[House Report 110-29]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     110-29

======================================================================



 
   PROVIDING FOR THE EXPENSES OF CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE OF 
           REPRESENTATIVES IN THE ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

                                _______
                                

   March 5, 2007.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Millender-McDonald, from the Committee on House Administration, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                       [To accompany H. Res. 202]

  The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred 
the resolution (H. Res. 202) providing for the expenses of 
certain committees of the House of Representatives in the One 
Hundred Tenth Congress, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the 
resolution as amended be agreed to.

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. COMMITTEE EXPENSES FOR THE ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--With respect to the One Hundred Tenth 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 such subsection.
    (b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to 
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $11,995,306; Committee 
on Armed Services, $14,618,946; Committee on the Budget, $12,520,064; 
Committee on Education and Labor, $16,213,840; Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, $21,056,249; Committee on Financial Services, $16,189,138; 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, $17,391,504; Committee on Homeland 
Security, $16,448,403; Committee on House Administration, $10,214,461; 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $10,467,084; Committee on 
the Judiciary, $16,347,324; Committee on Natural Resources, 
$15,288,192; Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, $21,602,950; 
Committee on Rules, $6,852,908; Committee on Science and Technology, 
$12,963,775; Committee on Small Business, $5,965,945; Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, $4,994,181; Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure, $19,261,795; Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
$7,076,347; and Committee on Ways and Means, $19,040,609.

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, 2007, and ending immediately 
before noon on January 3, 2008.
    (b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to 
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $5,910,765; Committee 
on Armed Services, $7,203,581; Committee on the Budget, $6,169,343; 
Committee on Education and Labor, $7,989,475; Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, $10,375,603; Committee on Financial Services, $7,977,303; 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, $8,569,776; Committee on Homeland 
Security, $8,105,057; Committee on House Administration, $5,033,242; 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $5,157,724; Committee on 
the Judiciary, $8,055,250; Committee on Natural Resources, $7,533,355; 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, $10,644,994; Committee on 
Rules, $3,376,815; Committee on Science and Technology, $6,387,984; 
Committee on Small Business, $2,939,758; Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct, $2,460,915; Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, $9,491,374; Committee on Veterans' Affairs, $3,486,916; 
and Committee on Ways and Means, $9,382,384.

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, 2008, and ending immediately 
before noon on January 3, 2009.
    (b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to 
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $6,084,541; Committee 
on Armed Services, $7,415,366; Committee on the Budget, $6,350,721; 
Committee on Education and Labor, $8,224,365; Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, $10,680,646; Committee on Financial Services, $8,211,835; 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, $8,821,728; Committee on Homeland 
Security, $8,343,346; Committee on House Administration, $5,181,219; 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $5,309,361; Committee on 
the Judiciary, $8,292,074; Committee on Natural Resources, $7,754,836; 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, $10,957,956; Committee on 
Rules, $3,476,093; Committee on Science and Technology, $6,575,791; 
Committee on Small Business, $3,026,187; Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct, $2,533,266; Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, $9,770,421; Committee on Veterans' Affairs, $3,589,431; 
and Committee on Ways and Means, $9,658,226.

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 
Administration.

SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.

    Amounts made available under this resolution shall be expended in 
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House 
Administration.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    On March 1, 2007, by voice vote, a quorum being present, 
the Committee agreed to an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, and by voice vote, with a quorum present, the 
Committee agreed to a motion to report House Resolution 202, as 
amended, favorably to the House.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 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 into 
the descriptive portions of this report.

            STATEMENT OF 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 3(c)(2) of rule XIII 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 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House, 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 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    The Committee states, with respect to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House, that the general 
discussion section of this report includes a statement of the 
general performance goals and objectives, including outcome-
related goals and objectives, for which House Resolution 202 
authorizes funding.

                              RECORD VOTES

    In compliance with rule 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House, with respect to each record vote on a motion to 
report the resolution and on any amendment offered to the 
resolution, there were no record votes on the motion to report 
the resolution or on any amendment offered to the resolution.

