[House Report 104-657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     104-657
_______________________________________________________________________


 
              LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 1997

                                _______
                                

  July 8, 1996.--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

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                      [To accompany H.R. 104-3754]

    The Committee on Appropriations submits the following 
report in explanation of the accompanying bill making 
appropriations for the legislative branch for the fiscal year 
1997, and for other purposes.

                        INDEX TO BILL AND REPORT

_______________________________________________________________________


                                                            Page number

                                                            Bill Report
Summary of bill............................................
                                                                      2
Highlights of bill.........................................
                                                                      4
Structure of bill..........................................
                                                                      7
Legislative branch wide matters............................
                                                                      7
Title I--Congressional operations:
        House of Representatives...........................     2
                                                                      9
        Joint Items:
                Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies of 
                    1997...................................     7
                                                                     16
                Joint Economic Committee...................     7
                                                                     16
                Joint Committee on Printing................     8
                                                                     16
                Joint Committee on Taxation................     8
                                                                     16
                Office of the Attending Physician..........     8
                                                                     17
                Capitol Police Board.......................     9
                                                                     17
                Capitol Guide Service and Special Services 
                    Office.................................    11
                                                                     18
                Statements of Appropriations...............    12
                                                                     18
        Office of Compliance...............................    12
                                                                     18
        Congressional Budget Office........................    12
                                                                     18
        Architect of the Capitol (except Senate and Title 
            II items)......................................    14
                                                                     19
        Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress    16
                                                                     21
        Congressional printing and binding, Government 
            Printing Office................................    17
                                                                     21
Title II--Other agencies:
        Botanic Garden.....................................    18
                                                                     23
        Library of Congress (except Congressional Research 
            Service).......................................    18
                                                                     23
        Architect of the Capitol: Library buildings and 
            grounds........................................    26
                                                                     26
        Government Printing Office (except Congressional 
            printing and binding)..........................    27
                                                                     26
        General Accounting Office..........................    29
                                                                     28
Title III--General provisions..............................    31
                                                                     29
Inflationary impact statement..............................
                                                                     30
Comparison with budget resolution..........................
                                                                     30
Five-year projection of outlays............................
                                                                     30
Assistance to State and local governments..................
                                                                     30
Transfers of funds.........................................
                                                                     31
Rescissions................................................
                                                                     31
Appropriations not authorized by law.......................
                                                                     31
Changes in the application of existing law.................
                                                                     31
Compliance with clause 3--rule XIII........................
                                                                     34

                            SUMMARY OF BILL

    The bill, as recommended by the Committee, provides 
appropriations for fiscal year 1997 legislative branch 
operations which total $1,681,311,000. Of that amount, 
$1,039,692,000 is for congressional operations and $641,619,000 
is for other agencies.
    A summary of the recommendations follows:

        Fiscal year 1997                                          Amount
Congressional operations..............................\1\ $1,039,692,000
Other agencies..........................................     641,619,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................   1,681,311,000

\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 1997, 
including those under the Architect of the Capitol, total 
$529,270,000.
    A comparative summary of the bill by title and agency 
follows:

                                                                   SUMMARY OF THE BILL                                                                  
                               [Note.--Excludes Senate items including those Senate items under Architect of the Capitol.]                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                            Bill compared with--        
                                                                               Budget estimates      New budget    -------------------------------------
                                                               New budget           of new         (obligational)                       Budget estimates
                          Agency                             (obligational)     (obligational)       authority          New budget           of new     
                                                           authority, fiscal  authority, fiscal    recommended in     (obligational)     (obligational) 
                                                               year 1996          year 1997             bill        authority, fiscal  authority, fiscal
                                                                                                                        year 1996          year 1997    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            TITLE I--CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                        
House of Representatives.................................       $671,061,000       $738,777,000       $683,831,000        $12,770,000       -$54,946,000
Joint items..............................................         84,839,000         99,689,000         84,520,000           -319,000        -15,169,000
Office of Technology Assessment..........................          6,115,000  .................  .................         -6,115,000  .................
Office of Compliance.....................................          2,500,000          3,268,000          2,609,000            109,000           -659,000
Congressional Budget Office..............................         24,288,000         24,775,000         24,288,000  .................           -487,000
Architect of the Capitol (except Senate and Title II                                                                                                    
 items)..................................................        101,213,000        100,818,000        100,134,000         -1,079,000           -684,000
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress......         60,084,000         63,056,000         62,641,000          2,557,000           -415,000
Congressional printing and binding, Government Printing                                                                                                 
 Office..................................................         83,770,000         83,770,000         81,669,000         -2,101,000         -2,101,000
                                                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total, title I--Congressional operations...........      1,033,870,000      1,114,153,000      1,039,692,000          5,822,000        -74,461,000
                                                          ==============================================================================================
                 TITLE II--OTHER AGENCIES                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                        
Botanic Garden...........................................         $3,053,000         $2,902,000         $2,902,000          -$151,000  .................
Library of Congress (except Congressional Operations)....        264,616,000        281,593,000        268,117,000          3,501,000        -13,476,000
Architect of the Capitol (Library buildings and grounds).         12,428,000          9,003,000          9,003,000         -3,425,000  .................
Government Printing Office (except Congressional printing                                                                                               
 and binding)............................................         30,307,000         30,827,000         29,077,000         -1,230,000         -1,750,000
General Accounting Office................................        374,406,000        371,673,000        332,520,000        -41,886,000        -39,153,000
                                                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total, title II--Other agencies....................        684,810,000        695,998,000        641,619,000        -43,191,000        -54,379,000
                                                          ==============================================================================================
      Grand total, new budget, including transfers                                                                                                      
       (obligational) authority (for items considered by                                                                                                
       House)............................................      1,718,680,000      1,810,151,000      1,681,311,000        -37,369,000       -128,840,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                           HIGHLIGHTS OF BILL

                Summary of Estimates and Recommendations

    Budget estimates.--The budget estimates considered by the 
Committee total $1,810,151,000. 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 
1997 proposals appear on pages 385 through 387 of the 
``Analytical Perspectives'' volume, and pages 15 through 43 of 
the ``Appendix'' volume of the 1997 Federal Budget (H. Doc. 
104-162), and amendments contained in H. Doc. 104-193 and H. 
Doc. 104-212.
    Committee recommendations.--A total of $1,681,311,000 in 
new budget (obligational) authority is recommended for fiscal 
year 1997. The recommendation is $128,840,000 less than was 
transmitted to the Congress, a reduction of 7.1 percent under 
the budget request. The bill, as reported, is $506,689,000 
below the 602(b) allocation established by the Committee on 
Appropriations pursuant to the Concurrent Resolution on the 
Budget. The bill does not include Senate items. If the Senate 
items were included at the level specified in the Committee's 
602(b) limits, the bill would be $21,689,000 below the amount 
allocated for the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act.
    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. A 4% full-time equivalent (FTE) job 
reduction was enacted in the fiscal year 1993 appropriations 
act for the legislative branch. Since that time, the agencies 
of the legislative branch have eliminated 4,768 FTE positions. 
In this bill, funding for an additional 726 FTE's are being 
eliminated from legislative agency rolls. Based on information 
supplied by the agencies and base employment data verified by 
the General Accounting Office, the overall FTE reduction during 
the 1992-1997 time frame is projected to total about 18.6% of 
the 1992 FTE job base, or almost 5,500 full time jobs. The 
fiscal year 1996 and 1997 reductions will cumulate to 1,753 
FTE's, which is a 6.8% reduction over the two-year period.
    Comparison with fiscal year 1996 appropriations.--Compared 
with the appropriations enacted for fiscal year 1996, 
$1,718,680,000, the recommendation of $1,681,311,000 for fiscal 
year 1997 is a reduction of $37,369,000. Legislative agencies 
will continue to economize and rightsize under the 1997 
appropriations bill. Some activities will continue to be 
restricted, others are undergoing increased outsourcing, and 
still other programs are being made more cost effective through 
the use of automation and increasing use of electronic document 
formats and telecommunication technologies. The concept of a 
CyberCongress is becoming more of a reality as these 
technologies are introduced.
    Areas of major change.--The recommended amount for fiscal 
year 1997 is a net decrease of $37,369,000 below the level 
appropriated for fiscal year 1996. This decrease has several 
components. The sum of $40,428,000 has been added over the 
amounts provided for fiscal year 1996, in order to pay for 
mandatory and pay related costs. Another component is 
``estimated savings'' which results in a decrease of $7,764,000 
below the amounts appropriated for fiscal year 1996 since some 
agencies are not expending the amounts provided in fiscal year 
1996 for staff salaries and other compensation, primarily 
because they are leaving positions unfilled. These funds have 
been removed from the base amounts in the budgets of these 
agencies because they are not being utilized for the purposes 
appropriated. To meet the increased costs of inflation 
necessary to maintain the current level of services requires 
$6,297,000. These costs primarily reflect year-to-year price 
changes for the same amount of services consumed. There will be 
a net decrease of $76,330,000 for programs, of which $950,000 
is due to legislation for the 1997 inaugural. Also included in 
the program decrease is a reduction in workload of $70,571,000 
and a decrease of $6,709,000 for equipment, alterations and 
repairs. Many of these workload and equipment decreases have 
been achieved through productivity enhancements.
    A summary of the areas of majors changes recommended by 
general category follows:

                                          AREAS OF MAJOR CHANGE--COMMITTEE BILL VERSUS FISCAL YEAR 1996 ENACTED                                         
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Estimated                             Program type changes                                          
                                Mandatory pay &  savings FY 1996    Price level   -----------------------------------  Equip., altr.,                   
             Item                related costs    pay & related       changes                                           maintenance,      Total changes 
                                                      costs                          Legislation        Workload        repairs, etc.                   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    TITLE I--CONGRESSIONAL                                                                                                                              
          OPERATIONS                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                        
House of Representatives......      $14,122,000  ...............       $2,772,000  ...............      ($5,580,000)       $1,456,000       $12,770,000 
Joint Items:                                                                                                                                            
    Joint Committee on                                                                                                                                  
     Inaugural Ceremonies of                                                                                                                            
     1997.....................  ...............  ...............  ...............          950,000  ................  ................          950,000 
    Joint Economic Committee..  ...............  ...............  ...............  ...............  ................  ................  ................
    Joint Committee on                                                                                                                                  
     Printing.................           27,000  ...............  ...............  ...............  ................  ................           27,000 
    Joint Committee on                                                                                                                                  
     Taxation.................          354,000  ...............  ...............  ...............  ................  ................          354,000 
    Office of the Attending                                                                                                                             
     Physician................           17,000  ...............            2,000  ...............          (43,000)          (11,000)          (35,000)
    Capitol Police Board......        1,715,000      (3,876,000)  ...............  ...............          546,000   ................       (1,615,000)
    Capitol Guide and Special                                                                                                                           
     Services Office..........  ...............  ...............  ...............  ...............  ................  ................  ................
    Statements of                                                                                                                                       
     Appropriations...........  ...............  ...............  ...............  ...............  ................  ................  ................
                               -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total, joint items......        2,113,000      (3,876,000)            2,000          950,000          503,000           (11,000)         (319,000)
Office of Compliance..........           89,000  ...............           25,000  ...............           (5,000)  ................          109,000 
Office of Technology                                                                                                                                    
 Assessment...................  ...............  ...............  ...............  ...............       (6,115,000)  ................       (6,115,000)
Congressional Budget Office...          705,000  ...............  ...............  ...............         (705,000)  ................  ................
AOC (except Senate & Title II                                                                                                                           
 items).......................        2,120,000  ...............          555,000  ...............       (3,696,000)          (58,000)       (1,079,000)
Congressional Research Service        2,562,000  ...............  ...............  ...............           (5,000)  ................        2,557,000 
Congressional printing &                                                                                                                                
 binding, GPO.................  ...............  ...............        1,889,000  ...............       (3,990,000)  ................       (2,101,000)
                                                                                                                                                        
   TITLE II--OTHER AGENCIES                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                        
Botanic Garden................           86,000  ...............  ...............  ...............         (237,000)  ................         (151,000)
Library of Congress (except                                                                                                                             
 CRS).........................        7,621,000      (3,888,000)          303,000  ...............         (232,000)         (303,000)        3,501,000 
AOC, Library bldg & grounds...          199,000  ...............  ...............  ...............         (624,000)       (3,000,000)       (3,425,000)
Government Printing Office                                                                                                                              
 (except CP&B)................          314,000  ...............          751,000  ...............       (2,177,000)         (118,000)       (1,230,000)
General Accounting Office.....       10,497,000  ...............  ...............  ...............      (47,708,000)       (4,675,000)      (41,886,000)
                               -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total...................       40,428,000      (7,764,000)        6,297,000          950,000      (70,571,000)       (6,709,000)      (37,369,000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         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 Compliance, 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 bill continues to stress the use of cost-
effective electronic format and telecommunications 
technologies. The agencies of the Legislative Branch are 
striving toward a CyberCongress mode whereby information can be 
shared more easily among the agencies and with the public at 
large. It has been estimated that the accompanying legislative 
branch appropriations bill contains over $211 million for 
computer, telecommunications, and other information processing 
operations and investments. These resources, amounting to about 
12.5% of the entire amount appropriated, include the 
investments necessary to maintain an effective legislative 
process during times of continued budget restraint while, at 
the same time, continuing to develop capabilities that will 
facilitate information exchange among agencies and the public.
    This is not a small undertaking. In the House of 
Representatives, funds are provided to equip Member, committee, 
and staff offices with up-to-date computing and communications 
capabilities to facilitate information processing within and 
between Congressional offices, including district office 
locations. The THOMAS system at the Library of Congress has 
made tremendous progress in making Congressional information 
products available to both Congress and the general public 
through Internet. The Library of Congress continues to develop 
the technology for a digital library. The Government Printing 
Office continues to upgrade their own electronic data base, 
ACCESS, which also provides a great deal of legislative 
information in direct access, on line format. The 
Superintendent of Documents is pursuing a program to transition 
the Federal Depository Library program to electronic format 
within a reasonable period of time. In addition, the General 
Accounting Office has virtually completed a ``shared 
resources'' project which facilitates audit and program 
evaluation work done in the field by that agency. The 
Congressional Research Service and Copyright Office are 
investing in optical storage systems and other advanced 
technologies, and the Architect of the Capitol continues to 
maintain the basic telecommunications infrastructure 
``CAPNET'', which provides the communications pathway for 
legislative agencies to share this data with each other.
    These are only a few examples of the inexorable movement 
toward CyberCongress. All of these and other related efforts 
are funded in this appropriations bill. Much of the savings 
made necessary due to the constraints on funding of legislative 
activities are only possible because of the continued 
investments made in information processing technology. This 
bill maintains the commitment to going forward with the 
infrastructure necessary to utilize modern telecommunications 
capabilities.
    In a related matter, the Committee on House Oversight and 
the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration have begun a 
process to develop a common information dissemination system. 
The Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate have 
been called upon to coordinate the project with the oversight 
of those Committees and to ultimately propose the standards for 
a legislative branch wide information system to the Committees 
for approval.
    An open exchange of technology, projects, plans and 
developments are crucial to the success of a legislative branch 
wide information system. It is expected, therefore, that the 
following organizations will be relied upon to participate and 
assist in all the efforts of the Clerk and the Secretary: the 
Library of Congress, the Government Printing Office, House 
Information Resources, the Senate Computer Center, the General 
Accounting Office, the Congressional Budget Office, and the 
Architect of the Capitol.
    Section 209 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 
1996, directed the Library of Congress to develop a plan and 
supporting analyses for this system. In so doing, the Library 
identified the major programs under development in various 
parts of the legislative branch as well as a significant amount 
of duplication. The process begun by the oversight committees 
will enable the strengths of each program to be recognized and 
integrated into a system that will benefit Congress as a whole.
    The agencies, offices, and joint items included within the 
bill are reminded that budget justifications are due to the 
Committee by mid-December.

                   TITLE I--CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS

    The Committee bill recommends a total of $1,039,692,000 for 
fiscal year 1997 for those activities in direct support of the 
operations of the Congress (exclusive of the Senate) which is 
an increase of $5,822,000 above the fiscal year 1996 level. 
Budget estimates considered by the Committee total 
$1,114,153,000 which have been reduced by $74,461,000.
    A summary of the recommendations follows:

                    Title I--Congressional Operations

        Item                                                      Amount
House of Representatives................................    $683,831,000
Joint items.............................................      84,520,000
Office of Compliance....................................       2,609,000
Congressional Budget Office.............................      24,288,000
Architect of the Capitol (except Senate and Title II 
    items)..............................................     100,134,000
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.....      62,641,000
Congressional printing and binding, Government Printing 
    Office..............................................      81,669,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................   1,039,692,000

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

     The Committee recommends a total of $683,831,000 for the 
operation of the House of Representatives during fiscal year 
1997. The allowance is $54,946,000 below the appropriations 
requested, and $12,770,000 above 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............................     $11,592,000
     Members' representational allowances...............     363,313,000
    Committee salaries and expenses.....................      97,802,000
    Salaries, officers and employees....................      86,259,000
    Allowances and expenses.............................     124,865,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total, Salaries and Expenses......................     683,831,000
      Total, House of Representatives...................     683,831,000

                         Salaries and Expenses

1996 appropriation......................................    $671,061,000
1997 budget estimate....................................     738,777,000
Committee recommendation................................     683,831,000

     The appropriation for the operations of the House of 
Representatives is the salaries and expenses appropriation. 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. 
The amount provided is $683,831,000, and includes a prospective 
cost-of-living adjustment for staff salaries (estimated at 2.3% 
for all Federal employees in the President's budget), the 
normal merit increases, and a continuation of the investments 
being made in computing resources and telecommunications, i.e., 
the CyberCongress initiative.

                        House Leadership Offices

1996 appropriation......................................     $11,271,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      11,889,000
Committee recommendation................................      11,592,000

    The Committee recommends a total of $11,592,000 for the 
operations of the leadership offices during fiscal year 1997.
    At the beginning of the 104th Congress, there was need to 
establish transition teams and procedures due to the switch in 
majority and minority leadership. These teams encountered 
expenses for temporary staff to plan and organize transition 
activities, the necessary supplies, equipment, and materials, 
and other related expenses. No additional funds were provided 
for these activities and had to be absorbed from leadership 
allowances which were not supplemented for these additional, 
unplanned expenditures. In the event of future transitions, the 
bipartisan leadership has suggested that provision be made for 
accommodating these necessary expenses. The Committee believes, 
therefore, that a modest reprogramming of House funds, if they 
are identified by the Chief Administrative Officer as savings, 
may be requested on a parity basis by the Speaker and Minority 
Leader for such purposes. The time period allotted for such 
funded activities is unpredictable, but should be expected not 
to extend beyond the beginning of the Congress in which the 
transition occurs. All expenditures from such reprogrammed 
funds will be vouchered and approved in the customary manner.
    The allocation by office follows:

                        House leadership offices

        Item                                                      Amount
Office of the Speaker...................................      $1,535,000
Office of the Majority Floor Leader.....................       1,526,000
Office of the Minority Floor Leader.....................       1,534,000
Office of the Majority Whip.............................         957,000
Office of the Minority Whip.............................         949,000
Speaker's Office for Legislative Floor Activities.......         376,000
House Republican Conference.............................       1,130,000
Republican Steering Committee...........................         664,000
Nine Minority Employees.................................       1,127,000
House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee..........       1,191,000
House Democratic Caucus.................................         603,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................      11,592,000

