[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7593-S7602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, the Legislative Branch bill provides
$1,537,827,000 in new obligational authority, exclusive of House items,
for fiscal year 1998. This is $64,947,000 below the President's request
and $51,600,000 above the fiscal year 1997 level.
The majority of the increases in the bill account for cost of living
adjustments.
Mr. President, I wish to correct an impression that is being
circulated throughout the press. There is no provision in this bill for
a pay increase for Members of Congress. That is the issue that is taken
care of in other bills.
The Senate items include provisions to reduce the appropriation for
official mail from $10 million to $8 million in fiscal year 1998 and
combine the franking allowance with the official personnel and office
expense allowance--this will reduce paperwork and provide flexibility
for offices to meet their needs.
The bill eliminates the disparity in staff salaries of Senate
employees versus all other Federal employees (including those of the
House.) This disparity was caused by the Senate employees not receiving
the 2-percent COLA in 1996, which as provided to all other Federal
employees.
Approximately 80 percent of the Architect's request for capital
projects to ensure that certain repairs and maintenance are not
delayed. If this maintenance is taken care of now, it should pay off in
substantial cost savings in the future.
The GAO is provided $346.75 million, which conforms to the commitment
to stabilize the GAO budget and staff level (3,500 employees) after a
2-year reduction of 25 percent. This recommendation provides sufficient
funds for mandatory cost increases, including the COLA.
I want to take the opportunity now before presenting the bill to
thank Senator Dorgan, the ranking member on the Legislative Branch
Subcommittee, for his cooperation and his work on the bill. I have
enjoyed my experience as the chairman of the subcommittee, and Senator
Dorgan's cooperative spirit has been a large part of that enjoyment. I
pay tribute to him and to his staff for the professional way in which
they have handled this responsibility.
Mr. President, I believe this bill continues the legislative branch's
contributions toward deficit reduction and the goal of the balanced
budget by the year 2002.
Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to
the consideration of Calendar No. 110, S. 1019, the Legislative Branch
Appropriations bill, and, further, the managers' amendment, which is at
the desk, be considered as read and agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 920
(Purpose: To provide funds for a pilot program of studies
of scientific and technological issues to assist the Congress
in anticipating, understanding and considering such issues in
the course of determining public policy on existing and
emerging national problems)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Utah [Mr. Bennett], for Mr. Bingaman,
proposes an amendment numbered 920.
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
On page 38, line 2, insert before the period the following:
``: Provided further, That $500,000 shall be available only
for expenditure on studies and assessments, to be carried out
by not-for-profit scientific, technological, or educational
institutions, of the matters described in section 472(c) of
title 2, United States Code: Provided further, That topics
for studies and assessments under the previous proviso, and
the institutions designated to carry out the studies and
assessments, shall be selected by the voting members of the
Technology Assessment Board under section 473 of title 2,
United States Code, from among topics requested pursuant to
paragraph (1) or (2) of section 472(d) of such title''.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, this amendment addresses an important
need of the Congress created by the demise, two years ago, of the
Office of Technology Assessment. That need is for authoritative and in-
depth studies of scientific and technological issues that are at the
root of many of the problems that we are called on to address through
legislation.
Over the 23 years of its existence, from 1972 to 1995, the Office of
Technology Assessment functioned as our in-house brain trust. It was a
competent, timely, and impartial source of scientific and technical
advice on a wide range of issues. In early 1995, the decision was made
to end the existence of the Office of Technology Assessment by zeroing
out its appropriation. The judgment of the Congress at that time was
that it needed to demonstrate to the American people that it was
willing to downsize its own operations. I miss the OTA, and I know that
a lot of my colleagues in the Senate and in the House do too. I am not
proposing today to reverse what we did 2 years ago by recreating new
offices in the Congress or by hiring new permanent staff. I believe
that there are other, more flexible ways for Congress to gain direct
access to high-quality and timely advice and insight on cutting edge
science and technology relevant to our legislative duties.
My amendment attempts to use the existing legislative authorities for
oversight of the old OTA to oversee a new pilot experiment. Members
should realize that while we terminated the OTA by ending its
appropriation, the underlying authorities governing the OTA are still
on the books. For example, there is continuing legislative authority in
title 2 of the United States Code to have a Technology Assessment Board
of 12 members: 6 from the House and 6 from the Senate, with each
chamber's representation evenly divided between the parties and
appointed by the respective leadership. This is an excellent group to
decide on which topics should be studied using the funds that would be
provided by my amendment. The old OTA authorities also provided that
topics for OTA studies be suggested by chairs of committees, ranking
members, or numerical majorities of committees, or by the Technology
Assessment Board. That is a sound procedure for identifying potential
study topics. My amendment uses both of these authorities, but contains
a crucial difference in how the studies are executed. In place of a
permanent, continuing organization to undertake studies, my amendment
provides for selection of external scientific, technological, or
educational institutions to carry out the studies that would be funded
under my amendment. Think of it as a ``virtual OTA'' or, if you prefer,
[[Page S7594]]
an ``outsourced'' one. The contractual arrangements with these
institutions would be handled by the GAO, which already has a wide
network of similar contracting arrangements with accounting firms all
over the country. Thus, there is no institutional mortgage associated
with my amendment, and no new Congressional organization. I think that
every member who reluctantly voted to terminate the OTA, because of the
need to downsize our operations, can support my amendment with a clear
conscience. We aren't bringing back a big bureaucracy. We are giving
ourselves access, on topics that Members themselves determine are the
most pressing to have authoritative scientific and technical insight,
to the analytical capabilities of our best not-for-profit and
educational institutions.
Let me reiterate the key points behind my amendment. I am proposing a
way for Congress to acquire better scientific and technological advice
without an institutional mortgage. My amendment puts 12 members,
selected by the bipartisan leadership of the Senate and the House,
directly in charge of deciding how the funds under this amendment will
be spent and what will be studied. My amendment allows all Committees
of Congress to nominate topics worthy of study and to propose which
not-for-profit institution would be most suitable to engage in their
study. Contracting would be handled through the General Accounting
Office, which routinely contracts to external sources for expert advice
and assistance in its own audits.
I am proposing an experiment of limited scope, only $500,000, which
probably translates to somewhere between two and five studies. The
offsetting funds of $500,000 come from the budget of the General
Accounting Office, which is receiving over $354 million in
appropriations in this Act. That is less than three-tenths of 1 percent
of the GAO budget for this experiment. The contracting burden for GAO
under my amendment is hardly crushing--an additional 2 to 5 contracts
won't stretch their resources. I will also note that the Appropriations
Committee's own report for this bill voices concern that GAO may have
given priority to audits initiated under its own authority over those
requested by committees and Members of Congress. My amendment
represents a use of funds that is 100 percent directed to Member and
Committee requests, and overseen by a bipartisan group appointed by the
leadership.
I believe that this is a sensible request and I urge the adoption of
my amendment.
The amendment (No. 920) was agreed to.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I rise in support of S. 1019, the fiscal
year 1998 legislative branch appropriation bill, and applaud the
chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Bennett, for the work he has done
in reporting this bill to the Senate. This bill, as recommended by the
committee, provides $1,537,827,000 in budget authority, exclusive of
House items. This total is $64,947,000 below the President's request
and $51,600,000 above the fiscal year 1997 enacted level. As I
indicated, these figures do not include spending by the House of
Representatives, as each body normally defers to the other body to set
its own budget. To date, the full House has not yet acted on the
legislative branch appropriation bill for fiscal year 1998.
S. 1019 includes not only funding for the salaries and expenses for
offices and committees of the Senate, but also includes the budgets of
a number of outside agencies that provide important services to the
Senate, including the General Accounting Office, the Government
Printing Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Library of
Congress, the Capitol Police, and the Architect of the Capitol.
Mr. President, the subcommittee chairman has done an excellent job of
highlighting the major provisions in this bill, so I will take just a
minute to draw attention to what I believe to be an important issue.
For the General Accounting Office, the committee provides an
appropriation that is an increase of $14 million over the fiscal year
1997 enacted level. This amount provides sufficient funding to
stabilize the workforce of 3,500 employees and to pay for mandatory
cost increases to support the men and women who work for GAO, in
keeping with the agreement reached last Congress between GAO and
appropriators to reduce GAO's budget by 25 percent over 2 years . As
part of the commitment, appropriators committed to provide funding
stability for the GAO once the 2-year, 25 percent reduction was
achieved. I believe that it is important to note that the Senate has
lived up to its commitment to the GAO and I, for one, will work
diligently to keep a level of funding that is worked out in our
conference with the House that is consistent with this commitment.
