innovation.
        We are asking, first, for an investment to strengthen the
    Library's infrastructure, including staff with advanced skills
    to support digital collections processing and acquisition, as
    we move increasingly toward digital as the preferred format.
    This includes digital content in copyright deposits, which are
    central to building our collection.
        The second request supports collections handling for the
    expanded exhibit spaces in the Thomas Jefferson Building that
    will display over 1,000 items worth millions of dollars, a 50
    percent increase over previous year's exhibit capacity. And
    this request ensures that exhibit items are secure and
    supported by an appropriate level of trained and experienced
    staff.
        And in keeping with our strategic goals, we are also
    resubmitting three vital requests that were not funded in
    fiscal 2024. The first will enable both CRS and the Office of
    the Chief Information Officer to expand CRS's quantitative data
    analysis and policy simulation capacity to analyze big data for
    Congressional clients.
        The second will enable the Library to meet the growing
    demand for accessibility services to improve access to the
    Library's digital products, materials, and services for
    Americans with disabilities.
        And in the third resubmission, the Library requests
    expanded contracts and grant staffing as we face an attrition
    rate as high as 28 percent, along with heavier workloads and
    increasingly complex contracts, particularly for our IT-related
    acquisitions.
        In summary, the Library's 2025 congressional budget
    justification advances the necessary work initiated in previous
    years to move the Library forward while preserving our world-
    class resources and making them accessible for those who will
    come after us.
        Chairman Reed, and Ranking Member Fischer, thank you again
    for supporting the Library of Congress, and your consideration
    of our fiscal 2025 budget request; and I will be very pleased
    to take your questions.
        [The statement follows:]
     Prepared Statement of Hon. Dr. 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 2025 budget request.
        The mission of the Library of Congress is to ``Engage, inspire and
    inform the Congress and the American people with a universal and
    enduring source of knowledge and creativity.'' Above all, the Library
    exists to serve. Service to the Congress remains the foundation for the
    Library's mission every day with analysis, policy consultations,
    briefings, programs and constituent engagement. The U.S. Copyright
    Office within the Library promotes creativity and knowledge by
    administering the nation's copyright system for the benefit of all. And
    service to the American people--Copyright users, researchers, visitors,
    teachers, students, veterans, and blind and print disabled citizens,
    among many others--delivered in countless ways, takes a user-centered
    approach with access in person and in digital form.
        The Library's resources are authoritative, expansive, and
    evergreen. In a time of rapidly evolving technology in a fast-changing
    world, the Library of Congress stands as it has for 223 years as the
    steward of the largest collection of information and resources ever
    assembled--not as a memorial but as a living source of knowledge and
    creativity for Congress and the betterment of all. The Library meets
    its responsibility to collect, preserve and share these treasures every
    day by constantly renewing the collections and the services it provides
    to the Congress and the American people. With congressional support,
    the Library is extensively modernizing and optimizing systems,
    processes, and staff. Throughout, the Library never stops its drive to
    engage, inspire and inform, increasingly through digital means.
        I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the ongoing and
    extraordinary support that this committee and all of the Congress gives
    to the Library. In particular, I appreciate the 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 5 years. We are
    excited to open the Treasures Gallery in June of this year and we
    expect the Youth Center, named ``The Source,'' will open by the end of
    2025, in time for the nation's semiquincentennial in 2026. Further, in
    addition to the funds appropriated by the Congress, we have raised more
    than $20 million in private donations for this project. We remain in
    constant coordination with the Architect of the Capitol and are
    grateful for the Committee's involvement to ensure the success of the
    Orientation Gallery, a critical element of the project.
        I come before you today to discuss the Library's fiscal 2025
    appropriations request of $943.7 million, which represents a 5.1
    percent increase over the Library's fiscal 2024 appropriation,
    including $38.9 million in mandatory pay and price level increases. The
    Library has absorbed especially high pay and inflationary increases
    over the last 3 years, with a 5.3 percent pay raise and inflationary
    increases at 3.4 percent in fiscal 2024 alone. The need to absorb these
    increases threatens all that we do and has a permanent impact. This is
    particularly the case for the Library of Congress, Salaries & Expenses
    appropriation because it provides centralized support services to the
    entire Library.
        The budget request reflects the resources needed to sustain the
    Library's mission of service to the Congress and the American people,
    and its strategic priorities to be digitally enabled, user centered,
    data informed, inclusive and welcoming, with meaningful collaboration
    and partnership and active engagement with our communities. It builds
    on multiyear strategic efforts to rebuild the information technology
    foundation and to 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 request aligns with the strategic goals set forth in the new
    fiscal 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, A Library for All: Expand access,
    enhance services, strengthen capacity, and foster innovation. The goals
    affirm the Library's user-centered mission of service. The Library's
    formerly standalone Digital Strategy is now fully integrated into the
    new Strategic Plan, in recognition that technology must be ``baked into
    all that we do.'' Digital technology indeed permeates every aspect of
    the Library as a modern knowledge institution, and it is used
    deliberately and strategically to meet the needs of a quickly changing
    world. None of the Library's strategic goals or themes in today's
    context could be achieved without the contributions of digital
    technology.
        Recognizing that economic conditions are different than they were 8
    years ago when I became Librarian, we are requesting the lowest
    programmatic increase of my tenure--$11.3 million compared to the
    highest at $55 million. We have minimized programmatic increases by
    deferring those without critical impacts, not because our needs have
    decreased, but out of concern for the impact of absorbing mandatory pay
    and price level increases given current economic conditions and other
    external forces. We have taken great care to make only programmatic
    requests that are necessary and have a meaningful impact on our service
    to the Congress and the American people.
        The two new requests for fiscal 2025 further the goals in the new
    Strategic Plan:
    Digital Collections Processing Capacity and Infrastructure
        In alignment with the Expand Access strategic goal, digital
    collections processing capacity and infrastructure meet the strategic
    objective to invest in end-to-end modernization of IT infrastructure to
    support the centrality of digital collecting and strengthen staff
    capacity with advanced skills in processing digital content and the
    supporting IT systems. These resources are necessary to support a host
    of IT infrastructure and systems to redesign and refresh workflows
    critical for the Library to meet the objectives, principles and targets
    to acquire, preserve and make accessible digital content as set forth
    in the Library's Strategic Plan.
        The new initiative for digital collections processing capacity and
    infrastructure is essential as the Library increasingly moves toward
    digital as the necessary preferred format for acquiring items for the
    collections that were born digital or converted from analog form.
    Existing digital systems that support most digital collections were
    developed iteratively more than a decade ago and are in need of
    investment to better standardize, integrate, and modernize to
    accommodate the rapidly growing scale of digital collections growth.
        The initiative will support the ongoing work to digitize and manage
    materials from the collections, and the continued growth of
    acquisitions in digital format. To achieve this, the request will
    provide resources critical to upgrading and improving the IT systems,
    workflows, and processes necessary to support ongoing work to digitize
    and manage digital materials from our collections, and to support the
    continued growth of acquisitions in digital format. Copyright deposits,
    for example, are central to building the Library's collection, and it
    is critical for it to be as easy as possible for digital content and
    metadata delivered to the Copyright Office to be considered for
    additions to the Library's collections. This request also includes
    staffing with advanced skills to process and describe content to make
    it accessible, as well as staff to support IT systems for digital
    content management and processing.
    Center for Exhibits and Interpretation Collections Handling
        In pursuit of the Library's strategic goals to expand access and
    enhance services by transforming in-person experiences the Library will
    open more than 12,000 square feet of public space in the Thomas
    Jefferson Building. The expanded exhibition spaces will display over
    1,000 items at any given time, a nearly 50 percent increase from
    previous years. A majority of the objects on view must be rotated every
    6 months or less, which means that each item must be reviewed,
    cataloged, mounted, installed, and deinstalled by trained and
    experienced registrars. The level of permanent registrar and production
    staff has remained flat for the last decade, and is not sufficient to
    accommodate the support requirements to cover the expansion of the
    Library's exhibition spaces. The Library has stewardship over the
    collections, including those on display worth millions of dollars. This
    request is put forward to ensure that additional items on exhibit are
    secure and supported by an appropriate level of staff.
                           fiscal 2024 re-submissions
        In keeping with our strategic goals, we are re-submitting three
    vital requests that were not funded in the 2024 budget request. These
    initiatives support the 2024-2028 strategic goals of expanding access,
    enhancing service, strengthening capacity and fostering innovation. The
    initiatives are:
        CRS.--Expanding Data Analytics Capacity (Strengthening Capacity &
    Fostering Innovation) will enable both CRS and the Office of the Chief
    Information Office (OCIO) to expand CRS's quantitative data analysis
    and policy simulation capacity. It will augment CRS's ability to
    perform quantitative analysis of both research and operational ``big
    data'' for congressional clients, establishing a base process and
    increased capacity for in-depth data analysis. Congressional Members
    and Committees have expressed interest in CRS investigating how
    artificial intelligence (AI) technologies could enhance its work for
    the Congress.
        CRS is working to diversify its new product offerings. Examples
    include the American Law Division's weekly Congressional Court Watcher
    distributed to congressional clients interested in notable Federal
    court cases, an infographic on Middle East Natural Gas, a podcast on AI
    noting the availability of a published report on the same subject, and
    a bill summary available in voice version.
        CRS is also working to make finding reports and experts easier on
    CRS.gov and exploring AI and machine learning for analyzing legislative
    bills and text to expedite summaries and searches. CRS divisions are
    developing interactive tools for Members, so that Members can determine
    more easily and immediately how multiple policy approaches might impact
    specific constituencies. CRS experts are also using big data to improve
    their analysis. 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.
        Language from the Joint Explanatory Statement, accompanying the
    Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 Public Law 117-328, directs CRS
    to explore ways in which it could expand the ability to perform
    quantitative analysis of research data and conduct a feasibility study.
    The study was completed and presented to Oversight and Appropriations
    Committees in the House and Senate. In September 2023, the Library
    awarded a 1 year contract to pilot a small set of cloud-based
    quantitative data models for CRS consistent with the guidance in the
    feasibility study. CRS has also initiated an AI working group to
    explore how AI technology can enhance work for the Congress.
        Expanding the Digital Accessibility program (Expanding Access) will
    more equitably enable the Library to meet its mission in the
    information age. The Library's digital products, materials, and
    services must be accessible to all, including those with disabilities.
    With that in mind, the Library established a small digital
    accessibility program in fiscal 2020 with one FTE. This office provides
    in-house digital accessibility expertise and guidance for Library IT
    projects and other digital initiatives, utilizing supplemental
    resources from another office. Additional resources will mature the
    enterprise digital accessibility program, expanding capacity to meet
    growing Library demands for accessibility services including
    consultation, compliance assessment, and remediation. Establishing
    greater capacity and tools in the Digital Accessibility program will
    enable the Library 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 so that accessibility is addressed at the same time
    the Library enhances current digital products with custom development,
    releases new IT development efforts, and procures new commercial-off-
    the-shelf and software-as-a-service products. This includes training
    staff and integrating accessibility from the beginning of the software
    development lifecycle.
        Expanded Contracting and Grants Directorate staffing (Strengthening
    Capacity) is requested in response to the staffing shortages stemming
    from increased contract complexity, and unusually high and sustained
    FTE attrition. Expanded contracting staff will support comprehensive,
    optimal acquisition planning, execution, contract management, and
    oversight. 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 already hard-to-fill positions and a
    government-wide shortage of contract specialists makes recruitment and
    retention even more challenging. Additional staffing will support
    technology innovation and development contracts, integrate digital
    accessibility into the Library's IT acquisition process and contracts,
    monitor the Library's 400-plus Contracting Officer's Representative
    (COR) workforce, and strengthen oversight of policies and procedures.
    The ability to properly handle increased contract volume and complexity
    in areas such as development of major IT systems and digital
    accessibility will be resolved. The requested funds will also be used
    to integrate a web-enabled solution for the grants lifecycle to support
    grant application, award, and management processes into the eAcquistion
    system. By integrating the Grants Management System with the
    eAcquisition System, an efficient, fully automated CGD office that
    connects the grants process with the acquisition and financial IT
    systems will be established.
        In closing, the fiscal 2025 budget request carefully furthers the
    modernization efforts of recent years and supports the goals of the new
    fiscal 2024-2028 Strategic Plan. In a time of rapid change, in
    technology, in society, and in the world, the Library has a
    responsibility to preserve and use its resources for the greatest
    benefit today and for decades to come. With the consistent support of
    the Congress, the Library has never and will never stop enhancing and
    extending its service to this country.
        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 2025 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 2025 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 matters, conducting administrative and
    regulatory activity including with respect to statutory licenses, and
    educating the public about copyright.
        I am pleased to report that we have made significant progress on
    our new Enterprise Copyright System (ECS), with several modules already
    in production and being used by the public. In addition, processing
    times for both registration and recordation services remain low. We are
    well into our current initiative on artificial intelligence; coming up
    on almost 2 years of smooth operations of our new small claims
    tribunal; and actively engaged in regulatory work, including the ninth
    section 1201 triennial rulemaking and a review of the designation of
    the entities established by the Music Modernization Act (MMA). And
    public engagement with the Office is breaking attendance records
    through stakeholder events and targeted outreach around the country.
                     key accomplishments over the past year
    Administration of the Copyright Act
        Registration.--The Office continues to effectively administer the
    national copyright registration and recordation systems. In fiscal
    2023, we registered over 441,526 copyright claims involving millions of
    works. Over the past 3 years, we have markedly improved registration
    processing times: the average for examining all copyright claims stands
    at 2.1 months for the first half of fiscal 2024. For fully electronic
    claims that do not require correspondence, the average is just 1.2
    months.\1\1 Electronic applications with physical deposits without
    correspondence average 3 months, while paper applications have remained
    at an average of 4.1 months for claims without correspondence.
        Recordation.--In fiscal 2023, the Office recorded 16,592 documents
    containing titles of 1,165,653 works, including 5,875 documents and
    568,618 titles of works through the new self-service portal.\2\ Our
    online recordation pilot, launched in April 2020, has significantly
    shortened processing times, with the average from electronic submission
    to generation of the public record now measured in weeks rather than
    months. On August 1, 2022, we opened the pilot to all members of the
    public and have seen an increase in users to over 80% of all
    recordations. And while the pandemic caused some delays that resulted
    in longer processing times for paper recordations, we have cut down
    those times as well.\3\
        Public Records.--The Office is the custodian of many kinds of
    records related to registration and recordation. We are working to make
    these records, many going back more than a hundred years, available
    online. In fiscal 2023, we continued development of the Copyright
    Public Records System (CPRS) (which includes both recordation and
    registration records) and hosted 104,095 unique visitors. The CPRS has
    expanded online access and research options by adding 1,143,779 card
    catalog records. Furthermore, in 2023 we completed the consolidation of
    offsite materials from three separate warehouses into our new storage
    facility in Cabin Branch, Maryland. In February 2024, the facility was
    dedicated as the Marybeth Peters Copyright Archive, in honor of the
    eleventh Register of Copyrights.
        Licensing.--The Office maintained our effective stewardship of over
    $1.6 billion in statutory licensing revenues as of the end of fiscal
    2023.\4\ For the sixth consecutive year, we received an unmodified or
    ``clean'' audit opinion of the fiscal 2022 statutory licensing
    fiduciary asset financial statements.
    Other Major Activities
        The Copyright Office continues to provide advice and impartial
    expertise to Congress and the courts, and information to the public.
    Below are a few highlights:

        Copyright Claims Board.--By the end of March 2024, over 800 claims
    had been filed with the Copyright Claims Board (CCB), and it had issued
    16 final determinations. Claims have come from forty-six states and
    thirty-two countries. This past year the Office completed several
    rulemakings to update the CCB's processes and operations. The CCB and
    other Office staff have participated in scores of public events to
    discuss and promote its use and have reached audiences in-person and
    virtually from every area of the United States.
        Initiative on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence.--In early
    2023, the Office announced an initiative to examine the copyright law
    and policy issues raised by generative AI, including the scope of
    copyright in works incorporating AI-generated content and the use of
    copyrighted materials in AI training. After convening public listening
    sessions and hosting webinars to gather information, the Office
    published a notice of inquiry in August 2023 that elicited over 10,000
    comments by the December 2023 deadline. In February, we provided
    Congress with a detailed update on our 2023 accomplishments (including
    policy guidance on registration, litigation and Review Board
    activities, and the notice of inquiry) and our plans for next steps.\5\
    In 2024, the Office plans to issue a report in several sections, which
    will be published separately as they are completed.\6\
        Regulatory Work.--The Office has a number of rulemakings underway,
    \7\ two of which are mandated by law. In July 2023, we commenced the
    ninth triennial proceeding under section 1201 of the Digital Millennium
    Copyright Act (DMCA) regarding temporary exemptions to section 1201's
    prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that
    control access to copyrighted works. We have solicited supporting and
    opposing comments related to any newly proposed exemptions, using the
    streamlined process of the prior two rulemakings. Public hearings were
    held in mid-April.

