[Senate Hearing 119-69]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 119-69
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2026
=======================================================================
HEARINGS
before a
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
on
H.R. 4249/S. 2257
AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH FOR
THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, 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 NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: https://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
60-273 PDF WASHINGTON : 2026
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine, Chair
MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky PATTY MURRAY, Washington, Vice
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska Chair
LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
JERRY MORAN, Kansas JACK REED, Rhode Island
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware
JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut
KATIE BOYD BRITT, Alabama CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York
JON OSSOFF, Georgia
Elizabeth McDonnell, Staff Director
Evan Schatz, Minority Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma, Chairman
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico, Ranking
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota Member
JON OSSOFF, Georgia
Professional Staff
Molly McCarty
Richard Braddock (Minority)
Administrative Support
Brian Gutro
Molly Akers (Minority)
C O N T E N T S
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hearings
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Page
Congressional Budget Office...................................... 1
Honorable Dr. Phillip Swagel, Director:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 5
Statement of............................................. 3
Government Accountability Office................................. 1
Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 16
Statement of............................................. 14
Government Publishing Office..................................... 1
Honorable Hugh N. Halpern, Director:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 29
Statement of............................................. 27
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Library of Congress.............................................. 47
Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 50
Statement of............................................. 49
Architect of the Capitol......................................... 47
Thomas E. Austin, Architect of the Capitol:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 64
Statement of............................................. 62
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
United States Senate Sergeant at Arms andDoorkeeper.............. 95
Honorable Jennifer Hemingway:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 98
Statement of............................................. 97
United States Capitol Police..................................... 95
Chief J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police:
Prepared Statement of.................................... 104
Statement of............................................. 103
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back matter
List of Witnesses, Communications, and Prepared Statements.121
Nondepartmental Witnesses.......................................?? deg.
Subject Index:
Architect of the Capitol..................................... 123
Congressional Budget Office.................................. 123
Government Accountability Office............................. 123
Library of Congress.......................................... 123
United States States Capitol Police.......................... 124
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2026
----------
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2025
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:01 a.m., in room SD-138, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Markwayne Mullin, (Chairman),
presiding.
Present: Senators Fischer, Rounds, Heinrich, Murray, and
Ossoff.
U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
opening statement of senator markwayne mullin
Senator Mullin. Good morning, the subcommittee will come to
order. Welcome to the fiscal year 2026 budget hearing for the
agencies underneath the jurisdiction of the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Subcommittee.
This is my first hearing with the Appropriations Committee,
and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as chairman of
this subcommittee. I am also grateful for Chair Collins and
Leader Thune for the commitment to bring appropriation bills to
the Senate floor.
I would like to welcome Ranking Member Heinrich, who was
kind enough to invite me onto CODEL over the break. And
unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it, but thank you.
I am looking forward to working with him and other Members
of this subcommittee in crafting responsible funding for
Legislative and for the--to support Congress and the entire
Legislative Branch needs.
Today, we will--with us we have with us Director of the
Congressional Budget Office, Dr. Phil Swagel; the Head of the
Government Accountability Office, Comptroller General Gene
Dodaro, [Do-da-ro], thank you; and the Director of Government
Publishing Office, Mr. Hugh Halpern. Thank you so much.
Before we get into the specific details of the budget
request, I want to acknowledge that after years of significant
spending, the Federal Government, as a whole, must show fiscal
restraint. And the majority of the American people want to make
sure that their tax dollars are being used efficiently and
effectively. The Legislative Branch is no exception and must
demonstrate that we are a good steward of taxpayers' hard-
earned dollars.
I want to thank all the witnesses for being here today. I
look forward to our discussion and to learn more about the
agencies' priorities for the year.
Now I would like to turn it to the Ranking Member, Senator
Heinrich, for remarks he would like to make.
opening statement of senator martin heinrich
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward
to working with you this year to prepare a fiscally responsible
bill that will meet the needs of the Congress and our support
agencies, so that we can effectively carry out our
constitutional responsibilities on behalf of the American
people.
Thank you to the witnesses providing testimony today and to
the folks at your agencies who work every day to facilitate the
Congress' work.
Mr. Dodaro, the Government Accountability Office plays an
important role in providing oversight of government spending.
This year, the GAO is requesting nearly $934 million to perform
that critical work. I know your agency's workload is large. In
fiscal year 2024, GAO received over 550 requests to perform
work from 93 percent of the standing committees of the
Congress. This is in addition to the thousands of products,
recommendations, and adjudications you all completed.
However, with a flat budget in fiscal year 2025, GAO was
required to shrink its staffing level and defer critical
investments in the agency's operations. I look forward to your
testimony about your fiscal year 2026 budget request and to
hearing more about what resources you need to support Congress
and our Government.
Dr. Swagel, the Congressional Budget Office has requested
nearly $76 million to perform your agency's critical work in
support of Congress, an increase of almost $6 million. Now, I
understand that in fiscal year 2024, CBO published about 1,100
cost estimates for legislation, in addition to hundreds of
reports and informational products to support Congress' work.
The work of the CBO requires highly skilled subject matter
experts to provide the quality analysis we need to do our job.
So I look forward to hearing from you about the resources you
need this fiscal year.
Mr. Halpern, the Government Publishing Office is requesting
$135 million to support personnel costs and resources necessary
to carry out the work of your agency, a 2.6 percent increase. I
know that your work is crucial to providing resources to the
American people so that they can easily access information
about their government.
And I understand that a portion of the requested increase
in funding pays for the cost of providing a digital format of
Federal Government publications to over a thousand Federal
repository libraries nationwide.
So I look forward to hearing more about the resources you
need to continue to get critical information into the hands of
the American people. And again, thank you to all of our
witnesses for being here today, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Mullin. Thank you, Senator Heinrich.
I want to remind everybody that we do have a timer, and I
will be strict on it. I will be strict for the Republicans, as
much I will be strict to our witnesses, and to our colleagues
in the Democrat Party. Everybody's time is important, and so we
have five minutes. I would kindly ask all of our witnesses, in
your statement, when you notice you are about 20 seconds up,
look for an ending, because at five minutes I will be starting
to--I will begin to tap the gavel. Okay?
So with that, Mr. Swagel, you are up first.
STATEMENT OF HON. PHILLIP L. SWAGEL, PH.D., DIRECTOR
Dr. Swagel. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman Mullin, Ranking
Member Heinrich, and Members of the subcommittee. Thank you for
the opportunity to present the CBO's budget request.
As you said, Mr. Chairman, CBO requests an appropriation of
$75.8 million for 2026. That is an increase of $5.8 million, or
8.2 percent, from the amount that was provided in 2025, and the
same amount that was provided in 2024. The request would
address increased cost for pay and benefits, allow CBO to
improve its IT infrastructure, and add staff in areas of
especially intense legislative interest.
CBO's mission is to provide nonpartisan analysis to the
Congress that is timely, rigorous, and transparent. When
Legislation is heading to a vote, we provide cost estimates and
real-time analysis of amendments, sometimes hundreds or even
thousands of them, for bills such as the NDAA. We provide
analysis and technical assistance as the legislation is being
developed, such as is the case now with reconciliation.
We produce budget and economic projections that incorporate
the effects of recent legislation, economic developments, and
administrative actions. Those administrative actions have been
an especially big part of our work in the last couple of
months.
And we provide analysis of a broad range of policy issues
confronting the Congress, bringing to bear data and research
from a variety of sources, including experts who members tell
us to go talk with.
With continuing strong interest in CBO's work, the
additional resources I have asked for this year would enable us
to do even better on both responsiveness and transparency.
In 2025, CBO will maintain its staffing at 270 employees,
and we will focus on the highest priority efforts of preparing
cost estimates, providing technical assistance for legislation,
and analyzing the economic and dynamic budgetary effects of
proposed policies. We are reducing our expenditures elsewhere.
We have deferred some hiring and are waiting on some longer
term improvements in our IT infrastructure.
For 2026, a little more than half of our requested
increase, about $3 million, would cover increases in current
employees' salaries and benefits, and then would enable CBO to
expand in key areas of congressional interest. The full request
would allow CBO to add 15 employees, to go up to 285. I would
add analysts first in healthcare, in dynamic analysis, national
security, and homeland security.
The remaining 48 percent of CBO's increase, about $2.8
million, would address increased costs to enhance our
cybersecurity, and our IT infrastructure, including for some
projects that are on hold this year with--you know, with the
resources we have. This spending is aimed at protecting
sensitive data and improving the agency's computing power for
analyzing complex data sets.
Our requested budget would support our goal to provide
budgetary and economic information when it is most useful to
the Congress. We will support the Appropriations committees by
providing real-time, provision-by-provision estimates of the 12
annual appropriation bills and any supplemental appropriation
bills or continuing resolutions.
We will also respond to thousands of requests for technical
assistance and preliminary estimates, often on quick
turnarounds, as committees craft legislation. We will provide
hundreds of cost estimates as required by statute, and for
nearly all of them, provide them before a floor vote. We will
also publish dozens of statutory or requested reports on a wide
variety of topics, from opioids, to immigration, Navy
shipbuilding, wildfires, and many other things. And then we
offer help in person, by phone, and video to member offices as
you and your staff craft legislation.
In summary, to achieve our goal of being as responsive as
possible, CBO requests an increase of $5.8 million. With your
support, we look forward to continuing to provide timely and
high quality analysis to the Congress.
Thank you again. I am happy to answer questions.
[The statement follows:]
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Senator Mullin. Thank you, sir. And thanks for being
efficient with your time, too. I guess that is what CBO is
supposed to be. Appreciate you setting the standard.
Sir, I am going to say this one right this time. So don't
correct me, let me do it right.
Mr. Dodaro. Okay?
Senator Mullin. [Do-ra-do]--[Do-da-ro], Dodaro, correct?
Mr. Dodaro. That is correct, sir.
Senator Mullin. Okay.
Mr. Dodaro. Mr. Chairman, yes.
Senator Mullin. You are up. Thank you.
Mr. Dodaro. Absolutely.
Senator Mullin. I am going to call you Gene by the time
this is over with, by the way.
Mr. Dodaro. Gene is fine.
Senator Mullin. And then if I say Gene, you can call me
Markwayne. We are good.
Mr. Dodaro. All right. That is a deal.
Senator Mullin. All right.
Mr. Dodaro. That is a deal.
------
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
STATEMENT OF HON. GENE L. DODARO, COMPTROLLER GENERAL
Mr. Dodaro. Mr. Chairman, good morning to you, Ranking
Member Heinrich, Senator Rounds. It is a pleasure to be here to
talk about our request.
We appreciate the support that we have received from this
subcommittee over the years and this Congress as a whole. We
give a good return on that investment. Last year, as a result
of Congress and the agencies implementing our recommendations,
there was over $67 billion in financial benefits to the
government. In the last 6 years, we have averaged $123 in
financial benefits back to the government for every dollar
invested in GAO.
This year we updated our high-risk list, which we do at the
beginning of each new Congress. There are over 38 areas on that
list, ranging from Medicare, Medicaid, to defense weapons
systems, to the tax administration system. This year we added
improvements needed in the delivery of disaster assistance to
individuals. FEMA is stretched way too thin, too many agencies
are involved, and recoveries drag out too long. Reform is
needed in that area.
On average, $40 billion of financial benefits each year
come from improvements in implementing our recommendations on
the high-risk areas. We also do an annual report on overlap,
duplication, and fragmentation in the Federal Government. So
far, over the past 14 years, we have made 2,000
recommendations, of which 73 percent have been fully or
partially implemented. That has led to over $667 billion in
financial benefits to the Federal Government. So both the high-
risk and overlap, duplication, fragmentation reports are very
important work that lead to government efficiency and
effectiveness, and we need to continue to have the resources
necessary to continue those efforts.
As Senator Heinrich mentioned, demand for our work is high.
We receive hundreds of requests each year. We have about 150
recurring mandates. The NDAA last year had 95 specific requests
for GAO studies. The Water Resources Act, another 26, and the
most recent FAA reauthorization, another 36 requirements. Most
major pieces of legislation have mandated reporting
requirements for GAO.
Because of the continuing resolution for this year, we will
have about 126 less people at the end of the fiscal year than
we had at the beginning. The request that I put forward for
next year is for an increase, but even that will not take us
back to fully replacing those 126 people. As the auditor of the
Federal Government's financial statements, I know too well that
the Federal Government is on an unsustainable long-term fiscal
path and there needs to be efficiencies and effectiveness.
I am trying to be respectful of that need in our request
going forward, recognizing that GAO has tremendous value that
helps the government solve that problem as well. And we do work
for over 93 percent of the standing committees of the Congress.
One of the areas that I want to make sure GAO continues to
invest in is national security. As I mentioned, we do a lot of
work for the Armed Services Committees, and it is important
because of the efforts of our government to try to increase our
military readiness and to remain the superior military force in
the world.
Also, another priority area for us is health care. Health
care continues to be the fastest-growing component of the
Federal budget, except for interest on the debt. Another
priority area is cybersecurity, including both Federal and
private sector systems. We do work looking at critical
infrastructure systems including water systems, the electricity
grid, and telecommunications. The other priority area for us is
science and technology.
Congress has specifically asked us to increase our capacity
to conduct science technology assessments, and we have done
work in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, hypersonic
weapons, et cetera. These are the main priority areas that our
budget request will support.
I want to also publicly recognize the GAO workforce, which
is one of the most talented and dedicated workforces in the
world. This is the last year of my term as Comptroller General.
I have been in this job now for 17 years. I have been in GAO
over 52 years. But I can tell you that the GAO workforce will
continue doing the work that we have been known for.
Thank you very much for your attention. I know you will
give careful consideration to our budget requests.
[The statement follows:]
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Senator Mullin. Thank you so much.
Mr. Halpern.
------
THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
STATEMENT OF HON. HUGH N. HALPERN, DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT
PUBLISHING OFFICE
Mr. Halpern. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member
Heinrich and Senator Rounds. Thank you so much for the
opportunity to present GPO's fiscal year 2026 request.
On behalf of my 1,653 teammates, I am requesting
appropriations of $135.4 million for fiscal year 2026, which is
an increase of about $3.4 million over our fiscal year 2025
appropriation. This request incorporates increased labor and
material costs while accommodating certain important
initiatives for Congress and the rest of the Legislative
Branch.
This is a 2.6 percent increase, which I would note is lower
than the CPI rate over the last 12 months. Many of you are new
to GPO and may not realize that we operate as a business
enterprise, and directly appropriated funds represent only
about 9 percent of our total revenue.
In fiscal year 2024, the remainder of our nearly $1.3
billion in revenue came from GPO's billings to its other
Federal customers, such as the Department of State, National
Archives, Department of Defense, and countless others.
We sell products and services to those customers, and we
adjust pricing based on the cost of materials, labor, and
overhead. As most of GPO's appropriations requests are based on
funding for Congress' own publishing needs and the agency's
operation of the Federal Depository Library Program, we have
also had to increase our appropriations' request when faced
with increased costs.
Our model continues to deliver results. We closed our books
for fiscal year 2024 with a net positive income of $57.5
million, enabling us to continue investing in our team,
equipment, and campus. It is also important to note that, given
the conditions with our customers and increased materials
costs, I expect our net income to be lower in fiscal year 2025,
although still positive.
Our fiscal year 2026 request includes $83 million for
congressional publishing, which is the same amount as our
fiscal year 2025 appropriation. It is based on our estimate of
Congress's likely needs, informed by historical trends and
available unexpended balances. For this account, we can offset
our increased labor and materials costs through efficiency.
Our request for the Public Information Programs account,
through which we administer the FDLP, is about $42.9 million.
This represents an increase of about $5 million over fiscal
year 2025, and that is due largely to rising labor costs.
Our final request is for $9.5 million for GPO's revolving
fund to support key technology upgrades, and that is about $2
million less than the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2025.
About 40 percent of that amount will support continued
development of XPub, our next-generation composition engine.
We are continuing to push forward with the final stages of
development for XPub for bills, resolutions, and amendments.
To date, we are on track with the first phase of user
acceptance testing with the Senate, and the House began testing
last month. While I do not have a firm deployment date, we are
continuing to make significant progress with our customers
toward deploying this critical piece of software soon.
The remainder of our revolving fund request is for funds to
support GovInfo, our online trusted digital repository. The
data in that system supports the Library of Congress, Congress'
own bulk data efforts, and dozens of other Federal agencies,
enabling Americans to access government information digitally
rather than in print.
The system receives more than 142 million requests a month,
and the subcommittee's past support has allowed us to add
260,000 document packages during the last fiscal year.
Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Senator
Rounds, thank you for this opportunity to present our fiscal
year 2026 request, and for the support you and your staff have
extended us in the past.
I look forward to answering any questions you may have.
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Senator Mullin. Thank you so much. Since I am here until
the end, no matter what, I am going to defer my questions at
the beginning, and I will turn it over to Senator Rounds.
Senator Rounds. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the courtesy. I
most certainly appreciate it. And I will be brief with my Q&As
as well today.
First, thank you all for being here today and preparing the
testimony for us to review.
Comptroller Dodaro, first of all, thank you for your
extended service to our country, your contributions have been
noted, and they are appreciated.
We have seen an explosion in Federal agencies experimenting
with artificial intelligence, often without clear oversight
frameworks in place. Recognizing that it is a moving target and
that there is no way that it is going away, it is going to be
here, and our government will be using it just like the private
entities in our country will be using it, and our adversaries
will be using it.
I am just curious, sir, has GAO conducted or planned a
comprehensive review of how agencies are adopting AI tools,
particularly to guard against waste, cybersecurity
vulnerabilities, or mission drift? And if so, when can Congress
expect any report or an analysis of findings?
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. Since 2018, we have issued over 50 reports
dealing with artificial intelligence, its use in the defense
arena, its potential in accelerating drug development, for
medical diagnostic purposes, and other areas. We have done the
first inventory across the Federal Government of all the use
cases that have been put in place, we just issued a report on
generative AI, its use in health care, its human effects, and
its potential effects on the workforce. We are constantly doing
new work in the AI area.
I think it is very important to note that we have also
developed a framework for how to audit artificial intelligence
algorithms in terms of the data governance structure and other
areas. As you mentioned, it is a moving target. So you are not
auditing anything static, particularly in a generative, machine
learning environment.
We have a robust program. We have tripled the number of
people we had, at Congress' urging, in the science and
technology area, so we have experts in AI now in larger
numbers, and I am very pleased with the development of our
program. I would be happy to provide our plans to the committee
as well as, for the record, the reports that we have issued in
these areas.
Senator Rounds. Thank you. I am going to turn to Director
Swagel now. Given the rapid advances in technology and the
economy, is CBO developing internal capabilities to model how
emerging technologies, like AI, could impact Federal spending
and revenues over the next decade?
And if I could, between the two of you, explain to me the
differences between your missions, specifically with regard to
how we look at AI, and the development and analysis of AI, and
whether or not we are being effective in its use within the
government.
Dr. Swagel. Okay. Sure. So we are looking at technology and
AI, and the biggest direct impact on the Federal budget would
be through the overall size of the economy. If the technology
improves, if AI contributes to increased productivity, that
will make all workers more productive. It will mean the capital
we have is more productive. There will be more GDP, and more
revenue, and a lower deficit. And we have done lots of work on
the effects of increased productivity on the deficit.
The challenge is understanding where exactly AI fits into
the economy and the payoff, and there is lots of analysis for
us still. It is a little bit too soon to say: Okay, there is
this bonus from AI, or the economy is bigger as a result of AI.
So we are watching that, but we are not there yet.
I will just say two last things and then I will stop. We
are looking at the impacts within the economy, what it means
for workers and in different parts of the country. In terms of
us versus GAO, in a sense, we look forward, we are looking at
what is the projection over the ten-year window, what does AI
mean for legislation. And GAO would tend to evaluate backwards
not in a negative sense, but what has happened, and they would
make recommendations, whereas we would not.
Senator Rounds. But what you are saying is they deal in
facts, and you deal in projections?
Dr. Swagel. There is a sense in which that is right. I
mean, we try to judge what the facts are and what they mean for
the future, but there is a sense in which that is right.
Mr. Dodaro. I think, a slight modification to Phil's
response, it is not just evaluating the past, it is also the
present. We are doing real-time auditing of what is going on
right now. Now, in AI, a big role that we are going to play is
the quality of the data that the agencies are using. From our
auditing on an ongoing basis across the spectrum of Federal
Government's operations, I can tell you the quality of the data
is not good.
If you don't have good data going into these systems, you
need to worry about bias, you need to worry about accuracy, you
need to worry about what unintended consequences might occur.
So that will be a big focus of our efforts--that is, are these
investments actually paying off in producing reliable outcomes
that lead effectively to carrying out their program objectives?
Senator Murray. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. Senator Heinrich.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Dodaro, GAO
receives more than 100 new report mandates a year, plus another
150 recurring mandates. In addition, GAO is responsible for
informal technical assistance and resolving bid protests. Add
to that oversight and auditing of Federal programs within the
Federal agencies. How does GAO's budget request help the agency
handle its current workload, and any new mandates that are
coming down the road currently?
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. We maintain active conversations with all
the committees across the Congress on what their highest
priorities are. We have a good sense of their priorities, and
we reprioritize as events occur, such as when administrations
start new initiatives, or there is a major event like a natural
disaster, global conflict or pandemic.
Our request is based upon our experience dealing with the
committees, and only if we receive the requested budget can I
guarantee that we will get to all the priority requests from
various committees across the Congress. We are stretched thin.
Our budget has not grown as the Federal Government has grown
over the years. In inflationary terms, the Federal Government's
spending has increased 116 percent. GAO's budget has decreased
1.4 percent. So we need this budget request just to stay
abreast.
Senator Heinrich. You spoke about data. How has the access
that DOGE has had in the modifications of government IT systems
impacted GAO's ability to conduct oversight and audits of
Federal programs on behalf of the Congress?
Mr. Dodaro. Right now we are auditing the DOGE access. We
are looking at the digital footprint within each of these major
systems across government, whether it is Social Security,
Treasury, OPM, or others. And so we will have a better idea
about what impact DOGE's accesses had on the data systems and
whether there has been any information added to the system, or
taken out of the system.
We spend a lot of time on data reliability before we do any
assessment at GAO. This has added another element of complexity
to that work.
Senator Heinrich. How is that information then communicated
back to us?
Mr. Dodaro. We will issue public reports to the Congress.
Senator Heinrich. What is the timeframe, do you think?
Mr. Dodaro. We are just getting started across government,
and I do not have a timeframe right now. We are going to try to
provide iterative reports. In other words, we will release them
as they are available for each agency. I am not going to wait
until we complete this work across the government, and so that
will give some indications.
Now, on a positive side, I mean, they have opened up some
data barriers that had been preventing the Federal Government
from detecting improper payments and fraud. So there are some
benefits. I don't want to imply that there are just concerns.
We are looking at the benefits as well.
Senator Heinrich. Talk to me about the data validation. How
does GAO make sure the information it gets from agencies is
valid, authentic, accurate?
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. Well, a lot these data----
Senator Heinrich. You will also need the active----
Mr. Dodaro. A lot of these databases we work with year in
and year out over time. So first we will look at what the
agency does itself to validate the information. What kind of
checks they put in place? We will do some testing. We will do
some data edits to see if there are any anomalies in the data.
We have a whole set of methodologies and procedures. I have
experts in this area who assist each of the audit teams.
We also audit the Federal Government's financial
statements. So we are doing our own sampling and testing of the
accuracy of the Federal financial information.
Senator Heinrich. I can imagine that has probably never
been more important than it is right now.
Switching to you for a moment, Mr. Halpern, talk to us a
little bit more about the digitization of the publications at
the Federal repository libraries and what you are looking at
there?
Mr. Halpern. Sure. Most documents today begin life as
digital documents, so when you drop a bill, that manuscript
comes to GPO and we turn that into electrons. Most of the time,
if you go to Senate Legislative Counsel, we are getting a good
file that we can work with. But if you write something on the
back of a napkin, our folks will input that data, and then we
produce a good document, both in PDF and as structured data in
a machine-readable format.
And that is really key to the future. We don't produce
nearly as many tangible documents as we used to, and that is
why we have really moved the Federal Depository Library Program
to a more digital format. And that is something that our
library partners wanted as well.
Senator Heinrich. Got you. Thank you.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. Senator Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome,
gentlemen. It is good to see you here today.
Mr. Dodaro, as I am sure you are aware, GAO recently issued
observations regarding EPA's submission of notices of decision
on Clean Air Act preemption waivers as rules under the
Congressional Review Act.
In 2020, GAO wrote in a legal decision, quote, ``When an
agency submits a document to our office under CRA, we consider
that to be the agency's determination that the document is a
rule under CRA. When a rule is submitted to Congress, Congress
has an opportunity to review the rule and pass a joint
resolution of disapproval to void the rule.''
Do you believe that that statement is true?
Mr. Dodaro. It is generally true.
Senator Fischer. If it is true, why then did GAO not
consider these three Clean Air Act waivers to be rules when EPA
submitted them to your office under CRAs?
Mr. Dodaro. Well, first, there was confusion. When EPA
first submitted them to us on February 19, they said they were
orders, not rules, meaning they are not subject to CRA, which
is consistent with the decision that we made in 2023. They even
cited our decision in the first submission. Then, a week or so
later, they submitted them as if they were rules. And so we
asked EPA why there was this inconsistency. We never got a
response from them.
Now, when you quoted that decision, the GAO language is
true. We said we do not issue legal opinions once they have
submitted it. In this case, this was not a legal opinion, it
was observations, because we had issued the previous opinion in
2023. Now, we didn't change that opinion----
Senator Fischer. Well, in 2023, EPA did not submit the
action to GAO as a rule, which meant that GAO was called upon
to decide whether that waiver constituted a rule. But in 2025,
EPA did submit the three waivers to GAO and to Congress under
CRA. In this case, precedent would dictate that you consider
the document a rule once it was submitted to your office under
CRA. So, sir, it is a rule.
Mr. Dodaro. Well, EPA asserts it is a rule, but the issue
is the same as what we----
Senator Fischer. But under your own precedent, it would be
a rule?
Mr. Dodaro. Not necessarily. We have prior case law on this
issue, which we relied on in this case. It is the same issue.
In 2023, Congress asked us: Shouldn't EPA have submitted it as
a rule? And we said, no. It is an order under the
Administrative Procedures Act, and it remains an order. The
President can make changes on this----
Senator Fischer. But in 2025, though, they did submit the
three waivers.
