[House Report 113-721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                Union Calendar No. 552
                                                
113th Congress }                                             {  Report 
                         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session     }                                             {  113-721
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                


                 SECOND ANNUAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

                                 of the

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                               during the

                    ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

                      TOGETHER WITH MINORITY VIEWS

               


 December 30, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
            
            
                   U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                   
                           WASHINGTON:2015        
            
                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                          House of Representatives,
                         Committee on House Administration,
                                 Washington, DC, December 30, 2014.
Hon. Karen Haas,
Clerk of the House,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Ms. Haas: Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 1, paragraph (d) 
of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, I hereby 
transmit the Second Annual Report on the Activities of the 
Committee on House Administration. This report summarizes the 
activities of the Committee with respect to its legislative and 
oversight responsibilities in the 113th Congress from January 
2014 to December 2014.

                                            Sincerely,
                                            
                                            
                                                Candice S. Miller,
                                                Chairman.
                                                
                                                
                                                          
                                                Union Calendar No. 552
                                                 
113th Congress  }                                           {  Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session     }                                           { 113-721

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



 
    FIRST ANNUAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOUSE 
                ADMINISTRATION DURING THE 113TH CONGRESS

                                _______
                                

 December 30, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mrs. Candice S. Miller of Michigan, from the Committee on House 
                Administration, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                              INTRODUCTION

    The Committee on House Administration (``Committee'') is 
charged with the oversight of federal elections and the day-to-
day operations of the House of Representatives.
    The Committee on House Administration oversees 
appropriations for the salaries and expenses of all House 
committees (except for the Committee on Appropriations); 
allowance and expenses of House Members, officers, and 
administrative offices; and the auditing and settling of these 
accounts. The Committee further oversees the employment of 
staff for House Members, committees, and stenographers. The 
Committee has jurisdiction over the House Library; the statuary 
and art in the Capitol; the Franking Commission; the 
Congressional Record; accounts of the House; and the assignment 
of office space for House Members and committees. The Committee 
also has the important duty of overseeing the Capitol Police 
and security of the House office buildings and grounds.
    Additionally, the Committee's jurisdiction covers the 
election of the President and Vice President, House Members, 
Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, and Senators as well as 
House contested elections, credentials and qualifications of 
candidates, corrupt practices, and campaign finance matters in 
federal elections. Regarding Member services, the Committee 
oversees the House restaurant, parking facilities, and 
administration of the House office buildings and of the House 
wing of the Capitol. The Committee also deals with the travel 
of Members; and the compensation, retirement and other benefits 
of Members, officers and employees of Congress. Lastly, the 
Committee has jurisdiction over the Library of Congress, the 
purchase of books and manuscripts, the Botanic Garden, and the 
Smithsonian Institution.

                           COMMITTEE FUNDING

    The Committee on House Administration reports a biennial 
primary expense resolution by which standing and select 
committees of the House (except the Committee on 
Appropriations) are authorized operating funds for each 
Congress. During the first three months of each new Congress, 
House rule X, clause 7, provides a temporary authorization for 
House committees to continue operations. This temporary 
authorization is based on their funding authorizations from the 
preceding session and allows committees to organize, adopt 
legislative and oversight agendas, and seek spending authority 
through the adoption of a primary expense resolution by the 
House.

113th Congress Second Session Proceedings

    The Committee agreed to Committee Resolution 113-7 on 
January 29, 2014. The resolution allocated an additional 1 
percent of funding to each committee from the reserve fund.