                           GENERAL DISCUSSION

    On March 1, 2007, the Committee by voice vote, with a 
quorum present, ordered House Resolution 202 favorably reported 
to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

Background

    The Committee on House Administration processes the 
legislation by which standing and select committees of the 
House (except the Committee on Appropriations) are authorized 
operating funds in a Congress.
    During the first three months of each new Congress, House 
rule X, clause 7, authorizes House committees to continue 
operations based on their funding authorizations from the 
preceding session. This rule X continuing authorization allows 
committees to organize, adopt legislative and oversight 
agendas, and seek spending authority through the adoption of a 
primary expense resolution by the House.
    The funding process begins after a House committee 
determines its biennial funding needs, and introduces a House 
resolution seeking those funds. Under House rule X, clause 6, 
all funding resolutions, which are referred to as primary 
expense resolutions, are referred to the Committee on House 
Administration. After all committee expense resolutions have 
been introduced (there are currently nineteen standing 
committees, and one permanent select committee, which are 
authorized funding in this way), the Committee combines the 
resolutions into a single, omnibus primary expense resolution. 
Since this funding process merely authorizes the expenditure of 
funds already provided (or to be provided) in appropriations 
acts, the funding measure takes the form of a simple House 
resolution--no Senate or presidential approval is required. 
Working with whatever funds are or will be made available 
through appropriations acts, and after reviewing committee 
budget submissions, the Committee recommends an appropriate 
allocation of the available funds.

110th Congress proceedings

    House Resolution 202, introduced on February 28, 2007, by 
Chairwoman Millender-McDonald and Representative Ehlers, the 
Ranking Minority Member, constituted the omnibus primary 
expense resolution incorporating the amounts requested by the 
20 committees ($287,969,121 over two years). A correction to 
one committee's second session request reduced the above total 
to $284,569,121.
    The Committee recognizes that each standing committee 
carefully assessed its anticipated workload and requested the 
sums it considered necessary to discharge its responsibilities. 
Unfortunately, when the 109th Congress adjourned sine die, it 
left the fiscal 2007 appropriations process unfinished, leading 
to the enactment of a year-long continuing resolution (``CR'') 
for many agencies, including the House. This situation has 
greatly limited this Committee's options in the authorization 
process for the 110th Congress. Under these circumstances, and 
with the limited resources available, the Committee was only 
able to recommend across-the-board inflationary adjustments of 
2.64% for the personnel expenses, and 2.2% for the operating 
expenses in the first session, and 3.0% for the personnel 
expenses, and 2.4% for the operating expenses in the second 
session. Without additional appropriations, no further 
adjustments can be made at this time.
    The Committee's amendment in the nature of a substitute 
authorizes a total of $276,509,023 over the two years of the 
110th Congress. The Committee believes that the chairs and 
ranking minority members will shepherd their resources 
carefully, and despite the approximately $10 million shortfall 
in funding below requested levels, will still be able to 
fulfill their responsibilities to the House.
    The lone panel to receive a supplemental amount, the Armed 
Services Committee, bears an especially heavy burden, and must 
be considered a special case. The war in Iraq has taken the 
lives of more than 3,000 American service personnel, wounded 
tens of thousands more, and consumed hundreds of billions of 
dollars over the last four years. The Armed Services Committee 
has an enormous responsibility going forward, and must have 
resources with which to oversee America's military policy in 
Iraq and around the world. Given the gravity of Armed Services' 
task, House Administration recommended an increase of $500,000 
for 2007.
    While appropriations for 2008 have yet to be enacted, the 
Committee's amendment reflects the best assessment, by the 
appropriators and by the House's financial managers, as to the 
amount that will be available to support committees in the 
second session. Typically the workload of all committees is 
greater during the second session of any Congress. The 
Committee on House Administration expects this pattern will 
continue as the 110th Congress engages in the critical 
legislative and oversight work which the American people voted 
for last November.
    The amounts for each committee contained in the Committee 
amendment in the nature of a substitute are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    1st session     2nd session     110th total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture.....................................................      $5,910,765      $6,084,541     $11,995,306
Armed Services..................................................       7,203,581       7,415,366      14,618,946
The Budget......................................................       6,169,343       6,350,721      12,520,064
Education and Labor.............................................       7,989,475       8,224,365      16,213,840
Energy and Commerce.............................................      10,375,603      10,680,646      21,056,249
Financial Services..............................................       7,977,303       8,211,835      16,189,138
Foreign Affairs.................................................       8,569,776       8,821,728      17,391,504
Homeland Security...............................................       8,105,057       8,343,346      16,448,403
House Administration............................................       5,033,242       5,181,219      10,214,461
Intelligence....................................................       5,157,724       5,309,361      10,467,084
The Judiciary...................................................       8,055,250       8,292,074      16,347,324
Natural Resources...............................................       7,533,355       7,754,836      15,288,192
Oversight and Government Reform.................................      10,644,994      10,957,956      21,602,950
Rules...........................................................       3,376,815       3,476,093       6,852,908
Science and Technology..........................................       6,387,984       6,575,791      12,963,775
Small Business..................................................       2,939,758       3,026,187       5,965,945
Standards of Official Conduct...................................       2,460,915       2,533,266       4,994,181
Transportation and Infrastructure...............................       9,491,374       9,770,421      19,261,795
Veterans' Affairs...............................................       3,486,916       3,589,431       7,076,347
Ways and Means..................................................       9,382,384       9,658,226      19,040,609
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Grand Total.................................................     136,251,613     140,257,410     276,509,023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minority allocation

