[Senate Report 105-14]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   REPORT
                                SENATE

 1st Session                                                     105-14
_______________________________________________________________________


 
       REVIEW OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY DURING THE 104TH CONGRESS

                               __________

                                 Report

                                 of the

                 COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                               during the

                             104TH CONGRESS

                              (1995-1996)

                PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 8(B) OF RULE XXVI
                  OF THE STANDING RULES OF THE SENATE




                 April 28, 1997.--Ordered to be printed
  

                                FORWARD

    This report reviewing the legislative activity during the 
104th Congress of the Committee on Rules and Administration is 
submitted pursuant to paragraph 8(b) of Rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate. Paragraph 8 provides that 
standing committees of the Senate shall review and study, on a 
continuing basis, the application, administration, and 
execution of those laws, or parts thereof, the subject matter 
of which is within their jurisdiction, and submit to the 
Senate, not later than March 31 of each odd-numbered year, a 
report detailing the activities of that committee for the 
preceding Congress. The text of paragraph 8 of rule XXVI is as 
follows:

    8. (a) In order to assist the Senate in--
          (1) its analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of the 
        application, administration, and execution of the laws 
        enacted by the Congress, and
          (2) its formulation, consideration, and enactment of 
        such modifications of or changes in those laws, and of 
        such additional legislation, as may be necessary or 
        appropriate,
each standing committee (except the Committees on 
Appropriations and the Budget), shall review and study, on a 
continuing basis the application, administration, and execution 
of those laws, or parts of laws, the subject matter of which is 
within the legislative jurisdiction of that committee. Such 
committees may carry out the required analysis, appraisal, and 
evaluation themselves, or by contract, or may require a 
Government agency to do so and furnish a report thereon to the 
Senate. Such committees may rely on such techniques as pilot 
testing, analysis of costs in comparison with benefits, or 
provision for evaluation after a defined period of time.
    (b) In each odd-numbered year, each such committee shall 
submit, not later than March 31, to the Senate, a report on the 
activities of that committee under this paragraph during the 
Congress ending at noon on January 3 of such year.

                                             John Warner, Chairman.


                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Forward..........................................................   III
Jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules and Administration........     1
Committee Legislative Activities.................................     2
Legislation Enacted..............................................     3
Bills and Joint Resolution Reported by the Committee.............     3
Committee Meetings and Hearings..................................     4
Federal Elections Legislation....................................     6
Franked Mail.....................................................     7
Government Printing Office.......................................     8
Oversight of the Smithsonian Institution.........................     8
Administration of the Senate.....................................     9
Committee Publications...........................................    10



105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 1st Session                                                     105-14
_______________________________________________________________________


        REVIEW OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY DURING THE 104th CONGRESS

                                _______
                                

                 April 28, 1997.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


 Mr. Warner, from the Committee on Rules and Administration, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

 [Pursuant to paragraph 8(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
                                Senate]

       Jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules and Administration

    The jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules and 
Administration is set forth in paragraph 1 of Rule XXV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate. The following are excerpts from 
that paragraph.

