[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 180 (Wednesday, November 1, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5205-H5214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024


                             General Leave

  Mr. AMODEI. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on H.R. 4364, and that I may include tabular 
material on the same.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nevada?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. AMODEI. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 756, I call 
up the bill (H.R. 4364) making appropriations for the Legislative 
Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other 
purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 756, the 
amendment printed in part C of House Report 118-242 is adopted, and the 
bill, is considered read.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4364

       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, 2024, and for 
     other purposes, namely:

                                TITLE I

                           LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                         Salaries and Expenses

       For salaries and expenses of the House of Representatives, 
     $1,850,998,000, as follows:

                        House Leadership Offices

       For salaries and expenses, as authorized by law, 
     $36,560,000, including: Office of the Speaker, $10,499,000, 
     including $35,000 for official expenses of the Speaker; 
     Office of the Majority Floor Leader, $3,730,000, including 
     $15,000 for official expenses of the Majority Leader; Office 
     of the Minority Floor Leader, $10,499,000, including $17,500 
     for official expenses of the Minority Leader; Office of the 
     Majority Whip, including the Chief Deputy Majority Whip, 
     $3,099,000, including $5,000 for official expenses of the 
     Majority Whip; Office of the Minority Whip, including the 
     Chief Deputy Minority Whip, $2,809,000, including $5,000 for 
     official expenses of the Minority Whip; Republican 
     Conference, $2,962,000; Democratic Caucus, $2,962,000:  
     Provided, That such amount for salaries and expenses shall 
     remain available from January 3, 2024 until January 2, 2025.

                  Members' Representational Allowances

   including members' clerk hire, official expenses of members, and 
                             official mail

       For Members' representational allowances, including 
     Members' clerk hire, official expenses, and official mail, 
     $810,000,000.

        Allowance for Compensation of Interns in Member Offices

       For the allowance established under section 120 of the 
     Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2019 (2 U.S.C. 5322a) 
     for the compensation of interns who serve in the offices of 
     Members of the House of Representatives, $20,638,800, to 
     remain available through January 2, 2025:  Provided, That 
     notwithstanding section 120(b) of such Act, an office of a 
     Member of the House of Representatives may use not more than 
     $46,800 of the allowance available under this heading during 
     legislative year 2024.

   Allowance for Compensation of Interns in House Leadership Offices

       For the allowance established under section 113 of the 
     Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2020 (2 U.S.C. 5106) 
     for the compensation of interns who serve in House leadership 
     offices, $586,000, to remain available through January 2, 
     2025:  Provided, That of the amount provided under this 
     heading, $322,300 shall be available for the compensation of 
     interns who serve in House leadership offices of the 
     majority, to be allocated among such offices by the Speaker 
     of the House of Representatives, and $263,700 shall

[[Page H5206]]

     be available for the compensation of interns who serve in 
     House leadership offices of the minority, to be allocated 
     among such offices by the Minority Floor Leader.

 Allowance for Compensation of Interns in House Standing, Special and 
                        Select Committee Offices

       For the allowance established under section 113(a)(1) of 
     the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 
     117-103) for the compensation of interns who serve in offices 
     of standing, special, and select committees (other than the 
     Committee on Appropriations), $2,600,000, to remain available 
     through January 2, 2025:  Provided, That of the amount 
     provided under this heading, $1,300,000 shall be available 
     for the compensation of interns who serve in offices of the 
     majority, and $1,300,000 shall be available for the 
     compensation of interns who serve in offices of the minority, 
     to be allocated among such offices by the Chair, in 
     consultation with the ranking minority member, of the 
     Committee on House Administration.

Allowance for Compensation of Interns in House Appropriations Committee 
                                Offices

       For the allowance established under section 113(a)(2) of 
     the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 
     117-103) for the compensation of interns who serve in offices 
     of the Committee on Appropriations, $463,000:  Provided, That 
     of the amount provided under this heading, $231,500 shall be 
     available for the compensation of interns who serve in 
     offices of the majority, and $231,500 shall be available for 
     the compensation of interns who serve in offices of the 
     minority, to be allocated among such offices by the Chair, in 
     consultation with the ranking minority member, of the 
     Committee on Appropriations.

                          Committee Employees

                Standing Committees, Special and Select

       For salaries and expenses of standing committees, special 
     and select, authorized by House resolutions, $180,587,000:  
     Provided, That such amount shall remain available for such 
     salaries and expenses until December 31, 2024, except that 
     $5,800,000 of such amount shall remain available until 
     expended for committee room upgrading.

                      Committee on Appropriations

       For salaries and expenses of the Committee on 
     Appropriations, $31,294,000, including studies and 
     examinations of executive agencies and temporary personal 
     services for such committee, to be expended in accordance 
     with section 202(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 
     1946 and to be available for reimbursement to agencies for 
     services performed:  Provided, That such amount shall remain 
     available for such salaries and expenses until December 31, 
     2024.

                    Salaries, Officers and Employees

       For compensation and expenses of officers and employees, as 
     authorized by law, $324,879,000, including: for salaries and 
     expenses of the Office of the Clerk, including the positions 
     of the Chaplain and the Historian, and including not more 
     than $25,000 for official representation and reception 
     expenses, of which not more than $20,000 is for the Family 
     Room and not more than $2,000 is for the Office of the 
     Chaplain, $41,455,000, of which $9,000,000 shall remain 
     available until expended; for salaries and expenses of the 
     Office of the Sergeant at Arms, including the position of 
     Superintendent of Garages and the Office of Emergency 
     Management, and including not more than $3,000 for official 
     representation and reception expenses, $38,793,000, of which 
     $22,232,000 shall remain available until expended; for 
     salaries and expenses of the Office of the Chief 
     Administrative Officer including not more than $3,000 for 
     official representation and reception expenses, $213,072,000, 
     of which $26,477,000 shall remain available until expended; 
     for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Whistleblower 
     Ombuds, $1,250,000; for salaries and expenses of the Office 
     of the Inspector General, $5,512,000; for salaries and 
     expenses of the Office of General Counsel, $1,987,000; for 
     salaries and expenses of the Office of the Parliamentarian, 
     including the Parliamentarian, $2,000 for preparing the 
     Digest of Rules, and not more than $1,000 for official 
     representation and reception expenses, $2,240,000; for 
     salaries and expenses of the Office of the Law Revision 
     Counsel of the House, $3,900,000; for salaries and expenses 
     of the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House, 
     $14,671,000, of which $2,000,000 shall remain available until 
     expended; for salaries and expenses of the Office of 
     Interparliamentary Affairs, $934,000; for other authorized 
     employees, $1,065,000.

                        Allowances and Expenses

       For allowances and expenses as authorized by House 
     resolution or law, $433,390,200, including: supplies, 
     materials, administrative costs and Federal tort claims, 
     $1,555,000; official mail for committees, leadership offices, 
     and administrative offices of the House, $190,000; Government 
     contributions for health, retirement, Social Security, 
     contractor support for actuarial projections, and other 
     applicable employee benefits, $392,368,200, to remain 
     available until March 31, 2025, except that $37,000,000 of 
     such amount shall remain available until expended; salaries 
     and expenses for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, 
     $27,264,000, of which $6,000,000 shall remain available until 
     expended; transition activities for new members and staff, 
     $5,895,000, to remain available until expended; Green and 
     Gold Congressional Aide Program, $3,356,000, to remain 
     available until expended; Office of Congressional Ethics, 
     $1,762,000; and miscellaneous items including purchase, 
     exchange, maintenance, repair and operation of House motor 
     vehicles, interparliamentary receptions, and gratuities to 
     heirs of deceased employees of the House, $1,000,000.

