[House Report 105-79]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 105-79
_______________________________________________________________________
PROVIDING AMOUNTS FOR THE EXPENSES OF CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS
_______
Aprill 28, 1997.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______________________________________________________________________
Mr. Thomas, from the Committee on House Oversight, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 129]
The Committee on House Oversight, to whom was referred the
resolution (H. Res. 129) providing amounts for the expenses of
certain committees of the House of Representatives in the One
Hundred Fifth Congress, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the
resolution be agreed to.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. COMMITTEE EXPENSES FOR THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--With respect to the One Hundred Fifth Congress,
there shall be paid out of the applicable accounts of the House of
Representatives, in accordance with this primary expense resolution,
not more than the amount specified in subsection (b) for the expenses
(including the expenses of all staff salaries) of each committee named
in that subsection.
(b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $7,656,162; Committee
on Banking and Financial Services, $8,901,617; Committee on the Budget,
$9,940,000; Committee on Commerce, $14,535,406; Committee on Education
and the Workforce, $10,125,113; Committee on House Oversight,
$6,050,349; Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $4,815,526;
Committee on International Relations, $10,368,358; Committee on the
Judiciary, $10,604,041; Committee on National Security, $9,721,745;
Committee on Resources, $9,876,550; Committee on Rules, $4,649,102;
Committee on Science, $8,677,830; Committee on Small Business,
$3,906,941; Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, $2,456,300;
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, $12,184,459; Committee
on Veterans' Affairs, $4,344,160; and Committee on Ways and Means,
$11,036,907.
SEC. 2. FIRST SESSION LIMITATIONS.
(a) In General.--Of the amount provided for in section 1 for each
committee named in subsection (b), not more than the amount specified
in such subsection shall be available for expenses incurred during the
period beginning at noon on January 3, 1997, and ending immediately
before noon on January 3, 1998.
(b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $3,791,039; Committee
on Banking and Financial Services, $4,363,817; Committee on the Budget,
$4,970,000; Committee on Commerce, $7,122,959; Committee on Education
and the Workforce, $5,002,127; Committee on House Oversight,
$3,042,603; Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $2,358,040;
Committee on International Relations, $5,145,358; Committee on the
Judiciary, $5,054,800; Committee on National Security, $4,719,454;
Committee on Resources, $4,800,014; Committee on Rules, $2,306,407;
Committee on Science, $4,263,672; Committee on Small Business,
$1,936,471; Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, $1,276,300;
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, $5,992,229; Committee
on Veterans' Affairs, $2,084,368; and Committee on Ways and Means,
$5,366,700.
SEC. 3. SECOND SESSION LIMITATIONS.
(a) In General.--Of the amount provided for in section 1 for each
committee named in subsection (b), not more than the amount specified
in such subsection shall be available for expenses incurred during the
period beginning at noon on January 3, 1998, and ending immediately
before noon on January 3, 1999.
(b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $3,865,123; Committee
on Banking and Financial Services, $4,537,800; Committee on the Budget,
$4,970,000; Committee on Commerce, $7,412,447; Committee on Education
and the Workforce, $5,122,986; Committee on House Oversight,
$3,007,746; Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $2,457,486;
Committee on International Relations, $5,223,000; Committee on the
Judiciary, $5,549,241; Committee on National Security, $5,002,291;
Committee on Resources, $5,076,536; Committee on Rules, $2,342,695;
Committee on Science, $4,414,158; Committee on Small Business,
$1,970,470; Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, $1,180,000;
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, $6,192,230; Committee
on Veterans' Affairs, $2,259,792; and Committee on Ways and Means,
$5,670,207.
SEC. 4. VOUCHERS.
Payments under this resolution shall be made on vouchers authorized
by the committee involved, signed by the chairman of such committee,
and approved in the manner directed by the Committee on House
Oversight.
SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.
Amounts made available under this resolution shall be expended in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House
Oversight.
SEC. 6. ADJUSTMENT AUTHORITY.
The Committee on House Oversight shall have authority to make
adjustments in amounts under section 1, if necessary to comply with an
order of the President issued under section 254 of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 or to conform to any
reduction in appropriations for the purposes of such section 1.
COMMITTEE ACTION
On April 24, 1997, by voice vote, a quorum being present, the
Committee agreed to an amendment in the nature of a substitute
and agreed to a motion to report the resolution favorably to
the House, as amended.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
STATEMENT ON BUDGET AUTHORITY AND RELATED ITEMS
The resolution does not provide new budget authority, new
spending authority, new credit authority, or an increase or
decrease in revenues or tax expenditures, and a statement under
clause 2(l)(3)(B) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is not required.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states, with
respect to the resolution, that the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office did not submit a cost estimate and
comparison under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974.