                                RULE XXV


                          standing committees


    1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at 
the commencement of each Congress, and shall continue and have 
the power to act until their successors are appointed, with 
leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within their 
respective jurisdictions:
          * * * * * * *
    (n)(1) Committee on Rules and Administration, to which 
committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, message, 
petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the 
following subjects:
    1. Administration of the Senate Office Buildings and the 
Senate wing of the Capitol, including the assignment of office 
space.
    2. Congressional organization relative to rules and 
procedures, and Senate rules and regulations, including floor 
and gallery rules.
    3. Corrupt practices.
    4. Credentials and qualifications of Members of the Senate, 
contested elections, and acceptance of incompatible offices.
    5. Federal elections generally, including the election of 
the President. Vice President, and Members of the Congress.
    6. Government Printing Office, and the printing and 
correction of the Congressional Record, as well as those 
matters provided for under rule XI.
    7. Meetings of the Congress and attendance of Members.
    8. Payment of money out of the contingent fund of the 
Senate or creating a charge upon the same (except that any 
resolution relating to substantive matter within the 
jurisdiction of any other standing committee of the Senate 
shall be first referred to such committee).
    9. Presidential succession.
    10. Purchase of books and manuscripts and erection of 
monuments to the memory of individuals.
    11. Senate Library and statuary, art, and pictures in the 
Capitol and Senate Office Buildings.
    12. Services to the Senate, including the Senate 
restaurant.
    13. United States Capitol and congressional office 
buildings, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution 
(and the incorporation of similar institutions), and the 
Botanic Gardens.
    (2) Such committee shall also--
          (A) make a continuing study of the organization and 
        operation of the Congress of the United States and 
        shall recommend improvements in such organization and 
        operation with a view toward strengthening the 
        Congress, simplifying its operations, improving its 
        relationships with other branches of the United States 
        Government, and enabling it better to meet its 
        responsibilities under the Constitution of the United 
        States; and
          (B) identify any court proceeding or action which, in 
        the opinion of the Committee, is of vital interest to 
        the Congress as a constitutionally established 
        institution of the Federal Government and call such 
        proceeding or action to the attention of the Senate.
          * * * * * * *

                    Committee Legislation Activities

    During the 104th Congress, a total of 88 legislative 
measures were referred to the Committee on Rules and 
Administration, of which 32 were reported to the Senate. The 88 
total measures included 30 simple Senate resolutions (24 
reported, of which 11 were agreed to), 16 Senate and House 
concurrent resolutions (2 reported and 2 agreed to by both the 
House and Senate), and 42 Senate and House bills and joint 
resolutions (6 reported, and 6 enacted into law).

                          Legislation Enacted

    The following is a list of the bills and joint resolutions 
considered by the Committee during the 104th Congress which 
ultimately became public law:
    H.R. 2527, to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 to improve the electoral process by permitting electronic 
filing and preservation of Federal Election Commission reports. 
(Public Law 104-79)
    H.J. Res. 69, providing for the appointment of Homer Alfred 
Neal as a citizen regent of the Smithsonian Institution Board 
of Regents. (Public Law 104-81)
    H.J. Res. 110, providing for the appointment of Howard H. 
Baker, Jr. as a citizen regent of the Smithsonian Institution 
Board of Regents. (Public Law 104-82)
    H.J. Res. 111, providing for the appointment of Anne 
D'Harnoncourt as a citizen regent of the Smithsonian 
Institution Board of Regents. (Public Law 104-83)
    H.J. Res. 112, providing for the appointment of Louis 
Gerstner as a citizen regent of the Smithsonian Institution 
Board of Regents. (Public Law 104-84)
    S. 1995, to authorize construction of the Smithsonian 
Institution National Air and Space Museum Dulles Center at 
Washington Dulles International Airport. (Public Law 104-222)

