[House Report 104-141]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    104-141
_______________________________________________________________________


 
              LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 1996

                                _______


 June 15, 1995.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


   Mr. Packard, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1854]
    The Committee on Appropriations submits the following 
report in explanation of the accompanying bill making 
appropriations for the legislative branch for the fiscal year 
1996, and for other purposes.
                        INDEX TO BILL AND REPORT

_______________________________________________________________________


                                                            Page number

                                                            Bill Report
Summary of bill............................................
                                                                      2
Highlights of bill.........................................
                                                                      5
Structure of bill..........................................
                                                                      8
Legislative branch wide matters............................
                                                                      8
Title I--Congressional operations:
        House of Representatives...........................     2
                                                                     10
        Joint Items:
                Joint Economic Committee...................    14
                                                                     17
                Joint Committee on Printing................    14
                                                                     18
                Joint Committee on Taxation................    14
                                                                     18
                Office of the Attending Physician..........    14
                                                                     18
                Capitol Police Board.......................    15
                                                                     18
                Capitol Guide Service......................    17
                                                                     20
                                                            Page number

                                                            Bill Report
                Special Services Office....................    17
                                                                     21
                Statements of Appropriations...............    18
                                                                     21
        Office of Technology Assessment....................
                                                                     21
        Congressional Budget Office........................    19
                                                                     21
        Architect of the Capitol (except Senate and Title 
            II items)......................................    20
                                                                     22
        Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress    23
                                                                     24
        Congressional printing and binding, Government 
            Printing Office................................    23
                                                                     25
Title II--Other agencies:
        Botanic Garden.....................................    24
                                                                     26
        Library of Congress (except Congressional Research 
            Service).......................................    25
                                                                     27
        Architect of the Capitol: Library buildings and 
            grounds........................................    31
                                                                     30
        Government Printing Office (except Congressional 
            printing and binding)..........................    31
                                                                     30
        General Accounting Office..........................    34
                                                                     32
Title III--General provisions..............................    38
                                                                     33
Inflationary impact statement..............................
                                                                     33
Comparison with budget resolution..........................
                                                                     33
Five-year projection of outlays............................
                                                                     34
Assistance to State and local governments..................
                                                                     34
Transfers of funds.........................................
                                                                     34
Changes in the application of existing law.................
                                                                     34
Compliance with clause 3--rule XIII........................
                                                                     38
                            SUMMARY OF BILL

    The bill, as recommended by the Committee, provides 
appropriations for fiscal year 1996 legislative branch 
operations which total $1,727,351,000. Of that amount, 
$1,031,078,000 is for congressional operations and $696,273,000 
is for other agencies.
    A summary of the recommendations follows:

        Fiscal year 1996                                          Amount
Congressional operations..............................\1\ $1,031,078,000
Other agencies..........................................     696,273,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................   1,727,351,000

\1\ Excludes Senate items, including those Senate items under the 
Architect of the Capitol.

    Conforming with long practice under which each body of 
Congress determines its own housekeeping requirements and the 
other concurs without intervention, funds for the Senate are 
not included in the bill as reported to the House. Current 
appropriations estimates for the Senate for fiscal year 1996, 
including those under the Architect of the Capitol, total 
$557,237,000.
    A comparative summary of the bill by title and agency 
follows:




                           HIGHLIGHTS OF BILL

                Summary of Estimates and Recommendations

    Budget estimates.--The budget estimates considered by the 
Committee total $2,060,140,000. By law, budget requests for the 
legislative branch are transmitted to the Congress by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the President without 
change in the amounts submitted by the originating agency. The 
1996 proposals appear on pages 339 through 343 of the 
``Analytical Perspectives'' volume, and pages 15 through 42 of 
the ``Appendix'' volume of the 1996 Federal Budget (H. Doc. 
104-4), and amendments contained in H. Doc. 104-63, H. Doc. 
104-80, and H. Doc. 104-xxx.
    Committee recommendations.--A total of $1,727,351,000 in 
new budget (obligational) authority is recommended for fiscal 
year 1996. The recommendation is $332,789,000 less than was 
requested, a reduction of 16.2 percent under the budget 
request. The bill, as reported, is $534,649,000 below the 602b 
allocation, which is the ceiling for the discretionary amounts 
contained in the Legislative Branch appropriations bill and is 
based on the expenditure targets established in the concurrent 
resolution on the budget. The bill does not include Senate 
items. If the Senate items were included in the bill at the 
level specified in the Committee's 602(b) target, the bill 
would be $26,649,000 below the 602b budget authority target.
    Staffing.--For the past several years, the Committee has 
generally denied funding for net staffing increases throughout 
the legislative branch, or provided only those positions with 
very high priority. Since FY1994 and 1995, a 4% reduction was 
imposed on full-time equivalent (FTE) employment. The actions 
taken in this bill will further and more significantly reduce 
the size of the legislative branch. An additional 2,350 FTE's 
are being reduced in FY1996 below the level funded or 
authorized in the fiscal year 1995 appropriations bill. That is 
an 8.6% reduction and comes after a 7.5% reduction that 
occurred between 1992 and fiscal year 1995. Over the four year 
period, the legislative branch entities covered in this bill 
will have downsized its personnel by over 15%.
    Comparison with fiscal year 1995 appropriations.--Compared 
with the appropriations enacted for fiscal year 1995, 
$1,882,221,600, the recommendation of $1,727,351,000 for fiscal 
year 1996 is $154,870,600 below that amount. Significant 
program reductions have been made in almost every area within 
the scope of the legislative branch. Several agencies, 
programs, or projects have been eliminated, and others will be 
shifted to, or their work products will be developed by, more 
appropriate organizational entities. The Committee believes 
these transferred activities can be integrated with similar 
activities whether in the legislative or executive branch by 
skilled, professional staff with the requisite technical and 
management expertise and where economic and operational 
efficiencies can be achieved by combining like functions. Other 
activities will be contracted out to the private sector, thus 
introducing more flexibility and cost-effectiveness to routine 
activities which will yield the benefits of market 
efficiencies. Still others will be closely examined for 
outsourcing in the following fiscal year.
    An emphasis has been placed on encouraging the Congress and 
its constituent agencies to exploit ``cyberspace'', that is, 
using electronic technology for printing, distributing, and 
sharing federal, especially Congressional, documents and 
information. Wherever possible, the Committee bill replaces 
funding for paper-based documents with electronic formats and 
generally establishes incentives for further conversion to 
electronic technology in the future.
    Areas of major change.--The recommended amount for fiscal 
year 1996 is a net decrease of $154,870,600 below the level 
appropriated for fiscal year 1995. This decrease has several 
components. The sum of $41,980,000 is required over fiscal year 
1995 for mandatory and pay related costs. To meet the increased 
costs of inflation necessary to maintain the current level of 
services requires $3,810,000. There will be an decrease of 
$200,660,600 for programs, of which $52,278,600 is for 
legislation, and a decrease in workload of $144,840,000 and 
$3,542,000 for equipment, alterations and repairs.
    A summary of the areas of major changes recommended by 
general category follows:


                         STRUCTURE OF THE BILL

    The bill is divided into three titles:

                   Title I--Congressional Operations

    Title I--Congressional Operations contains the 
appropriations for the actual operation of the Congress. 
Traditionally, Congressional operations has included the House 
of Representatives (Senate items will be added by that body), 
joint items, the Office of Technology Assessment, the 
Congressional Budget Office, the Architect of the Capitol 
(except Senate office buildings and Library of Congress 
buildings and grounds), the Congressional Research Service, and 
the Congressional printing and binding portion of the 
Government Printing Office.

                        Title II--Other Agencies

    Title II--Other Agencies contains the budget for several 
activities which do not provide primary support to the 
Congress. For instance, the activities of the Library of 
Congress, except the Congressional Research Service, are 
carried in this title. This includes such Library activities as 
the program to provide books for the blind and physically 
handicapped, the operation of the Copyright Office (including 
copyright royalty regulation) and Library services to the 
public and to the government of the United States. The non-
Congressional operations of the Government Printing Office are 
contained in title II, such as the depository library program, 
which acquires or prints federal publications for distribution 
to the libraries, and sales of government publications to the 
general public. Also, although much of the workload of the 
General Accounting Office is in direct support of the Congress, 
including work mandated by statute or requested by committees 
and Members of Congress, the balance of that agency's workload 
involves its more general legislative requirements. The nature 
of that work is directed toward the improvement of the 
operation of the Federal government through review and 
evaluation of programs and the prevention of fraud and waste, 
as well as accounting and financial management improvements. 
The GAO budget, therefore, is carried in title II of the bill. 
The Botanic Garden rounds out the items included in title II.

                     Title III--General Provisions

    Title III contains general provisions.

                    LEGISLATIVE BRANCH WIDE MATTERS

    The Committee understands that the amounts contained herein 
will create a number of ``downsizing'' and ``rightsizing'' 
changes in legislative branch operations during fiscal year 
1996. In order to minimize disruption to essential services, 
the Committee, through the authority assigned to the 
Subcommittee on Legislative, will consider reprogrammings among 
object classes within agency budgets in order to maximize the 
efficiency of the limited resources provided.
    The President's budget for FY1996 proposed a limit of 2.4% 
on civilian pay increases (comparability, cost-of-living, and 
locality pay). The Committee bill requires the absorption 
within the base budgets of the agencies of the legislative 
branch of whatever increase in employee salaries is eventually 
approved. Agency budgets were not increased over the current 
level for this pay adjustment.
    Last year, the Committee (with the Senate Committee's 
subsequent concurrence) directed the Library of Congress, as a 
legislative branch-wide undertaking, to study and report on the 
duplication in legislative branch information sources. This 
study was intended to place a particular emphasis on current 
systems and plans for electronic storage and access to 
information on the status of pending legislation, access to 
routine Congressional documents such as the Congressional 
Record, hearings, bills, reports, and public laws, and a 
variety of other information products utilized by the Congress, 
governmental entities, and the public. It is essential that 
this project go forward with the attention and vigor such an 
important study requires. Many agencies, including the House 
and Senate, as well as the Library of Congress, Government 
Printing Office, General Accounting Office, and others, are 
expending significant resources on devising storage and access 
methods, often involving identical data and information. This 
situation is rife with the probability of duplication of 
effort, waste of funds and professional skills, and sheer 
confusion. Some of this duplication is clearly evident, 
particularly to the many consumers of Congressional information 
products.
    The Committee understands that the focus of Library of 
Congress efforts has been shifted to developing proposals and 
technologies, instead of producing the needed study together 
with a measurement of the extent of the duplication problem. 
The Library of Congress has not been relieved of the 
responsibility to carry out this study and will be expected to 
advise the Committee of the timeline for its completion. The 
Library of Congress should consult with and enlist the support 
of House Information Systems, Senate information collection and 
processing entities, GPO, GAO, and other appropriate 
legislative agencies. A joint report, coordinated by Library of 
Congress automation experts, would be most useful since there 
are many points of view of these matters, some conflicting but 
worthy of consideration. In any case, the Committee directs 
that this effort be given a very high priority.
    The Committee also directs that the agencies, offices, and 
joint items included within the bill provide their budget 
justifications to the Committee by mid-December.