        In addition, under the Music Modernization Act (MMA), the Office
    maintains an oversight role as directed by the statute, as well as
    engaging in education and outreach activities. In January 2024, we
    issued a notice of inquiry seeking public comments regarding the
    periodic review of our designations of the mechanical licensing
    collective (MLC) and digital licensee coordinator (DLC). The Office
    also has a number of other open rulemakings underway, including
    proposed group registration options for two-dimensional artwork and
    updates to news websites, and proposed clarifications to regulations
    involving termination rights and the MMA's blanket license.
        Working with Congress and Other Agencies.--The Office provided
    legal advice and assistance across the government regarding complex
    areas of copyright law and policy, including Supreme Court and
    appellate litigation and interagency collaboration on international
    matters and trade. On March 12, we published a joint study on non-
    fungible tokens and intellectual property with the U.S. Patent and
    Trademark Office.\8\
        Outreach and Education.--The Office engages in numerous outreach
    activities to provide clear and accurate information on copyright law
    and to raise awareness of the CCB and other Office resources and
    programs. In fiscal 2023, we hosted or participated in 185 public
    events and speaking engagements, surpassing the prior fiscal year by 25
    percent. We engaged with many different audiences, from copyright
    stakeholders to lawyers and intellectual property experts to students.
    Our Public Information Office and our new reading room are now open and
    provide in-person services by appointment. Last month, we launched a
    webpage focusing on our economic research agenda and providing easy
    access to data used in our 2022 study, Women in the Copyright
    System.\9\
                continuous development of information technology
        The modernization of the Office's information technology (IT)
    continues to be a top priority as well as a strategic goal. We are
    committed to ongoing updates and improvements so as to avoid repeating
    the experience of having to overhaul severely outdated legacy systems.
    The Library transitioned to an agile IT development model that
    emphasizes continuous development as well as rapid delivery of new
    functions and features that optimize the stakeholder experience. We
    have seen the benefits of this model for meeting evolving changes in
    technology, providing secure and interconnected systems, and managing
    contract cost increases.
        Our Enterprise Copyright System (ECS) development includes
    workstreams on registration, recordation, public records, and
    licensing. Under the Library of Congress's centralized IT structure,
    the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) is leading work on
    user experience design and platform services--that is, the design and
    architecture capabilities underpinning the ECS.
        Historically, four workstreams (registration, recordation, public
    records, and licensing), have been under the ECS rubric. The Office
    also collaborates with OCIO on other business priorities enabled by
    technology. Examples include our work to improve online access to
    historical public records and to operate our new Contact Center, both
    discussed below.
        Recordation.--Our online recordation system was the first ECS
    application to be released to the public, enabling recordation of
    documents under section 205 of title 17. As noted above, in August 2022
    full access was provided to all members of the public. We are now
    incorporating user feedback to make iterative improvements as well as
    to build new functionality for processing notices of termination. Once
    that is done, recordation will transition to continuous development.
        Copyright Public Records System (CPRS).--Our second ECS application
    to be publicly released was a pilot for the new Copyright Public
    Records System (CPRS). This system provides access to registration and
    recordation data with advanced search capabilities, filters, and
    improved interfaces for the public and for Office staff. The CPRS has
    expanded online access and research options by adding 2,418,754 card
    catalog records. It is poised to replace the existing Copyright Office
    Online Public Catalog and become the Office's sole source of
    authoritative online copyright information by summer 2025.
        Registration.--Registration is the most complex of the Office's
    services and the focus of the greatest public attention. During the
    initial ECS development work, we have made considerable progress on
    both the external (public) and internal (staff) components of the new
    registration module with multiple application and deposit workstreams.
    We have also established a new electronic Deposit (eDeposit)
    development team to create the enhanced upload and rendering
    capabilities necessary to support the submission of large numbers of
    files submitted in one group application, such as photographs, and very
    large files, such as feature-length motion pictures and television
    episodes. This eDeposit system is intended to render electronic
    deposits much more efficiently to staff for examination. With continued
    support, we plan to conduct stakeholder testing of the upload
    capabilities by the end of calendar 2024 and conduct testing of the
    file-rendering functionality soon thereafter.
        Licensing.--For the past 3 years, the Office has been developing
    user experience design and initial automated workflows to replace
    outdated licensing processes. We are focusing on implementing the
    statement of account examination processes in ECS and transitioning all
    royalty accounting processes onto the Legislative Branch Financial
    Management System to streamline them and eliminate duplication. We
    expect to make the redesigned licensing processes available for staff
    use in early 2025.
        Historical Public Records.--As part of the Office's commitment to
    the preservation of and access to our historical records, we are
    digitizing print and microfilm records and making them available
    online. This includes the old card catalog, \10\ the Catalog of
    Copyright Entries (CCEs), microfilm, and the record books. Digitization
    is the first step, to be followed by metadata capture to enhance
    searchability, with all records eventually available through the new
    CPRS. Great progress has been made to digitize and make publicly
    available the Office's 26,000 record books, which contain well over 26
    million pages of records between 1870 and 1977. The first 500 books
    were published on the Library's website in February 2022, \11\ and now
    12,367 books are available online. Work is being done in reverse
    chronological order from 1977, with the scanned books posted in
    batches.
        Contact Center.--The Office's modernization of customer contact
    routing and reporting recently achieved a major milestone. Working with
    the GSA Centers of Excellence, we implemented a best-in-class customer
    relationship management (CRM) solution to enhance the public's
    experience with the Office, enable robust data analytics, and provide
    centralized knowledge management capabilities. This CRM solution builds
    upon already implemented capabilities to more effectively track and
    route calls and emails.
        Copyright Public Modernization Committee.--In January 2021, the
    Librarian of Congress appointed a Copyright Public Modernization
    Committee (CPMC) to enhance communication with external stakeholders
    about the technology-related aspects of the Office's modernization
    initiative.\12\ The CPMC was originally established for a three-year
    term and consisted of thirteen members from the publishing, music, and
    photography sectors, libraries and archives, and other fields.\13\ It
    has held public meetings twice a year as well as informal briefing
    sessions. Given the value of the expertise and insights obtained, the
    Library intends to reauthorize the CPMC for an additional term.
                   funding and update to 2025 budget request
        The Copyright Office performs all of this work based on a
    relatively modest budget. We appreciate the Congress' support and the
    budget we have received in recent fiscal years. To summarize, we are
    requesting an overall fiscal 2025 budget of $107 million in funding and
    478 FTEs, of which $45.9 million would be funded through offsetting
    fees collected in fiscal 2023 and prior years.
        The Office's overall budget is composed of three separate budgets
    or program areas:

      (1)  Basic Budget.--This funds most of the Office's operations and
            initiatives, including the majority of payroll-related expenses
            and the operations of the CCB. Historically, the Basic Budget
            has been composed of a combination of appropriated dollars and
            authority to spend fee revenue, with fees constituting close to
            one half of this funding.
      (2)  Licensing Division Budget.--This is derived completely from
            collections of licensing royalties payable to copyright owners
            and filing fees paid by cable and satellite licensees pursuant
            to statutory licenses administered by the Office.
      (3)  Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ) Budget.--Although the CRJ program
            is not part of the Office, we provide it with budget, financial
            management, and administrative support on behalf of the
            Library. CRJ appropriated funding supports payroll and
            partially funds non-pay expenses that are not supported by fees
            and royalty payments.

        In recent years, we have used programmatic requests to implement
    Congress' statutory requirements as well as to support Office services.
    For example, the Office requested and obtained $3.2 million in
    additional fiscal 2022 funding for the CASE Act \14\ to supplement our
    unfunded fiscal 2021 work, including hiring the CCB staff. For fiscal
    2023, the Office obtained a single program increase of $1.7 million to
    provide for new positions involving cost analysis, economic analysis,
    and statistical capabilities, as well as software to support valuable
    skillsets that we currently do not have.\15\ The initial financial
    support for our modernization initiative, funded for 5 years as part of
    the fiscal 2019 budget, ended in fiscal 2023. In fiscal 2024, the
    Office's single program increase of $4.3 million was obtained for three
    new USCO positions and contract support to strengthen capacity and
    sustain progress on continuous development. The other segment of
    authorized modernization funding was for 7 years and ends in fiscal
    2025.
        For fiscal 2025, the Office requests an overall budget of $107
    million in funding and 478 FTEs, of which $45.9 million would be funded
    through offsetting fees collected in fiscal 2023 and prior years. This
    budget would cover mandatary pay increases only. For fiscal 2025, we
    have not requested additional appropriations for our IT work as we are
    completing the last year of prior Congressional funding.
        However, given that work to modernize our IT systems and services
    is still underway, it is important to highlight that support through
    appropriated funds will be needed. Both the Office and OCIO anticipate
    a need for greater financial resources in fiscal 2026 to continue work
    on all of our IT-related initiatives to timely meet user demands for
    ECS functionality and to support continuous development for components
    already in public release.
        To summarize, our fiscal 2025 requests for each budget are as
    follows:

      --Basic Budget.--$96.9 million and 445 FTEs, comprising $38.025
            million in offsetting fee collections (39%) and $58.8 million
            (61%) in appropriated dollars. The request includes mandatory
            pay-related and price level increases of $3.9 million.
      --Licensing Division Budget.--$7.2 million and 26 FTEs, all of which
            are to be funded from collection of licensing royalties payable
            to copyright owners and filing fees paid by cable and satellite
            licensees pursuant to statutory licenses administered by the
            Office. The requested increase is to cover mandatory pay-
            related and price level increases of $0.278 million.
      --Copyright Royalty Judges Budget.--$3.3 million and 7 FTEs, with
            $0.142 million to support mandatory pay-related and price level
            increases. Of this total, royalties and participation fees
            offset $0.629 million (for non-personnel-related expenses). The
            remainder, $2.706 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 further the Constitutional mission of
    ``promot[ing] the progress of science and useful arts,'' \16\ including
    continuous IT development for the benefit of the users of our services.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Registration processing times are posted on our website at
    https://copyright.gov/registration/docs/processing-times-faqs.pdf. For
    the October 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 timeframe, 82% of all
    registration claims were eService claims (online claims and electronic
    deposits); 14% were deposit ticket claims (online claims with
    separately mailed physical deposit materials); and about 1% were mail
    claims (paper claim forms and physical deposits).
        \2\ 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).
        \3\ Recordation processing times are posted on our website at
    https://copyright.gov/re
    cordation/. The Office of Copyright Records is currently processing
    March 2023 basic (section 205) recordation filings and July 2023
    notices of termination. Regardless of the processing time, the
    effective date of recordation is the date the Copyright Office receives
    the complete submission in acceptable form.
        \4\ The Licensing Section is responsible for helping to administer
    the various statutory licenses and similar provisions, including
    secondary transmissions of radio and television programs by cable and
    satellite systems; making and distributing phonorecords of nondramatic
    musical works; and importing, manufacturing, and distributing digital
    audio recording devices or media.
        \5\ U.S. Copyright Office, Letter to Senators Coons and Tillis and
    Representatives Issa and Johnson (Feb. 23, 2024), https://
    copyright.gov/laws/hearings/USCO-Letter-on-AI-and-Copyright-Initiative-
    Update.pdf.
        \6\ For more details on the Office's work on artificial
    intelligence, see our AI webpage, https://copyright.gov/ai.
        \7\ U.S. Copyright Office, Rulemakings Landing Page, https://
    copyright.gov/rulemaking.
        \8\ U.S. Copyright Office and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
    Non-Fungible Tokens and Intellectual Property: A Report to Congress
    (March 2024), https://www.copyright.gov/policy/nft-study/Joint-USPTO-
    USCO-Report-on-NFTs-and-Intellectual-Property.pdf.
        \9\ The webpage and data are available at https://copyright.gov/
    economic-research/.
        \10\ 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. See https://copyright.gov/
    vcc/. The VCC Proof of Concept represents card records from 1870 to
    1977, displayed in JPEG images, from the U.S. Copyright Card Catalog
    collection. The images are presented in a similar filing order as found
    in the physical card catalog. Initial work is underway to capture
    metadata on these cards.
        \11\ See U.S. Copyright Office, 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/.
        \12\ Library of Congress, Announcement of Copyright Public
    Modernization Committee, 86 Fed. Reg. 8044 (Feb. 3, 2021), https://
    www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-02-03/pdf/2021-02194.pdf.
        \13\ See Library of Congress Announces Copyright Public
    Modernization Committee (June 22, 2021), https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-
    21-034/library-of-congress-announces-copyright-public-mod
    ernization-committee/2021-06-22/.
        \14\ The fiscal 2022 budget for CASE Act implementation included
    $1.0 million in one-time costs for office construction and furniture,
    audiovisual system acquisition, and development of an online case
    management system, and $2.2 million in recurring costs ($1.7 million
    for salary, benefits, and related costs for the 8 FTEs and $500,000 for
    systems operation and maintenance, printing, and other services).
        \15\ Notably, that fiscal 2023 request was fully supported through
    an increase in offsetting collections authority and did not require an
    increase in appropriated dollars.
        \16\ U.S. CONST. art. I, Sec. 8, cl. 8.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Prepared Statement of Robert Randolph Newlen, Director, Congressional
                                Research Service
    Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the Subcommittee,

        Thank you for the opportunity to present the fiscal 2025 budget
    request on behalf of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). I would
    also like to thank the Committee for its support of our fiscal 2024
    request. CRS is currently deploying those resources to support the
    118th Congress and to enhance our product and service offerings to
    ensure that Congress continues to have access to the highest quality
    research, analysis, information, and consultative support available.
        This is my ninth month serving as interim director and it is a
    privilege to serve the Congress and to work with the talented staff of
    CRS. In addition to outlining CRS's budget requirements for the
    upcoming fiscal year, my testimony will provide an overview of several
    noteworthy CRS accomplishments in its support for Congress during
    fiscal 2023. I will also bring the Subcommittee up to date on the
    Service's progress with respect to several strategic initiatives and
    the challenges ahead.
                     service to congress during fiscal 2023
        As in previous years, CRS provided support to almost every Member
    and committee office in fiscal 2023. CRS experts provided research,
    analysis, and information across a wide range of legal and public
    policy areas including: Federal funding for education; environmental
    policy; foreign affairs; science and technology; regulation of the
    financial sector; border security and immigration; and tax and fiscal
    policy. CRS legislative attorneys advised congressional clients on the
    implications of recent Supreme Court opinions; judicial ethics; social
    media regulation; and intellectual property and privacy concerns raised
    by artificial intelligence technology. In addition, analysts and
    attorneys provided testimony before congressional committees on issues
    related to Federal contracting; social security; strategic competition
    in the arctic; congressional oversight; and seating a delegate of the
    Cherokee Nation in the House of Representatives. The Service also
    continued to provide support on questions regarding legislative and
    budget process, congressional oversight, the annual appropriations
    bills, and the confirmation of judicial and executive branch nominees.
        During fiscal 2023, CRS hosted a variety of seminars and programs
    for Members and staff including its annual Issues and Policies seminar;
    a Legislative and Budget Process Institute; a series on legal research;
    and the biennially scheduled Federal Law Update series. The Service
    also conducted sessions on FEMA disaster assistance; cybersecurity and
    infrastructure security; and seminar series on issues related to
    financial services; disruptive technology; COVID 19; and defense. In
    addition, CRS successfully launched its Congressional Legal Education
    Forum (CLEF), a program that provides congressional staff a
    foundational legal education in matters relevant to Congress's
    legislative and oversight functions.
        The Service posted 117 new videos to CRS.gov and published 36
    podcasts on a variety of topics including: the Metaverse, judicial
    conduct, the executive budget process, Federal research and development
    (R&D) funding, defense topics, the role of the Federal government in
    redistricting, and Medicare drug prices. In total, CRS experts
    responded to over 76,000 congressional requests; prepared nearly 1,200
    new products; updated over 1,800 existing products; and conducted over
    300 seminars that were attended by approximately 13,000 congressional
    participants, during fiscal 2023.
                             strategic initiatives
        CRS continues to explore innovative approaches to enhance its
    products and services, to expand access to all congressional users, and
    to optimize utilization of agency resources. Congress's recent
    investments in the modernization of CRS are yielding results. The
    following is a brief summary of CRS's progress in achieving these
    important goals.
    Interactive Graphics and Other Visually-Based Products
        CRS is developing new, visually-based products through the efforts
    of its Data Visualization and GIS Section, within the Office of
    Publishing (PUB), and under the guidance and oversight of the
    Interactive Graphics Working Group (IGWG). During the past year, the
    IGWG has worked to streamline the production of such products, address
    technical issues that arise, facilitate innovation in interactive
    displays, and expand interactive visual options. In addition, the Group
    has explored adaptation of content into interactive infographics within
    the CRS Insight product line; acquired additional libraries to support
    more options for creating interactive graphic formats; and worked
    closely with OCIO to ensure that CRS's IT infrastructure is more
    compatible with its interactive graphic needs.
        As of May 1, 2024, CRS's product line includes 48 Infographics and
    26 interactive graphics. CRS is also working on the prototype of a new
    ``storymap'' product, a next-generation storytelling platform that puts
    together multiple visual elements to create a narrative. These
    innovative products present exciting possibilities for CRS to present
    its research, analysis, and information to Congress in new, accessible,
    and user-friendly formats.
    Workforce Recruitment and Retention
        CRS continues to recruit, retain, and professionally develop a
    diverse, highly skilled workforce. During fiscal 2023, CRS developed
    100 recruitment plans for merit selection positions, and attended over
    20 recruiting events, many of which were sponsored by minority-serving
    institutions and organizations with a focus on underrepresented groups.
    Attendance at these events provided an opportunity to engage with a
    variety of prospective candidates, to increase awareness of CRS's brand
    as well as available employment and internship opportunities. The
    Service also supported several paid summer internship opportunities
    through the Student Diversity and Inclusion Internship Program. Updates
    on diversity and inclusion efforts are communicated to staff through
    messages from leadership, CRS's staff newsletter, and the Service's
    internal Diversity and Inclusion website.
    Exploring Artificial Intelligence Applications
        Under the guidance of the CRS AIWG, CRS has initiated a number of
    AI related activities including: the launch of an Artificial
    Intelligence Research Portal to provide resources for CRS staff related
    to the field of AI; evaluation of new, generative AI components of a
    commercial legal research database; the development of an internal
    inventory of potential use cases for incorporating AI into the work of
    the Service; and the issuance of guidance to CRS staff prohibiting the
    use of Chat GPT or other AI tools in their work for Congress without
    prior CRS or Library approval.
        In collaboration with the Library's OCIO, CRS is also exploring the
    utilization of automated processes to expedite drafting, reviewing, and
    publishing of bill summaries and the assignment of geographic and
    organizational subject terms. These activities involve the evaluation
    of models and methods using generative AI, traditional AI/Machine
    Learning, and Natural Language Processing tools, and assessment to
    identify baseline expectations for acceptable accuracy rates,
    objectivity, and performance standards for machine-generated summaries
    and subject terms. We are excited about the potential of AI but
    proceeding cautiously.
    IT Modernization/Integrated Research and Information Systems (IRIS)
        CRS continues to work with the Library's Office of the Chief
    Information Officer (OCIO) to modernize its IT infrastructure with the
    deployment of new tools and software to enhance support to
    congressional stakeholders. The Integrated Research and Information
    System (IRIS) initiative is a multi-year effort to update the Service's
    mission-specific information technology to provide CRS staff with the
    best resources to create and deliver products and services to Congress.
        Several applications have been successfully deployed to CRS users.
    The Minerva request management application was released to users in the
    fourth quarter of fiscal 2023; updates and enhancements continue
    monthly. In addition, the Text Analysis Program (TAP) for supporting
    bill summaries and bill comparisons was released in the second quarter
    of fiscal 2024. CRS and OCIO continue to execute several additional
    work streams to include CRS.gov website redesign with an enhanced
    taxonomy and new search capability, authoring and document management,
    and content management. CRS anticipates a release of the newly
    redesigned CRS.gov website that includes an enhanced taxonomy and a new
    search capability early in the fourth quarter.
        Technical solutions have been designed and adapted to maintain
    alignment with Library of Congress and Legislative Branch cloud
    strategies. Projects are currently proceeding consistent with
    contractual requirements, schedules, and resources. Solutions are being
    informed by both internal CRS staff as well as congressional
    stakeholders. These efforts are essential to modernizing CRS mission-
    critical applications, to achieve the Library's ``digital first''
    strategy and meet the growing needs of the Congress, in the areas of
    information research, policy and data analysis, content creation, and
    product delivery.
    Congress.gov
        The United States House of Representatives and Senate produce, and
    own, the data that is accessible to Members of Congress, legislative
    agencies, and the general public from Congress.gov. This fiscal year
    marks an historic, behind-the-scenes accomplishment for authoritative
    information provided by our data partners. First generation, 30--40-
    year-old out-of-date systems and workflows are being retired.
        The Library, including CRS, has worked closely with House and
    Senate data owners to incorporate data standards and best practices
    into the new systems and workflows that produce data for Congress.gov.
    Along with the Library, CRS is deeply appreciative for our data
    partners' initiatives to improve data quality by standardizing formats
    for legislative documents. The United States Legislative Markup, or
    USLM, is a legislative branch-wide standard that is integral to editing
    and publishing interoperability within the legislative ecosystem.
    Modernizing behind-the-scenes workflows advances our legislative data
    partnerships in support of better tracking legislative information and
    Member contributions through Congress.gov.
        We are preparing for the future, and continue to bring historical
    materials into Congress.gov. To date, researchers can access more than
    3.2 million historical and contemporary items from Congress.gov. We
    remain committed to working with our data partners, including the House
    Clerk, to continually improve accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of
    legislative information available from Congress.gov?the official
    website for U.S. Federal legislative information.
    CONAN Modernization
        Known officially as the ``Constitution of the United States of
    America: Analysis and Interpretation,'' CONAN serves as the official
    record for Congress of the U.S. Constitution's interpretation. In 2019,
    CRS collaborated with OCIO and the Law Library to introduce a website
    for CONAN: constitution.congress.gov. The site features hundreds of
    pages of updated constitutional analysis and content. During fiscal
    year 2023, CRS legal staff 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
    staff have also begun the organizational work to begin preparing the
    printed pocket parts to the decennial 2022 edition of CONAN, unless a
    legislative fix obviates the need to continue to produce hardbound and
    print publications of CONAN. Since the launch of the public website in
    2019, CONAN online has received more than fifty million views and has
    served as a valuable reference source for Congress and the public.
        CRS has requested a legislative change to eliminate the requirement
    to produce the hardbound version of CONAN, which is quickly outdated,
    and rely exclusively on the CONAN website, which provides timely
    updates.
    Knowledge Management
        CRS continues to develop and implement strategies to capture,
    manage, preserve, and distribute institutional knowledge that it relies
    upon to provide exceptional service to Congress. CRS staff utilize the
    Research Portal, which is available on the Service's intranet, as a hub
    for digital resources. It provides staff with quick and easy access to
    information needed to research, analyze, and advise on legislative
    issues. By the end of fiscal 2023, CRS staff had access to 46 research
    portal sites. The Service sponsored multiple activities to facilitate
    the sharing of information, knowledge, and best practices and enable
    staff to learn from one another's experiences including quarterly
    Knowledge Cafe's, an annual Summer Series on emerging technologies, and
    communities of practice such as the SharePoint Users Group. In
    addition, CRS continued its efforts to improve its onboarding and
    offboarding procedures to ensure the timely transfer of knowledge held
    by senior analysts, attorneys, and information professionals.
    Access to Executive Branch Information
        In addition to the legislative change regarding CONAN (see above),
    CRS has requested an amendment of its authorizing statute to improve
    access to executive branch information, which will enable the Service
    to respond to requests from and provide products to Members and their
    staff in a more timely and authoritative manner.
                fiscal 2025 budget request and program increases
        CRS's budget request for fiscal 2025 is 145.485 million dollars, an
    increase of 9.405 million dollars (or 6.9 percent) over the amount
    appropriated for fiscal 2024. The requested increase includes 6.579
    million dollars for mandatory pay related and price level increases. It
    also includes a programmatic increase to support continued enhancement
    of the Service's quantitative data analysis capabilities and the
    integration of artificial intelligence technology into CRS's workflow.
    As in previous fiscal years, staff pay and benefits account for
    approximately 90 percent of the amount requested by CRS.
    Bolstering Quantitative Data Analysis Capabilities
        CRS's requested program increase includes approximately 3.5 million
    dollars \1\ and 1 FTE to enhance the Service's capability to perform
    quantitative data analysis and policy simulation, including the
    modeling of ``big data'' sets, for congressional clients. In recent
    years, CRS has observed growing demand from Members and Committees, to
    provide this type of analytical support. 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.''
        While CRS has conducted some limited quantitative analysis and
    policy simulation, currently it lacks the capacity to provide this
    service on a broader scale. In response to the direction provided in
    the Joint Statement, CRS contracted with a company in fiscal 2022, to
    conduct a study identifying the IT infrastructure, staffing, and
    analytical support required to establish and maintain a greater data
    analytics capability. In September 2023, CRS procured a vendor to pilot
    a small set of cloud based quantitative data models consistent with the
    recommendations in the study. Enhancing this area of its service
    offerings, would enable CRS to provide congressional requestors with a
    more granular view of the impact of legislative proposals on various
    demographic groups, as well as the interaction of such policies with
    other programs.
        CRS's Health Insurance Pricing Project has reached a significant
    milestone with the launch of the cloud-based data pipeline solution,
    ingesting vast volumes of publicly available health insurance pricing
    data. CRS has revolutionized its infrastructure and capability to
    process big data files and compare healthcare costs across health
    insurers, medical procedures, and healthcare providers. This
    achievement is particularly promising considering ongoing legislation
    such as H.R. 7593--the ``Modernizing the Congressional Research
    Service's Access to Data Act.'' While this bill is still pending, its
    potential passage underscores the importance of CRS's preparedness to
    efficiently share and process (big) data files with other agencies.
        CRS is also exploring opportunities to integrate artificial
    intelligence (AI) applications into the day-to-day work of the Service.
    The Service established an Artificial Intelligence Working Group (AIWG)
    to make recommendations to CRS leadership on best practices and
    operational processes necessary for the adoption of AI technologies.
    CRS's adoption of AI technology promises to create efficiencies in the
    development and publication of its products for Congress.
        CRS would utilize 2.826 million dollars of the requested amount to
    set up and maintain a secure cloud computing environment, and to
    contract personnel (data scientists, programmers, and digital interface
    designers) to develop and maintain data analysis models and projects in
    that environment. The funds would also be used to invest in the
    software, modeling tools, and training necessary to develop these
    capabilities. An additional 643 thousand dollars is requested on behalf
    of the Library's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) to hire
    1 FTE and provide contractual support to design and support the systems
    needed to implement the program.
        In addition to the initiatives outlined above, CRS's priorities for
    fiscal 2025 include hosting a successful New Member Seminar in January
    2025 for the newly elected Members of the 119th Congress; continuing
    efforts to strengthen the diversity and inclusiveness of its workforce
    and working environment; and supporting continuous integration and
    development of a modernized IT infrastructure. As always, CRS will
    focus primarily on the delivery of timely, authoritative products,
    services and programming tailored to meet the needs of the 119th
    Congress.
                                   conclusion
        Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the
    Subcommittee, CRS values its role as Congress's trusted resource and is
    committed to providing exceptional research, analysis, and information
    to meet the needs of every Member and committee. On behalf of my
    colleagues at CRS, I thank you again for your continued support and
    your consideration of our fiscal 2025 request.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ This programmatic request is shared between CRS ($2.826
    million) and the Library's Office of the Chief Information Officer
    ($0.643 million/1 FTE).

