[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12572-12573]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               RETURN UNSPENT CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE FUNDS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TIM ROEMER

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 10, 1999

  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce important, 
bipartisan legislation to require Congressional office funds be 
returned directly to the Department of the Treasury at the end of the 
year to help pay down the national debt. I offer this legislation with 
Representatives Fred Upton, Dave Camp and 52 original cosponsors.
  At this time, Congress is making tough decisions about federal 
spending as we debate the appropriations legislation for Fiscal Year 
2000. We are working hard to keep the overall spending levels within 
the caps implemented by the Balanced Budget Amendment, which I 
cosponsored and voted for in 1996. We are making difficult choices and 
sacrifices, and it is appropriate for Members of Congress to lead by 
example.
  That is why I have introduced this legislation to show American 
taxpayers that Congress is tightening its own belt by returning money 
allocated to Members for official expenses, staff salaries and mail 
funds. I have introduced this bill in each of the past three Congresses 
and the language of my legislation has been attached to each 
Legislative Branch Appropriations bill dating back to fiscal year 1996.

[[Page 12573]]

  This year, I have modified my legislation. Since both the 
Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget 
have forecast budget surpluses for the current fiscal year, my bill no 
longer requires Congressional office savings to be redesignated for 
deficit reduction. Instead, the bill requires unexpended funds 
contained in the Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) account--
formerly known as the official expenses, clerk hire and franking 
accounts--to be applied toward reducing the federal debt. In the event 
that the United States returns to a budget deficit, the legislation 
specifically requires the Treasury to apply any remaining Congressional 
office funds to deficit reduction.
  Mr. Speaker, I know that many of my colleagues have shared my 
concerns and frustrations that money saved by Members of Congress was 
not applied to deficit reduction or reducing the federal debt before my 
legislation was enacted. Rather, funds were simply ``reprogrammed'' for 
other budget items, thereby defeating the frugal intentions of many 
Members. The unspent funds would remain available for reprogramming for 
the following three years, including the year for which those funds 
were appropriated. At the end of the three years, unspent money 
immediately reverted from the House account to the General Fund of the 
U.S. Treasury.
  My legislation would ensure that taxpayers truly benefit from savings 
accrued by Members, who in turn would receive the credit they deserve 
for not spending their entire office allowance. Since I have served in 
Congress, I have saved more than one million dollars. There are many 
Members who have worked just as hard not to spend as much as they were 
entitled to spend based on their official allocation.
  In fact, an analysis of Congressional spending conducted by the 
National Taxpayers Union indicated that Members have spent an average 
of 89.1 percent of their allowances since 1995. Since the Legislative 
Branch Appropriations bill for FY 2000 contains $413.5 million for the 
MRA account, the potential savings could amount to tens of millions of 
dollars. These are significant savings, and they should be used to help 
pay down the national debt. This debt currently exceeds $5.5 trillion, 
and interest of the debt remains the second largest expenditure in the 
entire federal budget. This amount is being paid in full by the 
American taxpayers every year.
  Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan legislation clearly demonstrates that 
Congress is leading from the top down and is working hard to find ways 
to lower the national debt. I am pleased that this legislation was 
adopted as part of the FY 2000 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. 
I am hopeful that the bill I introduce today will make this practice a 
permanent law. I strongly encourage my colleagues to support the bill, 
and I urge its approval by the House of Representatives.

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