[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 149 (Thursday, November 1, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11397-S11398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002--CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I submit a report of the committee of 
conference on the bill (H.R. 2647), and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the 
     two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 
     2647), making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other 
     purposes, having met, after full and fair conference, have 
     agreed that the House recede from its disagreement to certain 
     amendments of the Senate, and agree to the same with an 
     amendment, and the Senate agree to the same, signed by all of 
     the conferees on the part of both Houses.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will proceed to the consideration 
of the conference report.
  (The report was printed in the House proceedings of the Record of 
October 30, 2001.)
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, as chairman of the Legislative Branch 
Subcommittee, I bring to the attention of the Senate the highlights of 
the conference report on the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for 
fiscal year 2002, H.R. 2647.
  The conference report totals $2.97 billion, and parallels closely the 
bill which passed the Senate in July with very broad support. Total 
funding is $10 million below the amount requested by the Legislative 
Branch.
  Funding included in this bill includes $607 million for the Senate, 
and $878 million for the House of Representatives.
  Funding for the rest of the legislative branch totals $1.49 billion. 
These agencies perform critical functions enabling Congress to operate 
effectively and safely--particularly the Capitol Police.
  For the Library of Congress and the Congressional Research Service, 
the bill includes $452 million. The decrease of $60 million below the 
enacted level is attributable to last year's one-time appropriation for 
the digital preservation project.
  The recommendation for the Library will enable the Congressional 
Research Service to hire staff in some critical areas, particularly 
technology policy.

[[Page S11398]]

 Also in the Library's budget is additional funding to reduce the Law 
Library arrearage, funding for the newly-authorized Veterans Oral 
History Project, and funds to support the preservation of and access to 
the American Folklife Center's collection.
  For the General Accounting Office, a total of $422 million is 
included. This level will enable GAO to hire staff in some critical 
areas.
  A total of $126 million is included for the U.S. Capitol Police, who 
have been performing heroically these past several weeks and to whom we 
all owe a debt of gratitude. The amount provided represents an increase 
of $3.9 million over the budget request, which will provide for 79 
additional officers, the highest number the Capitol Police believe they 
can recruit and train next year. It will also provide comparability for 
the Capitol Police in the pay scales of the Park Police and the Secret 
Service--Uniformed Division so the Capitol Police are able to retain 
their officers.
  For the Architect of the Capitol, funding would total $320 million. 
This includes $70 million for the Capitol Visitor Center expansion 
space which is absolutely critical for heightened security needs. It 
also includes sufficient funding to hire necessary worker safety-
related and security-related positions.
  For the Government Printing Office, a total of $110 million is 
included, of which $81 million is for Congressional printing and 
binding. The amount recommended will provide for normal pay and 
inflation-related increases.
  The conference report includes a provision that I feel very strongly 
about--a Senate employee transit subsidy increase to $65 per month. 
This increase puts the Senate on par with the House and the Executive 
Branch. I can think of no better way to encourage the use of mass 
transit than through raising this benefit. Fewer cars on the Senate 
side of the Capitol means less traffic congestion, a cleaner 
environment, and a more secure campus.
  I thank the full committee chairman, Senator Byrd, for his support 
and the high priority he has placed on this bill. In addition, I wish 
to thank the ranking member of the full committee, Senator Stevens, who 
has been actively involved in and very supportive of this bill.
  Finally, I am grateful to the subcommittee ranking member, Senator 
Bennett, for his critical role in bringing this conference report 
together. I have enjoyed working with him and am thankful for his 
leadership on these matters.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise to offer for the record the Budget 
Committee's official scoring for the conference report to H.R. 2647, 
the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2002.
  The conference report provides $2.974 billion in discretionary budget 
authority, which will result in new outlays in 2002 of $2.509 billion. 
When outlays from prior-year budget authority are taken into account, 
discretionary outlays for the Senate bill total $2.941 billion in 2002. 
The conference report is at the appropriations subcommittee's Section 
302(b) allocation for budget authority and outlays. The conference 
report does not include any emergency designations.
  I commend Senators Byrd and Stevens, as well as Senators Durbin and 
Bennett, for their bipartisan effort in moving the conference report to 
the Legislative Branch bill so quickly. It is important that the Senate 
act as expeditiously in completing the remaining appropriations bills.
  I ask for unanimous consent that a table displaying the Budget 
Committee scoring of this bill be inserted in the record at this point.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  H.R. 2647, CONFERENCE REPORT TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS
                                ACT, 2002
    [Spending comparisons--Conference Report (in million of dollars)]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          General
                                          purpose   Mandatory    Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conference report:
  Budget Authority.....................     2,974          99     3,073
  Outlays..............................     2,941          99     3,040
Senate 302(b) allocation:*
  Budget Authority.....................     2,974          99     3,073
  Outlays..............................     2,941          99     3,040
President's request:
  Budget Authority.....................     2,987          99     3,086
  Outlays..............................     2,964          99     3,063
House-passed**:
  Budget Authority.....................     2,240          99     2,339
  Outlays..............................     2,369          99     2,468
Senate-passed**:
  Budget Authority.....................     1,944          99     2,043
  Outlays..............................     2,063          99     2,162
 
     CONFERENCE REPORT COMPARED TO:
 
Senate 302(b) allocation:*
  Budget Authority.....................
  Outlays..............................
President's request:
  Budget Authority.....................       (13)                  (13)
  Outlays..............................       (23)                  (23)
House-passed**:
  Budget Authority.....................       734                   734
  Outlays..............................       572                   572
Senate--passed**:
  Budget Authority.....................     1,030   .........     1,030
  Outlays..............................       878   .........       878
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*For enforcement purposes, the budget committee compares the conference
  report to the Senate 302(b) allocation.
**The House- and Senate-passed bills did not include items exclusive to
  the other chamber.
Notes: Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Totals adjusted
  for consistency with scorekeeping conventions.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the conference 
report be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The conference report was agreed to.

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