Mr. President, let me close by again commending the subcommittee
chairman, Senator Bennett. In his first year as chairman of the
legislative branch subcommittee, he has proven himself to be a very
capable leader, who has worked with me on a bipartisan basis. I also
wish to express my thanks to the subcommittee staff--Jim English, Mary
Dewald, and Christine Ciccone--for their fine work, and also to
recognize the excellent support we had from Mary Hawkins, of my staff,
and Chip Yost, of Senator Bennett's staff.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, in February 1987 the Senate and House passed
S. Con. Res. 18 (100th Congress) authorizing the printing as a Senate
document of ``The Senate 1789-1989.'' A compilation of some 80
addresses that I had delivered during the 1980's on the history of the
United States Senate, the book formed part of Congress' commemoration
of its bicentennial. Between 1988 and 1993, the publication appeared in
four volumes: two volumes of the addresses, together with a volume of
classic Senate speeches and a statistical appendix. Printed in a large
format with attractive historical illustrations, these books received
favorable reviews. Volume I was awarded a prize by the Society for
History in the Federal Government and commended by the American Library
Association. Additional printing industry awards went to several of the
Government Printing Office contractors involved in the books'
manufacture.
Through the Government Printing Office, copies of these volumes were
distributed to government depository libraries throughout the country.
The printing resolution stipulated that ``in addition to the usual
number of copies, there shall be printed with suitable binding 5,000
additional copies for use by the Secretary of the Senate.'' These
copies have been and continue to be distributed to educational
institutions and other appropriate recipients. In addition, the
Superintendent of Documents purchased for sale 4,600 copies of Volume
I; 2,300 of Volume II; and 1,000 each of Volumes III and IV. Reflecting
the superior quality of the books, the Government Printing Office
offered these volumes at an average price of $56.
In April of this year, my office inquired of the Government Printing
Office, as we do periodically, how many of each volume had been sold
and how many remained on hand. This time, we were astonished to learn
that the number of volumes remaining was a total of 3,260 less than it
should have been when we subtracted the number of copies sold since our
last inquiry from the number that had remained at that time. When we
asked GPO about the fate of these other copies, we were informed that
there had been a ``stock reduction''--apparently meaning that 3,260 of
these beautiful valuable volumes were disposed of.
On April 23, I wrote to Michael DiMario, the Public Printer, to
request an explanation. On May 6, he responded that there had indeed
been such a stock reduction in order to save storage costs and
streamline sales operations. He further stated that, if additional
copies of these volumes were ever needed, they could of course be
reprinted. No one who has seen these beautifully crafted books could
possibly believe that it would be cost effective to destroy more than
3,000 copies and reprint them later, rather than simply paying for
lower-cost off-site storage until they should be needed. If such a
reduction was in fact necessary, I cannot fathom the distorted thinking
that would destroy books of such long-term value without at the very
least informing the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, or my
office, and giving us the opportunity to acquire these copies to make
them available to various educational entities. When I expressed these
further concerns to Mr. DiMario, I did at last receive an apology and
an acknowledgement that it
[[Page S7595]]
had in fact been an error to dispose of the books without prior
notification.
What of our nation's libraries? I have in mind those at the public
and community college level that may lie outside the depository
program. Would they not welcome surplus copies of selected government
documents once thought worthy of being included in the Government
Printing Office's sales program? Are we so distorted in our priorities
that we prefer to shred such useful information rather than to
disseminate it?
I continue to be gravely concerned about this unfortunate incident,
which demonstrates a major flaw in the procedures of the Superintendent
of Documents and the Government Printing Office. Perhaps this was
simply an unfortunate exception. Or perhaps it reveals a pattern of
inattention, carelessness, or even malfeasance. What other titles in
the Superintendent of Documents' inventory may have received similar
treatment in the name of ``stock reduction?'' I, for one, would like an
answer.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a memorandum to me from
the Senate Historian, Dr. Richard Baker, on this subject, dated April
23, 1997, together with an exchange of correspondence between myself
and the Public Printer, Michael DiMario, be included in the record at
this point. This correspondence includes my letters to Mr. DiMario
dated April 23, 1997, and June 17, 1997, and his responses to me dated
May 6, 1997, and July 11, 1997.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
U.S. Senate
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, DC, April 23, 1997.
Memorandum
To: Senator Robert C. Byrd.
From: Dick Baker.
Re: GPO sales copies of ``The Senate, 1789-1989.''
Yesterday, at your request, we asked GPO how many copies of
each volume they had sold. When they supplied the
information, we discovered some disturbing information. In
early 1995, the Superintendent of Documents reported having
on hand the following numbers of copies:
Volume I--1,618.
Volume II--1,260.
Volume III--963.
Volume IV--855.
After selling only a few hundred more copies of each, GPO
reported yesterday that it had the following numbers of each
on hand:
Volume I--299 (131 sold since 1995 should leave 1,489).
Volume II--271 (69 sold since 1995 should leave 1,191).
Volume III--137 (166 sold since 1995 should leave 797).
Volume IV--279 (84 sold since 1995 should leave 771).
These figures leave 3,260 volumes not accounted for:
Volume I--1,188.
Volume II--920.
Volume III--660.
Volume IV--492.
When we asked about the fate of these other copies, we were
informed that there had been a ``stock reduction.'' As far as
we can determine, this means that 3,260 books were disposed
of.
Attached is the draft of a possible letter you may wish to
send to the Public Printer requesting and explanation of this
decision.
____
April 23 1997.
Mr. Michael F. DiMario,
Public Printer, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. DiMario: It has come to my attention that the
sales inventory of all four volumes of ``The Senate, 1789-
1989'' has been drastically reduced. Perhaps this action is
in line with the Superintendent of Documents' standard
policy, but I find it most distressing because these books
were designed to have long-term value.
I would appreciate receiving an explanation of this
decision.
With all good wishes, I am
Sincerely yours,
Robert C. Byrd.
U.S. Government Printing Office,
Office of the Public Printer,
Washington, DC, May 6, 1997.
Hon. Robert C. Byrd,
U.S. Senate, Hart Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Byrd: This is in response to your letter dated
April 23, 1997, inquiring about the sales inventory of the
four volumes of ``The Senate, 1789-1989.'' Let me assure you
that we recognize the historical value of this series and
have designated all four volumes as titles which shall remain
in print and available through our sales program
indefinitely.
In September 1996, the Superintendent of Documents took a
number of steps to reduce costs in the sales program and to
provide more efficient service to the public. After
conducting a study, it was determined that it was more cost-
effective to maintain an adequate inventory of sales titles
based on their projected life cycle and to reprint, if
necessary.
This policy recognizes, however, that some publications
such as The Senate will have a much longer life cycle than
the ordinary book. Based on current projections, we have on
hand an average supply of 9 years for the four volumes. The
life cycle for most books is 18 months. The Superintendent of
Documents' staff frequently reviews the sales history of each
publication. Because of the importance of The Senate, we are
prepared to reprint at any time. The sales program pays all
costs when we go back to press.
As you know, our sales program must recover all expenses
from revenues. The program has come under increasing
financial pressure recently with some agencies withdrawing
titles traditionally sold by the Government Printing Office
(GPO) in favor of exclusive arrangements with the National
Technical Information Service or other partners. This is
causing needless duplication of effort, confusion to those
who wish to purchase Government information products, and a
substantial loss of revenue to the GPO sales program. In this
difficult environment, it is our goal to streamline our
operations, improve customer service, and keep prices as low
as possible, while at the same time ensuring long-term
availability of valuable publications such as The Senate.
Sincerely,
Michael F. DiMario,
Public Printer.
____
June 17, 1997.
Mr. Michael F. DiMario,
Public Printer, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. DiMario: Your response to my April 23, 1997,
letter leaves several questions unanswered.
I understand the need to manage the inventory of
publications that have a limited shelf life. Printing on
demand makes a great deal of sense for bills, reports, and
other routine documents. The wisdom of that policy is far
less apparent for a ``Level 1'' publication such as ``The
Senate 1789-1989.'' I find it difficult to believe that off-
site storage costs for this four-volume work would have been
greater over a nine-year period than reprinting costs.