    Every effort was made to ensure that the fairness principle 
was applied during the funding process so that the minority 
party would be fully supported in its efforts to perform as the 
``loyal opposition,'' and be in a position to contribute fully 
to the legislative and oversight initiatives of each committee. 
The fairness principle takes the form of the ``1/3 rule,'' a 
position advocated by the Republicans when they were previously 
in the minority, by the Democrats during the last 12 years when 
they were in the minority, and again by the current Republican 
minority. The Committee believes that the principle has now 
become firmly established as a benchmark for the allocation of 
resources, committee by committee, and that irrespective of 
which party is in the majority, the ``1/3 rule'' will be 
carried forward. While this fairness principle is well 
established, each committee must still implement the principle 
in a manner consistent with its own operating practices and 
procedures. Each ranking minority member was asked if he or she 
was being treated fairly, and with only one exception, which 
was subsequently addressed to the satisfaction of the ranking 
minority member, all committees appeared to be in compliance. 
As chairs and ranking minority members change from Congress to 
Congress, the Committee expects that the fairness principle 
will continue to address the needs of the minority.

Procedural and other concerns

    There were many concerns expressed during this year's 
truncated funding process, not the least of which was the 
inadequacy of funds to meet the collective needs of the 
committees. From the beginning of the Congress, even before the 
adoption of the CR, committees were counseled to operate on a 
``flat-line'' spending basis in order to avoid a shortfall 
later in the Congress. Most committees followed that guideline, 
and many kept their eventual funding requests to within a few 
percentage points of the ``flat-line'' spending rate of the 
preceding session--one committee even restraining its request 
to preclude an inflation adjustment for both personnel costs 
and operating expenses. The Committee appreciates the efforts 
of committees to keep their requests as low as feasible, given 
the backlog of oversight responsibilities to be carried out, 
and the legislative agenda set out by the House Leadership. 
However, the Committee recognizes the continuing needs of many 
committees to support and expand their agendas. As a result, 
both Chairwoman Millender-McDonald and the Ranking Minority 
Member Ehlers indicated that, if additional funds became 
available for distribution, the Committee would entertain 
future requests to supplement the proposed authorized levels.
    In addition to the chairs' and ranking minority members' 
concerns about the overall funding shortfall, and the impact on 
staffing levels, there were additional concerns expressed about 
the ability of committees to attract and retain senior-level 
legislative and oversight professionals because the current 
salary cap is not competitive with the private sector. A few 
committees indicated that some new employees were accepting 
committee positions at salaries below their previous private-
sector levels, based upon a desire to perform in the public 
service. While this is laudable, and some individuals may be 
willing to make such sacrifices, it remains imperative that 
committee salary caps become competitive, or congressional 
oversight will remain suboptimum.
    Another theme carried forward from the 109th Congress 
committee funding process was crowding--insufficient office 
space to manage and maintain operations, and adequately house 
the staff necessary to perform legislative and oversight 
duties. While some committees have received additional office 
space, it is often in other buildings and not contiguous to 
other committee offices, introducing new operating 
inefficiencies. While the Committee does not assign or manage 
office space, it agreed to bring the committees' overall office 
space concerns to the attention of the House Leadership, in the 
hope that future building changes or renovations will take 
committee needs into consideration.
    Many chairs and ranking minority members expressed 
frustration at the hurried pace of the committee funding 
process in the 110th Congress. On February 14th, Chairwoman 
Millender-McDonald wrote to all committee chairs:

    I write this letter with a sense of urgency and ask your 
forbearance as we prepare to organize the Committee on House 
Administration in the 110th Congress. We ask that you submit 
your Committee's funding needs for the 110th Congress right 
away.
    Delays in the committee funding process have been primarily 
due to transition, and now we are trying to catch up as we are 
behind schedule. As a result, what has normally taken more than 
three months to accomplish will now have to be done in half 
that time. So I respectfully request that you submit your 
funding request and oversight plan to the Committee on House 
Administration by this Friday, February 16, 2007, and introduce 
your primary expense resolution in the House.
    Following the Presidents' Day district work period, I plan 
to hold the customary hearings on a truncated schedule, and we 
will hopefully be prepared to take the omnibus funding 
resolution to the Floor by the end of this month, or no later 
than the first week in March.
    I know this is a very compressed timetable. To accomplish 
the objective in such a short period will take everyone's 
patience and cooperation. I know each committee chair is 
struggling to address the legislative and oversight backlog he 
or she inherited. However, please know that you are constrained 
by flat line spending based on last session's funding 
resolution. In speaking with the Speaker, it has been suggested 
that you tweak your budget upwards by no more than 2 percent.
    I hope you will be able to help move the process along by 
following the schedule outlined above, and I look forward to 
working with you as we proceed.