        Senator Reed. Thank you, Dr. Hayden.
        Mr. DiPietro, please.
    STATEMENT OF MR. JOSEPH DIPIETRO, ACTING ARCHITECT OF
                THE CAPITOL, ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
        Mr. DiPietro. Good afternoon, Chairman Reed, Ranking Member
    Fischer, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on
    the Architect of the Capitol's fiscal year 2025 budget request.
        I would also like to thank the members of your staff,
    particularly Richard Braddock and Molly McCarthy, for their
    expertise, solution-mindedness, and consistent professionalism.
        I welcome this opportunity to share more about the Agency's
    work in preserving the historic buildings and grounds that
    inspire our Nation in serving the 30,000 daily occupants and
    three million annual visitors to the Capitol Campus.
        To begin, I would like to acknowledge and express my
    gratitude to the 2,400 dedicated AOC employees who work
    diligently to support the daily operations of Congress, the
    Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the many other AOC-
    managed locations, which cover 18.4 million square feet of
    historic facilities, 570 acres of grounds, and thousands of
    works of art that make up our historic Campus.
        In addition to supporting the daily operations of Congress,
    the Architect at a Capitol inspires the public by providing
    tours and exhibits of the U.S. Capitol, the surrounding
    grounds, and the U.S. Botanic Garden. Our staff remains
    committed to this cause.
        While the Commission works through the process of
    appointing a permanent Architect, I am honored to serve in this
    interim role, leading the women and men who work tirelessly to
    accomplish our mission. I am continually amazed by their
    professionalism and dedication to service.
        The Architect of the Capitol's $1.03 billion fiscal year
    2025 budget request is focused on three key priorities,
    physical security, life safety, and the critical infrastructure
    needs of the Capitol Campus.
        Additionally, the budget request ensures adequate funding
    is available for the staffing levels necessary to oversee our
    planning and project management needs and to deliver quality
    services to Congress. Through the Agency's strategic
    initiatives, we continue to offer world-class service and do
    the deep work that leads to transformational growth. This focus
    enables the Agency to build a safer, more inclusive, and more
    effective workplace.
        Across the Agency, we dedicate time and attention to safety
    training, processes, procedures, and operations. This budget
    request recognizes these essential measures with a concentrated
    effort to avoid hazards, risks, and interruptions.
        Security is a key priority. With the support of this
    subcommittee and oversight committees, the AOC has made
    significant progress to improve security--improve the security
    posture across the Campus. The AOC also coordinates daily with
    our partners across the Campus to improve security for staff
    and visitors. Improving physical security is imperative to the
    operation of the Campus, and we will continue to maintain
    critical infrastructure while remaining prepared to respond to
    new developments.
        The critical infrastructure needs of the Capitol Campus
    also remain a top priority. AOC employees work behind the
    scenes day and night to provide Congress, the Supreme Court,
    and the Library with facilities and infrastructure to conduct
    their business. The AOC is committed to a long-term approach to
    facilities management focused on maintaining and preserving the
    Capitol Campus while also modernizing these facilities.
        With aging infrastructure comes many challenges, the AOC is
    developing an Enterprise Asset Management System that will
    provide a structured approach for developing, coordinating, and
    controlling asset-related activities. An established asset
    management system will provide additional detail to improve
    data-driven fiscal decisions and prioritize projects that
    reduce backlog.
        As you know well, the safety, physical security, and
    critical infrastructure needs of the Capitol Campus are a 24-
    hour-a-day operation that could simply not be accomplished
    without hard work. As I close my statement today, I would again
    like to thank the AOC staff for their professionalism and
    dedication.
        Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, Members of the
    Subcommittee, thank you again for your continued support and
    consideration of the Architect of the Capitol's fiscal year
    2025 budget request.
        [The statement follows:]
     Prepared Statement of Joseph R. DiPietro, Acting Architect, 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) 2025 budget request for the Architect of the Capitol (AOC). We are
    committed to working closely with you and your staff to ensure the AOC
    meets the needs and expectations of the U.S. Senate in service to the
    American people.
        On behalf of myself and the AOC leadership team, allow me to
    express our deep gratitude to the 2,400 hardworking, devoted AOC
    employees who tirelessly carry out their duties each day to support the
    functions of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress
    (Library), and the many other AOC-managed facilities.
        I joined the AOC in 2023 as the Chief of Operations. This office
    oversees the lifecycle operations and maintenance of the Capitol
    campus's buildings, grounds, gardens and infrastructure. In this role,
    I establish policies, standardize procedures, and coordinate operations
    and facility management functions across the AOC's operational
    jurisdictions.
        As you know, I was asked to take the mantle of agency leadership as
    the Acting Architect effective February 9, 2024. Leading our team is
    both an honor and great responsibility which I take with dedication and
    care. One of my initial goals is to work closely with AOC staff to
    continue to foster trust and confidence in AOC leadership and emphasize
    our appreciation for their exceptional work. I am committed to
    transparent and timely communication to ensure accountability and
    coordination with this Subcommittee, Congress and AOC-internal
    entities.
                                  i. overview
        The AOC plays a vital role in supporting the day-to-day operations
    of Congress, the Supreme Court and the Library. Our staff works
    tirelessly to preserve and maintain over 18.4 million square feet of
    facilities, 570 acres of grounds, and thousands of works of art. This
    24 hour a day, seven day a week operation works in concert to preserve
    our historic buildings and improve aging infrastructure.
        The FY 2025 budget request of $1.03 billion reflects an 8.8 percent
    increase from the FY 2024 enacted funding. It builds upon the
    accomplishments of the previous fiscal year by addressing critical and
    urgent priorities such as physical security, life safety and critical
    infrastructure needs of the Capitol campus. Furthermore, this budget
    request includes funding to increase staffing levels necessary to
    oversee planning, acquisition and project management in order to
    deliver quality services to Congress. The FY 2025 budget submission
    acknowledges the fiscal challenges facing our nation and the Committee.
    Prioritizing Physical Security & Life Safety
        Ensuring physical security and life safety is paramount.
        With your support, the AOC has made significant strides in
    enhancing security measures across the campus. Projects identified
    after the completion of the physical security assessment in 2022 are
    prioritized to implement consistent security standards campuswide. The
    FY 2025 budget request aligns with our coordinated approach to address
    security projects, consisting of significant construction or system
    replacement requirements to support the missions of the United States
    Capitol Police and House and Senate Sergeants at Arms.
        The life safety of our workforce and visitors is also a critical
    focus. Across the agency, we dedicate time and attention to safety
    training, processes, procedures and operations. This budget request
    recognizes these essential measures, with projects and requests that
    focus on supporting our concentrated effort to avoid hazards, risks and
    interruptions.
                      ii. supporting the senate community
        The AOC's FY 2025 budget request highlights significant priorities
    for the Senate office buildings and Senate operations. Developed in
    close collaboration with this Subcommittee and the Senate Committee on
    Rules and Administration, the FY 2025 budget request ensures that the
    critical needs for the Senate office buildings and operations are met.
        The Daniel Webster Page Residence project will repair the
    building's infrastructure deficiencies, correct non-accessible
    conditions, and modernize the facility to ensure safety and meet the
    needs of the Senate Page Program. The FY 2025 budget request for phase
    two of this project is critical to support this historic building's
    interior and exterior restoration needs. In phase two the AOC plans to
    upgrade the interior spaces, modernize the elevator and mechanical
    systems, address interior non-compliant accessibility conditions,
    improve the site landscape and hardscape, repair the roofing system,
    remove and rebuild the foundation and footings at lightwells and the
    east stair, implement a stormwater management system, and replace the
    electrical distribution panel. These improvements will provide an
    accessible and reliable building with improved comfort, convenience and
    functionality that fits within the appropriate aesthetic of a
    residential-scale dormitory and school located within a historic
    building.
        Two addtional priorities in the FY 2025 budget request are the
    Senate Committee Hearing Room Upgrades and Elevator Refurbishment
    Programs. This funding request covers the second year of a
    comprehensive renewal of the Senate's 32 hearing rooms and related
    infrastructure over a projected 15-20-year period. The Senate Elevator
    Refurbishment Program budget request covers 1 year of a multi-year
    program to refurbish and modernize 46 elevators and associated elevator
    machine rooms in the Senate buildings. Senate elevators require full
    refurbishment every 15-20 years. The work will be scheduled to
    refurbish one elevator per bank at a time, which will minimize
    disruption to the Senate community. The budget request will provide
    funding to refurbish six elevators a year at an estimated cost of
    $500,000 for each elevator.
                 iii. modern management of aging infrastructure
        Aging facilities and infrastructure pose ongoing challenges
    exacerbated by increasing material costs and competition for skilled
    laborers. The AOC's funding request addresses essential issues like
    hearing room modernization, mechanical system replacements, and fire
    alarm and sprinkler replacement. The AOC is committed to a long-term
    approach to facilities management--focused on maintaining and
    preserving the Capitol campus while also modernizing these facilities.
    The AOC is also developing an Enterprise Asset Management system to
    provide a structured approach for developing, coordinating and
    controlling asset-related activities across their life cycle. An
    established asset management system will provide additional detail to
    improve data-driven fiscal decisions and prioritize projects. This
    approach will also help address backlog and deferred maintenance needs.
    iv. recognizing employee accomplishments & meeting mission requirements
        The AOC remains focused on improving employee development and
    morale. Our Human Capital Strategy revolves around three pillars:
    talent acquisition, talent development, and engagement and retention of
    employees.
        The AOC's talent acquisition goal is to attract, recruit and
    onboard a highly skilled and diverse workforce to meet the agency's
    current and future mission needs. Once on our team, we work to develop
    and retain these talented employees. Notably, our staff accomplished
    more than 40,000 individual staff and career development trainings in
    FY 2023 and have completed 22,000 trainings year-to-date in FY 2024.
    The AOC is dedicated to providing training and resources for our
    employees to excel in their roles and support seamless operations.
                                 v. conclusion
        On behalf of the hardworking public servants at the AOC, I extend
    our gratitude to this Subcommittee for your ongoing support. Your
    dedication and partnership in service to the American people is
    integral to our daily operations and mission accomplishment. Chairman
    Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank
    you for your time and support in consideration of the AOC's FY 2025
    budget request.

                        BUDGET LEVELS AND AGENCY IMPACTS

        Senator Reed. Thank you very much. Thank you both for your
    excellent testimony.
        Senator Fischer has left to vote. She will return. But let
    me lead off with, I think, an obvious question. Both Senator
    Fischer and I have indicated how challenging this budget is,
    something you already know.
        So I will ask each of you, beginning with Dr. Hayden, if
    you have to operate at or below the 2024 level, what are the
    impacts to your Agency's ability to achieve your mission? Dr.
    Hayden.
        Dr. Hayden. One of the first effects would be a decrease in
    our buying power, which would actually, at the 2024 level, cut
    the Library by approximately $39 million due to mandatory pay
    and inflationary non-pay. And the 5.1 increase that the Library
    has for 2025, 85 percent of that is for inflation and pay and
    non-pay.
        So the first thing we would do, and we have been doing it,
    in fact, is take a very, very conservative approach to hiring
    and holding off on new hires because our greatest asset is our
    staff, and we would want to make sure we protect them. So to
    avoid layoffs, furloughs, we would implement, and we have been
    implementing, very conservative hiring plans.
        We would also have to reduce our software development
    spending, that would affect our modernization projects that are
    going along quite nicely. And we would definitely have to
    reduce our public events and programs. That would be the
    immediate.
        Senator Reed. Thank you. Mr. DiPietro, please.
        Mr. DiPietro. Okay. So being held flat at the 2024 levels
    would be challenging. We have got a number of projects that we
    have included in the 2025 budget for the Senate Office
    buildings that deal with modernization of the elevators. We
    have funding in place that we are requesting for hearing room
    modernization.
        We have requested additional funds to develop a facilities
    plan for the Senate to start looking at the facility needs of
    the jurisdiction. There is a $50 million request for the Page
    Residence to have enough funding in place so that we can
    modernize that residence, which involves moving the pages out
    of there into some swing space so we can go in there and
    completely modernize the building and then allowing them to
    move back.
        There is multiple-year money in there for some water line
    replacements inside one of our office buildings. And then we
    have funding in place for additional personnel that we are
    seeking within some of the jurisdictions, but within our
    Capitol construction operations appropriation. We are asking
    for additional personnel to support human resources for hiring,
    for our acquisition and contracting piece that we have there to
    help us award contracts more efficiently. There is additional
    funding in there for AOC University to hire four additional
    personnel.
        AOC University is the training arm of the AOC. It is a new
    initiative that we have. Last year, through AOC University, we
    had over 40,000 trainings that were taking place by our
    employees in 2023. So far this year, we are over 22,000. So
    depending on where the cuts came from, it can impact any of
    those initiatives.