                  Members' Representational Allowances

1996 appropriation......................................    $360,503,000
1997 budget estimate....................................     398,898,000
Committee recommendation................................     363,313,000

     A total of $363,313,000 is recommended for the 
representational allowances of the Members of the House. In 
recommending this amount, the Committee was provided with 
estimates of $253,683,000 for clerk hire salaries, $88,933,000 
for office expenses, and $20,697,000 for official mail. It 
should be pointed out that each Member has an overall 
consolidated allowance established by the Committee on House 
Oversight from which staff salaries, office expenses, and mail 
costs are drawn.
    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. If the Committee bill were to fully fund the 
Members' Representational Allowance, the amount appropriated 
would have to be increased by $27 million. Thus, the account is 
underfunded by almost 7%.
    The provision that prevents sending unsolicited mass 
mailings within 90 days of an election has been made permanent 
in the bill. It should be pointed out that, on May 23, 1996, 
the Committee on House Oversight unanimously adopted the 
following resolution:

    Resolved, That the following regulation relating to 
unsolicited Mass Communications is hereby adopted:
    Effective August 7, 1996, with respect to elections 
occurring on or after November 5, 1996, expenditures from the 
MRA for unsolicited mass communications are prohibited if such 
communication occurs fewer than 90 days immediately before the 
date of any primary election or general election (whether 
regular, special, or runoff) in which the Member or Member-
elect is a candidate for any other public office. ``Unsolicited 
mass communication'' is defined, consistent with Franking 
Regulations, as any unsolicited communication of substantially 
identical content to 500 or more persons in a session of 
Congress. The 90-day cutoff applies to every Member whose name 
is to appear on an official ballot for election or re-election 
to public office.
    Mediums for unsolicited mass communications to which this 
restriction applies include, but are not limited to, the 
following:
          Radio or newspaper advertisements of town hall 
        meetings;
          Radio or newspaper advertisements announcing a 
        personal appearance of the Member;
          Newspaper inserts;
          Electronic messages and mailings;
          Facsimiles;
          Purchase of broadcast time on any media; and,
          Production and communication costs for video and 
        audio services.
    This restriction does not apply to communications which are 
not unsolicited mass communications including the following:
          Direct responses to communications (i.e,. solicited 
        communications);
          Communications to Members of Congress and other 
        government officials;
          News releases to the communications media;
          Web sites and other electronic bulletin boards that 
        post information for voluntary public access;
          Advertisements for Clerk Hire position openings, U.S. 
        Military Academy Days, and An Artistic Discovery;
          Member's appearance as a media guest, whether by 
        newspaper interview, radio, television or other 
        electronic means, and previously recorded shows and 
        Public Service Announcements aired voluntarily by a 
        media outlet, where no expenses are incurred by the 
        Member; and,
          Purchases of research materials, including video or 
        audio tapes.
    Resolved further, That the Chairman of the Committee, in 
consultation with the Ranking Minority Member, is authorized to 
direct changes in this regulation as necessary, and shall 
report all such changes to the Committee.

                          Committee Employees

1996 appropriation......................................     $95,574,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      98,954,000
Committee recommendation................................      97,802,000

    In the 1996 appropriations bill, the Committee employees 
account was consolidated from several component accounts. The 
staff of the Committees of the House were reduced by 33% at the 
beginning of the 104th Congress. The funding in this bill 
reflects those reductions and provides $97,802,000 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 the biennial funding 
resolution, $80,222,000 is provided.
    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), $17,580,000 is 
provided.
    Details of the funding resolution approved by the House for 
the 104th Congress, second session, follow:

        Committee:                                     Amount authorized
Agriculture.............................................      $3,540,751
Banking and Financial Services..........................       4,483,475
Budget..................................................       4,972,000
Commerce................................................       7,023,596
Economic and Educational Opportunities..................       4,844,343
Government Reform and Oversight.........................       6,943,668
House Oversight.........................................       3,084,688
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence..............       2,293,680
International Relations.................................       5,074,621
Judiciary...............................................       4,976,003
National Security.......................................       4,840,609
Resources...............................................       4,792,983
Rules...................................................       2,234,250
Science.................................................       4,420,172
Small Business..........................................       1,928,290
Standards of Official Conduct...........................         971,700
Transportation and Infrastructure.......................       5,492,810
Veterans' Affairs.......................................       2,196,105
Ways and Means..........................................       5,302,618
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
     Total..............................................     $79,416,362

                    Salaries, Officers and Employees

1996 appropriation......................................     $83,452,000
1997 budget estimate....................................     102,515,000
Committee recommendation................................      86,259,000

    The Committee recommendation for the salaries and expenses 
of House officers and employees of the various activities 
funded through this consolidated item totals $86,259,000. This 
amount represents an overall decrease of $16,256,000 below the 
budget request and $2,807,000 above the amount enacted in 
fiscal year 1996. Cost of living and merit adjustment funds are 
provided, as are projected overtime costs.
    The Committee has provided resources to the Clerk for a 
newly established Office of House Employment Counsel, and has 
transferred to the Clerk three technicians who control the 
audio amplification in the House chamber. Vacant garage 
attendant positions have not been funded in the budget of the 
Sergeant at Arms. The Chief Administrative Officer's budget has 
been set at $55,209,000, including $16,577,000 for the net 
operating costs of House Information Resources (HIR). In 
addition, HIR is authorized to expend $6,000,000 in 
reimbursements. With respect to HIR telecommunications 
projects, the Committee has provided $8,253,000. These funds 
include all high priority items. Items reduced or not funded in 
the telecommunications budget request include: district 
networking (-$320,000), flagship data (-$2,533,200), wiring 
infrastructure (-$500,000), telephone replacement 
(-$3,000,000), campus data networking (-$1,000,000), and 
equipment maintenance (-$200,000). All other telecommunication 
items are funded. The Committee understands that the Committee 
on House Oversight will have final approval authority on these 
purchases and that Committee may wish to rearrange the purchase 
priorities for these items. It is possible that some of the 
items not funded may be acquired through reprogramming savings, 
if they can be found. The Committee will be willing to consider 
such reprogrammings. The Office of the Inspector General has 
been provided one more FTE, out of base level funding.
    The Clerk of the House is encouraged to continue with 
efforts to implement various print on demand capabilities 
related to legislative documents, subject to appropriate 
approvals. In particular, the Clerk should establish, in 
consultation with the Committee on House Oversight and the 
Joint Committee on Printing, a formal system in accordance with 
Title 44, United States Code, to expand print on demand use in 
the House Document Room. The Clerk should prepare a report for 
submission to the Committee on House Oversight outlining the 
various print on demand goals, a timetable for their 
implementation, and a projection of the benefits, costs, and 
cost reductions associated with each.
    The Clerk has indicated there has been a nearly 80 percent 
reduction in requested document reprints from the Government 
Printing Office for use in the House Document Room. The 
Committee supports this cost saving effort and encourages the 
Clerk, in consultation with the Joint Committee on Printing, to 
continue these efforts to minimize reprinting where feasible.
    The Clerk is also directed, in consultation with the 
Secretary of the Senate, the Joint Committee on Printing, and 
the Government Printing Office, to study and determine 
alternatives to the current procedures being used for creating, 
formatting and transmitting Committee and other House documents 
in preparation for printing. As the Congress moves toward 
modernization of technology and print-on-demand capability, 
alternatives to continued reliance upon GPO details should be 
evaluated. It may be that in-house expertise and technology can 
be used more cost-effectively. The Clerk will be expected, 
after due consultation as noted above, to present 
recommendations in the next appropriations cycle. Funds for 
this effort, which should not exceed $100,000, may be derived 
from savings in the Clerk's budget, or elsewhere in the 
``salaries, officers and employees'' line item. If necessary, 
the Committee will consider a reprogramming of funds presented 
in the customary manner. Moreover, it is expected that the same 
staff resources can expedite posting of committee legislative 
information on the THOMAS system.
    The Clerk has also indicated that various steps are being 
taken to establish common standard generalized markup language 
(SGML) definitions for the creation of legislative documents in 
electronic format. This is consistent with actions being taken 
throughout the Legislative Branch. The Clerk should seek 
guidance from the Committee on House Oversight, the Joint 
Committee on Printing, Government Printing Office, House 
Information Resources, the Secretary of the Senate, private 
industry, and other interested parties, in establishing 
standards that are based upon past and ongoing GPO, HIR, and 
Senate efforts. The overarching objective should be the 
development of standards and systems that will be of common use 
by the Clerk and other interested Legislative Branch entities.
    The administrative staff officers of the House (the Clerk 
of the House, Sergeant at Arms, Chief Administrative Officer, 
and the Inspector General) are reminded that funding levels are 
provided on the basis of a certain number of full time 
equivalent positions. If additional FTE's are authorized during 
the fiscal year, the officers should determine the source of 
the additional personnel funding, including the need for a 
reprogramming of funds, and advise the Committee accordingly. 
This is the current procedure and is designed to inform the 
Committee on Appropriations of the potential impact on future 
year funding needs.
    In the event the summer intern program is reinstituted 
during fiscal year 1997, the Committee will consider a 
reprogramming of the necessary funds out of savings.