OVERSIGHT FINDINGS OF COMMITTEE ON GOVERNAMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT
The Committee states, with respect to clause 2(l)(3)(D) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, that the
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight did not submit
findings or recommendations based on investigations under
clause 4(c)(2) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
ROLLCALL VOTES
In relation to clause 2(l)(2)(B) of rule XI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee states that there
were no rollcall votes with respect to the resolution.
GENERAL DISCUSSION
H. Res. 129, as amended, authorizes $149,850,566 for
committee salaries and expenses for 17 standing committees of
the House of Representatives (excluding the Committee on
Appropriations and the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight) and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
The amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Mr.
Boehner and passed by the Committee, was the only amendment
offered to the resolution. The minority offered no amendments
to the funding resolution.
In a separate Committee action, the Chairman announced his
intent to request a change in House Rule XI, clause 5(f)(3)
which currently allows committees, to receive 9 per centum (or
such lesser per centum as may be determined by the Committee on
House Oversight) of the total annualized amount made available
under expense resolutions for such committee in the preceding
session of Congress * * * for the period beginning at noon on
January 3 and ending at midnight on March 31 in each odd-
numbered year. The requested change would reduce the 9 per
centum to 8 per centum. Thus, interim funding for committees
would be at 96% of the annual funding of the previous session
until an expense resolution is passed by the House.
On March 21, 1997, the House considered and passed H. Res.
91 which funded the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight at $11,702,573 in 1997 and $8,317,999 in 1998 as well
as a total of $7,900,000 for the Reserve Fund for the entire
105th Congress.
Additionally, H. Res. 91, section 7, requires an offset
within other legislative branch activities for any increase in
105th Congress Committee expenses if they exceed the funds
appropriated for the 104th Congress. The offset terms of the
Resolution affect the funding expenses of the committees funded
in H. Res. 91 as well as those funded in H. Res. 129.
By Committee resolution, approved on March 12, 1997, the
Committee on House Oversight established franked mail
allocations for all committees and the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence.
Committee Funding in the 104th Congress
Significant changes were enacted at the beginning of the
104th Congress which affected the structure and
jurisdiction of Committees. In the 104th Congress,
three standing committees and 32 subcommittees were abolished.
Committee staff was reduced by 33% from the 103d
Congress levels and committee funding authorization was reduced
by a total of 30%, $67,003,290. Additionally, committees became
directly responsible and accountable for costs previously paid
from funds not specifically authorized through a committee
funding resolution. These costs included, scanning and
graphics, local telephone line charges, long-distance telephone
call charges, office supplies and franked mail. Prior to the
104th Congress, these costs were paid from other
House funds, separate from the investigative and statutory
funding procedures. The 30% reduction in funding was achieved
even after mandating full accountability by committees for
these costs.
The 104th Congress was one of the most prolific
and substantive Congresses in history. According to statistics
complied by the Committee on Rules, the House spent 2,445 hours
in session deliberating on and passing 333 bills into law,
including landmark legislation such as welfare reform, a
balanced budget and health care reform. This was accomplished
with fewer committee staff and significantly fewer financial
resources than was authorized in the prior Congress.
Committee funding process
The 105th Congress is the second funding cycle
under the biennial funding process instituted in the
104th Congress. At the beginning of the
104th Congress House Rules were revised, changing
the Committee funding process to a biennial cycle and
abolishing the bifurcation of funding under statutory and
investigative accounts.
Committee Chairmen in the 104th Congress
achieved the ambitious goals established by the new Republican
majority, including those of fiscal conservatism and
legislative proclivity. The biennial committee funding process
has proven successful in at least two respects. First, every
House committee chairman was a new chairman, and was asked to
present a two-year budget and to predict the needs and the
legislative goals of the committees over which they had only
recently taken control. 104th Congress Chairmen did
plan realistic budgets which funded the needs of their
committees, simultaneously reducing budgets by an average of
30% from their predecessors. Second, a two-year budget cycle
saves time and resources for all committees because the process
is undertaken only once per Congress, rather than twice as was
done previously. The biennial funding process facilitates long
term planning and cuts in half the time and resources dedicated
to making, defending and approving budget requests.