       House of Representatives Modernization Initiatives Account

       For the House of Representatives Modernization Initiatives 
     Account established under section 115 of the Legislative 
     Branch Appropriations Act, 2021 (2 U.S.C. 5513), $10,000,000, 
     to remain available until expended:  Provided, That 
     disbursement from this account is subject to approval of the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives:  
     Provided further, That funds provided in this account shall 
     only be used for initiatives approved by the Committee on 
     House Administration.

                       Administrative Provisions

requiring amounts remaining in members' representational allowances to 
      be used for deficit reduction or to reduce the federal debt

       Sec. 110. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     any amounts appropriated under this Act for ``HOUSE OF 
     REPRESENTATIVES--Salaries and Expenses--members' 
     representational allowances'' shall be available only for 
     fiscal year 2024. Any amount remaining after all payments are 
     made under such allowances for fiscal year 2024 shall be 
     deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction (or, 
     if there is no Federal budget deficit after all such payments 
     have been made, for reducing the Federal debt, in such manner 
     as the Secretary of the Treasury considers appropriate).
       (b) The Committee on House Administration of the House of 
     Representatives shall have authority to prescribe regulations 
     to carry out this section.
       (c) As used in this section, the term ``Member of the House 
     of Representatives'' means a Representative in, or a Delegate 
     or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.

            limitation on amount available to lease vehicles

       Sec. 111.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be used by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of 
     Representatives to make any payments from any Members' 
     Representational Allowance for the leasing of a vehicle, 
     excluding mobile district offices, in an aggregate amount 
     that exceeds $1,000 for the vehicle in any month.

         cybersecurity assistance for house of representatives

       Sec. 112.  The head of any Federal entity that provides 
     assistance to the House of Representatives in the House's 
     efforts to deter, prevent, mitigate, or remediate 
     cybersecurity risks to, and incidents involving, the 
     information systems of the House shall take all necessary 
     steps to ensure the constitutional integrity of the separate 
     branches of the government at all stages of providing the 
     assistance, including applying minimization procedures to 
     limit the spread or sharing of privileged House and Member 
     information.

                              JOINT ITEMS

       For Joint Committees, as follows:

                        Joint Economic Committee

       For salaries and expenses of the Joint Economic Committee, 
     $4,283,000, to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate.

                      Joint Committee on Taxation

       For salaries and expenses of the Joint Committee on 
     Taxation, $13,059,000, to be disbursed by the Chief 
     Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives.
       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 
     their assistants, including:
       (1) an allowance of $3,500 per month to the Attending 
     Physician;
       (2) an allowance of $2,500 per month to the Senior Medical 
     Officer;
       (3) an allowance of $900 per month each to three medical 
     officers while on duty in the Office of the Attending 
     Physician;
       (4) an allowance of $900 per month to 2 assistants and $900 
     per month each not to exceed 11 assistants on the basis 
     heretofore provided for such assistants; and
       (5) $3,054,000 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, $4,270,000, to be disbursed by the Chief 
     Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives.

             Office of Congressional Accessibility Services

                         Salaries and Expenses

       For salaries and expenses of the Office of Congressional 
     Accessibility Services, $1,766,000, to be disbursed by the 
     Secretary of the Senate.

                             CAPITOL POLICE

                                Salaries

       For salaries of employees of the Capitol Police, including 
     overtime, hazardous duty pay, and Government contributions 
     for health, retirement, social security, professional 
     liability insurance, and other applicable employee benefits, 
     $588,070,000 of which overtime shall not exceed $74,976,000 
     unless

[[Page H5207]]

     the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate are 
     notified, to be disbursed by the Chief of the Capitol Police 
     or a duly authorized designee:  Provided, That of the total 
     amount appropriated, $15,000,000 shall be available for 
     retention bonuses.

                            General Expenses

       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, the awards program, postage, 
     communication services, travel advances, relocation of 
     instructor and liaison personnel for the Federal Law 
     Enforcement Training Centers, and not more than $7,500 to be 
     expended on the certification of the Chief of the Capitol 
     Police in connection with official representation and 
     reception expenses, $192,846,000, to be disbursed by the 
     Chief of the Capitol Police or a duly authorized designee:  
     Provided, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     the cost of basic training for the Capitol Police at the 
     Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers for fiscal year 2024 
     shall be paid by the Secretary of Homeland Security from 
     funds available to the Department of Homeland Security.

                OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS

                         Salaries and Expenses

       For salaries and expenses necessary for the operation of 
     the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, $8,000,000, of 
     which $2,500,000 shall remain available until September 30, 
     2025, and of which not more than $1,000 may be expended on 
     the certification of the Executive Director in connection 
     with official representation and reception expenses.

                      CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

                         Salaries and Expenses

       For salaries and expenses necessary for operation of the 
     Congressional Budget Office, including not more than $6,000 
     to be expended on the certification of the Director of the 
     Congressional Budget Office in connection with official 
     representation and reception expenses, $64,637,000:  
     Provided, That the Director shall use not less than $500,000 
     of the amount made available under this heading for (1) 
     improving technical systems, processes, and models for the 
     purpose of improving the transparency of estimates of 
     budgetary effects to Members of Congress, employees of 
     Members of Congress, and the public, and (2) to increase the 
     availability of models, economic assumptions, and data for 
     Members of Congress, employees of Members of Congress, and 
     the public.

                        ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

                  Capital Construction and Operations

       For salaries for the Architect of the Capitol, and other 
     personal services, at rates of pay provided by law; for all 
     necessary expenses for surveys and studies, construction, 
     operation, and general and administrative support in 
     connection with facilities and activities under the care of 
     the Architect of the Capitol including the Botanic Garden; 
     Senate and House office buildings, and other facilities under 
     the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol; including 
     furnishings and office equipment; including not more than 
     $5,000 for official reception and representation expenses, to 
     be expended as the Architect of the Capitol may approve; for 
     purchase or exchange, maintenance, and operation of a 
     passenger motor vehicle, $149,073,000, of which $3,200,000 
     shall remain available until September 30, 2028.

                            Capitol Building

       For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and 
     operation of the Capitol, $74,304,000, of which $42,599,000 
     shall remain available until September 30, 2028.

                            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, $16,365,000, of which 
     $2,000,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2028.

                         House Office Buildings

       For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and 
     operation of the House office buildings, $168,439,000, of 
     which $53,140,000 shall remain available until September 30, 
     2028, and of which $41,800,000 shall remain available until 
     expended for the restoration and renovation of the Cannon 
     House Office Building.

                          Capitol Power Plant

       For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and 
     operation of the Capitol Power Plant; and all electrical 
     substations of the Capitol; 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 Publishing Office and 
     Washington City Post Office, and heating and chilled water 
     for air conditioning for the Supreme Court Building, the 
     Union Station complex, the 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, $131,751,000, of which $43,400,000 
     shall remain available until September 30, 2028:  Provided, 
     That not more than $10,000,000 of the funds credited or to be 
     reimbursed to this appropriation as herein provided shall be 
     available for obligation during fiscal year 2024.