Mr. Dodaro. Well, after they submitted it saying it wasn't
the rule, they submitted it both ways, and on the----
Senator Fischer. And most recently they submitted it as a
rule. So if you have a precedent saying that agencies have the
primary responsibility to determine which agency actions meet
CRA definition of a rule, and additional precedent that says:
That when an agency submits a document to our office under CRA,
we consider that to be the agency's determination that the
document is a rule under CRA.
Doesn't that make it pretty clear that Congress should
decide when using the CRA is appropriate after an agency
submits that document?
Mr. Dodaro. Well, in this case, certain Members of Congress
had questions about it in terms of our case law. So we have an
obligation to inform Congress of our views on these particular
issues. I would also clarify that our decisions are not
dispositive on the Congress. They are advisory. Congress can
overrule our legal decisions.
Senator Fischer. Well, I just believe that we are looking
at a completely different scenario than 2023, when you are
dealing with an agency action that was not submitted to your
agency.
Mr. Dodaro. It was submitted to us, twice, as I said, once
as an order and then once as a rule. I can understand----
Senator Fischer. And then again--and then again this year,
sir.
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. Well, again, this year it was submitted
twice as an order and a rule by EPA within a week of one
another. I am not talking about 2023. I am talking about twice
in 2025. I can understand why Congress had questions about it
and asked us: Well, what do you think? We are in business to
help the Congress and inform them based upon our work. That is
all we did in this case.
Senator Fischer. I would disagree with you. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Mullin. Thank you for your time.
Sir, we will stay with you. I just have a couple questions,
if you don't mind. How many employees right now work for you?
Mr. Dodaro. A little over 3,500.
Senator Mullin. 3,500, and what do you feel like the need
is?
Mr. Dodaro. I think we need to be at least at 3,600 to
3,700 staff. GAO used to be over 5,000 people that was
downsized in the 1990s, and since then----
Senator Mullin. And we also did not have the same
technology we have today, I mean, that is----
Mr. Dodaro. Yes, that is true. But the government was a lot
smaller then, too, than it is now.
Senator Mullin. And you have a request of how much
increase, 122 million?
Mr. Dodaro. That is correct.
Senator Mullin. And what is your total budget?
Mr. Dodaro. The total budget right now is $811 million,
almost $812.
Senator Mullin. So you are going to be approaching a
billion dollars?
Mr. Dodaro. That is correct.
Senator Mullin. Is that correct?
Mr. Dodaro. Right.
Senator Mullin. At the same time we are trying to shrink
the Federal Government, we are trying to use efficiencies. I
mean, one of the things we try to do is be more efficient. What
type of technology are you using to try to offset this? And I
use this from the--you know, let us just use real world, right?
Our Payables and Receivables Office doesn't have near as many
people in it as it used to. Our Payroll Department doesn't have
near as many people in it as it used to because of the new
technology that is available to us.
Mr. Dodaro. Right.
Senator Mullin. And I would say most of the research and
accounting offices around the country have shrunk considerably.
So what type of technology have you changed to be able to
absorb that, to be able to help your efficiencies? Because we
are cutting all the cost to government, so it is hard for us to
justify $122 billion--$122 million increase, which is roughly
15 percent for GAO.
Mr. Dodaro. Right. Well, I think the first justification
for our request comes from the fact that we return to the
government $123 back for every dollar invested. Now, in terms
of our----
Senator Mullin. How many people in your office do you have
that is specifically, because I have heard you quote that now
three times----
Mr. Dodaro. Yes.
Senator Mullin [continuing]. Work on that specific issue to
tell us how much money you spend--you return back to us?
Mr. Dodaro. Well, we actually use estimates from CBO and
the Congress as well as from the agency.
Senator Mullin. But how many people do you have on your
staff that is designated just to provide that number to us?
Mr. Dodaro. Every team does it based upon their own audit
work. It is not any central group that does it. They compile
it. There is one, maybe one person there that compiles the
numbers as part of a lot of other responsibilities. But it is
everybody, and GAO's job to try to be more--
Senator Mullin. I do hear what you are--I do hear what you
are saying. The issue that we are having here is, is that we
are not going to be able to increase it.
Mr. Dodaro. Yes.
Senator Mullin. And so we have got to get more efficient,
and that goes for every agency. We have got to get more
efficient.
Mr. Dodaro. Right.
Senator Mullin. And we are asking the Executive Branch to
be more efficient. The Executive Branch is becoming more
efficient. We have to do the same.
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. One thing that this Committee could do to
help us in our efficiency is to have the agencies that we audit
provide the information more quickly, and reliably to us.
Senator Mullin. Right.
Mr. Dodaro. And because we can then do work a lot faster if
the agencies are cooperative.
Senator Mullin. Sure. Mr. Halpern, quickly, can you explain
to us what you are doing to become more efficient with the
taxpayer dollars as funding?
Mr. Halpern. Sure. We are trying to automate processes
where we can. Some of our requirements are that we support
older processes. So for instance, as I was explaining to
Senator Heinrich, if you write a bill on a legal pad, I have to
be able to take that and turn that into good legislative text.
That requires people to do it.
We are getting more efficient when it comes to the actual
printing. For instance, we have changed from conventional
offset printing for our daily publications to digital inkjet
printing, which means I have much smaller crews manning those
printing presses.
Senator Mullin. Now, you mentioned multiple times in your
statement that you operate as a business.
Mr. Halpern. We do.
Senator Mullin. And you have customers?
Mr. Halpern. We do.
Senator Mullin. And those customers, are they competitive
bids, or are you kind of assumed the one and only supplier for
the needs for printing?
Mr. Halpern. It depends. So for instance, the U.S.
passport, our single largest product, we have one customer,
that is the Department of State, and----
Senator Mullin. But I mean, you are not bidding against
outside private groups to do this?
Mr. Halpern. We are not, because the security requirements
for that document are significant----
Senator Mullin. And I say that because you operate like a
business, but yet you have an appropriation request, plus an
increase on it. What keeps you from just adjusting your prices
to actually cover your cost, because if you are operating as a
business, then you should have the ability to adjust your cost
to be able to make sure it is not costing the taxpayers any
extra funding, other than to the agency?
Mr. Halpern. The Appropriations' request covers three
things. It covers Congress' own printing needs. Congress
decided that it is easier to appropriate those dollars to us
directly than to have us bill them per page.
Senator Mullin. Okay.
Mr. Halpern. So that is $83 million of that request.
Senator Mullin. Because I am over time, I will come back.
Mr. Halpern. Sure.
Senator Mullin. I want to be respectful of my time, just
like everybody else's. I will turn the question over to Senator
Murray.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank
you to you and Senator Heinrich for holding this hearing,
really important for our ability to be able to write our
appropriations bills, so I appreciate it.
And I want to thank each of you and all your staff at your
agencies for your really excellent support that you provide to
this Committee and to Congress.
You know, from day one, President Trump has unilaterally
frozen or contravened critical funding provided in our
bipartisan laws. Those actions by Trump and Russ Vought have
really wreaked havoc for our families and communities across
the country. That is really not what the Constitution
envisioned. Congress has the power of the purse. Period. Our
presidents cannot pick and choose which parts of a law they can
follow.
So Comptroller Dodaro, I want to ask you. You have
testified that GAO is investigating the Trump's
administration's efforts to block Federal funds as potential
violations of the Impoundment Control Act. What is the status
of those investigations?
Mr. Dodaro. We have right now 39 different investigations
underway. We are trying to get the information from the
agencies about what their legal position is for not expending
the money. I am looking forward to what I understand to be a
submission by the administration of a rescission package, which
is the process outlined in the Impoundment Control Act.
So we will look at that. We are also monitoring all the
litigation surrounding these areas that we are investigating.
Only three agencies so far have given us the information that
we require. OMB has not been responsive, nor EPA. A number of
other agencies are due to get us information this week or next
week.
I would imagine starting next month, after we look to see
what is in the rescission package----
Senator Murray. Next month, as in May?
Mr. Dodaro. Yes. They won't all come at once, they will
come as we collect and analyze all the information.
Senator Murray. What options do you have if you don't get
timely or responsive information from the Federal agencies?
Mr. Dodaro. Well, we will have to make decisions then on
our own, based upon the available information. Some of it will
be in the lawsuit filings that we are following right now, and
then we will have to go forward with the information that we
have. We've had to do this in the past, for example with the
Interior Department, which didn't respond for a long period of
time.
Congress put in language then, after that experience, in
the Appropriations Act, requiring Interior to give us
information within a certain period of time. I would suggest,
respectfully, that a requirement be included in this year's
Appropriations Bill, specifically as it relates to Impoundment
Control Act decisions, that requires agencies to be timely in
responding to GAO. We can give you a reasonable timeframe to
include. It would also be helpful to also include a provision
of general cooperation giving GAO access to the information we
need in our audits. This would also address the Chairman's
question about GAO being more efficient. We can only be as
efficient as allowed by the timeliness and quality of the
information from the agencies.
Senator Murray. Right.
Mr. Dodaro. We give agencies up to 30 days to respond to
our draft reports, sometimes they take longer.
Senator Murray. Okay. Well, I appreciate that, and we,
Congress, really rely on GAO's expertise as a nonpartisan
expert watchdog. So we appreciate your work, and I am going to
stay on top of this. Look forward to working with you on that.
Mr. Swagel, Republicans are, as you know, moving full speed
ahead with the reconciliation package, promising to deliver
more than $5.3 trillion in new tax breaks for billionaires and
large corporations. And at the same time, some Republicans have
promised that Medicaid, which is a lifeline for our kids and
seniors, is safe. But the reality is, Republicans can't keep
both of those promises.
I want to examine this with you. The Republican
reconciliation instruction directs $880 billion in cuts within
the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction
over Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.
You responded to a question from House Ranking Member Brendan
Boyle and Frank Pallone in March regarding spending within the
House Energy and Commerce Committee's jurisdiction, excluding
Medicare, which Republicans say is off the table.
In your response, you said over 10 years Medicaid outlays
will account for 93 percent of baseline budget projections for
Energy and Commerce; is that correct?
Dr. Swagel. Yes, that is correct.
Senator Murray. And if you add in CHIP, is it fair to say
you are now talking north of 95 percent?
Dr. Swagel. That is right. Once you take out Medicaid and
CHIP, there is only $381 billion still in the current baseline.
Senator Murray. Okay. So looking at table one in that March
5th letter, is it fair to say the remainder is nowhere close to
that $880 billion?
Dr. Swagel. That is correct. In the letter that we sent to
Mr. Boyle and Mr. Pallone, the dollars after Medicare,
Medicaid, and CHIP, are much smaller than the instruction.
Senator Murray. Yes. Okay. So just for the record, I just
want to say it would appear to me to be impossible for Energy
and Commerce, the committee with jurisdiction, to reach the
spending cuts required under the Republican Reconciliation
instructions without cutting Medicaid or putting Medicare back
on the table.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. Mr. Heinrich, I understand you
have got a couple more questions?
Senator Heinrich. Mr. Dodaro, what was the ratio again of
dollars invested in GAO to dollars saved?
Mr. Dodaro. For the last 6 years, it is $123 back for every
dollar invested in GAO.
Senator Heinrich. Do we have any data at this time to
suggest what the ratio might be from the activities associated
with DOGE?
Mr. Dodaro. Not at this time. We will have to take a look
at it. They have used some of our reports and have said that
they are working to implement some of our open recommendations.
We estimate that our open recommendations that Congress or the
agencies have not addressed yet could save up to $208 billion.
We issue about 1,400 new recommendations every year. We always
follow up on our recommendations. But how much in savings
relates specifically to DOGE, I am not sure yet.
Senator Heinrich. How can we facilitate that information?
How do we go about that?
Mr. Dodaro. I expect that we would receive a request from
Congress asking us to look at their claims for savings. We have
not yet received that, but I would imagine that would come at
some point. We are tracking it now in terms of how they are
using our open recommendations so that we can show the results
of our work and the impact our work has. If what they are doing
goes beyond implementing our recommendations, we would have to
look at it and validate their estimate.
Senator Heinrich. So for example, if you have a buyout of a
Federal employee, you have to back that value out of the so-
called savings, right?
Mr. Dodaro. Absolutely. And also, if the person becomes
unemployed, the Federal Government has to pay unemployment
benefits.
Senator Heinrich. And then--yes.
Mr. Dodaro. There are a lot of puts and takes in these
estimates that you have to look at, because at the end of the
day, you want to know what is the net cost.
Senator Heinrich. Exactly. I am looking forward to the
GAO's analysis of that. What three, you said three agencies
have been responsive with respect to the Empowerment Control
Act issues. What three agencies are those?
Mr. Dodaro. State and Transportation, but one of them had
two requests, bringing it to three responses, so far.
Senator Heinrich. All right. So EPA has not been
responsive?
Mr. Dodaro. No.
Senator Heinrich. How about Department of Energy?
Mr. Dodaro. They are working on it. I am also outreaching,
as I normally do, with all new Cabinet officials and the
leadership of agencies. I am due to meet with Secretary McMahon
this week. I will talk to her about responsiveness to GAO. I
had problems with the last administration, regarding the
Education Department. They weren't very cooperative, so I am
hopeful that that will change.
Senator Heinrich. What about Interior?
Mr. Dodaro. Interior, so far has not responded, but I am
going to outreach to Secretary Burgum. I met with Secretary
Collins at VA already, and I have meetings set with Secretary
Wright at the Energy Department. And I will meet with all the
leaders across government. I always do that.
Senator Heinrich. I look forward to learning the results of
that.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. And Mr. Swagel, I didn't have
time to ask you any questions the first time. So if you do not
mind, how many CBO--or how has CBO been able to absorb the
significant increase in cost estimate workload? If you could,
explain the operational improvements that have helped with
that, and the employment--and employees that you have there.
Dr. Swagel. Okay. Yes. I know, thank you. And the number of
requests, both the formal cost estimates and the informal
technical assistance has gone up. We have done it really in two
ways. One is by focusing on the prioritization, and we take our
prioritization from the budget committees and the leadership,
and the committees of jurisdiction. And we look to them to say:
What should we do first?
Within the agency, we have shifted to more flexibility
within our staff. So we will have staff who will cover multiple
areas, that we can shift people around when there is something
that is especially urgent. We have done that also, in part, by
shifting to younger staff, and hiring staff right out of
college, who are in more--instances more agile than some of our
older staff.
Senator Mullin. So that might answer my second question.
You know, Congress is always changing, and we are changing
rapidly, really, it depends on the flavor of the month, what is
in the news cycle. How do you adjust for that?
Dr. Swagel. You know, we try in a sense to get there before
you do, to figure out what is coming, and have our analysis
ready. Sometimes we do it, sometimes we don't get there. There
are some things that are perennials. So health care is our
biggest substantive area. As an example, we have been working
on Medicaid now for months to be ready, so it is that kind of
mix of getting guidance and then using our judgment to see
where the Congress is going.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. Mr. Dodaro, I guess I have more
of a comment than a question. There is a concern, especially on
our side of the aisle, that some--or the CRA response looked
political, especially since you made the opinion in about eight
days. And then the last time, you know, the EPA submitted to
you, they submitted it to you as a rule.
I just would throw this out, and I throw this out to all
the agencies. We don't want you to be political. We don't want
you to make a political decision. This is the fastest way to
get myself or my ranking member upset. I want to run this
committee in a very bipartisan way, because what we are talking
about is bipartisan stuff. There is nothing that comes in front
of this Committee that should be political at all.
But if I perceive it to be, you will hear from me. And I
will make adjustments as needed. And we, as a committee, will
make adjustments as needed. So when you are making a decision
and when you are responding to us, just give us the facts, not
your political opinion and your political bias. We deal with
that every single day on both sides of the aisle. As I say it
again, I do not want that in this committee at all. And I will
hold the members accountable, and I will hold myself
accountable to do it the same. So with that being said, thank
you a lot--
Mr. Dodaro. Might I respond?
Senator Mullin. Yes, sir.
Mr. Dodaro. Mr. Chairman, I can assure you that decision on
EPA was not political. It was routine business, we got a
question about a prior decision that we made. We did not change
the prior decision. We gave a summary. I know there are
appearance issues, but I can assure you I have been in this job
now, as I said, for 17 years. I took the oath to keep this job
as a nonpartisan job. I have approached it always that way.
Senator Mullin. I will take your word for it today. But as
I say, the proof is in the pudding. And so for now, I will take
your word for it.
Mr. Dodaro. I appreciate that.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Mullin. All right then. Guys, I appreciate you
allowing me to entertain you a little bit as I stumble through
my very first hearing. I appreciate your time.
Senator Heinrich, appreciate your time too. Look forward to
working with everybody, and hopefully have a close relationship
as we go forward.
With that, the committee is closed.
[Whereupon, at 10:55 a.m., Tuesday, April 29, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2026
----------
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2025
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:04 a.m., in room SD-138, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Markwayne Mullin (Chairman),
presiding.
Present: Senators Mullin, and Heinrich.
U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARKWAYNE MULLIN
Senator Mullin. The committee will come to order. I want to
thank everybody for being here. I would like to let everybody
know that, you know, obviously this is our second of our fiscal
year 2026 budget Hearing for the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Subcommittee.
Today we will have Dr. Hayden, the Library of Congress; and
Mr. Austin, the Architect of the Capitol. I appreciate the
willingness of the witnesses to appear before the subcommittee
today, and I look forward to their testimony.
Before we turn to the specifics of our budget request, I
want to comment on the overall outlook for the fiscal year of
2026. We are looking at a significant decrease in discretionary
spending across the Federal Government, and we must do our part
to make responsible decisions in the bill on how we allocate
our limited funds.
Now, we begin this year's appropriations process not
knowing what kind of increase, if any, we will be able to
accommodate, which makes it even more important that we fully
understand your agency's greatest needs and how these requests
position you to continue to provide support for Congress.
This year, the total budget request for the Library of
Congress is $946.2 million, which includes an offset of
collections and an appropriation of $9 million and $100.3
million. This represents the increase of $48.4 million, or a
5.4 increase above the enacted level. I support the funding--I
understand the funding would support continued investments in
IT modernization, including improvements to Congress.gov and
other Library websites and applications, and additional
investments in the Library's digital capacity and
accessibility.
The Architect of the Capitol request for fiscal year 2026
is over $1.3 billion, an increase of $506.3 million, or a 61
percent increase above the level provided for the full-year CR.
This significant increase is primarily for project requests,
which reflects the fact that important infrastructure projects
have been delayed or phase-funded. I would like to hear the
impact of delaying some of this work year after year in terms
of increasing deterioration of these historic buildings and the
growing cost and risk to operate them.
And thank you again to the witnesses for being here today,
I look forward to a productive discussion and understanding
your agency's priorities for this year.
Now, I would like to turn it over to our Ranking Member,
Senator Heinrich, for any remarks you would like to make.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman. I look forward to
hearing from today's witnesses as we continue our work to
prepare a fiscally responsible bill that meets the needs of the
Legislative Branch as a separate but equal branch of
Government.
Thank you to the witnesses providing testimony today, and
to the folks at your agencies who work every day to facilitate
the Congress' work.
Mr. Austin, the Architect of the Capitol, plays an
important role in keeping the Capitol Complex fully functional.
As the newly appointed Architect, you are the caretaker of the
building that embodies our democracy, and it is because of the
dedication of you and your staff that Congress can perform its
work effectively, and that millions of people each year can
access and experience the seat of American Government.
This year the AOC is requesting $1.3 billion to carry out
its mission, a $506 million increase over the fiscal year 2025
enacted level. Now, I understand that this increase addresses
both salaries and infrastructure requirements. I also
understand that you are finalizing a Capitol Complex Master
Plan that will help inform project priorities for the AOC for
the next several years. And I look forward to your testimony
about the status of the Master Plan and the resources your team
needs to do its job.
Dr. Hayden, you bring both a deep commitment to public
access and a modern vision for preserving and sharing knowledge
of the Library of Congress. You have requested $900 million to
support Library operations, the Congressional Research Service,
the Copyright Office, and the National Library Services for the
Blind and Print Disabled.
While your request is a $49 million increase over the
fiscal year 2025 enacted level, I understand that the Trump
administration recently froze funding for library service
programs and that this freeze may have indirect impacts on your
programs. So I look forward to hearing about how this impacts
your work and about the resources that you need for your
programming in the coming year. I would also like to hear about
the Library's ongoing Visitor Experience Project and your work
with the Architect on this effort.
Again, thank you to both of our witnesses for being here
today. And thank you, Chairman, for the time.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. And with that, we will let our
witnesses have a five-minute opening.
We will start with Ms. Hayden, if you want to start.
------
U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
STATEMENT OF HON. CARLA HAYDEN, LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS
Dr. Hayden. Thank you, Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member
Heinrich. And this is an opportunity to provide testimony in
support of the Library's fiscal 2026 budget request.
The mission of the Library 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 Congress remains the
foundation for the Library's mission every day with analysis,
policy consultations, briefings, programs, and constituent
engagement.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the
ongoing and extraordinary support that this Committee and
Congress give to the Library. I especially 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.
Also, special thanks for your continued support for the
Library's Visitor Experience Initiative. The Library's
Treasures Gallery opened to the public in June of 2024, and we
are excited to open the Library's new education center, The
Source, by the end of 2025, in time for the Nation's America
250 Celebrations. And I am pleased to report that construction
and fabrication for the Orientation Gallery, the third element,
is now underway too.
Staff are the heart of the Library of Congress, bringing
unparalleled knowledge, expertise, and experience to bear for
the benefit of Congress and the American people, while
modernization and automation have allowed us to expand
productivity in some areas and to do more with less, it is
worth noting that the Library's staffing level has remained
largely unchanged since fiscal 2015, and indeed, the Library's
permanent workforce steadily declined from over 5,000 employees
in the early 1990s to its current level of approximately 3,300.
It is critical that this relatively low staff level be
adequately supported.
The Library's fiscal 2026 appropriations request does
include $30.9 million in mandatory pay and price level
increases. And as a result of the Continuing Resolution, the
Library has had to absorb the cost of mandatory pay and high
inflationary price level increases in fiscal 2025.
The need to absorb these expenses threatens our ability to
execute the Library's full range of programs and services. As a
result, the Library has three modest programmatic requests for
fiscal 2026 that, if funded, would provide the resources we
need to develop strategic initiatives that deliver greater
access and enhanced services, strengthen our capacity, and
still foster innovation.
These requests would also help us to keep pace with digital
advancements and continue to deliver exceptional service to
Congress and the American people.
These requests are: Preservation object storage upgrade,
web application delivery and management improvements,
continuous development of the Enterprise Copyright System, ECS.
The Library is also resubmitting three requests that were not
funded in fiscal 2025. These would support CRS's data and
analytics capacity, digital collections processing capacity,
and digital accessibility. We also revised these resubmissions
to reduce overall funding and eliminate permanent staff hires
where possible.
So we thank you again for supporting the Library, Congress,
and for your consideration of the Library's 2026 budget
request. The staff of the Library of Congress, many of whom are
here today, remain dedicated to our number one mission of
service to the Members and staff of the U.S. Congress and the
people it serves.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Carla Hayden, The Librarian of Congress
Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the
Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of
the Library's fiscal 2026 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 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 over two hundred
and twenty-five years (225) 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 the nation. 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 its 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 the Congress gives to the
Library. I especially 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 Copyright Office's Enterprise
Copyright System (ECS); CRS's IT Modernization; the National Library
Service's Braille and Audio Reading Download service (BARD) and next
generation devices; the Library Collections Access Platform (LCAP);
Congress.gov; and the Library's core IT infrastructure and IT security.
Across the Library there's been great progress in modernization and
information technology security, but we are not yet finished. Pulling
back now will jeopardize our efforts, and we must maintain this
momentum and continue building upon these investments to leverage their
true potential for all Americans.
I would also like to give special thanks for your continued support
of the Library's Visitor Experience initiative. The Library's Treasures
Gallery opened to the public in June 2024, and we are excited to open
the Library's new education center--The Source--by the end of 2025, in
time for the Nation's Semiquincentennial celebrations. I am pleased to
report that construction and fabrication for the Orientation Gallery is
now underway, too.
I come before you today to discuss the Library's fiscal 2026
appropriations request of $946.2 million, which represents a 5.4
percent increase over the Library's current funding, which has been set
at fiscal 2024 appropriation levels as we operate under a continuing
resolution (CR). Given current economic conditions, we have revised
programmatic increases and minimized out-year costs, deferring all but
the most time-critical requests.
The Library's fiscal 2026 appropriations request aligns with the
strategic goals set forth in our fiscal 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, A
Library for All--expand access, enhance services, strengthen capacity,
and foster innovation. It affirms the Library's user-centered mission
of service. It builds on multiyear strategic efforts to rebuild the
Library's information technology foundation and to optimize advanced IT
systems and business processes, while at the same time enhancing access
and customer service. And it invests in the future, ensuring that the
Library can safeguard and support its collections, services, and
workforce in person and online.
Staff are the heart of the Library of Congress. Our employees
represent the apex of their professions, bringing unparalleled
knowledge, expertise, and experience to bear for the benefit of
Congress and the American people.
We are providing more programs and services than ever before, and
while modernization and automation have allowed us to expand
productivity in some areas and to do more with less, it is worth noting
that the Library's staffing level has remained largely unchanged since
fiscal 2015. Indeed, the Library's permanent workforce steadily
declined from over 5,000 employees in the early 1990s to its current
level of approximately 3,300. It is critical that this relatively low
staff level be adequately supported.
With that said, the Library's fiscal 2026 appropriations request
does include $30.9 million in mandatory pay and price-level increases.
As a result of the continuing resolution, the Library has had to absorb
the cost of mandatory pay and high inflationary price-level increases
in fiscal 2025. The need to absorb these expenses threatens our ability
to execute the Library's full range of programs and services. It also
has an outsized negative impact on the Library of Congress, Salaries &
Expenses appropriation, which funds centralized support services across
the entire agency.
The Library has three new programmatic requests for fiscal 2026
that, if funded, would provide the resources we need to develop
strategic initiatives that deliver greater access and enhanced
services, strengthen our capacity, and foster innovation. These
requests would also help us to keep pace with digital advancements and
deliver exceptional service to the Congress and the American people.
preservation object storage upgrade
The Library is requesting $5.4 million to replace and upgrade the
decades-old digital preservation system at the Library's on-premises
sites with Object Storage technology to achieve compatibility with
cloud-native technologies and storage.
The Library is responsible for preserving and securing the world's
largest collection of knowledge. To meet this responsibility with
digital collections and data, the Library's Office of the Chief
Information Officer (OCIO) has established specific strategies for
preservation data (preserved for future generations) and presentation
data (available on Library web sites). Both strategies require multiple
copies of data stored securely on-premises and in the cloud.