Your letter does not explain why the Government Printing
Office did not contact my office, or the Office of the
Secretary of the Senate, to offer to transfer copies deemed
to be in excess of projected demand requirements. I am unable
to comprehend this lack of communication in the light of the
close working relationship this project has inspired over the
past decade between the Senate and GPO.
When a commercial publisher or university press decides to
unload an unwanted title, it is a matter of standard practice
and common courtesy to give the author the opportunity to
acquire copies. Had we been afforded that opportunity, it
would have advanced our plans to make these works widely
available to educational entities, both in this country and
abroad, and would have quickly absorbed your ``surplus.'' Had
someone within the Superintendent of Documents' office
bothered to make a single phone call, he or she could have
aided a useful project and avoided a needless waste of
resources.
Sincerely yours,
Robert C. Byrd.
____
U.S. Government Printing Office,
Office of the Public Printer,
Washington, DC, July 11, 1997.
Hon. Robert C. Byrd,
U.S. Senate, The Capitol,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Byrd: This letter is in response to your
letter of June 17, 1997, concerning ``The Senate 1789-1989.''
I apologize both officially and personally for the
unfortunate unilateral reduction of the Superintendent of
Documents sales inventory of this publication. I was not
aware of the reduction until I received your letter of April
23, 1997. Nevertheless, I recognize that full responsibility
for this action rests with me and no one else.
My regrets are keenly felt since as Assistant Public
Printer for Operations and Procurement at the time of the
printing of Volume I, I had personal knowledge of your direct
participation in the selection of appropriate paper, binding,
and font style. Moreover, having family roots in West
Virginia, as a history major at Davis and Elkins College, and
as a member of its Board of Trustees, I have a keen awareness
of and great admiration for your love of the Senate as well
as your extraordinary scholarship and sense of the importance
of history, both ancient and modern, and I understand how our
unthinking actions must have hurt you deeply. I am truly
sorry.
In fact, it is our policy to contact the publisher of a
book when we are reducing inventory, and to offer publishers
the excess copies at no charge. This policy was not followed
with respect to ``The Senate 1789-1989'' during the major
inventory reduction that occurred in the latter part of FY
1996, which was undertaken to reverse a trend of financial
losses. The Superintendent of Documents instructed sales
program staff to move quickly to restore the sales program to
financial soundness by the beginning of FY 1997. Because of
the short deadline and the large number of titles and copies
involved, they did not follow standard policy to contact
publishers. Both the management and staff of the sales
program are deeply chagrined by this error, and the
Superintendent
[[Page S7596]]
of Documents has assured me that steps have been taken to
ensure our policy on notification of publishers will be
strictly followed when making future inventory reductions.
As you say in your letter, the Senate and the Government
Printing Office (GPO) have maintained a close working
relationship during the past decade on ``The Senate 1789-
1989.'' We have distributed all four volumes to the 1,380
Federal depository libraries throughout the Nation, and in
June 1997 we provided 60 copies of each volume to the United
States Information Agency for use in their libraries abroad.
Again, both personally and in my capacity as Public
Printer, and on behalf of all the employees of GPO for whom
you have been a greatly honored customer and friend, I
apologize for the haste with which the inventory reduction
was made and for our failure to inform your office. We have
taken steps to ensure that this does not happen again, and I
look forward to continuing to work with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Michael F. DiMario,
Public Printer.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I rise in support of S. 1019, the Fiscal
Year 1998 Legislative Branch Appropriation bill. This is the first year
that the distinguished Senator from Utah [Mr. Bennett] and the very
able Senator from North Dakota [Mr. Dorgan] have served as chairman and
ranking member, respectively, and they are to be congratulated for the
expeditious manner with which they have brought this prudent
legislation to the floor. Both Senators are to be commended for the
efforts that they have made to ensure that the Legislative Branch of
the Government is funded in a fiscally sound and responsible way.
S. 1019, as recommended by the committee, provides $1,537,827,000 in
budget authority, to fund salaries and expenses of the Senate and those
agencies that provide important services to this institution, such as
the General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, the
Congressional Budget Office, the Library of Congress, the Capitol
Police, and the Architect of the Capitol. In addition, S. 1019 is well
within its 602(b) subcommittee allocation. This bill does not provide
funding for House items, as the full House has not yet acted on the
Legislative Branch Appropriation bill for fiscal year 1998 as it is
customary that each body defers to the other body to set its own
budget.
Mr. President, I again commend the chairman and ranking member of the
Legislative Branch Subcommittee for their outstanding work. I also
thank the committee staff who have worked hard on this bill: Jim
English, Mary Dewald, and Christine Ciccone.
This is a good bill and deserves the support of the Senate. I yield
the floor.
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be
considered as read a third time and passed, as amended, the motion to
reconsider be laid upon the table with any statements related to the
bill appear at the appropriate point in the Record.
The bill (S. 1019), as amended, was passed, as follows:
S. 1019
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the legislative
branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for
other purposes, namely:
TITLE I--CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS
SENATE
expense allowances
For expense allowances of the Vice President, $10,000; the
President Pro Tempore of the Senate, $10,000; Majority Leader
of the Senate, $10,000; Minority Leader of the Senate,
$10,000; Majority Whip of the Senate, $5,000; Minority Whip
of the Senate, $5,000; and Chairmen of the Majority and
Minority Conference Committees, $3,000 for each Chairman; in
all, $56,000.
representation allowances for the majority and minority leaders
For representation allowances of the Majority and Minority
Leaders of the Senate, $15,000 for each such Leader; in all,
$30,000.
Salaries, Officers and Employees
For compensation of officers, employees, and others as
authorized by law, including agency contributions,
$77,254,000, which shall be paid from this appropriation
without regard to the below limitations, as follows:
office of the vice president
For the Office of the Vice President, $1,612,000.
office of the president pro tempore
For the Office of the President Pro Tempore, $371,000.
offices of the majority and minority leaders
For Offices of the Majority and Minority Leaders,
$2,388,000.
offices of the majority and minority whips
For Offices of the Majority and Minority Whips, $1,221,000.
conference committees
For the Conference of the Majority and the Conference of
the Minority, at rates of compensation to be fixed by the
Chairman of each such committee, $1,061,000 for each such
committee; in all, $2,122,000.
offices of the secretaries of the conference of the majority and the
conference of the minority
For Offices of the Secretaries of the Conference of the
Majority and the Conference of the Minority, $409,000.
policy committees
For salaries of the Majority Policy Committee and the
Minority Policy Committee, $1,077,500 for each such
committee, in all, $2,155,000.
office of the chaplain
For Office of the Chaplain, $260,000.
office of the secretary
For Office of the Secretary, $13,306,000.
office of the sergeant at arms and doorkeeper
For Office of the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper,
$33,037,000.
offices of the secretaries for the majority and minority
For Offices of the Secretary for the Majority and the
Secretary for the Minority, $1,165,000.
agency contributions and related expenses
For agency contributions for employee benefits, as
authorized by law, and related expenses, $19,208,000.
Office of the Legislative Counsel of the Senate
For salaries and expenses of the Office of the Legislative
Counsel of the Senate, $3,605,000.
Office of Senate Legal Counsel
For salaries and expenses of the Office of Senate Legal
Counsel, $966,000.
Expense Allowances of the Secretary of the Senate, Sergeant at Arms and
Doorkeeper of the Senate, and Secretaries for the Majority and Minority
of the Senate
For expense allowances of the Secretary of the Senate,
$3,000; Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate,
$3,000; Secretary for the Majority of the Senate, $3,000;
Secretary for the Minority of the Senate, $3,000; in all,
$12,000.
Contingent Expenses of the Senate
inquiries and investigations
For expenses of inquiries and investigations ordered by the
Senate, or conducted pursuant to section 134(a) of Public Law
601, Seventy-ninth Congress, as amended, section 112 of
Public Law 96-304 and Senate Resolution 281, agreed to March
11, 1980, $75,600,000.
expenses of the united states senate caucus on international narcotics
control
For expenses of the United States Senate Caucus on
International Narcotics Control, $370,000.
secretary of the senate
For expenses of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate,
$1,511,000.
sergeant at arms and doorkeeper of the senate
For expenses of the Office of the Sergeant at Arms and
Doorkeeper of the Senate, $64,400,000, of which $7,000,000
shall remain available until September 30, 1999.
miscellaneous items
For miscellaneous items, $7,905,000.
senators' official personnel and office expense account
For Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense
Account, $228,600,000.
stationery (revolving fund)
For stationery for the President of the Senate, $4,500, for
officers of the Senate and the Conference of the Majority and
Conference of the Minority of the Senate, $8,500; in all,
$13,000.
official mail costs
For expenses necessary for official mail costs of the
Senate, $300,000, to remain available until September 30,
1999.
administrative provisions
Section 1. (a) For fiscal year 1998, and each fiscal year
thereafter, the Secretary of the Senate is authorized to make
advance payments under a contract or other agreement to
provide a service or deliver an article for the United States
Government without regard to the provisions of section 3324
of title 31, United States Code.