                    Salaries, officers and employees

        Item                                                      Amount
Office of the Clerk.....................................     $15,074,000
Office of the Sergeant at Arms..........................       3,638,000
Office of the Chief Administrative Officer..............      55,209,000
Office of Inspector General.............................       3,954,000
Office of the Chaplain..................................         126,000
Office of the Parliamentarian...........................       1,036,000
Parliamentarian.........................................       (713,000)
Compilation of Precedents...............................       (323,000)
Office of the Law Revision Counsel......................       1,767,000
Office of the Legislative Counsel.......................       4,687,000
Other authorized employees..............................         768,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
    Total...............................................      86,259,000

    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

1996 appropriation......................................    $120,261,000
1997 budget estimate....................................     126,521,000
Committee recommendation................................     124,865,000

    A total of $124,865,000 is recommended for fiscal year 1997 
for allowances and expenses. This amount is $1,656,000 below 
the budget request and $4,604,000 above 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 
96% of these funds is for the employer share of retirement, 
health care, and unemployment compensation payments for House 
employees.
    The following table sets forth the various expense 
categories within this appropriation:

                        Allowances and Expenses

        Detail                                          Recommended 1997
Supplies, materials, administrative costs and Federal 
    tort claims.........................................      $2,374,000
Official mail...........................................       1,000,000
Reemployed annuitants reimbursement.....................          71,000
Government contributions................................     120,779,000
Miscellaneous items:
    House automobiles...................................          86,000
    Gratuities to beneficiaries of deceased staff.......         500,000
    Interparliamentary receptions.......................          55,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
        Subtotal miscellaneous items....................         641,000
                    ========================================================
                    ____________________________________________________
            Total, allowances and expenses..............     124,865,000

                       Administrative Provisions

    Section 101 makes permanent a provision included in the 
1996 bill which allows the receipts from House vending machines 
to be used to replenish inventories. Section 102 makes 
permanent a provision enacted in the 1996 bill regarding a ban 
on unsolicited mass mailings sent within 90 days of an 
election.

                              JOINT ITEMS

    The Committee recommends appropriations totaling 
$84,520,000 for fiscal year 1997 for the various joint 
committees and activities carried under this heading. The 
recommendation is $15,169,000 under the amounts requested for 
fiscal year 1997 and a reduction of $319,000 under the amounts 
appropriated in fiscal year 1996.
    The following summarizes the recommendations:

                               Joint Items

        Item                                                      Amount
Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies of 1997.........        $950,000
Joint Economic Committee................................       3,000,000
Joint Committee on Printing.............................         777,000
Joint Committee on Taxation.............................       5,470,000
Office of the Attending Physician.......................       1,225,000
Capitol Police Board....................................      71,077,000
Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office.......       1,991,000
Statements of appropriations............................          30,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
    Total...............................................      84,520,000

            Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies of 1997

1996 appropriation......................................................
1997 budget estimate....................................        $950,000
Committee recommendation................................         950,000

    The bill contains $950,000 for the Joint Committee on 
Inaugural Ceremonies of 1997.

                        Joint Economic Committee

1996 appropriation......................................      $3,000,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       3,000,000
Committee recommendation................................       3,000,000

    The Committee has provided $3,000,000 for the Joint 
Economic Committee.

                      Joint Committee on Printing

1996 appropriation......................................        $750,000
1997 budget estimate....................................         777,000
Committee recommendation................................         777,000

    The bill provides $777,000 for the operations of the Joint 
Committee on Printing.

                      Joint Committee on Taxation

1996 appropriation......................................      $5,116,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       7,716,000
Committee recommendation................................       5,470,000

    The Committee recommends an appropriation of $5,470,000 for 
the Joint Committee on Taxation, an increase of $354,000 over 
the current level. Employee benefits will continue to be paid 
by the House of Representatives.

                   Office of the Attending Physician

1996 appropriation......................................      $1,260,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       1,225,000
Committee recommendation................................       1,225,000

    The Committee has approved $1,225,000 for medical supplies, 
equipment, expenses, and allowances of Navy personnel detailed 
to the Office of the Attending Physician.

                          Capitol Police Board

1996 appropriation......................................     $72,692,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      84,000,000
Committee recommendation................................      71,077,000

    The recommendations in the bill provide a total of 
$71,077,000 for the expenses and personnel authorized for 
police services throughout the Capitol buildings and grounds 
during fiscal year 1997.
    The following tabulates the number of FTE positions and the 
funding provided:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Authorized                   
                 Items                       FTE's            Amount    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salary expenses, Capitol Police on                                      
 House Payroll........................          \1\ 595      $32,927,000
Salary expenses, Capitol Police on                                      
 Senate Payroll.......................          \2\ 640       35,465,000
                                       ---------------------------------
      Subtotal........................            1,235   \3\ 68,392,000
General expenses......................  ...............        2,685,000
                                       ---------------------------------
      Grand total, all police services  ...............       71,077,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes 114 civilian positions.                                    
\2\ Includes 87 civilian positions.                                     
\3\ Includes overtime funds of $4,000,000.                              

                             Capitol Police

                                Salaries

1996 appropriation......................................     $70,132,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      76,394,000
Committee recommendation................................      68,392,000

    The Committee recommends $68,392,000 for 1,235 full time 
equivalent positions for the Capitol Police, of which 
$32,927,000 and 595 FTE's are for the House rolls and 
$35,465,000 and 640 FTE's are for the Senate rolls. These 
amounts include $4,000,000 for overtime, equally divided 
between House and Senate details. Overtime funding has been 
increased by 100% over 1996. The provision for overtime has 
increased from $1.5 million a few years ago; the amount 
provided represents a 166% increase over that level. 
Unquestionably, the enactment of the Congressional 
Accountability Act has necessitated a potential increase in 
overtime expenditures. This should signal more stringent 
overtime management by police supervisory personnel in order to 
conserve limited resources. Six security maintenance personnel 
have been transferred from the Architect of the Capitol, 
completing a function transfer that began last year. The salary 
costs funded in the bill reflect the current level of FTE's 
maintained including the recent class of recruits that was sent 
to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Careful 
management of personnel attrition will free up the additional 
FTE's necessary to absorb the next recruit class.
    Also, $1.4 million of these funds are fenced pending 
approval by the appropriate authorities of COLA and 
comparability salary adjustments. -

                             Capitol Police

                            General expenses

1996 appropriation......................................      $2,560,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       7,606,000
Committee recommendation................................       2,685,000

    The sum of $2,685,000 is recommended for supplies, 
materials, equipment, training and other expenses of the 
Capitol Police force during the next fiscal year. Regarding the 
funds requested for security improvements, which have not been 
included, the Capitol Police Board may request use of the 
special fund already available for security enhancements. 
Priority will be given to those uses which will enable 
reductions in overtime or the number of staffed posts.

           Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office

1996 appropriation......................................      $1,991,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       1,991,000
Committee recommendation................................       1,991,000

    The Committee bill provides $1,991,000 for the operation of 
the Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office during 
the next fiscal year.

                      Statements of Appropriations

1996 appropriation......................................         $30,000
1997 budget estimate....................................          30,000
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 2nd session of the 104th Congress. This 
publication is compiled jointly by the House and Senate 
Committees on Appropriations.

                          OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE

                         Salaries and Expenses

1996 appropriation......................................      $2,500,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       3,268,000
Committee recommendation................................       2,609,000

    The bill provides $2,609,000 for the Office of Compliance, 
including one additional staff counsel position for the Board. 
A provision has also been included which appropriates funds for 
awards and settlements.

                      CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

                         Salaries and Expenses

1996 appropriation......................................     $24,288,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      24,775,000
Committee recommendation................................      24,288,000

    The Committee recommends an appropriation of $24,288,000 
for the Congressional Budget Office and has removed the 
staffing limitation, which in the future will be handled 
administratively between CBO and the Committee. Also, 
provisions have been included making permanent the authority 
previously included in the Legislative bill regarding property 
procurement and disposal. A new provision authorizes lump sum 
payments for terminated employees.

                        ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

                   (Congressional Support Items Only)

1996 appropriation......................................    $101,213,000
1997 budget estimate....................................     100,818,000
Committee recommendation................................     100,134,000

    The Committee recommends a total of $100,134,000 for fiscal 
year 1997 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 $684,000 below the amount requested, and $1,079,000 below 
the fiscal year 1996 appropriation. A requested 5% FTE base cut 
has been approved, and will be achieved through attrition.
    The Acting Architect of the Capitol is commended for 
developing a plan for reorganizing this operation. The 
Committee expects this plan to be carefully evaluated at such 
time as the appointment process for selecting the permanent 
Architect of the Capitol is completed. Also, the Office of the 
Architect is directed to consult with the General Accounting 
Office and the Library of Congress regarding an improved 
financial management system. The goal is to participate in an 
effort to converge on one overall, standard financial 
accounting and management system that can serve the entire 
legislative branch.
    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............................................      $8,454,000
    Contingent expenses.................................         100,000
Capitol buildings and grounds:
    Capitol buildings...................................      23,255,000
    Capitol grounds.....................................       5,020,000
    House office buildings..............................      32,556,000
    Capitol Power Plant.................................      30,749,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
        Total...........................................     100,134,000

                 Office of the Architect of the Capitol

    Salaries.--A total of $8,454,000 is recommended for the 
Architect's office in the coming year. Six security system 
maintenance personnel have been transferred to the Capitol 
Police rolls.
    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 $23,255,000 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 1997. A reduction has been made 
for the three sound technicians transferred to the Clerk of the 
House. For lightning protection of the Capitol building, 
$200,000 is provided.
    The Architect is directed to study, with assistance from 
the Chief Administrative Officer and the Clerk of the House, 
the feasibility and associated costs of an audio broadcast 
capability for House Floor proceedings. All options, including 
private sector alternatives, should be considered. The 
Architect should report back to the Committee on Appropriations 
and the Committee on House Oversight in this regard not later 
than December 31, 1996.
    The Architect is directed to undertake, in consultation 
with and with assistance from the Chief Administrative Officer 
and the Clerk of the House, the design for a modern audio 
system for the chamber of the House of Representatives. The 
resultant design will be subject to approval by the Committee 
on House Oversight. The design phase should be completed in 
time for consideration during the fiscal year 1998 funding 
cycle.
    Capitol grounds.--The appropriation of $5,020,000 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 the amount requested and $123,000 below the amount 
enacted in fiscal year 1996.
    House office buildings.--The sum of $32,556,000 is 
recommended for the operation of the House office buildings 
during the next fiscal year. The amount provided reflects the 
anticipated outsourcing of custodial services at the Ford House 
Office Building. All displaced employees will be absorbed in 
available vacant positions. The Architect of the Capitol is 
directed to conduct a study, with assistance from outside 
experts, of the O'Neill House Office Building. The study should 
focus on the need to improve the building's structural 
integrity, its optimum use as an office building or other 
appropriate application, and the alternatives that the House 
Office Building Commission may want to consider in deciding the 
long-term plan for the use of the building.
    Capitol Power Plant.--The Committee recommends the 
appropriation of $30,749,000 for the power plant for fiscal 
year 1997, in addition to offsetting collections of $4,000,000. 
Upon completion of the ongoing study of the prospects for 
privatizing or other cost effective alternatives for the 
operation of the power plant, the report should be presented to 
the appropriate House and Senate authorities for review. It 
will be expected that the Architect of the Capitol, when the 
selection process is completed, will make appropriate 
recommendations.