At the outset of the 104th Congress, the
Committee on House Oversight adopted a regulation which
required committees to reimburse legislative and executive
branch agencies or departments for any detailees working for
the committee. The regulation has been revised for the
105th Congress. Committees must continue to
reimburse for detailees from the Government Printing Office.
Committees will not, however, be required by the Committee on
House Oversight to reimburse other agencies for details, so
long as the number of details at any one committee does not
exceed 10% of their staff ceiling. Agencies must be reimbursed
for details above this 10% limit. While details often provide
special expertise not available on committee staff, or
expertise not required on a permanent basis, this policy is
intended to continue to ensure prudent use of other agencies'
resources and to continue a full-accountability model for
committee funding.
H. Res. 129
The sum total of the budget requests for the committees
funded in this Resolution was $160,108,743. The amount
authorized for the operations of the 17 standing committees and
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in this
Resolution is $149,850,566. The authorization for the
operations of the effected committees is reduced by
$10,258,177, -6%, from the requested amounts. The funding for
the effected committees in the 105th Congress is an
average 2% increase over two years above the 104th Congress
levels.
The amount authorized in this Resolution is $46,892,058,
24%, less than the funding for like committees in the
103d Congress.
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105th
Committee request H. Res. 129 1997 1998
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Agriculture............................................... $7,792,162 $7,656,162 $3,791,039 $3,865,123
Banking................................................... 9,414,785 8,901,617 4,363,817 4,537,800
Budget.................................................... 9,940,000 9,940,000 4,970,000 4,970,000
Commerce.................................................. 15,191,538 14,535,406 7,122,959 7,412,447
Education................................................. 10,569,157 10,125,113 5,002,127 5,122,986
House Oversight........................................... 6,160,946 6,050,349 3,042,603 3,007,746
Intelligence.............................................. 5,040,526 4,815,526 2,358,040 2,457,486
International Relations................................... 11,143,892 10,368,358 5,145,358 5,223,000
Judiciary................................................. 12,037,046 10,604,041 5,054,800 5,549,241
National Security......................................... 10,668,640 9,721,745 4,719,454 5,002,291
Resources................................................. 10,418,537 9,876,550 4,800,014 5,076,536
Rules..................................................... 4,649,102 4,649,102 2,306,407 2,342,695
Science................................................... 9,128,727 8,677,830 4,263,672 4,414,158
Small Business............................................ 4,339,817 3,906,941 1,936,471 1,970,470
Standards \1\............................................. 2,439,300 2,456,300 1,276,300 1,180,000
Transportation............................................ 14,096,282 12,184,459 5,992,229 6,192,230
Veterans' Affairs......................................... 5,744,757 4,344,160 2,084,368 2,259,792
Ways and Means............................................ 11,333,529 11,036,907 5,366,700 5,670,207
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Total............................................... 160,108,743 149,850,566 73,596,358 76,254,208
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\1\ H. Res. 129 includes $60,000 for Ethics Reform Task Force expenses.
Minority resources
The majority is proud of the progress that has been made by
its committees towards the goal of allocating one-third of each
committee's resources to the minority. We remain committed to
this goal. In 1990, the Democratic Majority, pursuant to
Democratic Caucus Rule 34(F), adopted a policy that the
committee caucuses shall not be required to provide for more
than 20 percent of the total funding for minority investigative
staff for the full committee and each subcommittee of the
committee. In 1994, at the end of the 103d Congress, only four
committees (exclusive of those that share bipartisan and
nonpartisan staff) allowed one-third of their resources, staff
and funds, to the minority party.
When the new majority assumed control in the 104th
Congress, the number of committee staff allocated to the
minority party significantly improved:
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102d 103d 104th 105th
-------------------------------- 1995 & 1997 &
1991 1992 1993 1994 1996 1998
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Percent of Committees providing 33% of staff slots \1\ to the
minority..................................................... 6 13 0 6 44 47
Number of Committees providing:
33% or more............................................... 1 2 0 1 7 7
25% to 32%................................................ 3 2 5 5 6 7
20% to 24%................................................ 5 1 3 2 3 1
Less than 20%............................................. 7 11 8 8 0 0
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\1\ For the 102d and 103d Congress the calculation is from the investigative staff.
For the 105th Congress, there has been no erosion of the
resources provided to the minority party, and additional
progress has been made. Of those seventeen committees that have
partisan staff, nine committees have achieved the goal of one-
third allocation of the total budget or staff salaries to the
minority. Of the eight remaining committees, three have
increased their allocation to the minority party for the 105th
Congress. The situation has improved significantly and progress
will be monitored and encouraged.
The minority did not submit views to this report.