                   LIBRARY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRIORITIES

        Senator Reed. Thank you both. Again, it is important for us
    to understand the consequences as we move forward. I appreciate
    that.
        Dr. Hayden, one of your major priorities, and you have
    indicated it several times, is modernization of the Library,
    and again, if we are operating under a constrained budget, what
    are your highest information technology priorities for fiscal
    year 2025, and how would they be impacted?
        Dr. Hayden. With our first priority to maintain the most
    valuable asset, the people. The second would be to continue the
    modernization projects that have been started over the last
    several budget cycles. They are ongoing, and they would have to
    slow down.
        And that would include services for the public and
    Congress, Congress.gov, the CRS Initiative, really the
    Enterprise Copyright System that has made great strides and has
    a lot of public and stakeholder interest, the National Library
    for the Blind and Print Disabled Modernization with the e-
    Reader projects, and then the core of the Library's
    modernization effort in terms of collections, the Library
    Collections Access Platform (L-CAP) is for that. So that would
    be very difficult for us to continue without support.
        Senator Reed. And a lot of that would be reducing the
    proposed technology purchases, both hardware and software.
        Dr. Hayden. Right. We have a number of legacy systems that
    are beyond their expiration date.
        Senator Reed. Thank you. Mr. DiPietro, everyone running an
    organization these days is looking for valuable talent. And one
    of the factors is can they have care for their children? How
    would the ability to provide child care subsidies affect your
    ability to recruit, retain highly skilled professionals?
        Mr. DiPietro. So being able to provide a child care subsidy
    I think would help us recruit folks that work in our
    jurisdictions, the trades folks, and some of our lower graded
    employees, being able to give them something towards that would
    be very important.
        We have a human capital strategy that has three different
    pillars. The first is talent acquisition, so identifying
    talented people to work for the Agency. The second pillar is
    development of that talent, and then the third one is retaining
    that talent. So I believe that child subsidy would help us to
    retain the folks that we are able to recruit and train here at
    the AOC.
        Senator Reed. Thank you very much. In the absence of
    Senator Fischer, let me recognize Senator Murphy.
        Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Welcome
    to both of you. Thank you for the fantastic work you do on
    behalf of our country, and on behalf of all the folks who work
    on this Campus.
        I just have one question, or one line of question is for
    you, Mr. DiPietro. I now have a new goal when it comes to the
    restoration of the Mountains and Clouds. I would like for it to
    be completed before I die.
        And I care about it, as you know, but I will state it for
    the record because the sculpture that sits in the middle of the
    Hart Atrium is a product of a part-time Connecticut resident,
    Alexander Calder, who did much of his modeling and construction
    of his big sculpture work in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
        But also as a fan and patron of the arts, I think it is
    kind of weird that we continue to have half a piece of art in
    the Hart Atrium. It was as if you had a painting in your
    office, somebody lopped off half of it, and you just kept the
    other half up on the wall for 10 years. That is essentially
    what we have done with Mountains and Clouds. But I have never
    seen anything go this slow.
        And it sort of strikes me. I know I have dealt with
    multiple architects and multiple staff members, and everybody
    pledges to be doing the right thing, but it has always felt to
    me like the Architect does the minimal amount possible to try
    to get the Clouds back up there. And that it is only because of
    people like me pushing that we make any progress at all. It
    just does not stand to reason that it would take two decades to
    get this work of art back to its original form.
        So what can you tell us about the status of this project?
    And are we--is there any chance that before I leave the Senate,
    or at least before I die, we can get the Clouds back up there?
        Mr. DiPietro. So Architect of the Capitol has been working
    with the Calder Foundation and the Secretary of the Senate on
    that project. So there is no appropriated money associated with
    that project from AOC that we are using for that. It is all
    coming through the Foundation.
        So we have been working with the Foundation, we have been
    working with the Secretary of the Senate on being able to
    receive money from the Foundation. So we can do the piece of
    work that the Architect is responsible for.
        So that would be, you know, the Foundation is going to
    rebuild the Clouds and put all that back together. And then to
    be able to get all that--get the materials into the building,
    it is a considerable effort to be able to do that, and so we
    are working with them on the design of that.
        I believe some funding was just donated to Congress for
    that from the Foundation. And we have been working with them to
    get the design started on that portion of the project.
        Senator Murphy. Have you delivered to the Foundation a
    schedule that you would like them to operate under?
        Mr. DiPietro. Yes, I believe we have. But I would have to
    have my staff get back to you with that.
        Senator Murphy. Yes. I mean, I think it is worthwhile for
    the Architect to drive the time line rather than the Foundation
    to drive the time line, or for me to drive the time line. I
    think it would be nice to be able to give some certainty as to
    when this work of art, very deeply rooted in my State of
    Connecticut, is back to full form.
        So you certainly hear my frustration. My staff for 12 years
    now has heard my frustration about this, and I look forward to
    continue to work with you on it.
        Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Senator Murphy. Let me
    take up, and begin a second round as we anticipate the return
    of Senator Fischer.
        Mr. DiPietro, the Architect of the Capitol plays a critical
    role in the Presidential Inauguration, and I know you are
    already beginning to plan along with many other agencies. And I
    know we don't want to discuss law enforcement, sensitive topics
    in a hearing like this, but in general, how are preparations
    going for the inauguration?
        Mr. DiPietro. I think our preparations for the inauguration
    are going well. We received the funding in our last fiscal year
    to be able to support that. We have issued a contract for the
    construction of the stand on the west side of the Capitol. We
    have plans in place to start with some of the security
    preparations come August timeframe, or so, which will get us
    ready to start building that stand after Labor Day, that we
    should be ready to start doing that.
        So I think we have what we need to be able to support that
    effort. Our Capitol Building jurisdiction and our chief
    security officer are leading that for the AOC.
        Senator Reed. And any particular challenges you have
    already identified?
        Mr. DiPietro. We have been working through those. We had
    some challenges with respect to fencing, and things like that,
    but we have worked with our partners in the Sergeant at Arms
    and in the U.S. Capitol Police to resolve those.

                          LIBRARY'S VISITOR EXPERIENCE

        Senator Reed. Thank you very much.
        And Dr. Hayden, you have been extremely supportive of the
    Library's efforts to transform the visitor experience at the
    Library of Congress, and I think you mentioned you have good
    news. And if you would like to elaborate on that, please do so.
        Dr. Hayden. And we have worked closely with the Architect
    of the Capitol during this whole project, and we are extremely
    thankful to this subcommittee for its support because in less
    than four weeks, and I can give a date, June the 10, there will
    be a grand opening of the David M. Rubenstein Treasures
    Gallery.
        And this will allow the Library to showcase some of the
    all-American treasures in our collection, from the contents of
    Abraham Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated; I got
    a chance to help install that. Precious manuscripts, artifacts,
    other rare collection items, and then adjacent to that gallery
    and in the Great Hall to the opening of that, we will also be
    opening two new gift shops in the Jefferson Building in the
    beginning of June.
        And then as of June the 1, I am looking at my colleague,
    but we have been working on this for so long together, that
    construction will begin on the new Youth Center called The
    Source, named by young people. And school groups will be able
    to come in, the young and the young at heart.
        And then this coming September, construction activities
    will begin on the cornerstone of that experience, our first
    Orientation Gallery. And we are very excited about that. And
    just thank Congress for working with us on this.
        Senator Reed. Well, let me thank both of you, because it
    was a collaboration, and I deeply appreciate, and look forward
    to the opening.
        With that, let me recognize Senator Fischer.

                    LIBRARY'S DIGITAL COLLECTIONS & STRATEGY

        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And welcome again
    to our panel today.
        Dr. Hayden, core to the new strategic plan is expanding the
    Library's capacity and infrastructure for the digital
    collections. This includes new IT investments and improving
    staff skill sets in processing and handling digital content, to
    further these initiatives, the Library is requesting 13 new FTE
    and $3.4 million in new resources.
        Can you explain to us the strategic plan's vision for
    digital collections and how the fiscal year 2025 request will
    support collection's capacity, please?
        Dr. Hayden. The title of the Library's Strategic Plan that
    was launched recently is ``A Library for All''; and having the
    digital capacity to expand access to the collections is vital
    to that. The Library is now receiving more digital material
    than ever before. And we know that the future is digital. And
    more and more of the collections that are coming to the Library
    are, as they call it, born digital. And that means the only way
    that people can obtain access to the collections will be in a
    digital format.
        And in a very short period of time, we have to collect the
    digital materials, different from analog materials. They can
    wait. But the digital content is coming in, it is like a fire
    hose now. Just for instance, since 2019, in 2023, we received
    12.7 million digital collections. That is three times since
    2019.
        And so the current systems that we have, those out-of-date
    legacy systems can't ingest and make accessible that content.
    And we need staff that also can work with that. And that
    includes our IT staff as well.
        So the request allows us to modernize the IT
    infrastructure, to increase the workflows and the processes,
    more efficient management, more improved service for the
    access, and then preserving that digital content as well. So
    the funding request really aligns with the Library's strategic
    plan of being accessible in the e-preferred future.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you.
        Dr. Hayden. It is exciting.
        Senator Fischer. It is. Can you tell me who qualifies for a
    job like that? Say I just, I want to do that, I want to be able
    to go through and help catalog that, what kind of background do
    I need? Is it mostly in IT?
        Dr. Hayden. Well, there are various people who are
    involved.
        Senator Fischer. I guess I wouldn't qualify then.
        Dr. Hayden. And it is a great recruitment tool in terms of
    digital natives that are looking at interesting projects. And
    so you have--they are actually teams, the people who are
    working on software development and also looking at the
    transition to the cloud. You have some straight technicians,
    but you also have content librarians and curators and subject
    matter specialists.
        Senator Fischer. So it is a melding?
        Dr. Hayden. It is a melding. And we have these teams that
    are working together.
        Senator Fischer. Great.
        Dr. Hayden. Very exciting time.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you. Mr. DiPietro, as I mentioned in
    my opening statement, the AOC must improve on keeping projects
    on time and on budget. A number of recent high-profile projects
    have resulted in significant delays and cost overruns. These
    project management issues appear to be systemic within the
    Agency.
        Since you joined the AOC last year, what challenges have
    you witnessed with the Agency's planning, acquisition, and
    project management practices?
        Mr. DiPietro. Thank you for that question. Maybe if I
    explain a little bit about how we manage projects that might
    help. So ideally, projects begin with some type of engineering
    or feasibility study that helps inform decision-makers on the
    general scope, the cost, the schedule of a project.
        That also allows our Agency to determine the best way to
    execute that project from like an acquisition standpoint. So
    there is the traditional way of doing things where you hire a
    designer and they put together a design, a set of construction
    documents. They give it to the AOC and we bid it out and then
    we hire a contractor and then they construct the project for
    us.
        There is other ways of doing it where you hire one
    contractor to design and build the entire project. It depends
    on the type of project you are doing, and then there's other
    forms of acquisition.
        But what that study does is it allows us to determine the
    best way to proceed with a project, and it allows the
    stakeholders to be in a better position to make a decision on
    if they want to continue with the project. And if they do, then
    you move into a design process. And there is different elements
    of the design, different phases.
        You start out in a schematic design phase. You move to what
    we call design development. And then finally, the last phase is
    your construction documents, where you put together plans and
    specifications that a contractor uses to construct what you
    want them to build.
        And as we move through each one of those phases, what
    happens is we get a better idea of the scope and the cost and
    the schedule of the project. So adhering to that form of
    project management or that system for project management gives
    us the best chance of having success with the project.
        So not skipping steps and making sure we adhere to them, I
    think, is the best way to ensure that we are doing a good job
    in project management.
        Senator Fischer. As the project goes through those steps,
    you have time then also to take a considerate review of where
    the project is at during that too; did that happen before?
        Mr. DiPietro. It should be happening as we are going
    through it. Sometimes we are a little bit rushed to do
    projects, and things get condensed in the project cycle. But
    overall, I think that is the best approach to making sure that
    we deliver projects on time, on budget, and within the scope.

                    LIBRARY STAFF ATTRITION AND RECRUITMENT

        Senator Fischer. Thank you. Dr. Hayden, we have seen some
    attrition rates in staffing between 23- and 28 percent over the
    last three fiscal years. What is causing such a high attrition
    rate within this team? And along with the new personnel
    requested, what strategies will the Library utilize to try and
    stabilize that staffing issue?
        Dr. Hayden. The request for this year is really targeted to
    one of the units that has the highest--one of the highest
    attrition rates, the Contracting Office. This is a Government-
    wide challenge, and OPM has deemed these contracting
    specialist, as hard-to-fill positions, and we know that.
        Over the past 3 years, in Library, the Contracts and Grants
    Directorate has an attrition rate between 23 and 28 percent.
    And part of that is due to the increased volume and complexity
    of the contracts, especially the IT procurement.
        Senator Fischer. So is it an issue of--is it an issue of
    hiring the wrong person to begin with?
        Dr. Hayden. Oh. No.
        Senator Fischer. Or just difficulty in the job?
        Dr. Hayden. No.
        Senator Fischer. Problems with the team? What is it?
        Dr. Hayden. First, in terms of recruiting. It is a very
    high-demand position with contracting, very competitive. Staff
    are leaving for higher pay and other benefits, and the
    increased volume and complexity of the types of contracts, so
    it has a high burnout as well, and expanding workloads. When
    staff members can see a better opportunity, they take it. We
    are really working on making sure that in this office, we are
    very attentive to not only incentives, but also the fact that
    we will have a cycle and to keep it, you know, at as low a
    level as we can, but these are hard positions, they are
    competitive.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you.
        Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Fischer. Senator Van
    Hollen, please.

                     `A LIBRARY FOR ALL' MISSION AND STATUS

        Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you
    both for your service. It is great to be here to listen to your
    testimony.
        Dr. Hayden, you continue to make Maryland and Baltimore
    proud with your leadership at the Library of Congress. As you
    well know, one of the founding principles of the Pratt Library
    in Baltimore, which you led for years, was open access.
        Enoch Pratt, when he began that library in 1882, said, and
    I quote, ``That it would be for all, rich and poor without
    distinction of race or color''; provided everybody handled the
    books carefully and returned them when they were finished; I
    know you have that same mandate, mission, vision for the
    Library of Congress, and that underpins the Library of
    Congress' A Library for All strategic plan and digitization
    effort.
        Could you, Dr. Hayden, just speak a little bit to where you
    are in that process? Because I, like you, believe that when we
    have such an amazing national treasure and resource, we need to
    do everything we can to share it with the American people.
        Dr. Hayden. Well, we actually are making sure we share it
    with everyone. We have the first Braille Edition of a strategic
    plan, the Library is very excited about making it possible for
    our patrons of the National Library for the Blind and Print
    Disabled able to see that the title page that says, ``The
    Library of Congress is a library for you''; and the entire
    mission is to engage everyone, Congress and the American
    people, we are continuing and using the tools of the future to
    do that.
        And so we will be expanding access through our digital
    collections and digital access. Our website is our digital
    front door, and more and more items will be available in that
    format, as well as being able to have the programming that we
    have accessible wherever anybody has a device, and even audio.
    So the entire plan is to make sure that we are not only
    providing access, but that we are looking to a future that will
    include all types of formats.
        We are still going to have physical materials coming in for
    the next--and I know my staff are saying, okay, 50, 100 years,
    but there will be things coming in in the analog, and so we are
    preparing for that. We are also supporting our staff and making
    sure that they can grow with this new push that we have had.
        And so it is an exciting time for the Library, and it is
    definitely a way to connect to all public libraries, and school
    libraries, and campus, and university libraries. And I often
    have said that in Baltimore, if I had had the Rosa Parks Papers
    to pull up to show a 10-year-old when they had that disturbance
    to see what Rosa Parks felt, and now they are digitized, that
    we could actually, anyone, anywhere could read what she felt.

                           LIBRARY COLLECTION STORAGE

        Senator Van Hollen. That is a wonderful example. And thank
    you for your--all your efforts to bring those treasures to
    everybody and make them more accessible. Of course, as we put
    more of the collection online, the Library has a vast
    collection of books, documents, music, and artifacts that need
    to be properly stored and preserved. And to that end, the
    Library has been engaged in an effort to build and move
    collections to storage modules at Fort Meade in the State of
    Maryland.
        Could you speak to the progress of that effort and next
    steps, especially at storage modules six and seven, I believe
    they are--it is supposed to be completed in the coming years?
        Dr. Hayden. And that really speaks to what is going on with
    the need to have a hybrid approach. We will still be
    collecting. So six and seven, in fact, module six is about, I
    believe, and we will--I will make sure that we get this for the
    record, filling up, and the plans, and we are working closely
    and we have worked closely with the Architect of the Capitol on
    the design for module eight, and anticipating that there will
    ultimately be at least nine of those storage units.
            Ft. Meade Module Update--As of June 2024, Ft. Meade
            Module 6 is filled to 70 percent capacity. At its
            current fill rate Module 6 will reach full capacity by
            June 2025 just more than 1 year before Module 7 will
            become available for collection storage. The Library of
            Congress is currently establishing plans to utilize
            space at the Cabin Branch facility to bridge the gap
            between Module 6 and Module 7.
        And as the design over the years has changed from a single
    structure to now double-sided, and so there have been advances
    in that, but that plan is in place and moving along on
    schedule.
        Senator Van Hollen. Terrific. I know the committee, the
    subcommittee supports that effort.
        Dr. DiPietro, again, thank you for your service. And as you
    know, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol has had a
    challenging few years, particularly difficult last year after
    the previous Architect was removed, and the leadership has had
    to be rebuilt without a permanent Architect yet in place.
        I know you joined the team in 2023, and have just been in
    the role of acting secretary for a few months, but can you
    speak to your efforts to restore trust in the leadership and
    morale among the 2,400 AOC employees?
        Mr. DiPietro. Certainly. Thank you for that question. So
    over the last year, not just myself, but our entire leadership
    team, we have been working to bring in new folks, our Agency's
    C-suite, which is kind of like our Board for the Agency, we
    have hired a new chief of staff, we hired a new chief financial
    officer, a new chief security officer, we just recently on-
    boarded a new chief administrative officer.
        So we have a lot of new folks that are on that C-suite, and
    everybody is committed to working with our partners, and doing
    the best that we can to support the employees, the Architect of
    the Capitol. The one thing I can tell you that, you know,
    having been here just over a year, is we have got excellent
    employees, really great folks who are frontline, who do the job
    of maintaining our buildings every day. I am very proud to be
    able to work with them. And you know, we are looking to fully
    support them and do the best we can to advance their careers.
        Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. And thank you for all your
    efforts to restore confidence. And thank you for your good
    words about your team. Take care. Thank you.
        Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen.
        On behalf of Senator Fischer and myself, thank you for your
    excellent testimony. We look forward to working with you. We
    understand this is a challenging time for budgets, but we also
    understand how essential, critical, and important your work is,
    both as the Library of Congress and as the Architect of the
    Capitol.
        With that, Senator Fischer.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you very much.

                         ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

        [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but
    were submitted to the agencies for response subsequent to the
    hearing:]
      Questions Submitted to Library of Congress and the Architect of the
                                    Capitol
                    Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed
                      impact of flat budget in fiscal 2025
        Question. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 resulted in strict
    levels for appropriations in Fiscal Year 2024 and has similarly strict
    levels for Fiscal Year 2025. As a result, the Committee will have to
    make tough decisions regarding the allocation of resources in the
    upcoming year. It will then be up to each legislative branch agency to
    utilize those resources to meet their respective missions, while
    addressing the needs of their workforce.
        Please describe the impacts to your agency if the Fiscal Year 2025
    allocation requires your agency's budget to remain at the Fiscal Year
    2024 level. In particular, please describe the specific impacts the
    allocation would have on your personnel as well as your ability to meet
    the agency's short and long-term goals.

        Answer. The Library's fiscal 2025 budget submission requested an
    increase of $46 million over the fiscal 2024 funding levels. The
    Library's request includes $29.8 million in mandatory pay-related
    costs, $9.2 million in non-pay price level increases, and $11.3 million
    for programmatic increases. Operating at the fiscal 2024 level in
    fiscal 2025 will in effect result in a reduction of $39 million
    requested for mandatory pay-related costs and non-pay inflationary
    increases. This is an effective cut of 4.2% to the Library's funding in
    order to maintain fiscal 2024 level of service.
        The fiscal 2025 request represents the most modest increase put
    forward in the current Librarian's tenure, with the majority of the
    increase consisting of mandatory pay and inflationary non-pay items.
    Operating at the fiscal 2024 funded level will disrupt and diminish the
    execution of the Library's long-term strategy of modernizing and
    optimizing systems, processes, and services to Congress outlined in the
    Library's Fiscal 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, ``A Library for All.''
        A flat budget, with an effective reduction of $29.8 million
    (equivalent to approximately 172 FTE) requested for mandatory pay in
    fiscal 2025, will affect the Library's workforce and its services in
    ways that risk diminishing the Library's all-important service to the
    Congress and the American people.
        With approximately 64 percent of the Library's budget supporting
    staff pay, and Congressional Research Service (CRS) pay representing
    close to 90 percent of their budget, the Library has limited options
    for absorbing additional funding cuts from its non-pay accounts. The
    Library's first priority will be to protect its experienced workforce
    base by slowing or freezing hiring and not backfilling all but the most
    critical positions. Although constantly advancing technology allows the
    Library and its staff to operate more efficiently, it cannot replace
    key capabilities that directly serve the Congress and the American
    people, for example CRS analysts, librarians with specialized
    expertise, Copyright attorneys, IT project managers, and the staff who
    lead constituent tours of the Jefferson Building. Maintaining critical
    staff skills is key to executing the Library's mission and strategic
    goals to expand access, enhance services, strengthen capacity, and
    foster innovation.
        Degradation of Library services affects not only fiscal 2025, but
    also diminishes future support and services inherent in the skillsets
    of tenured staff and new specialized staff. The limitation on hiring
    and challenges in retention will directly affect timeliness of service
    to the Congress and the American people.

      --Staff would lack mentors, leading to lost institutional knowledge
            and affecting transfer of skills and knowledge;
      --Fewer preservation actions would threaten the safety of the most
            valuable collections;
      --Exhibitions and events would be delayed or curtailed;
      --Copyright registration processing would not be able to keep up with
            demand;
      --CRS' productivity and work products would significantly be
            impacted; and
      --Services of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print
            Disabled (NLS), including book and magazine production and
            distribution, braille digitization, and support for network
            Libraries, would be affected.