The Library currently maintains two digital preservation tape
libraries that are now over twenty years old. The requested funding
will allow OCIO to replace and upgrade this decades-old digital
preservation system with the industry standard Object Storage format,
which is required to support the applications developed by the Library
within the cloud including: the digital collections platform; NLS's
Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) application; the Enterprise
Copyright System (ECS), and the Audio-Visual Content Management System
(AVCMS). Each of these cloud-native applications depends on access to
Library data to deliver content and provide important services to the
public.
This upgrade will establish parity between the Library's on-
premises and cloud storage environments and best support current and
future cloud-native technologies.
web application delivery and management improvements
The Library is requesting $2.5 million annually to better serve the
millions of users who access the Library's data, collections, and
services through its primary public websites by transitioning web
development activities and hosting to the cloud. In fiscal year 2024,
nearly 120 million people viewed more than a half a billion pages of
websites managed by the Library.
In recent years, however, keeping up with the sites' higher usage
and the fast-growing scope and scale of the sites' content has led to
challenges maintaining a high level of scalability, reliability, and
performance.
The technical and financial limitations of physical data centers
leave us unable to provide needed capacity during periods of high
demand from individual users and impact a growing number of data
partners and research institutions using bulk-data services such as
Application Program Interfaces (APIs).
This request will enable OCIO to update the Congress.gov, loc.gov,
and copyright.gov websites and applications to utilize elastic
technology available from commercial cloud providers. Elastic
technology is a cloud feature that allows for the quick adjustment of
resources like memory, storage, and processing power based on demand.
This allows users to scale resources up or down to meet changing
demands, without having concerns about capacity planning or peak usage.
This request invests in upgrading how the Library makes content and
service available to the Congress and the American people and supports
the access of collections in connection with the Preservation Object
Storage Upgrade request.
continuous development of the enterprise copyright system (ecs)
The Library is requesting an appropriation of $6.8 million for the
U.S. Copyright Office for 3 years to accelerate development and
delivery of the Registration component of the Enterprise Copyright
System (ECS), reducing the time to completion by approximately 2 years.
Recent stakeholder concerns, evolving technological demands, and
congressional focus make it imperative to more quickly address the
limitations of the existing online registration system, eCO, which has
been used to support copyright registrations for over 15 years. There
have been growing demands to accelerate the pace of IT development and
delivery of the ECS Registration component to include the capabilities
to support the entire registration process.
Registration acceleration will include all types of registration
and methods of deposit (electronic and/or physical) presently available
in eCO. Increasing resources devoted to registration will meet the
demands of stakeholders for a new, enhanced and efficient registration
system, allowing the Copyright Office to quickly sunset the legacy eCO
system and other workflows that rely on legacy platforms.
fiscal 2025 re-submissions
In keeping with the Library's strategic goals, the Library is re-
submitting the following three requests that were not funded in fiscal
2025. Given current economic conditions, these requests have been
revised to reduce overall funding and eliminate permanent staff hires
where possible.
Digital Collections Processing Capacity and Infrastructure
(Expanding Access) will enable the Library to invest in end-to-end
modernization of IT infrastructure to support the centrality of digital
collecting and to upskill staff capacity to process digital content and
support the associated IT systems.
This request is essential as the Library increasingly moves toward
digital as the preferred format for acquiring items for the collections
that were born digital or converted from analog form.
Transitioning from an almost exclusively physical collections to
increasingly digital collections is a multi-year undertaking. 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 scale
of digital collections growth. These resources allow the Library to
manage the actual digital collections ingest, processing, and access.
The request supports 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.
CRS: Expanding Data Analytics Capacity (Strengthening Capacity &
Fostering Innovation) will enable the Congressional Research Service
(CRS) to expand capabilities in quantitative data analysis and policy
simulation capacity. It will expand CRS' 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. In alignment with Congressional
Members and Committees expressed interest, CRS is investigating how
artificial intelligence (AI) technologies could enhance its work for
the Congress.
CRS is working to make information more readily discoverable and
accessible. It 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.
Ensuring Access through a Digital Accessibility Program (Expanding
Access) will enable the Library to fully meet its mission in the
information age. The Library's digital products, materials, and
services must be accessible to all, including veterans and those 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.
Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you again for supporting the Library of Congress
and for your consideration of our fiscal 2026 budget request. The staff
of the Library of Congress remain dedicated to our number one mission
of service to the members and staff of the U.S. Congress.
Prepared Statement of Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and
Director, U.S. Copyright Office
Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the
Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit the U.S. Copyright Office's
fiscal 2026 budget request. The Copyright Office is charged 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 targeted regulatory
activity, administering certain statutory licenses, and educating the
public about copyright.\1\ With approximately 470 full time staff and a
modest budget, we have provided these valuable services for over 125
years since Congress recognized the Office as a separate organization
in the Library.
Processing times for our core services of registration and
recordation stand at historic lows. We continue to make significant
progress on IT modernization of our new Enterprise Copyright System
(ECS), with three of the four components already in production and used
by the public and our staff. We are nearing the three-year anniversary
of the new small claims tribunal created by Congress. We are actively
engaged in administrative oversight of the designation of the entities
established by the Music Modernization Act (MMA). In the past year, we
completed the ninth triennial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
Section 1201 rulemaking and issued two reports on artificial
intelligence and copyright. We have expanded our public outreach
through educational events and other programs for a variety of
audiences.
key accomplishments over the past year
Administration of the Copyright Act.--The Office is charged with
administering the Copyright Act, which involves providing several core
services to the public. Much of this work is involved in our ongoing IT
modernization initiative, discussed further below.
Registration.--In fiscal 2024, we registered 424,155 copyright
claims involving millions of works. Over the past 3 years, we have
markedly improved registration processing times: the average time for
examining all copyright claims stands at 2.1 months for the first half
of fiscal 2025. For fully electronic claims that do not require
correspondence, the average is just 1.5 months.\2\ Electronic
applications with physical deposits without correspondence average 2.7
months, while paper applications have remained at an average of 3.8
months for claims without correspondence. Approximately 99% of all
applications are now submitted electronically through our electronic
Copyright Office (eCO) portal, which we are in the process of replacing
as part of our modernization.
Recordation.--In fiscal 2024, the Office recorded 16,971 documents
containing titles of 1,738,530 works.\3\ Our online Section 205
recordation pilot, launched in April 2020, has significantly shortened
processing times, with the average time from 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; nearly 90% of all recordations now come
in electronically.\4\
Public Records.--The Office is the custodian of records related to
registration and recordation, many going back more than a hundred
years, which we are working to make available online. In fiscal 2024,
we continued development of the new Copyright Public Records System
(CPRS) (which includes both recordation and registration records). To
date, 3.6 million physical records have been made available in CPRS.
Licensing.--The Office maintained our effective stewardship of $1.6
billion in statutory licensing funds as of the end of fiscal 2024.\5\
For the seventh consecutive year, we received an unmodified or
``clean'' audit opinion of the fiscal 2023 statutory licensing
fiduciary asset financial statements.
Additional Major Activities.--The Copyright Office is engaged in
other significant activities, such as implementing legislation, issuing
rulemakings, and conducting economic research and public outreach.
Copyright Claims Board (CCB).--This June, the CCB will complete 3
years of operations. As of the end of March 2025, 1,222 claims had been
filed, and the CCB had issued 35 final determinations. CCB officers
have successfully facilitated 94 agreements by holding settlement
conferences. Staff have participated in scores of public events to
promote the CCB's use and have reached nationwide audiences in-person
and virtually.\6\ Claims have come from forty-eight states, D.C. and
Puerto Rico, and forty other countries. As required by the Copyright
Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020, the Office
has begun a review of the CCB's operations to be completed in February
2026.
DMCA Section 1201 and the Music Modernization Act (MMA).--Over the
past few years, the Office has conducted numerous rulemakings.\7\ For
example, in October 2024, we completed the ninth triennial proceeding
under section 1201 of Title 17 regarding temporary exemptions to
section 1201's prohibition against the circumvention of technological
measures that control access to copyrighted works. Under the MMA, the
Office maintains an oversight role as directed by the statute and
engages 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).
Additional Regulatory Work.--The Office's additional regulatory
work includes a rulemaking to provide a group registration for
frequently updated news websites. Last September, we issued
clarifications to regulations involving termination rights and the
MMA's blanket license. We have several rulemakings underway, including
a proposed group registration option for two-dimensional artwork and an
update to our existing regulation regarding the selection of electronic
deposits of published works for addition to the collections of the
Library of Congress.
Initiative on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence.--The Copyright
Office also provides impartial advice and expertise to Congress, the
courts, and government agencies, and information to the public. For
example, the Office has been active in taking forward a comprehensive
initiative to examine the copyright law and policy issues raised by
generative AI. We issued initial registration guidance for applicants
in March 2023. In 2024, we reviewed the 10,000 comments received in
response to a public notice of inquiry. We are issuing our Report in
several parts, with Part 1: Digital Replicas published on July 31,
2024, and Part 2: Copyrightability on January 29, 2025. The next Part
will address the legal implications of training AI models on
copyrighted works, including licensing considerations.\8\ This year, we
plan to update the March 2023 Registration Guidance and initiate a
request for public comments on relevant revisions to the Compendium of
U.S. Copyright Office Practices. The Office recognizes that Congress
continues to consider multiple important issues related to AI, and we
are available to provide technical assistance.
Working with Other Agencies.--The Office regularly provides legal
advice and assistance across the government regarding complex areas of
copyright law and policy. We participate in Supreme Court and appellate
litigation with the Department of Justice and engage in interagency
collaboration and consultation on international matters and trade that
impact copyright.
Economic Work.--The Office's first Chief Economist has released
several economic reports, including two in the past year, with
additional research projects underway.\9\ The economic team also has
worked to provide easy public access to decades of copyright
registration and recordation data in bulk format.
Public Outreach and Education.--The Office engages in numerous
outreach activities to provide information on copyright law and to
raise awareness of the CCB and other Office resources and programs. In
fiscal 2024, we hosted or participated in 209 public events and
speaking engagements, continuing an upward trend. We engaged with many
audiences, from stakeholders to lawyers to academics, including well-
attended public webinars for users of our systems to gather feedback.
Our Public Information Office and our new reading room provide in-
person services by appointment.
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,
however, facing an uncertain fiscal environment as we plan for fiscal
2026, which may impact the timeline for this work. The Office is
committed to making regular updates and improvements to avoid repeating
the experience of having to overhaul severely outdated legacy
systems.\10\ Our Enterprise Copyright System development includes four
main components (registration, recordation, public records, and
licensing). We also collaborate with OCIO on other business priorities
enabled by technology, such as improving online access to historical
public records and the operation of our new Contact Center.
Recordation.--Our online recordation system was the first ECS
component to be released to the public, enabling recordation of
documents under section 205 of Title 17. In August 2022, full access
was provided to all members of the public. We are now incorporating
user feedback to make iterative improvements and to build new
functionality for processing notices of termination.
Copyright Public Records System (CPRS).--The second ECS component
to be publicly released was a pilot for the new CPRS, which provides
access to registration and recordation data with advanced search
capabilities, filters, and improved interfaces. The CPRS has expanded
online access and research options by adding 3,676,970 card catalog
records. It will become the Office's sole source of authoritative
online copyright information by summer 2025.
Licensing.--The Office completed the development and design of the
licensing component and initial automated workflows to replace outdated
systems and processes. We implemented the statement of account
examination processes in ECS and transitioned royalty accounting
processes onto the Library's Financial System to streamline and enhance
operations. On March 13, 2025, we activated this component into
production.
Registration.--Registration is the largest and most complex of the
Office's services and the focus of the greatest public attention. In
response to strong demand from stakeholders, the current focus of ECS
development is on accelerating the replacement of the existing online
system, which is almost 20 years old. We have expanded the staff
working on ECS Registration to comprise three teams: one dedicated to
the external (public facing) component, one to the internal (staff)
component, and one to electronic deposit (eDeposit) development (which
will provide enhanced upload and rendering capabilities to support the
submission of large numbers of files in one group application, such as
photographs, and very large files, such as feature-length motion
pictures and television episodes).
In late 2024, we initiated a limited pilot of both the eDeposit
upload functionality and the new interface and functionality of the
most commonly used registration form, the Standard Application
(currently representing approximately 72% of all claims). During
January and February 2025, we conducted 50 in-depth pilot test sessions
with 57 participants representing individual and organizational users.
The reaction has been uniformly positive, with comments noting that the
difference between our current eCO system and the proposed model is
``like night and day.'' This feedback will inform future development
steps and functionalities.
Historical Public Records.--As part of the Office's commitment to
the preservation of and access to historical records, we are digitizing
print and microfilm records and making them available online.\11\ This
includes the old card catalog, the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCEs),
microfilm, and the internal record books.\12\ 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 available the Office's record books:
the first 500 were published on the Library's website in February 2022,
\13\ and now 16,874 record books--well over half of the 26,142 total--
are available online.
New 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. This CRM enhances the public's
experience, enables robust data analytics, and provides centralized
knowledge management capabilities to track and route customers' calls
and emails more effectively.
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 ECS. The CPMC was
originally established for a three-year term, with thirteen members
from a range of interested sectors; it held public online meetings
twice a year with hundreds of virtual attendees, as well as several
informal briefings.\14\ Last year, the Librarian reauthorized the CPMC
for another three-year term, and a new set of thirteen members were
selected (including some returning members).\15\ The first public
meeting of the new CPMC was held online on October 10, 2024, and the
most recent one was held on April 3, 2025.
funding and update to the fiscal 2026 budget request
The Copyright Office performs all of its work on a modest budget,
composed of three separate budgets allocated by program areas:
(1) Basic Budget.--This funds most of the Office's operations and
initiatives, including the majority of payroll and related
expenses and the operations of the CCB. Historically, the Basic
Budget has been composed of a combination of appropriated
dollars and offsetting fee collection authority, with fees
constituting less than one half of the total.
(2) Licensing Division Budget.--This is derived entirely 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 other expenses not supported by fees and
royalty payments.
Request in Fiscal 2025.--For fiscal 2025, the Office requested 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. That budget request would have covered mandatory
pay increases, price level increases, and nothing more. We did not
request additional appropriations for IT development, as we are now
completing the last year of prior Congressional funding. With the
fiscal 2025 basic budget now final, the impact of a full year
Continuing Resolution on the Office's programs amounted to an effective
$4 million reduction.
Request for Fiscal 2026.--Given that work to modernize our IT
systems and services is still underway and accelerating, further
support through an increase in appropriated funds will be needed. In
our fiscal 2025 budget statement, we previewed that both the Copyright
Office and OCIO anticipated the need for greater financial resources
for IT modernization in fiscal 2026.\16\ The request for additional
funds in fiscal 2026 will support work on IT-related initiatives to
meet user demands for ECS functionality and continuous development for
components already in use by the public. Stakeholders have praised the
work we have done so far on modernizing IT systems, and maintaining
momentum is essential to deliver a timely ECS Registration component.
To summarize, our fiscal 2026 requests are as follows:
--Basic Budget.--$97.763 million and 445 FTEs, to include a net
$4.791 million for mandatory pay-related and price level
increases, a program decrease for non-recurring Searchable
Historic Records costs, and a program increase for Continuous
Development of the ECS. This budget comprises $37.025 million
in offsetting fee collections (40%) and $60.738 million (60%)
in appropriated dollars.
--Licensing Division Budget.--$6.712 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 licenses pursuant to statutory licenses administered
by the Office. The net decrease includes a mandatory pay-
related and price level increases of $0.231 million and an
adjustment for the Copyright Royalty Judges.
--Copyright Royalty Judges Budget.--$3.801 million and 7 FTEs include
the mandatory pay-related and price level increase and a net
program increase of $0.608 million from Copyright Licensing. Of
this total, royalties and participation fees offset $1.112
million (for non-personnel-related expenses). The remainder,
$2.689 million in appropriated dollars, is to cover the
personnel and other related expenses of the three judges and
their staff.
For fiscal 2026, the Office is requesting an appropriation increase
of $6.8 million each year for the next 3 years to accelerate
development and delivery to the public of the Registration component of
ECS. These funds will allow the Office to increase IT development team
capacity and meet sharply rising costs within the industry. In fiscal
2029, $4.1 million will non-recur, leaving base funding of $2.7 million
for ongoing continuous development.
Drawing on the feedback from the limited pilot described above, the
Copyright Office and OCIO plan to deliver the full ECS Registration
component in fiscal 2028 and then transition to continuous development
in fiscal 2029. Between now and then, planned steps include the
following. In fiscal 2026, we will continue work on the Standard
Application and the integration of the ECS Registration applicant-
facing module, the examination module, the eDeposit uploader and
examination renderer, and the message center. In fiscal 2027, we aim to
complete the development of the group applications and digital
registration certificates. In fiscal 2028, we will focus on integration
with financial systems, including unified deposit accounts, and the
workflow for physical deposits. Throughout, the Office will conduct
user pilots to validate the system's evolving functionality.
Without the annual increase of funding over the next 3 years as
proposed in our fiscal 2026 request, our plans to accelerate the ECS
Registration system are at risk. That risk will likely escalate over
time, as funds will have to be used to operate and maintain existing
systems that are already beyond their useful life. The delivery
timeline will significantly increase for the fully operational
registration system demanded by stakeholders with the required
components, workflows, and integrations. Looking ahead, after ECS
Registration is made available to the public, the Copyright Office
anticipates submitting a fiscal 2029 request to fund the necessary
integration with other copyright functions (such as APIs, service
request processing, content management capabilities, and a warehouse
and records management system for copyright records and deposits that
are submitted as part of registration).
In conclusion, the Copyright Office appreciates the Subcommittee's
and Committee's continued support of our work to benefit the users of
our services and the public, and to further our Constitutional mission
of ``promot[ing] the progress of science and useful arts.'' \17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 17 U.S.C. Sec. 701 (general responsibilities and organization),
Sec. 702 (authority to establish regulations).
\2\ Registration processing times are posted on our website at
https://copyright.gov/registration/docs/processing-times-faqs.pdf. For
the October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 timeframe, 87% of all
registration claims were eService claims (online claims and electronic
deposits); 12% were deposit ticket claims (online claims with
separately mailed physical deposit materials); and about 1% were mail
claims (paper claim forms and physical deposits).
\3\ There are three primary types of documents that may be
submitted for recordation: transfers of copyright ownership, other
documents pertaining to a copyright, and notices of termination. The
pilot and newly released system are currently focused on the first
category (section 205 documents).
\4\ Recordation processing times are posted on our website at
https://copyright.gov/
recordation/. Regardless of the processing time, the effective date of
recordation is the date the Copyright Office receives the complete
submission in acceptable form.
\5\ The Licensing Section is responsible for helping to administer
the Copyright Act's various statutory licenses, including secondary
transmissions of radio and television programs by cable and satellite
systems; and from digital audio recording devices or media. The
Licensing Section collects and distributes royalties to copyright
holders based on orders from the Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ), a
three-judge board which is part of the Library of Congress, not located
in the Copyright Office.
\6\ For more details on the work of the CCB, see Nora Scheland,
``How the Copyright Claims Board Can Lighten the Federal Court
Docket,'' Blog: Creativity At Work (Dec. 20, 2024), at https://
blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2024/12/how-the-copyright-claims-board-can-
lighten-the-Federal-court-docket/.
\7\ U.S. Copyright Office, Rulemakings webpage, https://
copyright.gov/rulemaking.
\8\ For more information on our AI initiative, visit
www.copyright.gov/ai.
\9\ U.S. Copyright Office, Economic Research webpage, at https://
copyright.gov/economic-
research/, which also points to the reports, The Geography of Copyright
Registrations (September 2024), The Resilience of Creativity: An
Examination of the COVID-19 Impact on Copyright-Reliant Industries and
Their Subsequent Recovery (May 2024). In 2024, our team also convened a
group of academic scholars to discuss economic issues related to
copyright and AI and published a document summarizing a structured
framework for evaluating relevant economic evidence. See Lutes, Brent
A. ed., Identifying the Economic Implications of Artificial
Intelligence for Copyright Policy: Context and Direction for Economic
Research, U.S. Copyright Office (Feb. 2025).
\10\ 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. Years ago, 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.
\11\ For details on our Historical Public Records program, visit
https://www.copyright.gov/
historic-records/.
\12\ 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/.
\13\ 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/.
\14\ Video and related material from CPMC public meetings can be
found on the U.S. Copyright Office webpage at https://
www.copyright.gov/copyright-modernization/#modernization-committee.
\15\ Library of Congress, Library of Congress Announces New Members
of Copyright Public Modernization Committee, Sept. 24, 2024, at https:/
/newsroom.loc.gov/news/library-of-congress-announces-new-members-of-
copyright-public-modernization-committee/s/2d289494-93b4-4404-98a1-
452cb791571d.
\16\ Statement of Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter Before
the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch of the Committee on
Appropriations of the U.S. Senate, May 15, 2024, at page 6, at https://
www.copyright.gov/laws/hearings/USCO-Senate-FY25-Appropriations-
Testimony-May-16-2024.pdf. Recall that the initial financial support
for our modernization initiative, funded for 5 years as part of the
fiscal 2019 budget, ended in fiscal 2023. The other segment of
authorized Historical Public Records funding from fiscal 2019 was
provided for 7 years and ends in fiscal 2025.
\17\ U.S. CONST. art. I, Sec. 8, cl. 8.
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Prepared Statement of Karen Donfried Director, Congressional Research
Service
Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the
Subcommittee,
Thank you for the opportunity to present the fiscal 2026 budget
request on behalf of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). In
addition to outlining CRS's budget requirements for the upcoming fiscal
year, my testimony will provide a brief overview of CRS's work in
support of Congress during fiscal 2024, and bring you up to date on the
Service's progress with respect to several strategic initiatives.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my predecessor,
Robert Newlen, whose steady leadership was instrumental in guiding the
Service through a period of transition and moving forward the many
important initiatives that CRS has underway.
crs service to congress in fiscal 2024
As in previous years, CRS provided support to virtually every
Member and committee office in fiscal 2024. The Service provided
research and analysis to Congress at every stage of the legislative
process and across all public policy issues on its agenda. CRS experts
handled over 75,000 congressional requests, published over 1,000 new
products, and updated over 1,700 existing products. In addition, CRS
bolstered its growing library of multimedia products, posting 146 new
videos and podcasts to CRS.gov on a variety of topics including:
Federal administrative law after the Supreme Court's Loper Bright
decision; Federal standards and guidelines for voting systems; critical
minerals for energy; U.S. trade policy and the role of Congress;
expiring tax provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; Federal economic
development programs; and tracking Federal programs and funding from
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act
and the CHIPS and Science Act.
CRS hosted a variety of seminars and programs for Members and staff
including series on financial services, disruptive technology, and
immigration. In addition, CRS held its annual Issues and Policies
seminar; the Legislative and Budget Process Institute; the twice-yearly
scheduled Federal Law Update series; as well as several CRS Defense
Institute sessions throughout the year. In total, the Service conducted
350 programs that were attended by over 12,500 congressional
participants in fiscal 2024.
fiscal 2026 budget request and program increase
CRS's budget request for fiscal 2026 is 144.568 million dollars, an
increase of 8.488 million dollars (or 6.2 percent) over the amount
appropriated in the Full Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions
Act, 2025. The requested increase includes 5.013 million dollars for
mandatory pay related and price level increases and a programmatic
increase of 3.475 million dollars to support continued enhancement of
CRS's data analytic and artificial intelligence capabilities. As in
previous fiscal years, staff pay and benefits account for approximately
90 percent of CRS's budget request. Thus, operating
under the appropriated fiscal 2024 level in fiscal 2025 has led to
significant cuts to research materials and training, as we preserve our
most important asset, our people.
In addition to our budget request to enhance data analytic
capabilities, CRS priorities for fiscal 2026 include exploring
artificial intelligence applications, developing innovative products,
improving Congress.gov, and modernizing CRS IT infrastructure.
Underlying each of these initiatives will be CRS's focus on the
delivery of timely, authoritative, nonpartisan, and objective products
and services tailored to meet the needs of Congress for research and
analysis.
Strengthening Data Analysis Capabilities, Including an AI Component
CRS's requested program increase for fiscal 2026 includes
approximately 3.5 million dollars to continue enhancement of the
Service's capacity to perform quantitative data analysis and policy
simulation, including the modeling of ``big data'' sets, for
congressional clients. In recent years, CRS has observed an increasing
demand from Members and committees to provide this type of analytical
support. While CRS has conducted some limited quantitative analysis and
policy simulation, it lacks the capacity to provide this service on a
broader scale.
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.'' 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.
Additional resources are required to continue supporting these and
future data models in the cloud.
Enhancing its ability to perform quantitative data analysis would
enable CRS to more precisely assess, and communicate to congressional
requestors, the impact of legislative proposals on various demographic
groups, as well as the interaction of such policies with other
programs.
CRS would allocate 1.076 million dollars of the requested amount to
contract two teams of data personnel (data scientists, programmers, and
digital interface designers) in its research divisions, to develop and
maintain data models and projects in a cloud-based environment. An
additional 1.466 million dollars would be invested in the tools
required to setup and maintain a secure cloud computing environment and
the datasets necessary to expand CRS's data analytic capacity.
In addition, CRS would utilize 560,000 dollars to acquire modeling
tools, AI software and associated user training resources. In the first
instance, these AI tools or software would support data analysis, but
CRS would look for these tools to be as flexible as possible to enable
us to address a range of use cases and maximize the impact of our
investment.
The remaining 373,000 dollars would be expended on training and
contractual support for IT security services to support Security
Assessment & Authorization (SA&A) efforts, to obtain/maintain system
Authority-To-Operate (ATO), and to support system development and
operations through designing, testing, and deploying cloud native
software.
strategic initiatives
As the requested program increase illustrates, CRS is continually
exploring opportunities to enhance its products, services, and
operational capabilities to meet the evolving needs of Congress. Of
note recently, in April 2025, CRS implemented a realignment of several
offices and sections that will optimize the use of resources and staff
expertise. These changes, which are focused on the infrastructure side
of CRS, will increase synergies throughout the Service, improve
efficiency, and buttress CRS staff's many efforts to provide excellent
products and services to Congress.
The following is a brief summary of CRS's progress with respect to
other initiatives focused on achieving this important objective.