                  MEMBERS' REPRESENTATIONAL ALLOWANCE

    The Committee has jurisdiction over the use of 
appropriations from the accounts of the U.S. House of 
Representatives for the Members' Representational Allowance 
(``MRA'') as well as official travel by Members and staff, and 
compensation, retirement and other benefits of Member office 
employees. The MRA is the annual authorization made to each 
Member of the House to obligate U.S. Treasury funds not to 
exceed a certain amount. These funds may be used by the Member 
to pay ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred by the 
Member and his or her congressional office employees in support 
of the conduct of the Member's official and representational 
duties on behalf of the district from which the Member is 
elected. The annual MRA is available for one legislative year 
(i.e., January 3 of one year through January 2 of the following 
year).
    The MRA is made up of three primary expense components: 
personnel compensation, official expenses, and official 
(franked) mail expenses. The amount of the MRA varies from 
Member to Member based on the distance of a Member's district 
from Washington, D.C., the cost to lease federal office space 
in a Member's district, and the number of U.S. Postal Service 
private delivery stops in a Member's district. The use of funds 
in any expense category is not limited by the amount factored 
into a corresponding expense component, e.g., a Member may 
spend more or less than the amount of the travel component to 
travel and from his or her district. Each Member has complete 
discretion in budgeting the total amount of his or her MRA as 
he or she determines to support the operation of his or her 
Washington, D.C., and district congressional offices, 
consistent with applicable Federal law and House Rules and 
regulations.
    Federal law authorizes the Committee to fix and adjust the 
amounts, terms, and conditions of, and other matters relating 
to the MRA (including all aspects of official mail) by reason 
of:
          1. A change in the price of materials, services, or 
        office space;
          2. A technological change or other improvement in 
        office equipment; or
          3. An increase in rates of pay under the General 
        Schedule, e.g., a comparability and/or locality wage 
        adjustment.
    The 2014 MRA amount was initially updated with new rent, 
mail, and mileage components to account for the updated 
reapportionment and redistricting information after the 2010 
Census. Those amounts were measured against the amount 
available in the total MRA appropriation and each MRA was 
increased by a proportional amount so they were computed to the 
amount available in the appropriation. The total amount 
authorized for all Members' Representational Allowances for 
2014 was $554,317,732. The average MRA for 2014 was $1,256,956.

             COMMISSION ON CONGRESSIONAL MAILING STANDARDS

    The Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards of the 
U.S. House of Representatives (``Franking Commission''), 
established by Public Law 93-191, is composed of six Members 
appointed by the Speaker of the House; three from the majority 
and three from the minority. The Speaker designates as Chairman 
of the Franking Commission, from among the Members of the 
Committee on House Administration, one of the Members appointed 
to the Commission.
    In the 113th Congress, Representative Candice S. Miller was 
appointed Chairman of the Franking Commission. Additionally, 
Representative Tom Price, M.D., of Georgia and Representative 
Robert E. Latta of Ohio were appointed as majority Members to 
the Commission. Representative Susan Davis of California was 
appointed as the Ranking Minority Member, and Representative 
Brad Sherman of California and Representative Cedric Richmond 
of Louisiana were appointed as minority Members to the 
Commission.
    All communications required to receive an Advisory Opinion 
from the Franking Commission are subject to full public 
disclosure. These Advisory Opinions are made available for 
review (and duplication) to the public through the Legislative 
Resource Center, now located in 135 Cannon House Office 
Building. Communications that require an Advisory Opinion 
include mass mailings and any mass communications (regardless 
of media). A mass mailing or communication is considered to be 
any unsolicited communication of substantially identical 
content initiated by a Member that will potentially be 
distributed to, i.e., read by, heard by, or seen by, 500 or 
more individuals. As of December 2014, the Franking Commission 
has reviewed over 5,000 requests for Advisory Opinions.
    The Franking Commission is also responsible for monitoring 
requests to review Advisory Opinions filed at the Legislative 
Resource Center to ensure that the applicable public disclosure 
requirements are fully complied with. In addition, it is the 
practice of the Franking Commission to provide notice to a 
Member whenever his or her public disclosure file has been 
reviewed in whole or in part. So far, during the 113th 
Congress, the Commission has issued 957 Notifications of 
Review.

         OVERSIGHT AND LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE

Cumulative Taxpayer Savings Estimated to be $594 Million

    The Committee continues to work with House Leadership and 
Legislative Branch Appropriations to reduce overall costs and 
efficiently manage House operations. Over the past four years 
the cumulative taxpayer savings are estimated to be $594 
million, calculated using FY 2010 Legislative Branch 
Appropriations as the baseline. This includes approximately $58 
million in savings in FY 2011, $143 million in FY 2012, $205 
million in FY 2013, and another $188 million in FY 2014.