            Measures Reported to the Senate by the Committee

    1. S. 246, to authorize the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to 
establish a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., in the 
District of Columbia.
    2. S. 426, to authorize the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to 
establish a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. in the District 
of Columbia. S. Rep. 104-190. (Language subsequently 
incorporated in H.R. 4236, Presidio Parks legislation. Became 
Public Law 104-333.
    3. S. Con. Res. 34, to authorize the printing of ``Vice 
Presidents of the United States, 1789-1993'' as a Senate 
document.
    4. S. Res. 24, to provide for the broadcasting of press 
briefings on the Floor prior to the Senate's daily convening.
    5. S. Res. 36, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Finance. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    6. S. Res. 38, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Appropriations. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    7. S. Res. 39, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported as a provision of S. 
Res. 73.
    8. S. Res. 40, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Indian Affairs. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    9. S. Res. 41, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Foreign Relations. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    10. S. Res. 43, to authorize expenditures by the Select 
Committee on Intelligence. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 
73.
    11. S. Res. 45, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Governmental Affairs. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    12. S. Res. 48, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Environment and Public Works. Reported as a provision of S. 
Res. 73.
    13. S. Res. 49, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Rules and Administration. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 
73.
    14. S. Res. 50, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on the Budget. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    15. S. Res. 51, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Small Business. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    16. S. Res. 52, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Banking. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    17. S. Res. 53, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Reported as a 
provision of S. Res. 73.
    18. S. Res. 54, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on the Judiciary. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    19. S. Res. 55, to authorize expenditures by the Special 
Committee on Aging. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    20. S. Res. 56, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Commerce. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    21. S. Res. 58, providing for members on the part of the 
Senate of the Joint Committee on Printing and the Joint 
Committee on the Library. Agreed to in the Senate.
    22. S. Res. 59, to authorize the printing of a collection 
of the rules of the committees of the Senate. Agreed to in the 
Senate.
    23. S. Res. 62, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Labor and Human Resources. Reported as a provision of S. 
Res. 73.
    24. S. Res. 64, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    25. S. Res. 65, to authorize expenditures by the Committee 
on Armed Services. Reported as a provision of S. Res. 73.
    26. S. Res. 73, to authorize biennial expenditures by the 
committee of the Senate for the period of March 1, 1995 through 
February 28, 1997. Agreed to by the Senate on February 13, 
1995.
    27. S. Res. 227, to authorize additional expenditures by 
the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs for 
expenses of the Whitewater Investigation.

                    Committee Meetings and Hearings

    January 12, 1995--To adopt Rules of Procedure of the 
Committee and select members for the Joint Committee on 
Printing and the Library; and to consider pending legislative 
and administrative business.
    January 18 and 19, 1995--To receive testimony from 
committee chairmen and ranking minority members on Their 
committee funding resolutions for 1995 and 1996.
    January 25, 1995--To mark up the following: an original 
resolution authorizing expenditures by committees of the Senate 
(the Omnibus Committee Funding Resolution for 1995-1996).
    March 16, 1995--To receive testimony on the operations of 
the Office of the Architect of the Capitol.
    March 30, 1995--To mark up the following: an original 
resolution providing for the broadcasting of press briefings on 
the floor prior to the Senate's daily convening.
    May 11 and 18, 1995--To receive testimony on the 
Smithsonian Institution: Management Guidelines for the Future.
    June 15, 1995--To receive testimony on the budget 
authorization request of the Federal Election Commission for FY 
1996.
    November 29, 1995--To receive testimony on the operations 
of the Library of Congress.
    December 7, 1995--To receive testimony on Technology in the 
Senate, an Agenda for the Information Age.
    December 14, 1995--To consider pending executive, 
legislative and administrative business, including S. 426, 
authorizing the establishment of a memorial tot he late Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr.; H.R. 2527, an amendment to the Federal 
Election Campaign Act; H.J. Res. 69, 110, 111, and 112, 
authorizing appointment of citizen regents to the Board of 
Regents of the Smithsonian; S. Con. Res. 34, authorizing 
printing of ``Vice Presidents of the United States, 1789-
1993;'' Senate Internet Usage Rules and Policies.
    February 1, 1996--To receive testimony on general aspects 
of Campaign Finance Reform, including reform and the 
constitutionality of recently proposed reforms.
    February 29, 1996--To receive testimony on the operations 
of the Secretary of the Senate, Sergeant at Arms, and Architect 
of the Capitol, and to receive testimony on establishing a 
criteria for the selection of a new Architect of the Capitol.
    March 5, 1996--To mark up S. Res. 227, authorizing the use 
of additional funds for salaries and expenses of the Special 
Committee to Investigate Whitewater Development Corporation and 
related matters.
    March 13, 1996--To received testimony on general aspects of 
Campaign Finance Reform.
    March 20, 1996--To receive testimony on the Congressional 
Research Service, including operation, infrastructure, and 
budget.
    March 27, 1996--To receive testimony on general aspects of 
Campaign Finance Reform, including the availability of reduced-
fee postage grants to candidates for election.
    April 17, 1996--To receive testimony on Campaign Finance 
Reform, including the role of political parties in campaigns, 
and the impact of proposed reforms on that role.
    May 7, 1996--To receive testimony on the operations of the 
Library of Congress.
    May 8, 1996--To receive testimony on general aspects of 
Campaign Finance Reform.
    May 15, 1996--To receive testimony on Campaign Finance 
Reform, including review of free and reduced-fee broadcast 
provisions of recent campaign finance reform bills including 
the need for such reforms and constitutional impediments.
    June 18, 1996--To receive testimony on Public Access to 
Government Information in the 21st Century, with a focus on the 
GPO Depository Library System.
    June 19, 1996--To continue testimony on Public Access in 
the 21st Century, with a focus on future trends of the GPO 
Depository Library Program.
    June 26, 1996--To receive testimony on the budget 
authorization request of the Federal Election Commission for FY 
1997, oversight and campaign finance reform.
    July 16, 1996--To receive testimony on Public Access to 
Government Information in the 21st Century, with a focus on the 
GPO Depository Library Program.
    July 14, 1996--To receive testimony on Public Access to 
Government Information in the 21st Century, with a focus on the 
GPO Depository Library Program.