Product Innovation: Interactive Graphics and Other Visually Based
Products
CRS continues to focus on the development of new, visually based
products through the efforts of its Visualization and GIS Section. This
past year, CRS has worked to streamline the production of interactive
graphics within written products, address technical issues that arise,
facilitate innovation in interactive displays, and expand interactive
visual options. In addition, CRS has explored adaptation of content
into interactive infographics within short reports, assessed additional
chart 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 April 2025, CRS's product line includes 72 infographics, 85
interactive graphics, and 1 interactive report. CRS is also piloting
and has published a new interactive report product (also known as
``storymap''), a next-generation platform that integrates interactive,
multimedia, and visual elements to create a narrative. These innovative
products represent CRS's focus on presenting its research, analysis,
and information to Congress in new, accessible, and user-friendly
formats.
Recruitment and Retention of a Skilled and Productive Workforce
CRS continued its efforts to recruit, retain, and professionally
develop a highly skilled and collaborative workforce. During fiscal
2024, the Service submitted postings for 62 merit selection positions
and attended 10 recruiting events. Attendance at these events allowed
CRS to engage with a variety of prospective candidates, increase
awareness of CRS's brand, and highlight available employment and
internship opportunities. These efforts were part of a broader multi-
year recruiting campaign which has succeeded in returning CRS staffing
to pre-pandemic levels.
CRS offered training opportunities for staff professional
development, including to enhance leadership, writing, and presentation
skills. Staff also attended sessions on technology topics, such as
statistics and visualization in excel, R programming, data management,
and a series of forums discussing various artificial intelligence
applications. Further, CRS has encouraged staff engagement through a
series of listening sessions.
Exploring Artificial Intelligence Applications
CRS continues to evaluate the potential of AI technologies to
enhance support for Congress consistent with the Service's mission and
core values. CRS is actively engaging with AI developers, legislative
and parliamentary research organizations, and national libraries to
share information and identify additional AI technologies for potential
CRS use cases.
Under the guidance of the CRS Artificial Intelligence Working Group
(AIWG), CRS has tested and evaluated a number of AI tools and models
for legal research and analysis, editing and writing assistance, and
drafting CRS bill summaries. In the case of bill summaries, CRS, in
collaboration with OCIO, tested multiple AI approaches using six
different Large Language Models (LLMs). Unfortunately, these summaries
failed to meet CRS standards for accuracy, coherence, relevance, and
objectivity (less than 3% of 3000 summaries were acceptable). These
results have identified some opportunities to explore the use of AI at
different stages of the bill summary workflow (research, analysis, and
writing and review).
Evaluation of AI tools for use in various parts of the CRS workflow
involves assessing their relative utility in assisting CRS staff to
provide timely support for Congress, while confirming adequate
safeguards are present to ensure the authoritativeness and/or
confidentiality of CRS's work product. Notably, as a product of ongoing
efforts to evaluate AI tools and models, CRS has approved its first AI
tool for use by CRS staff. The tool is a commercial subscription
product that provides java script coding assistance to CRS Visual
Information Specialists to assist them with the production of
interactive graphics in CRS products.
IT Modernization
CRS continues to work closely with the Library's Office of the
Chief Information Officer (OCIO) to modernize its core IT systems and
move toward full migration into the cloud-based M365 platform. In
partnership with OCIO, the Service has implemented more than 100
improvements to its congressional relationship management system
(``Minerva'') since initial deployment in 2023; many suggested by CRS
staff, as part of the continuous development approach implemented by
OCIO. In addition, CRS continued the migration of its authoring and
publishing and content management systems into the M365 environment.
In fiscal 2024, CRS accomplished the rollout of a new and improved
Text Analysis Program (TAP 2.0) that uses Natural Language Processing
to research, analyze, compare, and summarize bills and supports the
``Related Bills'' feature on Congress.gov. In addition, CRS launched
the newly redesigned CRS.gov website, which includes an enhanced
taxonomy and a new search capability, one week ago, on April 28.
Congress.gov
CRS continues active engagement with Senate, House, and GPO data
partners in support of multiple initiatives to improve the
interoperability of data sources aggregated by Congress.gov. Fiscal
year 2024 marked an historic, behind-the-scenes accomplishment for
authoritative information produced by our Senate and House data
partners. Senate and House data partners collaborated with the Library
to retire first generation, 30--40-year-old out-of-date data sources
for Congress.gov. Modernizing behind-the- scenes workflows advances our
legislative data partnerships in support of better tracking legislative
information and Member contributions through Congress.gov.
CRS is deeply appreciative for our data partners' efforts 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 future editing and
publishing interoperability within the legislative ecosystem. We look
forward to integrating USLM into Congress.gov which will improve the
user experience.
Continuous engagement with users, and continuous collaboration
among specialized staff across all legislative branch data partners is
key to our collective progress. During fiscal 2025, we continue to
deliver user-focused enhancements, including the recent release of HTML
for CRS products in Congress.gov and through the Congress.gov API
(Application Programming Interface). We are also working with Secretary
of the Senate colleagues to improve the Days in Session calendar and
provide comprehensive full-text searching of Senate amendment texts
dating back to previous years.
To date, researchers can access more than 3.5 million historical
and contemporary items from Congress.gov. We remain committed to
working with our data partners, including Secretary of the Senate and
Sergeant at Arms partners, 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 of the U.S. Constitution for Congress. In 2019, CRS collaborated
with OCIO and the Law Library to introduce a website for CONAN:
constitution.congress.gov. This site features hundreds of pages of
updated constitutional analysis and content. During fiscal 2024, CRS's
CONAN attorneys continued to provide comprehensive analysis of the
Supreme Court's jurisprudence as it relates to every provision of the
U.S. Constitution, including the implications of recently decided
cases. To make CONAN more accessible to online users, content has been
drafted and revised in the form of short, granular essays that focus on
specific, discrete topics. CRS has also been preparing the printed
pocket-part supplements to the decennial 2022 edition of CONAN. Since
the launch of the public website in 2019, CONAN has received more than
seventy million views and remains the most up-to-date source of
constitutional analysis.
As part of the Library of Congress's Legislative and Appropriations
Request to the 118th Congress, CRS requested elimination of the
statutory requirement to publish CONAN and its supplements in hardbound
copy. On March 8, 2024, Representative Bice introduced H.R.7592, a bill
``To direct the Librarian of Congress to promote the more cost-
effective, efficient, and expanded availability of the Annotated
Constitution and pocket-part supplements by replacing the hardbound
versions with digital versions.'' The bill was approved by the House on
September 9, 2024 and referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and
Administration on September 10th. In the 119th Congress, similar
legislation, H.R. 1234, was introduced by Representative Bice on
February 12, 2025 and referred to the Committee on House
Administration; the bill was approved by the House on March 31, and, on
April 1, was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and
Administration.
Outreach to Members and Committees
In fiscal 2024, CRS engaged in a variety of efforts to target its
outreach to Senators and Senate Committee offices. The Service offered
twice monthly introductory briefings to Senate staff, as well as a
series of congressional programs to highlight the legislative research
and analysis that CRS provides to all Members. CRS contacted Chiefs of
Staff and State Directors to offer briefings on the products and
services available to DC and state offices. In addition, CRS's research
divisions engaged with the relevant committees of jurisdiction to
inform Senate Committee staff of the products and expertise available
to support their legislative and oversight activities. Interim Director
Newlen also personally engaged Members of Congress at Library events
and solicited direct feedback regarding CRS service, which I have
continued in fiscal 2025.
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. Utilizing robust
cloud-based environments that foster better knowledge sharing with
colleagues, CRS staff leverage a unique collection of resources,
leading to greater efficiencies in everyday work, as well as employee
on- and offboarding. At the end of fiscal 2024, the Service maintained
54 research portal sites and collaborative online spaces that contained
topical content curated by experts across disciplines. CRS fosters
collaboration by sharing knowledge and best practices through monthly
meetings for communities of practice, a quarterly Knowledge Cafe, and
an annual Summer Series on emerging technologies. For fiscal 2024, the
summer series focused on knowledge management fundamentals and featured
speakers from across the Library of Congress. In fiscal 2025, the
knowledge management team is facilitating the agency's effort to
migrate its intranet and research portal sites to SharePoint online.
conclusion
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the
Subcommittee, CRS is honored to serve as a trusted and reliable
resource for Congress. The initiatives outlined above represent the
Service's ongoing commitment to provide exceptional research, analysis,
and information to meet the needs of every Member and committee. I look
forward to the Committee's input on how CRS can improve its products
and services and strengthen operational capabilities. On behalf of my
colleagues at CRS, I would like to express my appreciation to the
Committee for your continued support and your consideration of our
fiscal 2026 request.
Senator Mullin. Thank you, and thanks for yielding back
extra time. We will be efficient with our time today.
Mr. Austin, you are recognized for five minutes.
------
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
STATEMENT OF MR. THOMAS E. AUSTIN, ARCHITECT OF THE
CAPITOL
Mr. Austin. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Mullin,
Ranking Member Heinrich. I am honored to make my first
appearance before you to represent the men and women of the
Architect of the Capitol and discuss our budget request for
fiscal year 2026.
I would like to thank the Members of your staff,
particularly Molly McCarty and Richard Braddock, for their
expertise 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 while serving the 20,000 daily occupants and
the three million annual visitors to the Capital Campus. In
fact, I am happy to report that the Capitol Visitor Center just
welcomed their 30-millionth visitor since it opened in 2008.
Before I go further, I would like to acknowledge and
express my deepest gratitude to the 2,500 dedicated Architect
of the Capitol employees for all of their hard work, which
makes it possible for this agency to successfully carry out its
mission to serve Congress and the Supreme Court, preserve
America's Capitol, and inspire memorable experiences, all of
which require around-the-clock care for the 18.5 million square
feet of historic facilities, 570 acres of grounds, and
thousands of works of art that make up our historic Campus.
As you know, I began my tenure in June of 2024. It is the
greatest honor of my professional career to serve as the 13th
Architect of the Capitol. Thank you for entrusting me to serve
as a steward of the historic and vital buildings that make up
the U.S. Capital Campus, ensuring their preservation,
functionality, and safety for generations to come.
One of my top priorities is consistent communication with
the Architect of the Capitol staff, which I believe is
essential to building and maintaining faith and confidence in
our agency's leadership. Whether discussing the particulars of
everyday operations, or our broader visions for the future of
the agency, I am equally committed to practicing clear and
timely communication that ensures accountability and
coordination with this Committee, Congress, and our internal
entities.
For fiscal year 2026, the Architect of the Capitol is
requesting a combined total of $1.3 billion. This request is
focused on three key priorities: life safety, physical
security, and the critical infrastructure needs of the Campus.
Additionally, this 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
Because our people are the heart and hands of this agency,
over the past year, the AOC aggressively recruited to fill our
existing staffing shortfalls, which resulted in a reduction of
our overall vacancy rate from 11 percent to 8 percent. And our
team has certainly been busy. Over the past year, the AOC has
responded to 77,000 work orders for the Senate community, with
a 96 percent on-time completion rate.
Across the entire Campus, a total of over 495,000 work
orders were executed in fiscal year 2024. Across the agency, we
dedicate time and attention to safety training, procedures, and
operations. I am proud to report that our employee injury rate
is significantly less than that of the private sector. We are
equally committed to the safety and functionality of the Campus
for all those who work here and visit.
This involves proactively addressing the entire range of
safety challenges, big and small, everything from trimming tree
limbs before they become a safety hazard, to ensuring the
compliance of life and safety code, to long-range master
planning for the future of this Campus. Security is also a key
priority, with the support of this Committee and in
coordination with U.S. Capitol Police, we have made significant
progress over the past few years and will continue to improve
the security posture across the Campus.
Another top priority for the agency is the critical
infrastructure needs of this historic Capital Campus. To assist
in addressing challenges of aging infrastructure, we are
developing the Enterprise Asset Management System. This robust
system will enhance data-driven decisions and help prioritize
projects aimed at reducing our very significant and growing
maintenance backlog.
I recognize the importance of a well-coordinated, holistic,
multi-year approach to the facilities management, and we are
committed to working closely with you and your staff, as well
as the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, to
ensure the Architect of the Capitol meets the needs and
expectations of the U.S. Senate and the American people.
With the support of Congress and an incredibly talented and
skillful team, I am proud that we have accomplished much over
the past year, and I look forward to the success of future
projects.
The fiscal year 2026 budget request is not only critical to
facing the challenges posed by our aging infrastructure, but
also ensuring we account for the future needs of this Campus.
Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of
this Committee, thank you again for your continued support and
consideration of the Architect of the Capitol's budget request.
I am honored to be here, and look forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Thomas Austin, Architect, Architect of the
Capitol
Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and distinguished Members
of this Committee, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) budget request for Fiscal Year (FY)
2026. 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 Congress and the American people.
It is an honor to serve as the 13th Architect of the Capitol and as
a steward of the historic and vital buildings that make up the Capitol
complex, ensuring their preservation, functionality, and safety for
Members of Congress, staff, and visitors. As you know, I began my
tenure in June of 2024 and I feel priviledged, day in and day out, to
be entrusted to lead this amazing agency.
I speak on behalf of the entire AOC leadership team when I say we
are enormously grateful for the 2,500 hardworking, devoted AOC
employees who tirelessly carry out their duties in support of Congress,
the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress (Library), and the many
other AOC- managed facilities.
One of my top priorities is close communication with AOC staff,
which I believe is essential to building and maintaining faith and
confidence in our agency's leadership. Whether discussing the
particulars of daily operations or our broader visions for the future
of the campus, I am equally committed to practicing clear and timely
communication that ensures accountability and coordination with this
Committee, Congress and AOC-internal entities.
i. overview
The AOC plays a vital role in supporting the operations of
Congress, the Supreme Court and the Library. Our staff works around-
the-clock to preserve and maintain over 18.5 million square feet of
facilities, 570 acres of grounds and thousands of works of art. This
24-hour, seven-days-per- week operation works in concert to preserve
our historic assets and improve aging infrastructure. Beyond these
preservation and maintenance priorities, our team is also responsible
for hosting many key events and seasonal traditions that bring together
thousands of visitors each year. From preparations for the annual
Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, to a multi-month effort in
constructing the Presidential Inauguration platform, the AOC
continually delivers with professionalism and expertise.
For FY 2026, the AOC is requesting $1.3 billion in appropriations
to address critical infrastructure repairs/revitalization as well as
safety, security, and modernization efforts across the Capitol complex.
This request reflects our commitment to ensuring the safety,
preservation and operational efficiency of the Capitol complex while
being responsible stewards of taxpayer funds. Over the past year, the
agency navigated significant budget adjustments, including a 12 percent
reduction from the FY 2024 enacted budget to the FY 2025 Full Year
Continuing Resolution (CR) level, which resulted in the deferment of
critical projects to future fiscal years.
The FY 2025 CR funding level required budget adjustments resulting
in temporary spending limitations, deprioritized projects and
operational constraints.
While the AOC adjusted to the FY 2025 CR constraints, it is
critical to restore funding in FY 2026 to maintain the integrity and
functionality of the Capitol complex. This includes, among other
things, restoration of deferred maintenance and Capitol projects,
critical security enhancements, workforce investments, and emergent
critical mission requirements. The requested increase is a strategic
investment in long-term efficiency, resiliency, safety and
preservation.
ii. prioritizing physical security & life safety
Ensuring physical security and life safety is paramount. Thanks to
your support, the AOC has made significant strides in enhancing
security measures across the campus. Collaboration with internal and
external partners has strengthened emergency planning and bolstered
security for events at the Capitol complex. The FY 2026 budget request
aligns with our coordinated approach to address security projects,
consisting of significant construction or system replacement
requirements to support the United States Capitol Police and House and
Senate Sergeant at Arms' missions.
The agency also remains committed to staff safety, dedicating time
and attention to training, processes, procedures and operations. These
efforts ensure staff are well trained to assist visitors during
emergencies. This budget request recognizes these essential measures
with projects and requests that focus on supporting our concentrated
effort to avoid hazards, risks and interruptions.
iii. supporting the senate community
The AOC's FY 2026 budget request highlights significant priorities
for the Senate office buildings and Senate operations. These critical
needs can be addressed through close collaboration with this Committee
and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
This budget requests also helps us continue to address each
facility's deferred maintenance, systems and capital renewal
requirements. Maintaining and modernizing critical infrastructure such
as hearing rooms and elevators is fundamental to the daily and future
operations of the Senate. Additionally, the AOC is continually looking
forward to ensure future Senate requirements and modernization of the
campus are accounted for in our long-term planning.
iv. modern management of aging infrastructure
The AOC is dedicated to a long-term strategy for facilities
management that emphasizes the maintenance and preservation of the
Capitol complex while also modernizing these spaces. The aging
infrastructure and facilities of the campus present ongoing challenges
which are further compounded by inflationary increases, uninterrupted
operations and unforeseen emergency repairs. For example, in FY 2024,
the AOC successfully completed nearly half a million work orders across
the Capitol campus including nealy 80,000 in direct support of the
Senate community. These work orders range from paint touch-ups and
mounting pictures on the wall to ruptured pipes and power outages. This
number will keep rising due to aging infrastructure.
The AOC's FY 2026 budget request focuses on critical priorities
such as upgrading hearing rooms, addressing aging elevators, replacing
mechanical systems, and needed renovations of fire alarms and sprinkler
systems.
Additionally, the AOC is developing an Enterprise Asset Management
system to create an enhanced, organized method for managing,
coordinating and overseeing asset-related activities throughout their
respective lifecycles. A well-developed asset management system will
offer more detailed insights to enhance data-driven financial decisions
and prioritization of projects, while also addressing backlog and
deferred maintenance issues.
v. workforce investments & meeting mission requirements
Our workforce is a top priority at the AOC. The agency must ensure
it retains a skilled workforce capable of maintaining and modernizing
the complex. Our Human Capital Strategy revolves around three pillars:
talent acquisition, talent development, and engagement and retention of
employees. Over the past year, the AOC aggressively recruited to fill
our staffing shortfalls which resulted in a reduction of our overall
vacancy rate from 11% to 8%. The AOC recently completed a study on
wage-grade salaries, which contribute to retention and attrition. One
important thing we learned was that pay for our Wage Graded staff was
not on par with other Federal agencies. The FY 2026 budget request will
help us appropriately compensate and retain a skilled workforce to meet
the needs of Congress.
vi. conclusion
On behalf of the men and women at the AOC, I extend our gratitude
to this Committee for your ongoing support. Your dedication and
partnership in service to the American people is integral to our daily
operations and mission accomplishment. Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member
Heinrich, and Members of the Committee, thank you for your time and
support in consideration of the AOC's FY 2026 budget request.
Senator Mullin. Thank you, to you both. Thanks for being
brief with your remarks.
I will start with answering question--or asking questions.
Typically, I usually let someone else go in front of me because
they have to leave, but the Ranking Member and myself, we are
going to be here either way, yes, so we are not going anywhere.
So we will probably go back and forth until we run out of
questions, if you don't mind.
SPACE UTILIZATION AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Dr. Hayden, first of all, let me ask you, could you tell us
how the Library utilizes its space across these three
buildings? And by the way, just for--I know people in this room
probably know--our three buildings are the Thomas Jefferson,
John Adams, and James Madison Memorial Buildings. Could you
explain how those are utilized, and the space is utilized?
Dr. Hayden. The three buildings on the Capital Campus are
not simply office buildings. They have mission-essential
functional facilities that have been technically designed and
outfitted to preserve the collections. And the estimate is that
nearly one-fifth of the space serves for those permanent
collections and the storage. And the buildings also, all three,
have public and congressional reading rooms, and meeting rooms
that also serve the general public. We have a number of high--
level----
Senator Mullin. All three of them have meeting rooms?
Dr. Hayden. Yes, to varying degrees.
Senator Mullin. And I just say that because, I mean, I have
been here for 13 years, and I have only been to one building
for meetings.
Dr. Hayden. Well, the other buildings, the Adams Building
that is directly behind the Jefferson Building that opened in
1939 after they ran out of space in the Jefferson Building, has
meeting capacity.
Senator Mullin. Are they utilized all the time?
Dr. Hayden. Not all the time.
Senator Mullin. Or are they underutilized?
Dr. Hayden. You can book them. And so we are looking at,
and we are working----
Senator Mullin. How often are you at 100 percent capacity
in those meeting rooms through all three buildings?
Dr. Hayden. Pardon? I didn't hear that one?
Senator Mullin. How often are you at 100 percent capacity
at all three buildings?
Dr. Hayden. At the same time?
Senator Mullin. At the same time.
Dr. Hayden. I am not sure, and we would have to look at
putting that together.
Senator Mullin. Are they ever all fully booked?
Dr. Hayden. I can't say that they are all of that----
Senator Mullin. I think that I--now, mind you, this is the
first time I chair the Committee, but this is--it is the first
time I heard there was meeting spaces at the other two
buildings, other than the main building.
Dr. Hayden. Yes. There are meeting spaces, and in the
Madison Building in particular, that opened in 1980, the
meeting spaces are used regularly, especially on the sixth
floor by Members of Congress and committees, and there are all
types of things, and they have audiovisual capacity as well. I
would like to get back to you on the percentage of occupancy of
all of the meeting rooms and to give a listing of all the
meeting rooms, at that time, that would be very helpful.
Senator Mullin. Yes, that would be helpful to know exactly
how much square footage----
Dr. Hayden. Yes. I can----
Senator Mullin [continuing]. Is dedicated two meeting rooms
for the Members of Congress, what is utilized, how
underutilized it is, because obviously we are hurting for space
everywhere. I mean, we are constantly rotating meeting rooms,
looking for additional places to have hearings. And I just--my
mindset is I think we underutilize the Library of Congress and
the proximity it is to the Capitol, the proximity it is to our
office buildings. And so I would like to know if there is--if
it is being underutilized, how we can--how we can help use
that.
Dr. Hayden. Good. And our Congressional Relations Office
makes sure that that is part of their orientation and their
communication with member offices, that these rooms are
available. And we are part of an AOC study that is going on in
terms of space utilization, so that is going to yield
additional information. So immediately we can get the meeting
room information to you and also attendance, because we have a
meeting schedule, and we can get that to you.
STATUS OF COPYRIGHT ROYALTY FEE DISTRIBUTION
Senator Mullin. And switching gears here. I understand
there is more than $1.4 billion in royalty fees that come back
as of 2014; is that right? Undistributed, is that correct?
Dr. Hayden. For the copyright royalty?
Senator Mullin. For the copyright.
Dr. Hayden. Yes. And that has been something that we are
working with the Copyright Royalty Board, and also would like
to work with Congress on how the processes could be
accelerated. There are some things that might be necessary by
statute, or changing things so that the distribution could
happen quicker.
Senator Mullin. All right. My time is almost up. When we
get back another round, I want to dig into this a little bit
more----
Dr. Hayden. Sure.
Senator Mullin. To figure out exactly what we can do.
Dr. Hayden. Thank you.
Senator Mullin. Because, I mean, that is a lot of royalty
sitting there for consumers.
With that, I will yield to the Ranking Member.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.
Mr. Austin, in May of 2024, as you noted, you became the
13th Architect of the Capitol. You took over an agency that had
undergone significant leadership changes, and frankly needed a
new leadership direction. What are your general observations
about the Architect of the Capitol and its observations at this
point?
Mr. Austin. Senator, thank you for the question. I would
say that one of the biggest ones that jumps out is the breadth
of this agency. I am continually amazed by the breadth of our
mission and the skills of our workforce that service that
mission. There are so many tasks, big and small. I mentioned in
my opening remarks that, over the--across Capital Campus, we
did close to half a million work orders just this past year.
You break it down by day that is more than 1,300 per day that
we are executing. And that is 365 days a year.
And the workforce that services those work orders is an
extremely dedicated and talented team. The breadth of our
talent of the agency is also something that really, I am
continually amazed by. They really enjoy their jobs. They feel
connected to the mission. They know that this is more than just
a job. This is a career. This is a vocation. This is a calling.
You know, and I look at that, especially the folks at the
Capitol Visitor Center and the Botanic Gardens, kind of that
first public face for our visitors when they come and see these
great spaces, and the enthusiasm that they present, the
collections, and tell the history of our buildings, which
probably should bring my next observation about our buildings,
because we do have an amazing Campus, but it is aging.
We have too much deferred maintenance, and some of our
facilities are in desperate need of a full renovation. The
daily maintenance I spoke about just a moment ago, I think we
do very well with that. I think we have good responsiveness
rate. We had a 96 percent on-time completion rate for the
Senate community. But it does take a lot of day-to-day band-aid
type repairs in order to keep the Capital Campus functioning
for the needs of Congress.
And communicating those issues is something that I have
noticed since I have been, as far as the agencies; I don't
think we did a great job of in the past. I don't think we have
been able to communicate our facility conditions, assessments,
and indexes to the members in a way that they can understand
the fine line we walk between functionality, and budget, and
the appropriation cycle.
So when we are talking about building revitalization and a
holistic approach to facilities management, I don't think we
have done a good job of messaging that. And that is why I am
trying to address that, as you alluded to in your remarks,
Senator, about the master plan. Is that we are taking a look at
the long-term issues for this Campus over the next 20 to 50
years.
The last master plan update was in 2012. Normally these are
done in every 5-year cycle, so we are very, very far behind.
And I think I understand why. It was not just the leadership
turnover you mentioned, Senator, but it is also just because
this is a hard problem to get your arms around. It is pricey,
as we have a lot of stakeholders in Congress that we are trying
to address their needs. And there are a lot of things where you
are trying to compare apples to oranges across the Campus, and
that is difficult--especially when we have gone beyond, say,
the facility life that we expected to have these buildings, and
where we are right now.
So as we are communicating that to Congress, that is
something that we are making a focus of over the next year, to
communicate with this committee and others to understand the
full needs of Congress.
Senator Heinrich. Does the Architect of the Capitol's
fiscal year 2026 budget request begin to address your vision
for the agency, and how does that dovetail with the master
plan?
Mr. Austin. Yes. The short answer to your question is yes,
and I will explain how that is. We have a couple different
things that are addressed in the budget request. Certain items
in there are for the initial pre-design work for some of these
long-term facility needs that we are talking about, such as the
Rayburn renovation on the House side, but also things like the
SCIF, that we have received signals in fiscal year 2022 and
2021, as well as inquiries from this Committee, and the
Committee of Rules referenced the need for a SCIF.
So we have some pre-design work in there. We also have work
to address some of those immediate infrastructure needs, try to
offset some of the risk that we have with our HVAC system and
some of our plumbing systems on both sides of the Campus, as
well as working with our chief security officer for some of the
security projects.