                     Library Buildings and Grounds

       For all necessary expenses for the mechanical and 
     structural maintenance, care and operation of the Library 
     buildings and grounds, $117,120,000, of which $80,900,000 
     shall remain available until September 30, 2028.

             Capitol Police Buildings, Grounds and Security

       For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and 
     operation of buildings, grounds and security enhancements of 
     the United States Capitol Police, wherever located, the 
     Alternate Computing Facility, and Architect of the Capitol 
     security operations, $81,172,000, of which $21,100,000 shall 
     remain available until September 30, 2028.

                             Botanic Garden

       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, $21,187,000, of which $5,000,000 shall remain 
     available until September 30, 2028:  Provided, That, of the 
     amount made available under this heading, the Architect of 
     the Capitol may obligate and expend such sums as may be 
     necessary for the maintenance, care and operation of the 
     National Garden established under section 307E of the 
     Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1989 (2 U.S.C. 2146), 
     upon vouchers approved by the Architect of the Capitol or a 
     duly authorized designee.

                         Capitol Visitor Center

       For all necessary expenses for the operation of the Capitol 
     Visitor Center, $27,692,000.

                       Administrative Provisions

       no bonuses for contractors behind schedule or over budget

       Sec. 113.  None of the funds made available in this Act for 
     the Architect of the Capitol may be used to make incentive or 
     award payments to contractors for work on contracts or 
     programs for which the contractor is behind schedule or over 
     budget, unless the Architect of the Capitol, or agency-
     employed designee, determines that any such deviations are 
     due to unforeseeable events, government-driven scope changes, 
     or are not significant within the overall scope of the 
     project and/or program.

                          LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

                         Salaries and Expenses

       For all necessary expenses of the Library of Congress not 
     otherwise provided for, including development and maintenance 
     of the Library's catalogs; custody and custodial care of the 
     Library buildings; information technology services provided 
     centrally; 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, 
     $582,605,481, and, in addition, amounts credited to this 
     appropriation during fiscal year 2024 under the Act of June 
     28, 1902 (chapter 1301; 32 Stat. 480; 2 U.S.C. 150), shall 
     remain available until expended:  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 of the total 
     amount appropriated, not more than $18,000 may be expended, 
     on the certification of the Librarian of Congress, in 
     connection with official representation and reception 
     expenses, including for the Overseas Field Offices:  Provided 
     further, That of the total amount appropriated, $12,739,000 
     shall remain available until expended for the Teaching with 
     Primary Sources program:  Provided further, That of the total 
     amount appropriated, $1,509,000 shall remain available until 
     expended for upgrade of the Legislative Branch Financial 
     Management System:  Provided further, That of the total 
     amount appropriated, $250,000 shall remain available until 
     expended for the Surplus Books Program to promote the program 
     and facilitate a greater number of donations to eligible 
     entities across the United States:  Provided further, That of 
     the total amount appropriated, $4,205,000 shall remain 
     available until expended for the Veterans History Project to 
     continue digitization efforts of already collected materials, 
     reach a greater number of veterans to record their stories, 
     and promote public access to the Project:  Provided further, 
     That of the total amount appropriated, $1,500,000 shall 
     remain available until expended for the COVID-19 American 
     History Project.

                            Copyright Office

                         salaries and expenses

       For all necessary expenses of the Copyright Office, 
     $101,011,000, of which not more than $38,025,000, to remain 
     available until expended, shall be derived from collections

[[Page H5208]]

     credited to this appropriation during fiscal year 2024 under 
     sections 708(d) and 1316 of title 17, United States Code:  
     Provided, That the Copyright Office may not obligate or 
     expend any funds derived from collections under such section 
     in excess of the amount authorized for obligation or 
     expenditure in appropriations Acts:  Provided further, That 
     not more than $7,566,000 shall be derived from collections 
     during fiscal year 2024 under sections 111(d)(2), 119(b)(3), 
     803(e), and 1005 of such title:  Provided further, That the 
     total amount available for obligation shall be reduced by the 
     amount by which collections are less than $45,591,000:  
     Provided further, That of the funds provided under this 
     heading, not less than $10,300,000 is for modernization 
     initiatives, of which $9,300,000 shall remain available until 
     September 30, 2025:  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 $6,500 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 and for 
     copyright delegations, visitors, and seminars:  Provided 
     further, That, notwithstanding any provision of chapter 8 of 
     title 17, United States Code, any amounts made available 
     under this heading which are attributable to royalty fees and 
     payments received by the Copyright Office pursuant to 
     sections 111, 119, and chapter 10 of such title may be used 
     for the costs incurred in the administration of the Copyright 
     Royalty Judges program, with the exception of the costs of 
     salaries and benefits for the Copyright Royalty Judges and 
     staff under section 802(e).

                     Congressional Research Service

                         salaries and expenses

       For all 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, $135,797,000:  
     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 Administration of the House of 
     Representatives or the Committee on Rules and Administration 
     of the Senate:  Provided further, That this prohibition does 
     not apply to publication of non-confidential Congressional 
     Research Service (CRS) products:  Provided further, That a 
     non-confidential CRS product includes any written product 
     containing research or analysis that is currently available 
     for general congressional access on the CRS Congressional 
     Intranet, or that would be made available on the CRS 
     Congressional Intranet in the normal course of business and 
     does not include material prepared in response to 
     Congressional requests for confidential analysis or research.

       National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

                         salaries and expenses

       For all necessary expenses to carry out the Act of March 3, 
     1931 (chapter 400; 46 Stat. 1487; 2 U.S.C. 135a), 
     $69,924,519:  Provided, That of the total amount 
     appropriated, $650,000 shall be available to contract to 
     provide newspapers to blind and print disabled residents at 
     no cost to the individual.

                        Administrative Provision

               reimbursable and revolving fund activities

       Sec. 114. (a) In General.--For fiscal year 2024, the 
     obligational authority of the Library of Congress for the 
     activities described in subsection (b) may not exceed 
     $324,110,000.
       (b) Activities.--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.

                      GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

                        Congressional Publishing

                     (including transfer of funds)

       For authorized publishing of congressional information and 
     the distribution of congressional information in any format; 
     publishing of Government publications authorized by law to be 
     distributed to Members of Congress; and publishing, and 
     distribution of Government publications authorized by law to 
     be distributed without charge to the recipient, $82,992,000:  
     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 section 906 of title 44, United 
     States Code:  Provided further, That this appropriation shall 
     be available for the payment of obligations incurred under 
     the appropriations for similar purposes for preceding fiscal 
     years:  Provided further, That notwithstanding the 2-year 
     limitation under section 718 of title 44, United States Code, 
     none of the funds appropriated or made available under this 
     Act or any other Act for printing and binding and related 
     services provided to Congress under chapter 7 of title 44, 
     United States Code, may be expended to print a document, 
     report, or publication after the 27-month period beginning on 
     the date that such document, report, or publication is 
     authorized by Congress to be printed, unless Congress 
     reauthorizes such printing in accordance with section 718 of 
     title 44, United States Code:  Provided further, That 
     unobligated or unexpended balances of expired discretionary 
     funds made available under this heading in this Act for this 
     fiscal year may be transferred to, and merged with, funds 
     under the heading ``Government Publishing Office Business 
     Operations Revolving Fund'' no later than the end of the 
     fifth fiscal year after the last fiscal year for which such 
     funds are available for the purposes for which appropriated, 
     to be available for carrying out the purposes of this 
     heading, subject to the approval of the Committees on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
     Senate:  Provided further, That notwithstanding sections 901, 
     902, and 906 of title 44, United States Code, this 
     appropriation may be used to prepare indexes to the 
     Congressional Record on only a monthly and session basis.

     Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents

                         salaries and expenses

                     (including transfer of funds)

       For expenses of the public information programs of the 
     Office of Superintendent of Documents necessary to provide 
     for the cataloging and indexing of Government publications in 
     any format, and their preservation and distribution to the 
     public, Members of Congress, other Government agencies, and 
     designated depository and international exchange libraries as 
     authorized by law, $35,257,000:  Provided, 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 the preceding 
     two fiscal years to depository and other designated 
     libraries:  Provided further, That unobligated or unexpended 
     balances of expired discretionary funds made available under 
     this heading in this Act for this fiscal year may be 
     transferred to, and merged with, funds under the heading 
     ``Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving 
     Fund'' no later than the end of the fifth fiscal year after 
     the last fiscal year for which such funds are available for 
     the purposes for which appropriated, to be available for 
     carrying out the purposes of this heading, subject to the 
     approval of the Committees on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate.

    Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund

       For payment to the Government Publishing Office Business 
     Operations Revolving Fund, $11,605,000, to remain available 
     until expended, for information technology development and 
     facilities repair:  Provided, That the Government Publishing 
     Office is hereby authorized to make such expenditures, within 
     the limits of funds available and in accordance with 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 Publishing Office 
     Business Operations Revolving Fund:  Provided further, That 
     not more than $7,500 may be expended on the certification of 
     the Director of the Government Publishing Office in 
     connection with official representation and reception 
     expenses:  Provided further, That the Business Operations 
     Revolving Fund shall be available for the hire or purchase of 
     not more than 12 passenger motor vehicles:  Provided further, 
     That expenditures in connection with travel expenses of the 
     advisory councils to the Director of the Government 
     Publishing Office shall be deemed necessary to carry out the 
     provisions of title 44, United States Code:  Provided 
     further, That the Business Operations 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 activities financed through the Business Operations 
     Revolving Fund may provide information in any format:  
     Provided further, That the Business Operations Revolving Fund 
     and the funds provided under the heading ``Public Information 
     Programs of the Superintendent of Documents'' may not be used 
     for contracted security services at Government Publishing 
     Office's passport facility in the District of Columbia.

                    GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

                         Salaries and Expenses

       For necessary expenses of the Government Accountability 
     Office, including not more than $12,500 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 section 3324 of title 31, United States Code; benefits 
     comparable to those payable under sections 901(5), (6), and 
     (8) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4081(5), 
     (6),

[[Page H5209]]

     and (8)); and under regulations prescribed by the Comptroller 
     General of the United States, rental of living quarters in 
     foreign countries, $806,004,000, of which $5,000,000 shall 
     remain available until expended:  Provided, That, in 
     addition, $73,976,000 of payments received under sections 
     782, 791, 3521, and 9105 of title 31, United States Code, 
     shall be available without fiscal year limitation:  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:  
     Provided further, That payments hereunder to the Forum may be 
     credited as reimbursements to any appropriation from which 
     costs involved are initially financed.

         CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE FOR INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND

       For a payment to the Congressional Office for International 
     Leadership Fund for financing activities of the Congressional 
     Office for International Leadership under section 313 of the 
     Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2001 (2 U.S.C. 1151), 
     $6,000,000.

   JOHN C. STENNIS CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

       For payment to the John C. Stennis Center for Public 
     Service Development Trust Fund established under section 116 
     of the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and 
     Development Act (2 U.S.C. 1105), $430,000.

                                TITLE II

                           GENERAL PROVISIONS

                maintenance and care of private vehicles

       Sec. 201.  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 Administration and for the Senate issued by the 
     Committee on Rules and Administration.

                         fiscal year limitation

       Sec. 202.  No part of the funds appropriated in this Act 
     shall remain available for obligation beyond fiscal year 2024 
     unless expressly so provided in this Act.

                 rates of compensation and designation

       Sec. 203.  Whenever in this Act any office or position not 
     specifically established by the Legislative Pay Act of 1929 
     (46 Stat. 32 et seq.) 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.

                          consulting services

       Sec. 204.  The expenditure of any appropriation under this 
     Act for any consulting service through procurement contract, 
     under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, 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 under existing law.

         costs of legislative branch financial managers council

       Sec. 205.  Amounts available for administrative expenses of 
     any legislative branch entity which participates in the 
     Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council (LBFMC) 
     established by charter on March 26, 1996, shall be available 
     to finance an appropriate share of LBFMC costs as determined 
     by the LBFMC, except that the total LBFMC costs to be shared 
     among all participating legislative branch entities (in such 
     allocations among the entities as the entities may determine) 
     may not exceed $2,000.

                        limitation on transfers

       Sec. 206.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be transferred to any department, agency, or instrumentality 
     of the United States Government, except pursuant to a 
     transfer made by, or transfer authority provided in, this Act 
     or any other appropriation Act.

                      guided tours of the capitol

       Sec. 207. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), none of 
     the funds made available to the Architect of the Capitol in 
     this Act may be used to eliminate or restrict guided tours of 
     the United States Capitol which are led by employees and 
     interns of offices of Members of Congress and other offices 
     of the House of Representatives and Senate, unless through 
     regulations as authorized by section 402(b)(8) of the Capitol 
     Visitor Center Act of 2008 (2 U.S.C. 2242(b)(8)).
       (b) At the direction of the Capitol Police Board, or at the 
     direction of the Architect of the Capitol with the approval 
     of the Capitol Police Board, guided tours of the United 
     States Capitol which are led by employees and interns 
     described in subsection (a) may be suspended temporarily or 
     otherwise subject to restriction for security or related 
     reasons to the same extent as guided tours of the United 
     States Capitol which are led by the Architect of the Capitol.

         limitation on telecommunications equipment procurement

       Sec. 208. (a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise 
     made available under this Act may be used to acquire 
     telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies 
     Company or ZTE Corporation for a high or moderate impact 
     information system, as defined for security categorization in 
     the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) 
     Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 199, 
     ``Standards for Security Categorization of Federal 
     Information and Information Systems'' unless the agency, 
     office, or other entity acquiring the equipment or system 
     has--
       (1) reviewed the supply chain risk for the information 
     systems against criteria developed by NIST to inform 
     acquisition decisions for high or moderate impact information 
     systems within the Federal Government;
       (2) reviewed the supply chain risk from the presumptive 
     awardee against available and relevant threat information 
     provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other 
     appropriate agencies; and
       (3) in consultation with the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation or other appropriate Federal entity, conducted 
     an assessment of any risk of cyber-espionage or sabotage 
     associated with the acquisition of such telecommunications 
     equipment for inclusion in a high or moderate impact system, 
     including any risk associated with such system being 
     produced, manufactured, or assembled by one or more entities 
     identified by the United States Government as posing a cyber 
     threat, including but not limited to, those that may be 
     owned, directed, or subsidized by the People's Republic of 
     China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's 
     Republic of Korea, or the Russian Federation.
       (b) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 
     available under this Act may be used to acquire a high or 
     moderate impact information system reviewed and assessed 
     under subsection (a) unless the head of the assessing entity 
     described in subsection (a) has--
       (1) developed, in consultation with NIST and supply chain 
     risk management experts, a mitigation strategy for any 
     identified risks;
       (2) determined, in consultation with NIST and the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation, that the acquisition of such 
     telecommunications equipment for inclusion in a high or 
     moderate impact system is in the vital national security 
     interest of the United States; and
       (3) reported that determination to the Committees on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate 
     in a manner that identifies the telecommunications equipment 
     for inclusion in a high or moderate impact system intended 
     for acquisition and a detailed description of the mitigation 
     strategies identified in paragraph (1), provided that such 
     report may include a classified annex as necessary.