                   TITLE I--CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS

    The Committee bill recommends a total of $1,031,078,000 for 
fiscal year 1996 for those activities in direct support of the 
operations of the Congress (exclusive of the Senate) which is a 
decrease of $90,747,600 below the fiscal year 1995 level. 
Budget estimates considered by the Committee total 
$1,221,229,000 which have been reduced by $190,151,000.
    A summary of the recommendations follows:
                    Title I--Congressional Operations

        Item                                                      Amount
House of Representatives................................    $671,561,000
Joint items.............................................      85,742,000
Office of Technology Assessment.........................................
Congressional Budget Office.............................      23,188,000
Architect of the Capitol (except Senate and Title II 
    items)..............................................     102,223,000
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.....      60,083,000
Congressional printing and binding, Government Printing 
    Office..............................................      88,281,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................   1,031,078,000
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
    The Committee recommends a total of $671,561,000 for the 
operation of the House of Representatives during fiscal year 
1996. The allowance is $125,434,000 below the appropriations 
requested, and $57,040,600 below the amount appropriated for 
the current fiscal year.
    The following tabulation summarizes the recommendations:
                        House of Representatives

        Item                                                      Amount
Salaries and expenses:
    House leadership offices............................     $11,271,000
    Members' representational allowances................     360,503,000
    Committee salaries and expenses.....................      95,574,000
    Salaries, officers and employees....................      83,733,000
    Allowances and expenses.............................     120,480,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total, Salaries and expenses......................    $671,561,000
      Total, House of Representatives...................    $671,561,000
                         Salaries and Expenses
1995 appropriation......................................    $728,468,000
1996 budget estimate....................................     796,995,000
Committee recommendation................................     671,561,000

    The appropriation for the operations of the House of 
Representatives is the salaries and expenses appropriation. The 
amount provided is $671,561,000. The account includes the 
following House activities: House leadership offices; Members' 
representational allowances; committee salaries and expenses; 
salaries, officers and employees; allowances and expenses; and 
the day care center. This is a new structure for the House 
accounts and reflects the elimination of several committee 
accounts due to the reforms enacted at the beginning of the 
104th Congress, as well as a more responsibility-centered 
funding scheme. The so-called allowances authorized for the 
staff salaries, office expenses, and official mail of the 
Members of the House have been combined into one account. 
Members will still be constrained by the limits on each 
allowance set by law and the Committee on House Oversight. In 
most cases, the expense funds associated with an organizational 
activity of the House have been included with the salary funds 
for the staff assigned to the cost manager. Thus, committees 
will be required to budget for equipment and supply 
expenditures, House administrative officers (Clerk, Sergeant at 
Arms, Chief Administrative Officer, etc.) will be required to 
budget for all their expenditures, as will the legal support 
offices (Parliamentarian, Legislative Counsel, Law Revision 
Counsel), and so forth. The Committee retains the traditional 
reprogramming authority, within funds available, as provided by 
law and consistent with the authority that resides in all 
executive agencies, and the practices followed in the private 
sector. The new account structure is compatible with the 
transfer authority established in section 101 of P.L. 102-392, 
the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1993. The scope of 
such authority remains the same even though some of the account 
headings have been changed to accommodate the revised 
organization of House resources.
    Because of the significant changes made in House funding 
and management in the 104th Congress, the traditional 
comparisons made to the FY1996 amounts proposed herein will be 
made against the current funding level, instead of the amount 
appropriated to the previous account headings for FY1995. The 
total FY1995 appropriation for House items will be identical 
($728,601,600), but individual items will reflect fiscal year 
1995 amounts as the House is now organized, and based on the 
new account structure. This will provide a more straightforward 
comparison, and is designed to minimize the confusion of 
comparing a new funding structure against the previous 
organization and funding structure.

                        House Leadership Offices
1995 appropriation (current funding level)..............     $10,843,000
1996 budget estimate \1\................................      11,728,000
Committee recommendation................................      11,271,000

\1\ Budget amendment pending.

    The Committee recommends a total of $11,271,000 for the 
operations of the leadership offices during fiscal year 1996. 
The amounts reflects the staff included in H. Res. 6, 7, 9, and 
10, 104th Congress and the transfers made in H. Res. 113, and 
section 104 of this Act. The leadership account now contains 
the conference, caucus, and policy entities that were formerly 
funded within the ``Salaries, officers and employees'' account. 
All the traditional party parities have been maintained. The 
recommended amount is $323,740 below the amounts authorized for 
these accounts.
    The allocation by office follows:
                        House leadership offices

        Item                                                      Amount
Office of the Speaker...................................      $1,478,000
Office of the Majority Floor Leader.....................       1,470,000
Office of the Minority Floor Leader.....................       1,480,000
Office of the Majority Whip.............................         928,000
Office of the Minority Whip.............................         918,000
Speaker's Office for Legislative Floor Activities.......         376,000
Republican Conference...................................       1,083,000
Republican Steering Committee...........................         664,000
Democratic Steering and Policy Committee................       1,181,000
Democratic Caucus.......................................         566,000
Nine Minority Employees.................................       1,127,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................      11,271,000
                  Members' Representational Allowances
1995 appropriation......................................    $351,217,000
1996 budget estimate....................................     389,100,000
Committee recommendation................................     360,503,000

    A total of $360,503,000 is recommended for the 
representational allowances of the Members of the House. In 
recommending this amount, the Committee used an estimate of 
$246,073,000 for clerk hire salaries, $79,800,000 for office 
expenses, and $34,630,000 for official mail. It should be 
pointed out that these allowances are established in law and 
are regulated by the Committee on House Oversight. By combining 
these allowances into one account, the Committee is simplifying 
the account structure, and believes the need for subsequent 
reprogrammings will be greatly diminished. This level of 
funding is $26.9 million (7%) below the amounts Members are 
authorized to spend under law and House Oversight regulations.
    Many Members do not expend their full allowance. That is 
why the Committee bill does not fully fund this account. The 
frugality of those Members is already projected in the bill 
presented by the Committee. Since these prospective savings are 
already taken in the bill, they reduce the need for 
appropriated funds and, therefore, contribute directly to the 
reduction in federal spending and consequently lower the 
projected deficit. In order to inform the Members of their 
direct contribution to deficit reduction, the Chief 
Administrative Officer is directed to report to the Committee 
on House Oversight the amounts annually saved from each 
Member's allowances. The Committee on House Oversight will then 
inform Members of the amounts saved from their allowances.

                          Committee Employees
1995 appropriation (current structure)..................    $135,336,000
1996 budget estimate....................................     148,793,000
Committee recommendation................................      95,574,000

    The Committee employees account has been consolidated from 
several accounts previously included in the appropriations 
bill. The staff of the Committees of the House were reduced by 
33% at the beginning of the 104th Congress. The funding in the 
bill reflects those reductions and provides $95,574,000 for the 
salaries and expenses of the 19 standing committees and one 
permanent select committee of the House, as follows:
    Standing Committees, special and select.--For the salaries 
and expenses of committees funded in H. Res. 107, the Committee 
biennial funding resolution approved on March 15, 1995, 
$78,629,000 is provided. This is a reduction of $34,176,000 
under the amount allocated for all committees, except the 
Committee on Appropriations, in fiscal year 1995.
    Committee on Appropriations.--For the salaries and expenses 
of the Committee on Appropriations (including the studies and 
investigation activities authorized by section 202(b) of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946), $16,945,000 is 
provided, a reduction of $5,586,000.
    Details of the funding resolution approved by the House for 
the 104th Congress follow:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Committee:                        Amount authorized 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture.......................................            $3,866,148
Banking and Financial Services....................             4,161,579
Budget............................................             4,940,000
Commerce..........................................             6,663,227
Economic and Educational Opportunities............             4,777,196
Government Reform and Oversight...................             6,576,369
House Oversight...................................             3,092,920
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence........             2,226,210
International Relations...........................             4,953,472
Judiciary.........................................             4,577,187
National Security.................................             4,245,134
Resources.........................................             4,795,970
Rules.............................................             2,199,567
Science...........................................             3,991,154
Small Business....................................             1,863,290
Standards of Official Conduct.....................             1,009,450
Transportation and Infrastructure.................             5,386,171
Veterans' Affairs.................................             2,024,500
Ways and Means....................................             4,916,740
                                                   ---------------------
      Total.......................................            76,266,284
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    Salaries, Officers and Employees
1995 appropriation (current structure)..................     $95,667,000
1996 budget estimate....................................     102,752,000
Committee recommendation................................      83,733,000