                     Federal Elections Legislation

                        campaign finance reform

    The Committee on Rules and Administration held hearings on 
February 1, 1996, and May 15, 1996 to receive testimony on 
proposals to reform the financing of federal elections, and to 
consider measures as follows:
          S. 46, a bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign 
        Act of 1971 to provide for a voluntary system of 
        spending limits and partial public financing of Senate 
        primary and general election campaigns, to limit 
        contributions by multi candidate political committees;
          S. 1219, to reform the financing of Federal 
        elections;
          S. 1389, to reform the financing of Federal 
        elections; and
          S. 1528, to reform the financing of Senate election 
        campaigns.
    During the 104th Congress, the Rules Committee held the 
following hearings on proposals to reform the financing of 
federal elections:
    February 1, 1996. Testimony was received from Senator John 
McCain, Senator Russell D. Feingold, Senator Fred Thompson, 
Senator Paul Wellstone, Senator Dianne Feinstein. Testimony was 
also received from a panel consisting of Joel M. Gora, 
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Brooklyn Law School; Robert 
M. O'Neil, Director, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection 
of Free Expression; Archibald Cox, Harvard Law School. A third 
panel consisted of Bradley A. Smith, Capital University Law 
School; David M. Mason, The Heritage Foundation; Ann McBride, 
President, Common Cause; Joan B. Claybrook, President, Public 
Citizen.
    March 13, 1996. Testimony was received from Representative 
Christopher Shays, Representative Linda Smith, Representative 
Martin T. Meehan. Testimony was also received from a panel 
consisting of David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., National Right to Life 
Committee; Becky Cain, President, League of Women Voters of 
U.S.; Charles R. Serio. A third panel consisted of Col. Billie 
M. Bobbitt, USAF Ret.; John Dye, President, Virginia Rural 
Letter Carriers Association; Linda DeVries; Mr. James Bopp, 
Jr., Free Speech Coalition.
    March 27, 1996. Testimony was received from Jeffrey 
Zelkowitz, U.S. Postal Service; Richard A. Barton, Direct 
Marketing Association. A second panel consisted of Thomas E. 
Mann and Professor Michael J. Malbin.
    April 17, 1996. Testimony was received from Haley Barbour, 
Chairman, National Republican Committee, and Donald Fowler, 
National Chairman, Democratic National Committee. Testimony was 
also received from James J. Brady, President, Association of 
State Democratic Chairs, and Mr. Robert T. Bennett, State 
Chairman, Republic State Central and Executive Committee of 
Ohio.
    May 8, 1996. Testimony was received from Professor Larry 
Sabato, University of Virginia; Professor Herbert E. Alexander, 
Citizens' Research Foundation; and Norman J. Ornstein, American 
Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. A second panel 
consisted of Professor Lillian R. BeVier, University of 
Virginia Law School; Dr. Candice Nelson, the American 
University; and Professor Frederick Schauer, John F. Kennedy 
School of Government.
    May 15, 1996. Testimony was received from Gregory M. 
Schmidt, Vice President, LIN Television Corporation; Al 
Bramstedt, Jr., General manager, KTUU-TV; and Jan Crawford, Jan 
Crawford Communications. A second panel consisted of Paul 
Taylor, Director, Free TV for Straight Talk Coalition; 
Professor Benjamin Barber, Walt Whitman Professor of Political 
Science, Rutgers University; and P. Cameron DeVore, DAVIS WHITE 
TREMAINE Law Offices.
    June 26, 1996. Testimony was received on budget 
authorization request of the Federal Election Commission for FY 
1997, oversight, and campaign finance reform. Testimony was 
received from Ms. Lee Ann Elliott, Chairman, Federal Election 
Commission, accompanied by Mr. Scott E. Thomas, Chairman, 
Finance Committee, Federal Election Commission and Ms. Joan D. 
Aikens, Vice Chairman, Finance Committee, Federal Election 
Commission. A second panel consisted of Ms. Becky Cain, 
President, League of Women Voters.