              prohibition on certain operational expenses

       Sec. 209. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act 
     may be used to maintain or establish a computer network 
     unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and 
     exchanging of pornography.
       (b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall limit the use of funds 
     necessary for any Federal, State, tribal, or local law 
     enforcement agency or any other entity carrying out criminal 
     investigations, prosecution, or adjudication activities or 
     other official government activities.

           limitation on treatment as fiduciary relationship

       Sec. 210. (a) Section 13144 of title 5, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(c) Limitation on Treatment as Fiduciary Relationship.--
     For purposes of this section, the relationship between a 
     Member who is providing care directly to a patient in the 
     form of medical services or dental services and the patient 
     to whom such care is provided shall not be considered a 
     fiduciary relationship.''.
       (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with 
     respect to compensation received in fiscal year 2024 or any 
     succeeding fiscal year.
       Sec. 211.  None of the funds made available by this Act may 
     be used for any office, program, or activity for the purposes 
     of diversity, equity, and inclusion training or 
     implementation that promotes or perpetuates divisive concepts 
     related to race or sex, such as the concepts that one race or 
     sex is inherently superior to another, or that an 
     individual's moral character or worth is determined by their 
     race or sex.
       Sec. 212. (a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 7 of 
     title 1, United States Code, section 1738C of title 28, 
     United States Code, or any other provision of law, none of 
     the funds provided by this Act, or previous appropriations 
     Acts, shall be used in whole or in part to take any 
     discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially, 
     on the basis that such person speaks, or acts, in accordance 
     with a sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction, 
     that marriage is, or should be recognized as, a union of one 
     man and one woman.
       (b) Discriminatory Action Defined.--As used in subsection 
     (a), a discriminatory action means any action taken by the 
     Federal Government to--
       (1) alter in any way the Federal tax treatment of, or cause 
     any tax, penalty, or payment to be assessed against, or deny, 
     delay,

[[Page H5210]]

     or revoke an exemption from taxation under section 501(a) of 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of, any person referred to 
     in subsection (a);
       (2) disallow a deduction for Federal tax purposes of any 
     charitable contribution made to or by such person;
       (3) withhold, reduce the amount or funding for, exclude, 
     terminate, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, any Federal 
     grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement, 
     guarantee, loan, scholarship, license, certification, 
     accreditation, employment, or other similar position or 
     status from or to such person;
       (4) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise make 
     unavailable or deny, any entitlement or benefit under a 
     Federal benefit program, including admission to, equal 
     treatment in, or eligibility for a degree from an educational 
     program, from or to such person; or
       (5) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise make 
     unavailable or deny access or an entitlement to Federal 
     property, facilities, educational institutions, speech fora 
     (including traditional, limited, and nonpublic fora), or 
     charitable fundraising campaigns from or to such person.
       (c) Accreditation; Licensure; Certification.--The Federal 
     Government shall consider accredited, licensed, or certified 
     for purposes of Federal law any person that would be 
     accredited, licensed, or certified, respectively, for such 
     purposes but for a determination against such person wholly 
     or partially on the basis that the person speaks, or acts, in 
     accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral 
     conviction described in subsection (a).

                       spending reduction account

       Sec. 213.  $11,000,000.
       Sec. 214. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
     adjustment shall be made under section 601(a) of the 
     Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501) 
     (relating to cost of living adjustments for Members of 
     Congress) during fiscal year 2024.
       This division may be cited as the ``Legislative Branch 
     Appropriations Act, 2024''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill shall be debatable for 1 hour, 
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member 
of the Committee on Appropriations or their designees.
  The gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Amodei) and the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Espaillat) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada.
  Mr. AMODEI. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  The legislative branch bill is what we do to ourselves. We don't need 
the President's budget. This is what the House, in its wisdom, does for 
spending with respect to the House accounts and also some accounts we 
share with the Senate--Capitol Police, Congressional Budget Office, 
other agencies like that.
  As we look at what we are doing here in the context of this 
appropriations season, the amount of money that is spent on this 
represents about a 4.7 percent cut from the previous budget year for 
purposes of the legislative branch. It gets a little bit less when you 
add the Senate in, but the House has done its job in terms of leading 
by example.
  Now, you may say, how have you done your job? Let me tell you this: 
What we have done with respect to Members' office budgets, committee 
budgets, and some of the support functions--for instance, in the 
Library of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office, and the General 
Accountability Office--we have left those accounts at or near what 
their previous levels were.
  Some of them enjoy modest increases, but if you care about 
constituent services, if you care about doing a good job of being able 
to hold the Senate's feet to the fire, the White House's feet to the 
fire, or the people on the other side of the aisle's feet to the fire, 
you need resources to do that.
  The time has never been more important than it is now for us to be 
able to do our jobs in a way that is appropriate for the challenges 
that confront our country.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. Today I rise in opposition to H.R. 4364, the Legislative 
Branch Appropriations Act of 2024.
  First, let me thank Mr. Amodei for his efforts and, of course, my 
Democratic staffers, Faye Cobb, Monica Garay, and Raquel Spencer, as 
well as our Republican staffers, Michelle Reinshuttle and Jacquelynn 
Ripke for their tireless contributions to this subcommittee.
  As the chairman indicated, the bill before us today includes $5.3 
billion in discretionary appropriations to fund the offices of the 
House of Representatives and joint legislative branch items. It also 
has a decrease of 4.7 percent from the fiscal year 2023 enacted House 
level and a 2.4 percent decrease in total allocation including Senate 
items. This bill merely keeps the lights on, but it could and should 
have done so much better.
  Unfortunately, extreme MAGA culture war provisions have haunted all 
12 of the House appropriations bills and, of course, legislative branch 
was not spared. This bill, too, contains provisions that harm 
diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and the LGBTQ+ community.
  Moreover, this bill does not allow legislative branch agencies to 
employ individuals under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals 
program, the DACA program. These are young kids who are capable and 
have contributed to this Nation. All they are missing is a piece of 
paper, but they are Americans in every sense of the word you can 
imagine.
  This bill eliminates funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion 
training or program implementation, including our very own House Office 
of Diversity and Inclusion, which Republicans have benefited from. All 
of us have benefited from the efforts of diversity and inclusion. We 
have more women in our staff. We have greater diversity, greater life 
experiences. I think that makes this House stronger. Yet, this bill 
eliminates funding for that.
  This House and the many agencies that make up the entire legislative 
branch of government should make every effort possible to be reflective 
and considerate of all the people that exist in our great Nation and 
the many districts that our Members represent.
  This bill does nothing to facilitate the use of funds for collective 
bargaining rights to congressional staffers. Our staffers should be 
able to do that.
  This bill removes a provision to eliminate or reduce plastic waste 
across the legislative branch of government, further contributing to 
the impacts of climate change. We are here at the center of government, 
and we should be fighting climate change, but we are not reducing the 
use of plastic.
  Mr. Speaker, after the attack on January 6, the attack on two 
congressional staffers in their Virginia district office, and numerous 
threats to our cybersecurity, I feel strongly that our staff deserves 
to have a safe place to work, and our visitors deserve to have an even 
safer place to visit and receive services.