    The Committee recommendation for the salaries and expenses 
of House officers and employees of the various activities 
funded through this consolidated item totals $83,733,000. This 
amount represents an overall decrease of $19,019,000 below the 
budget request and $11,934,000 below the amount enacted in 
fiscal year 1995.
    The administrative staff officers of the House (the Clerk 
of the House, Sergeant at Arms, and the Chief Administrative 
Officer) are reminded that funding levels are provided on the 
basis of a certain number of positions. Any additional 
positions or exchanges during the fiscal year will require 
reprogramming or transfer approval from the Committee on 
Appropriations, regardless of the status of staffing 
authorizations. Moreover, all offices funded in this line item 
are cautioned that they will have to manage their budgets 
within the resources provided.
    The many organizational and funding reforms initiated by 
the House leadership and developed by House administrative 
officers are reflected in the recommended amounts. To the 
extent that these reforms do not produce the exact savings 
estimated, the funding provided herein for the applicable House 
administrative officer will be expected to absorb any 
additional cost. Projects, reforms, and initiatives 
contemplated within the budgets of the House officers will be 
implemented, and policies approved, by the Committee on House 
Oversight with the assumption that any project undertaken by a 
House officer must be implemented within the funding 
constraints prescribed in this bill. The Committee on 
Appropriations and the Committee on House Oversight will 
monitor the progress of the officers in achieving projected 
savings.
    The Committee has asked the Clerk of the House to 
investigate methods for increasing electronic printing of House 
documents. The proposal should be coordinated with the House 
entities (such as committees, legislative and law revision 
counsels, etc.) who require document printing and storage to 
carry out their legislative responsibilities, and with GPO, and 
should be presented to the appropriate authorities for approval 
before implementation. The position of Assistant Clerk (FEC) 
has been eliminated in a reorganization of the Clerk's office; 
funds for that position, therefore, have not been provided. 
Funds for subscriptions to the U.S. Code have also been deleted 
from the Clerk's budget. For those Members who require office 
copies, the Code can be purchased from official expense funds. 
Alternatively, the Code is available in the House library, at 
the Library of Congress, on Internet through the `Thomas' 
connection, through GPO `Access', another online service, and 
on CD-ROM which is available from the Government Printing 
Office. Closed captioning funds are not provided since the 
Committee has been told that the contract will be renewed with 
FY 1995 funds. Also, funds for contracting out stenographic 
reporting of Committee hearings are provided in the Clerk's 
budget ($800,000, a savings of $300,000 below the amount 
provided in FY 1995.) It should be noted that funding for the 
U.S. Code, stenographic contracting, and newspaper 
subscriptions have formerly been carried in the ``Allowances 
and expenses'' appropriating paragraph. The Clerk does not 
control the use of these funds, but does the ordering or 
contracting as a service to other House offices, a more 
convenient administrative procedure. The Clerk should consult 
the users of such services to determine their continued need 
and to fully inform the ultimate consumers of their actual 
cost.
    In addition to a variety of non-legislative and non-
security activities necessary to carry out the day-to-day 
operations of the House of Representatives, the budget of the 
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) contains most of the 
centralized telecommunications and computer funds for House 
operations. This area has been designated for major innovation 
by the 104th Congress. One of the most far reaching innovations 
being considered is Office 2000, a project designed to bring 
House recordkeeping and voice, digital, and video 
communications up to present-day technological capabilities. 
This is an important element of the program to achieve the so-
called ``cyber'' Congress. Office 2000 will be carried out by 
House Information Systems (HIS) and will place major emphasis 
on installing integrated computer and telecommunication 
networks and software in all House offices. The HIS budget 
provided in this bill amounts to $27,500,000, of which 
$11,500,000 will be derived from reimbursable work done for 
other agencies. In addition, $4,000,000 is also provided for 
the purchase of work stations, primarily for Member offices, 
that will be networked by HIS into the Office 2000 framework. 
In all, FY 1996 funds for Office 2000 total $11.6 million. It 
is anticipated that $8.3 million will be expended from FY 1995 
funds upon approval of this project and as systems acquisition 
and development gets underway.
    The Committee has for several years been encouraging 
legislative branch agency consolidation of financial management 
and payroll/personnel systems. These consolidations have met 
with much success, have proven cost-effective and have achieved 
a level of standardization that greatly exceeds the progress 
made to date in the executive branch. Similar progress has been 
made with the legislative branch telecommunications 
infrastructure (known as CAPNET). It is true that, originally, 
some agencies believed their needs were unique and requested 
funds to develop or purchase their own systems. The use of 
standardized, already developed systems has precluded the 
necessity to expend large sums to develop and install many 
individualized systems. It also avoids the need to separately 
maintain each with the consequent costs of the inevitable 
changes that require one-at-a-time resystemization and 
reprogramming. These long term extra costs are usually not 
recognized or reflected in original project cost estimates, an 
omission which tends to bias initial selections toward stand 
alone systems. The results of a broad-based standardization 
program, however, indicate significant economies of scale, more 
flexibility in adjusting to change, and all the other benefits 
of standardization and single-source systems maintenance. In 
that regard, the need for the House of Representatives to 
improve its financial management and payroll/personnel 
operations is apparent. Before deciding on these improvements, 
the Chief Administrative Officer, in presenting proposals to 
the Committee on House Oversight, should consider the broader 
context of systems standardization that is now possible and 
being implemented throughout the legislative branch, especially 
since these systems have been tested and certified with respect 
to audit and financial management standards currently 
applicable to federal accounting systems. The House should also 
take maximum advantage of the design, development, and 
operational economies that have already been achieved by other 
legislative agencies. The Committee on Appropriations will 
expect that any proposed outsourcing will follow this guidance, 
and will first require consultation and approval from this 
Committee.
    The Committee believes the program to operate, on a non-
subsidized basis, certain business-type activities (e.g., 
beauty and barber shops) that are provided for the 
Congressional community, staff, and the visiting public is 
fiscally sound. The CAO should also investigate the possibility 
of contracting out a car wash service, as long as it is a 
completely non-subsidized operation. Also, the CAO is directed 
to study the operation of House elevators for the purpose of 
making recommendations to the Architect of the Capitol for 
improving their efficiency. The current programs to 
rehabilitate the elevators in the House office buildings, and 
to install new elevators in the Longworth House Office 
Building, provide an excellent opportunity to gain useful 
results from this study.
    The Committee has provided additional funds to the Sergeant 
at Arms for the garage and parking attendants transferred from 
the Architect of the Capitol. The Committee on Appropriations 
has retained the authority to authorize the position of 
Superintendent of Garages. Related administrative functions 
shall be staffed as directed by the Committee on House 
Oversight.
                    Salaries, officers and employees

                                                                    Item
                                                                  Amount
Office of the Clerk.....................................     $13,807,000
Office of the Sergeant at Arms..........................       3,410,000
Office of the Chief Administrative Officer..............      53,556,000
Office of Inspector General.............................       3,954,000
Office of Compliance....................................         858,000
Office of the Chaplain..................................         126,000
Office of the Parliamentarian...........................       1,180,000
Parliamentarian.........................................       (775,000)
Compilation of Precedents...............................       (405,000)
Office of the Law Revision Counsel......................       1,700,000
Office of the Legislative Counsel.......................       4,524,000
Other authorized employees..............................         618,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................      83,733,000

    House of Representatives Child Care Center.--The bill 
provides authority for the House day care center budget, as 
required by Sec. 312(d)(1) of Public Law 102-90, as presented 
to the Committee by the Chief Administrative Officer. It should 
be noted that day care center operations are funded by tuition 
and other center-generated revenues.

                        Allowances and Expenses
1995 appropriation (current structure)..................    $135,405,000
1996 budget estimate....................................     144,622,000
Committee recommendation................................     120,480,000

    A total of $120,480,000 is recommended for fiscal year 1996 
for allowances and expenses. This amount is $24,142,000 below 
the budget request and $14,925,000 below the current level. 
These funds include supplies, materials, administrative costs, 
and Federal tort claims; the costs of official mail for the 
Committees, leadership, and administrative offices; reemployed 
annuitants; employee benefits; and miscellaneous items. Over 
97% of these funds is for the employer share of retirement, 
health care, and unemployment compensation payments for House 
employees. No funding is provided for a single source purchase 
of U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars. These calendars 
can be purchased out of official allowance funds, under 
conditions specified by the Committee on House Oversight. Also, 
at the request of the Committee on House Oversight, funds are 
not provided for the continued lease of property known as 
parking lot #6.
    The following table sets forth the various expense 
categories within this appropriation:

                         ALLOWANCES AND EXPENSES                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Detail                          Recommended 1996  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplies, materials, administrative costs and                           
 Federal tort claims..............................            $1,213,000
Official mail.....................................             1,000,000
Reemployed annuitants reimbursement...............                68,000
Government contributions..........................           117,541,000
Miscellaneous items:                                                    
    House automobiles.............................               103,000
    Gratuities to beneficiaries of deceased staff.               500,000
    Interparliamentary receptions.................                55,000
                                                   ---------------------
      Subtotal miscellaneous items................               658,000
                                                   =====================
      Total, allowances and expenses..............           120,480,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       Administrative Provisions

    Section 101 provides that fees may be collected for mail 
drop-shipped for internal delivery, and the receipts deposited 
in the Treasury. Section 102 provides that the amount of 
rebates collected from the Government Charge Card Travel 
Program shall be deposited in the Treasury. Section 103 makes 
permanent law the provisions of several approved House 
resolutions regarding leadership transfers and funds. Section 
104 transfers certain positions from the Republican Conference 
to the Republican Steering Committee. Section 105 provides that 
travel for studies under 2USC72a(b) shall be governed by 
applicable laws and House regulations or as promulgated by the 
Chairman of the Committee. Section 106 provides that unexpended 
balances remaining in legislative service organization 
revolving funds under 2USC96a are withdrawn from revolving fund 
balances. This action will return those funds to the U.S. 
Treasury. Section 107 abolishes certain House revolving funds 
and provides that the activities will be subject to annual 
appropriations limitations. Section 107A provides that the cost 
of goods sold may be derived from vending machine receipts for 
the purpose of replenishing inventories. Section 108 makes 
technical corrections to the House employee classification 
schedule. Section 109 makes permanent a provision establishing 
accrued leave payments for separated employees. Section 110 
makes revenue-neutral adjustments in certain leadership 
allowances.
                              JOINT ITEMS

    The Committee recommends appropriations totaling 
$85,742,000 for fiscal year 1996 for the various joint 
committees and activities carried under this heading. The 
recommendation is $3,964,000 under the amounts requested for in 
fiscal 1996 and a reduction of $445,000 under the amounts 
appropriated in FY1995.
    The following summarizes the recommendations:
                               Joint Items

        Item                                                      Amount
Joint Economic Committee................................      $3,000,000
Joint Committee on Printing.............................       (750,000)
Joint Committee on Taxation.............................       6,019,000
Office of the Attending Physician.......................       1,260,000
Capitol Police Board....................................      72,692,000
Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office.......       1,991,000
 Statements of appropriations...........................          30,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................      85,742,000
                        joint economic committee
1995 appropriation......................................      $4,090,000
1996 budget estimate....................................       4,265,000
Committee recommendation................................       3,000,000

    The Committee has provided $3,000,000 for the Joint 
Economic Committee. The Committee expects that the joint 
committee will not be funded in fiscal year 1997.

                      joint committee on printing
1995 appropriation......................................      $1,370,000
1996 budget estimate....................................       1,414,000
Committee recommendation................................       (750,000)

    The Committee has not provided funding for the Joint 
Committee on Printing. Instead, the bill provides an 
appropriation of $750,000, to be equally divided between the 
authorizing committees of the House and Senate. The Joint 
Committee will continue activities for the balance of this 
fiscal year and the Committee suggests their efforts be 
directed toward working with the Government Printing Office in 
preparing for the funding and workload implications of the 
FY1996 GPO program as contained in this bill. In fiscal year 
1996, this responsibility will devolve to the authorizing 
committees who will utilize the structure and rules of the 
Joint Committee to carry out this responsibility. It is hoped 
that many of these routine responsibilities, upon direction 
from the authorizing committees, will be delegated to the 
management of GPO. The Joint Committee and the authorizing 
committees are reminded that the cutbacks in funding for the 
printing of paper-based products used by the Congress, its 
committees and legislative support structure are designed to 
induce the use of electronic format alternatives and to cut 
back the volume to the amounts actually needed. It may be 
necessary, as in past practice, to modify the limits presumed 
in the funds provided for printing and binding of hearings and 
other Congressional documents.

                      Joint Committee on Taxation
1995 appropriation......................................      $6,019,000
1996 budget estimate....................................       6,460,000
Committee recommendation................................       6,019,000

    The Committee recommends an appropriation of $6,019,000 for 
the Joint Committee on Taxation. This is the same amount 
provided in fiscal year 1995. The Committee has also included 
language prohibiting the use of Joint Committee funds to 
determine the amount of certain tax refunds. This is a function 
of the Internal Revenue Service.

                   Office of the Attending Physician
1995 appropriation......................................      $1,335,000
1996 budget estimate....................................       1,260,000
Committee recommendation................................       1,260,000

    The Committee has approved $1,260,000 for medical supplies, 
equipment, expenses, and allowances of Navy personnel detailed 
to the Office of the Attending Physician. The number of 
personnel has been reduced by one.