So we are addressing that. We also have some of our
personnel we are looking to bring on board, whether it be a
chief artificial intelligence officer, or additional planners
and architects.
STATUS OF THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE PROJECT
Senator Heinrich. Great. Dr. Hayden, the Visitor Experience
Project has been underway for several years, includes several
enhancements to the Jefferson Building to improve the visitor
experience there. During this time, the project has experienced
some challenges. What is the current status of that project?
Dr. Hayden. I am very excited, actually, about the progress
of the Visitor Experience Project and grateful to Congress for
its support. The first-ever permanent Treasures Gallery opened
in June of 2024, and there is a continuing rotating display of
our collections in that. And then the Youth Center, which is
the second component, there are three components as you know,
the Youth Center is scheduled to open in late December of this
year. And we have been very pleased to have the advice of a
number of Congressional children and grandchildren who have
been part of an advisory committee. They have named it The
Source.
And the last component, the orientation space, is
anticipated to open in late 2026 and early 2027, possibly. And,
AOC has begun construction. And, I just want to take this
opportunity to say that we have been working very closely with
AOC, including the relationship with Mr. Austin and me as the
head of the Library, our Chiefs of Staff, and our bi-weekly
meetings. And so in the last year, there has been so much more
communication and progress, and we are very excited about what
can happen.
Senator Mullin. We are playing ping-pong.
Senator Heinrich. Are you sure?
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR COPYRIGHT ROYALTY FEE DISTRIBUTION
Senator Mullin. Yes. Thank you again. Let us dig back in to
the $1.4 billion in royalty fees that is all the way back to
2014. You mentioned that you might need some help with Congress
on getting this problem resolved. As you can imagine, this is
probably an extremely frustrating sticking point, and I am
having a hard time wrapping my head around it, why it is so
hard to get these fees out the door and back in the hands where
they belong. And I am interested to see why Congress would have
to do something additional when it was originally set up for
the Library of Congress to handle?
Dr. Hayden. The Library of Congress, through the Copyright
Royalty Board, we are the administrators of that process.
Senator Mullin. Right.
Dr. Hayden. And there are many formal proceedings there
that are involved. So people, for instance, or companies can
litigate, they can appeal, and so that process is one that the
Copyright Royalty Board is really looking at, about setting for
instance things like a time limit, saying that you have to
resolve this by a certain time. And that could be something
that would help quite----
Senator Mullin. How long have you been looking at that? It
does not seem like--I don't think Congress needs--we don't have
to give you the authority to do that. You can set that
yourselves----
Dr. Hayden. Some of the aspects, and we can provide more
detail on this, for the record, and would like to engage on
this, of what solutions might help move the process along. So
that would be very helpful.
Senator Mullin. Could you please get back to us on that?
Dr. Hayden. Oh. Yes.
Senator Mullin. And the reason why I say that is because,
you know, with the way we structure our fees right now--and if
I am misunderstanding this--the way that we structure our fees
right now for copyrights is that we charge a certain fee, but
really Congress is offsetting some of that. And if I am not
mistaken, you would have noted that the Copyright Office lists
one of their priorities for this fiscal year is to conclude a
fee study of copyright services and prepare an adjusted fee
schedule for submission to Congress.
And if we are going to raise the fee, which I would like to
do that, because that way it would more reflect what it
actually costs Congress to do, rather than taxpayers paying for
a copyright to be put through, we would be able to have the
person asking the copyright to actually pay for that fully. If
we are able to do that and offset the cost, then we probably
need to be better at getting the royalty fees out.
Dr. Hayden. Those are two separate processes, and it is
up--and so----
Senator Mullin. I get it. I understand they are two
separate processes, but it is still through the same overall:
Do you know?
Dr. Hayden. Yes. I do know.
Senator Mullin. No. I just saw a head shake back here and--
--
Dr. Hayden. And that is the Register of Copyrights, Shira
Perlmutter so----
Senator Mullin. Right. But I mean, if I understand it----
Dr. Hayden [continuing]. So copyright would----
Senator Mullin [continuing]. We pay for the fees, or we
charge the fees to come in to----
Dr. Hayden. We charge.
Senator Mullin. Right.
Dr. Hayden. And copyright protection is automatic under the
law.
Senator Mullin. Right.
Dr. Hayden. Unlike a patent.
Senator Mullin. But we are in charge of both?
Dr. Hayden. Copyright registration is voluntary, and people
pay for that, and companies pay for that. And what that gives
them is some legal support.
Senator Mullin. I understood that. But we are responsible
for both.
Dr. Hayden. 40 percent of----
Senator Mullin. Are we not--sorry--are we not responsible
for both?
Dr. Hayden. Yes.
Senator Mullin. Okay, and so we take the fee----
Dr. Hayden. For Copyright Royalty Board, which manages the
output of royalties.
Senator Mullin. Sure. But we charge to register it?
Dr. Hayden. For copyright registration.
Senator Mullin. Right. We charge for that, and we accept
the money. But we are having a hard time giving the royalty
fees out.
Dr. Hayden. And the Register of Copyright is actually
helping me to differentiate those two processes.
Senator Mullin. I understand there are two separate
processes. I am not arguing that. I understand there are two
separate processes, two separate processes between walking
forward and walking backwards too. I understand that. I am
saying is, if we are able to charge money to register, and we
are able to accept the funds, when we go out to give the
royalties out, it should also be a smooth process exiting as it
is entering, even though those are two separate processes. I am
just, I am trying to figure out how we can become more
efficient, and then also offset the cost if we need to do a fee
structure?
Dr. Hayden. The fee structure for the Copyright Royalty
Board is for cable and satellite royalties.
Senator Mullin. Okay.
Dr. Hayden. Not individual authors, and artists, and even
companies. So copyright registration fees are separate from the
cable and the satellite royalties, that is why we really would
like to work with the Committee on ways that the copyright,
cable, and satellite royalty funds could be distributed in a
more timely fashion with some changes in----
Senator Mullin. How far behind are we on it?
COPYRIGHT ROYALTY LITIGATION
Dr. Hayden. It depends on the different cases, I mean, and
so----
Senator Mullin. How long does a case typically last?
Dr. Hayden. That I would have to get back to you on, in
terms of a typical case, because there are not typical cases.
It could be depending on if there is litigation or----
Senator Mullin. Average, how long does the average case
take?
Dr. Hayden. I would have to get back to you on that.
Senator Mullin. And I would like suggestions on how to
streamline that.
Dr. Hayden. We have been working with the Copyright Royalty
Board on that and we----
Senator Mullin. How long have you been working with them?
Dr. Hayden. Personally, as librarian, I have been working
with them for definitely the last three or 4 years on that
particular one.
Senator Mullin. To make a decision?
Dr. Hayden. Not to make a decision to look at
possibilities.
Senator Mullin. So we haven't even got to the point of
the--I am sorry.
Dr. Hayden. It is okay.
Senator Mullin. That is absurd to think we have been
looking at a solution for 3 years and we have not come up with
a solution to actually come up--I am just----
Dr. Hayden. There are recommendations, sir.
Senator Mullin [continuing]. As a business owner, I don't
understand that.
Dr. Hayden. Well, there are recommendations, and I have
been in----
Senator Mullin. How long does it take to submit those
recommendations to us?
Dr. Hayden. The Copyright Royalty Board is working to work
with the Committee, so.
Senator Mullin. I am sorry. I don't know how long I am
going to chair this board or this, you know, Committee, but I
know I am here for the next 2 years. I can't tell you what is
going to happen after the midterm, but I suggest us--I suggest
that we really work hard to get more efficient. That is
unacceptable taking 3 years to just come with a suggestion. I
don't know how many times the board has to look at something to
figure out how we can do it better, now that is----
Dr. Hayden. That was not in terms of what the board has
been doing. This was referring to my active involvement with
the Copyright Royalty Board, so that is----
Senator Mullin. Okay. Well, let us put a--let us put a time
limit on this thing.
Dr. Hayden. Yes.
Senator Mullin. Okay. So let us put a time limit on it.
Come to me within a couple weeks, because you have plenty of
time to look at it. Give me some suggestions. The Committee
will look at it, see if there are things for us to do. Let us
make a decision and get off center. I mean, because the
definition of insanity is doing the same thing, expecting
different results. And we are doing the same thing, expecting
different results. There is plenty of stuff out there we can
look at to get more efficient.
Dr. Hayden. And I am sure the Copyright Royalty Board and
the Register, who is here with me today, would be very pleased
to present this.
Senator Mullin. All right. Well, let us set up a meeting in
two weeks.
Dr. Hayden. Great, thank you.
Senator Mullin. Let us sit down and come to the meeting
with suggestions.
Dr. Hayden. Thank you.
Senator Mullin. And Ranking Member, if you would like to be
there, we would set it up. We don't have to have a hearing on
it. We just sit there and we will have a conversation.
Dr. Hayden. That would be very, very helpful. Thank you.
Senator Mullin. Senator.
Senator Heinrich. Mr. Austin, obviously the requested
increase for fiscal year 2026 encompasses a number of
additional positions. Can you talk about what those positions
are required for and what unmet need you would be able to
accomplish with the additional positions?
Mr. Austin. Yes, thank you, Senator. Yes, we are requesting
57 more positions in the fiscal year 2026 budget, we obviously
had none in the CR, and there was almost none in the 2024, so
some of this is a bit of pent-up request over the last several
years. It kind of runs the full gamut, I spoke about the
breadth of the agency earlier. We have everything from
electricians, and plumbers, additional electricians and
plumbers, and the electricians, the high-voltage electricians,
will allow us to have a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week response in
case of any electrical emergency on Campus.
Currently, that is an on-call response if it is after
hours. We have HR specialists that are in there to help us work
on our vacancy backlog. Right now, we are trying to get our
time to hire down to 80 days. We have made some great progress
in there, but some of it is just the capacity of our HR team.
There is more visitor guides. We are seeing increased tourism
since the--you know, COVID is over, and we are seeing an
upswing in tourism.
In fact, the day after inauguration was our largest retail
day that we have ever had in the agency, just that one day. But
that would also include five visitor guides to help with that
workload, so it kind of runs again. We also have--we are trying
to take some contractors that we have on our chief security
office, and bring them in to be government employees, so it is
shifting that from a contract over to a regular employment.
Overall, those FTE increases are just under $10 million
that adds to the total agency budget. So the impact, if we
don't get those, some of those issues I spoke about as far as
the time to hire, and the on-call request versus on-site
request would remain, and that would have potential issues that
we have.
Like for instance, on the House side, we have a 24-hour
response in case of an elevator outage, but sometimes it is not
an elevator technician that responds to it, and we have to call
that person in from home. And that creates a lag in that time,
and we are trying to remedy those types of issues. But they
kind of run the full gamut, but overall, it is a fairly minor
number in the overall scheme of the budget, but it is close to
$10 million, so I am not going to downplay it either.
Senator Heinrich. I am curious. Let me just say, I am
always amazed at the quality of work that your staff does. It
is remarkable. How do you hire and find the skill sets to be
able to do the kind of work that you do supporting the Capitol?
Mr. Austin. Thank you again for that question. This is
another one of those. It kind of depends on where we are going
with this, because we have such a breadth of skill sets in the
agency. We do things, we have done partnership with some
professional associations, some trade schools, to get the word
out. Obviously, we use USA Jobs just like everyone does, but
some of our skill sets are pretty niche.
Senator Heinrich. Yes.
Mr. Austin. You know, decorative plasters, decorative
painters, some of that we grow internally. We take someone that
has come from, say, a labor or custodial role. They come and do
an apprenticeship in our paint shop, or our carpentry shop, and
then they work to gather those skills. When it comes to like
electricians and plumbers, we work with the--you know, we
advertise with the unions and some of the trade groups out
there.
Engineers and architects the same way, partnership with
SAME or AIA, depending on what skill set we are looking for, we
advertise with them, going to job fairs, it really runs the
gamut. But because our skill sets, many of them are very niche,
some of those we grow internally.
Senator Heinrich. Talk to me about the process that you
went through to decide what infrastructure projects would be
included in the fiscal year 2026 budget initiative.
Mr. Austin. So project prioritization, we look at three
driving factors. Number one, you can break down to risk,
importance, and how it affects our deferred maintenance. When
we look at risk, it is the risk of the system failing and what
impact that would have on our congressional stakeholders. So
some of our components are quite old, many are well beyond
their design life and we are putting them together with minor
repairs, and they need a major repair--or major renovation or
refurbishment like I talked about with the master plan earlier.
Senator Heinrich. Give us an example or two of that
category?
Mr. Austin. Sure. So the air-handling units in the Rayburn
Building, they are the originals, 60 years old. Originally were
designed for probably, I would have to check on this, but
somewhere around 30 years is typical in those homes, 20 to 30
years. So we are well beyond those--that design threshold. Some
of our components we have to custom-make because they don't
make those parts anymore. So we have to fabricate those
internally, or we have to hire it out, which has long lead
times to get those pieces back. So that would be an example, a
specific one.
But it really does run the gamut. We have, you know,
painting that is tearing, plaster that is flaking. We have
great people who are working on it, but it is--I spoke to some
plasterers the other day, you have definite job guarantees
because we have so much of it around here for them to do.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. I will switch to Mr. Austin. How
many employees do you have right now?
Mr. Austin. We are a little over 2,500 at the moment,
Senator. It varies a bit seasonally. We hire more people,
visitor guides and visitor assistants for the summer months
because of increased visitorship in the CVC. We have more
employees at the moment on the Senate side to effect the Senate
moves, but it varies seasonally, but it is a little over 2,500.
Senator Mullin. How many of those are for maintenance
purposes?
Mr. Austin. Sure. I think it is kind of a good question. I
am glad you asked it. Because of our team, about 70 percent are
what we consider trades people, hourly workers, wage grade,
wage supervisors, wage leaders. That runs the gamut from things
like custodial laborers, plumbers, carpenters, sheet metal
workers, pipefitters, all those kinds of things. So that is
about 70 percent of my workforce are the hands-on labor force
that does the work around the Campus.
About 15 percent are what you would consider professional
trades, engineers, architects, legal, safety professionals, and
so about 15 percent would be support functions.
Senator Mullin. On subcontractors, how many subcontractors
do you have working on the complexes?
Mr. Austin. I would need to get back with you on the exact
number, but we usually have on Campus, depending on the
project, we probably have around an additional 500 contractors
that are working on Campus based on, you know, the prime
contractors we use----
Senator Mullin. For maintenance purposes?
Mr. Austin. Oh. For maintenance purposes?
Senator Mullin. Yes, not building, not rebuilding and
that----
Mr. Austin. Okay. Not for buildings. Very few, we have some
for--we have some assistance with elevators because of the
workload, and we have some in a few other areas, but relatively
few.
Senator Mullin. Yes, at the power plant I noticed you had
quite a few workings there.
Mr. Austin. Power plants are almost exclusively run by
government employees.
Senator Mullin. Yes.
Mr. Austin. So we have contractors out there doing some of
the work on our construction projects, and some of those
things, like we had a tie around one of the smokestacks out
there that had broken off, and that was made structurally
unstable.
Senator Mullin. Right.
Mr. Austin. That was beyond the skill set, we brought in
contractors to fix that. So we do have them coming in for one-
off missions like that.
Senator Mullin. And what about the--I think when I was out
there I saw them maintenance--in a burner or chiller, I think.
Mr. Austin. Yes, a chiller.
Senator Mullin. I forget what it was.
Mr. Austin. Yes, it was probably a boiler is what they are
doing, since we are coming off a season on those. And so for
those, yes, we do have some folks who do--not day-to-day, that
is not a day-to-day maintenance that is, you know, annual
refurbishment, where they come in and remove the scaling, and
refurbish it.
Senator Mullin. So the majority of the plumbing,
electrical, HVAC, carpentry, that is all done in-house? We are
not subbing any of that out?
Mr. Austin. Yes, Senator.
Senator Mullin. So are we behind in hiring people, or are
you able to keep fully staffed, pretty much. Fully staffed, I
would consider anything over 90 percent really.
Mr. Austin. If that is the metric we are working off, then
we are about 92 percent right now as far as our staffing, so we
would be----
Senator Mullin. What is your turnover like?
Mr. Austin. It is time to hire.
Senator Mullin. Turnover.
Mr. Austin. Oh. Turnover; varies a bit, depending on what
trade and what personnel we are talking about, but we are--I
would have to get back with the exact number, but it is 4- to 5
percent I think per any----
Senator Mullin. What is your pay compared to the private
market? Let us say for an electrician?
Mr. Austin. So that is something that we are looking at
right now. We actually just are in the final throes of a wage
grade study, where we are looking at how our pay compares to
the private sector, and to other Federal Government employers.
Because our employees, depending on what sector you are looking
at we have--or what trade you are looking at, we are either
comparable or below. We don't have anybody really who is above
that level.
Senator Mullin. You are doing a study on the wages for
trade?
Mr. Austin. Wage grade study, to see about how our pay
compares to other Federal entities, and I mean that study has
been----
Senator Mullin. How long have you been doing a study on
that?
Mr. Austin. Because we are looking at----
Senator Mullin. No. I mean, how long have you been doing
this study?
Mr. Austin. Oh. How long is the study? Probably, less than
a year, I think, less than a year. They are coming back to us
with the--they have already given us the results--one of the
issues is if we wanted to change the way we do our pay, we have
to go to the Federal----
Senator Mullin. I understand that. I just think of these
studies--I am sorry, being a contractor myself, I just sit
there and I look at it, and I go, you know, I can tell you real
quick what my competitors are paying. And these are union
employees, and so it seems like you could call the local union
hall for pipefitters, and for electricians, and for mechanical,
and find out what they are paying pretty quick. I mean, you
could do that in 30 minutes.
Mr. Austin. And you could but that--we will never be paying
as high as the hourly rate for the----
Senator Mullin. I understand that. I just want to know what
the competitiveness is, let me see if there is a--because if
you are--I mean, if you have got a 92 percent--I mean, you are
hired at 92 percent right now, and your turnover is pretty low
when it comes to trades like that, I mean, you are doing pretty
good.
Mr. Austin. Yes.
Senator Mullin. And I am just saying, if there is a way for
us--if we are behind, if there is a way for us, we need to be
looking at hiring more tradesmen.
Mr. Austin. Um-hum.
Senator Mullin. I didn't know if there is a problem. At 92
percent, I would say there is probably not really that big of a
problem for it, because I would say the benefits are pretty
good. And that way we can get started on this deferred
maintenance, yes.
Mr. Austin. So that is the overall rate. I would have to
get back to you for as far as the specific trades, because I
know there is more turnover, say, of our custodians. And some
of our other trades people have much higher turnover because of
the pay. But I have always--when I do my visits with employees,
I always say we are never going to be competitive with the
hourly workers from the unions because their pay is seasonal,
it fluctuates, goes up and down. Ours is going to be steady. We
have a better benefits package than you are going to get from,
say, a union job.
So we are never going to compete with those on a per-hour
basis. But the job security, the fact that they can work in a
predictable environment, they are not traveling all over the
city or across the country for jobs, that they are getting a
predictable paycheck, those have benefits too.
Senator Mullin. They do.
Mr. Austin. And so when we are talking to our employees,
and so when we are talking about the wage, we say it is not
just the--that was kind of informing us what the private sector
does. Kind of we say, call down the union, take 30 minutes, we
have done those kinds of things, but also talking about the
other Federal agencies and seeing what we can do about it,
because we are, you know, in the Federal Government there is
only so much we can do about adjusting pay for our employees.
Senator Mullin. Thank you so much.
This concludes the Legislative Branch Appropriations
Subcommittee hearing regarding the fiscal year 2026 funding for
the Library of Congress and Architect of the Capitol.
Thank you, Dr. Hayden, and Mr. Austin, for testifying
today.
The hearing record will remain open for seven days,
allowing Members to submit statements and/or questions for the
record, which should be sent to the subcommittee by close of
business on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
The next hearing for the subcommittee will be held on
Wednesday, May 14th at 3:00 p.m., in room SD-192 in the Dirksen
Senate Office Building. We will be hearing testimony from the
U.S. Capitol Police and Sergeant at Arms regarding their fiscal
year 2026 budget.
------
COMMITTEE QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
MEETING ROOM UTILIZATION IN LIBRARY OF CONGRESS BUILDINGS
Question. How often is the Library at 100 percent capacity in
meeting rooms through all three buildings? Can you provide a listing of
all the meeting rooms and the percentage of occupancy?
Answer. Senator Markwayne Mullin, Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, asked the
Librarian of Congress during the May 6, 2025 hearing A Review of the
Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Requests for the Library of Congress and the
Architect of the Capitol, for a list of meeting rooms in all three
Library of Congress (Library) buildings on Capitol Hill, the respective
square footage of each space, and how often they are used.
This document and Attachment A provide the requested information in
addition to important background and context for space utilization by
the Congress, the Library of Congress, and external parties.
public event space
The Library of Congress has a variety of meeting and event spaces
in its three Capitol Hill buildings available for Congressional use.
The Thomas Jefferson Building has rooms suitable for functions ranging
from small meetings and dinners for 12 attendees, to concerts for 485,
and large receptions for 1,200. The James Madison Building houses the
nation's official memorial to President James Madison with space for
receptions for 200 attendees, a small theater for 64, and other meeting
rooms for lectures and small conferences. This summer, a new event
space will open on the 5th floor of the John Adams Building capable of
hosting events up to 350 people.
The attached PDF lists more than twenty reservable meeting and
event spaces in the John Adams, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson
Buildings, along with their square footage and attendee capacity in
various seating configurations (reception, dinner, theatre-style, etc.)
--Four of these event spaces, all in the Jefferson Building, are
reserved for the exclusive use of Congress or the Librarian:
the Congressional Pavilion, Emerson Hall, the Librarian's
Ceremonial Office, and the Member's Room.
--Three of the spaces, in the Madison Building, are used for LOC
staff meetings: LM-139, the Oval Gallery, and the Staff
Multipurpose Room.
--All other event spaces listed may be booked for Congressional use,
and are also used for the Library's public events, internal
staff meetings, and some of the in-person seminars and classes
for Congressional staff offered by the Congressional Research
Service (CRS) and the Law Library.
--Two of the event spaces, the Great Hall in the Jefferson Building
and Madison Hall in the Madison Building, are available only
for evening events, since they are open to the public during
the day.
meeting room utilization in the jefferson and madison buildings
The Library analyzed room reservation data from September 1, 2023
to May 5, 2025 to determine utilization patterns, efficiency, and
trends within the specified period.
results
There were over 2,700 bookings of Library of Congress meeting rooms
and event spaces between September 1, 2023 and May 5, 2025. The
analysis revealed variations in room utilization, influenced by event
type, day of the week, and the Congressional calendar. By accounting
for these factors, the daytime utilization of the primary event rooms
in the Jefferson and Madison buildings, when Congress is in session,
between 9am-5pm is 25%. The evening utilization of events after 5pm is
24% in the Jefferson building and 14% in the Madison building. The most
utilized space, booked 41% of the time while Congress is in session, is
the Members Room in the Jefferson building, reserved for use
exclusively by Members of Congress and the Librarian of Congress. The
second most utilized room at 30% is the Montpelier Room in the Madison
Building. Seven additional spaces have utilization percentages between
25-30%. Looking at the utilization of available time by day of the
week, midweek appears to have the most utilization of space at 29% on
Wednesdays and Thursdays. The lowest utilization is on Mondays at 13%.
Thursday nights are the most booked evenings, linked to the public
``Live at the Library'' events, with 25% of space utilized.
Of the more than 2,700 actual bookings during this time, 40% were
Library Sponsored events. These events included in-person CRS and Law
Library classes exclusively for Congressional Staff. 26% of the
bookings were of events hosted by congressional offices. The graph
below displays the events by sponsor category.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Most events, 53%, were by invitation only, including meetings
limited to Library staff or invited outside guests. 24% of the events
were open to the general public, and 23% were limited exclusively for
congressional attendees only. The graph below displays the events by
audience category.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
caveats
From September 1, 2023 to May 5, 2025, there were also more than
2,300 additional room reservations made and later canceled. These
reservations were excluded from the utilization data, but should be
taken into account, as often events, particularly congressional events,
are canceled and/or rescheduled at the last minute, preventing other
reservations from being made and skewing the utilization percentages.
Although there are over twenty different Library event spaces
available to reserve, the capacity for the Library's employees to
simultaneously support events is constrained by staffing and equipment
in many cases versus room availability. The following capacity
constraints should be considered regarding staff availability:
--event coordinators to organize events and manage guests;
--event operations specialists to oversee vendor load-in and out as
well as support services;
--event operations assistants to provide equipment and food service
support;
--materials handlers to setup and breakdown furniture before and
after every event;
--security personnel, especially for evening events; and
--overtime pay for staff supporting evening events.
These caveats are especially important when considering that events
take place in public buildings open to researchers from 8:30am to
8:30pm and visitors from 10am to 5pm and movement of event furniture is
scheduled at 6:00am and after hours. Even at current utilization,
Library staff are required to work large amounts of overtime to support
the event schedule.
The historic Thomas Jefferson Building is a challenging venue to
host simultaneous events due to three of the most popular rooms being
on the same floor with shared access to elevators, stairs, restrooms, a
single kitchen, and storage. In the Madison Building, Library staff
also must supply technical equipment and food service support to dozens
of in-person seminars for Congressional staff held in CRS classrooms.
new event space in the john adams building
Later this summer, the Library will debut LA-516 in the John Adams
Building as an event space. The room incorporates Art Deco designs and
features a mural by American artist Ezra Winter illustrating the
characters in the ``Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. Capacities
will allow theater seating for 320 and round tables for 220, making it
one of the Library's largest event spaces. We look forward making this
space available for Congressional use.
conclusion
Although most Library event spaces are utilized an average of 25%
of Library working hours, expanding usage is complicated by the
availability of staff to manage spaces and events. However, we welcome
increased use by Members of Congress and Congressional staff,
especially in our soon to be opened Adams Building space.
We also look forward to working with the Committee to explore
avenues to further publicize the availability of Library of Congress
event space for Congressional offices as well as for external parties.
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------
COMMITTEE QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING
REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS AND DIRECTOR
STREAMLINING COPRYIGHT ROYALTY PROCEEDINGS
Question. Can you provide more details on the Copyright Royalty
Pool distribution process and what solutions would help move the
process along?
Answer. A proceeding to distribute cable or satellite royalties\1\
has two phases: an allocation phase wherein the royalty fund is
allocated among categories of claimants (e.g., sports, commercial TV,
music) and a distribution phase where the allocation is distributed to
individual claimants. The attached document provides an overview of the
second phase: the distribution process.
adding another panel of judges specifically for distribution
proceedings.