Officers of the House

    One of the responsibilities of the Committee is to conduct 
oversight of the Officers of the House, whose organizations 
serve primary roles in legislative operations and the day-to-
day administrative and operational infrastructure necessary to 
support the Members and staff of the House.
            Clerk of the House
    The Office of the Clerk is charged with overseeing nine 
departments including the Office of Art and Archives, the 
Legislative Resource Center, and the Office of Official 
Reporters. The Clerk's primary responsibilities involve the 
legislative activities of the House. This includes managing the 
bills originating in the House as well as overseeing the voting 
system.
    The Committee worked with several of the Clerk's 
subdivisions on projects throughout the year, including the 
Historian, to produce the Hispanic Americans in Congress book. 
In early April, each Member Office received at least 10 copies 
of the publication and the electronic ePub version is expected 
to be released in January of 2015.
    In 2014 the Clerk continued to lead the Bulk Data Task 
Force, a Speaker initiative to improve access to bulk 
legislative data in electronic form. Committee staff worked 
with the Clerk on several initiatives related to bulk data, 
including collaborating with GPO and the Library of Congress on 
a project to release House and Senate bill summary data in 
bulk. The Clerk expects this project to be completed in 
December of 2014, with bill summary data to be released in bulk 
electronic form starting in January of 2015.
    The Clerk of the House has been tasked with supporting 
Members and staff in meeting their financial disclosure 
requirements as required by the Stock Act and the Ethics in 
Government Act. The Committee reviewed new online financial 
disclosure tools developed by the Clerk and provided the Clerk 
with feedback to make incremental improvements.
    Finally, the Committee approved an update to the Personnel 
Policies and Procedures Manual for the House Officers and 
Inspector General. This manual serves as a guide to handle 
personnel matters in a consistent way across the organizations.
            Sergeant-at-Arms and the United States Capitol Police
    The House Sergeant-at-Arms (``HSAA'') is responsible for 
maintaining the security of the House side of the Capitol 
Grounds and for ensuring the security of Members of Congress, 
staff, and visitors.
    Oversight of the House Sergeant-at-Arms and the United 
States Capitol Police (``USCP'') continued to be a priority for 
the Committee. In order to receive regular updates regarding 
security in both Washington and in Member districts, the 
Committee meets with both the HSAA and the USCP on a regular 
basis. The Committee coordinated with the HSAA and other House 
officers to continually reassess House security policies and 
procedures, and continued to monitor ongoing projects. The 
Committee notes that the USCP successfully completed the USCP 
Digital Radio project in early 2014. The Committee worked 
closely with the Government Accountability Office throughout 
that project to monitor the USCP's project management approach. 
Though the project is formerly complete, the Committee 
continues to work with both the SAA and the USCP to evaluate 
the effectiveness of both the new radios and supporting 
infrastructure.
            Chief Administrative Officer
    The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (``CAO'') 
supports the budget, finance, procurement, logistics, and 
information technology needs of the House and all of its 
components. The Committee is charged with overseeing the CAO 
and its support staff. After the retirement of the previous 
CAO, Dan Strodel, Ed Cassidy was elected CAO on January 7, 
2014. Over the past year, the Committee worked with the newly 
elected CAO and his staff on a variety of cost-savings and 
process improvement initiatives, policies, and programs 
throughout all facets of the organization.
    The Committee continued the oversight over the CAO's 
management of the House finances and financial system. The CAO, 
in cooperation with both the Committee and the Inspector 
General, continues to make progress on improving internal 
controls over IT systems, financial reporting, and property and 
equipment. The Committee also assisted the CAO in making 
improvements to the onboarding process for House employees. 
These improvements have resulted in better coordination between 
the various organizations and IT systems that support this 
process and better controls over onboarding and off-boarding of 
employees.
    With assistance from the Committee, the CAO executed 
several contracts pertaining to office supplies, carpet, 
furniture, and technology resulting in savings of over $600,000 
this year and in future option years. Also in the area of House 
procurement, the Committee reviewed and approved the Request 
for Proposal documentation for the solicitation of the next 
House Food Service Contract which is set to be awarded next 
summer.
    The Committee worked with the CAO to continue to promote a 
variety of programmatic initiatives that improve day-to-day 
office operations. These programs include the digital mail 
program which allows for faster receipt and processing of 
constituent mail, the E-voucher system for the electronic 
submission and approval of all office vouchers, and the Wounded 
Warrior Program which provides two-year fellowships in Member 
offices for veterans. For the digital mail program, the 
Committee made programmatic changes that allowed expansion of 
the program at reduced costs, thus allowing more Members to 
participate. The E-voucher system was also expanded in 2014, 
and currently, approximately half of all vouchers are being 
submitted in electronic form. Finally, the Committee continued 
to support the CAO-managed Wounded Warrior Program by approving 
15 new program participants in 2014.
    The Committee and CAO worked to improve and update several 
House policies and procedures, namely, the transition policies, 
furniture policies, procurement guidelines, and the Affordable 
Care Act implementation for House Members and staff.