                              Franked Mail

    During the 104th Congress, the Rules Committee adopted 
three revisions to the Regulations Governing Franked Mail for 
FY97. Clarifications were made to regulations regarding town 
meeting notices, state office frank mail cost reporting and 
restrictions on responding to solicited mass mailings during 
the 60 day moratorium before elections.
    Town meeting notices, now, may include a short description 
as to subject matter or purpose of the town meeting and an 
official photo in the banner of the notice.
    State offices must advise their D.C. office of their frank 
mail counts on a monthly basis. The D.C. offices will inform 
the Service Department of these counts by the 5th of each 
month. These timely and accurate reports are required to ensure 
proper accounting of franking mail.
    Solicitation forms provided by a Member through a mass 
mailing which are intended to be mailed back by constituents, 
may not be responded to during the 60 days immediately before 
the date of any primary, or general election (whether regular, 
special or runoff), for any Federal, State or local office in 
which a Member of the Senate is a candidate for election.
    These changes were adopted by the Rules Committee November 
22, 1996 and the Senate offices were provided with copies of 
the new regulations.

              Oversight of the Government Printing Office

    In the 104th Congress, the Rules Committee held the 
following hearings to receive testimony on Public Access to 
Government Information in the 21st Century, with a focus on the 
GPO Depository Library Program and Title 44 of the U.S. Code.
    June 18, 1996. Testimony was received from Wayne P. Kelley, 
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office; 
Dr. Daniel P. O'Mahony, Government Documents Coordinator, Brown 
University Library; Dr. Betty J. Turock, President, American 
Library Association, and Dr. Christie D. Vernon.
    June 19, 1996. Testimony was received from Dr. William A. 
Wulf, Professor of Computer Science, School of Engineering and 
Applied Science, University of Virginia; Dr. Dennis Galletta, 
Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh; Mr. 
Robert Smith, Executive Director, Interactive Services 
Association; The Honorable Jeanne Hurley Simon, Chairperson, 
U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences; 
Dr. Lewis Bellardo, Deputy Archivist of the United States, 
National Archives and Records Administration.
    July 16, 1996. Testimony was received from Benjamin Y. 
Cooper, Vice President, Government Affairs, Printing Industries 
of America; William A. Gindlesperger, President, ABC/Bids Plus; 
Robert G. Claitor, President, Claitor's Law Books and 
Publishing Division, Inc.' and Eric Massant, Director, 
Government and Industry Affairs, LEXIS-NEXIS and Congressional 
Information Service, Inc.
    July 24, 1996. Testimony was received from the Honorable 
Royce C. Lamberth, United States District Judge, for the 
District of Columbia, United States Court; Hon. Sally Katzen, 
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget; Mr. Christopher H. Schroeder, 
Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, 
U.S. Department of Justice; Dr. Donald R. Johnson, Director, 
National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of 
Commerce; Honorable Michael F. DiMario, Public Printer, U.S. 
Government Printing Office, and Mr. Roy Francis, Chairman, 
Interagency Council on Printing and Publication Services, 
Department of Interior.