  However, in my opinion, this bill misses opportunities to further 
invest in and enhance our physical and cybersecurity posture.
  Our men and women who work hard every day to secure this campus 
deserve to have the best equipment, tools, and state-of-the-art 
technology resources readily available to them. Securing this campus 
both physically and virtually has always been a priority of this 
subcommittee. Various requests from the Capitol Police and the 
legislative branch cybersecurity offices have not been met. We must 
work to protect the campus that supports the governance of our 
democracy.
  The legislative branch bill should never be a place for divisive 
politics. This bill should be used to ensure that Congress has all the 
tools it needs to legislate and support the constituents we serve. It 
should be used to ensure we have a successful democracy through 
effective and responsible governance.
  Folks on the other side of the aisle are obsessed with cutting 
Federal funding and eliminating programs that help to grow and 
diversify our country as well as welcome everybody to the table, a big 
tent approach to government.
  Mr. Speaker, when I took the role as the ranking member of this 
subcommittee, I was looking forward to working with my colleagues on 
creating a bipartisan bill. However, this bill does not represent a 
collaboration between two parties. Instead, it includes provisions that 
have no place within the legislative branch appropriations bill and are 
hurtful to many Americans, including many of the staff who support this 
great institution.
  Extreme rightwing politics that were so focused on silencing the 
voices of many in this country turned around and silenced themselves. 
They created

[[Page H5211]]

a situation where no one had a voice, rendering at times this body 
inoperable for many weeks.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't agree with these divisive ideas and tactics. For 
these reasons, I cannot support this bill, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I was remiss in not saying thank you, so I 
will follow the lead of my esteemed ranking member and thank him and 
his staff as well as my staff for the way we were able to conduct the 
committee's business. Even though we disagreed on many things, we 
weren't disagreeable about it, which, some days, is quite a unique 
thing in this business. My hat is off to them, and my thank-you is on 
the record for the help from everybody on both sides.
  I will cover a couple of areas in the spirit that the committee 
worked. My colleague has mentioned the DACA program, which is, frankly, 
something that, while we may have some disagreements on it, overall, we 
may agree on more than we disagree. However, as the clerk indicated, 
this is the Legislative Branch appropriations bill. When we are talking 
about issues that deal with immigration or the DACA program or anything 
else, that is the appropriate jurisdiction, in most cases, of the 
Judiciary Committee.
  Therefore, the folks standing up on either side of you, Mr. Speaker, 
from the Parliamentarian's Office go through that drill and figure out 
the appropriate jurisdiction for this bill. We came to the conclusion 
that it wasn't. It doesn't mean that we disagree on a lot of that 
stuff, but nonetheless, you can't do that in the Legislative Branch 
bill, so we didn't.
  On the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, I am not going to go 
through what happened in that office over the last few years. I will 
just say this: It was created by a rule in a previous Congress.
  In exercising our appropriate oversight authority in seeing how that 
money was spent, I will just say that there was a sincere belief that 
that was not what was intended. When we talk about retreats, gift cards 
for employees, office bling, and multiple other things, it is not that 
the mission isn't important. It is, which is why the mission was 
preserved and moved under the supervision of the Chief Administrative 
Officer for the House, and an appropriate budget to do that work is 
fine.
  There was part of a reorganization, which now puts them under a 
different office that is a subset of the Chief Administrative Officer 
for the House. However, to continue on in a largely unsupervised, 
autonomous role, where the use of funds was not impressive, the 
committee thought that it was appropriate to maintain the mission but 
change the structure for more supervision.
  Also, when we talk about staff security, my colleague, the ranking 
member, is absolutely right. It is a concern for everybody. What the 
committee has done was say that we don't want to just throw a bunch of 
money at it and say go do good things with security. We wanted to have 
a plan.
  I will tell you this: Each office can designate one of their district 
offices for planning. My colleague's district is in the Big Apple 
downtown. Mine is a long way away from there. One size doesn't fit all, 
so we wanted to be a little thoughtful about that. That is why we 
deferred from just going in whole hog.
  You need to know that the Office of the Sergeant at Arms will now 
provide cybersecurity. This was done after the committee adjourned. It 
will now provide cybersecurity support to offices that ask for it.
  By the way, my figures indicate there are 364 Members who have 
availed themselves of some form of funding through the Office of the 
Sergeant at Arms for security for those offices.
  I look forward to continuing that when we get plans that are 
appropriate for the settings that those district offices are in so we 
can make a rational, well-based, intelligent decision on how to spend 
that money.
  Mr. Speaker, while we may not be in agreement over the amounts we are 
spending on each one, I don't know if there is a lot of disagreement on 
the mission. It is just how much emphasis it gets and how we use 
taxpayer dollars in a responsible manner to go ahead and pursue those 
goals.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Morelle), the distinguished ranking member of the 
Committee on House Administration and a member of the Appropriations 
Committee.
  Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, first, to my colleagues on Appropriations' 
Legislative Branch Subcommittee, Mr. Amodei as well as my longtime dear 
friend Mr. Espaillat, I thank them for their hard work.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4364 because it 
inadequately funds the legislative branch, which is the branch charged 
with funding responsibilities under Article I of the U.S. Constitution. 
It dramatically underfunds the Capitol Police, drastically cuts funding 
to the Architect of the Capitol, and guts the House Office of Diversity 
and Inclusion.
  As my colleague has mentioned, I serve as the ranking member of the 
Committee on House Administration. I know firsthand how important it is 
that our House officers and congressional support agencies are 
adequately resourced.
  We all rely on our nonpartisan institutional partners, some of whom 
are in this Chamber right now, helping us carry out our constitutional 
obligations, keeping us safe, providing subject matter expertise, and 
facilitating the legislative process.
  For that reason, I am very disappointed. This bill, which includes a 
nearly 5 percent cut to House and joint legislative branch items, 
inadequately funds many of these entities and the responsibilities that 
they are required to carry out.
  For example, at a time in which the Capitol Police is experiencing an 
officer shortage crisis, this bill fails to fully fund the department's 
salaries appropriation requests. How can we hope to attract qualified 
officers if we don't provide competitive salaries? How can we ensure 
officers are better trained if they are regularly forced to work 
overtime rather than attend training sessions? How do we improve 
officer morale if they need to work double shifts instead of going home 
to spend time with their families?
  The men and women of the Capitol Police have our backs. They have 
demonstrated that in a time of crisis in this Chamber. We need to have 
theirs with more than just words.