                          Capitol Police Board
1995 appropriation......................................     $71,382,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      74,214,000
Committee recommendation................................      72,692,000

    The recommendations in the bill provide a total of 
$72,692,000 for the expenses and personnel authorized for 
police services throughout the Capitol buildings and grounds 
during fiscal year 1996.
    The Capitol Police Board is instructed to undertake 
discussions and a study to determine the extent to which the 
police and security of the United States Capitol, the Library 
of Congress and the United States Supreme Court can be combined 
as a unified operation under a single command utilizing common 
personnel.
    The following shows the number of authorized FTE positions 
and the funding provided for all police services in the Capitol 
buildings and grounds during fiscal year 1996:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Authorized                  
                  Items                        FTE's          Amount    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salary expenses, Capitol Police on House                                
 Payroll................................           1 637     $34,213,000
Salary expenses, Capitol Police on                                      
 Senate Payroll.........................           2 662      35,919,000
                                         -------------------------------
      Subtotal..........................           1,299    3 70,132,000
General expenses........................  ..............       2,560,000
                                         -------------------------------
      Grand total, all police services..  ..............      72,692,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes 133 civilian positions.                                    
\2\ Includes 91 civilian positions.                                     
\3\ Includes overtime funds of $2,000,000.                              

                             Capitol Police

                                Salaries
1995 appropriation......................................     $69,382,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      72,024,000
Committee recommendation................................      70,132,000

    The Committee recommends $70,132,000 for 1,299 full time 
equivalent positions for the Capitol Police, of which 
$34,213,000 and 637 FTE's are for the House rolls and 
$35,519,000 and 662 FTE's are for the Senate rolls. These 
amounts include $2,000,000 for overtime, equally divided 
between House and Senate details. These amounts include 13 
additional positions provided for security at the House gallery 
doors; a comparable reduction has been made in the House 
Sergeant at Arms budget. Also, the Committee bill transfers 
five positions currently assigned to the Architect of the 
Capitol as security alarm and equipment experts. This activity 
should be controlled by the Capitol Police Board, under their 
authority to oversee the Capitol Police for overall security of 
House and Senate facilities and their responsibilities for the 
protection of Members, staff, and official and public visitors. 
Maintenance of these systems will still reside with the 
Architect's office, and the Committee has included language 
which will protect the Architect of the Capitol's 
responsibility for the physical appearance and architectural 
integrity of the Capitol and all Congressional office 
buildings. The reassignment of these personnel and workload has 
been advocated for many years by the Sergeants at Arms of both 
bodies, and should improve the coordination of security 
measures deemed necessary by those directly responsible for the 
security of the Capitol complex.

                             Capitol Police

                            General expenses
1995 appropriation......................................      $2,000,000
1996 budget estimate....................................       2,190,000
Committee recommendation................................       2,560,000

    The sum of $2,560,000 is recommended for supplies, 
materials, equipment, training and other expenses of the 
Capitol Police force during the next fiscal year. The Committee 
has added $350,000 previously carried in the Architect of the 
Capitol appropriation for equipment, supplies, and materials 
necessary to support the security workload transfer. The 
Capitol police are reminded that they should follow competitive 
procurement practices, unless statutory exemption has been 
granted. In addition to the $350,000, language has been 
included transferring any unexpended balances of security 
funds.
    The Committee has also provided an additional $210,000 to 
assist in the conversion of the payroll/personnel recordkeeping 
to the National Finance Center. The current plan is to transfer 
the recordkeeping of those police personnel paid from the House 
payroll. The Committee believes the plan should also encompass 
police paid from the Senate payroll. At that point, the 
statutory merger of the police into one force structure, under 
one set of statutory and administrative regulations, can be 
carried out. Last year, the Committee directed that this 
conversion should be operational by October 1, 1995. The 
Committee has been informed that there will be a delay in 
meeting this date. The Capitol Police Board is directed to 
expedite this conversion and to provide a project timeline to 
the Committee. Additional record keeping due to this conversion 
is expected to be minimal and transmission to NFC should 
utilize the existing staff resources of the Architect of the 
Capitol or the House Finance Office. Language providing 
expenses for forensic and stenographic services has been 
approved. The additional funds for the awards program have not 
been allowed.

          Capitol Guide Service (and Special Services Office)

1995 appropriation..................  $1,628,000 (and $363,000)         
1996 budget estimate................   1,730,000 (and $363,000)         
Committee recommendation............   1,991,000                        
                                                                        

    The Committee bill provides $1,991,000 for the merged 
operation of the Capitol Guide Service and Special Services 
Office during the next fiscal year. The Committee bill also 
adds the Special Services Office to the oversight duties of the 
Capitol Guide Board, which eliminates the need for the Special 
Services Board. Both these services provide important and 
necessary assistance to the millions of people who visit the 
Capitol each year, and the Special Services Office also assists 
staff and official visitors that require special assistance due 
to physical disabilities. This merger will enable these 
services, each with a very small, but dedicated cadre, to share 
an expanding workload and achieve an economy of scale under a 
combined operation.

                        Special Services Office
1995 appropriation......................................        $363,000
1996 budget estimate....................................         363,000
Committee recommendation................................................

    The Special Services Office has been combined with the 
Capitol Guide Service.

                      Statements of Appropriations
1995 appropriation......................................................
1996 budget estimate....................................................
Committee recommendation................................          30,000

    The sum of $30,000 is included in the bill for the 
preparation of the usual compilation of the statements of 
appropriations for the 1st session of the 104th Congress. This 
publication is compiled jointly by the House and Senate 
Committees on Appropriations.

                    OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

                         Salaries and Expenses
1995 appropriation......................................     $21,970,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      23,195,000
Committee recommendation................................................

    The Committee has not provided funds for the Office of 
Technology Assessment. If any functions of OTA must be 
retained, they shall be assumed by other agencies such as 
Congressional Research Service or the General Accounting 
Office. Alternatively, the National Academy of Sciences, 
university research programs, and a variety of private sector 
institutions will be available to supplement the needs of 
Congress for objective, unbiased technology assessments.

                      CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

                         Salaries and Expenses
1995 appropriation......................................     $23,188,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      25,788,000
Committee recommendation................................      23,188,000

    The Committee recommends an appropriation of $23,188,000 
for the Congressional Budget Office. The Committee is mindful 
of the potential workload placed upon CBO due to the enactment 
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. The agency has 
estimated this workload, largely unknown at this time, will 
require an additional $2.6 million and 25 FTE's. Despite the 
pressures of their workloads, however, all legislative agencies 
are being downsized and some are being eliminated. There is no 
alternative realistic method of reaching the goal of a balanced 
budget. The Committee directs that the resources needed to 
carry out these additional responsibilities be derived by 
downsizing the workload of the program analysis and central 
support divisions which are projected to consume 99 FTE's (45%) 
and $11,642,000 (50%) of the CBO appropriation. A portion of 
these resources and staffing should be reallocated to the 
emerging priority assigned to the unfunded mandates 
legislation. The Committee directs that this reallocation shall 
be carried out in a manner that will not encumber the highest 
priority assigned by the Congressional Budget Act to carry out 
the budget and scorekeeping analysis, macroeconomic analysis, 
and tax analysis workload. This will present a formidable 
management challenge, but this is an unavoidable outcome of the 
need to constrain legislative branch spending.
    The Committee bill includes the language requested 
regarding temporary or intermittent employees.

                        ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

                   (Congressional Support Items Only)
1995 appropriation......................................    $112,071,000
1996 budget estimate....................................     128,008,000
Committee recommendation................................     102,223,000

    The Committee recommends a total of $102,223,000 for fiscal 
year 1996 for the various operational and maintenance 
activities under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the 
Capitol (AOC) that are directly related to the operation of the 
Congress. Excluded are Senate housekeeping items which are 
traditionally left for consideration by that body, as well as 
the appropriations for the Botanic Garden and the structural 
and mechanical care of the Library of Congress buildings and 
grounds that are contained in title II of the bill. This amount 
is $25,785,000 below the amount requested, and $9,848,000 below 
the fiscal year 1995 appropriation.
    Overall, for AOC items contained in titles I and II, no 
mandatory increases have been funded and will have to be 
absorbed in the base budget. The Committee has also made base 
reductions that may require a five percent reduction in funded 
FTE positions. The Committee directs the Architect to submit a 
reprogramming request for the Capitol Police Board to conduct a 
study of the organization and coordination of security 
resources, particularly those assigned to the AOC.
    The Architect of the Capitol should prepare a report of the 
status of the program for rehabilitating and modernizing the 
elevators in House office buildings. This program has been 
funded for several years with no discernible improvement in 
their operation. The report should specify the funds expended 
to date and the improvements brought about by those 
expenditures. Also, the long term goals of this program should 
be enumerated.
    A summary of the appropriations recommended follows:

     Architect of the Capitol (Excluding Senate and Title II Items)
        Item                                                      Amount
Office of the Architect of the Capitol:
    Salaries............................................      $8,569,000
    Contingent expenses.................................         100,000
Capitol buildings and grounds:
    Capitol buildings...................................      22,832,000
    Capitol grounds.....................................       5,143,000
    House office buildings..............................      33,001,000
    Capitol Power Plant.................................      32,578,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................     102,223,000
                 Office of the Architect of the Capitol

    Salaries.--A total of $8,569,000 is recommended for the 
Architect's office in the coming year. The Committee directs 
the Architect to develop and issue requests for proposals for 
various ongoing maintenance activities. These activities are to 
include custodial operations, painting, elevator and escalator 
maintenance, grounds maintenance, shuttle service, maintenance 
of the Library of Congress Special Facilities Center, and other 
areas that the Architect may identify. The Architect should 
make a cost analysis of these proposals and submit the analysis 
together with the proposals to the Chief Administrative Officer 
and/or the appropriate Senate official for evaluation and 
recommendations as they pertain to the respective bodies that 
those officials represent. Those recommendations should be 
given full and complete consideration by the Architect in 
making a final determination. It is expected that the Architect 
will keep the Committee informed as this process unfolds, and 
that consultation shall also be made with the House leadership, 
and the Committee on House Oversight. The Committee expects 
that the RFP's will be issued no later than October 1, 1995, 
and that final recommendations be prepared in time for the 
fiscal year 1997 appropriations hearings.
    The bill does not fund the operations of the flag office, a 
reduction that affects the salaries appropriation and the 
Capitol buildings appropriation. The practice of flying flags 
over the Capitol has been subsidized in the amount of 
approximately $328,000 over and above the actual purchase cost 
of the flags. The Committee believes it may be possible for 
this program to be taken over by the U.S. Capitol Historical 
Society, and operated on a completely non-subsidized basis. As 
such, it could become a fund-raising source for the charitable 
activities of that organization.
    Contingent expenses.--The sum of $100,000 is provided to 
cover the costs of surveys and studies and to meet unforeseen 
expenses.