                          LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

                     Congressional Research Service

1996 appropriation......................................     $60,084,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      63,056,000
Committee recommendation................................      62,641,000

    Salaries and expenses.--The Committee recommends 
$62,641,000 for fiscal year 1997 for the salaries and expenses 
of the Congressional Research Service. This amount provides for 
the level of FTE staffing projected through the end of the 
current fiscal year, including mandatory salary adjustments, 
merit increases, ingrades and reallocations during fiscal year 
1997.

                       GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

                   Congressional Printing and Binding

1996 appropriation......................................     $83,770,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      83,770,000
Committee recommendation................................      81,669,000

    The Committee has included $81,669,000 for printing and 
binding of congressional documents at the Government Printing 
Office for use by Congress and by-law programs. The amount 
provided reflects a savings of $1,050,000 by converting the 
permanent, bound Congressional Record to a CD-ROM format. The 
daily Congressional Record will continue to be distributed in 
the formats preferred by the recipients, i.e., paper or 
microfiche, and is also available electronically via the 
widely-accessible Internet distribution network through the 
THOMAS system and the GPO ACCESS network. The permanent, paper-
based bound Record, which is delayed in production by 8 years 
at the present time, is a perfect candidate for electronic 
format. Each set costs almost $12,000 to print and bind, and is 
made available in limited quantities. CD-ROM's can be provided 
at a fraction of this cost and will be very flexible research 
tools in library or office settings, where the bound paper sets 
are normally utilized. The bill provides $100,000 for a more 
limited number of printed, permanent Records which can be 
produced from the less expensive CD-ROM format data base setup. 
These copies can be distributed at the direction of the Joint 
Committee on Printing. For those offices and institutions that 
cannot do without paper copies, CD-ROM's can be printed by 
commercial printing establisments at a much smaller cost than 
current charges against the Congressional printing and binding 
appropriation.
    The Committee has been informed that the conversion to CD-
ROM will expedite the availability of the permanent version of 
the Congressional Record by several years, thereby making it 
available much sooner than the current 8-year delay. The GPO is 
directed to develop a plan that will minimize the time 
necessary to distribute this record of House and Senate debate. 
The plan should include the objectives and a time line for 
achieving the time savings. Also, the GPO, in consultation with 
the Library of Congress, should plan to make the CD-ROM version 
of the permanent Record available on Internet to the broadest 
possible audience.
    Both plans should be presented in the fiscal year 1998 
budget submission.
    A general reduction of $1,051,000 has also been taken. The 
GPO, in consultation with the Joint Committee on Printing, 
should review those materials which are non-legislative in 
nature now being charged against this appropriation and 
determine the extent to which House or Senate can provide 
direct reimbursement or reduce the need for such material.
    A comparative summary of the recommendation by category of 
work follows:

                                       CONGRESSIONAL PRINTING AND BINDING                                       
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Appropriation                                     
                                                                  1996         Requested 1997   Recommended 1997
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congressional Record program..............................       $21,833,000       $18,504,000  ................
Other Electronic products.................................           809,000           716,000  ................
Miscellaneous publications................................         5,428,000         6,240,000  ................
Miscellaneous printing and binding........................        15,600,000        15,826,000  ................
Details to Congress.......................................         2,800,000         3,042,000  ................
Document envelopes and document franks....................         1,394,000         1,428,000  ................
Business and committee calendars..........................         2,368,000         1,748,000  ................
Bills, resolutions, and amendments........................         9,506,000        11,110,000  ................
Committee reports.........................................         4,048,000         3,510,000  ................
Documents.................................................         2,528,000         2,349,000  ................
Hearings..................................................        15,776,000        16,632,000  ................
Committee prints..........................................         1,680,000         2,665,000  ................
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
      Total...............................................        83,770,000        83,770,000        81,669,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        TITLE II--OTHER AGENCIES

    A total of $641,619,000 is recommended for the five 
agencies carried in this title of the bill. This allowance is 
$54,379,000 less than requested and $43,191,000 below the 
amount appropriated in the fiscal year 1996 Legislative Branch 
Appropriations Act.
    A summary of the amounts recommended by agency follows:

                        Title II--Other Agencies

                                                        Fiscal year 1997
        Agency                                           recommendations
Botanic Garden (including Conservatory renovation)......      $2,902,000
Library of Congress (except Congressional Research 
    Service)............................................     268,117,000
Architect of the Capitol: Library buildings and grounds.      9, 003,000
Government Printing Office (except Congressional 
    Printing and Binding)...............................      29,077,000
General Accounting Office (net appropriation)...........     332,520,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................     641,619,000

                             BOTANIC GARDEN

                         Salaries and Expenses

1996 appropriation......................................      $3,053,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       2,902,000
Committee recommendation................................       2,902,000

    The amount recommended for the Botanic Garden is 
$2,902,000, the amount requested.
    The question of the proper organizational location of the 
Botanic Garden remains open. Clearly, this program, while much 
admired and of high interest to visitors to the Capitol 
complex, is not a function which is integral to the legislative 
process. It may conceivably benefit the Botanic Garden program 
if it were organizationally integrated with a more appropriate 
institution. Such institutions will have a much better 
experience base, including private fund raising capabilities, 
upon which to undertake the very extensive renovations needed 
at the Conservatory. For example, the National Arboretum and 
the Smithsonian have similar, in some cases duplicative, 
missions and programs. There may be other non-profit, 
institutional privatization possibilities. Perhaps none of 
these possibilities may turn out to be feasible, but a thorough 
examination of the alternatives should be made. The Architect 
of the Capitol, when the confirmation and appointment to that 
position is concluded, should undertake a study to determine 
these alternatives and present them to the appropriate 
committees and authorities. In conducting this study, 
assistance should be sought from appropriate, independent 
sources with expertise in this area.

                          LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

                (Except Congressional Research Service)

    The Committee recommends appropriations totaling 
$268,117,000 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 1997. The following table 
summarizes the allocation of funds by appropriation account:

                           Library of Congress

        Item                                                      Amount
Fiscal year 1997:
    Salaries and expenses...............................    $207,138,000
    Copyright Office....................................      11,133,000
    Books for the blind and physically handicapped......      44,964,000
    Furniture and furnishings...........................       4,882,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................     268,117,000

                            Total Resources

    The Library also receives funds from other appropriations 
and sources estimated to total $232,253,000 for fiscal year 
1997 including $62,641,000 for the Congressional Research 
Service in title I of the bill, and $9,003,000 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 $500,370,000 from all sources will 
be available to the Library during the next fiscal year. Of 
that amount, $127,327,000 (25.5%) is for support of Congress. 
The balance is general government or public service in nature, 
such as the Copyright Office, the National Library Service, the 
Federal Research Division, and the many services conducted for 
the Nation's libraries.
    The appropriations in the bill for all Library programs 
will finance the level of full time equivalent positions 
currently projected for fiscal year 1996, now estimated by the 
Library of Congress at 4,138. In addition, there are several 
hundred other positions financed through reimbursable and gift 
and trust fund programs. The Committee bill provides full 
funding for the projected 4,138 FTE level, and an additional 
$10,179,385 in mandatory and related costs for the current FTE 
base. Thus, the Library of Congress has received full funding 
for their current staffing service level.
    A breakdown by source and amount of funding follows:

               Total resources, Library of Congress, 1997

        Item                                                      Amount
Annual Appropriations:
    Title I--Congressional Research Service.............     $62,641,000
    Title II--Library (direct)..........................     268,117,000
    Architect of the Capitol, Library buildings and 
      grounds...........................................       9,003,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total annual appropriations (in bill).............     339,761,000
    Receipts from copyright fees and sale of catalog 
      cards and publications............................      30,138,000
    Gift, trust and revolving funds.....................      28,906,000
    Reimbursement for services performed................     101,569,000
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total.............................................     500,374,000

                         Salaries and Expenses

1996 appropriation......................................    $203,795,000
1997 budget estimate....................................     218,366,000
Committee recommendation................................     207,138,000
(Plus: Authority to spend receipts).....................     (7,869,000)
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
     Total available....................................     215,007,000