        Ultimately, absorbing the fiscal 2025 pay increases will result in
    fewer FTE and, with fewer people, the Library will lose capacity for
    service, resulting in lower levels of support. The non-pay portion of
    the Library's budget will be forced to absorb $9.2 million in
    inflationary price level increases. There is little room for cutting
    programs or shifting costs since operations are interlinked throughout
    the Library, meaning that progress made in recent years will be
    diminished.
        Over the last several years the Congress has been highly supportive
    of the Library's IT modernization and optimization plans, funding
    multiple initiatives to replace a multitude of legacy systems. To
    prevent more drastic measures on the personnel side, absorbing
    inflationary costs would have also have an impact on these programs.
    The development plans for these programs in fiscal 2025 and 2026 would
    be revised as necessary to operate within the fiscal constraints, not
    stopping but slowing development and implementation. Progress on recent
    initiatives such as the Library's Digital Library Services platform,
    continuous development for Congress.gov, and enhancing CRS's ability to
    perform quantitative analysis of both research and operational ``big
    data'' for congressional clients would be reduced. Progress on other
    recent initiatives such as continuous development for Copyright's
    Enterprise Copyright System (ECS), enterprise architecture and upgrades
    to NLS systems and services to patrons will also be delayed.
        The Library will also not be able to start the new programmatic
    initiatives requested in the fiscal 2025 budget. These five initiatives
    have key places in the Library's strategy--scaling up capacity,
    modernizing and optimizing our processes and systems to manage the
    explosive growth in digital collections, enhancing the visitor
    experience with the Library, maintaining hard-to-fill contracting
    capacity, enhancing CRS's quantitative analysis and AI capabilities,
    and expanding the Digital Accessibility Program. Most importantly, not
    receiving funding for the Digital Collections Processing initiative
    will impact the Library's ability to provide connectivity and capacity
    to directly support the dramatic growth in digital format acquisitions
    and the e-preferred strategy.
        Additionally, other non-pay areas of support will be affected,
    decreasing support to the Congress and service to the American people.
    Examples of impacted programs and services include, but are not limited
    to:

      --Public outreach and services--reading room hours, Library events
            and signature programs such as the National Book Festival and
            Congressional Dialogues.
      --Financial management capabilities and support for cross-serviced
            Legislative Branch Agencies.
      --Custodial services and reduced cleanliness levels in all areas of
            the Library's campus.

        Additionally, the Library will monitor the congressional actions
    for fiscal 2025 appropriations as they relate to the Financial
    Responsibility Act. Possible sequestration and further reductions would
    lead to more severe reduction strategies across all Library programs.

                              SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

        Senator Reed. I will adjourn the hearing.
        [Whereupon, at 3:21 p.m., Wednesday, May 15, the
    subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
    the Chair.]

             LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025

                                  ----------

                            WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024

                                           U.S. Senate,
               Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                        Washington, DC.

        The subcommittee met at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-124, Dirksen
    Senate Office Building, Hon. Jack Reed (Chairman), presiding.
        Present: Senators Reed, Murphy, Van Hollen, and Fischer.

      SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED STATES SENATE

                          UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE

                     OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JACK REED

        Senator Reed. Good afternoon. The Subcommittee will come to
    order.
        First, Chief Manger, I understand the Department is today
    grieving the passing of one of its officers, a 21-year Veteran
    of the Force. I simply want to express my gratitude and my
    sympathies to the Officer's family, and to the Department for
    your loss.
        Mr. Manger. Thank you, Senator.
        Senator Reed. I would like to welcome everyone, to the last
    of our fiscal year 2025 budget hearings for the Legislative
    Branch Appropriations Subcommittee.
        Today, we have with us the Senate Sergeant at Arms, Ms.
    Karen Gibson; and the Chief of the United States Capitol
    Police, Chief J. Thomas Manger. I would like to thank you for
    joining us here today to testify on your Agencies' fiscal year
    2025 budget request. And I ask unanimous consent that the
    witnesses' written testimony be placed in the hearing record.
        Hearing no objection; so ordered.
        Let me begin by again thanking the women and men of your
    agencies for the work that they do every day to facilitate the
    work of the Senate. It is because of their work that the Senate
    is able to perform its constitutional responsibilities on
    behalf of the American people.
        As I said in our two previous hearings, the Legislative
    Branch Agencies have submitted fiscal year 2025 budget requests
    that account for a $544 million increase over the fiscal year
    2024 Legislative Branch enacted appropriations, while we do not
    yet have subcommittee allocations, the Fiscal Responsibility
    Act of 2023 enacted strict levels for appropriations again in
    fiscal year 2025. As such, we will be making very difficult
    decisions for the allocation of resources provided to the
    Legislative Branch in fiscal year 2025.
        It will then fall upon the heads of each Legislative Branch
    Agency to utilize those resources to meet their respective
    missions while addressing the needs of their workforce. This
    will not be an easy fiscal year, but I am confident that the
    Legislative Branch can meet this challenge.
        For fiscal year 2025, the Sergeant at Arms is requesting
    $345 million in appropriated funds, which is an increase of $34
    million over the fiscal year 2024 enacted level. I would like
    to thank General Gibson and her team for finding additional
    efficiencies within the Agency's budget request, which has
    allowed for reduced funding request.
        The requested increases provide funding for the annual cost
    of living adjustment, related cost, and locality pay, 17 new
    positions to support various Sergeant at Arms organizational
    elements, and salary adjustments for onboard personnel.
    Further, it provides funding for the Stars of Valor Fellowship
    Program.
        The increase also provides for enhanced security, the
    continued modernization efforts within the organization,
    support for the Residential Security System Program, and State
    Office Security, and the continuation of cybersecurity
    enhancements.
        General Gibson, thank you again for all that you and your
    team do to support the Senate community.
        Today we will also be reviewing the United States Capitol
    Police's fiscal year 2025 budget request. Again, I would like
    to thank you, Chief Manger, and your team for all that you do
    to ensure the safety of the Capitol. It is a remarkable task,
    and you and your colleagues do it extremely well.
        Included in this year's Department's budget request is a
    request for an appropriation of $906 million for the United
    States Capitol Police, which is an increase of $114.8 million
    from the fiscal year 2024 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 2024, increased over time for core
    mission and the upcoming Presidential Inauguration, funding for
    a new sworn and civilian set of positions, and the cost of
    living increase, and other miscellaneous salary payments.
        The requested increase also provides for increased
    protective services support, and protective intelligence
    capabilities, contract to support for information technology
    activities to include cybersecurity efforts, funding to support
    the continuation of the Contracted Security Guard Program,
    technical and physical security equipment lifestyle replacement
    and upgrades, operational training programs, officer wellness
    initiatives, and various other non-personnel related costs.
        The Department's request also supports four additional
    positions within the U.S. Capitol Police Office of Inspector
    General to address its expanding role, as well as a small
    increase in general expenses to maintain and enhance its
    operational capacity.
        As we continue to grow the Department, it is important for
    us to also grow the capabilities of the Inspector General in
    order to keep pace with its oversight responsibilities.
        Additionally, the Department's budget request includes $49
    million to support various continually--continuity of
    operations and continuity of government preparedness efforts.
        I look forward to hearing from both of our witnesses in
    today's hearing.
        Today, we will also be joined by Senator Murray, the Chair
    of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
        And now, I will turn to the Ranking Member, and my
    colleague, Senator Fischer, for any remarks she might have.

                    OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DEB FISCHER

        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you,
    General Gibson and Chief Manger, for being with us this
    afternoon to discuss the fiscal year 2025 budget requests for
    your agencies.
        Before I begin, I also want to express my sincere
    condolences to the family and to the Department, Chief Manger.
    You have our support during this difficult time.
        I want to thank the men and women of the U.S. Capitol
    Police and the Senate Sergeant at Arms for all the work they do
    to keep Congress, the Capitol Campus, and State offices safe
    and secure.
        In recent years, the threat environment facing the
    Legislative Branch has increased significantly. I appreciate
    the work of both agencies to meet this evolving mission and
    security environment.
        As Chairman Reed has mentioned, we face a difficult fiscal
    year ahead. While we will do all we can to support your
    agencies and their mission requirements, it is important that
    every Legislative Branch Agency be judicious stewards of their
    resources and achieve cost savings where possible.
        General Gibson, for fiscal year 2025, the SAA seeks a
    roughly 12 percent increase above last year's enacted level,
    the request includes funding for physical and cybersecurity
    initiatives and additional FTEs to support operations across
    the Agency. In your testimony, I hope to hear how the SAA is
    implementing the significant resources provided in fiscal year
    2024, including hiring for the new personnel positions that
    were funded. Additionally, I look forward to hearing how the
    fiscal year 2025 request will meet the security needs of the
    Senate.
        Chief Manger, the Department is requesting $906 million, an
    increase of 14.5 percent, above the fiscal year 2024 enacted
    level. The request includes new funding for congressional
    continuity of operations and an additional 118 funded FTE. I
    look forward to learning more about how the Department's fiscal
    year 2025 request plans to meet the increasing threat climate
    facing Congress.
        In this difficult fiscal environment, we will carefully
    consider the needs of all our security related agencies and
    ensure their coordination and cooperation.
        I thank our witnesses again for being here today, and I
    look forward to your testimony.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Senator Fischer.
        And now I will ask our witnesses, beginning with General
    Gibson, to give a brief opening statement, of approximately 5
    minutes, to allow adequate time for questioning. Of course, the
    written testimony has already been made part of the record.
        General Gibson, you are recognized.
                                    ------

      SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED STATES SENATE

    STATEMENT OF HONORABLE KAREN H. GIBSON, SERGEANT AT
                ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED
                STATES SENATE
        General Gibson. Thank you, Senator. Chairman Reed, Ranking
    Member Fischer, and Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate
    the opportunity to testify in support of the Sergeant at Arms'
    fiscal year 2025 budget request.I want to thank the
    subcommittees for supporting our initiatives, which have
    allowed us to improve security, modernize operations, and
    further enhance Senate services.
        Senate security is among my foremost responsibilities. In
    the wake of numerous disruptive demonstrations both on and off
    Campus, we have conducted extensive proactive outreach and
    education to Senate and committee offices. We provide security
    awareness briefings, advise on best practices for event
    planning, arrange security escorts, and streamline coordination
    to address unwanted visitors and disruptive groups.
        We coordinate with the Capitol Police to request local law
    enforcement support for off-Campus events and to provide
    security assessments and improvements at members' homes.
    Regarding State office security, I appreciate the enactment of
    Senate Bill 3222, which exempts certain security-related square
    footage and costs from State Office allowances.
        I am grateful to Senator Klobuchar, to you, Senator
    Fischer, and to the entire Senate for this bill. Senators no
    longer have to choose between safety needs, like secure
    reception areas, and operational requirements, such as space
    for caseworkers. We have also expanded a program with the
    Federal Protective Service that allows Federal security
    officers at commercial State offices, if requested. And our
    cabinet shop has designed an attractive, cost-effective,
    lockable cabinet to safely store State office IT and security
    equipment.
        We also work tirelessly to protect the Senate from
    increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, collaborating with
    the Capitol Police, the FBI, and others to identify, defend
    against, and mitigate critical cyber incidents.
        Last year, we conducted the Senate's most comprehensive
    cybersecurity assessment ever, and its results validated the
    success of our efforts.
        The Sergeant at Arms' mission extends beyond security as we
    work to modernize services for the Senate community through
    efforts like the Digital Media Hub, which allows users to
    search and store official photos and order customizable prints
    all in one place, and a new Learning Center with online
    training tools and course registration and tracking.
        Our recording studio has fully implemented closed
    captioning for committee broadcasts and will soon roll out a
    program to provide QR codes to attendees at hearings so they
    can monitor a live stream of the hearing with closed captioning
    via smartphone. We plan to build an app for Senate staff to
    access Employee Assistance Program resources on the go and will
    improve the flag ordering process through an online storefront
    and flag satellite office in Hart.
        We will also modify the Senate Employment Bulletin so that
    job seekers can apply for positions through an automated
    interface that allows offices to search the applicant pool with
    modern tools.
        For fiscal year 2025, we request $345 million and 1,054
    positions to support senators, their staff, and constituents:
    ``This is a decrease from our initial request and takes our
    budget request down from more than 12 percent to about 11
    percent.''
        We seek $5 million in no-year funding to continue the
    hearing room renovations that replace aging audiovisual
    equipment, $2.5 million for the Senate Residential Security
    System Program, and $6.3 million for the Stars of Valor
    Fellowships Program, which will fund fellowships in Senate
    offices across the country for wounded or disabled veterans and
    Gold Star family members.
        Other specific requests include a $4 million increase for
    cybersecurity tools and contracts, $4.3 million for a human
    capital management system to automate workforce management
    processes, $1.5 million for the Help Desk IT contract, and $1.3
    million to expand IT enterprise services.
        To ensure commonly used applications and services are
    backed up and archived, we request $1 million to host and
    support them on reliant infrastructure with secure backup. Due
    to increasing prices for IT equipment and licenses, we also
    request $775,000 for the Economic Allocation Fund. On a similar
    note, we seek a $3 million increase to address rising Federal
    rent and construction costs, to harden State office reception
    areas and to improve State office readiness. We seek $506,000
    for an electronic gallery pass project, and $600,000 to support
    the 60th Presidential Inauguration.
        Of the 17 additional positions requested, four support
    critical functions for the Chief Information Officer and two
    support implementation of a Senate Intern Resource Office.
    Other FTEs address security, operations, and human capital
    shortfalls.
        I remain deeply committed to supporting the needs of the
    Senate, as does my entire team. We are grateful to this
    committee for its support, and I am thankful for the dedicated
    staff of the Sergeant at Arms and for ongoing collaboration
    with partners to keep the Senate secure and functioning
    efficiently.
        I thank you for the opportunity to testify on our fiscal
    year 2025 budget request and look forward to your questions.
        [The statement follows:]
     Prepared Statement of the Honorable Karen H. Gibson, Sergeant at Arms
                          and Doorkeeper of the Senate
        Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and members of the
    subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of the
    Sergeant at Arms' Fiscal Year 2025 budget request.
        I want to thank the subcommittee for supporting our initiatives,
    which have allowed us to improve security, modernize operations and
    further enhance the services we provide to the Senate community.
        Senate security is among my most important responsibilities. In the
    wake of increasing confrontations and demonstrations on and off-campus,
    our offices of Member Outreach and Security Coordination and Security
    Planning and Police Coordination have conducted extensive proactive
    outreach and education to Senate and committee offices, providing
    security awareness briefings for Senators and staff, advising on best
    practices for event planning, arranging security escorts during
    Members' domestic travel, coordinating with the Capitol Police to
    request local law enforcement support for events off Capitol grounds,
    streamlining coordination to address unwanted visitors or disruptive
    demonstration groups, and coordinating with the Capitol Police to
    conduct residential security assessments. In 2023, more than 4,200
    requests for law enforcement assistance were addressed.
        The Risk and Threat Management office works closely with the
    Capitol Police's Threat Analysis Section to identify and track hundreds
    of potential threats to Senators and pass timely information about
    potentially destabilizing events near Senate offices or near Senators'
    homes. We look forward to an even closer partnership once the Capitol
    Police stand up their Protective Intelligence Operations Center.
        We are completing our second year of the Residential Security
    Support Program for home security improvements based on assessments
    conducted by the Capitol Police. The program covers the cost of
    equipment, installation, and monitoring services, and we are working
    with offices and the Capitol Police to provide additional security
    assessments at Members' homes. SAA staff have also worked with the
    Committee on Rules and Administration, the Architect of the Capitol
    (AOC), and the Capitol Police to install Proximity Card Readers in
    seven Senate personal offices, five committee offices, and two support
    offices. Additional requests are pending installation or design.
        In response to lessons learned, the Senate Operations Center has
    streamlined and refined communication processes in conjunction with the
    Capitol Police to ensure rapid dissemination of critical information
    about emergencies and campus access issues, reducing the time that
    Members and staff must wait for instructions on actions to take in an
    emergency.
        One of the most complicated software builds completed this Congress
    was the creation of an Emergency Preparedness (EP) Mobile Application
    for the entire Senate. This application makes emergency preparedness
    information available room by room, allowing a Senate staffer to find
    information about evacuation, sheltering in place, or internal
    relocation regardless of their location, whether in a committee space,
    an office, the cafeteria, or the Senate-side of the Capitol. This app
    and all its information remain available even if the network is down.
    This significant upgrade to the emergency preparedness tools in the
    Senate was made possible through collaboration between the Chief
    Information Officer organization and Office of Emergency Preparedness.
        The Office of Emergency Preparedness also provides training to
    prepare Members and staff for emergencies. Last year, the Office
    conducted almost 250 training sessions for 2,900 staff. They have
    innovated their offerings to provide interactive courses on Webster,
    allowing Senate staff to refresh their knowledge at any time. The
    Office also provides more detailed training for the Senate's 287 Office
    Emergency Coordinators and worked with them to update the Emergency
    Action Plans of 148 offices and 79 Continuity of Operation Plans. With
    the security of the entire Senate community in mind, the Office also
    trained over 40 members of the credentialed press on Capitol Hill
    emergency procedures and the use of escape hoods.
        To improve security in over 420 state offices, the State Office
    Operations team worked with the Capitol Police and local law
    enforcement to provide security training at 43 Senators' state offices.
    Working closely with the Federal Protective Service (FPS), to date they
    have facilitated 89 state office facility security assessments and
    enrolled 37 Senators in a new program that allows them to request FPS
    Protective Security Officers at commercial state offices, a service
    previously only available in Federal buildings.
        State Office Operations also provided initial physical security
    enhancements and existing system upgrades for 167 offices and conducted
    more than 500 service calls to maintain, repair, test, and inspect
    state office physical security systems. At this time, 99% of state
    offices have adopted some level of SAA-recommended and funded security
    enhancements.
        A significant uptick in disruptive demonstrations prompted
    development of a tip sheet outlining best practices for state offices.
    Utilizing the new State Office Demonstration Room, State Office
    Operations provided security training and consultations to more than
    500 staff representing 83 Senators over the last year. We continue the
    rollout of a state office alert and notification service to monitor,
    evaluate, and distribute customized emergency notifications directly to
    Senators and staff across the country, informing Senate users over
    125,000 times of severe weather incidents, civil unrest, and major
    crime events near Senate offices.
        Finally, the State Office Operations team, the SAA Cabinet Shop,
    and the Chief Information Officer collaborated to create a lockable IT
    cabinet for safely storing state office IT and security equipment.
    These attractive cabinets improve office operations and aesthetics by
    masking noise and neatly securing Senate network equipment and wiring.
    The previous alternative to this cabinet cost upwards of $14,000 and
    took almost six weeks to construct. We built the new IT Security
    Cabinet in house and installed the first one in only four days!
        To address persistent and increasingly significant cyber threats,
    our Chief Information Officer blocks, defends, and mitigates critical
    cyber events 24 hours a day. We have worked closely with the Capitol
    Police, the FBI, and other organizations in the cyber defense community
    to ensure the Senate receives early warning of penetration attempts,
    new indicators of compromise, and evolving adversary tactics. To
    improve the user experience while prioritizing security, in late 2025
    we will move to a modern and centralized identity management system
    with single sign on to the network. Finally, in 2023, we successfully
    conducted the Senate's most comprehensive cybersecurity assessment
    ever, validating the success of our collective efforts. We plan to
    continue these assessments annually.
        Of course, we also monitor traditional areas of risk. Senate Post
    Office staff screen mail for over 180 locations within the Capitol
    complex and last year safely processed and delivered more than 4.4
    million incoming mail items while flagging nearly 800 suspicious
    mailings.
        The SAA mission extends beyond security to include administrative
    and logistical support to the Senate community. I am proud of our
    efforts to improve and modernize those services as well.
        One of the Chief Information Officer's most significant innovation
    projects is to migrate multiple stand-alone Senate services from old,
    legacy platforms to modern, integrated hubs. The first phase of this
    project migrates several services to ServiceNow, a hub for requesting
    IT support, tracking Help Desk tickets, submitting customer
    satisfaction surveys, and sharing IT knowledge base articles. We plan
    to expand ServiceNow by migrating three additional legacy systems to
    the hub: CAPFOR, which allows Members and staff to order items and
    services for their Capitol offices; TranSAAct, which allows offices to
    request many Sergeant at Arms services, review bills, link to
    frequently used websites, and log into other Senate applications
    without re-entering credentials; and Asset Manager, the Senate
    inventory system. When complete, this migration will eliminate a number
    of manual workflows, streamline asset management, and enable data-
    driven decisions.
        The Senate Recording Studio has implemented closed captioning for
    all D.C.-based committee broadcasts and for some field hearings,
    enhancing accessibility by providing deaf and hard-of-hearing
    individuals with access to committee content. The Recording Studio also
    introduced the unofficial vote count tally displayed on the Senate
    floor channel, modernizing the broadcast of Senate proceedings. These
    improvements were made at the same time the studio broadcast more than
    1,100 hours of Senate floor coverage and 613 hearings, while producing
    481 TV studio shows and 755 radio shows. The Audio-Visual team also
    assisted with 801 events, and the Video Post-Production Department
    fulfilled 447 work requests, including 608 hours of editing.
        In response to customer requests, Senate Photographic Services
    created a new photo browser, the Digital Media Hub, which provides a
    central location for offices' visual and media assets, including
    photos, videos, graphics, and audio files. It includes more than 1.4
    million images and videos and allows users to search through photos,
    order customizable prints, and upload and store all office photography
    in one place. Importantly, the Hub is compliant with Senate Archival
    and National Archiving best practices. Senate Photographic Services
    staff also covered 3,400 assignments, photographing more than 70,000
    images and producing nearly 34,000 photo prints, a 35% increase over
    2022.
        The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides some of the SAA's
    most popular services. In 2023, almost 5,600 employees attended EAP
    training or participated in wellbeing activities, and more than 3,500
    employees accessed resources for personalized information and referrals
    addressing childcare, parenting, adult care, aging, education, legal
    concerns, or financial issues. The EAP also offers LifeCare, which
    helps Senate staff find everything from childcare services to
    specialized kits for college-bound children, and from licensed care
    options for elderly parents to home repair services. EAP has hired an
    additional counselor to help address the growing demand for staff
    resilience support.
        The Joint Office of Training and Development rolled out a Learning
    Center hub that allows staff to register for all classes offered in the
    Senate and access online training tools. The Learning Center also
    allows managers to assign specific training to staff members and ensure
    that Senate-required anti-harassment, cybersecurity, and ethics
    training is completed.
        Printing, Graphics and Direct Mail (PGDM) is working with Senate
    office customers to transition to a digital editing tool, PageProof,
    which will streamline the editing process. PGDM is also working to
    enhance the flag ordering process for Senate offices and constituents
    through the Direct XPress storefront and a flag satellite office in
    Hart. Ninety offices currently utilize Direct Xpress, placing more than
    5,300 online flag orders through the system.
        The Senate Employment Office improved its services to Senate
    offices and job seekers with a new website, virtual information
    sessions, online resources, and an updated resume bank, which has grown
    from 1,100 registrants in 2020 to 5,500 in 2023. We will soon roll out
    an enhancement to the Job Advertisements in the Senate Employment
    Bulletin, which will provide unique job links for new job ads. Job
    seekers will be able to apply for positions in Senate offices through
    an automated collection process, and office staff will be able to
    search the applicant pool with a modern set of tools. The Senate
    Employment Bulletin will have a modern and dynamic look, and job
    seekers will be able to filter search criteria and set up email job
    alerts.
        This year, the SAA established a new office for Program Management
    and Congressional Transition. The office is preparing for transition to
    the 119th Congress by updating transition materials for incoming
    Senators. We plan for early and consistent consultation with incoming
    and departing Senators, the Secretary of the Senate, the AOC, the
    Government Printing Office, and the General Services Administration to
    ensure a smooth transition for all parties.
        We are also coordinating with partners across the Capitol,
    including the Secretary of the Senate, Capitol Police, and AOC, on our
    move out of the Postal Square Building and with the AOC and Senate
    Superintendent's office as we prepare to fully renovate Webster Hall in
    a way that does not to interrupt services to the Page program.
        Our Chief Financial Officer is overseeing implementation of the
    OneStream budget formulation application, which will be used to
    complete our annual budget and other critical business functions such
    as comprehensive financial reporting, salary forecasts, and expenditure
    tracking.
        Our Financial Management team is also working closely with the
    Senate Financial Systems Program Office on an ``eProcurement'' project
    to migrate procurement related accounting functions from a custom
    application within the Financial Management Information System to an
    off-the-shelf software application within PeopleSoft.
        Taken together, these two projects--one for budgeting and one for
    contract accounting--will enable the Senate PeopleSoft General Ledger
    to be a single source of entry ensuring data integrity and accurate
    reporting. This joint project between the Office of the Secretary and
    the Office of the Sergeant at Arms is an example of how well our two
    offices collaborate. Many thanks to Secretary Ann Berry and Mr. Dan
    Rubenstein with the Financial Systems Program Office for the
    collaboration that made this innovation possible.
        We continue replacing aging audiovisual equipment and systems in
    Senate Hearing Rooms and are working with this Committee, the Committee
    on Rules and Administration, and the AOC to avoid equipment failure. We
    installed a self-service Postal kiosk in the Dirksen basement and
    expanded notary services to the Senate community. The Passport Office
    brought back ``Passport Day on the Hill'' and is currently hosting its
    second Global Entry/TSA PreCheck event on the Senate side of the
    Capitol.
        These are not the only in-person activities to return to the Senate
    campus. We hosted representatives from 24 emergency response, emergency
    management, and related organizations in our National Preparedness
    Month Fair this year. In addition, our Wellness Fair saw record
    attendance, and 36 offices participated in the 2024 State Office
    Conference.
        I am proud of our contributions to the U.S. Senate, many of which
    would not be possible without collaboration with partners, including
    the Secretary of the Senate, the AOC, Capitol Police, the Federal
    Protective Service, the General Services Administration, the Government
    Printing Office, our counterparts in the House of Representatives,
    local law enforcement agencies across the country, the Senate Financial
    System Program Office, and the Superintendent of the Senate. We have
    worked together to improve security and services for the Senate, and I
    look forward to continuing that work in the coming year.
        For FY25, we request $345,006,000 and 1,054 Full Time Equivalent
    (FTE) positions. This increase of $34,189,000 and 17 positions includes
    $199,544,000 in our five-year expense account, $131,685,000 in our
    salary account, and $7,500,000 in our no-year accounts to renovate
    hearing rooms and for the Senate Residential Security System Program,
    as well as $6,277,000 in no-year funding to support the Stars of Valor
    Fellowships Program.
        Senate resolutions adopted in the 117th Congress created the
    fellowship programs for wounded or disabled veterans and Gold Star
    family members, and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
    finalized regulations for the program in March of this year. The
    program will provide 24-month, full-time fellowships in Senate offices
    across the country, with salary and benefits paid by the Sergeant at
    Arms. The fellowships are expected to provide first-hand experience for
    Gold Star family members and wounded or disabled veterans while
    allowing Senate offices to benefit from the fellows' expertise and
    resilience.
        Out of the 17 additional positions we are requesting, four FTEs
    will support critical functions for the Chief Information Officer. Two
    positions will support the implementation of a Senate Intern Resource
    Office to share best practices for intern hiring, assist interns
    regarding their work environment, and promote awareness of internship
    opportunities in historically underrepresented communities. The
    remaining FTEs address additional needs in Capitol Operations, the
    Employee Assistance Program, Human Resources, Support Operations, the
    Executive Office, and the Office of Security, Emergency Preparedness
    and Continuity.
        Our specific requests include a $4,000,000 increase for
    cybersecurity. This money will go toward existing Governance, Risk and
    Compliance contracts, security operations, and audit contracts to fully
    implement a Risk Management Program. It will also fund cybersecurity
    tools to protect our supply chain, replace end-of-life-hardware, and
    cover recurring costs associated with implementing Zero Trust
    cybersecurity initiatives.
        The SAA requests $4,300,000 to purchase a Human Capital Management
    System that will streamline operations and automate business processes
    associated with workforce management. With over 1,000 employees to
    support, we have outgrown our piecemeal legacy systems and manual
    processes, which are both slow and prone to error, and must replace
    them with a modern system that integrates scheduling, time, attendance,
    leave tracking, payroll, overtime, and compliance.
        Growing demands for data warehousing, long-term data retention, and
    file size growth (e.g., from digital media and database files) directly
    impacts storage capacity. Accounting for additional resources will be
    essential to meet the Senate's on-demand data storage needs.
    Accordingly, we request $1,265,000 to support the increased growth of
    enterprise services offered to the Senate and increased resiliency and
    high availability within our secondary data center.
        The widespread adoption of Microsoft 365 services, including Teams,
    OneDrive, and SharePoint Online, has increased the need for backup,
    archiving and export capabilities for these services when Senators
    depart. We must ensure these critical services are hosted on redundant
    and supported infrastructure with secure backup and request an
    additional $1,051,000 to do so.
        Our largest contract is for Senate IT support. With the projected
    award of a new contract for the Senate Help Desk IT support, we request
    $1,500,000, to allow for a three-month transition period to ensure
    there is no impact on service to Senate offices.
        We also request $775,000 for the Economic Allocation Fund that
    supports software and hardware purchases by Senate offices and
    committees. This reflects higher prices for IT equipment and licenses
    requested by Senate offices.
        We seek a $3,077,000 increase for State offices to address rising
    Federal rent and construction costs, to harden secure reception areas,
    and to improve state office readiness. A $65,000 increase for Capitol
    Operations will allow us to design and build additional custom IT
    cabinets for state offices to safely house and secure Senate IT
    equipment.
        Our recent migration to a standardized phone system across all
    state offices and DC requires a more robust Wide Area Network
    Maintenance Contract, so we request $218,000 to support Internet
    services and secure connections between the DC campus and all state
    offices.
        In FY25, we request $506,000 for an e-Gallery pass project, which
    will allow Senators to provide constituents with electronic passes for
    the Senate Galleries or for events such as swearing-in day at the
    beginning of each Congress. The e-Gallery pass will enable
    communication in real-time to passholders. For example, if a Senator
    was taking photographs with a student group who also had e-Gallery
    passes, an email to all pass holders could direct them to a change in
    location for the photograph.
        We also request $600,000 as one-time funding to support the 60th
    Inaugural Ceremonies. Funding will cover technical equipment such as
    large-scale video boards and development of event management and
    credentialing software utilized by the Joint Congressional Committee on
    Inaugural Ceremonies.
        We seek $400,000 to build an EAP app to make employee assistance
    accessible on mobile phones, $120,000 for contract labor for surge
    support in the ID Office during the 119th Congressional ID renewal
    period and to replace end of lifecycle ID printers, a $100,000 increase
    to reimburse the Capitol Police for expenses incurred when they support
    Congressional delegations abroad, and $35,000 for a Page Program
    onboarding application to ensure efficient onboarding and to increase
    the security of sensitive personal information.
        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 and customer satisfaction.
        Thank you for your committed support of the Senate Sergeant at Arms
    and for the opportunity to discuss our accomplishments and our FY25
    budget request.