In addition to the cable and satellite distribution proceedings,
the CRB conducts proceedings to set rates under statutory licenses for
activities as varied as reproducing and distributing nondramatic
musical works in analog or digital form for distribution (including via
digital download and interactive streaming); publicly performing sound
recordings via webcasting, satellite and cable radio, and by business
establishments; and noncommercial public broadcasting of musical works.
Since 2018, the CRB also sets the administrative fee that funds the
Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), a non-profit organization
established to administer the statutory mechanical blanket license for
reproducing and distributing analog and digital musical works in
phonorecords. The CRB also conducts rulemakings consistent with the
Administrative Procedure Act when establishing or updating CRB
regulations.
To speed up distribution proceedings, Congress may wish to consider
authorizing the Librarian to appoint a second panel of full- or part-
time judges, specifically for cable and satellite distributions and
related work.
internal efficiencies to streamline the process.
The CRB and the Library have been considering ways to improve the
distribution process through rulemakings and changes in internal
processes.
larger advance partial distributions
The CRB is authorized to make partial distribution of royalty funds
in advance, while proceedings (and appeals) are pending. Recipients are
required to agree to return any overpayments, plus interest, before the
final distribution, so that fair and accurate final payments can be
made. These advance partial distributions have historically been for
approximately 40% of the royalties on deposit. If the risks can be
mitigated, it may be reasonable to increase this so that more funds are
paid out to owners more quickly. Recent advance distributions have
reached as high as 85% of amounts on deposit.
target completion dates
To bring more structure to the CRB proceedings and to set
expectations among the participants more clearly, the CRB is
considering a practice used in other administrative proceedings whereby
at the outset of a proceeding, and considering comments from the
participants, the CRB sets a target date by which the entire proceeding
should end. Extension beyond that date would require justification from
the parties or the Judges, as appropriate, and could require the
approval of the Librarian.
efficiencies that would likely require statutory change.
Some potential efficiencies to the process for distributing cable
and satellite royalties would likely require statutory change.
disputes regarding representation of claimants; sanctions on
participants
With a few exceptions, copyright owners are represented before the
CRB by organizations that pursue the owners' claims collectively, e.g.,
the Joint Sports Claimants, the National Association of Broadcasters.
Ultimately, these organizations pay the individual copyright owners
from the royalty share distributed by the CRB in accordance with
agreements between the owners and their representatives.
In recent years, the CRB has seen motions to disallow certain
claims, based on the allegation that claimant organizations are not
bona fide representatives of copyright owners. Producing evidence and
arguments and resolving such disputes is highly fact-specific and time-
consuming. This type of challenge is appropriate when raised in good
faith. However, these disputes have largely been brought by one
distribution phase participant, who has repeatedly been found to have
submitted unfounded or fraudulent claims themselves.
In 2017 the CRB pursued a rulemaking to enable imposition of
sanctions on participants submitting fraudulent claims. Ultimately, no
sanctions regulations were adopted as it was not clear whether the CRB
had the statutory authority to impose effective sanctions on a
participant who submits fraudulent claims.
It may be helpful to provide clear statutory authority for the CRB
to impose certain sanctions on participants (and related entities,
given the fact that multiple related corporate entities have
participated in past proceedings) who have been found to have submitted
fraudulent claims in a prior proceeding. Sanctions for other improper
litigation conduct may be appropriate as well. While some sanctions
could be monetary, other sanctions could also foreclose the ability to
participate in current and future proceedings.
The CRB is mindful that it may be beneficial for the participants
to have notice of any findings of fraudulent claims and the
consequences of a finding of fraudulent claims, and for copyright
owners to have notice of the risk of choosing to be represented by a
participant found to have submitted fraudulent claims. Owners should be
informed that the consequences may include diminishment of royalty
awards, or foreclosure of obtaining any royalty awards for claims
represented by a sanctioned or foreclosed participant.
assigning additional tasks to a single copyright royalty judge
While most of the CRB's work is done as a panel of three judges,
there is a list of matters in 17 U.S.C. 803(b)(6) that can be assigned
to and decided by a single judge. It may be useful to add discovery
motions to that list. As discovery disputes often turn on particular
matters of copyright law or economic evidence, assignment to the judge
with the relevant specialized experience makes sense. Having matters
handled be one judge rather than all three would speed matters up.
Adding authority for the Chief Judge to assign any intermediate task
(i.e., not a final determination) to a single judge would provide even
greater flexibility.
accountability for performance
Following a 2012 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit, the Librarian's ability to remove a Judge is no longer limited
to a for-cause removal. The Librarian's ability to address performance
or conduct is limited to sanction or removal, however, as the Judges do
not receive performance appraisals and are not in a performance-based
pay system.
Congress may wish to consider updating the CRB statute to adopt the
pay and performance language that applies to the recently created
Copyright Claims Board. Unlike the Copyright Royalty Judges, whose pay
is linked to the fixed scale for administrative law judges, the
Copyright Claims Officers are paid under the senior level system, which
is a performance-based pay system. The Claims Officers' independence is
preserved by language establishing that the performance appraisals they
receive may not consider the substantive result of any of their
decisions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For secondary transmissions of television or other broadcast
programming under 17 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 111, 119, and 122.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
------
COMMITTEE QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING
COPYRIGHT ROYALTY LITIGATION
LENGTH OF COPRYIGHT ROYALTY PROCEEDINGS
Question. How long does a distribution proceeding last?
Answer. As shown in the table below, cable royalty distribution
proceedings, covering both proceeding phases, can vary from 5 years to
more than 10 years depending on factors such as:
--The volume and complexity of issues in controversy (i.e., excluding
issues where the parties do not resolve those issues by
settlement or stipulation) that must be addressed in the
proceeding.
--The volume and complexity of collateral issues (e.g., whether a
party legitimately represents rightsholders) that must be
addressed.
--Whether a party seeks a rehearing by the Copyright Royalty Board
(CRB) after an initial determination in either the allocation
or distribution phase.
--Whether a party appeals a final CRB determination to the Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and whether the Court remands the
case to the CRB for further proceedings.
The substantive role of the CRB (and, prior to 2005, the Copyright
Arbitration Royalty Panels) in a proceeding does not commence in
earnest until after (1) the royalty information becomes available to
the parties; (2) the parties accumulate the evidence and analyze the
opinions generated by their experts (e.g., surveys, regression
analysis, etc.); and (3) the parties indicate or the CRB otherwise
determines that a controversy exists.
Multiple royalty years are typically combined into a single
proceeding to make it more efficient and cost effective for the parties
to litigate. The proceedings do not begin until after the final royalty
year has been added to the case.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Mullin. Until then, the subcommittee stands
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:50 a.m., Tuesday, May 6, the subcommittee
was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2026
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2025
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 3:08 p.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Markwayne Mullin, (Chairman),
presiding.
Present: Senators Rounds, Heinrich, and Murray.
SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED STATES SENATE
UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARKWAYNE MULLIN
Senator Mullin. I guess I will say the hearing will come to
order.
That you guys were waiting on me, so I apologize about
that. Right in the middle of votes and another hearing, it has
been interesting. Anyways, I am looking for my opening
statement.
I would like to welcome everyone here to the third and
final, fiscal year 2026 budget hearing for the Legislative
Branch Appropriations Subcommittee.
Today we have with us, Chief--is it Manger? Manger? Chief,
I know we have talked multiple times. Thank you. I will be
referring to you as Chief, because that is more fitting to your
title. So appreciate it so much for you being here. I
understand that this is probably your last hearing with us.
Mr. Manger. It is.
Senator Mullin. And so anyways, we sure appreciate you
being here.
We have Jennifer Hemingway, the Senate Sergeant at Arms.
Thank you. Both of you guys do phenomenal work, both agencies'
work tirelessly to protect Members of Congress, and our staff
and almost eight million visitors to the Capitol Campus each
and every year.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the men and
women at the United States Capitol and the Sergeant at Arms for
the work they do to keep us safe. Their commitment enables us
to do our job on behalf of our constituents, and I mean that
sincerely.
We couldn't do it without you guys, it was never more
evident than when you guys are truly willing to jump in front
of a bullet for us and make sure we get home, when honestly,
our family loves us no more, no less than your families do. But
it is a service that you guys have decided to do, and I don't
take that for granted, ever. So thank you, guys, and thank you
for the ones that you had the privilege of serving with.
Now, I would like to mention at our first two hearings this
year we faced--you know, we are faced with a budget environment
that will require difficult and important decisions on how we
move forward in the coming fiscal year, while we do that, we
can't forget that we need to support our agencies and their
mission's requirements. It is important that every legislative
branch agency is responsible and good stewards of the resources
and makes wise choices about priorities.
The fiscal year the Senate--this fiscal year, the Sergeant
at Armed Service is requesting $357.4 million, an increase of
$46.6 million, which is above the fiscal year 2025 enacted
level. This request includes funding for innovative--to
innovations to enhance the Senate's physical and cybersecurity,
State office operations, and Member protection. It also
includes additional FTEs to support operations across the
agency.
The United States Capitol Police budget request is $967.8
million, an increase of $161.3 million, or a 20 percent
increase over the funding level provided in a full-year CR. The
funding level would support continued growth in sworn and
civilian staff levels, and provide an increase of $52.6 million
for general expenses.
I want to thank our witnesses for being here today. I look
forward to a productive discussion. And I understand your
agencies' priorities for the upcoming year.
Now, I would like to turn to the Ranking Member, Senator
Heinrich. And thank you so much for your patience, sir.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH
Senator Heinrich. No problem. Thank you, Chairman.
I want to begin today by just expressing how disappointed I
am in President Trump's removal of Dr. Hayden, our Librarian of
Congress. As I said when she appeared before us last week, Dr.
Hayden has served the American people with distinction, working
to bring literacy to every single American. Her removal by the
President is both unwarranted and, in my view, improper.
Now, turning to today's witnesses, I look forward to
hearing from Chief Manger and Mrs. Hemingway. Thank you both
for being here today, and thank you to the dedicated
professionals at your agencies who provide safety and security
to the Senate every day as we carry out our constitutional
responsibilities.
It is through the dedication of your teams that the
American people can visit the U.S. Capitol and witness their
Government in action.
Chief Manger, I want to thank you for your--is it 46 years
of service--46 of service as you prepare to retire from your
current position as Chief of the United States Capitol Police.
You served as Chief of Police during a difficult time and
focused your efforts on the challenges that the department
faced. The Senate is grateful for your service and that of all
the Capitol Police.
Now, I understand the department is requesting $967
million, an increase of $161 million over fiscal year 2025
enacted levels, and this request includes funding for salaries,
general expenses, and reimbursements to State and local
governments for law enforcement functions.
As you mentioned in your written testimony, it is a
substantial request, and we look forward to working with your
team to prioritize funding that is critical to the execution of
the department's mission, and critical to keeping our officers
safe. I look forward to hearing more about your fiscal 2026
budget request.
And Ms. Hemingway, as our Sergeant at Arms, you play a
critical role as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the
Senate. I would like to thank you for this work, the work that
you and your team do to support this institution. Your request
is $357 million for fiscal year 2026, a 15 percent increase
over 2025 enacted levels.
I understand this funding will enable the Sergeant at Arms
to continue its efforts to increase security, modernize IT
systems, and enhance interagency coordination. And I look
forward to hearing more about your vision for the Office of the
Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper.
Again, thanks to you both for being here today. And I am
looking forward to this hearing.
Senator Mullin. I would like to thank Senator Rounds and
Senator Murray for being here.
At this time we will turn to our witnesses for their
opening statements. Please be as precise to 5 minutes as
possible.
Ms. Hemingway, I will ask you to start.
------
SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED STATES SENATE
STATEMENT OF HON. JENNIFER HEMINGWAY, SERGEANT AT ARMS
AND DOORKEEPER
Ms. Hemingway. Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich,
Senator Rounds, Vice Chair Murray, and Members of the
subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify in
support of the Sergeant at Arms fiscal year 2026 budget
request.
The Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper serves the Senate as
the Chief Law Enforcement and Protocol Officer and is
responsible for the Senate's physical security, cybersecurity,
emergency preparedness, and several support functions. Security
is a significant piece of our day-to-day mission. In calendar
year 2024, we addressed more than 5,700 requests for law
enforcement assistance, a 35 percent increase over the prior
year.
Using authority and monies provided by this Committee, we
fund security equipment, monitoring services, and physical
security improvements for senators' homes. We offer a data
removal tool to make it more difficult for bad actors to find
specifics about senators on the Internet. Our efforts extend
beyond D.C. to provide security enhancements and upgrades for
more than 460 State offices. Working with the Federal
Protective Service, we have conducted 156 assessments and
enrolled 56 senators in our Temporary Armed Guard Service
Program.
The SAA provides other services too. We spend $1.85 million
monthly on rent for State office space. 99 percent of Senate
offices and committees participated in employee assistance and
well-being services last year to enhance staffs' personal and
professional effectiveness. Senate offices and committees
ordered more than 19,000 printed materials and 8,700 flags from
our printing and graphics team.
Accomplishing our mission under a continuing resolution has
required some belt tightening. To prioritize funding for
projects and improvements that benefit our Senate customers, I
instituted a selective hiring freeze, will not provide merit
raises or a cost-of-living increase, and canceled a $4 million
contract that was internal to the Sergeant at Arms for human
capital management.
For fiscal year 2026, as both of you mentioned, we seek
$357 million--a $47 million increase over our current funding.
Much of this increase was also proposed in fiscal year 2025.
Among our requests is a $5 million increase for the Office
of Security, Emergency Preparedness, and Continuity. Because of
increasing confrontations, disruptive visitors, and hundreds of
potential threats against senators, I believe this funding is
necessary for the safety and security of senators, staff, and
visitors to Senate offices.
In addition, we ask this Committee to provide $10.5 million
in no-year funds. $5.5 million would establish a State Office
Operations Fund. This fund would allow us to pay rent if
regular appropriations are not available.
This fund could also be used to directly support leasehold
improvements in Federal buildings that are often delayed due to
GSA's resource approach. This fund would be similar to the
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery fund established by
this Committee in the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of
2022.
Our remaining requests are detailed in my written
testimony. Thank you for the opportunity to highlight some of
the key pieces of our proposal. I believe this budget will
allow us to meet the security and operational needs of the
Senate, and I welcome your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Honorable Jennifer A. Hemingway,
Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate
Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and members of the
Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of the
Sergeant at Arms' (SAA) fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request.
The Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper serves the Senate as its chief
law enforcement and protocol officer and is responsible for a host of
services in the Senate, including critical physical security,
cybersecurity, emergency preparedness, and support services.
Earlier this year we supported three (3) National Special Security
Events in 15 days: the January 6 Joint Session to Count Electoral
Votes, the State Funeral for former President James Earl Carter, and
the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies.
These events required effort across the Sergeant at Arms. From
media credentialing to technical support to security planning to
photography, every office in the Sergeant at Arms supported the Senate
during these events while carrying out our day-to-day mission.
Our law enforcement work is a significant piece of our daily
operations. In calendar year 2024, the office of the Sergeant at Arms
addressed more than 5,700 requests for law enforcement assistance,
including security escorts for Senators' domestic travel, advice for
public events, and local law enforcement support. This was an increase
of 35 percent (35%) over the previous year. We also prevented the
delivery of more than 2,300 suspicious mailings that required further
scrutiny by the Capitol Police.
Using authority and funding provided by this Committee since FY
2023, we have funded security equipment, monitoring services, and
physical security improvements for Senators' homes through the
Residential Security System Program. Participation in the program has
increased from 17 percent (17%) in the first year to 40 percent (40%)
this year, with 40 Senators participating as of May 5, 2025.
Thanks to the Appropriations Committee, we are able to provide the
Privacy Bee data removal tool to Senators and their spouses upon
request, too. This privacy tool helps participants blur their homes on
Apple Maps and Google Street View as well as remove personal
information from data broker websites, corporate databases, and many of
the major junk mail lists. That makes it more difficult for bad actors
to find specifics about Senators through a quick Internet search.
Privacy Bee also conducts vulnerability monitoring to determine whether
a participant's personal information has been compromised through a
hack or phishing scam.
In calendar year 2024, we conducted emergency training for more
than 4,100 staff and more than 120 members of the press and, in
response to the August 2, 2023, false active shooter threat, an SAA
team led a working group to review and update our active shooter
training. We worked with Senate offices to review their Emergency
Action Plans and Continuity of Operation Plans. These reviews occur on
a rolling, two-year basis, and in 2024 we helped update 123 Emergency
Action Plans and 41 Continuity of Operation Plans. We also finalized
the online Emergency Action Plan tool in May 2024, which includes room-
specific evacuation routes, AED locations, and Emergency Staging Areas.
This mobile app enables members of the Senate community to have this
information in the palms of their hands, saving critical time in an
emergency.
Of course, our security efforts extend beyond Washington, D.C. to
more than 460 state offices across all 50 states. During calendar year
2024, we partnered with the Capitol Police and local law enforcement to
provide security training at 82 state offices, reaching 313 staff. We
provided hands-on security training and consultations to more than 230
staff representing 43 Senators in our State Office Demonstration Room
here in Washington, D.C., too.
We provided physical security enhancements and system upgrades for
77 state offices and security systems. While 99 percent (99%) of state
offices have adopted some level of SAA- recommended and funded security
enhancements, I am hopeful that this year we can achieve 100 percent
participation.
Working with the Federal Protective Service (FPS), we have
conducted a total of 156 state office facility security assessments and
have enrolled 56 Senators in our Temporary Armed Guard Service (TAGS)
program through early May, 2025. TAGS allows Senators to request FPS
Protective Security Officers at commercial state offices, and we
deployed FPS officers at eight (8) state offices during calendar year
2024.
We continue to offer the AlertMedia emergency notification tool to
Senators, their spouses, and staff at no cost to Senate offices.
AlertMedia provides customized notifications to users about severe
weather incidents, civil unrest, major crime, and other potentially
impactful events. At this time, more than 700 individuals from 49
Senate offices use this service.
Further, we offer to provide satellite phones to Senators and their
state offices for emergency communications. After Hurricane Helene
caused record flooding across several states last fall, one State
Director reported that satellite phones were the only mode of
communication for a prolonged period of time, and having SAA-issued
satellite phones allowed the Senator and his team to remain in contact
with other Senate offices as well as state and local officials. Eighty-
one (81) Senators utilize these phones.
Securing the Senate also involves cybersecurity. We have
strengthened our cyber threat detection and response capabilities by
hiring three (3) new security analysts to monitor and defend the Senate
network as well as by adding a threat intelligence position in October
2023 that represents the Senate on the National Cyber Investigative
Joint Task Force. The latter hire allows us to communicate about cyber
threats in real-time with 20 law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
We have increased our efforts to make the Senate community aware of
cybersecurity tactics and scams. Recent alerts to Senate staff have
warned of current phishing lures and a focused smishing campaign; we
also offer monthly briefings about cybersecurity topics, tips, and best
practices.
We successfully completed our second large-scale cybersecurity
assessment of the Senate network at the end of 2024 as well. That
assessment made minimal recommendations, such as removing end of life
operating systems and unsupported web browsers, as well as patching
some third-party software. We have closed out a number of those
recommendations and expect to have all of them closed by the end of
calendar year 2025.
As I mentioned earlier, security is only part of our mission. Over
the past several months, we have been focused on new Senator
orientation and office transitions in D.C. and the states. In November,
we joined the Secretary of the Senate in welcoming Senators-elect,
their spouses, and their transition staff to Washington, D.C. We
offered guidance about security, setting up state offices, and office
equipment and technology. Since then, we have supported 14 outgoing and
14 incoming Senators' office building moves, assisted with the turnover
of 36 state offices to new Senators, and continue to support Senate
office and committee moves.
We welcomed our first Stars of Valor Fellow in March and, as of May
5, 2025, are actively recruiting for placements for eleven (11)
Senators.
In addition, last year we refreshed the working space within the
Chamber dais for the Legislative Clerks and Parliamentarian and built a
new desk for Capitol Police and Senate Pages in the Senate tunnel. In
calendar year 2024 we completed upgrades of end-of-life audio-visual
equipment in the hearing rooms of this Committee, the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the
Budget, the Committee on Rules and Administration, and the Committee on
Veterans Affairs. We also upgraded our digital audio network to improve
the audio feeds from all hearing rooms to the news media.
We completed the Otis payroll automation, which allows offices to
submit payroll actions electronically; enhanced the electronic
financial disclosure application; and built PILLARS, a seating
application for the Inaugural Ceremonies. We revamped the Senate
Employment Bulletin to make it simpler for job seekers to explore and
apply for Senate vacancies and easier for Senate office staff to review
the applicant pool.
We are on track to complete the migration of services from the
TranSAAct application to ServiceNow during this fiscal year. This
platform will make it easier for Senate offices to request a variety of
SAA services, including phone support, Congressional IDs, and floor
privileges.
Accessibility improvements remain a priority. We purchased two ADA-
compliant shuttle buses that transport about 10,000 passengers each
year. Members of my team have completed training to create accessible
documents for Senate offices, and we provided QR codes to Senate
committees that enable individuals with hearing impairments to access
live captions of hearings on their personal devices.
Last year 84 Senate offices and 16 committees ordered more than
2,200 printed materials using Direct Xpress, our online order
fulfillment service. We covered more than 3,000 photography assignments
at the request of Senate offices, and offices ordered more than 31,000
photo prints from the Sergeant at Arms. We broadcast over 1,000 hours
of Senate floor proceedings and 452 hearings. Our media galleries
credentialed approximately 1,450 correspondents, for a total of almost
5,100 credentialed media.
In 2024, nearly 6,400 Senate employees attended training provided
by the Employee Assistance Program or participated in well-being
activities, and approximately 1,800 employees accessed resources
addressing childcare, parenting, adult care, aging, education, legal
concerns, or financial issues. Almost 200 individuals participated in
our Passport Day earlier this year, and last year the Joint Office of
Training and Development provided 65 custom trainings, facilitated 10
staff retreats, and hosted the State Staff Conference for 125 staff
from 42 Senate offices. In addition, 990 staff attended our Wellness
Fair, 129 participants donated blood at our blood drives, and 82 staff
participated in health screenings. We also assisted staff with 69
vehicle lockouts, three (3) flat tire repairs, and 14 jump-starts in
Senate parking lots.
To accommodate increasing requests for security assistance, rising
state office rents, and higher equipment costs for Senate offices under
a continuing resolution has required some belt tightening. To
prioritize funding for projects and technology improvements that
benefit our Senate customers, we have instituted a selective hiring
freeze, will not provide merit raises or a cost-of-living increase and
have canceled an internal-to-the-SAA human capital software management
system. Because we are operating under a continuing resolution, a
number of our requests for funding increases this year are renewed
requests from our proposed FY 2025 budget. In addition, six (6) of our
13 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) position requests are renewed requests.
For FY 2026, we are requesting $357,381,000, a $46,564,000 increase
over current funding.
Our request includes $130,353,000 for salaries, $14,478,000 over
the enacted level. The increase includes $3,822,000 for a cost-of-
living adjustment, 9,393,000 for salary increases and other
adjustments, and $1,263,000 for new FTE positions. This will provide
the Sergeant at Arms with a total of 1,050 authorized FTE positions.
Six (6) of the new positions will support SAA Support Operations: a
financial analyst to provide long-range planning, budgeting, and
project tracking; a technology system solutions specialist to research,
evaluate, and test technologies for Printing, Graphics and Direct Mail;
a logistics and operations specialist to support the flag ordering
process; two digital and graphics designers to support Senate offices'
digital media projects, e-Publications, and accessible PDF forms; and a
program management specialist to monitor and communicate project
statuses for the Program Management and Congressional Transition
office. Four of these positions were requested in FY 2025; we have
added a second digital and graphics designer and a program management
specialist to our renewed requests.
The four (4) positions requested for the Office of Security,
Emergency Preparedness and Continuity will serve the Senate community
as parking specialists. These are new FTE requests for FY 2026.
Two (2) new positions will serve in the Executive and Staff
Offices. We are renewing our FY 2025 request for a wellness technology
and communications specialist to help identify and manage technology
solutions for the Employee Assistance Program. We are making a new
request for a program manager to support state offices with emergency
planning, supply and equipment logistics, and event notifications. The
position will also administer the Temporary Armed Guard Services
program.
We are renewing our FY 2025 request for a continuity communications
engineer within the office of the Chief Information Officer. This
position will support the Senate's increasing communication
capabilities and staff who have specialty communications devices like
satellite phones and radios.
Our request includes $216,528,000 in our five-year expense account,
$31,086,000 over the enacted level. The increase includes $4,455,000 to
account for rising costs and $26,631,000 for improved security and
services for the Senate community.
Within that request is $9,552,000 for the Office of Security,
Emergency Preparedness and Continuity, an increase of $5,099,000 over
the enacted level. This increase includes renewed requests from FY 2025
for $120,000 to address higher rates for new vehicle leases as well as
$100,000 for costs associated with Capitol Police support for
Congressional delegations. The Sergeant at Arms is required to
reimburse Capitol Police for these expenditures, which have increased
significantly in recent years.
Our request includes a new increase of $800,000 for a mobile and
web-based duress platform that will allow Senators to alert authorities
if they feel threatened or unsafe. As with other security programs, use
of this platform will be voluntary.
We request $35,439,000 for the Executive and Staff Offices, an
increase of $4,872,000 over the enacted level. This increase includes
renewed FY 2025 requests of $1,032,000 for state office buildouts and
tenant improvements that help secure Senators' state offices, and
$1,300,000 to pay rent for state offices in Federal buildings and make
leasehold improvements in Federal spaces. It includes renewed requests
of $350,000 for AEDs and related supplies so we can transition from the
post-9/11 emergency supply kits currently in state offices to a modern
program that is able to scale and meet emerging requirements. We are
also renewing our FY 2025 request for $35,000 for an application to
improve the onboarding process for Senate pages.
We requested $395,000 for state office secure reception areas in FY
2025 but are updating that request to $695,000 this year due to
increasing construction costs and additional Senators adopting our
recommended security enhancements. We could see some out-of-cycle
construction due to the General Services Administration's planned
closure of certain Federal buildings housing Senate state offices, too.
We also are requesting a new increase of $725,000 to replace security
equipment in state offices. The work driven by this lifecycle
replacement program will require the addition of two contract staff;
funding for those contractors is included in this request.