                Oversight of the Smithsonian Institution

    The Rules Committee reported four Senate Joint Resolutions 
concerning the appointment of individuals to the Board of 
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, all of which were 
enacted into law, as follows:
    H.J. Res. 69, (companion measure of S.J. Res. 30), 
providing for the reappointment of Homer Neal as a citizen 
regent of the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents. (Public 
Law 104-48)
    H.J. Res. 110, (companion measure of S.J. Res. 39), 
providing for the reappointment of Howard H. Baker, Jr. as a 
citizen regent of the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents. 
(Public Law 104-82)
    H.J. Res. 111, (companion measure of S.J. Res. 40), 
providing for the reappointment of Anne D'Harnoncourt as a 
citizen regent of the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents. 
(Public Law 104-83)
    H.J. Res. 112, (companion measure of S.J. Res. 41), 
providing for the reappointment of Louis Gerstner as a citizen 
regent of the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents. (Public 
Law 104-84)
    S. 1995, to authorize construction of the Smithsonian 
Institution National Air and space Museum Dulles Center at 
Washington Dulles International Airport. It was discharged from 
the Committee and passed the Senate on July 31, 1996, and 
enacted into law on October 1, 1996. (Public Law 104-222)
    During the 104th Congress, a number of Senators wrote to 
the Rules Committee requesting that hearings be held on a 
National Air and Space Museum on planned exhibition 
commemorating the end of World War II, better known as the 
Enola Gay exhibition.
    The Rules Committee subsequently held the following 
oversight hearings to receive testimony on management 
guidelines for the future of the Smithsonian Institution:
    May 11, 1995. Testimony was received from Maj. General 
Charles W. Sweeney, USAF Ret.; Colonel Charles D. Cooper, USAF 
Ret., Director of Publications, the Retired Officers 
Association; Mr. Herman G. Harrington, Chairman, National 
Internal Affairs Commission, the American Legion; Mr. R.E. 
Smith, National President, Air Force Association, and Mr. Bob 
Manhan, Assistant Director of Legislation, Veterans of Foreign 
Wars.
    May 18, 1995. Testimony was received from Representative 
Sam Johnston; Mr. Edward T. Linenthal, Professor of Religious 
and American Culture, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Mr. Ira 
M. Heyman, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, accompanied by 
Ms. Constance Newman, Under Secretary, Smithsonian Institution; 
Mr. Tom Crouch, Chairman, Aeronautics Department, National Air 
and Space Museum; and Ms. Maxine F. Singer, Chairman, 
Commission on the Future of the Smithsonian Institution and 
President, Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C.