  The bill would also cut funding for the Architect of the Capitol by 
hundreds of millions of dollars and fail to meet the agency's budget 
request for the Capitol Police buildings, grounds, and security 
account. This would hinder the AOC's ability to fulfill all of its 
responsibilities, making Congress less secure, harming our national 
security, and putting Members, staff, and our visiting constituents at 
risk during a time of heightened threats.
  Finally, I am deeply frustrated that this bill includes culture war 
initiatives like eliminating the House Office of Diversity and 
Inclusion. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion was established based 
on a bipartisan, unanimous modernization committee recommendation. It 
provides important services for and works closely with offices on both 
sides of the aisle. In fact, since its inception in 2019, 225 
Republican offices have utilized its services.
  It is astonishing that my majority colleagues are going to sabotage 
their own ability to recruit the best and brightest just to satisfy 
rightwing extremist grievances about diversity.
  Mr. Speaker, for these reasons and more, I cannot support the bill, 
and I urge that we do not adopt this bill.
  Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I guess since we are going to stay on it for 
a minute, I will go ahead and stay on it.
  Nobody is opposed to diversity or inclusion. Here are some of the 
reasons why this office was focused on. This bill that you have before 
you, Mr. Speaker, is consistent with administrative restructuring to 
streamline human resources activities consistent with the House 
Committee on Administration. Bringing the best person for the job in 
any agency or office under this bill is what we are trying to 
encourage.
  There are currently multiple staff support offices focused on human 
resources that can be reorganized and streamlined into one. The Chief 
Administrative Office is consumer focused

[[Page H5212]]

and is best suited to create a House-wide office of talent and 
development. That is a new office that is created under this bill, 
which, by the way, has the mission of the old ODI.
  ODI was created under House rules as its own office but will be 
moving to the reproposed CAO to become a part of the new office of 
talent and development. By this restructuring, we expect to increase 
accessibility to resources provided to House staff by creating a one-
stop shop while also saving millions by streamlining duplicative 
efforts. Not only will the reorganization make activities more 
efficient, but it will help with oversight.
  Now, let's talk about the Capitol Police for a minute. Yes, there 
were cuts in the requested budget for Capitol Police, but let's talk 
about uniformed personnel. Let's talk about the Intelligence Division. 
Let's talk about what the Capitol Police do to protect our campus and 
our operations. By the way, that is leadership details, as well.
  When we talk about all those functions, all of their uniformed 
officer positions have been fully funded. I will say that again: fully 
funded. Now, it takes a while to recruit, vet, and train a Capitol 
Police officer. It is not one of those things where you throw the 
switch and say we need 500 or 600 more so that we are at our full 
complement of around 2,200.
  It takes a while to train them in the academy before we turn them 
loose on the job. For the ones you see that they are fully trained, 
fully vetted, and ready to go, that takes time. It is not a budget 
function. They were fully funded for that.
  We also maintain their intelligence functions, and we also maintain 
their protective detail functions. There were cuts to the Capitol 
Police budget, but not in those areas. I will also point out that some 
of the cuts were in funds that they weren't able to spend in this cycle 
anyhow.
  As we are looking for savings to do the best job in terms of budget 
responsibility, we also wanted to recognize the reality that if you 
can't spend it in this cycle, let's not keep it in this cycle.
  Mr. Speaker, I will indicate that those were not things that were in 
a MAGA rush to do this, that, or the other sort of thing. It was trying 
to be responsible with the legislative branch allocation that we have, 
which, by the way, is four-tenths of 1 percent of all spending. That 
doesn't mean that because it is that, we don't care about it. It means 
we need to do our part, too.
  Similarly, the part that you didn't hear is that MRAs were kept the 
same so Members can keep doing their thing. Committee accounts on both 
sides were kept the same so Members could keep doing the committees' 
work on both sides of the aisle. Frankly, in the context that we live 
in, we think it was the responsible way to lead by example.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I think it is undeniable that during 
these uncertain times, particularly when we witnessed the regrettable 
incident in Virginia, where staffers in one of our colleague's district 
offices were hurt, and given the tension in the world, in our 
communities, in our cities, and in our district offices, it requires 
greater investment in security for our constituents that visit on a 
regular basis our offices, for our staff who are on the front lines in 
what we do, and for ourselves. I think that, in many ways, we are wide 
open, and we require the kind of investment that we have not seen in 
this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut 
(Ms. DeLauro), the distinguished ranking member of the Appropriations 
Committee.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the House Republican 2024 
Legislative Branch funding bill.
  This bill falls short of ensuring we can continue to grow a strong 
and well-functioning legislative branch that is essential to our 
democracy.
  As an institution, we should be increasing our ability to serve our 
constituents and recruit and retain talented staff and United States 
Capitol Police officers. We should not merely be treading water.
  This bill eliminates the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and does 
nothing to facilitate the use of funds for collective bargaining rights 
for congressional staffers.
  This bill also does not allow legislative branch agencies to employ 
individuals who are authorized for employment under the Deferred Action 
for Childhood Arrivals Act, DACA.

                              {time}  1645

  We made progress in the last Congress, but this bill will take us 
backwards.
  Ranking Member Espaillat said during the markup of this bill, but I 
believe it is a point that we should emphasize again today: We all have 
an obligation to make sure that our staff, whether they serve here in 
Washington, D.C., or if they serve in our home districts, are safe.
  I support my colleague's efforts to increase funding to bolster that 
safety.
  This bill is not an appropriate venue for divisive and partisan 
language, especially the extreme and offensive culture wars riders that 
House Republicans have placed in each one of the appropriations bills 
that we have considered.
  We should be working together to ensure that the Congress is able to 
serve the American people, complete the people's business safely, 
securely, and efficiently, our political differences notwithstanding.
  Bipartisan, bicameral legislation is required to keep the government 
open. Otherwise, the President will not sign a bill. Bipartisan, 
bicameral legislation is required to fully fund the legislative branch. 
It is time for House Republicans to abandon a partisan path to nowhere 
and to join House Democrats at the negotiation table.
  We have wasted enough time. Let us move forward. We are here. We are 
ready to get to work for the American people.
  For all of these reasons, I cannot support this bill, and I ask 
others not to support it.
  Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Mrs. Beatty), the Buckeye State of Ohio.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in fierce opposition to H.R. 
4364. I thank the chairman, but I specifically thank our ranking member 
for allowing me to speak.
  This totally eliminates the funding for the House Office of Diversity 
and Inclusion. As former chair of the first-ever House Committee on 
Financial Services Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, I have long 
been an ardent and vocal champion for diversity and inclusion.
  As stated in the 116th Congress, the House Office of D&I was created 
to cultivate a workplace at the United States House of Representatives 
that reflects the rich diversity of the districts and the constituents 
we represent.
  While I heard what the chairman says, the records do not reflect that 
in the talent development office. This office also helps place numerous 
diverse applicants into staff positions on Capitol Hill. It is critical 
because, in a 2019 House office study, it found that 70 percent of 
House employees at that time were White, demonstrating in statistical 
terms the stunning lack of diversity among House employees.
  The Republican effort to eradicate the $3 million in funding for this 
office is yet another shortsighted attempt to turn back the clock and 
to undo the hard-fought gains won by Congress, the people's House. 
Study after study shows the countless benefits of diversity and 
inclusion in the workplace, most importantly given the indisputable 
importance of the congressional staffers on the legislative process, 
and the direct effect they have on the lives of millions of Americans, 
the constituents, our constituents that they work with in our 
districts.
  For reference, Mr. Speaker, Speaker Johnson's district is almost 50-
50 White to Blacks and minorities. Former Speaker McCarthy's district 
is 50-50. California's 13th District is actually 66 percent persons of 
color, and I think, when you look at that, it is very important for us 
to have staff who reflect that.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentlewoman from Ohio.