    The sum of $215,007,000, 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 $11,228,000 under the budget request and an 
increase of $3,343,000 above 1996. This level of funding 
provides for 2,762 FTE's, including all necessary mandatory 
costs, which is the number of FTE's projected for the current 
year in the salaries and expenses program. No new positions are 
provided. To the extent additional positions are required, the 
Library is encouraged to fund them through attrition. The 
additional positions requested for security should not be 
filled until the authorizing Committees complete their ongoing 
reviews of the Library's risk assessment and the overall 
organization of the security program.
    Last year, the committee instructed the Capitol Police 
Board to undertake a study to determine the feasibility of 
consolidating the Capitol Police, the Library of Congress 
police, and the Supreme Court police under a unified service 
command. The report of the Board clearly shows that there is an 
uneven level of training among these forces and that 
consolidation would, in the long run, improve that situation. 
This is one alternative that should be explored to improving 
the security of the Capitol complex, the collections of the 
Library of Congress, and the Court. The Committee encourages 
the committee of legislative jurisdiction to move forward with 
a review of this consolidation proposal.
    It is not unexpected that there will be opportunities to 
use attrition or other savings to fill positions that have not 
been funded in the appropriations process. Because of the 
necessity to economize the legislative branch budget over the 
past several years, the Library of Congress has, like all other 
legislative agencies, rearranged their staffing patterns to 
meet priorities by using attrition and hiring restrictions. The 
priorities given to cataloging and security of the collections, 
arrearages, reading room coverage, and the research needs of 
Congress are inarguable. The Library is reminded that it is 
necessary to obtain reprogramming authority, and keep the House 
and Senate Committees on Appropriations informed, in those 
cases where staffing and other resources are augmented 
significantly beyond the levels approved in appropriations 
bills. Otherwise future budget year Library funding resources 
may be committed to activities that have not been approved 
through the normal process. The Library should continue to 
follow established procedures.
    There appear to be opportunities to economize in some of 
the Library's programs. For example, the Library expends close 
to $5 million per year to lease office and storage space. With 
the extensive Library buildings renovation project coming to an 
end, there is space available that should be evaluated to 
determine the extent to which such space can be used to offset 
the need for outside leasing. Also, vacant legislative branch 
warehousing at Fort Meade, MD is available which provides 
similar possibilities. Space analysis and planning should be 
emphasized to identify such economies.
    In addition to the resources provided through managed 
attrition and economies that may be developed through fiscal 
year 1997, a general provision has been included which will 
authorize transfers of funds among the several Library 
appropriations accounts. This authority will provide much 
greater flexibility for shifting funds where exigency and 
opportunity arise during the course of the fiscal year.
    A provision has been included in the appropriating 
paragraph which allows receipts collected by the Cataloging 
Distribution Services to remain available until expended, 
subject to appropriation.

             Consolidation of American Folklife Activities

    The Committee believes the community and family-based 
values of the American people and their arts and skills are a 
national resource to be preserved amd celebrated. This was 
formally recognized om 1976 with enactment of the American 
Folklife Preservation Act. That Act, passing with widespread 
bipartisan support, established the American Folklife Center at 
the Library of Congress as an organization reporting to a Board 
of Trustees under general supervision of the Librarian. In the 
20 years of its existence, the American Folklife Center has 
done much good and positive work to preserve and protect this 
important heritage.
    The Committee believes it may be an appropriate time to 
integrate the Library's American folklife collections into the 
Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies at the 
Smithsonian Institution. The Librarian is directed to create a 
plan which includes cost savings to transfer the Library's 
American Folklife Center (including its board, budget, staff, 
and collections) to the Center for Folklife Programs and 
Cultural Studies at the Smithsonian Institution. This plan 
should presume that the transfer is to commence beginning on 
October 1, 1996. Such plan shall be formulated in full 
consultation with the Smithsonian Institution and the Board of 
Trustees of the Library's American Folklife Center and shall 
include any necessary legislative proposals required for 
implementation. The plan shall be submitted for approval to the 
House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, the House 
Committee on Oversight, and the Senate Committee on Rules and 
Administration by August 15, 1996.

                            Copyright Office

1996 appropriation......................................     $10,988,000
1997 budget request.....................................      12,288,000
Committee recommendation................................      11,133,000
    (Plus: Authority to spend receipts).................    (22,269,000)
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total available...................................      33,402,000

    Salaries and expenses.--The appropriation of $11,133,000 is 
provided for the Copyright office during fiscal year 1997, and 
authority has been provided to spend up to $22,269,000 in 
receipts received from copyright fees and assessments to the 
copyright owners fund for the costs of administering the 
copyright royalty program. This funding provides all mandatory 
increases for the number of FTE's projected for the current 
fiscal year.

             Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

1996 appropriation......................................     $44,951,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      46,057,000
Committee recommendation................................      44,964,000

    Salaries and expenses.--A total of $44,964,000 is 
recommended for this public service program in fiscal year 
1997, an increase of $13,000 over the amount provided in fiscal 
year 1996. This funding provides for the mandatory increases 
necessary to staff at the FTE level projected for the current 
fiscal year, plus 7 additional positions which will be 
converted from indefinite to permanent status.

                       Furniture and Furnishings

1996 appropriation......................................      $4,882,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       4,882,000
Committee recommendation................................       4,882,000

    The bill provides a total of $4,882,000 for Library 
furniture and furnishings for fiscal year 1997, the amount 
requested.

                       Administrative Provisions

    The routine administrative provisions have been approved by 
the Committee. In addition, a provision has been included which 
will authorize transfers of funds, subject to approval, among 
all Library accounts. This provision is explained in more 
detail in the discussion under ``Salaries and expenses''. A 
provision has also been included authorizing the Library to 
provide financial management support to the Office of 
Compliance.

                        ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

                     Library Buildings and Grounds

1996 appropriation......................................     $12,428,000
1997 budget estimate....................................       9,003,000
Committee recommendation................................       9,003,000

    The Committee bill provides $9,003,000, the amount 
requested, for the care and maintenance of the Library of 
Congress buildings and grounds, which is administered by the 
Architect of the Capitol. The Architect, when formally 
nominated, confirmed and appointed, should undertake an 
evaluation of this program to determine if it is a candidate 
for privatization.

                       GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

              (Except Congressional Printing and Binding)

                 Office of Superintendent of Documents

1996 appropriation......................................     $30,307,000
1997 budget estimate....................................      30,827,000
Committee recommendation................................      29,077,000

    The Committee recommends the appropriation of $29,077,000 
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 
(FDLP), which is responsible for supplying 1,400 designated 
libraries throughout the country with federal documents.
    The budget request has been approved with the following 
exceptions:
          1. the grant program is not approved since the 
        transition to electronic format budget plan has not 
        been included;
          2. a reduction of $1.2 million will be possible by 
        converting most serial sets to CD-ROM. Regional 
        depositories plus one depository in each state without 
        a designated regional, and the international exchange 
        program will continue to receive paper copies of the 
        serial set. It should be noted that serial set 
        documents are approximately six years old before they 
        are made available and are duplicative since the 
        individual paper copies of these documents are now 
        distributed to depository libraries simultaneously with 
        their first printings; and
          3. a $50,000 reduction made available by converting 
        the Bound Congressional Record to CD-ROM. This 
        conversion is explained above under Congressional 
        Printing and Binding.
    Last year, the conference agreement on the Legislative bill 
endorsed the need to study and plan a transition to an 
electronic format oriented Federal Depository Library Program. 
In order to expedite serious consideration of the steps 
necessary for achieving this transition, a two-year time frame 
was established as a possible benchmark objective. In the 
meantime, the Public Printer, the Director of OMB, and many 
librarians and other interested parties throughout the 
depository community have made known their judgment that the 
move to electronic format cannot be accomplished within a two-
year time frame. Some have suggested it will take five to seven 
years to develop the technology and to make the necessary 
adjustments in the depository program. While that time frame 
seems somewhat lengthy, a blueprint has been presented in the 
March 29, 1996 draft ``Study to Identify Measures Necessary for 
a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository 
Library Program'' and ``The Electronic Federal Depository 
Library Program: Transition Plan, FY 1996-FY 1998,'' the latter 
presented in the GPO fiscal year 1997 budget documents.
    The Committee commends the Public Printer and the 
Superintendant of Documents for their leadership in preparing 
these proposals. Also, much credit should be given to the 
working group staff and advisors from the many agencies and 
representatives of other interested organizations who 
participated. The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget also recognized the importance of the objectives of the 
transition and has made several suggestions on its content. It 
is clear that the transition proposals and their underpinnings 
have struck a chord in the inexorable advance toward a more 
cost-effective and user friendly program for providing citizen 
access to federal documents. The library community and 
information-generating federal agencies are moving rapidly in 
the direction of electronic formats for information storage and 
sharing. It is obvious that the depository program must be able 
to compete in this changing environment. That the GPO program 
for making federal documents available to the public will have 
to adapt to that technology is inevitable, a fact clearly 
recognized in the GPO proposals.-
    It is not within the jurisdiction of this appropriations 
bill to enact such wide-sweeping legislation included in these 
proposals. Going back over several years, this program has been 
identified in the appropriations process as one that requires 
serious attention in order to find the means to continue its 
extremely important public service objectives. The proposals 
that have been presented contain potential organizational and 
document distribution solutions that show promise of great 
benefit to all users and providers of Federal information.
    It is now appropriate that the oversight committees of 
Congress take this blueprint under advisement, perhaps hold 
hearings, and amend Title 44 accordingly with the statutory 
authority for an electronic format oriented program. The 
proposals and the legislation necessary to carry them out 
should be given high priority.

               Government Printing Office Revolving Fund

    Revolving fund.--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 3,700. The 
Committee believes there are opportunities that should be 
explored to further privatize the Goverment Printing Office. It 
is recognized that considerable privatization already exists. 
The GPO printing procurement program is highly developed and 
effective, and serves the entire executive branch of government 
with thousands of outside vendor contracts each year. By most 
accounts, this program is cost effective and meets the need. 
However, there may be cost-effective possibilities at the 
printing plant itself to outsource some of the printing 
workload. For example, the Congressional Record and Federal 
Register workloads are somewhat predictable and sufficiently 
routine so that it may be possible that one or both products 
can be outsourced. The Public Printer is directed to conduct a 
study, using independent outside experts, to determine if such 
opportunities exist. To the maximum extent practicable, the 
current workforce should be utilized, as should the installed 
equipment base. Another option that should be considered is the 
cost-benefit of converting to a two-shift operation at the 
plant. These studies should be conducted in consultation with 
the Joint Committee on Printing and should reflect the needs of 
GPO's Congressional client base.