                      Administration of the Senate

                         information technology

    During the 104th congress the Committee on Rules and 
Administration held a number of hearings on oversight and 
implementation of technology in the Senate. As a result of 
those hearings the committee took the first steps toward 
strategic planning by identifying a number of key areas that 
needed further analysis. Several informal study/advisory groups 
were formed in the areas of Inter/Intranet Services; Security; 
Constituent Mail Systems; Video Information Services; 
Legislative Information Systems; Financial Systems; Network 
Infrastructure; Personal Workstation Software and Systems; and 
Senate-wide Workstation Management.
    In some of these areas the Committee has taken immediate 
steps to address issues raised or problems identified:
          All state offices are now authorized to use Internet 
        services;
          The Senate firewall has been enhanced and made more 
        flexible so that offices can access audio and video 
        services;
          The Department of Telecommunications has initiated a 
        study of the Senate's current and future network 
        capacity requirements for both Washington and State 
        offices;
          Critical areas involving the security of computer 
        systems have been identified and options are being 
        reviewed for improving them;
          The Sergeant At Arms is deploying a system that will 
        improve the ability to monitor and support all desktop 
        workstations;
          The Senate's public Internet Home Page has been 
        enhanced and more information concerning the Senate is 
        now available to citizens;
          Public Home Pages have been made available for all 
        Senators, committees, leadership, and support offices; 
        and
          The text of floor debate can be read by Senate 
        offices shortly after it occurs by accessing the 
        Recording Studio Home Page
    The Rules Committee has approved a design concept and is 
currently reviewing a program plan that will lead to 
significant improvements in the systems the Senate uses to 
collect, manage, and retrieve its legislative information. The 
management of this program will be under the direction of the 
Secretary of the Senate, with the support of the Sergeant At 
Arms. When complete, it will enable the Senate to manage its 
own legislative information more efficiently and effectively by 
the appropriate application of technology.
    As a first concrete step in this initiative to improve the 
quality of the legislative information available to the Senate, 
the Rules Committee has directed the Congressional Research 
Service, working with office of the Secretary, and with the 
support of the Library of Congress, the Senate Computer Center, 
and the Government Printing Office, to coordinate the 
development of a new retrieval system to meet the needs of 
Senate offices.
    The Committee requested the Secretary of the Senate to work 
with the Clerk of the House in developing standards for a 
system that would capture all legislative information for the 
respective Chambers in electronic format. The Committee also 
sponsored legislation that established a framework for the 
development of a electronic Senate legislative information and 
document tracking system. The Secretary of the Senate, with the 
technical assistance of the Sergeant at Arms, is charged with 
the d4esign and implementation of a electronic legislative 
information system for the Senate. The goal of this initiative 
will be to provide this institution and the public with access 
to legislative information electronically.
    In October of 1995, the Committee announced the Senate's 
World Wide Web site, which continues to be updated with 
information about the Senate. The Senate Web site is used as a 
gateway to the public for access to legislative information 
about this institution. Today using the Senate Web site and 
linking through the Government Printing Office the electronic 
community has access to Bills, Resolutions and the 
Congressional Record in electronic format.

                         Committee Publications

                      administrative publications

    Authority and Rules of Senate Committees, 104th Congress, 
1st session, 1995, S. Doc. 104-2.
    Expenditure Authorizations and Requirements for Senate 
Committees, 104th Congress, 2d session, 1996, S. Prt. 104-67.
    Legislative Calendar of the Committee on Rules and 
Administration, Final Calendar, 103d Congress, 2d session, 
published 1995, S. Prt. 103-108.
    Proceedings of a Joint Meeting of the 104th Congress to 
Close the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of World War 
II, 104th Congress, 1st session, 1995, S. Prt. 104-38.
    Review of Legislative Activity during the 103d Congress, 
104th Congress, 1st session, 1995, S. Rept. 104-100.
    Rules and Mannual--1995, 104th Congress, 2d session, 1996, 
S. Doc. 104-1.
    Senate Election Law Guidebook--1996, 104th Congress, 2d 
session, 1996, S. Doc. 104-12.
    Senate Handbook--1996, 104th Congress, 2d session, 1996, S. 
Prt. 104-64.
    Standing Rules of the Senate, 104th Congress, 1st session, 
1995, S. Doc. 104-8.
    United States Senate (information brochure and seating 
chart), 104th Congress, 1st session, 1995, S. Pub. 104-5.

                        legislative publications

    Campaign Finance Reform Proposals of 1996, 104th Congress, 
2d session, 1996, S. Hrg. 104-542.
    Public Access to Government Information in the 21st 
Century, 104th Congress, 2d session, 1996, S. Hrg. 104-543.
    The Smithsonian Institution--Management Guidelines for the 
Future, 104th Congress, 1st session, 1995, S. Hrg. 104-40.

                                
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