(b) An advance payment authorized by subsection (a) shall
be made in accordance with regulations issued by the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate.
(c) The authority granted by subsection (a) shall not take
effect until regulations are issued pursuant to subsection
(b).
Sec. 2. (a) Upon the written request of the Majority or
Minority Whip of the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate
shall transfer during any fiscal year, from the
appropriations account appropriated under the headings
``Salaries, Officers and Employees'' and ``Offices of the
Majority and Minority Whips'', such amount as either whip
shall specify to the appropriations account, within the
contingent fund of the Senate, ``Miscellaneous Items''.
[[Page S7597]]
(b) The Majority and Minority Whips of the Senate are each
authorized to incur such expenses as may be necessary or
appropriate. Expenses incurred by either such whip shall be
paid from the amount transferred pursuant to subsection (a)
by such whip and upon vouchers approved by such whip.
(c) The Secretary of the Senate is authorized to advance
such sums as may be necessary to defray expenses incurred in
carrying out subsections (a) and (b).
Sec. 3. (a) Effective in the case of any fiscal year which
begins on or after October 1, 1997, clause (iii) of paragraph
(3)(A) of section 506(b) of the Supplemental Appropriations
Act, 1973 (2 U.S.C. 58(b)) is amended to read as follows:
``(iii) subject to subparagraph (B), in case the Senator
represents Alabama, $182,567, Alaska, $251,901, Arizona,
$197,079, Arkansas, $168,282, California, $468,724, Colorado,
$186,350, Connecticut, $160,903, Delaware, $127,198, Florida,
$299,746, Georgia, $210,214, Hawaii, $279,512, Idaho,
$163,335, Illinois, $266,248, Indiana, $194,770, Iowa,
$170,565, Kansas, $168,177, Kentucky, $177,338, Louisiana,
$185,647, Maine, $147,746, Maryland, $173,020, Massachusetts,
$195,799, Michigan, $236,459, Minnesota, $187,702,
Mississippi, $168,103, Missouri, $197,941, Montana, $161,725,
Nebraska, $160,361, Nevada, $171,096, New Hampshire,
$142,394, New Jersey, $206,260, New Mexico, $166,140, New
York, $327,955, North Carolina, $210,946, North Dakota,
$149,824, Ohio, $259,452, Oklahoma, $181,761, Oregon,
$189,345, Pennsylvania, $266,148, Rhode Island, $138,582,
South Carolina, $170,451, South Dakota, $151,450, Tennessee,
$191,954, Texas, $348,681, Utah, $168,632, Vermont, $135,925,
Virginia, $193,467, Washington, $214,694, West Virginia,
$147,772, Wisconsin, $191,569, Wyoming, $152,438, plus''.
(b) Subsection (a) of the first section of Public Law 100-
137 (2 U.S.C. 58c) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(6) Effective on and after October 1, 1997, the Senators'
Account shall be available for the payment of franked mail
expenses of Senators.''.
(c)(1) Section 12 of Public Law 101-520 is repealed.
(2) The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall be effective
on and after October 1, 1997.
(d) Nothing in this section affects the authority of the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate to
prescribe regulations relating to the frank by Senators and
officers of the Senate.
Sec. 4. (a) The aggregate amount authorized by Senate
Resolution 54, agreed to February 13, 1997, is increased--
(1) by $401,635 for the period March 1, 1997, through
September 30, 1998, and
(2) by $994,150 for the period March 1, 1998, through
February 28, 1999.
(b) This section is effective on and after October 1, 1997.
Sec. 5. Effective on and after October 1, 1997, each of the
dollar amounts contained in the table under section 105(d)(1)
of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1968 (2 U.S.C
61-1) shall be deemed to be the dollar amounts in that table
on December 31, 1995, increased by 2 percent on January 1,
1996, and by 2.3 percent on January 1, 1997.
Sec. 6. (a) The aggregate amount authorized by Senate
Resolution 54, agreed to February 13, 1997, is increased--
(1) by $125,000 for the period March 1, 1997, through
September 30, 1998; and
(2) by $175,000 for the period March 1, 1998, through
February 28, 1999.
(b) Funds in the account, within the contingent fund of the
Senate, available for the expenses of inquiries and
investigations shall be available for franked mail expenses
incurred by committees of the Senate the other expenses of
which are paid from that account.
(c) This section is effective for fiscal years beginning on
and after October 1, 1997.
Sec. 7. Section 1101 of Public Law 85-58 (2 U.S.C. 46a-1)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Disbursements from the fund shall be made upon vouchers
approved by the Secretary of the Senate, or his designee.''.
JOINT ITEMS
For Joint Committees, as follows:
Joint Economic Committee
For salaries and expenses of the Joint Economic Committee,
$2,750,000, to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate.
Joint Committee on Printing
For salaries and expenses of the Joint Committee on
Printing, $807,000, to be disbursed by the Secretary of the
Senate.
Joint Committee on Taxation
For salaries and expenses of the Joint Committee on
Taxation, $5,724,000, to be disbursed by the Chief
Administrative Officer of the House: Provided, That $100,000
of the funds in this Act shall not be available for
expenditure except for staff designated to provide Members of
Congress, not on the Tax Committees, assistance in securing
revenue estimates for legislation with the assumptions used
in determining the revenue estimate prepared by the Joint
Committee for that Member of Congress.
For other joint items, as follows:
Office of the Attending Physician
For medical supplies, equipment, and contingent expenses of
the emergency rooms, and for the Attending Physician and his
assistants, including (1) an allowance of $1,500 per month to
the Attending Physician; (2) an allowance of $500 per month
each to two medical officers while on duty in the Attending
Physician's office; (3) an allowance of $500 per month to one
assistant and $400 per month each to not to exceed nine
assistants on the basis heretofore provided for such
assistance; and (4) $893,000 for reimbursement to the
Department of the Navy for expenses incurred for staff and
equipment assigned to the Office of the Attending Physician,
which shall be advanced and credited to the applicable
appropriation or appropriations from which such salaries,
allowances, and other expenses are payable and shall be
available for all the purposes thereof, $1,266,000, to be
disbursed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House.
Capitol Police Board
Capitol Police
salaries
For the Capitol Police Board for salaries of officers,
members, and employees of the Capitol Police, including
overtime, hazardous duty pay differential, clothing allowance
of not more than $600 each for members required to wear
civilian attire, and Government contributions for health,
retirement, Social Security, and other applicable employee
benefits, $73,935,000, of which $35,507,000 is provided to
the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, to be
disbursed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House,
and $38,428,000 is provided to the Sergeant at Arms and
Doorkeeper of the Senate, to be disbursed by the Secretary of
the Senate: Provided, That, of the amounts appropriated under
this heading, such amounts as may be necessary may be
transferred between the Sergeant at Arms of the House of
Representatives and the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of
the Senate, upon approval of the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate.
general expenses
For the Capitol Police Board for necessary expenses of the
Capitol Police, including motor vehicles, communications and
other equipment, security equipment and installation,
uniforms, weapons, supplies, materials, training, medical
services, forensic services, stenographic services, personal
and professional services, the employee assistance program,
not more than $2,000 for the awards program, postage,
telephone service, travel advances, relocation of instructor
and liaison personnel for the Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center, and $85 per month for extra services
performed for the Capitol Police Board by an employee of the
Sergeant at Arms of the Senate or the House of
Representatives designated by the Chairman of the Board,
$5,401,000, to be disbursed by the Chief Administrative
Officer of the House of Representatives: Provided, That,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the cost of basic
training for the Capitol Police at the Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center for fiscal year 1998 shall be
paid by the Secretary of the Treasury from funds available to
the Department of the Treasury.