[[Page H5213]]

  

  Mrs. BEATTY. The recent Speaker pro tempore said that diversity and 
inclusion would be the top priority.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that we reconsider this.
  Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, can I inquire as to how much time is 
remaining on either side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Nevada has 20 minutes 
remaining, and the gentleman from New York has 15 minutes remaining.
  Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise again to oppose this bill. This bill doesn't do 
enough. It just doesn't do enough to support critical investment for 
the future of the legislative branch of government, including critical 
enhancement to strengthen our physical and cybersecurity posture or 
provide dedicated funding for the House Office of Diversity and 
Inclusion.
  In addition, I was shocked not to see bipartisan language that has 
been supported by both sides of the House for years to allow the 
legislative branch agencies to employ individuals under the Deferred 
Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, Program. Every Member's staffer 
should feel safe as they serve the American people. Every office and 
committee in Congress should be able to benefit from the bipartisan 
work carried out by the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
  Importantly, every Member from every district across the Nation 
should have access to every resource that will allow them to serve the 
constituency with the services that they need. This includes the 
ability to hire a staffer who represents the makeup of their district. 
That is fundamental in a democracy.
  This committee has a long tradition of protecting individual Members' 
ability to operate their offices how they see fit and employing 
individuals under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program 
should be no exception.
  For this reason, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will offer a 
motion to recommit this bill back to the committee. If the House rules 
permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment 
to this bill.

  My amendment includes language that would permit funds in the Act to 
be used to employ individuals with an employment authorization document 
under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, Program.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of this 
amendment into the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion 
to recommit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in 
voting for the motion to recommit.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me repeat that the legislative branch 
should never be a place for divisive politics. The legislative branch 
bill should be used to ensure Congress has the tools it needs to 
legislate and support the constituents we serve. It should be used to 
ensure we have a successful democracy through effective and responsible 
governance.
  The Republicans, again, are obsessed with cutting and cutting Federal 
funds and eliminating programs that help to grow and diversify our 
country. Passing these partisan bills will not help keep the government 
open. It just will not make that happen. We should be really focused on 
keeping our government open and preventing a pending shutdown.
  The former Speaker met with the President and had a handshake. Let's 
honor that handshake. Let's not cut to the bone and hurt the American 
people. I don't agree also with these divisive ideas and partisan 
tactics. I believe we can and should do much better.
  For these reasons, I cannot support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, there have been a few areas covered, and so 
I will try to be brief. I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I want to thank my colleague from New York for his collegiality and 
professionalism in the way that we have gone through this process this 
year and I look forward to working with him in the future.
  Architect of the Capitol, their top ten projects were funded. I know 
there has been some discussion about it. We didn't pick them. We asked 
them to pick them, and so they did.
  In these times, when we are running deficits that are in the t 
neighborhood, not the b neighborhood, I don't think it is inappropriate 
to say we probably ought to look at some of the largest areas that we 
spend money on. When you look at the leg branch allocation, that pie 
chart, the biggest slice of the pie in the whole thing, other than 
running our offices and our committees and paying our employee 
benefits, is Architect of the Capitol.
  Give us your ten top priorities. I don't think that is partisan. I 
think that is responsible fiscal management. You can keep moving 
forward, but it is not like we don't have to eventually pay those 
bills.
  The Sergeant at Arms office, as I have indicated--and I won't spend a 
lot of time on it--is there and funded under this bill for 
cybersecurity and for one district office. If you have multiple ones, 
that doesn't make you a bad person. It just means you have to submit a 
plan, and we have to talk about how we deal with one district versus 
another based upon the realities on the ground of making that district 
office secure.
  Maybe it is a panic button. Maybe there is something else depending 
on that. I don't think it is irresponsible for Americans to expect the 
people who are responsible for spending their money to ask that we ask 
a few questions before we just say, Go do what you think you need to, 
and we will figure out a way to pay for it. That won't work.
  They want to make an exception for the House of Representatives that 
isn't there for most other folks. We are not going to do it. We need to 
deal with DACA comprehensively, and we should, and I will be there at 
the first meeting, the middle meeting, and the last meeting to deal 
with them.
  As a matter of fact, in previous Congresses, I have supported some 
DACA measures, which, quite frankly, weren't in compliance with what 
some people think a good Republican ought to be doing or whatever, but 
it was trying to solve a problem. It does not solve the DACA problem by 
carving out a tiny exception for Congress to be able to pretend like 
the rules on DACA shouldn't apply to us just like they do everybody 
else, so that is why we are at where we are at.
  Finally, I hadn't wanted to do this, but since this is an 
appropriations subcommittee and we talk about money and we are worried 
about the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, let me tell you why it was 
decided to move it. It spent $15,000 on a staff retreat at the 
Salamander, a luxury resort in Middleburg, Virginia; spent thousands of 
taxpayer dollars on customized swag, including windbreakers; spent tens 
of thousands of dollars on partisan diversity events we talked about 
not being partisan for Black History Month, Women's History Month, as 
well as $25,000 for racial equity group training.
  The office went over a year without a director as House Democrats 
failed to fill the position and even put one of their own staffers down 
there temporarily in an acting capacity while still serving as the 
assigned oversight staffer for House admin Democrats, a clear conflict 
of interest.
  It used taxpayer dollars to give away gift cards to staff for 
attending their programming; spending that is not allowed in any other 
context, committee or personal office budgets, and which could raise 
ethics questions. It is not like somebody wanted to be mean to somebody 
because they had a political disagreement. This is fiscal 
irresponsibility and needs to be addressed.
  I will finish with this: We addressed the oversight problem, which 
appropriations does, but kept the mission intact in the Chief 
Administrative Officer.
  With that, I would hope that Members would see their way clear to 
support this bill as a logical step for leading by example, but not 
basically handicapping us.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4364, the 
Republican FY24 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act.

[[Page H5214]]

  The Legislative Branch Appropriations bill provides the funding that 
all of our offices rely on for the resources we need to serve our 
constituents and legislate for the good of the nation. It funds our 
Capitol Police, Sergeant at Arms, and Architect of the Capitol to keep 
the Capitol complex safe, secure, and functioning for staff and 
visitors. It supports the research and preservation work at the Library 
of Congress and the beloved Botanic Garden.
  I am disappointed that the bill before us today stalls the progress 
that we made under a Democratic majority in recent years by not 
investing enough in the resources needed to operate Congress as a 
modern, effective, and co-equal branch of our democratic government.
  My opposition to the bill is not solely due to the inadequate funding 
levels. This bill, like all of the Republican appropriations measures, 
embraces right-wing social policy fights that have no place in the 
bills that fund our government.
  It eliminates direct funding for the Office of Diversity and 
Inclusion and prohibits funding from being used to train staff and 
improve the diversity, equity, and inclusion of the Congressional 
workplace. It does not include the language that allows the legislative 
branch to employ Americans certified under the Deferred Action for 
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It creates a license to blatantly 
discriminate against LGBTQI+ people under the guise of religious 
liberty and face no penalties for that blatant discrimination.
  The People's House should be a place where all people of this diverse 
nation are welcomed, included, and treated equitably. Instead, this 
bill advances an agenda that is hurtful to many of the staff that work 
here and the constituents we represent.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is dead on arrival in the Senate. We may have 
a new Speaker in this chamber, but Republicans are still pursuing the 
same partisan path on appropriations bills.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moore of Utah). All time for debate has 
expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 756, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further consideration of H.R. 
4364 is postponed.

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