                     Capitol Buildings and Grounds

    Capitol buildings.--A total of $22,832,000 is recommended 
for the operation and maintenance of the Capitol building and 
the electrical substations of the Senate and House office 
buildings during fiscal year 1996. A reduction has been made 
for the functions transferred to the Capitol police, and flag 
office activities have not been funded. Funds have been 
included ($340,000) for the additional training and other 
resources necessitated by the enactment last year of the Human 
Resources Act for the employees of the Architect of the 
Capitol. Also, an increase for electronic system maintenance 
($73,000), the continuation of the program to replace Minton 
tiles ($100,000), telecommunications infrastructure ($500,000), 
maintenance of the buildings and grounds at Ft. Meade 
($400,000), and fire safety programs ($400,000) have been 
provided. The bill does not include funds for the continuing 
lease of warehouse space at 120 Canal St. SE.
    Capitol grounds.--The appropriation of $5,143,000 is 
recommended for the care and improvement of the grounds 
surrounding the Capitol, the Senate and House office buildings, 
and the Capitol power plant during the ensuing fiscal year. 
This is $941,000 below the request and $127,000 below the 
amount enacted in fiscal year 1995. For training pursuant to 
the Human Resources Act, $33,000 is included; mandatory items 
will be absorbed.
    House office buildings.--The sum of $33,001,000 is 
recommended for the operation of the House office buildings 
during the next fiscal year. Funds and positions for the House 
garage and parking employees have been transferred to the House 
Sergeant at Arms. Mandatory items will be absorbed; $300,000 is 
provided for training pursuant to the Human Resources Act. 
Also, $200,000 is allowed to begin a program of replacing 
windows in the Cannon House Office Building. Funds are provided 
to renovate the House Child Care facility ($62,000); for exit 
door security ($100,000); for lightning protection ($181,000); 
and the first year funding for a fire sprinkler system at 
Rayburn House Office Building ($1,100,000). The Committee 
cautions the Architect's office to coordinate the exit door 
work with the Capitol Police Board.
    Capitol Power Plant.--The Committee recommends the 
appropriation of $32,578,000 for the power plant for fiscal 
year 1996, in addition to offsetting collections of $4,000,000. 
The Committee directs the Architect, in consultation with the 
General Accounting Office, to develop a reimbursement rate for 
charging non-Congressional customers for steam and chilled 
water based on full cost recovery. This new rate should be in 
place in fiscal year 1996. Also, the Committee directs that an 
independent analysis be conducted on the merits and methods for 
privatizing the operation or ownership of the Capitol power 
plant. The Committee believes the international heating and 
cooling industry association would be an excellent choice as a 
participant in this analysis. The Committee will expect to 
receive a proposal from the Architect for the conduct of this 
analysis. Special attention should be given to ensuring this 
analysis is done at arms length, and to avoid contracting with 
parties that may benefit from the prospective outcome.
                          LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

                     Congressional Research Service
1995 appropriation......................................     $60,084,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      65,913,000
Committee recommendation................................      60,083,000

    Salaries and expenses.--The Committee recommends 
$60,083,000 for fiscal year 1996 for the salaries and expenses 
of the Congressional Research Service. This amount is 
consistent with the budget program developed by the Librarian 
of Congress in order to comply with level funding for fiscal 
year 1996. The CRS undoubtedly will be asked to assume some of 
the essential functions of the Office of Technology Assessment 
due to the defunding of that agency. The Committee has also 
included language which will terminate all but incidental and 
the traditionally routine work with the parliaments of foreign 
governments. An exemption is given for ongoing assistance to 
the parliaments of Russia, Ukraine, Albania, Slovakia, and 
Romania. CRS should take appropriate steps to terminate these 
activities by December 31, 1996.

                       GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

                   Congressional Printing and Binding
1995 appropriation......................................     $89,724,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      91,624,000
Committee recommendation................................      88,281,000

    The Committee has included $88,281,000 for printing and 
binding of congressional documents at the Government Printing 
Office for use by Congress and by-law programs. The Committee 
bill eliminates the funding for constituent copies and by-law 
distribution of the Congressional Record, and the free 
distribution of copies of bills, reports, and other documents 
to non-Congressional recipients (other than federal depository 
libraries). This level of funding also is predicated on a 
reduction in the distribution of the Statutes-at-Large to 50 
sets for Congressional use, and a reduction in the number of 
paper-based copies of hearings distributed to Committees. No 
funds are provided for GPO details of printing technicians to 
Congress except certain overhead funds (Committees and others 
will be required to reimburse GPO for these personnel), and 
future supplements to the U.S. Code will not be bound in hard 
cover material. It will be necessary to eliminate all free 
copies of soil surveys sent to Congressional offices (several 
thousand will continue to be distributed through the 
Agriculture Department into local communities), and the special 
binding of Congressional documents will be limited. The 
production and distribution of the bound Congressional Record 
and the bound serial set, both duplicative documents and very 
expensive to compile and print, will be limited to CD-ROM 
format. Additional funds have been allowed to reimburse the 
Superintendent of Documents for the extra cost of printing and 
distributing Congressional documents to the federal 
depositories.
    The funding level in the bill is designed to maximize the 
need to shift as much printing and binding costs from paper-
based products to electronic format, and to focus the printing 
and binding appropriation on the production of material 
essential to conduct legislative activities of the House and 
Senate. That is the purpose of the appropriation of these funds 
and the Committee is attempting to streamline the Congressional 
printing and binding program. As stated elsewhere in this 
report, the Committee will expect the GPO to work closely with 
the Joint Committee on Printing, and the authorizing committees 
that will assume the Joint Committee's functions in fiscal year 
1996, in order to bring about the improvements and reforms 
consistent with the level of funding provided. There will be 
instances when exemptions will have to be given in order to 
meet legislative needs.
    A comparative summary of the recommendation by category of 
work follows:

                   CONGRESSIONAL PRINTING AND BINDING                   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Appropriation                    Recommended 
                               1995        Request 1996        1996     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congressional Record                                                    
 program................     $21,899,000      22,260,000  ..............
Other electronic                                                        
 products...............         700,000         735,000  ..............
Miscellaneous                                                           
 publications...........       8,550,000       7,722,000  ..............
Miscellaneous printing                                                  
 and binding............      15,244,000      16,195,000  ..............
Details to Congress.....       3,472,000       3,780,000  ..............
Document envelopes and                                                  
 document franks........       1,344,000       1,462,000  ..............
Business and committee                                                  
 calendars..............       1,536,000       2,108,000  ..............
Bills, resolutions, and                                                 
 amendments.............      11,700,000      12,118,000  ..............
Committee reports.......       4,230,000       4,998,000  ..............
Documents...............       1,504,000       1,600,000  ..............
Hearings................      17,010,000      16,678,000  ..............
Committee prints........       2,535,000       1,968,000  ..............
                         -----------------------------------------------
      Total.............      89,724,000      91,624,000     $88,281,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        TITLE II--OTHER AGENCIES

    A total of $696,273,000 is recommended for the six agencies 
carried in this title of the bill. This allowance is 
$142,638,000 less than requested and $64,123,000 below the 
amount appropriated in the FY1995 Legislative Branch 
Appropriations Act. This represents a reduction in Title II 
appropriations of 8.4%.
    A summary of the amounts recommended by agency follows:

                        Title II--Other Agencies
                                                        Fiscal year 1996
        Agency                                           recommendations
Botanic Garden (including Conservatory renovation)......     $10,053,000
Library of Congress (except Congressional Research 
    Service)............................................     264,616,000
Architect of the Capitol: Library buildings and grounds.      12,428,000
Government Printing Office (except Congressional 
    Printing and Binding)...............................      16,312,000
General Accounting Office (net appropriation)...........     392,864,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
        Total...........................................     696,273,000
                             BOTANIC GARDEN

                         Salaries and Expenses
1995 appropriation......................................      $3,230,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      10,370,000
Committee recommendation................................      10,053,000

    The amount recommended for the Botanic Garden is 
$10,053,000, including $7,000,000 for the conservatory 
renovation. The bill limits the total cost of the conservatory 
renovation to not to exceed $21,000,000. The Architect of the 
Capitol should revise the project design to comply with the 
limitation of cost. The design and project documents should not 
be predicated on leaving portions of this needed renovation 
unfinished. The design should be aimed at doing the entire 
project for less than $21,000,000, allowing a small 
contingency. A reduced level of training funds ($23,000) has 
been provided to carry out the Architect of the Capitol Human 
Resources Act, and mandatory items will be absorbed in the 
base.
    The bill contains language increasing the limit of cost of 
the National Garden project from $6,000,000 to $10,000,000, all 
from privately donated funds. The bill also contains a 
provision which transfers, no later than October 1, 1996, the 
Botanic Garden to the Department of Agriculture. This transfer 
includes jurisdiction over buildings, other property, and 
staff, and includes land and nursery facilities, and will be 
conducted under an agreement between the Architect of the 
Capitol, acting on behalf and under the direction of the Joint 
Committee on the Library, and the Secretary of Agriculture. 
Notwithstanding this transfer, the Architect of the Capitol 
shall retain authority for completing the design and 
construction of the National Garden and the conservatory 
renovation project. It is intended that the Botanic Garden will 
remain a display garden and continue as a source of plants and 
flowers for the Capitol grounds and buildings, as authorized by 
House and Senate policies. Certain traditional Congressional 
uses of the Botanic Garden facilities will be maintained, under 
conditions imposed by the Secretary including the remission of 
fees.
    The Committee believes this transfer is completely 
compatible with the existing program being carried out at the 
National Arboretum, an Agriculture Research Service agency very 
similar to the Botanic Garden. An improved horticulture program 
should result from this merger, and a more efficient 
administrative structure will be possible. A major advantage 
will be a streamlined program, where federal expenditures will 
be consolidated and reduced.

                          LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

                (Except Congressional Research Service)

    The Committee recommends appropriations totaling 
$264,616,000 for the operations of the Library of Congress 
(except the Congressional Research Service which is carried in 
title I of the bill) for fiscal year 1996. The following table 
summarizes the allocation of funds by appropriation account:
                          Library of Congress
        Item                                                     Amounts
Fiscal Year 1996:
    Salaries and expenses...............................    $203,795,000
    Copyright Office....................................      10,988,000
    Books for the blind and physically handicapped......      44,951,000
    Furniture and furnishings...........................       4,882,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................     264,616,000
                            Total Resources

    The Library also receives funds from other appropriations 
and sources estimated to total $210,638,000 for fiscal year 
1996 including $60,083,000 for the Congressional Research 
Service in title I of the bill, and $12,428,000 appropriated to 
the Architect of the Capitol for the structural and mechanical 
care of the Library buildings. The remainder consists of 
receipts from copyright fees and the sale of catalog cards and 
publications, income from gift and trust funds, and 
reimbursements for services performed for other Government 
agencies. Thus, a total of $475,254,000 from all sources will 
be available to the Library during the next fiscal year. Of 
that amount, $123,984,000 (26.1%) is for support of Congress. 
The balance is general government or public service in nature, 
such as American Folklife Center, Copyright Office, and Books 
for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
    A breakdown by source and amount of funding follows:
               Total resources, Library of Congress, 1996
        Item                                                      Amount
Annual appropriations:
    Title I--Congressional Research Service.............     $60,083,000
    Title II--Library (direct)..........................     264,616,000
    Architect of the Capitol, Library buildings and 
      grounds...........................................      12,428,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total annual appropriations (in bill).............     337,127,000
    Receipts from copyright fees and sale of catalog 
      cards and publications............................      27,699,000
    Gift, trust and revolving funds.....................      26,555,000
    Reimbursement for services performed................      83,873,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................     475,254,000
                         Salaries and Expenses
1995 appropriation......................................    $202,295,000
1996 budget estimate....................................     223,711,000
Committee recommendation................................     203,795,000
    (Plus: Authority to spend receipts).................     (7,869,000)
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total available...................................     211,664,000