Administrative Provisions
Sec. 101. Amounts appropriated for fiscal year 1998 for the
Capitol Police Board for the Capitol Police may be
transferred between the headings ``salaries'' and ``general
expenses'' upon the approval of--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives, in the case of amounts transferred from the
appropriation provided to the Sergeant at Arms of the House
of Representatives under the heading ``salaries'';
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, in the
case of amounts transferred from the appropriation provided
to the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate under
the heading ``salaries''; and
(3) the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the
House of Representatives, in the case of other transfers.
Sec. 102. (a)(1) The Capitol Police Board shall establish
and maintain unified schedules of rates of basic pay for
members and civilian employees of the Capitol Police which
shall apply to both Members and employees whose appointing
authority is an officer of the Senate and Members and
employees whose appointing authority is an officer of the
House of Representatives.
(2) The Capitol Police Board may, from time to time, adjust
any schedule established under paragraph (1) to the extent
that the Board determines appropriate to reflect changes in
the cost of living and to maintain pay comparability.
(3) A schedule established or revised under paragraph (1)
or (2) shall take effect only upon approval by the Committee
on House Oversight of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate.
(4) A schedule approved under paragraph (3) shall have the
force and effect of law.
(b)(1) The Capitol Police Board shall prescribe, by
regulation, a unified leave system for members and civilian
employees of the Capitol Police which shall apply to both
Members and employees whose appointing authority is an
officer of the Senate and Members and employees whose
appointing authority is an officer of the House of
Representatives. The leave system shall include provisions
for--
(A) annual leave, based on years of service;
(B) sick leave;
(C) administrative leave;
(D) leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
(29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.);
(E) leave without pay and leave with reduced pay, including
provisions relating to contribution for benefits for any
period of such leave;
(F) approval of all leave by the Chief or the designee of
the Chief;
[[Page S7598]]
(G) the order in which categories of leave shall be used;
(H) use, accrual, and carryover rules and limitations,
including rules and limitations for any period of active duty
in the Armed Forces;
(I) advance of annual leave or sick leave after a member or
civilian employee has used all such accrued leave;
(J) buy back of annual leave or sick leave used during an
extended recovery period in the case of an injury in the
performance of duty;
(K) the use of accrued leave before termination of the
employment as a member or civilian employee of the Capitol
Police, with provision for lump sum payment for unused annual
leave; and
(L) a leave sharing program.
(2) The leave system under this section may not provide for
the accrual of either annual or sick leave for any period of
leave without pay or leave with reduced pay.
(3) All provisions of the leave system established under
this subsection shall be subject to the approval of the
Committee on House Oversight of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate.
All regulations approved under this subsection shall have the
force and effect of law.
(c)(1) Upon the approval of the Capitol Police Board, a
member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police who is
separated from service, may be paid a lump sum payment for
the accrued annual leave of the member or civilian employee.
(2) The lump sum payment under paragraph (1)--
(A) shall equal the pay the member or civilian employee
would have received had such member or employee remained in
the service until the expiration of the period of annual
leave;
(B) shall be paid from amounts appropriated to the Capitol
Police;
(C) shall be based on the rate of basic pay in effect with
respect to the member or civilian employee on the last day of
service of the member or civilian employee;
(D) shall not be calculated on the basis of extending the
period of leave described under subparagraph (A) by any
holiday occurring after the date of separation from service;
(E) shall be considered pay for taxation purposes only; and
(F) shall be paid only after the Chairman of the Capitol
Police Board certifies the applicable period of leave to the
Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer
of the House of Representatives, as appropriate.
(3) A member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police who
enters active duty in the armed forces may--
(A) receive a lump sum payment for accrued annual leave in
accordance with this subsection, in addition to any pay or
allowance payable from the armed forces; or
(B) elect to have the leave remain to the credit of such
member or civilian employee until such member or civilian
employee returns from active duty.
(4) The Capitol Police Board may prescribe regulations to
carry out this subsection. No lump sum payment may be paid
under this subsection until such regulations are approved by
the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate and
the Committee on House Oversight of the House of
Representatives. All regulations approved under this
subsection shall have the force and effect of law.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to effect
the appointing authority of any officer of the Senate or the
House of Representatives.
Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office
For salaries and expenses of the Capitol Guide Service and
Special Services Office, $1,991,000, to be disbursed by the
Secretary of the Senate: Provided, That no part of such
amount may be used to employ more than forty individuals:
Provided further, That the Capitol Guide Board is authorized,
during emergencies, to employ not more than two additional
individuals for not more than one hundred twenty days each,
and not more than ten additional individuals for not more
than six months each, for the Capitol Guide Service.
Statements of Appropriations
For the preparation, under the direction of the Committees
on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of
Representatives, of the statements for the first session of
the One Hundred Fifth Congress, showing appropriations made,
indefinite appropriations, and contracts authorized, together
with a chronological history of the regular appropriations
bills as required by law, $30,000, to be paid to the persons
designated by the chairmen of such committees to supervise
the work.
OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
Salaries and Expenses
For salaries and expenses of the Office of Compliance, as
authorized by section 305 of the Congressional Accountability
Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1385), $2,600,000.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
Salaries and Expenses
For salaries and expenses necessary to carry out the
provisions of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public
Law 93-344), including not more than $2,500 to be expended on
the certification of the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office in connection with official representation and
reception expenses, $24,995,000: Provided, That no part of
such amount may be used for the purchase or hire of a
passenger motor vehicle.
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Capitol Buildings and Grounds
capitol buildings
salaries and expenses
For salaries for the Architect of the Capitol, the
Assistant Architect of the Capitol, and other personal
services, at rates of pay provided by law; for surveys and
studies in connection with activities under the care of the
Architect of the Capitol; for all necessary expenses for the
maintenance, care and operation of the Capitol and electrical
substations of the Senate and House office buildings under
the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol, including
furnishings and office equipment; including not more than
$1,000 for official reception and representation expenses, to
be expended as the Architect of the Capitol may approve;
purchase or exchange, maintenance and operation of a
passenger motor vehicle; and not to exceed $20,000 for
attendance, when specifically authorized by the Architect of
the Capitol, at meetings or conventions in connection with
subjects related to work under the Architect of the Capitol,
$39,554,000, of which $7,500,000 shall remain available until
expended.
capitol grounds
For all necessary expenses for care and improvement of
grounds surrounding the Capitol, the Senate and House office
buildings, and the Capitol Power Plant, $6,203,000, of which
$745,000 shall remain available until expended.
senate office buildings
For all necessary expenses for maintenance, care and
operation of Senate Office Buildings; and furniture and
furnishings to be expended under the control and supervision
of the Architect of the Capitol, $50,922,000, of which
$13,200,000 shall remain available until expended: Provided,
That appropriations under this heading for management
personnel and miscellaneous restaurant expenses hereafter
shall be transferred at the beginning of each fiscal year to
the special deposit account in the United States Treasury
established under Public Law 87-82, approved July 6, 1961, as
amended (40 U.S.C. 174j-4), and effective October 1, 1997,
all management personnel of the Senate Restaurant facilities
shall be paid from the special deposit account. Management
personnel transferred hereunder shall be paid at the same
rates of pay applicable immediately prior to the date of
transfer, and annual and sick leave balances shall be
credited to leave accounts of such personnel in the Senate
Restaurants.