        Senator Reed. Thank you very much, General.
        Chief Manger, please.
                                    ------

                          UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE

    STATEMENT OF CHIEF J. THOMAS MANGER, CHIEF OF POLICE,
                UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
        Mr. Manger. Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Fischer, and
    Members of the subcommittee, thank you for your continued
    support of the women and men of the United States Capitol
    Police.
        The support of Congress has allowed the Department to
    invest in critical aspects of its operation and address mission
    requirements of an increasing threat environment. To support
    the mission, the Department has prioritized staffing and the
    expansion of training, policy, and administrative functions,
    all of which ensure that USCP is positioned to meet the demands
    of today and into the future.
        This support that Congress has allowed the Department has
    ensured that our mission requirements can be met. I can
    confidently tell you the Capitol is safer today than it was
    prior to January 6. Specifically, our 2025 budget reflects the
    Department's three key budget drivers, protecting the Capitol
    complex, countering the increasing threat environment to ensure
    member safety, and bolstering recruitment and retention.
        Protecting the Capitol from threats while at the same time
    protecting members, staff, and the public is a complex
    operation that requires planning, coordination, and investment
    in physical and technical security; thus, the 2025 budget
    request provides funding needed to invest in security planning,
    equipment, and technology upgrades.
        The Department's 2025 budget also includes a request for
    no-year funding to support the Congressional Continuity of
    Operations, or C-COOP. The major driver behind this request is
    the Department's need for an independent, in-house, and
    deployment capability to allow it to respond to changing
    environments. This funding will allow the Department to
    replicate the functions of the USCP Command Center at any C-
    COOP site to the fullest extent possible.
        Our country is in the midst of a historical rise in
    threats. Over the past year, we have seen a dangerous rise in
    acts of violence against Members of Congress, their families,
    and staff. This changing landscape requires that the Department
    take a proactive approach to threat investigations and member
    protection by enhancing its intelligence gathering and sharing
    capabilities.
        The number of increasingly--the number and increasing
    complexity of threats against members requires the acquisition
    of a cutting-edge technology that can help the Department
    navigate the increasingly sophisticated climate that the cyber
    universe provides to criminal actors.
        The fiscal year 2025 budget request is reflective of the
    Department's constant need to stay one step ahead of those who
    seek to do you harm. A significant focus for the Department
    centers on member safety in their home States and districts.
    With funding provided by Congress for the purpose of enhanced
    member protection, the Department created the Protective
    Intelligence Operations Center, or PIOC.
        The PIOC serves as the Department's fusion center by
    centralizing member protection functions to include
    investigation intake, air operations monitoring, the tracking
    of Congressional details, intelligence analysis, and the
    Department's newly created Residential Security Program. This
    new protection model will allow the Department to increase its
    ability to protect members, whether they are here in D.C. or
    away from the Capitol complex.
        Thus, our 2025 budget request also focuses heavily on
    increases to both sworn and civilian staffing levels. We are
    requesting $642 million to fund salaries and benefits for 2,247
    sworn employees and 583 civilian employees. This represents
    approximately 75 percent of the Department's total annual
    budget request.
        One of the most critical aspects in protecting the campus
    members, staff, and visitors is our ability to utilize mutual
    aid from our law enforcement partners in the National Capitol
    region and throughout the country, this aid acts as a force
    multiplier for large-scale events at the Capitol or to assist
    in the protection of members and their families when outside of
    the Capitol region.
        Increasing the Department's ranks continues to be a key
    priority. Given the increasing numbers of threats, it is not
    surprising that the bulk of our staffing efforts are focused on
    continued expansion of the Department's Protective Services
    Bureau, or PSB, which includes the Dignitary Protection
    Division. With the support of Congress, the Department's
    staffing levels have increased, but we still have more to do,
    especially as we work to right-size the organization to curb
    overtime.
        There is more work to do, and we must do it within the
    context of a strategic, holistic, and deliberate strategy.
    Long-term strategies take time to develop and implement in a
    coordinated fashion. Working in close collaboration with
    Congress, I am confident that our upward trajectory will
    continue.
        Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
    And I look forward to your questions.
        [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 (FY) 2025. The Department greatly appreciates the Subcommittee's
    continued 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. The support of Congress has allowed the Department to invest
    in critical aspects of its operation and address the mission
    requirements of an increasing threat environment. I can confidently
    tell you that the Capitol is safer today than it was prior to January
    6. We must continue this upward trajectory. To that end, the Department
    FY2025 budget request includes $906 million to fulfill our mission.
        The USCP mission is unlike any other. Protecting the Congress
    requires a 24/7, no-fail operation. Our teams work around the clock to
    staff doors, corridors, plazas, garages, and street corners; to protect
    Members of Congress in and outside of the Capitol Complex; to gather,
    analyze, and disseminate intelligence; to oversee physical and
    technical security measures; and to plan and respond to demonstrations.
    To support this mission the Department has prioritized staffing and the
    expansion of the training, policy, and administrative functions, all of
    which ensure the USCP is positioned to meet the demands of today and
    into the future.
        The Department continues to move forward and improve its
    operations. Earlier this year, the Department formally implemented the
    reorganization plan approved by the Committees. The new organizational
    structure is a reflection of the Department's growth and
    transformation, and is designed to enhance program oversight and
    operational efficiencies in response to recommendations provided by the
    Office of the Inspector General (OIG). For example, the Department's
    policy, audit, and training functions are now centralized under the new
    Assistant Chief of Police for Standards and Training Operations, and
    includes training liaisons that work in coordination with all
    Department components for maximum efficiency and accountability.
    Likewise, the reorganization established the Intelligence Services
    Bureau, fully centralizing functional oversight of intelligence
    analysis and streamlining information gathering and dissemination. The
    reorganization also established the Office of the Chief of Staff to
    manage the Howard C. Leibengood Center for Wellness, the Office of
    Accountability and Improvement, the Office of Equity and Inclusion, and
    the Public Information Office. In short, the reorganization
    demonstrates the Department's continuing efforts to enhance its
    operating posture in a post-January 6 environment.
        The Department's FY 2025 budget request reflects the need to keep
    pushing forward with our progress. It provides the resources needed to
    continue the modernization of internal operations and shift toward a
    more protective model of law enforcement. Specifically, the FY 2025
    budget request reflects the Department's three key budget drivers:

      1.  Protecting the Capitol Complex,
      2.  countering the increasing threat environment to ensure Member
            safety, and
      3.  bolstering recruitment and retention.