                       GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE

                         Salaries and Expenses

1996 appropriation......................................    $374,406,000
1997 budget estimate....................................     371,673,000
Committee recommendation................................     332,520,000
Offsetting collections..................................     (5,905,000)
                    --------------------------------------------------------
                    ____________________________________________________
      Total available...................................     338,425,000

    The Committee has provided $332,520,000 in direct 
appropriations for the General Accounting Office. Additionally, 
$5,905,000 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 $39,153,000 less than the amount 
requested and $41,886,000 below the amount appropriated in 
fiscal year 1996. This funding will support 3,340 FTE's and 
represents a reduction of 11% from current year funding. This 
reduction also completes the two-year, 25% downsizing in the 
GAO budget approved in last year's conference agreement. The 
Committee has been advised by GAO that no further reductions-
in-force will be necessary to achieve this FTE level.
    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 agency's flexibility to acquire needed ad hoc 
expertise and will allow the agency to make more use of private 
sector financial auditing capabilities.
    The Committee recognizes the important workload placed upon 
the GAO through its role in auditing the government's 1997 
consolidated financial statements as required by the Chief 
Financial Officer's (CFO) Act (Public Law 101-576). The agency 
plans to realign existing resources to properly fulfill its 
responsibilities under the Act. Accordingly, the 100 additional 
positions requested are not needed. Also, the implementation of 
the CFO Act and the recent completion of work on accounting 
standards by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board 
(FASAB) may have a significant impact on the future roles of 
the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) and 
the FASAB. Working with the Office of Management and Budget and 
the Treasury Department, GAO should reevaluate the roles of 
these two organizations and reassess their overall contribution 
to effective financial management in government. It may be that 
one or both are now redundant due to the overall upgrading and 
reorganization of financial management in the federal sector. 
The results of this evaluation, which should include 
recommendations regarding future size, scope of work, the need 
for continued, routine staffing of standards and procedure 
setting, and the potential for a more cost-effective 
organization of these resources at GAO, may suggest a 
reorganization or consolidation.
    In addition, GAO should carefully monitor its progress in 
implementing the agency's CFO Act responsibilities, including 
its planned implementation timetable, its progress in achieving 
implementation goals and the number of FTE's and associated 
contract funds. If changes in scheduled implementation result 
in the use of fewer resources than planned, those resources 
should be reassigned to other high priority audit and 
evaluation work.

                     TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

    The customary language regarding emergency assistance for 
vehicles, positions and allowances, consulting services and buy 
American is included. A provision has been included authorizing 
the transfer of funds, subject to approval, among several 
Architect of the Capitol accounts. Two provisions transferring 
personnel and leave balances have been included. Sec. 309 
provides appropriations for awards and settlements.

                     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...............................           $2,188           $2,179           $1,682           $1,658
Mandatory...................................               92               92               92               92
                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.................................            2,280            2,271            1,774            1,750
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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........................................          $1,682
Outlays:
    1997................................................           1,470
    1998................................................             144
    1999................................................              37
    2000................................................              18
    2001................................................               7

               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

    No transfers of funds are included.

                              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:
    There are no appropriations in the accompanying bill that 
are not authorized by law.

               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 which 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. Section 101 authorizes the use of vending machine 
receipts to replenish inventories.
    7. Section 102 makes permanent a provision included in last 
year's bill regarding a 90 day before election cutoff in 
unsolicited mass mailings.
    8. There is language authorizing the operations and payment 
authority of the Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies of 
1997.
    9. 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, GA, and for the 
costs of basic training of police personnel.
    10. The bill authorizes the transfer of funds within 
``Capitol Police, Salaries'', and between ``Capitol Police, 
Salaries,'' and ``General Expenses,'' subject to approval.
    11. There is language making permanent an exemption for 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.
    12. There is language authorizing the CBO to make lump-sum 
payments to terminated employees for unused annual leave.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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 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.
    16. There is authority to expend funds collected under the 
authority of 2 U.S.C. 150, the balance to remain available 
until expended.
    17. 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.
    18. There is a limitation on the number of indirect 
employees 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.
    19. Section 207 limits obligational authority for 
assistance to foreign parliaments.
    20. Section 208 authorizes the transfer of funds.
    21. Section 209 authorizes the Library of Congress to 
perform certain financial management functions.
    22. 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.
    23. There is language that provides reimbursement to the 
Superintendent of Documents for the costs of printing and 
distributing certain publications.
    24. There is language authorizing the operation of the GPO 
revolving fund, and which authorizes travel expenses for 
advisory councils.
    25. Under the GPO revolving fund, there is language which 
provides expenses not to exceed $75,000 for attendance at 
meetings.
    26. The bill includes a limitation on GPO employment of not 
more than 3,700 full-time equivalent work years.
    27. There is a limitation on the participation at GPO of 
top-level management in flexible or compressed work schedules.
    28. 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 certain 
benefits, including rental of living quarters in foreign 
countries; appropriations are authorized for administrative 
expenses of any other member department or agency to finance an 
appropriate share of the costs of the Joint Financial 
Management Improvement Program (JFMIP); asbestos removal and 
renovation contracts up to 5 years; 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.
    29. 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.
    30. Section 303 provides that whenever in this Act any 
office or position not specifically established by the 
Legislative Pay Act of 1929 is appropriated for or the rate of 
compensation or designation of any office or position 
appropriated for is different from that specifically 
established by such Act, the rate of compensation and the 
designation in this Act shall be the permanent law with respect 
thereto: Provided, That the provisions in this Act for the 
various items of official expenses of Members, officers, and 
committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, and 
clerk hire for Senators and Members of the House of 
Representatives shall be the permanent law with respect 
thereto.
    31. Section 304 requires that certain information regarding 
consulting services shall be a matter of public record.
    32. Section 305 is a sense of Congress provision regarding 
American-made products.
    33. Section 306 authorizes the transfer of certain funds.
    34. Sections 307 and 308 transfer certain employees and 
leave balances.

                  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):

    SECTION 107A OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1996

    Sec. 107A. [For fiscal year 1996, subject] (a) Subject to 
the direction of the Committee on House Oversight of the House 
of Representatives, [of the total amount deposited in the 
account referred to in section 107(b)(3) of this Act from 
vending operations of the House of Representatives Restaurant 
System, the cost of goods sold shall be available to pay the 
cost of inventory] the amounts deposited in the account 
specified in subsection (b) from vending operations of the 
House of Representatives Restaurant System shall be available 
to pay the cost of goods sold for such operations.
    (b) The account referred to in subsection (a) is the 
special deposit account established for the House of 
Representatives Restaurant by section 208 of the First 
Supplemental Civil Functions Appropriation Act, 1941 (40 U.S.C. 
174k note).
                              ----------                              


              SECTION 3210 OF TITLE 39, UNITED STATES CODE

Sec. 3210. Franked mail transmitted by the Vice President, Members of 
                    Congress, and congressional officials

    (a)(1) * * *
          * * * * * * *
    (6)(A) It is the intent of Congress that a Member of, or 
Member-elect to, Congress may not mail any mass mailing as 
franked mail--
          (i) if the mass mailing is postmarked fewer than 60 
        days (or, in the case of a Member of the House, fewer 
        than 90 days) immediately before the date of any 
        primary election or general election (whether regular, 
        special, or runoff) in which the Member is a candidate 
        for reelection; or
          (ii) in the case of a Member of, or Member-elect to, 
        the House who is a candidate for any other public 
        office, if the mass mailing--
                  (I) is prepared for delivery within any 
                portion of the jurisdiction of or the area 
                covered by the public office which is outside 
                the area constituting the congressional 
                district from which the Member or Member-elect 
                was elected; or
                  (II) is postmarked fewer than [60 days] 90 
                days immediately before the date of any primary 
                election or general election (whether regular, 
                special, or runoff) in which the Member of 
                Member-elect is a candidate for any other 
                public office.
          * * * * * * *

  COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF NEW BUDGET (OBLIGATIONAL) AUTHORITY FOR 1996 AND BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR 1997 PERMANENT 
                                NEW BUDGET (OBLIGATIONAL) AUTHORITY--TRUST FUNDS                                
 [Becomes available automatically under earlier, or ``permanent'' law without further, or annual, action by the 
     Congress. Thus, these amounts are not included in the accompanying bill. All amounts are in the form of    
                                 ``appropriations'' unless otherwise indicated]                                 
                                            [In millions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Budget estimate                    
                                                             New budget           of new                        
                    Agency and item                        (obligational)     (obligational)    Increase (+) or 
                                                          authority, 1996    authority, 1996      decrease (-)  
                                                                \1\                \1\                          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Library of Congress                                                                           
                                                                                                                
Gift and trust fund accounts, non-revolving............                $27                $28                 +1
                                                                                                                
          U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission                                                                  
                                                                                                                
Trust funds............................................                  1                  1  .................
                                                                                                                
        Architect of the Capitol, Botanic Garden                                                                
                                                                                                                
Gifts and donations....................................                  2                  2  .................
                                                                                                                
 John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and                                                         
                      Development                                                                               
                                                                                                                
Trust funds............................................                  1                  1  .................
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
      Total, trust funds...............................                 31                 32                 +1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Amounts as estimated and shown in the [March 1996] budget document. Some items are indefinite in amount, and
  thus are subject to later reestimation.                                                                       