capitol power plant
For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and
operation of the Capitol Power Plant; lighting, heating,
power (including the purchase of electrical energy) and water
and sewer services for the Capitol, Senate and House office
buildings, Library of Congress buildings, and the grounds
about the same, Botanic Garden, Senate garage, and air
conditioning refrigeration not supplied from plants in any of
such buildings; heating the Government Printing Office and
Washington City Post Office, and heating and chilled water
for air conditioning for the Supreme Court Building, Union
Station complex, Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building
and the Folger Shakespeare Library, expenses for which shall
be advanced or reimbursed upon request of the Architect of
the Capitol and amounts so received shall be deposited into
the Treasury to the credit of this appropriation,
$33,645,000, of which $1,650,000 shall remain available until
expended: Provided, That not more than $4,000,000 of the
funds credited or to be reimbursed to this appropriation as
herein provided shall be available for obligation during
fiscal year 1998.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Congressional Research Service
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of
section 203 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2
U.S.C. 166) and to revise and extend the Annotated
Constitution of the United States of America, $65,134,000:
Provided, That no part of such amount may be used to pay any
salary or expense in connection with any publication, or
preparation of material therefor (except the Digest of Public
General Bills), to be issued by the Library of Congress
unless such publication has obtained prior approval of either
the Committee on House Oversight of the House of
Representatives or the Committee on Rules and Administration
of the Senate: Provided further, That, notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the compensation of the Director of
the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress,
shall be at an annual rate which is equal to the annual rate
of basic pay for positions at level IV of the Executive
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
Congressional Printing and Binding
For authorized printing and binding for the Congress and
the distribution of Congressional information in any format;
printing and binding for the Architect of the Capitol;
expenses necessary for preparing the semimonthly and session
index to the Congressional Record, as authorized by law (44
[[Page S7599]]
U.S.C. 902); printing and binding of Government publications
authorized by law to be distributed to Members of Congress;
and printing, binding, and distribution of Government
publications authorized by law to be distributed without
charge to the recipient, $82,269,000: Provided, That this
appropriation shall not be available for paper copies of the
permanent edition of the Congressional Record for individual
Representatives, Resident Commissioners or Delegates
authorized under 44 U.S.C. 906: Provided further, That none
of the funds appropriated or made available under this Act
may be expended for printing and binding and related services
provided to Congress under chapter 7 of title 44, United
States Code, unless such printing and binding and related
services are provided during fiscal year 1998 and the billing
of such printing and binding and related services occurs not
later than December 31, 1998.
This title may be cited as the ``Congressional Operations
Appropriations Act, 1998''.
TITLE II--OTHER AGENCIES
BOTANIC GARDEN
Salaries and Expenses
For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and
operation of the Botanic Garden and the nurseries, buildings,
grounds, and collections; and purchase and exchange,
maintenance, repair, and operation of a passenger motor
vehicle; all under the direction of the Joint Committee on
the Library, $3,228,000.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses of the Library of Congress not
otherwise provided for, including development and maintenance
of the Union Catalogs; custody and custodial care of the
Library buildings; special clothing; cleaning, laundering and
repair of uniforms; preservation of motion pictures in the
custody of the Library; operation and maintenance of the
American Folklife Center in the Library; preparation and
distribution of catalog records and other publications of the
Library; hire or purchase of one passenger motor vehicle; and
expenses of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board not
properly chargeable to the income of any trust fund held by
the Board, $229,904,000, of which not more than $7,869,000
shall be derived from collections credited to this
appropriation during fiscal year 1998, and shall remain
available until expended, under the Act of June 28, 1902
(chapter 1301; 32 Stat. 480; 2 U.S.C. 150): Provided, That
the Library of Congress may not obligate or expend any funds
derived from collections under the Act of June 28, 1902, in
excess of the amount authorized for obligation or expenditure
in appropriations Acts: Provided further, That the total
amount available for obligation shall be reduced by the
amount by which collections are less than the $7,869,000:
Provided further, That of the total amount appropriated,
$9,619,000 is to remain available until expended for
acquisition of books, periodicals, newspapers, and all other
materials including subscriptions for bibliographic services
for the Library, including $40,000 to be available solely for
the purchase, when specifically approved by the Librarian, of
special and unique materials for additions to the
collections: Provided further, That of the total amount
appropriated, $5,584,000 is to remain available until
expended for the acquisition and partial support for
implementation of an integrated library system (ILS).
Copyright Office
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Copyright Office, including
publication of the decisions of the United States courts
involving copyrights, $34,567,000, of which not more than
$17,340,000 shall be derived from collections credited to
this appropriation during fiscal year 1998 under 17 U.S.C.
708(d), and not more than $5,086,000 shall be derived from
collections during fiscal year 1998 under 17 U.S.C.
111(d)(2), 119(b)(2), 802(h), and 1005: Provided, That the
total amount available for obligation shall be reduced by the
amount by which collections are less than $22,426,000:
Provided further, That not more than $100,000 of the amount
appropriated is available for the maintenance of an
``International Copyright Institute'' in the Copyright Office
of the Library of Congress for the purpose of training
nationals of developing countries in intellectual property
laws and policies: Provided further, That not more than
$2,250 may be expended, on the certification of the Librarian
of Congress, in connection with official representation and
reception expenses for activities of the International
Copyright Institute.
Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
salaries and expenses
For salaries and expenses to carry out the Act of March 3,
1931 (chapter 400; 46 Stat. 1487; 2 U.S.C. 135a),
$47,870,000, of which $14,194,000 shall remain available
until expended.
Furniture and Furnishings
For necessary expenses for the purchase, installation, and
repair of furniture, furnishings, office and library
equipment, $4,178,000.
Administrative Provisions
Sec. 201. Appropriations in this Act available to the
Library of Congress shall be available, in an amount of not
more than $194,290, of which $58,100 is for the Congressional
Research Service, when specifically authorized by the
Librarian, for attendance at meetings concerned with the
function or activity for which the appropriation is made.
Sec. 202. (a) No part of the funds appropriated in this Act
shall be used by the Library of Congress to administer any
flexible or compressed work schedule which--
(1) applies to any manager or supervisor in a position the
grade or level of which is equal to or higher than GS-15; and
(2) grants such manager or supervisor the right to not be
at work for all or a portion of a workday because of time
worked by the manager or supervisor on another workday.
(b) For purposes of this section, the term ``manager or
supervisor'' means any management official or supervisor, as
such terms are defined in section 7103(a) (10) and (11) of
title 5, United States Code.
Sec. 203. Appropriated funds received by the Library of
Congress from other Federal agencies to cover general and
administrative overhead costs generated by performing
reimbursable work for other agencies under the authority of
31 U.S.C. 1535 and 1536 shall not be used to employ more than
65 employees and may be expended or obligated--
(1) in the case of a reimbursement, only to such extent or
in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts; or
(2) in the case of an advance payment, only--
(A) to pay for such general or administrative overhead
costs as are attributable to the work performed for such
agency; or
(B) to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in
appropriations Acts, with respect to any purpose not
allowable under subparagraph (A).
Sec. 204. Of the amounts appropriated to the Library of
Congress in this Act, not more than $5,000 may be expended,
on the certification of the Librarian of Congress, in
connection with official representation and reception
expenses for the incentive awards program.
Sec. 205. Of the amount appropriated to the Library of
Congress in this Act, not more than $12,000 may be expended,
on the certification of the Librarian of Congress, in
connection with official representation and reception
expenses for the Overseas Field Offices.
Sec. 206. (a) For fiscal year 1998, the obligational
authority of the Library of Congress for the activities
described in subsection (b) may not exceed $100,490,000.
(b) The activities referred to in subsection (a) are
reimbursable and revolving fund activities that are funded
from sources other than appropriations to the Library in
appropriations Acts for the legislative branch.
Sec. 207. (a) Establishment.--Effective October 1, 1997,
there is established in the Treasury of the United States a
revolving fund to be known as the Cooperative Acquisitions
Program Revolving Fund (in this section referred to as the
``revolving fund''). Moneys in the revolving fund shall be
available to the Librarian of Congress, without fiscal year
limitation, for financing the cooperative acquisitions
program (in this section referred to as the ``program'')
under which the Library acquires foreign publications and
research materials on behalf of participating institutions on
a cost-recovery basis. Obligations under the revolving fund
are limited to amounts specified in the appropriations Act
for that purpose for any fiscal year.
(b) Amounts Deposited.--The revolving fund shall consist
of--
(1) any amounts appropriated by law for the purposes of the
revolving fund;
(2) any amounts held by the Librarian as of October 1, 1997
or the date of enactment, whichever is later, that were
collected as payment for the Library's indirect costs of the
program; and
(3) the difference between (A) the total value of the
supplies, equipment, gift fund balances, and other assets of
the program, and (B) the total value of the liabilities
(including unfunded liabilities such as the value of accrued
annual leave of employees) of the program.
(c) Credits to the Revolving Fund.--The revolving fund
shall be credited with all advances and amounts received as
payment for purchases under the program and services and
supplies furnished to program participants, at rates
estimated by the Librarian to be adequate to recover the full
direct and indirect costs of the program to the Library over
a reasonable period of time.