        I will focus on each of these key areas in turn.
                           capitol complex protection
        Protecting the Capitol Complex from threats while, at the same time
    protecting Members, staff, and the public, is a complex operation that
    requires planning, coordination, and investment in physical and
    technical security.
        The Department's operational planning and coordination efforts
    continue to improve substantially following January 6. The Department's
    multi-phased approach to the event planning processes and the
    establishment of the Incident Action Plans (IAPs) for all large and
    high-profile events, was a major paradigm shift. The IAPs serve as a
    comprehensive blueprint for intelligence, operational, command, and
    communication plans. The Department also engages in inter-agency
    coordination calls before all large and high-profile events, pre- and
    post-event officer briefings, after-action reports, and other measures
    designed to improve overall coordination and efficiency. The
    Department's FY 2025 budget request will allow us to continue
    improvements to these planning and command and control coordination
    functions.
        Ensuring the Department's physical and technical security
    capabilities are sufficiently staffed and state-of-the art is another
    key objective of the Department's efforts to increase the physical
    security of Members and the Capitol Complex. The Department must keep
    abreast of advancements in technology to ensure it can properly
    identify, monitor, and deter threats, whether they exist on the ground
    or in cyber space. Thus, the FY 2025 budget request provides the
    funding needed to invest in security planning, equipment, and
    technology upgrades.
        The Department's FY 2025 budget also includes a request for no-year
    funding to support the Congressional Continuity of Operations (C-COOP).
    The major driver behind this request is the Department's need for an
    independent, in-house response and deployment capability to allow it to
    respond to changing environments, and, ultimately, to support our
    mission to protect Members of Congress. This funding will allow the
    Department to replicate the functions of the USCP Command Center at any
    C-COOP site to the fullest extent possible, to include a mobile
    capability to support the immediate use of command and control and
    Leadership Coordination Center requirements for Congressional
    leadership. This requests also provides for Information Technology
    equipment to establish connectivity and radio communication
    capabilities, as well as physical security requirements including
    deployable screening equipment, mobile vehicle barriers, mobile kiosks,
    and deployable barriers. Through close coordination with the Capitol
    Police Board and other stakeholders, the Department's budget request
    reflects a multi-year strategy to develop and implement one aspect of
    this multi-faceted program. This request will ensure the appropriate
    flexibility to procure the equipment necessary to build out C-COOP
    initiatives and implement as each phase is ready.
                           increasing threat climate
        Our country is in the midst of an historical rise in threats that
    is flamed by the current climate of heated political rhetoric; it is
    both unprecedented and alarming. Over the past year, we have seen a
    dangerous rise in acts of violence against Members of Congress, their
    families, and staff. This changing landscape requires that the
    Department take a proactive approach to threats investigation and
    Member protection by enhancing its intelligence gathering and sharing
        capabilities. The number and increasing complexity of threats
    against Members requires the acquisition of cutting-edge technology
    that can help the Department navigate the increasingly sophisticated
    climate the cyber universe provides to criminal actors. We need to
    identify and deter threats before they materialize. The FY 2025 budget
    request is reflective of the Department's constant need to stay one
    step ahead of those who seek to do you harm.
        A significant focus for the Department centers on Member security
    in their home states and districts. With funding provided by Congress
    for the purpose of enhanced member protection, the Department created
    the Protective Intelligence Operations Center (PIOC). The PIOC serves
    as the Department's fusion center by centralizing Member protection
    functions, to include investigations intake, air operations monitoring,
    the tracking of Congressional details, intelligence analysis, and the
    Department's newly created residential security program. This new
    protection model allows the Department to increase its ability to
    protect Members whether they are in or away from the Capitol Complex.
                           recruitment and retention
        When I joined the Department nearly 3 years ago, I recognized that
    staffing was a critical vulnerability. In fact, the Department had been
    understaffed for years. It took January 6 and the pandemic to make that
    clear. I immediately took action to maximize our capacity to hire and
    train new recruits to build the Department's bench strength, and I am
    proud of what we have accomplished to date. The Department simply
    cannot operate without the women and men who protect, serve, and
    support our mission, day in and day out. They are tough, resilient, and
    committed. I cannot emphasize that enough.
        Thus, our FY 2025 budget request focuses heavily on increases to
    both sworn and civilian staffing levels. We are requesting $642 million
    to fund salaries and benefits for 2,247 sworn employees and 583
    civilian employees. This represents approximately 75 percent of the
    Department's total annual budget request and includes funding to cover
    items such as overtime costs and to support the Department's student
    loan repayment program.
        As we approach the next election, the Department's staffing posture
    could not be more critical. The demands on our staff have already
    accelerated as we prepare for upcoming conventions and Member
    campaigns, while simultaneously handling an increasing workload as we
    investigate and deter threats, plan and coordinate large-scale events,
    and deploy specialty units to manage demonstrations--all while
    protecting Congress, staff, and the public on a daily basis. But our
    efforts are paying off and we are on the right track. Indeed, the
    Inspector General noted in a recent report that the Department has
    improved internal and external coordination of major events with an
    enhanced emphasis on inter-agency crisis management.
        One of the most critical aspects in protecting the Campus, Members,
    staff and visitors is the ability to utilize mutual aid from our law
    enforcement partners in the National Capitol Region (NCR) and
    throughout the country. This aid acts as a force multiplier for large
    scale events at the Capitol, or to assist in the protection of Members
    and their families when outside of the NCR. I would like to thank this
    Committee and the Congress for providing the vital funding for the USCP
    to reimburse agencies who assist the Department by supplying mutual aid
    and look forward to working with the Committee to extend this critical
    tool.
        Increasing the Department's ranks continues to be a key priority,
    for both sworn and civilian personnel. The FY 2025 budget request
    emphasizes the centrality of this objective to the Department's overall
    strategic plan. Given the increasing number of threats, it is not
    surprising that the bulk of our staffing efforts are focused on the
    continued expansion of the Department's Protective Services Bureau, or
    PSB, which includes the Dignitary Protection Division. As threats to
    Members of Congress, their families, and staff continue to dominate our
    attention, the Department has been forced to shift resources to support
    threat-based protective details, Congressional events outside of the
    U.S. Capitol grounds, residential security assignments, and Member
    escort details. These efforts cannot succeed without increased funding.
        We have made--and continue to make--good use of the funding
    Congress has provided to us thus far. Specific, new initiatives to
    increase our PSB ranks include a program to recruit lateral, entry-
    level, and reemployed annuitants. The program provides a direct path
    for external applicants to fill Special Agent or Investigator
    positions. While the Department continues to hire from within, this new
    recruitment campaign has provided another mechanism to increase
    staffing levels across all operational areas by expanding the scope of
    our applicant pool. The Department's FY 2025 budget request reflects
    this new hiring strategy and includes funding to support an increase of
    126 Special Agents, half through these new, external hiring initiatives
    and half through internal selection.
        While the Department's efforts to expand staffing are robust and
    remain our number one priority, we, like other law enforcement
    agencies, face challenges recruiting qualified personnel. Nation-wide,
    law enforcement agencies are experiencing record levels of attrition.
    Compounding the problem is the fact that officers hired during the
    post-9/11 surge are now eligible--or required--to retire. In addition
    to the new hiring initiatives described above, the Department's budget
    provides funding to continue our strategy of hiring and training 288
    new recruits every year to increase sworn capabilities within Uniformed
    Operations. Equally important to the Department's efforts to maintain
    its operational posture are the administrative and support functions
    that are the backbone of the Department. Without an adequately staffed
    administrative infrastructure, particularly in the Offices of Human
    Resources and Information Services, the Department's operational
    mission cannot be maintained, much less enhanced.
        With the support of Congress, the Department's staffing levels have
    increased, but we still have more to do, especially as we work to
    right-size the organization and curb overtime to support more
    sustainable work-life balances for our workforce. A key element of this
    effort came in FY 2023, when the USCP, at the request of Congress,
    hired an outside vendor to conduct an extensive, Department-wide
    analysis of the five pillars that make up the organization--mission,
    staffing, structure, training, and technology. The result was the
    Concept of Operations report, which was delivered at the end of
    February of this year. The Concept of Operations report provides 30
    recommendations, as well as a valuable framework and implementation
    roadmap that will allow the Department to develop a model for
    integrated decisionmaking and strategic planning to better inform
    future operations and resource requirements. The Department is
    currently in the process of evaluating the recommendations to consider
    which to implement and how. While this work is ongoing, the Department
    has included funding in the FY 2025 budget request to build the initial
    infrastructure in three areas--staffing, training, and technology--that
    closely align with USCP initiatives already underway.
                                   conclusion
        The events of January 6 shifted the Department's priorities and
    accelerated the timeline for executing them. The Department and its
    workforce have risen to meet the evolving demands placed on the USCP in
    recent years. From addressing over 95% of the OIG January 6
    recommendations, to implementing the reorganization, to developing
    innovative hiring strategies, the Department has made great strides.
    None of this would have been possible without the support of this
    subcommittee.
        However, as I stated at the outset, we are not done. There is more
    work to do. And we must do it within the context of a strategic,
    holistic, and deliberate strategy. Long term strategies take time to
    develop and implement in a coordinated fashion. Working in close
    collaboration with the Congress, I am confident that our upward
    trajectory will continue.
        Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I look
    forward to your questions.

        Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much, Chief and General.
    The first question, which I pose to all of our witnesses, is
    that in this very difficult budget time, if you have to operate
    close to the 2024 budget, what are the key elements that you
    will lose?
        Could you allude to that, General?
        General Gibson. Certainly. Thank you, Senator. I have given
    this question, and my whole team has given this question, a lot
    of thought. First, I would start with the reasons why our
    budget continues to grow. First is inflationary factors, which
    account for a significant portion of the $3 million additional
    dollars we are seeking for State Office Operations, in that
    Senators haven't moved to different offices, they are not more
    lavish spaces, and they aren't bigger, but the landlords have
    raised the rent, and that is not something we control.
        Similarly, the $775,000 for the Economic Allocation Fund is
    the cost of purchasing the same equipment we always have for
    offices. And even the COLA, the Senate authorized Cost of
    Living Allowance, reflects that inflation.
        Another reason our budget continues to grow is new programs
    that we have begun, such as, the Residential Security System
    Program and the Stars of Valor Fellowships Program. A third
    reason would be numerous modernization projects. I could list a
    number of those.
        The final reason, and really this is a key driver that we
    should discuss separately in greater detail, is the costs
    associated with operating in the digital domain. While we may
    be recording votes by pencil in the Chamber, the demand and
    reliance on data elsewhere is booming, and the costs of
    managing, storing, and securing data are going up for a broad
    number of reasons, particularly when you operate in the unique
    way that the Senate does. I would like to explore that
    separately with the committee.
        If we had a flat-line budget, first, we would institute a
    hiring freeze. I would inform Sergeant at Arms' employees not
    to expect, probably, a cost of living allowance in 2025. I
    think we could look at some of those new projects or
    modernization efforts and either postpone them or downscale
    them. Hearing room renovations could be slowed. We could slow
    the pace of the Stars of Valor Fellowships. We could postpone
    things like electronic gallery passes.
        The two other areas we could look at would be accepting
    greater risk, particularly for cybersecurity, or changing some
    of our standard ways of operating, specifically related to the
    way we retain, store, and secure data.
        Before making any of those changes, I would consult with
    this Committee, with the Committee on Rules and Administration,
    and with the bipartisan Senate leadership. I think that would
    be a very useful conversation for us to have, regardless of the
    budget outcome.
        Senator Reed. Thank you, General.
        Chief, the same question; if you have a flat-line budget,
    what do you have to sacrifice?
        Mr. Manger. So we have made tremendous strides over the
    last 3 years in terms of addressing the deficiencies, the
    shortcomings, the failures that were identified after January
    6. And much of that required additional staffing. Certainly a
    recognition that just staffing to fill the number of posts that
    we might have around the complex is not going to help us in
    terms of the increasing workload due to threats, you look at
    the number of demonstrations that we are handling, and that
    sort of thing.
        So I think that if we were not able to get the additional
    resources that we are asking for, we would have to go back to
    just making sure we were just staffing all the necessary posts.
    But some of the advances that we have made in terms of our
    response capability to demonstrations, to a lot of the large
    events that occur in and around the Capitol, we would go back
    to having to hold officers over, pull them off posts, backfill
    with overtime, which was the model for many years here. And we
    have tried to get away from that for a number of reasons. But
    we would go back to more of that model.
        But I think that what would be most frustrating is that I
    have talked for, the last couple of years, and I think the
    committee is aware of the increase in the number of threats
    that we are dealing with today compared to four or 5 years ago.
    And it shows no sign of abating. And so our ability to address
    those threats, investigate those threats, provide additional
    safety and security for staff, for members, for the district
    staffs across the country, would be halted.
        Because much of what we are asking for in this budget is
    directly related to member security and safety with regard to
    those threats. And I think that we would continue to struggle
    to keep up with the workload because we would not have the
    additional staffing that we need to really investigate those
    cases the way we would like to.
        Senator Reed. Thank you. General, the chief information
    officer of your office is using the ServiceNow Governance,
    Risk, and Compliance module to automate identification. You
    talked about the need for much more sophisticated cyber
    operations. How is this implementation going?
        General Gibson. That implementation, Senator, is going
    well. We have been pleased. ServiceNow is a top-tier industrial
    product that is used across many sectors of the economy. It is
    modern and it is secure. It allows for improved business
    processes and office productivity. It offers faster deployment
    of technical services and ability to scale quickly. It provides
    us with useful trends that allow us to allocate resources as
    needed for issues that pop up on our networks. We also use it
    for IT service management, otherwise known as the ``help
    desk''.
        Some of our budget request for fiscal year 2025 is to
    migrate a number of other discrete, kind of bespoke,
    disconnected platforms across the Senate to ServiceNow. We
    think that will serve us well.
        Senator Reed. In this year's budget, you are asking for
    ServiceNow, Information Technology Operations Management
    module, which I presume is an enhanced version of the current
    system. And what will that add?
        General Gibson. What we would like to do is migrate three
    additional systems that people currently access elsewhere to
    ServiceNow. One is CAPFOR, which is how offices ask for items
    for Capitol office spaces, such as keys, furniture, special
    cleaning services, and room rearrangment.
        Another is Asset Manager. It is a separate discrete system
    that maintains an inventory of all the equipment that is issued
    to offices. The third system is TranSAAct. TranSAAct is more
    than 20 years old. The code is so old it is very difficult to
    modify. In fact, we pay several million dollars for coders who
    can still keep that system going. We would like to migrate
    those three systems in fiscal year 2025 to ServiceNow.
        Senator Reed. Thank you. Well, as someone who studied basic
    at West Point, maybe I could qualify for your new----
        General Gibson. Senator, we are always hiring.
        Senator Reed. Thank you. Thank you. It is nice of to know.
        Senator Fischer, please.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a question
    for both of you to begin, please. In fiscal year 2024, the
    Legislative Branch Act provided significant increases to both
    the agencies for expenses, salary, hiring new personnel. As we
    know, the bill came halfway through the fiscal year, giving you
    limited time to implement those increases. I want to hear how
    executing the fiscal year 2024 funding increases, how that is
    going, particularly how the pace of hiring the newly funded FTE
    positions is progressing?
        As we face a difficult outlook here for fiscal year 2025, I
    think it is important to make sure that your agencies can fully
    implement those fiscal year 2024 resources and hiring before we
    consider fiscal year 2025.
        So Chief, would you like to begin, please?
        Mr. Manger. It is always a challenge when you can get the
    positions, but the challenge is, can you actually recruit,
    hire, and train the people and actually get them out in the
    field. I know this from my previous jobs where I worked years,
    and years, and years and seemed to never be able to get ahead
    of attrition. I can tell you that for the last 3 years, we have
    not only gotten ahead of attrition, but we have added around
    100 additional sworn officers each year.
        And so this is great news, especially when you look around
    the country at what is happening in police departments around
    the country that are having no success in increasing their
    numbers.
        So there is a lot of reasons for that, and many of them are
    the support that this Committee and Congress has given the
    Capitol Police so that we are competitive, both for sworn and
    civilian ranks, when we advertise a position, we are
    competitive in terms of being able to compete with other
    government agencies, other law enforcement agencies.
        I certainly have to give a shout-out to my recruiting folks
    who do a phenomenal job at making sure the interest and the
    number of applications that we get continues to be through the
    roof.
        Senator Fischer. Are you on pace with allocating those
    resources? Are you ahead of schedule on them? My concern is,
    you had a late start with the resources that you were given
    there. Where are you on that? Do you feel pretty comfortable
    with how it is going?
        Mr. Manger. Yes, I do. In fact, we were looking at this
    year, we are doing an academy class every month, we looked at
    this year and actually had to make sure that we weren't running
    over our allocation, because we were keeping up. Yes, we are
    doing better with sworn, we are still working on the civilian
    side as well, but we are making progress with both.
        Senator Fischer. Good. General, how are you doing?
        General Gibson. Senator, if I may, I would like to provide
    the specific details and numbers separately following the
    hearing. I can tell you in some areas we have done well, and
    one area, specifically, remains a challenge. For additional
    security positions, such as the Residential Security System
    Program, we have made progress to fill our positions. Those
    positions are very important to our execution of the security
    mission.
        Hiring for the Employee Assistance Program has not been an
    issue, nor has it been an issue to hire staff to synchronize
    activities across the Sergeant at Arms, including for our
    interaction with the Rules Committee. I think we have seen a
    benefit there, as well as in some additional hiring for our
    Continuity of Government Programs.
        The key area where we remain challenged is in the CIO. We
    have double digits of vacancies, may be over 30, hence the
    request for only four additional positions for the CIO in
    fiscal year 2025. We recognize that we do still have many
    vacancies to fill there. That is probably our greatest
    challenge.
        Senator Fischer. Okay. So you are being realistic about the
    request that you are making----
        General Gibson. I believe so. Yes. Yes.
        Senator Fischer [continuing]. When you know you have a lot
    more vacancies, but you are realistic in that area.
        General Gibson. Particularly in that area, yes.
        Senator Fischer. Good. Thank you.
        Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much, Senator Fischer,
    let me----
        Senator Fischer. I was still going.
        Senator Reed. Oh. I am sorry.
        Senator Fischer. Did you think I was buzzing out, Mr.
    Chairman?
        Senator Reed. My mistake. I apologize.
        Senator Fischer. General Gibson, the request highlights
    that for fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025, the priority
    for the Office of Security, Emergency Preparedness, and
    Continuity its modernization of security capabilities,
    particularly Campus access control improvements, and predictive
    threat analysis through open source monitoring and software. I
    would like to know more about those efforts that you are
    having. What improvements is the SAA making in access control,
    and how do all these new technologies factor in that, please?
        General Gibson. Access control, Senator, is largely the
    installation of proximity card readers in a number of offices.
    Unfortunately, as we began to install these, it was slower than
    many people hoped. It is very much a group effort, and I
    believe we are on track now. We have prioritized requests from
    the offices and committees. We have worked together with the
    Architect of the Capitol and the Capitol Police to streamline
    the design for those systems and order parts in advance. We
    hold project meetings twice a month, and we have regular,
    transparent reporting to the Rules Committee on the progress of
    proximity card reader installation.
        In terms of threat tracking, it is really less about the
    introduction of additional technologies, and more about the
    infusion of some very strong leadership on our team. I see
    great value-add in the research and the additional analysis
    that has been done regarding the threats that are being
    identified against senators, as well as a much closer
    collaboration and partnership with the Capitol Police.
        I look forward to the stand-up of the PIOC, the Protective
    Intelligence Operations Center. We will have a seat in there as
    we do in the Command Center, and I think that will be a very,
    very useful and fruitful partnership.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Reed. Well, thank you, Senator Fisher. I apologize
    for being preemptive. Truly.
        Let me recognize Chairman Murray, please.
        Senator Murray. Thank you, Chair Reed. This hearing is
    really important because the Office of the Senate Sergeant at
    Arms and the Capitol Police do work that is absolutely critical
    to every single one of us on this Committee.
        Sergeant Gibson, Chief Manger, I want to thank both of you
    and all of your teams for all that you do. Every member, every
    staffer, every visitor here in our Nation's Capitol owes you a
    huge debt of gratitude for keeping this place running and
    keeping it safe. So it is important to me, the work you do and
    the sacrifices your team makes never go unacknowledged or get
    taken for granted.
        At every hour, whether it is weekends, holidays, every
    single day, members of the Capitol Police are here making sure
    that we have security of the Nation's Capitol, and we all
    probably walked by several of them as we came here. So I want
    both of you to know that I think I speak for all of our
    colleagues when I say we are incredibly grateful for the work
    you do, and I want to make sure we get you the resources that
    you need in the year ahead.
        And before I do get to my questions, I do understand that
    you lost an officer this morning. Echoing my colleagues from
    earlier, I want to extend my condolences to the Officer's
    family and to your entire Department.
        Chief Manger, let me start with you. The Department has
    worked really hard to recruit and train and deploy the
    necessary personnel to address the increased mission
    requirements resulting from the current threat environment
    towards Congress. Do you have sufficient personnel to support
    the Dignitary Protection Division and meet your operational
    mission without burning out your current protective agents?
        Mr. Manger. In a word, no. That was one of the priorities
    in the last couple of years to ensure that we increase the
    staffing in our Dignitary Protection Division. The demand has
    increased, and in fact, the model in which we provide
    protection needed to be enhanced as well for a number of
    reasons.
        I know that we have officers that work double shifts
    routinely. We have to stop that. It is not healthy for the
    officers, and it is not really a healthy way for us to schedule
    people, knowing that people have to work the amount of overtime
    that some of these agents have to work. So you will see in the
    fiscal year 2025 year budget requests for additional personnel,
    as you saw in fiscal year 2024, and I think that is one of the
    priorities for us.
        Senator Murray. Good. You answered Senator Fischer on
    recruitment. How is recruitment going for that? Do you need the
    additional slots, or is it the recruitment?
        Mr. Manger. We need the additional slots, and in addition
    to the recruiting on just the Uniformed Service side where you
    get a lot of uniformed services officers that want to move into
    that career opportunity and work DPD. We are also instituting
    another strategy where we are hiring people straight into, to
    be dignitary protection agents. And so we have got both of
    those strategies to try and ensure that we are recruiting----
        Senator Murray. And how is recruitment going on that?
        Mr. Manger. It is going okay. That was just started. I
    think we have only gotten one class through so far, of the
    folks that we hired directly to DPD. So it is something we just
    started. And if we get the positions, I think we will have no
    trouble finding folks that either want to come directly in, or
    some of these younger officers who are looking to become
    special agents and work in DPD.
        Senator Murray. Okay. With the increased threat levels that
    we are seeing, how are things going with the enhancement of the
    Department's Protective Intelligence Capability?
        Mr. Manger. It is going well. It is just trying to keep up
    with the caseload. And I think what we have in place is
    working, but it is the volume that we have got to address. And
    so we have got good folks, good training, I think with the
    partnership with the folks in our Intelligence Bureau, working
    with our Investigations Division, we have got a good system. We
    just need more people. And that is the reason for the request
    in the fiscal year 2025 budget.
        Senator Murray. Okay. And Sergeant Gibson, the SSA
    requested two full-time equivalent positions to support the
    Senate Intern Resource Office. How will this office actually
    support Senate interns while also maintaining the independence
    of Senate employing offices?
        General Gibson. Certainly. Thank you, Senator, for that
    question. This office would be intended to complement offices'
    efforts and certainly not in any way be redundant, duplicative
    or competitive. Our intent would be, in partnership with the
    Secretary of the Senate, to promulgate and share best practices
    for hiring, to provide a draft handbook for offices, and to
    offer guidance, training, support, and assistance to interns
    regarding their working environment. We want to connect with
    offices on funding rules and regulations for internships to
    ensure those are commonly understood and followed.
        We also hope to coordinate and facilitate a variety of
    seminars and programs that could be standardized across various
    Senate offices. Perhaps special tours that are offered, like
    climbing to the top of the Dome, or meeting with other offices
    in the Senate, perhaps the Parliamentarian's Office, where
    interns could learn about the Senate as an institution. We
    would work to make things like that available to interns of
    every office and committee.
        Senator Murray. Okay, thank you.
        General Gibson. Um-hum.
        Senator Murray. And Sergeant Gibson, let me ask you about
    the Residential Security System Program, it is an important
    part, I know, of this multi-layered security plan for senators
    and their families. How is the implementation of that going?
        General Gibson. I think it is going well, Senator. Thank
    you. We have obligated and expensed approximately $4 million
    since fiscal year 24 appropriations bill was enacted. We have
    signed memorandums of understanding with 19 senators.
        Senator Murray. So we are seeing increased use?
        General Gibson. Oh, yes. Yes. And I would highlight, we
    have had, in the last 5 years, 122 residential security
    assessments of senators. Considering that there are probably
    190, 185 Senate residences, if you count Washington and Home
    States, 123 of those, have had residential security assessments
    that we conduct with the Capitol Police.
        Senator Murray. And are you confident that the requested
    funding level is sufficient to support the requests that you
    are getting for this?
        General Gibson. It has been thus far. I think if every
    senator signed a memorandum of understanding for their home, we
    might need to seek additional funding. But to date, it has been
    adequate.
        Senator Murray. Okay, thank you. And thank you, Mr.
    Chairman. And I think it is really critical that we all
    understand the importance of making sure this Committee has the
    resources it needs for the personnel. So thank you.
        Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
        Senator Van Hollen, please.
        Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank both
    of you for your service and your testimony.
        And Chief Manger, I am sorry about the loss of one of your
    officers recently.
        And for those of my colleagues who don't know this, Chief
    Manger at one point was the chief of police in Montgomery
    County, Maryland, my home county. And we were very glad to
    share him with the United States Congress. Thank you for all
    your work.
        And to Sergeant at Arms Gibson, thank you as well.
        So my question is to really both of you, in turn, which is,
    you know, we are at a very polarized time in our country,
    politically. We all witnessed the attacks on the Capitol of
    January 6, 2001 (sic). We don't know what the outcome of the
    November elections will be, but what we do know is we should be
    prepared for anything. So what each of your offices doing to
    prepare for the inauguration? And what each of your offices
    doing to prepare for whatever day it is that we count the
    ballots?
        Maybe starting with you, Chief Manger.
        Mr. Manger. So we have spent the last three-and-a-half
    years preparing for the election, the next January 6, or
    whenever we count the ballots, and the next inauguration. And I
    will tell you, with confidence; that we are prepared for those.
    We still have work to do in terms of sustained--you know,
    building a model that can be sustained for years to come. But
    we are ready for these events upcoming.
        Much of this has to do with staffing, but it also has to do
    with training. It has to do with equipment. And it has to do,
    much to do with our ability to get mutual aid here on the
    Campus when we need it. And the funding that this Committee and
    Congress gave to us to get that mutual aid, to be able to
    reimburse police agencies that assist us, whether they are
    assisting us here on this Campus, which we have done many, many
    times, or assist us across the country with events that perhaps
    we can't get out to, but they can provide the security, has
    been invaluable.
        And so just that we--there were things that we needed to do
    over the last 3 years just to provide the protection, security,
    and safety that we needed to on this campus every day. And we
    have accomplished so many things and we are in a good position
    right now.
        As I mentioned earlier, I think that the number of threats,
    the caseload there of investigations that we have to do, some
    of the follow-up that is required in some of those
    investigations, that is where we need to continue to increase
    our staffing so we can keep up with that increased workload.
    But I can assure you that we are positioned exactly where we
    need to be and we will be prepared for the next inauguration.
        Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. Thank you, Chief.
        General Gibson. Thank you, Senator. I would like to
    highlight some of the things that have changed since January,
    2021. First, from a physical security perspective, the House
    and Senate Sergeants at Arms, together with the Architect of
    the Capitol and the Chief of Police, conducted a Campus
    physical security assessment in 2022, and then prioritized
    funding to address shortcomings and to reinforce the building
    and the grounds.
        We now have a 24-hour fence, which you may have seen
    deployed several times. It can go up very rapidly and come down
    rapidly. We have developed standardized guidelines, as a
    Capitol Police Board, for determining when the fence should go
    up. The Capitol Police Board itself, I think, has demonstrated
    a much more sound decisionmaking process than what was
    evidenced in 2021.
        And I say that having been part of a team that, on behalf
    of the House of Representatives in February 2021, looked at the
    shortcomings of the Capitol Police and House security in the
    wake of January 6.
        We also have processes in place now, as the chief has
    mentioned, for requests for assistance, whether that is mutual
    aid from other law enforcement or from the Department of
    Defense. The processes are understood, and the requests can be
    generated relatively rapidly. And very importantly, we have the
    legislation that allows the chief of police to declare an
    emergency and ask for assistance without having to convene the
    Capitol Police Board to approve his actions in advance.
        There have also been significant improvements in
    intelligence: he lash-up with other agencies, the elevation of
    the intelligence function within the Capitol Police Department
    to a Bureau, and hiring very qualified professionals to work
    there, who are working very closely with a broad variety of law
    enforcement.
        I receive those briefings and updates, and I can tell you
    they are much superior to what was in place several years ago.
        From a Sergeant at Arms perspective, we have increased our
    ability to have situational understanding and awareness of what
    is happening. I was at a meeting this morning off Campus, and I
    was receiving near real-time updates on what was happening with
    the suspicious package that was delivered at the RNC
    Headquarters, just south of the Capitol.
        We also have an ability to communicate that information and
    have refined our systems after a couple of hiccups to
    communicate what is happening from a security perspective to
    the Senate community. We have also hired more trauma-informed
    counselors for our Employee Assistance Program to instill a
    greater sense of psychological safety on the part of staff,
    some of whom were quite shaken on January 6. So we are
    strengthening our mental readiness.
        The Department has also put in place some very
    standardized, structured and disciplined event planning
    processes and teams, and we participate in that. We are
    committed to a robust planning process for January 6, and for
    the inauguration, and are already having discussions with
    Secret Service, FBI, and others about what is expected on those
    days.
        Senator Van Hollen. Well, thank you. Thank you both. That
    is reassuring. I do want to say something about the mutual aid,
    because it is a reminder that not only were Capitol Hill Police
    attacked on that day, so were police from the District of
    Columbia, and other places. I am glad we are getting more
    prepared.
        On the issue of the fence, I want to thank you and the
    Sergeant at Arms Office for working with me, and former Senator
    Blunt, and others. We were very opposed to having a fence that
    created a fortress-like atmosphere because we want the Capitol
    to be open, but we also wanted to make sure that when
    necessary, we had the means to put in those barriers. So thank
    you for working on that.
        And on your internship program, I am glad you are putting
    that together as someone who is very instrumental in creating
    the Senate-paid Internship Program. We look forward to working
    with you and your office on that.
        General Gibson. Thank you, Senator.
        Senator Van Hollen. Thank you.
        Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Senator Van Hollen. Let
    me ask a few more questions, and then recognize Senator
    Fischer.
        Chief, one of the issues that has always been prevalent
    over the last several years is the excess overtime you have to
    charge. Can you give us a sense of whether we are retaining and
    hiring enough personnel so that overtime is not such a critical
    issue?
        Mr. Manger. It is getting better. We still have a ways to
    go. Not that anyone wants a history lesson, but the Capitol
    Police was chronically understaffed for many, many years. And
    so we are getting to a point, and I can tell you, especially on
    the uniformed services side, we are now doing things the way
    they should have been done for a long time. I mean, we are not
    having to pull an officer off a post every time a demonstration
    occurs, every time something occurs on the Plaza. We have folks
    that are able to be first responders to events without having
    to pull people off posts and then backfill them with overtime.
        So it is improving. But the reason I keep asking for
    additional positions, especially on the protection services
    side, is because we are understaffed on DPD. We don't have--we
    are still making people work double shifts, and the overtime is
    still much higher than it should be for an Agency to keep their
    officers well rested and healthy.
        So as we continue to add agents that are doing threat
    investigations, as we continue to add agents that are being--
    for dignitary protection, you will see the overtime demands go
    down in those bureaus as well.
        Senator Reed. Very good. I believe, and I might be in
    error, that at one time you coordinated with local police for
    dignitary protection when an individual member is in their home
    district or elsewhere. Is that still the case?
        Mr. Manger. We still do have memorandums of understanding
    with departments across the country to assist us when needed to
    provide protection, whether it is threat based or whether it is
    a member who has a detail.
        Senator Reed. All right. General, one of the issues you
    mentioned is the Employee Assistance Program as a critical
    resource, and you also alluded to the mobile application. Could
    you amplify what you mean by that and how critical it is?
        General Gibson. Certainly. Thank you, Senator. We have seen
    nothing but an increase in demand for the services of EAP. It
    is a tremendous way to improve the overall health and wellness
    of the workforce. We have expanded our staff considerably, and
    we now extend the hours when appointments can be made from 8:00
    in the morning to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. These are
    considerable investments. They are very worthy investments. We
    think they improve productivity of offices, and they help with
    employee retention. Many staff feel very stressed, whether it
    is from the work environment here at the Capitol, or in a State
    Office where staff may be confronting very disgruntled, unhappy
    constituents, or just the stress of life itself. Having a
    resource like EAP can make the difference between choosing to
    continue serving the Senate, or saying this is too much, I have
    got to find another place to work. When that happens, the
    Senate office is faced with hiring and training a new person to
    perform that work.
        We want to build an EAP app because, even though 99 percent
    of Senate offices have had someone in the last year who used
    Employee Assistance Program resources, it is really important
    to increase the availability of the resources at any time, and
    to lower any sense of stigma that might be felt for seeking
    that kind of assistance.
        We can lower those barriers by increasing accessibility and
    access to information, making it available on a phone, and
    providing some early intervention and perhaps some health
    assessment tools. We can boost employee engagement and track
    personal wellness. There are a variety of other things that we
    think we can do that will both lower that barrier to access and
    decrease stigma, and that will enable employees to have EAP
    access at any time.
        Senator Reed. So if an employee feels particularly
    stressed, they can get on the app and be connected to a
    counselor quickly?
        General Gibson. Potentially, I think if it was a real
    emergency. But I think it would be perhaps some meditation
    tools and resources that you could see who to call for this,
    who to call for that, if it really is an emergency.
        Senator Reed. Very good. Thank you.
        Senator Fischer, please.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        General Gibson, as you know, the Rules Committee has now
    released the regulations for the fellowship programs for our
    Wounded and Disabled Veterans and Gold Star family members.
    Congress provided SAA with $6.3 million to set up the program.
    These are really, I think, important fellowship programs. The
    fellows and the Senate as a whole are going to benefit from
    them. With the regulations that are now released, and funding
    on hand, can you give us an update on the fellowships and a
    time line, if you have a time line in place, on when we may be
    expecting to see our first group of fellows?
        General Gibson. Thank you, Senator. I would like to provide
    the detailed time line separately. When you asked the question
    about which of our vacancies we have been able to fill, this is
    one we were able to fill. Lindsey Brand is the coordinator. She
    is a veteran and a former fellowship holder, and she feels very
    strongly about this program. She is a fantastic person, very
    enthusiastic, a great person to have leading this program.
        I think we will begin to see some fellows towards the end
    of this year. Lindsey is a recent employee of ours and has
    begun to work with the Rules Committee. I would like to provide
    the detailed time line of when we will see our fellows
    arriving, but we are very excited about this program. Thank
    you.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. For both of you, it
    is extremely important, obviously, that the Capitol Campus both
    has its physical security and its cyber security. That is also
    important for our State offices and staff as well. How is the
    threat environment out there towards our State offices? I know
    it varies by members, varies by States, but how is that
    evolving, and how do your agencies coordinate with those State
    offices when it comes to physical security?
        General Gibson. Senator, thank you for the question. Our
    State Office Operations team and our Senate Operations Center
    coordinate daily with State offices. In terms of the threat,
    there are also environmental threats that we track very
    closely, including tornadoes, floods, and other things that may
    threaten Senate offices. There is typically an awareness if
    that is going to happen at the local level already, but we
    certainly track those very closely as well as any kind of
    damage that may result. We are also able to share information
    very promptly about potential demonstrations, and then alert
    the Capitol Police to work with local law enforcement when that
    is needed.
        We notify State offices if there is a demonstration planned
    outside their building, perhaps sometimes even targeting their
    office. Then those offices can make a decision if they want to
    close early that day, or if they want to telework. We
    communicate that kind of information as we receive it.
        We are very thankful for the legislation, as I mentioned in
    my opening comments, that ensure security enhancements don't
    count as part of the square footage allowances for State
    offices. And we have made a strong push to create secure
    reception areas, as modeled in the State Office Demonstration
    Room in the basement of the Russell Senate Office Building.
        We are working through a pilot to provide ballistic film on
    some office windows that will not appear, to Senator Van
    Hollen's comments, like a fortress, but it will add additional
    security, and we are very excited about that.
        You did ask about the threat. I think there have always
    been angry constituents. By having some of these security
    measures in place can help, even if it is simply a camera and a
    locked door. We have specific instances we can point to where
    staff saw someone in full tactical gear outside their office
    buzzing the button, and staff did not open the door. We have
    had people who have taken baseball bats to secure reception
    areas' glass, and the glass has held.
        I think these security enhancements are really important.
    The most critical thing we can do, though, to keep those folks
    secure is to ensure they are trained and that they know things
    like keeping the door locked.
        Senator Fischer. Yes. Thank you.
        Mr. Manger. So I think General Gibson had a very good,
    comprehensive answer. I just would add one issue of swatting.
    This is we have seen it, it sort of comes in waves, and so we
    have been working with, I know that 911 centers around the
    country have been trying to do a better job at identifying
    those swatting calls and not just dispatching them without any
    context.
        And I also am aware that the FBI is actually making a
    little bit more headway in terms of making some arrests, many
    of them overseas, so the more arrests we can make, the more
    deterrence there might be from people trying to, you know,
    continue this activity.
        Senator Fischer. Very good. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
    Chairman.
        Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much, Senator Fischer.
    And let me thank you, General Gibson, and Chief Manger.
        This concludes the Legislative Branch Appropriations
    Subcommittee Hearing regarding fiscal year 2025 funding for the
    Senate, Sergeant at Arms, and the United States Capitol Police.
        Again, I thank General Gibson and Chief Manger for
    testifying today.

                         ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

        The hearing record will remain open for 7 days, allowing
    Members to submit statements and/or questions for the record,
    which should be sent to the subcommittee by close of business
    on Wednesday, May 29, 2024.
        [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.

                             CONCLUSION OF HEARINGS

        Senator Reed. This concludes the scheduled hearings for
    fiscal year 2025 budget request from Legislative Branch
    agencies.
        The committee now stands adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 22, subcommittee
    was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.]

           LIST OF WITNESSES, COMMUNICATIONS, AND PREPARED STATEMENTS

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

    Architect of the Capitol, Questions Submitted to.................    73

    DiPietro, Joseph R., Acting Architect, Architect of the Capitol:
        Prepared Statement of........................................    62
        Statement of.................................................    61
    Dodaro, Hon. Gene, Comptroller General, Government Accountability
      Office:
        Questions Submitted to.......................................    40
        Statement of.................................................     4

    Fischer, Deb, U.S. Senator From Nebraska, Opening Statement of

    Gibson, Honorable Karen H., Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of
      the Senate, Prepared Statement of..............................    79

    Halpern, Honorable Hugh Nathanial, Director, Government
      Publishing Office:
        Prepared Statement of........................................    15
        Questions Submitted to.......................................    41
        Statement of.................................................    15
    Hayden, Hon. Dr. Carla, The Librarian of Congress:
        Prepared Statement of........................................    49
        Statement of.................................................    48

    Library of Congress, Questions Submitted to......................    73

    Manger, J. Thomas, Chief, United States Capitol Police:
        Prepared Statement of........................................    85
        Statement of.................................................    84

    Newlen, Robert Randolph, Director, Congressional Research
      Service, Prepared Statement of.................................    57

    Perlmutter, Shira, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S.
      Copyright Office, Prepared Statement of........................    52

    Reed, Senator Jack, U.S. Senator From Rhode Island:
        Opening Statement of

        Questions Submitted by

    Swagel, Hon. Dr. Phillip Director, Congressional Budget Office:
        Questions Submitted to.......................................    43
        Statement of.................................................    21

                                 SUBJECT INDEX

                                  ----------

                                                                       Page

                            ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

    I. Overview......................................................    63
    II. Supporting the Senate Community..............................    63
    III. Modern Management of Aging Infrastructure...................    64
    IV. Recognizing Employee Accomplishments & Meeting Mission
      Requirements...................................................    64
    V. Conclusion....................................................    64
    `A Library For All' Mission and Status...........................    71
    Additional Committee Questions...................................    73
    Budget Levels and Agency Impacts.................................    64
    Impact of Flat Budget in Fiscal 2025.............................    73
    Library:
        Collection Storage...........................................    72
        Information Technology Priorities............................    65
        Staff Attrition and Recruitment..............................    70
    Library's Digital Collections & Strategy.........................    68
    Library's Visitor Experience.....................................    67

                          CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

    Additional Committee Questions...................................    40
    CBO:
        Budget Request and its Consequences for Staffing and Output..    24
        Enhancing Transparency.......................................    28
        Requested Information and Authorities........................    26
        Strengthening Responsiveness.................................    28
    Impact to GAO of a Flatline Fiscal Year 2025 Allocation..........    31
                                   __________
                                   __________

                        GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

    Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request..................................     6
    GAO's Mission....................................................    14
    Connect..........................................................    14
                                   __________

                          GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    A Snapshot of GPO's Business.....................................    17
    Breaking Down GPO's Revenue......................................    18
    Building the Tools to Deliver on the Vision of an America
      Informed.......................................................    18
    Charting a Course for the Future.................................    16
    GPO's FY 2025 Appropriations Request.............................    19
    Making Government Information Available to the Public............    18
    Production.......................................................    17
    Some Key Accomplishments.........................................    19
                                   __________

                              LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

    Additional Committee Questions...................................    73
    Architect of the Capitol.........................................    45
    Conclusion.......................................................    61
    Continuous Development of Information Technology.................    54
    Fiscal:
        2024 Re-Submissions..........................................    51
        2025 Budget Request and Program Increases....................    60
    Funding and Update to 2025 Budget Request........................    56
    Key Accomplishments Over the Past Year...........................    53
    Service to Congress During Fiscal 2023...........................    57
    Strategic Initiatives............................................    58
                                   __________

                          UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE

    Additional Committee Question....................................   100
    Capitol Complex Protection.......................................    86
    Conclusion.......................................................    88
    Increasing Threat Climate........................................    87
    Recruitment and Retention........................................    87
                                   __________

      UNITED STATES SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED
                                 STATES SENATE

    Additional Committee Questions...................................   100

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