    The sum of $211,664,000, including $7,869,000 in offsetting 
receipts, is recommended for salaries and expenses which is the 
basic appropriation for the operation of Library programs, a 
reduction of $19,916,000 under the budget request and an 
increase of $1,500,000 above 1995. The Committee has approved 
the $3,000,000 requested for the National Digital Library 
project. The Committee believes there are several possibilities 
for outsourcing Library activities. The Librarian of Congress 
should consider such options and prepare a report to the 
Committee outlining the findings. For example, it should be 
possible to contract out for building security and for the 
remote storage facility when that project comes on line, 
including the original preparation and transfer of the 
collections. Also, the Library should review the need for 
staffing at the remote facility. There is abundant evidence 
that other libraries with comparable facilities have used 
students, part time employees, and similar staffing, quite 
satisfactorily. These would be ideal job opportunities for such 
relatively low-paid personnel, and would provide the necessary 
skills for the nature of the workload at the proposed facility. 
Alternatively, the Library may want to explore a facilities 
management arrangement with suitable private sector firms.
    All mandatory increases will be absorbed within the base 
budget. In addition to the budget request for the digital 
library project ( 36 FTE's and $3,000,000) which has been 
approved, other increases are two positions and $121,094 for 
the global legal information network (GLIN); and $500,000 for 
the remote storage project. In addition, the Committee has made 
a base reduction of $1,500,000. While this reduction is not 
specified, it should be possible to make savings in the 
cataloging distribution operation from lower priority 
publications used by the Library which are subsidized by the 
receipts collected from the libraries who purchase cataloging 
material and records from the Library. Moreover, there is ample 
precedent for the Library to raise private funding for the 
American Folklife Center. This is the method used by the 
Western Folklife Center, located in Elko, Nevada. The budget 
request contemplates fund raising for this program, and the 
Committee encourages the Library to proceed with those plans. A 
net reduction of 42 FTE's has been taken to offset the 
mandatory, GLIN and remote storage increases and is based on 
the level budget program devised by Library management.

                            Copyright Office
1995 appropriation......................................     $10,045,000
1996 budget request.....................................      13,106,000
Committee recommendation................................      10,988,000
    (Plus: Authority to spend receipts).................    (19,830,000)
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total available...................................      30,818,000

    Salaries and expenses.--The appropriation of $10,988,000 is 
provided for the Copyright Office during fiscal year 1996, and 
authority has been provided to spend up to $19,830,000 in 
copyright fee receipts and in assessments to the copyright 
owners fund for the costs of administering the copyright 
royalty program. This level of funding will allow the Copyright 
Office Electronic Registration, Recordation, & Deposit System 
to proceed and will provide funds for responsibilities 
established in the GATT agreement. A net reduction of 12 FTE's 
has been taken to offset these increases, based on the level 
budget program.

             Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
1995 appropriation......................................     $44,951,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      47,583,000
Committee recommendation................................      44,951,000

    Salaries and expenses.--A total of $44,951,000 is 
recommended for this public service program in fiscal year 
1996, the same level as provided in fiscal year 1995. This 
funding level permits the centralization of the Braille 
distribution program out of savings.

                       Furniture and Furnishings
1995 appropriation......................................      $5,825,000
1996 budget estimate....................................       5,825,000
Committee recommendation................................       4,882,000

    The bill provides a total of $4,882,000 for Library 
furniture and furnishings for fiscal year 1996.
                       Administrative Provisions

    The routine administrative provisions have been approved by 
the Committee. In addition, a provision has been included that 
limits the Congressional Research Service assistance to foreign 
parliaments to the parliaments of Russia, Ukraine, Albania, 
Slovakia, and Romania. The Committee has been informed that all 
work under this program, sponsored by the Agency for 
International Development, will be completed by December 31, 
1996. This assistance, originally contemplated for the Polish 
parliament, has expanded far beyond the scope described to the 
Committee when the program began. This activity should be 
terminated, and the resources redirected toward the core 
mission of CRS. A return to normal and routine intermittent 
discussions and information sharing between the Library of 
Congress, including CRS, and its international counterparts is 
encouraged.
    The Committee has also amended an earlier statute which 
requires the obligation of certain non-appropriated funds to be 
included in the budget program submitted in the annual 
justification of estimates and to be subject to annual 
appropriations. Gift and trust fund expenditures, above a 
threshold of $100,000, will be subject to the same limitations 
beginning with fiscal year 1997. These funds are becoming 
significant supplements to core programs of the Library of 
Congress and are being commingled with appropriated funds. The 
Congress must retain oversight over these expenditures and 
their impact on Library of Congress programs. A satisfactory 
method can be found in the precedent already established for 
the cataloging distribution service and the copyright program. 
In both cases, fees and collections are used to offset 
appropriated amounts, but the entire program is reflected in 
the budget request and in the terms of the obligational 
authority established in the annual appropriations bill. The 
threshold will exempt certain funds established for special 
purposes such as the purchase of a rare manuscript, sponsorship 
of an exhibit, or other instances where the traditional gift 
and trust fund accountability is suitable.
                        ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
                     Library Buildings and Grounds
1995 appropriation......................................     $12,483,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      19,929,000
Committee recommendation................................      12,428,000

    The Committee bill provides $12,428,000 for the care and 
maintenance of the Library of Congress buildings and grounds, 
which is administered by the Architect of the Capitol. 
Mandatory items ($67,000), training pursuant to the AOC 
employee Human Resources Act ($46,000), and several cyclical 
maintenance projects ($100,000 for smoke detectors and $150,000 
for elevator modernization, both at the Madison building, and 
$3,000,000 to replace the electronics in the book conveyor 
system) have been allowed. They will be financed through 
nonrecurring reductions and a base reduction of 8 FTEs.
                       GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
              (Except Congressional Printing and Binding)
                 Office of Superintendent of Documents
1995 appropriation......................................     $32,207,000
1996 budget estimate....................................      30,307,000
Committee recommendation................................      16,312,000

    The Committee recommends the appropriation of $16,312,000 
for the salaries and expenses of the Superintendent of 
Documents, a part of the Government Printing Office. The 
principal component is the federal depository library program, 
which is responsible for the 1400 libraries throughout the 
country that make federal documents available at the state and 
local level. The Committee acknowledges the success of the GPO 
Access program but believes that the management of this program 
should become much more aggressive in converting or encouraging 
the publishing agencies of the federal government to convert to 
electronic format and distribution. The appearance is that GPO 
is more focused on ensuring that all documents flow physically 
through the agency rather than finding means to accomplish the 
basic purpose of getting the information into the depository 
distribution system. There are frequent references to the 
``fugitive document'' problem, but GPO invests little of their 
nationwide organizational resources in identifying specific 
documents which are not in compliance with the statutory 
requirement other than those that are brought to the attention 
of the program. Facts, therefore, on the extent of this problem 
are meager.
    The bill includes language requiring agencies to reimburse 
the Superintendent of Documents for the cost of printing, 
binding, and distribution to the depositories of paper and 
microfiche formatted documents. It is the intent of the 
Committee that these costs should be reflected in the budgets 
of the publishing agencies that originate the documents. The 
Congress itself will be the most affected by this provision, 
fully $5.8 million of the reimbursements will be paid out of 
the Congressional printing and binding appropriation.
    The chargeback mechanism will have several beneficial 
effects. It will place cost where it belongs: in the publishing 
agency's budget; it will, therefore, create a market-like 
incentive to find ways to reduce cost which very likely will 
result in more cost-effective conversions to electronic format, 
exactly the direction in which federal information resource 
management should move; it will also prove cost effective to 
the GPO and state and local libraries since it will reduce 
space needs and increase the potential for sharing through 
electronic data bases. It will also create additional 
incentives for the Superintendent of Documents to assist in the 
compliance of the agencies with their statutory 
responsibilities to place their covered publications in the 
depository program. It may also lead GPO to develop centralized 
electronic capabilities that will provide the originating 
agencies with a potentially more cost-effective alternative 
than decentralized agency processes. This approach will require 
the Superintendent of Documents to focus GPO on management and 
technical assistance. It will be important to work closely with 
originating agencies, other distributors of federal documents 
such as National Technical Information Service, the Library of 
Congress, and with the information industry and the depository 
community. The Committee's intent is that the public's access 
to information through Federal Depository Libraries will not be 
reduced as a result of these policies, but will be maintained 
and enhanced. The Committee expects the Superintendent of 
Documents to monitor these new policies and report about the 
progress of the agencies in converting to electronic format and 
distribution, complying with the reimbursement policy, and the 
effects of these policies on the availability of documents to 
the public.
    The Library of Congress, in particular, should be consulted 
since they are expending a significant effort in digitization 
technology. The Superintendent of Documents is directed to 
review those efforts and other alternatives and report to the 
Committee on the possibilities of merging those efforts, or at 
least deriving benefits for the depository program from the 
technology being developed at the Library. That report will be 
helpful if delivered to the Committee no later than the 
submission of the fiscal year 1997 budget program.

               Government Printing Office Revolving Fund
1995 Appropriation......................................................
1996 Budget Estimate....................................     $15,420,000
Committee Recommendation................................................

    Revolving fund.--The Committee has not allowed the 
$15,420,000 requested for capital improvements at the 
Government Printing Office building, and notes that the agency 
has the authority to charge building repairs against revolving 
fund receipts. The bill includes the usual language authorizing 
the operation of the revolving fund, authority to hire or 
purchase automobiles, advisory councils, consultants, and 
flextime. The limit on FTE's has been set at 3,900. The Public 
Printer is directed to study the outsourcing of security and 
custodial care at GPO facilities. The Committee will expect a 
report on the feasibility and plans for outsourcing these 
services in time for the FY1997 appropriations hearings.
                       GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE

                         Salaries and Expenses
1995 appropriation......................................    $449,360,000
1996 budget estimate....................................     472,660,000
Committee recommendation................................     392,864,000
Offsetting collections..................................     (8,400,000)
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total available...................................     401,264,000

    The Committee has provided $392,864,000 in direct 
appropriations for the General Accounting Office. Additionally, 
$8,400,000 is authorized in offsetting collections derived from 
rent receipts and reimbursements for conducting financial 
audits of government corporations. These receipts will be used 
for the operations and maintenance of the headquarters 
building, including the asbestos removal and renovation 
project. The appropriation is $79,796,000 less than the amount 
requested and $56,496,000 below the amount appropriated in 
fiscal year 1995. This funding will support 3,947 FTE's and 
represents a reduction of 15% from current year staffing. The 
Committee plans to reduce GAO staffing by 25% over the next two 
years. This reduction, when combined with reductions already 
taken since 1992, will result in an agency workforce which will 
have been downsized by 35%.
    The Committee believes that GAO can accomplish its core 
mission at the recommended level. Additional funding has been 
provided for outsourcing audit and evaluation work, which will 
increase the flexibility to acquire needed ad hoc expertise and 
take advantage of private sector financial auditing 
capabilities. GAO can focus a higher proportion of their 
internal staff on audit oversight, an adjustment that naturally 
coincides with the additional resources expended in the 
executive branch due to the Chief Financial Officers Act and 
the efforts of the inspectors' general throughout the federal 
government. In addition, the Committee directs that work for 
Congressional committees be given high priority, which is the 
mission of the agency established in the enabling legislation. 
Some of the lower priority work without national issue content 
can also be outsourced, assuming sufficient resources are 
available.
    GAO should also contract for administrative support 
activities, such as printing, mailhandling, library services, 
accounting, counseling and related personnel services, and 
supply functions. The Personnel Appeals Board and bid protest 
functions should be reviewed; the GAO should consult with the 
oversight committees to find more appropriate placement for 
these functions. Funding has been included for the asbestos 
removal and renovation project, and the local area network 
project, including the data collection and analysis 
application.
    The bill provides no funds after June 30, 1996 for claims 
settlement and judgment fund activities, primarily accounting 
and disbursement activities. There is language transferring 
these functions to the executive branch, contingent upon the 
transfer of personnel, budget authority and other resources. 
The Committee has taken this action because claims and judgment 
duties are not legislative activities and detract from the 
essential purposes of the agency. The Comptroller General is 
directed to work with the director of the Office of Management 
and Budget to ensure an appropriate transition.