(d) Unobligated Balances.--Any unobligated and unexpended
balances in the revolving fund that the Librarian determines
to be in excess of amounts needed for activities financed by
the revolving fund, shall be deposited in the Treasury of the
United States as miscellaneous receipts. Amounts needed for
activities financed by the revolving fund means the direct
and indirect costs of the program, including the costs of
purchasing, shipping, binding of books and other library
materials; supplies, materials, equipment and services needed
in support of the program; salaries and benefits; general
overhead; and travel.
(e) Annual Report.--Not later than March 31 of each year,
the Librarian of Congress shall prepare and submit to
Congress an audited financial statement for the revolving
fund for the preceding fiscal year. The audit shall be
conducted in accordance with Government Auditing Standards
for financial audits issued by the Comptroller General of the
United States.
Sec. 208. Authority of the Board to Invest Gift Funds.--
Section 4 of the Act entitled ``An Act to create a Library of
Congress Trust Fund Board, and for other purposes'', approved
March 3, 1925 (2 U.S.C. 160), is
[[Page S7600]]
amended by adding at the end the following new undesignated
paragraph:
``Upon agreement by the Librarian of Congress and the
board, a gift or bequest accepted by the Librarian under the
first paragraph of this section may be invested or reinvested
in the same manner as provided for trust funds under the
second paragraph of section 2.''.
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Library Buildings and Grounds
structural and mechanical care
For all necessary expenses for the mechanical and
structural maintenance, care and operation of the Library
buildings and grounds, $14,699,000, of which $3,910,000 shall
remain available until expended.
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
Office of Superintendent of Documents
salaries and expenses
For expenses of the Office of Superintendent of Documents
necessary to provide for the cataloging and indexing of
Government publications and their distribution to the public,
Members of Congress, other Government agencies, and
designated depository and international exchange libraries as
authorized by law, $29,077,000: Provided, That travel
expenses, including travel expenses of the Depository Library
Council to the Public Printer, shall not exceed $150,000:
Provided further, That amounts of not more than $2,000,000,
from current year appropriations are authorized for producing
and disseminating Congressional serial sets and other related
publications for 1996 and 1997 to depository and other
designated libraries.
Government Printing Office Revolving Fund
The Government Printing Office is hereby authorized to make
such expenditures, within the limits of funds available and
in accord with the law, and to make such contracts and
commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as
provided by section 9104 of title 31, United States Code, as
may be necessary in carrying out the programs and purposes
set forth in the budget for the current fiscal year for the
Government Printing Office revolving fund: Provided, That not
more than $2,500 may be expended on the certification of the
Public Printer in connection with official representation and
reception expenses: Provided further, That the revolving fund
shall be available for the hire or purchase of not more than
twelve passenger motor vehicles: Provided further, That
expenditures in connection with travel expenses of the
advisory councils to the Public Printer shall be deemed
necessary to carry out the provisions of title 44, United
States Code: Provided further, That the revolving fund shall
be available for temporary or intermittent services under
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates
for individuals not more than the daily equivalent of the
annual rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive
Schedule under section 5316 of such title: Provided further,
That the revolving fund and the funds provided under the
headings ``Office of Superintendent of Documents'' and
``salaries and expenses'' together may not be available for
the full-time equivalent employment of more than 3,550
workyears by the end of fiscal year 1998: Provided further,
That activities financed through the revolving fund may
provide information in any format: Provided further, That the
revolving fund shall not be used to administer any flexible
or compressed work schedule which applies to any manager or
supervisor in a position the grade or level of which is equal
to or higher than GS-15: Provided further, That expenses for
attendance at meetings shall not exceed $75,000: Provided
further, That, $1,500,000 may be expended on the
certification of the Public Printer, for reimbursement to the
General Accounting Office, for a management audit.
GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE
Salaries and Expenses
For necessary expenses of the General Accounting Office,
including not more than $7,000 to be expended on the
certification of the Comptroller General of the United States
in connection with official representation and reception
expenses; temporary or intermittent services under section
3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for
individuals not more than the daily equivalent of the annual
rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule
under section 5315 of such title; hire of one passenger motor
vehicle; advance payments in foreign countries in accordance
with 31 U.S.C. 3324; benefits comparable to those payable
under sections 901(5), 901(6) and 901(8) of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4081(5), 4081(6) and 4081(8));
and under regulations prescribed by the Comptroller General
of the United States, rental of living quarters in foreign
countries; $346,751,000: Provided, That not more than
$1,000,000 of reimbursements received incident to the
operation of the General Accounting Office Building shall be
available for use in fiscal year 1998: Provided further, That
an additional amount of $4,404,000 shall be available by
transfer from funds previously deposited in the special
account established pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 782: Provided
further, That notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 9105 hereafter
amounts reimbursed to the Comptroller General pursuant to
that section shall be deposited to the appropriation of the
General Accounting Office then available and remain available
until expended, and not more than $2,000,000 of such funds
shall be available for use in fiscal year 1998: Provided
further, That this appropriation and appropriations for
administrative expenses of any other department or agency
which is a member of the Joint Financial Management
Improvement Program (JFMIP) shall be available to finance an
appropriate share of JFMIP costs as determined by the JFMIP,
including the salary of the Executive Director and
secretarial support: Provided further, That this
appropriation and appropriations for administrative expenses
of any other department or agency which is a member of the
National Intergovernmental Audit Forum or a Regional
Intergovernmental Audit Forum shall be available to finance
an appropriate share of either Forum's costs as determined by
the respective Forum, including necessary travel expenses of
non-Federal participants. Payments hereunder to either the
Forum or the JFMIP may be credited as reimbursements to any
appropriation from which costs involved are initially
financed: Provided further, That this appropriation and
appropriations for administrative expenses of any other
department or agency which is a member of the American
Consortium on International Public Administration (ACIPA)
shall be available to finance an appropriate share of ACIPA
costs as determined by the ACIPA, including any expenses
attributable to membership of ACIPA in the International
Institute of Administrative Sciences: Provided further, That
$500,000 shall be available only for expenditure on studies
and assessments, to be carried out by not-for-profit
scientific, technological, or educational institutions, of
the matters described in section 472(c) of title 2, United
States Code: Provided further, That topics for studies and
assessments under the previous proviso, and the institutions
designated to carry out the studies and assessments, shall be
selected by the voting members of the Technology Assessment
Board under section 473 of title 2, United States Code, from
among topics requested pursuant to paragraphs (1) or (2) of
section 472(d) of such title.
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. No part of the funds appropriated in this Act
shall be used for the maintenance or care of private
vehicles, except for emergency assistance and cleaning as may
be provided under regulations relating to parking facilities
for the House of Representatives issued by the Committee on
House Oversight and for the Senate issued by the Committee on
Rules and Administration.
Sec. 302. No part of the funds appropriated in this Act
shall remain available for obligation beyond fiscal year 1997
unless expressly so provided in this Act.
Sec. 303. Whenever in this Act any office or position not
specifically established by the Legislative Pay Act of 1929
is appropriated for or the rate of compensation or
designation of any office or position appropriated for is
different from that specifically established by such Act, the
rate of compensation and the designation in this Act shall be
the permanent law with respect thereto: Provided, That the
provisions in this Act for the various items of official
expenses of Members, officers, and committees of the Senate
and House of Representatives, and clerk hire for Senators and
Members of the House of Representatives shall be the
permanent law with respect thereto.
Sec. 304. The expenditure of any appropriation under this
Act for any consulting service through procurement contract,
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3109, shall be limited to those
contracts where such expenditures are a matter of public
record and available for public inspection, except where
otherwise provided under existing law, or under existing
Executive order issued pursuant to existing law.
Sec. 305. Such sums as may be necessary are appropriated to
the account described in subsection (a) of section 415 of
Public Law 104-1 to pay awards and settlements as authorized
under such subsection.
Sec. 306. Section 316 of Public Law 101-302 is amended in
the first sentence of subsection (a) by striking ``1997'' and
inserting ``1998''.
Sec. 307. The Government Printing Office shall be
considered an agency for the purposes of the election in
section 801(b)(2)(B) of the National Energy Conservation
Policy Act and the Public Printer shall be considered the
head of the agency for purposes of subsection (b)(2)(C) of
such section.