We request $150,894,000 for the Chief Information Officer, an
increase of $14,922,000 over the enacted level. The increase includes
several renewed requests from FY 2025. We are renewing our request for
an increase of $1,500,000 to address the increasing costs of our
cybersecurity contracts and update our cybersecurity risk assessment
program. This funding will also provide the ability to mitigate
potential cyber risks within our supply chain. In addition, we are
renewing our request for an increase of $1,500,000 for information
technology (IT) support services. This will provide for a three-month
transition period when we award a new contract for the Senate IT Help
Desk and will help ensure there is no impact on service to Senate
offices. We are renewing our requests for increases of $1,265,000 to
address Senate offices' growing demands for data warehousing, long-term
data retention, and file size growth; $1,051,000 for backup, archiving,
and export capabilities associated with the widespread adoption of
Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint Online; $218,000 to improve
Internet services for state offices; $250,000 for the e-Gallery Pass
program, which will provide Senators with the option of issuing
electronic Senate gallery passes to constituents; and $50,000 to
provide Privacy Bee to Senators and their spouses.
Our new requests for FY 2026 include an increase of $2,550,000 to
provide Microsoft Enterprise licenses for Senate offices. In January,
we used $2,550,000 in available appropriations to cover this cost for
Senate offices for calendar year 2025. Offices spend an average of $300
per user for this license, and the SAA covering this expense freed up
an average of $57,000 per office to fund other IT needs with their
Economic Allocation Fund (EAF) monies.
Our related request for an increase of $3,275,000 for the Economic
Allocation Fund will further assist Senate offices with the cost of
technology equipment and software licenses. In FY 2025, we had
requested an increase of $775,000 for the EAF, but we are increasing
that request to help offices meet their technological needs.
In FY 2026 we also plan to begin our search for a data center
location to strengthen the Senate's technology posture. The new data
center will provide the added benefit of faster network speeds for
state offices that may currently experience a delay on the Senate
network because an office's geographic distance from a data center
directly impacts lag time. While this is measured in milliseconds, some
state offices do notice a delay. We will select a location that gives
those offices faster access to the Senate's technology resources while
strengthening the Senate network.
Our FY 2026 request includes $11,620,000 for Capitol Operations, an
increase of $5,985,000 over the enacted level. We are renewing our FY
2025 request for $65,000 to design and build custom IT cabinets for
state offices. An SAA team collaborated to create these lockable
cabinets, and this funding would allow us to improve state office
operations and aesthetics with these cabinets that mask noise and
neatly secure Senate equipment and wiring.
We are seeking a new increase of $5,000,000 for renovations to the
Senate Recording Studio, which broadcasts Senate floor proceedings and
hearings and offers individual services to Senators.
This modernization will focus on replacing complex equipment that
is near or past the end of its serviceable life in multiple rooms.
We also seek a new increase of $750,000 for Capitol Operations to
address an expected rise in framing orders from Senate offices. At the
beginning of this Congress, in coordination with the Committee on Rules
and Administration, we updated the Senate Frame Shop offerings for the
first time in 20 years. We increased the number of molding finishes and
mats available to offices and began to offer mat embossing and cutting.
We have seen a 4.75 percent (4.75%) increase in orders over the same
period of time during the 118th Congress, and the new orders are more
complex because of our increased offerings.
Lastly, our request includes $10,500,000 in no-year funds. We seek
$5,000,000 to continue replacing aging audiovisual equipment and
systems in Senate hearing rooms. This is a renewed request from FY
2025. We request $5,500,000 for a new State Office Operations Fund. The
SAA currently spends $1.2 million each month on rent for state office
space in commercial buildings and $650,000 each month on rent for state
office space in Federal buildings. Additionally, leasehold improvements
for state offices in Federal buildings are often delayed due to General
Services Administration funding constraints and bandwidth, often beyond
a Senator's term. We are requesting a State Office Operations Fund to
ensure continuity of monthly rent payments for Senate state offices and
for leasehold improvements in Federal buildings. We envision this fund
to be similar to the Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery fund
that was established by this Committee in the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 2022.
We also request permission to expand the Residential Security
System Program to provide residential security support for officers of
the Senate, as defined in 2 U.S.C. Sec. 4101(b), when prudent. Federal
law authorizes the Capitol Police to provide personal protection for
officers of the Congress when such protection is necessary, \1\ and we
recommend that the Residential Security System Program offer similar
residential security support.
This budget will allow us to meet the security needs of the Senate
and provide the services Senate offices have come to expect, while also
addressing new and emerging needs.
Thank you for working with us on each of these endeavors and for
the opportunity to discuss our accomplishments and FY 2026 budget
request.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 2 U.S.C. Sec. 1966.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. Chief.
------
UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
STATEMENT OF HON. CHIEF J. THOMAS MANGER, CHIEF OF
POLICE, UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
Mr. Manger. Thank you, Chief. Chairman Mullin, Ranking
Member Heinrich, and Members of the subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the United States Capitol Police
budget request for fiscal year 2026. Over the past 4 years, the
USCP has experienced tremendous growth. Since 2021 there have
been significant changes to increase the department's staffing
levels, enhance our security posture, and modernize technology.
So I need to acknowledge at the outset that the
department's 2026 budget request is substantial, it is close to
$1 billion. I recognize there are other police departments of a
similar size whose budgets are not as large as ours, but we are
not an ordinary law enforcement agency, in fact, our mission
incorporates elements similar to the FBI, the United States
Secret Service, and the Federal Protective Services.
Moreover, while the officers that you see around our campus
represent a large portion of the department's workforce, the
full scope of our duties far exceeds that of officers and
agents stationed at physical posts. Much of the work performed
by the department staff, both sworn and civilian, goes well
beyond Capitol grounds. Significantly, many of the mission
requirements simply did not exist 4 years ago. I cannot
sufficiently emphasize that point enough. Following nearly 20
after-action reports and 140 total recommendations, the
department's mission expanded exponentially and continues to
expand.
The department had to respond to and implement
recommendations that spanned the gamut in complexity, from
equipping every officer with riot gear, to developing
department-wide policies, to expanding operational planning,
and strengthening the department's training functions.
As a result of these recommendations, the department has
taken on new responsibilities and created new divisions and
teams that did not previously exist. Member security concerns
and major operational planning have driven the need for
additional resources and staffing. The increased threat climate
is perhaps one of the biggest drivers of the department's
continuing need for additional resources.
This past year alone, we saw threats against Members
increase to a staggering 9,400 in 1 year. The current threat
environment has resulted in the continuation of sunset
protection details and the addition of short-term threat-based
details. It has resulted in increased requests for Member
escorts and security monitoring at regional airports,
additional technical surveillance countermeasure inspections
which have increased by nearly 400 percent since 2021, Member
residential security assessments, which have almost doubled
since 2021, and requests for law enforcement coordination
assessments, which has increased by 159 percent since fiscal
year 2022.
The department created a new stand-alone Intelligence
Services Bureau, which didn't exist 4 years ago. Our
reorganization also created an Office of Standards and Training
Operations, which allows the department to centralize its
training, policy development, and inspections functions. All of
these were recommendations issued by the Inspector General.
The Protective Intelligence Operations Center is a state-
of-the-art fusion center for the intake and coordination of
Members' threat-related investigations and the newly
established residential program--residential security program,
again, another program that didn't exist 4 years ago.
None of these components existed 4 years ago. They are all
new, and they all are must-haves in our current threat
environment.
The department's fiscal year 2026 budget request builds
upon the accomplishments achieved over the past 4 years, it
includes, as you said, $687 million to fund salaries and
benefits: $255 million to fund general expenses and $25 million
in multi-year funding to support the continuation of the
department's mutual aid program. I can't stress strongly enough
that the department's protection responsibilities do not end at
the Capitol Campus' borders. The department is statutorily
entrusted with nationwide protective responsibilities of
Members, requirements that it cannot undertake without the
support and resources of our partner, law enforcement agencies,
and that mutual aid funding.
The department expects to reach approximately 2,530 sworn
personnel by the end of fiscal year 2026. While this represents
an increase in our staffing levels, the department needs to
continue efforts to balance its workload, specifically between
the uniformed operations and the protective and intelligence
operations.
By the end of fiscal year 2027, I feel confident that the
department will reach our target sworn staffing levels. The
department is tasked with ensuring that Members, the Capitol
complex staff, and visitors remain safe and secure, and must do
so on a Campus that is entirely open and accessible to all.
There is no other Federal Government office building with a
comparable public access policy.
I want to sincerely thank the Members of the Committee for
your trust and support these past 4 years. It is through our
joint partnership that the department has achieved such a
transformational change.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear here 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 Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, 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) 2026. As I appear before you for what will likely be my last
budget hearing, I want to take this opportunity to thank the
Subcommittee for its consistent support of the women and men of the
U.S. Capitol Police. They courageously carry out their duties of
protecting the Members of Congress, the Capitol Complex, and the
legislative process day in and day out. I am proud of the work they do,
and of the many accomplishments and improvements the Department has
undertaken during my tenure. It has been an honor for me to serve as
their leader.
Over the past 4 years, the USCP has experienced tremendous growth.
Since joining the Department in 2021, I have had the distinct honor of
leading this organization through significant changes to increase the
Department's staffing levels, enhance its security posture, modernize
technology, streamline administrative processes, and boost employee
morale. This transformation has taken time because the changes have
been significant. But we are not done yet.
I need to acknowledge, at the outset, that the Department's FY 2026
budget request is substantial--it is close to one billion dollars. I
recognize there are other police departments of a similar size whose
budget is not as large as ours, but we are not an ordinary law
enforcement agency. The USCP is not like traditional police
departments. In fact, our mission incorporates elements of many Federal
law enforcement agencies. We are part FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and
Federal Protective Services. Moreover, while the officers that you see
on and around the Capitol Complex represent a large portion of the
Department's workforce, the full scope of our duties far exceeds that
of the officers and agents stationed at physical posts. Much of the
work performed by the Department's staff--both sworn and civilian--is
conducted off Capitol Grounds. The Department's responsibilities to
Members and the Congressional community include protective details
nation-wide and abroad, threat investigations, criminal investigations,
campus-wide physical and technical security measures, intelligence
analysis and reporting, canine security, offsite delivery screening,
and hazardous incident response, among others.
This work is further supported by the vast array of administrative
duties that are the foundation of the Department's workforce--to
include training and wellness programs, policy development and
implementation, inspections and internal controls, IT services,
facilities and logistics, fleet management and maintenance, financial
management, procurement, human resources, and background
investigations. This work is critical to the Department's functioning
but is often not seen or appreciated.
Significantly, many of these mission requirements simply did not
exist prior to January 6, 2021. I cannot sufficiently emphasize that
point. Following the events of that day, the Department's mission
expanded exponentially and continues to expand. As a result of the 103
recommendations issued by the U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General
(OIG), the Department had to respond to and implement recommendations
that spanned the gamut in complexity, from equipping every officer with
riot gear, to developing Department-wide policies, to expanding event
planning and coordination efforts, to strengthening the Department's
training functions. Recommendations of this scope and magnitude
typically take years and years to implement; the Department did so on
an expedited timeline.
Other factors have also contributed--and continue to contribute--to
the Department's expanding mission set. Congress requested that the
Department undertake a top-to-bottom survey of its operations, and as
result, the Department commissioned the Concept of Operations (CONOPS)
assessment, which issued recommendations in three key areas--staffing,
technology, and training. The Department responded in record time with
an implementation strategy to make those recommendations a reality.
Member security concerns and major event planning have driven the
need for additional resources and staffing. The increased threat
climate is perhaps one of the biggest drivers of the Department's
continuing need for additional resources. The past year alone saw
threats against Members increase to a staggering 9,400 in 1 year--more
than double over the past 10 years. That is a huge increase, and given
the current political climate, one that is likely to continue an upward
trend. The current threat environment has resulted in additional Member
protective events, which have increased by 27 percent since 2023;
continuation of sunset details and the addition of short-term threat-
based details; increased requests for Member escorts and security
monitoring at regional airports; additional Technical Surveillance
Countermeasures (TSCM) inspections, which have increased by nearly 400
percent since 2021; Member Residential and Capitol Complex security
assessments, which have almost doubled since 2021; and requests for law
enforcement coordination assessments, which have increased by 159
percent since FY 2022.
The Department's wholescale reorganization was another OIG
recommendation that the USCP implemented to increase its mission
response. The reorganization created a new, stand- alone Intelligence
Services Bureau, which collects and analyzes all sources of
intelligence to identify domestic and international threats, and
coordinates information sharing with the intelligence community. The
reorganization also created a third office--the Office of Standards and
Training Operations--which allows the Department to centralize its
training, policy development, and inspections and controls functions,
all recommendations issued by the OIG.
The Department also created additional operational components, such
as the Rapid Response Team, which provides a dedicated patrol team that
can be rapidly deployed to support events and demonstrations, critical
incidents, or calls for service; additional civil disturbance units
that allow for increased activations to enhance our security posture;
and significantly, the Protective Intelligence Operations Center
(PIOC), a state-of-the art fusion center for the intake and
coordination of Member threats, related investigations, and the newly
established residential security program.
None of these components existed at the time I became Chief--they
are all new. And the implementation of each new program required
staffing, research and analysis, IT support, procurement, budgeting,
and where appropriate, new equipment, vehicle fleet, and other support
services, both on the sworn and civilian sides of the Department. All
these actions were necessary, but not always seen.
i. background
To properly evaluate the Department's FY 2026 request, it is
important to conduct a brief retrospective of the Department's
evolution these past 4 years. In 2021, the Department faced a trifecta
of significant challenges: critically low sworn staffing levels, the
need to re-open the Capitol campus post-pandemic, and remediating over
one hundred audit recommendations issued by the OIG and other oversight
entities following the events of January 6. These were large- scale
challenges the Department had to confront simultaneously and within a
compressed timeframe, significantly taxing a workforce already severely
understaffed. Morale and work-life balance suffered significantly.
Recognizing the need to prioritize staffing, in FY 2022, the
Department launched a comprehensive sworn hiring strategy to increase
its sworn bench strength. The plan evolved into a multi-year hiring and
training strategy that established a hiring target of 288 new sworn
recruits each fiscal year that is designed to take into account the lag
time between recruit hiring and full utility, which is approximately 10
months. An integral part of the strategy is creating and developing a
``pipeline'' of uniformed officers to support operational requirements
to allow more experienced officers to qualify for internal, specialized
positions throughout the Department.
The impact of this hiring strategy started to yield results in FY
2022 when sworn hiring began to outpace attrition. However, an
additional challenge emerged that further impacted Department staffing:
the expanding threat environment. This dynamic called for enhancements
to the Department's security posture, and by extension, the need for
increased staffing in the Department's protective operations. In
response, the Department expanded its hiring strategy to include 63
additional, external positions to directly support the Protective and
Intelligence Operations (P&IO) Office. These positions form part of the
Department's current FY 2026 budget request and focus on the onboarding
of entry-level agents to support, primarily, dignitary protection and
investigations.
ii. department's fy2026 budget request
The Department's FY 2026 budget request builds upon the
accomplishments achieved over the past 4 years. It includes $687
million to fund salaries and benefits, $255 million to fund general
expenses, and $25 million in multi-year funding to support the
continuation of the Department's mutual aid program. This budget
request reflects the Department's priorities in three critical areas:
(1) Advancing Member Protection, (2) Optimizing the Workforce, and (3)
Modernizing USCP Security and Technology.
a. Advancing Member Protection
The current climate of threats has reached alarming levels--in FY
2024 alone, the number of threats launched against Members of Congress
exceeded 9,400. Members of Congress, their families, and staff face a
range of threats, both on the Capitol campus and in their state and
district offices, and the Department must be prepared to anticipate,
mitigate, and respond. Social media and the Internet provide a breeding
ground for threats that, regardless of their nature, the Department
must investigate. That effort requires human resources, which if the
current trend continues, will only add to the need for staffing. This
is a mission requirement of the highest priority. To maintain a posture
of optimum readiness, the Department deploys resources that cast a wide
protective net and requires staffing for: (1) Congressional delegations
and other special events inside and outside the continental United
States; (2) security awareness briefings to Member offices; (3)
criminal investigations; (4) execution of search and arrest warrants
Nation-wide; (5) TSCM inspections; (6) residential security; (7)
committee hearing security coverage; (8) deployment of threat-based
protective details; and other operational mission requirements to keep
Members, family, and staff out of harm's way.
The Department must continue to adapt and take proactive measures
to stay one step ahead of criminal actors. A significant step in that
direction was the establishment of the PIOC. It serves as a centralized
command center for Member protection, integrating intelligence, threat
assessment, and other related protective operations. The FY 2026 budget
seeks funding to continue PIOC operations and provide comprehensive and
effective security measures in response to the current and future
threat environment.
The Department's Member protection responsibilities, however, do
not end at the Capitol campus' borders. The Department is statutorily
entrusted with nation-wide protective responsibilities, requirements
that it cannot undertake without the support and resources of partner
law enforcement agencies. Thus, the Department is asking Congress to
renew the mutual aid funding it extended in the Emergency Security
Supplemental Appropriations Act \1\ to reimburse law enforcement
partners for providing mutual aid. The Prime Minister of Israel's visit
in July 2024 illustrated the effectiveness of this program, when
hundreds of officers from ten different law enforcement agencies joined
with the USCP to secure the Joint Meeting of Congress. The mutual aid
program also provides additional protective detail coverage to enhance
Members' security in their home districts by coordinating with state
and local law enforcement to provide residential security and support
events.
b. Optimizing the Workforce
The Department has made unprecedented efforts to increase its sworn
workforce, and we are extremely grateful to Congress for the support
that made it possible. But if the Department is to perform the vast
range of services the Congress rightfully expects, the Department needs
the resources to properly do the job. Thus, the Department can only
carry out its 24/7, no-fail mission through the dedicated commitment of
all Department employees--sworn and civilian. The Department's civilian
workforce supports not only administrative functions, including
procurement, budget and financial management, logistics and fleet
management, human resources, background investigations, information
technology, policy, internal controls, and training, but also fills
critical operational functions within the Department, including roles
that support the Command Center, event planning and emergency response,
hazardous incident response, vehicle screening, training, physical
security and technical countermeasures, threat assessments, and
intelligence and investigative analysis. Although rarely seen, the
civilian workforce is the invisible hand that supports every aspect of
the Department's operations.
The Department has made tremendous strides in hiring since I
arrived at the USCP, and it was accomplished through your direct
support. As a result of the hiring strategy that I implemented when I
first arrived, the Department has hired over 900 officers, resulting in
a net increase of approximately 375 sworn personnel after factoring in
attrition. By continuing this strategy, the Department expects to reach
approximately 2,530 sworn personnel by the end of FY 2026. While this
represents optimal staffing levels, the Department needs to continue
efforts to balance its workload, specifically between Uniformed
Operations and Protective and Intelligence Operations. By the end of FY
2027, I feel confident that the Department will reach target sworn
staffing levels across its organizational entities.
c. Modernizing USCP Security and Technology
The FY 2026 budget seeks fundings for the continued maintenance of
existing security systems, investment in new technologies,
cybersecurity, and stakeholder priorities. The demand for security
measures across the Capitol Complex has increased and requires funding
to ensure access controls, video surveillance, intrusion alarms,
duress, and other systems are effectively designed, installed, and
maintained. The increasingly complex and dynamic nature of the
Department's physical and technical security program requires the
Department to conduct research into new technologies, including the
appropriate use of artificial intelligence to enhance security
capabilities across the Capitol Complex. The FY 2026 budget request
seeks funding to continue these critical modernization initiatives.
iii. conclusion
The Department is tasked with ensuring that Members, the Capitol
Complex, staff, and visitors remain safe and secure, and must do so on
a campus that is entirely open and accessible to all. There is no other
Federal government building with a comparable public access policy. The
Department must be positioned to meet the needs of Members and the
security of the Capitol Complex on a no-fail basis. I recognize the
fiscal environment we are in, but the Department cannot provide all the
services requested and required if it is not sufficiently funded.
In just a few years, the Department will celebrate its 200th
anniversary, and I have every confidence that, with continued
commitment, planning, strategic vision, and Congressional support, the
Department will continue its upward trajectory of excellence in the
fulfillment of its protective mission over Congress, Members, staff,
visitors, and the legislative process.
I want to sincerely thank the Members of this Committee for your
trust and support these past 4 years. It is through our partnership
that the Department has achieved such transformational change.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I look
forward to your questions.
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\1\ Public Law 117-31.
Senator Mullin. Thank you, for you both, and thanks for the
testimony. I will skip my question for now and go to Ranking
Member Heinrich.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.
Chief, one of the things I want to ask you about is talk a
little bit about the Intelligence Services Bureau and how the
posture there has changed over the course of the last few
years?
Mr. Manger. Four years ago--sorry, 4 years ago, one of the
biggest failures in January 6th was our intelligence failure.
And we have gone from an agency that consumed intelligence,
where the FBI, would inform us of things, and DHS, we are now a
major player in the intelligence community in this region. We
have folks assigned to different task forces, and we have folks
working directly with the FBI and DHS.
And we not only still consume intelligence, but we gather
intelligence, we analyze the intelligence, we operationalize
that intelligence. It allows us to do better operational
planning for things that occur on our Campus. And most
importantly, we disseminate that intelligence. We disseminate
it to our own folks, and we share it with other agencies in the
intelligence community.
Senator Heinrich. As you mentioned in your testimony, there
have been just very significant increases in the number of
threats to senators and Members of Congress. I think you said
in your testimony that there were more than 9,400 incidents in
2024. Just talk a little bit generally, about how Capitol
Police has responded to that and what the increase in
protection response looks like under the current threat
environment?
Mr. Manger. So one of the biggest challenges was to keep up
with that caseload. For some period of time after I got here,
we had the same number of agents that were investigating the
threats, and yet the number of threats had tripled, quadrupled.
And so we had to add, and we continue to add folks in our
Investigations Division. And not only do I think they do a good
job at investigating those cases, but where we were still, I
think, falling short of the mark was in terms of our being
responsive back to the reporting parties.
The good news is that really through the efforts of the
Sergeant at Arms, along with the Capitol Police, we have gotten
Members to report everything. And this is good, but it is now
up to us to make sure that we are responsive and that we get
back to the reporting parties and let them know what progress
we have made in the investigation, what we found out, those
kinds of things. And we, for a long time, have fallen short on
that. We have our Protection Investigative Intelligence
Operations Center up and running 24/7 now, and that operations
center will go a long way in making sure that not only are
threats acted on immediately and that they get the appropriate
attention, but that we are better at getting back to Members
with the information that we are able to gather through those
investigations.
Senator Heinrich. I have seen firsthand the shift from sort
of a one-way communication to more of a partnership, so I
think, on behalf of a lot of Members, we appreciate that very
much.
I understand you only have a few weeks left before your
retirement. Of all the changes that you have implemented in the
department, which ones do you think had the greatest impact on
moving the needle, improving security?
Mr. Manger. I think getting the appropriate staff together.
I mean, if you look at the--and I read every single one of the
after-action reports--that, you know, in 2021, many of them
pointed out that the Capitol Police were woefully understaffed
and had been historically understaffed. Getting the staffing up
to where it should be so that we can have the number of posts
that we really need to have, so we have enough screening
entrances to handle the folks that come here to work, come here
to visit.
To be able to respond quickly, and one of the things I am
most proud of is our Rapid Response Team, where when there is a
disruption anywhere on this Campus, there is a quick response
by Capitol Police and it is an effective response. And so I
think that we are ready for anything, whereas before it was
always: Well, we have got a problem here, let us find a few
people that we can pull off of a post to respond. We are light
years ahead of that with our operational planning now. And I
think that this Campus is much safer because of it.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chief.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. Thank you both for being here.
Ms. Hemingway, I would like to start with you. You know,
when we start looking at the budget, obviously there is a lot
of concerns because everybody has got to have a haircut at this
point. It is hard to find anything that we can increase because
we have a $37 trillion deficit and growing. At the same time,
we have got to make sure that those that are visiting the
Capitol and those that work here are also safe along the ways.
And so we all have different things we have got to look at.
Talking about safety, I recently had an opportunity to speak
with Deputy Jason Bell, and I brought up some serious security
concerns, to which I see there are just major holes. And so
before I really get into the budget questions, I want to know
if you believe we should have a complete wholesale review of
the Senate security posture, and if you do, if you would commit
to working with me and working with others on actually
evaluating, not just what we have always done, but what we can
do different?
Ms. Hemingway. Yes, Senator. I look forward to partnering
with you in that effort. I think 4 years after January 6th and
after additional resources have been allocated for security
measures, it is an appropriate time to take a look at our
Campus security posture to see what additional vulnerabilities
we need to address, and perhaps what changes we need to make to
our visitor management system in order to keep senators, staff,
and our visitors who are here in the buildings safe.
Senator Mullin. Right. And one concern, there are multiple
concerns, and one I will just air out here that I have is, you
know, during votes, the plaza is wide open, and there is not a
more vulnerable time than when Members are getting out of their
vehicles, walking to their cars. We were told at one time that
the plaza would be closed when the vote was called. Problem is,
you can go out there right now when the vote is called and the
plaza is not closed.
People are all over it. People are going through with baby
strollers, riding their bikes across with backpacks, carrying
backpacks, carrying suitcases. And we understand what can
easily be concealed in those. And I want, I want the American
people to have access to their Capitol as much as anyone, but
at the same time we know there is a huge threat, especially a
growing threat, on public figures that are in public offices.
And I think there needs to be a serious look at what we do
at the plaza during votes, regardless if the House or the
Senate is open, because you cannot just close half of it
because people continue to walk and continue to ride bikes.
And I think that would be one start, but there other issues
that I would like to discuss too, because as I said, it is not
just protecting us, but it is also protecting those that are in
uniform and those that are out of uniform. So thank you so much
for that.
Can you explain to us the demand for personal offices and
committees for additional funding for their technology needs?
Ms. Hemingway. Yes, thank you for the question. This year
we are asking a $3.3 million increase for the Economic
Allocation Fund. The Economic Allocation Fund provides money to
Senate offices and committees at the beginning and midpoint of
each senator's term or after the organization of a Committee
each Congress. Leadership and the institutional offices also
receive that same funding at the start of the Congress.
If you take a look back 6 years and think about when a
senator may have started, at that point a laptop cost $600.