                          PERMANENT NEW BUDGET (OBLIGATIONAL) AUTHORITY--FEDERAL FUNDS                          
 [Becomes available automatically under earlier, or ``permanent'' law without further, or annual, action by the 
     Congress. Thus, these amounts are not included in the accompanying bill. All amounts are in the form of    
                                 ``appropriations'' unless otherwise indicated]                                 
                                            [In millions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Budget estimate                    
                                                             New budget           of new                        
                    Agency and item                        (obligational)     (obligational)    Increase (+) or 
                                                          authority, 1996    authority, 1997      decrease (-)  
                                                                \1\                \1\                          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                House of Representatives                                                                        
                                                                                                                
Congressional use of foreign currency..................                 $5                 $5  .................
International conferences and contingencies: House and                                                          
 Senate expenses.......................................                  1                  1  .................
Compensation of Members and related administrative                                                              
 expenses..............................................                 74                 76                +$2
                                                                                                                
                  Library of Congress                                                                           
                                                                                                                
Payments to copyright owners (indefinite, special fund)                204                209                 +5
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
      Total, federal funds.............................                284                291                 +7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Amounts as estimated and shown in the [March 1996] budget document. Some items are indefinite in amount, and
  thus are subject to later reestimation.                                                                       

  
  
                   ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF HON. DAVE OBEY

    The cost of this bill for the entire Legislative Branch of 
Government is the same as the cost of buying one fully equipped 
B-2 bomber. While this fact should not be construed as a reason 
to quit looking for inefficiency and waste in the Legislative 
budget, it does put into perspective the relative size of the 
resources used by the Legislative Branch to exercise its 
constitutional duty to ``check and balance'' the Executive and 
Judicial branches of government.
    Since FY 1992, Congress has reduced total Legislative 
Branch staffing by 5,500 ``full time equivalent'' positions--a 
reduction of nearly 20 percent. More than half of these 
reductions were made by Democratic congresses. But the same 
political pressures to cut House resources that started out as 
necessary reductions of bloated staffing and inefficient 
operations continue today with much more insidious implications 
for the ability of Congress to perform its fundamental 
constitutional mission.
    I am concerned that the continued zeal for cutting back the 
quantity and quality of Congressional staff resources needed to 
analyze complex legislative proposals is now having the effect 
of removing impediments for special interests to more directly 
affect legislative products. Sadly, the first session of the 
104th Congress that started with so much fanfare and rhetoric 
about reform, has actually relied very heavily on support from 
the special interests with incidents of lobbyists writing major 
legislation and so-called ``think tanks'' financed by private 
individuals providing self-interested and biased analyses for 
use as the principal basis for justifying legislation.
    An important part of reversing this trend is to provide the 
resources necessary to maintain a professional staff of high 
quality that has the ability to analyze competing claims and 
provide Members with objective assessments. This includes 
quality professionals at the GAO, CRS, and other offices that 
support Congressional research and analysis. Overall staffing, 
budget, and pay policies of the majority seem to discount the 
importance of this. We have a growing problem of key staff 
positions being turned into a ``kiddie corps'' of junior people 
who do not have the experience or background to deal with 
highly paid representatives of the special interests. This just 
adds to the influence of the special interests.
    The Committee bill begins to slow this erosion. Committee 
and personal Member office staffing levels are stabilized. The 
total reduction in the bill of $37 million if financed 
overwhelmingly from the $42 million reduction to the GAO to 
fulfill a two-year staff reduction commitment of the 
Comptroller General.
    While the Committee put together a generally responsible 
bill, the same cannot be said about the FY 1997 House budget 
request submitted by the newly appointed House officers. After 
much fanfare about cost cutting and deficit reduction just one 
year ago, these appointees asked for a total budget increase of 
$66.5 million--nearly 10 percent over last year.
    The Chief Administrative Officer of the House led the way, 
asking for a 32 percent increase in his budet--from $53.6 
million to $70.5 million. The Sergeant At Arms requested a 14 
percent increase while the Clerk of the House asked for close 
to an eight percent increase. These large dollar increases were 
requested at the same time that their request for overall 
support staff would decrease by another 19 FTE's. The 
impression left is that the overriding motivation is not 
deficit reduction is not deficit reduction but simply to reduce 
staff and replace it with high priced contractors. I commend 
the Committee for rejecting this approach.

                           FISCAL YEAR LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS BILL--SUMMARY                          
                                            [Excluding Senate items]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Fiscal year--                   
                          Agency                           -----------------------------------------------------
                                                              1996 enacted      1997 request     1997 comm. bill
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
House of Representatives..................................     $671,061,000      $738,777,000      $683,831,000 
(CAO).....................................................      (53,556,000)      (70,464,471)      (55,209,000)
(Clerk)...................................................      (13,807,000)      (15,370,000)      (15,074,000)
Joint Inaugural...........................................  ................          950,000           950,000 
Joint Economic............................................        3,000,000         3,000,000         3,000,000 
Joint Printing............................................          750,000           777,000           777,000 
Joint Tax.................................................        5,116,000         7,716,000         5,470,000 
Attending Physician.......................................        1,260,000         1,225,000         1,225,000 
Capitol Police: House.....................................       34,213,000        37,286,000        68,392,000 
Capitol Police: Senate....................................       35,919,000        39,108,000   ................
Capitol Police: Expenses..................................        2,560,000         7,606,000         2,685,000 
Capitol Guides & SSO......................................        1,991,000         1,991,000         1,991,000 
Statements of Approps.....................................           30,000            30,000            30,000 
Office of Compliance......................................        2,500,000         3,268,000         2,609,000 
OTA.......................................................        6,115,000   ................                0 
CBO.......................................................       24,288,000        24,775,000        24,288,000 
AOC(excluding Senate).....................................      113,641,000       109,821,000       109,137,000 
Botanic Garden............................................            3,053         2,902,000         2,902,000 
LOC (excluding CRS).......................................      264,616,000       281,593,000       268,117,000 
CRS.......................................................       60,084,000        63,056,000        62,641,000 
GPO.......................................................      114,077,000       114,597,000       110,746,000 
GAO.......................................................      374,406,000       371,673,000       332,520,000 
                                                           -------------------                                  
  Total Appropriation.....................................    1,718,680,000     1,810,151,000     1,681,311,000 
Receipts (power Plant, LOC, GAO)..........................       40,099,000        38,447,000        40,052,000 
                                                           -------------------                                  
  Total Available.........................................    1,758,779,000     1,848,598,000     1,721,363,000 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Internet Access. I find deeply troubling the Committee's 
action of refusing to accept the amendment of our colleague Vic 
Fazio to allow Internet users direct and unfettered access to 
the views of the minority on the important issues being 
considered by the various House Committee. In this day and age, 
it is surprising en encounter such attempts to discourage and 
restrict public access to the views of their democratically 
elected representatives. It seems especially ironic that the 
majority would attempt to discourage access to information on 
the internet, which is founded on the precepts of free, easy, 
fast and unrestricted access to information.
    This issue revolves around the ``Committee Internet 
Policy'' adopted by the House Oversight Committee on May 23, 
1996, governing the availability of Committee Information on 
the Internet and the World Wide Web. This policy, which will 
not be voted on by the full House, would require all internet 
and World Wide Web users to access information on Democratic 
Committee Web pages only through their Republican Web 
counterparts. In addition, we understand the House Information 
Resources office has been directed by House Leadership to make 
technical changes to Democratic Web pages to prevent an 
internet user who finally reaches the information provided by 
Committee Democrats from ``bookmarking'' that Web site for 
future reference. Bookmaking is a common practice that permits 
a user to go back directly to a site of his/her choosing.
    This policy restricts the free flow of information in many 
ways. Most important, if the Republican leadership of a 
Committee refuses to establish or terminates its ``home page'', 
the Committee minority must automatically follow suit. With no 
bookmarks and a Committee table of contents written and 
controlled by the majority, users may be required to scroll 
through an unlimited number of majority pages including full 
page color photos of the committee chairman, biographies of 
majority members, press releases, Committee publication 
listings, Committee rules, etc., before one even knows if the 
minority has a home page.
    This is a pure, simple and not so subtle restriction on the 
dissemination of viewpoint the majority may not like. It runs 
contrary to our democratic tradition and should be overturned 
by the full House if the Committee does not revoke it.
    American Folklife Center. I was pleased that the Committee 
adopted my amendment requiring the Librarian of Congress to 
submit a plan for transferring the budget, staff and 
collections of the Library's American Folklife Center to the 
Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies at the 
Smithsonian Institution. This was necessitated by continuing 
actions of the Library administration to diminish the role of 
the Folklife Center and to siphon off resources for other 
purposes it considers more important.
    The nation and the Congress strongly support efforts to 
preserve and celebrate American's folk heritage and the 
community and family values this heritage embodies. The 
Library's American Folklife Center, established by the American 
Folklife Preservation Act of 1976, has done much good and 
positive work to preserve and protect this important heritage.
    Unfortunately, actions over the last years make it quite 
clear that the Library has a questionable commitment to 
continuing and expanding the work of this Center. Most 
recently, the Librarian sent an unsolicited letter to the 
Committee on House Oversight dated May 16, 1996 calling for 
major reductions in Folklife Center staffing (-30%), budget 
(-20%), and outreach activities (elimination), with savings to 
be reallocated to ``higher priority library activities.'' I 
understand that these recommendations were made without prior 
consultation with the Board of Trustees appointed under law to 
oversee the work of this Center.
    With the Library's demonstrated intent to dim1nish the work 
of its Folklife Center, it is appropriate to transfer these 
activities to an organization having a better appreciation for 
our folklife traditions and heritage. The Center for Folklife 
Programs and Cultural Studies at the Smithsonian Institution 
has shown a solid commitment towards preserving, protecting, 
and celebrating our folk heritage. It's mission can be 
strengthened and enhance by transfer of the Library's American 
Folklife Center (including its budget, staff, Board, and 
collections). My amendment to the Committee report calls for 
such a transfer plan to be completed by August 15, 1996 in time 
for final Congressional action before the end of the fiscal 
year.
                                                         Dave Obey.