    Indeed, members of the Committee and their staffs expressed 
a desire for more time to examine committee budget requests, 
both during and following the hearing and markup of H. Res. 
202. However, the primary delay was occasioned by uncertainties 
regarding Legislative appropriations for fiscal years 2007 and 
the transition to new House Leadership. In addition, the 
Committee was not able to organize until just prior to the 
hearing, and thus was not able to proceed in the regular order 
over a three month period. These anomalies should not affect 
future committee funding cycles, irrespective of which party is 
in the majority. The Committee will take steps to regularize 
and make transparent the committee funding process, and 
familiarize both majority and minority staff with the 
procedure. The Committee will also attempt to provide web-based 
support for committees leading up to and during the funding 
process, which should ease some of the burden each committee 
experienced during this funding cycle.

Acknowledgements

    The Committee would like to thank the chairs and ranking 
minority members for their cooperative efforts in moving the 
committee funding process forward. There were many 
circumstances which could have delayed the process, but 
administrative problems were worked out as soon as they were 
identified.
    While it is unusual to single out a class of staff, and 
acknowledge them for the key role they play in supporting 
committees' funding requests, this Committee would like to 
thank the chief financial officers for their efforts. Without 
the preparation and dedicated work of the CFOs, this truncated 
committee funding process could not have been timely completed.

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                              ----------                              


ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF HON. VERNON J. EHLERS, HON. DANIEL E. LUNGREN, AND 
                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

 H. RES. 202, PROVIDING FOR THE EXPENSES OF CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF THE 
       HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

    We support House Resolution 202, providing for the expenses 
of certain committees of the House of Representatives in the 
One Hundred Tenth Congress, as amended and passed by voice vote 
in the Committee on House Administration on Thursday, March 1, 
2007.
    The Committee funding process through which this resolution 
was developed has been transparent and open and continues the 
pattern that was achieved over the last several Congresses 
under a Republican majority. New Chairwoman Millender-McDonald 
and the newly minted majority staff should be commended for 
continuing the process in as bipartisan and open fashion as 
done previously. Given the tight appropriations constraint, the 
majority's decision to apply a small percentage increase 
equally to every Committee made the Committee funding process 
more truncated than usual. However, we are pleased with the 
cooperative spirit that defined the process.
    Our goal for the Committee funding was two-fold--first, to 
maintain what has, in the last few years, been a relatively 
smooth Committee funding process. Many of our Chairmen and 
Ranking Members have established standing precedents about the 
operating practices within their respective Committees, and 
have functioned for many years in accordance with those 
principles. It appears that the needs of both the majority and 
minority parties for each Committee were represented in the 
requests submitted to the Committee and the congeniality 
displayed between nearly all of the Chairs and Ranking Members 
was encouraging.
    Second, we wanted to ensure that an equitable division of 
funding continues. When the Republicans previously served in 
the minority, we were not provided with sufficient funds or 
staff. When we assumed the majority in 1995, we committed to 
giving the minority 1/3 of the resources and staff allocation 
for committees, so they could fulfill their responsibilities. 
That 2/3--1/3 allocation was a commitment we honored while in 
the majority, and we are pleased to note the new majority's 
continuation to honor that split. It is vital to the strength 
of the House of Representatives as an institution that the 
minority continue to be given adequate resources, and that each 
Chairman and Ranking Member be able to come to an arrangement 
that is satisfactory for both parties.
    Finally, we conclude that the resolution that emerged out 
of the Committee is one that we support. We are concerned, 
however, that changes to the resolution directed by the 
Democratic leadership and implemented through the Rules 
Committee could ultimately jeopardize this support. It is the 
obligation of the Committee to fulfill its jurisdictional 
responsibilities. While this resolution was considered and 
passed within the constraints of a 3-day legislative work week, 
the Committee minority was prepared and able to fully debate 
the merits of any amendments within the scope of the Committee 
funding process. Changes to this resolution directed by the 
Democratic leadership would undermine this Committee's 
jurisdiction and circumvent the careful and open consideration 
this Committee stood ready to undertake. To the extent that 
such after-the-fact revisions take place within the Rules 
Committee, the minority could well object to passage of the 
resolution on these grounds.

                                   Vernon J. Ehlers.
                                   Daniel E. Lungren.
                                   Kevin McCarthy.

                                  
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