                     TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

    The customary language regarding emergency assistance for 
vehicles, positions and allowances, consulting services and buy 
American is included. Section 306 transfers garage and parking 
attendants to the House rolls; section 307 prohibits funds from 
being used for relocating the office of any Member within House 
office buildings; section 308 transfers certain security 
functions and personnel to the Capitol police; section 309 
amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to provide 
that a study of certain legislative agencies be performed by 
the Compliance Board in lieu of the Administrative Conference 
of the United States; section 310 provides that the military 
police at Fort Meade, Maryland has jurisdiction of a parcel of 
property within the perimeter of that military installation 
that has been assigned to the legislative branch; and section 
311 transfers the Botanic Garden to the Secretary of 
Agriculture.

                     INFLATIONARY IMPACT STATEMENT

    Clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the House of Representatives 
requires that each committee report on a bill or resolution 
shall contain a statement as to whether enactment of the bill 
or resolution would have an inflationary impact on prices and 
costs in the operation of the national economy. It is the 
considered judgment of the Committee that enactment of this 
bill would have little overall inflationary impact on the 
operation of the national economy.

                   COMPARISON WITH BUDGET RESOLUTION

    Section 308(a)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), as amended, 
requires that the report accompanying a bill providing new 
budget authority contain a statement detailing how that 
authority compares with the reports submitted under section 
602(b) of the Act for the most recently agreed to concurrent 
resolution on the budget for the fiscal year.
    This information follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Sec. 602(b)                      This bill          
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Budget                          Budget                    
                                                     authority        Outlays        authority        Outlays   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discretionary...................................          $2,262          $2,279          $1,727          $1,721
Mandatory.......................................              92              92              92              92
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.....................................           2,354           2,371           1,819          1,8103
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The bill provides no new spending authority as described in 
section 401(c)(2) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), as amended.

                    FIVE-YEAR PROJECTION OF OUTLAYS

    In accordance with section 308(a)(1)(C) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), as amended, the 
following table contains five-year projections of the outlays 
associated with the budget authority provided in the 
accompanying bill:

                    Five-Year Projection of Outlays
                                                           [In millions]
Budget authority........................................          $1,727
Outlays:
    1996................................................           1,543
    1997................................................             167
    1998................................................               7
    1999................................................               7
    2000................................................               4
               ASSISTANCE TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

    In accordance with section 308(a)(1)(D) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), as amended, the 
Committee is required to report new budget authority and 
outlays providing financial assistance to State and local 
governments. The accompanying bill contains no funding for 
State and local assistance programs.

                           TRANSFERS OF FUNDS

    Pursuant to clause 1(b), rule X of the House of 
Representatives, the following information is submitted 
describing the transfers of funds recommended in the 
accompanying bill: Certain unexpended balances of security 
funds are transferred from the Architect of the Capitol to the 
appropriation for the general expenses of the Capitol Police; 
certain unexpended balances of appropriations for the Botanic 
Garden are transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture; certain 
budget authority is transferred from the General Accounting 
Office to the Office of Management and Budget.

                              RESCISSIONS

    Pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule X of the House of 
Representatives, the following table is submitted describing 
the rescissions recommended in the accompanying bill:
    There are no rescissions recommended in the bill.

                  Appropriations Not Authorized by Law

    Pursuant to clause 3 of rule XXI of the House of 
Representatives, the following table lists the appropriations 
in the accompanying bill which are not authorized by law:
    Under the heading ``LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Salaries and 
Expenses'', the matter relating to the American Folklife Center

               CHANGES IN THE APPLICATION OF EXISTING LAW

    Pursuant to clause 3, rule XXI of the House of 
Representatives, the following statements are submitted 
describing the effect of provisions in the accompanying bill 
which directly or indirectly change the application of existing 
law:
    1. The bill provides that certain appropriation items 
remain available for more than one year where programs or 
projects are continuing in nature under the provisions of 
authorizing legislation but for which that legislation does not 
specifically authorize such extended availability. Most of 
these items have been carried in previous appropriation bills. 
This authority tends to result in savings by removing the 
incentive to commit funds at the end of the fiscal year.
    2. The bill includes a number of provisions which place 
limitations on, or authorize or reauthorize, the use of funds 
in the bill, or change or extend existing limitations or 
authorizations, and which under some circumstances, might be 
construed as changing the application of existing law.
    3. There is language which allows reimbursement for service 
to be used by the servicing entity.
    4. The bill continues the practice of providing official 
reception and representation allowances for officers and 
offices of the legislative branch.
    5. The bill authorizes expenses for employee awards, such 
as certificates or plaques and related ceremonial 
presentations, by certain agencies.
    6. Sections 101 and 102 authorize the collection of certain 
fees and rebates for deposit in the Treasury.
    7. There is language in Sec. 103 which makes the provisions 
of certain House resolutions permanent law.
    8. Section 104 transfers five statutory positions.
    9. Section 105 provides that certain travel be governed by 
applicable laws or regulations.
    10. Sections 106 and 107 abolish certain revolving funds; 
section 107A provides for cost of goods sold.
    11. Section 108 makes technical amendments to the House 
Employee Classification Act.
    12. Section 109 establishes a severance pay procedure.
    13. Section 110 adjusts certain allowances.
    14. Under the Joint Committee on Taxation, there is a 
limitation regarding the determination of certain tax refunds.
    15. There is language under ``Capitol Police Board, General 
expenses'' authorizing advance payments for travel by Capitol 
police personnel for training or other purposes, expenses 
associated with the relocation of liaison or instructor 
personnel from the Capitol police force to and from the Federal 
Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, and for the 
costs of basic training of police personnel.
    16. The bill authorizes the transfer of funds within 
``Capitol police, salaries'', and between ``Capitol police, 
salaries,'' and ``General expenses,'' subject to approval.
    17. There is language abolishing a Congressional board.
    18. There is language exempting the Congressional Budget 
Office from the requirement that all price reductions provided 
by vendors must be offered government-wide and providing 
authority for property disposal.
    19. There is language authorizing the CBO to exclude 
certain employees from FERS retirement coverage.
    20. There is language under ``Capitol Power Plant'', 
Architect of the Capitol, allowing reimbursements for chilled 
water and steam provided to the Government Printing Office, the 
Washington City Post Office, the Supreme Court, the Thurgood 
Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, Union Station Complex and 
the Folger Shakespeare Library to be credited to this 
appropriation and made available for obligation.
    21. There is language under ``Congressional Research 
Service'' which prohibits the publication of material unless 
approved by the appropriate committees, and language is 
extended regarding the compensation of the Director.
    22. There is language under ``Congressional printing and 
binding'' restricting the use of funds appropriated to the 
Government Printing Office for the permanent edition of the 
Congressional Record for individual Senators, Representatives, 
Resident Commissioners, or Delegates, and language providing 
that appropriations recommended shall be available for the 
payment of obligations incurred under appropriations for 
similar purposes for preceding fiscal years, primarily due to 
the unpredictability of the volume of work generated by the 
Congress.
    23. Section 201 amends limitations established in section 
307E of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1989 and in 
section 201 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1993, 
regarding the National Garden.
    24. There is authority to expend funds collected under the 
authority of 2 U.S.C. 150.
    25. Appropriations are provided for the American Folklife 
Center, a program not authorized for fiscal year 1996.
    26. There is a limitation on funding for attendance at 
meetings for the Library of Congress and limiting top-level 
management participation in compressed work schedules.
    27. There is a limitation on the number of indirect 
employees to 65 that are paid from appropriated funds received 
by the Library of Congress from other agencies. These funds are 
generated by performing reimbursable work for these other 
agencies and are used to cover general and administrative 
overhead work generated by these reimbursable programs.
    28. Section 208 limits obligational authority for 
assistance to foreign parliaments.
    29. Section 209 amends the limitations on Library of 
Congress use of non-appropriated funds, effective October 1, 
1996.
    30. There is language under ``Salaries and Expenses'', 
Office of Superintendent of Documents, which limits travel 
expenses and which authorizes the use of current appropriations 
for printing certain publications for the depository library 
program.
    31. Section 210 provides reimbursement to the 
Superintendent of Documents for the costs of printing and 
distributing certain publications.
    32. There is language authorizing the operation of the GPO 
revolving fund, and which authorizes travel expenses for 
advisory councils.
    33. Under the GPO revolving fund, there is language which 
provides expenses not to exceed $75,000 for attendance at 
meetings.
    34. The bill includes a limitation on GPO employment of not 
more than 3,900 full-time equivalent work years.
    35. There is a limitation on the participation of top-level 
management at GPO in flexible or compressed work schedules.
    36. There is language relating to the General Accounting 
Office authorizing the direct procurement of expert and 
consultant services under 5 U.S.C. 3109, at certain rates; 
authorizing the hire of one passenger motor vehicle, as 
required by 31 U.S.C. 1343; authorizing the General Accounting 
Office to make advance payments in foreign countries in 
accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3324; and to provide benefits, 
including rental of living quarters in foreign countries and 
travel benefits, comparable to those provided under specified 
sections of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended 
(these benefits are not otherwise available to General 
Accounting Office employees); and appropriations for 
administrative expenses of any other member department or 
agency, available to finance an appropriate share of the costs 
of the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP); 
asbestos removal; the American Consortium on International 
Public Administration (ACIPA), and the National 
Intergovernmental Audit Forum or a Regional Intergovernmental 
Audit Forum. The ACIPA language satisfies the requirements of 
P.L. 100-202.
    37. Section 211 transfers certain functions of the General 
Accounting Office effective June 30, 1996, and authorizes the 
transfer of resources.
    38. In Section 301, there is language prohibiting the use 
of funds in the Act 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 issued by the Committee on House Oversight and for 
the Senate by the Committee on Rules and Administration.
    39. Section 303 provides that whenever any office or 
position not specifically established by the Legislative Pay 
Act of 1929 is appropriated for herein or whenever the rate of 
compensation or designation of any position appropriated for 
herein is different from that specifically established for such 
position by such Act, the rate of compensation and the 
designation of the position, or either, appropriated for or 
provided herein, shall be the permanent law with respect 
thereto: Provided that the provisions herein for the various 
items of official expenses of Members, officers, and committees 
of the Senate and House, and clerk hire for Senators and 
Members shall be the permanent law with respect thereto.
    40. Section 304 requires that certain information regarding 
consulting services shall be a matter of public record.
    41. Section 305 is a sense of Congress provision regarding 
American-made products.
    42. Section 306 transfers certain positions to the House 
Sergeant at Arms.
    43. Section 307 prohibits certain relocations within House 
office buildings.
    44. Section 308 transfers certain security installation 
personnel and funds to the Capitol Police.
    45. Section 309 amends the Congressional Accountability Act 
regarding a study of certain legislative agencies.
    46. Section 310 authorizes the military police at Fort 
Meade, Maryland to have police jurisdiction over certain 
property on that military installation assigned to the 
legislative branch.
    47. Section 311 transfers the Botanic Garden to the 
Secretary of Agriculture, effective October 1, 1996.