Sec. 308. Residence of Members of Congress.--Section 113 of
title 4, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in the section heading by striking ``for State income
tax laws''; and
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following
new subsections:
``(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Member
of Congress and the Member's spouse, dependents, and staff
shall be treated as permanent residents and domiciliaries of
the State or district which the Member represents,
notwithstanding that the Member and the Member's spouse,
dependents, and staff may be absent from, or may maintain a
place of abode outside of, such State. A Member of Congress
and the Member's spouse, dependents, and staff shall be
entitled to the same rights, privileges, immunities, and
benefits and shall be subject to the same responsibilities,
taxation, and liabilities as other residents and
domiciliaries who physically reside in such State, including
maintaining a State driver's license, registering vehicles in
such State (without regard to whether such vehicle is
physically located in such State), registering to vote in
[[Page S7601]]
such State, and qualifying for benefits, loans, or other
programs that such State may make available to other
residents and domiciliaries who physically reside in such
State.
``(c) For the purposes of this section--
``(1) the term `Member of Congress' includes the delegates
from the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands,
and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico;
``(2) the term `State' includes the District of Columbia;
and
``(3) the term `dependents' includes any person--
``(A) who derives his or her support from a Member of
Congress; and
``(B)(i) is a child of such Member who is age 23 or
younger; or
``(ii) is a ward of such Member; and
``(4) the term `staff' means any person who--
``(A) is in the employ of the Member of Congress for the
purpose of assisting the Member in the performance of
official duties; and
``(B) was resident and domiciliary of the State or district
which the Member represents when such person entered the
employ of the Member.
``(d) This section shall not apply to any spouse,
dependent, or staff of a Member of Congress who claims
residency or a domicile in a State other than the State which
the Member represents or in which the Member's district is
located.''.
(b) The chapter analysis for chapter 4 of title 4, United
States Code, is amended in the item for section 113 by
striking ``for State income tax laws''.
Sec. 309. (a) Severance Pay.--Section 5595 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon; and
(B) by adding after subparagraph (E) the following new
subparagraph:
``(F) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, but only
with respect to the United States Senate Restaurants; and'';
(2) in subsection (a)(2)--
(A) in clause (vii) by striking ``or'' after the semicolon;
(B) by redesignating clause (viii) as clause (ix) and
inserting after clause (vii) the following:
``(viii) an employee of the United States Senate
Restaurants of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol,
who is employed on a temporary when actually employed basis;
or''; and
(3) in subsection (b) by adding at the end the following:
``The Architect of the Capitol may prescribe regulations to
effect the application and operation of this section to the
agency specified in subsection (a)(1)(F) of this section.''.
(b) Early Retirement.--(1) This subsection applies to an
employee of the United States Senate Restaurants of the
Office of the Architect of the Capitol who--
(A) voluntarily separates from service on or after the date
of enactment of this Act and before October 1, 1999; and
(B) on such date of separation--
(i) has completed 25 years of service as defined under
section 8331(12) or 8401(26) of title 5, United States Code;
or
(ii) has completed 20 years of such service and is at least
50 years of age.
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 83 or 84 of
title 5, United States Code, an employee described under
paragraph (1) is entitled to an annuity which shall be
computed consistent with the provisions of law applicable to
annuities under section 8336(d) or 8414(b) of title 5, United
States Code.
(c) Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments.--(1) In this
subsection, the term ``employee'' means an employee of the
United States Senate Restaurants of the Office of the
Architect of the Capitol, serving without limitation, who has
been currently employed for a continuous period of at least
12 months, except that such term shall not include--
(A) a reemployed annuitant under subchapter III of chapter
83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, or another
retirement system for employees of the Government;
(B) an employee having a disability on the basis of which
such employee is or would be eligible for disability
retirement under any of the retirement systems referred to in
subparagraph (A); or
(C) an employee who is employed on a temporary when
actually employed basis.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to
avoid or minimize the need for involuntary separations due to
a reduction in force, reorganization, transfer of function,
or other similar action affecting the agency, the Architect
of the Capitol shall establish a program under which
voluntary separation incentive payments may be offered to
encourage not more than 50 eligible employees to separate
from service voluntarily (whether by retirement or
resignation) during the period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act through September 30, 1999.
(3) Such voluntary separation incentive payments shall be
paid in accordance with the provisions of section 5597(d) of
title 5, United States Code. Any such payment shall not be a
basis of payment, and shall not be included in the
computation, of any other type of Government benefit.
(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an employee who has
received a voluntary separation incentive payment under this
section and accepts employment with the Government of the
United States within 5 years after the date of the separation
on which the payment is based shall be required to repay the
entire amount of the incentive payment to the agency that
paid the incentive payment.
(B)(i) If the employment is with an Executive agency (as
defined by section 105 of title 5, United State Code), the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management may, at the
request of the head of the agency, waive the repayment if the
individual involved possesses unique abilities and is the
only qualified applicant available for the position.
(ii) If the employment is with an entity in the legislative
branch, the head of the entity or the appointing official may
waive the repayment if the individual involved possesses
unique abilities and is the only qualified applicant
available for the position.
(iii) If the employment is with the judicial branch, the
Director of the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts may waive the repayment if the individual involved
possesses unique abilities and is the only qualified
applicant available for the position.
(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A) (but not subparagraph
(B)), the term ``employment'' includes employment under a
personal services contract with the United States.
(5) The Architect of the Capitol may prescribe regulations
to carry out this subsection.
(d) Competitive Service Treatment for Certain Employees.--
(1) This subsection applies to any employee of the United
States Senate Restaurants of the Office of the Architect of
the Capitol who--
(A) is involuntarily separated from service on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act and before October 1, 1999
(except by removal for cause on charges of misconduct or
delinquency); and
(B) has performed any period of service employed in the
Office of the Architect of the Capitol (including the United
States Senate Restaurants) in a position in the excepted
service as defined under section 2103 of title 5, United
States Code.
(2) For purposes of applying for employment for any
position in the executive branch (including for purposes of
the administration of chapter 33 of title 5, United States
Code, with respect to such employment application), any
period of service described under paragraph (1)(B) of this
subsection shall be deemed a period of service in the
competitive service as defined under section 2102 of title 5,
United States Code.
(3) This subsection shall--
(A) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) apply only to an employment application submitted by an
employee during the 2-year period beginning on the date of
such employee's separation from service described under
paragraph (1)(A).
(e) Retraining, Job Placement, and Counseling Services.--
(1) In this subsection, the term ``employee''--
(A) means an employee of the United States Senate
Restaurants of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol;
and
(B) shall not include--
(i) a reemployed annuitant under subchapter III of chapter
83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, or another
retirement system for employees of the Government; or
(ii) an employee who is employed on a temporary when
actually employed basis.
(2) The Architect of the Capitol may establish a program to
provide retraining, job placement, and counseling services to
employees and former employees.
(3) A former employee may not participate in a program
established under this subsection, if--
(A) the former employee was separated from service with the
United States Senate Restaurants of the Office of the
Architect of the Capitol for more than 1 year; or
(B) the separation was by removal for cause on charges of
misconduct or delinquency.
(4) Retraining costs for the program established under this
subsection may not exceed $5,000 for each employee or former
employee.
(f) Administrative Provisions.--(1) The Architect of the
Capitol--
(A) may use employees of the Office of the Architect of the
Capitol to establish and administer programs and carry out
the provisions of this section; and
(B) may procure temporary and intermittent services under
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, to carry out
such provisions--
(i) not subject to the 1 year of service limitation under
such section 3109(b); and
(ii) at rates for individuals which do not exceed the daily
equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for
level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such
title.
(2) Funds to carry out subsections (a) and (c) may be
expended only from funds available for the basic pay of the
employee who is receiving the applicable payment.
(3) Funds to carry out subsection (e) may be expended from
any funds made available to the Architect of the Capitol.
This Act may be cited as the ``Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 1998''.
Mr. BENNETT. I further ask unanimous consent that the bill not be
engrossed, that it remain at the desk pending receipt of the House
companion measure.
I further ask unanimous consent that when the House companion measure
is
[[Page S7602]]
received in the Senate, all after the enacting clause be stricken,
except appropriations for the House of Representatives and House Office
Buildings, and that the text of S. 1019, as passed, be inserted in lieu
thereof, the Senate insist on its amendments, and request a conference
with the House; and, finally, the Chair be authorized to appoint
conferees on the part of the Senate.
I further ask unanimous consent that when the House bill is passed,
pursuant to the previous order, the passage of S. 1019 be vitiated, and
that S. 1019 be indefinitely postponed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Hearing no objection, so ordered.
I thank the Chair.
____________________