That same laptop today costs, on average, $1,500. We also now
have staff and senators who are increasingly reliant on
technology in order to do their work, and that trend will
continue. In addition, coming out of COVID, many of us carry
multiple devices. We now have a desktop, we have a laptop, we
have a tablet, and we may have multiple phones. All of that
taken together has led to an increase in demand, combined with
increased prices. Our request for this increase will help
ensure that Senate offices can get the equipment that they need
and require.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. And Ms. Hemingway, I do realize
that the Senate continues to ask you for--ask your office to do
more and more, and take on more and more responsibilities. With
that being said, with the tough budget year, can you kind of
hit--send me your priorities, what are the must-dos?
Ms. Hemingway. Yes, my top three priorities are the $5
million increase that we request for our Office of Security,
Emergency Preparedness, and Continuity that will allow us to
respond directly to increased threats against Members. Last
year was an election year, but we saw an 83 percent increase in
threats against Members of Congress and a 38 percent increase
in directions of interest.
My second priority is the Economic Allocation Fund that we
just discussed, along with a $2.55 million increase for the
Sergeant at Arms to buy Microsoft Enterprise licenses for
offices. This year, using available funds, we bought those
licenses for Senate offices. We would like the funding to
continue to provide those licenses.
My third priority is the $5.5 million for the State Office
Operations Fund that I discussed. It would allow us to pay
rents if regular appropriations were not available, and would
also ensure that we can more quickly accomplish leasehold
improvements for Senate State offices.
Senator Mullin. Thank you.
Ms. Hemingway. Thank you.
Senator Mullin. Senator Murray.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Chair Mullin, Senator
Heinrich. I look forward to working with both of you on this
Committee. And thank you to both of our witnesses today.
And I especially want to thank your staffs. They are
dedicated and hardworking public servants, they keep this place
humming, and they protect everyone who works in and visits the
Capitol. So I want to thank both of you and all your staffs. We
really rely on the tireless public service of men and women who
do extraordinary jobs under increasingly difficult
circumstances, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, weekends, and
holidays throughout the year.
So thank you to all of them as well, particularly the men
and women in uniform who guard our doors and patrol the complex
and keep us safe. I look forward to talking with you about how
we can--what we can do to make sure that we are providing the
necessary resources to allow them to keep doing that job.
Chief Manger, I also want to acknowledge your retirement
and thank you for your tremendous service. You took over as
Chief in a very dark and difficult moment following the
horrific attack on the Capitol on January 6th, thank you for
answering the call and taking on that responsibility.
And I do want you to know I am going to keep pushing for us
to finally hang the plaque that honors all the officers who
protected the Capitol on that day. We know the plaque was made.
We know it is here in the Capitol somewhere, and I have yet to
see one good reason why the Speaker hasn't put it up yet, so I
want you to know I am going to keep pressing till we get that
done. But thank you, especially, for your service.
And finally, before I turn to my questions, I do want to
mention, as Senator Heinrich did, about the outrageous firing
of Carla Hayden, of the Library of Congress, who sat before
this very subcommittee just last week. She served honorably.
She served capably. She made sure our Nation's history was
accessible and engaging, and that all of our communities had
their stories told and heard. And that abrupt firing, without
cause, without notice to Congress, is not only an affront to
this incredible public service, but it really is an affront to
the independence of this Congress.
So I am outraged. I hope our Republican colleagues join us
in that.
Chief Manger, I want to ask you to give us an update on the
staffing within the Dignitary Protection Division. These are
highly trained personnel. They serve in critical and
increasingly difficult roles. In your budget request, you are
requesting additional protection agencies. How are you hiring
the protective personnel and procuring the resources to support
the division and meet your mission?
Mr. Manger. You know, it is funny, but when Senator Mullin
asked the Sergeant at Arms about the top priorities, dignitary
protection is number one for us in terms of the need and a
priority in our budget. We are asking for, again, the ability
to hire 288 new positions. This allows us to continue the flow
into the agency, and the opportunity for people who want to go
from Uniform Services Division to Dignitary Protection without
diminishing the uniformed officer's ability to continue to do
their job.
So that is the first way we do it. We are also bringing
folks in directly to become DPD agents and hiring them directly
and training them. So we have got, and we are allowing for
lateral hires as well. So these are strategies that we did not
use before, and it is helping us make progress. But we have got
to get the number up to, right now, we believe 530 DPD agents
is what is needed.
And you touched on it in terms of the hours that these
individuals have to work, we have got to get the staffing up so
that we are not making people work double shifts, and canceling
days off, and all that sort of thing. It is the DPD agents who
are the ones that are constantly bumping up against the maximum
allowable pay rate. And so getting the staffing up will solve
that problem.
Senator Murray. Yes, and you and I have talked before about
the problem of retaining sworn law enforcement personnel, these
are really demanding, high-stress jobs. In recent years, we
have authorized retention bonuses and student loan repayment
programs. Is there any data in if that has been effective?
Mr. Manger. Well, I can just tell you that our attrition
rates are lower than they were before we had those, so I think
that is evidence. And just anecdotally, you talk to a lot of
cops, and that is keeping them here, especially at a critical
time for some of these folks that would be at a time in their
career where: Well, I am either going to stay--if I keep
staying, then I am just invested now to stay through the end.
Versus or: Are there other opportunities somewhere else? So I
think it is a very effective way to keep people here.
I know that this year, we are going to hopefully be able to
offer some retention bonus, but it is not going to be near what
we have offered in years past.
Senator Murray. Okay, thank you. My time is out. I do have
additional questions I would like to submit for the record.
Thank you.
Senator Mullin. And just for a reminder, because the
librarian has been brought up twice here, I really didn't want
to get into that in this hearing. But for the history of
understanding the librarian and how this came about to begin
with, if we go back to when the conception of the librarian was
formed by Thomas Jefferson in 1902, it was a lifetime
appointment. It was a lifetime appointment until President
Obama changed it in 2015 and made the librarian where it was at
the service and at the will of the President.
There was no objection by this side at that time when that
was taken care of. So that was well within the President's
authority to be able to let go the librarian. There is no
separation of powers because that appointment for the librarian
has always been appointed by the President of the United
States. So just for historical purposes, I didn't want to get
into it, but it has been brought up twice. I think that is--
that is an important piece of information that is being left
out here.
Chief, you just said that your objection is to hire----part
of your reason for asking for the increase is to hire 288 new
officers; is that correct?
Mr. Manger. That is correct.
Senator Mullin. Your recruiting classes are full month
after month; is that correct?
Mr. Manger. They are, yes.
Senator Mullin. Okay, so you are not having a recruiting
issue, right?
Mr. Manger. We are not.
Senator Mullin. And really, if you break down the 288
employees, you have 996- roughly, overtime hours, actually over
996,000 actually overtime hours that you paid out last year to
the tune of 84----let us just round the number--$84.3 million.
Just quick math, if you did 288 employees and you times it by
52, which they don't work 52 weeks a year, but just times it by
52, and you give them 50 hours a week, that just comes up to
748,000 hours right there.
So if we not having a recruiting issue, then we have all
your classes are full, we can get there underneath the current
budget you have right now. Put an additional 288 people on the
force, they still are able to get overtime at a tune of 50
hours a week, that is including with your officers you have
today. Because your officers you have today, if you take that
and divide it up, they average right at 50 hours a week, 40.8
hours, actually.
And I know this is different from protective service guys
that are doing protective work versus the uniform, but my point
is, if we look at restructuring it, rather than just asking for
us to throw more money at it, it is saving the taxpayer
dollars. But we can't do it because your recruiting classes are
completely full, and you only--we are only able to go through
the recruiting classes, you have two places that you put these
things--that you put your recruits through, right?
Mr. Manger. FLETC in Shelton--FLETC in Georgia and then
Shelton.
Senator Mullin. And we are limited on numbers there. Have
we looked at having an additional place? Because obviously,
like I said, you are not having a recruiting number--a
recruiting issue because your classes are full, so we can't
ever get to the 288 if we are at maximum capacity right now. So
what is our option?
Mr. Manger. One of the findings in a recent training needs
assessment that we completed is that the facilities are the
choke point for us.
Senator Mullin. Right, but I mean, have we looked at
getting a different facility, a different place to send our
recruits to?
Mr. Manger. Yes, well, we could look at that. I mean, FLETC
has just historically been----
Senator Mullin. Historically, yes.
Mr. Manger [continuing]. And Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center is where we train all Federal law enforcement
officers.
Senator Mullin. But if they are not able to meet the need,
then the definition of insanity is doing the same thing
expecting different results. If they are not able to meet the
need, and they are not able to recruit fast enough, we have to
change. Because instead, you are paying out 996,000 hours of
overtime, which is a tune of $84-plus million, and you could
easily get the other 288 officers in place with the budget you
have right now by just cutting down people's overtime, which
would also help their quality of life, because they are not--
they are going to be able to be home a little bit more, at the
same time, still get the overtime at 50 hours a week.
And so there is math here that actually works, but we can't
do it unless you are willing to change and look outside what we
have always done.
Mr. Manger. Well, the change that I am dealing with is the
growing caseload. I mean, this is not a static workload that
does not change every year. It is increasing every year.
Senator Mullin. The growing caseload, you would need 288
additional officers, right?
Mr. Manger. And we are trying to make up for deficits that
continue, especially in the----
Senator Mullin. But you can't get there, that is what I am
getting at. If your recruiting classes are 100 percent full,
you will never be able to get there unless we look at a
different place to start putting these recruits through, the
different class.
Mr. Manger. I understand what you are saying, but we are
making progress in terms of getting ahead of attrition every
year with the 288 people that we are putting through.
Senator Mullin. By what numbers?
Mr. Manger. Typically, our attrition numbers, and I can get
them to you, are around usually 130, 140 people who leave. So
we are coming out----
Senator Mullin. But if it is just----
Mr. Manger [continuing]. Just estimating, we are coming out
at least 100 officers ahead each year.
Senator Mullin. So at that rate, if you kept the current
load and your current assessment, risk assessment stays, it
would still take you 3 years to get hired up?
Mr. Manger. I estimate that by the end of fiscal year 2027,
we would be close.
Senator Mullin. But you can't do that. Your recruiting
classes are full, and your attrition rate is at 134, and you
are bringing in 220, I thought 220-some, new recruits every
year, you are less than 100, you need 288. Just simple math
there says it is going to take over 3 years. In fact, it is
going to take three and a half years.
Mr. Manger. Well, we are making progress every year in
terms of getting closer to the staffing.
Senator Mullin. But why have we not looked at getting a new
place to send the recruits, is what I am getting at? Just
because we are--and this is what, it is like I am going in
circles here. I don't understand why we are not trying to find
new places to put the recruits through so we can have a higher
amount hired each year. If we need 288 today, then what are we
going to need in 3 years from now? You are never going to get
caught up with that.
Mr. Manger. If there is someplace that will give us the
certificate--that allows us to certify these police officers as
Federal law enforcement officers, another facility, I am happy
to look at it.
Senator Mullin. I am good with it too. And I think we can
help you find one. We just need to start looking. I yield.
Senator Heinrich. Mr. Chairman, I would be very happy to
work with you, and we just happen to have a Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, that we
would love to make sure meets the requirements of the U.S.
Capitol Police.
Senator Mullin. Honestly, let us look at it.
Senator Heinrich. Absolutely. I am not saying----
Senator Mullin. I mean, if we want to take a full hearing
there, let us go.
Senator Heinrich [continuing]. I am not saying that to
jest. They do great work. I know that the first----
Senator Mullin. If we had one in Oklahoma, I would offer it
too, by the way.
Senator Heinrich. There are some very specific requirements
for the Capitol Police, and I am not sure if we currently meet
all of those, but we would be happy to work on it, so.
Ms. Hemingway, you serve on the Capitol Police Board that
provides oversight to the U.S. Capitol Police. It is also
responsible for selecting the next Chief. What is the status of
that selection process, and just sort of bring us up to date
and talk about the time line a little bit?
Ms. Hemingway. Sure. Thank you for that question. Following
Chief Manger's announced retirement, effective May 29th, the
Capitol Police Board engaged with the Police Executive Research
Forum to assist in a competitive search. We are in the middle
of actively interviewing a well-qualified pool of applicants.
We are on track to make a decision, as a Board, by the end of
this month, and provided we do not deviate from that time line,
I look forward to introducing you to the new Chief of Police in
June.
Senator Heinrich. Great. Chief, in your view, what should
be the primary focus in the first month of the incoming Chief's
tenure?
Mr. Manger. Well, I think that depending on where they come
from, whether it is an internal candidate or external, but
certainly any external candidate, there are two big challenges
in this job: one, of course, you have to know how to run a
large police organization, and some of us came in with that
ability. But then you have to learn Capitol Hill and how that--
--
Senator Heinrich. The uniqueness of this particular
environment?
Mr. Manger. Yes. And that is like nothing else. And so to
make sure that you have the staff in place, and you know, the
right guidance to make sure that you are navigating Capitol
Hill in an effective way so that you can be effective on day
one when you get in here. And that is what a new chief should
focus on if they don't have that experience already.
Senator Heinrich. The Sergeant at Arms has also increased
its focus on Member protection, as you mentioned, including
security concerns for our families and staff. In your
testimony, you referred to more than 5,700 requests in 2024 for
security travel and public events. In broad terms, what has the
Sergeant at Arms done to increase its focus on Member
protection both here in D.C., but also back in people's home
districts and home States?
Ms. Hemingway. Both here in D.C. and in home States, we now
offer, thanks to this Committee, the Residential Security
System Program. We have 41 senators who are actively
participating in this program, through which we are able to
provide a security assessment, work with the senator on
security recommendations, and once those recommendations are
agreed to, we cover the cost of implementation, monitoring, and
maintenance. I am very proud of that accomplishment over the
past few years with this Committee's support.
With respect to law enforcement coordination to help
address the threats, we encourage senators to let us know about
events that are upcoming so we can do an intelligence threat
assessment, and based on that assessment, we recommend a level
of law enforcement support.
Thanks to this Committee again, Capitol Police has money to
reimburse State and local agencies for mutual aid law
enforcement support. If law enforcement support is not
appropriate, we have several training classes and offer tips
and coordinate with staff to make sure that they are well
prepared to support senators.
For our State offices we also offer the AlertMedia tool,
which State offices staff, senators, and spouses can use to
maintain situational awareness about events near them. We also
harden State offices, including with ballistic glass and secure
reception rooms. We put security equipment in state offices,
and part of this budget request includes funding for the
lifecycle replacement of that equipment. Those are just a few
highlights that I would offer to you.
Senator Heinrich. Great. Thank you.
And thank you, Chairman. I am going to offer the rest of my
questions for the record today, but I very much appreciate the
hearing.
Senator Mullin. Thank you. Chief, I want to--something was
brought to my attention, we are talking about budgets, and we
are looking at ways to either increase or save money. What is
OEI?
Mr. Manger. Office of Equity and Inclusion.
Senator Mullin. And the purpose?
Mr. Manger. The purpose in the Capitol Police is to----it
is designed to promote a culture of teamwork and shared
commitment to our mission. Every member of the Capitol Police,
I want them to feel like they are part of the team and
committed to our mission. And our OEI reports directly to me
because I think that what they do is that important. It is less
than 1 percent of our budget and----
Senator Mullin. It is the tune of $1 million for 9 people,
is how much it costs, $1 million?
Mr. Manger. Yes. Some of those are contractors and----
Senator Mullin. And you have nine personnel; four civilian
and five contractors?
Mr. Manger. Right.
Senator Mullin. That is a hefty payroll for nine people.
Mr. Manger. Yes, and we can certainly look at ways to pare
some of the expenses down if need be.
Senator Mullin. What does your average officer make a year?
Mr. Manger. Well, the starting salaries right after you are
out of the academy is about mid-80s.
Senator Mullin. Mid-80s?
Mr. Manger. Yes. But the average officer is probably making
in the--probably just over six figures.
Senator Mullin. Okay. So you could hire at least ten new
officers. Now, once again, obviously you are not having a
recruiting issue, but I am having a hard time because OEI
sounds a lot like DEI, and it is on the--I mean, when you
literally go onto your front website, it is literally there,
and in fact, recently they were having a fair, which looked
like it was a fair for grade schoolers, and I was going to put
a stencil up and show it because it was actually, I mean, they
are talking about having raffle tickets, and giving away
prizes, and they are going to have snacks for everybody. And I
am going: Really? I have a hard time justifying that.
Mr. Manger. Well, we have got--if you look at the programs
that----
Senator Mullin. And it talks about where everybody feels
comfortable going to, and it talks about--talking about their
diversity. And then it also has a chart on there, and it shows
how many officers are White, and the ethnic groups that are
there. But it specifically shows White officers, and I go:
Really? This is what we need in the workplace?
Because that is called division, because if we are trying
to hire the best and brightest based on merit, then why would
that chart even need to be in the OEI?
Mr. Manger. Well, I will tell you that all over this
country, people in every community want to know if their police
department is reflecting the diversity and the experience of
their community.
Senator Mullin. But also, everybody here wants to be safe.
And that is why we want to hire based on merit.
Mr. Manger. And that is number one, and if you heard what I
said before.
Senator Mullin. Yes.
Mr. Manger. I mean, this team is designed to promote a
culture of teamwork, where everybody feels like they are part
of the team.
Senator Mullin. That is not what the----
Mr. Manger. And that is important to me.
Senator Mullin [continuing]. That is not what the website--
--
Mr. Manger. And if you have an organization that is large
as mine----
Senator Mullin[continuing]: That is not what the website,
sir----
Mr. Manger[continuing]: You want people to have----
Senator Mullin. Chief, read website that is not what that
says.
Mr. Manger. I have read the website. They do a lot of
different things.
Senator Mullin. It does not say that. What you are
describing, it does not say. I don't want to get in a tit for
tat for you, but if you want to get in an argument about it, we
can. This is a good way to make sure----
Mr. Manger. I am not arguing with you.
Senator Mullin. Well, you are. This sounds----
Mr. Manger. I am telling you what the substance of this--
you asked me what the purpose of the team was.
Senator Mullin. Did it--why doesn't it say that on the
website, because it doesn't. There is nowhere on that website
that it says anything that you are saying. So you can tell me
what it may--supposed to be. I can tell you what the website is
saying. So which one is it?
Mr. Manger. It is what I tell you.
Senator Mullin. Well, there need--then the website--then
the website is dead wrong.
Mr. Manger. Because that is what I--that is the direction I
have given that team.
Senator Mullin. Well, then you are not looking over it very
well, because they are spending a million dollars for nine
people, and you don't even know what the website says.
Mr. Manger. I do know the website says.
Senator Mullin. And the job--and the fair that they have,
that they are going to have for whatever it is, it does not say
that. It says: Come to make sure everybody feels comfortable
and included. And then, once again, it breaks down every race.
I believe you are pretty diversified.
I get along with your officers. Love your officers. I think
they are awesome. Get along with every one of them. I go by,
there is not a single time that I don't go by and I shake their
hands and tell them, thank you, and I joke and kid with them.
And I don't see there is a diversity issue, but OEI is making
it an issue.
Mr. Manger. That is not true.
Senator Mullin. Then why would they have a chart that
showed every ethnic group there?
Mr. Manger. That they do----
Senator Mullin. And then it talks about diversity, and it
talks about what their goal is and how important diversity is
to get----
Mr. Manger. When we talk about diversity, the diversity of
experience that brought everybody to be on Team USCP.
Senator Mullin. When you read--when you read your website,
it doesn't talk about that. Because it starts to talk--it talks
about diversity goals, and your diversity goals are based on
race. So once again, Chief, you are not accurate.
Mr. Manger. I don't--I don't believe that is the case.
Senator Mullin. Okay. Well, I can go back and I can quote
it, because it talks about diversity on female officers, it
talks about diversity on different races, and it talks about
what your goals are to get there. So it does. And I don't--you
know, if that is what you are at, then just own it, and instead
of saying----
Mr. Manger. Well, it is not. It is not. We do not have
quotas, we do not--our diversity efforts are not: Oh, let us
hire this--this kind of person, not that kind of person. That
is not the case.
Senator Mullin. Well, it says that if you want to--which I
don't care if they--if everybody is on merit-based hire the
best people, so I don't care about it. I am not trying to get
in tit for tat for it.
Mr. Manger. We are doing----
Senator Mullin. But it does say in there that you are
trying to diversify the force to 30 percent females, which, I
don't care. It does not bother me so----
Mr. Manger. That is a national program called ``30 for
30'', where there is an effort to increase the number of women
in policing.
Senator Mullin. So there is a quota.
Mr. Manger. No, it is not a quota. No. I mean, it is a
goal. It is not a quota for us.
Senator Mullin. Okay. We have a lot of work to do. I want
to make sure that everybody here at the Capitol is safe. I want
to make sure that everybody that comes and visits us, and
everybody that comes here to work, goes home to their families,
and that is including all the officers, that is my number one
goal. At the same time, I want to be a good steward of the
dollars we are spending and make sure they are going to that
goal.
And I want to look at the way we do things. Just because we
do things a certain way and we have done it for 10 years
doesn't mean we can't get better at it. And my goal as the
chair is to do that. And we can do that through one, if we are
financing a program, I want to make sure it is a program that
is actually being effective in every way possible, every way
possible.
So I look forward to working with you, Chief. I do
appreciate your service. We don't always agree on every issue,
but where you have taken the department in a few short years is
commendable. I think there are a lot more changes that need to
be happen--or that needs to happen, but you have done a pretty
good job walking into a very difficult situation. So thank you.
Unless the Ranking Member has anything else to say, I will
close the Committee.
Senator Heinrich. I just want to thank you both. I have
seen measurable improvements to both of your organizations. And
that is not lost on me, and I think it is not lost on most of
the Members. And please be sure that your workforces understand
how much we appreciate them.
Senator Mullin. This concludes the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing regarding fiscal year 2026
funding for the Sergeant at Arms and the United States Capitol
Police.
Thank you, Ms. Hemingway; and thank you, Chief, for
testifying today. We appreciate the information you provide and
look forward to working with each of your agencies as we
continue to evaluate the security needs of Congress.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
Senator Mullin. The hearing record will be open for 7 days,
allowing members to submit statements and/or questions for the
record, which will be sent to the subcommittee for close of
business on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
CONCLUSION OF HEARINGS
Senator Mullin. The subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:58 p.m., Wednesday, May 14, the hearings
were concluded, the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene
subject to the call of the Chair.]
LIST OF WITNESSES, COMMUNICATIONS, AND PREPARED STATEMENTS
----------
Page
Austin, Thomas E., Architect, Architect of the Capitol:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 64
Statement of................................................. 62
Dodaro, Hon. Gene L., Comptroller General of the United States
Government Accountability Office:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 16
Statement of................................................. 14
Donfried, Karen, Director, Congressional Research Service,
Prepared Statement of.......................................... 58
Halpern, Hon. Hugh N., Director, Government Publishing Office:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 29
Statement of................................................. 27
Hayden, Hon. Carla D., Librarian of Congress:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 50
Statement of................................................. 49
Heinrich, Senator Martin, U.S. Senator From New Mexico, Opening
Statement of
Hemingway, Honorable Jennifer A., United States Sergeant at Arms
and Doorkeeper of the Senate:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 98
Statement of................................................. 97
Manger, Hon. J. Thomas, Chief of Police, United States Capitol
Police:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 104
Statement of................................................. 103
Mullin, Senator Markwayne, U.S. Senator From Oklahoma,Opening
Statement of
Perlmutter, Shira, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S.
Copyright Office, Prepared Statement of........................ 53
Swagel, Ph.D., Hon. Phillip L., Director, Congressional Budget
Office:
Prepared Statement of........................................ 5
Statement of................................................. 3
SUBJECT INDEX
----------
Page
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
I. Overview...................................................... 64
II. Prioritizing Physical Security & Life Safety................. 64
III. Supporting the Senate Community............................. 65
IV. Modern Management of Aging Infrastructure.................... 65
V. Workforce Investments & Meeting Mission Requirements.......... 65
VI. Conclusion................................................... 65
__________
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
CBO's Budget Request and Its Consequences for Staffing and Output 6
Enhancing Transparency........................................... 10
Funding Request for Personal Costs and Consequences for Staffing. 7
Requested Information and Authorities............................ 8
Strengthening Responsiveness..................................... 10
__________
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Appendix I:Summary of Resources and Staffing..................... 24
Connect with GAO................................................. 26
FY 2026 Budget Request........................................... 20
GAO Highlights................................................... 17
GAO's:
Mission...................................................... 26
Work Improves Government Efficiency and Effectiveness........ 19
Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony.................... 26
__________
GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
GovInfo.......................................................... 33
GPO's FY 2026 Appropriations Request............................. 31
OIG Request...................................................... 33
XPub............................................................. 32
__________
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Committee Questions Asked During the Hearing--Library of
Congress:
Meeting Room Utilization in Library of Congress Buildings.... 77
Caveats.................................................. 79
New Event Space in the John Adams Building............... 79
Public Event Space....................................... 77
Results.................................................. 78
Committee Questions Asked During the Hearing--Register of
Copyrights and Director:
Streamlining Copryight Royalty Proceedings................... 80
Accountability for Performance........................... 82
Adding Another Panel of Judges Specifically for
Distribution Proceedings............................... 80
Assigning Additional Tasks to A Single Copyright Royalty
Judge.................................................. 82
Disputes Regarding Representation of Claimants; Sanctions
on Participants........................................ 81
Efficiencies That Would Likely Require Statutory Change.. 81
Internal Efficiencies to Streamline the Process.......... 81
Larger Advance Partial Distributions..................... 81
Target Completion Dates.................................. 81
Committee Questions Asked During The Hearing--Copyright Royalty
Litigation:
Length of Copryight Royalty Proceedings...................... 92
Congressional Support for Copyright Royalty Fee Distribution..... 69
Continuous Development of Information Technology................. 55
Continuous Development of The Enterprise Copyright System (ECS).. 52
Copyright Royalty Litigation..................................... 71
CRS Service to Congress in Fiscal 2024........................... 58
Fiscal 2025 Re-Submissions....................................... 52
Fiscal 2026 Budget Request and Program Increase.................. 58
Funding and Update to the Fiscal 2026 Budget Request............. 56
Key Accomplishments Over the Past Year........................... 53
Meeting Room Utilization in the Jefferson and Madison Buildings.. 78
Preservation Object Storage Upgrade.............................. 51
Space Utilization at the Library of Congress..................... 66
Status of Copyright Royalty Fee Distribution..................... 67
Status of the Visitor Experience Project......................... 69
Strategic Initiatives............................................ 59
Web Application Delivery and Management Improvements............. 51
__________
UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE
Additional Committee Questions................................... 119
I. Background.................................................... 106
II. Department's FY2026 Budget Request........................... 106
III. Conclusion.................................................. 107
[all]