                  COMPLIANCE WITH CLAUSE 3--RULE XIII
         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the 
bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed 
to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed 
is shown in roman):

              HOUSE EMPLOYEES POSITION CLASSIFICATION ACT

          * * * * * * *

                              application

  Sec. 3. This Act shall apply to--
          (1) all positions under the Clerk, the Sergeant at 
        Arms, the [Doorkeeper, and the Postmaster,] Chief 
        Administrative Officer, and the Inspector General of 
        the House of Representatives, except the positions of 
        telephone operator and positions on the United States 
        Capitol Police force;
          * * * * * * *

                         compensation schedules

  Sec. 4. (a) * * *
  (b) The committee shall establish and maintain, and, from 
time to time, may revise, for positions under the Clerk, the 
Sergeant at Arms, the [Doorkeeper, and the Postmaster,] Chief 
Administrative Officer, and the Inspector General of the House 
of Representatives, the compensation for which, in the judgment 
of the committee, should be fixed and adjusted from time to 
time in accordance with prevailing rates, a compensation 
schedule providing for per annum or per hour rates, or both, 
established in accordance with prevailing rates and consisting 
of such number of compensation levels and steps as the 
committee deems appropriate, which shall be known as the 
``House Wage Schedule'' and for which the symbol shall be 
``HWS''. The rates of compensation for such positions shall be 
in accordance with such schedule.

                  position standards and descriptions

  Sec. 5. (a) * * *
  (b)(1) Subject to review and approval by the committee, the 
Clerk, the Sergeant at Arms, the [Doorkeeper, and the 
Postmaster,] Chief Administrative Officer, and the Inspector 
General of the House of Representatives, shall prepare, revise, 
and (on a current basis) maintain, at such times and in such 
form as the committee deems appropriate, position descriptions 
of the respective positions (in existence on, or established 
after, the effective date of this Act) under the House of 
Representatives to which this Act applies which are under their 
respective jurisdictions, including--
          (A) * * *
          * * * * * * *
  (c) The Clerk, the Sergeant at Arms, the [Doorkeeper, and the 
Postmaster,] Chief Administrative Officer, and the Inspector 
General of the House of Representatives, shall transmit to the 
committee, at such times and in such form as the committee 
deems appropriate, all position descriptions required by 
subsection (b) of this section to be prepared, provided, and 
currently maintained by them, together with such other 
pertinent information as the committee may require, in order 
that the committee shall have, at all times, current 
information with respect to such position descriptions, the 
positions to which such descriptions apply, and related 
personnel matters within the purview of this Act. Such 
information so transmitted shall be kept on file in the 
committee.
          * * * * * * *
                              ----------                              

       SECTION 441 OF THE LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1970

        establishment and operation of the capitol guide service

  Sec. 441. (a) * * *
          * * * * * * *
  (k) In addition to any other function under this section, the 
Capitol Guide Service shall provide special services to Members 
of Congress, and to officers, employees, and guests of 
Congress.
                              ----------                              


     SECTION 310 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1990

  [Sec. 310. There is established, as a joint office of 
Congress, the Special Services Office, which (under the 
supervision and control of a board, to be known as the Special 
Services Board, comprised of the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives, the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the 
Senate, and the Librarian of Congress) shall provide special 
services to Members of Congress, and to officers, employees, 
and guests of Congress.]
                              ----------                              

              SECTION 8402 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE

Sec. 8402. Federal Employees' Retirement System; exclusions

  (a) * * *
          * * * * * * *
  (c)(1) * * *
          * * * * * * *
  (7) The Director of the Congressional Budget Office may 
exclude from the operation of this chapter an employee under 
the Congressional Budget Office whose employment is temporary 
or intermittent.
  [(7)] (8) The Director of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts may exclude from the operation of this 
chapter an employee of the Administrative Office of the United 
States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, or a court named by 
section 610 of title 28, whose employment is temporary or of 
uncertain duration.
          * * * * * * *

     SECTION 201 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1993

                        Administrative Provision

  Sec. 201. Pursuant to section 307E of the Legislative Branch 
Appropriations Act, 1989 (40 U.S.C. 216c), not more than 
[$6,000,000] $10,000,000 shall be accepted and not more than 
[$6,000,000] $10,000,000 of the amounts accepted shall be 
available for obligation by the Architect of the Capitol for 
constructing, equipping, and maintaining the National Garden.
                              ----------                              

    SECTION 307E OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1989

  Sec. 307E. (a) The Architect of the Capitol, subject to the 
direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, is authorized 
to--
          (1) construct a National Garden demonstrating the 
        diversity of [plans] plants, including the rose, our 
        national flower, to be located between Maryland and 
        Independence Avenues, S.W., and extending from the 
        Botanic Garden Conservatory to Third Streets, S.W., in 
        the District of Columbia; and
          * * * * * * *
                              ----------                              

     SECTION 206 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1994

  Sec. 206. [Effective for fiscal years beginning with fiscal 
year 1995, obligations for any reimbursable and revolving fund 
activities performed by the Library of Congress are limited to 
the total amounts provided] Obligations for reimbursable 
activities and revolving fund activities performed by the 
Library of Congress and obligations exceeding $100,000 for a 
fiscal year for any single gift fund activity or trust fund 
activity performed by the Library of Congress are limited to 
the amounts provided for such purposes (1) in the annual 
regular appropriations Act making appropriations for the 
legislative branch, or (2) in a supplemental appropriations Act 
that makes appropriations for the legislative branch.
                              ----------                              

              SECTION 1903 OF TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE

Sec. 1903.  Distribution of publications to depositories; notice to 
                    Government components; cost of printing and binding

  Upon request of the Superintendent of Documents, components 
of the Government ordering the printing of publications shall 
either increase or decrease the number of copies of 
publications furnished for distribution to designated 
depository libraries and State libraries so that the number of 
copies delivered to the Superintendent of Documents is equal to 
the number of libraries on the list. The number thus delivered 
may not be restricted by any statutory limitation in force on 
August 9, 1962. Copies of publications furnished the 
Superintendent of Documents for distribution to designated 
depository libraries shall include--
          the journals of the Senate and House of 
        Representatives;
          all publications, not confidential in character, 
        printed upon the requisition of a congressional 
        committee;
          Senate and House public bills and resolutions; and
          reports on private bills, concurrent or simple 
        resolutions;
but not so-called cooperative publications which must 
necessarily be sold in order to be self-sustaining.
  The Superintendent of Documents shall currently inform the 
components of the Government ordering printing of publications 
as to the number of copies of their publications required for 
distribution to depository libraries. [The cost of printing and 
binding those publications distributed to depository libraries 
obtained elsewhere than from the Government Printing Office, 
shall be borne by components of the Government responsible for 
their issuance; those requisitioned from the Government 
Printing Office shall be charged to appropriations provided the 
Superintendent of Documents for that purpose.] The cost of 
production and distribution for publications distributed to 
depository libraries--
          (1) in paper or microfiche formats, whether or not 
        such publications are requisitioned from or through the 
        Government Printing Office, shall be borne by the 
        components of the Government responsible for their 
        issuance; and
          (2) in other than paper or microfiche formats--
                  (A) if such publications are requisitioned 
                from or through the Government Printing Office, 
                shall be charged to appropriations provided to 
                the Superintendent of Documents for that 
                purpose; and
                  (B) if such publications are obtained 
                elsewhere than from the Government Printing 
                Office, shall be borne by the components of the 
                Government responsible for their issuance.
                              ----------                              

      SECTION 230 OF THE CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995

SEC. 230.  STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING GENERAL ACCOUNTING 
                    OFFICE, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, AND LIBRARY OF 
                    CONGRESS.

  (a) In General.--The [Administrative Conference of the United 
States] Board shall undertake a study of--
          (1) the application of the laws listed in subsection 
        (b) to--
                  (A) the General Accounting Office;
                  (B) the Government Printing Office; and
                  (C) the Library of Congress; and
          (2) the regulations and procedures used by the 
        entities referred to in paragraph (1) to apply and 
        enforce such laws to themselves and their employees.
          * * * * * * *
  (d) Deadline and Delivery of Study.--Not later than December 
31, 1996--
          (1) the [Administrative Conference of the United 
        States] Board shall prepare and complete the study and 
        recommendations required under this section [and shall 
        submit the study and recommendations to the Board]; and
          * * * * * * *
                              ----------                              

   SECTION 122 OF THE MILITARY CONSTRUCTION APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1994

  Sec. 122. (a) * * *
          * * * * * * *
  (d) Any real property and improvements thereon transferred 
pursuant to this section shall be under the jurisdiction of the 
Architect of the Capitol, subject to the rules and regulations 
providing for the use of such property as may be approved by 
the House Office Building Commission and the Senate Committee 
on Rules and Administration: Provided, That any existing 
improvements made available by the Architect to the Librarian 
of Congress, under the direction of the Joint Committee on the 
Library, or hereafter erected upon such real property pursuant 
to law for the purposes of providing for the long term storage 
and service needs of the Library of Congress shall be subject 
to the provisions of sections 136, 141 and 167 to 167j of title 
2, United States Code. The Provost Marshal (U.S. Army Military 
Police), Fort George G. Meade, is authorized to police the real 
property, including improvements thereon, transferred under 
subsection (a), and to make arrests on the said real property 
and within any improvements situated thereon for any violation 
of any law of the United States, the District of Columbia, or 
any State, or of any regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, 
and such authority shall be construed as authorizing the 
Provost Marshal, with the consent or upon the request of the 
Librarian of Congress or his assistants, to enter any 
improvements situated on the said real property that are under 
the jurisdiction of the Library of Congress to make arrests or 
to patrol such structures.
          * * * * * * *