House Information Resources

    Throughout the year, the Committee worked with House 
Information Resources (``HIR'') to improve technology services 
for the House community. These services included the approval 
of new hardware and software standards, the issuance of an 
updated password policy for better cybersecurity protection, 
and updates to the House's Web Vendor Agreements.
    At the request of the Committee, HIR took a number of steps 
to improve the handling of outbound bulk email. The Committee 
made relevant changes to the Members' Congressional Handbook 
and approved a unified IT Policy regarding email list 
management. These changes will ensure that the House continues 
to follow best practices and that IT systems that support 
Member outbound email properly process non-delivery receipts 
and opt-out requests.
    The Committee conducted oversight over HIRs technology 
support for Member offices, including the support for the over 
800 district offices throughout the United States. In addition, 
the Committee examined in detail HIR's support for the 
telecommunications needs for both Washington, DC and district 
offices and has requested that HIR provide a detailed plan and 
timetable to improve these services.
    The Committee continued to examine HIR's management of 
various technology service vendors and approved incremental 
improvements to policies and procedures governing these 
vendors. The Committee believes additional changes are 
warranted to these programs to better serve Member needs and 
reduce costs.
    Like any large organization, the House must continually 
evolve its cybersecurity capabilities to meet changing threats. 
The Committee continued the review of HIR's security policies 
and procedures and worked with HIR to make improvements where 
warranted.
    Finally, the Committee continued to examine HIR's effort to 
improve technology governance, including efforts to improve 
strategic planning, service management and enterprise 
architecture.

Inspector General

    House Rule II creates the Office of the Inspector General 
(``OIG'') and charges the Committee with oversight of the 
office. During the past year, the OIG produced ten management 
advisory reports and ten audit reports. Of particular note was 
the FY 2013 House Financial Statement Audit which the Committee 
released on May 9th, 2014. The House received an unqualified or 
``clean'' opinion on its financial statements and internal 
controls over financial reporting. This is the sixteenth 
consecutive ``clean'' audit the House has received.
    At the request of the Committee, the IG initiated a special 
House-wide strategic planning advisory project. The first phase 
of the project involves gathering House community or 
``customer'' feedback, through focus groups, on House 
operations specifically as they pertain to particular staff job 
duties. The themes that result from the customer responses will 
help shape the House's strategic vision moving forward.

The Architect of the Capitol

    The Architect of the Capitol (``AOC'') is responsible for 
the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of 
the entire Capitol Complex, which includes 17.4 million square 
feet of building space and more than 460 acres of land. Certain 
decisions regarding management of the House office buildings 
and the House side of the Capitol reside with the House Office 
Building Commission, but the Committee supervises and oversees 
AOC implementation of its programs.
    The Committee met regularly with the House Office Building 
Superintendent, his senior staff, and other AOC management and 
staff during the period of this report. In addition, regular 
meetings with the Architect of the Capitol were held to review 
critical items.
    The Committee continued to monitor AOC operations, 
including the completion of the American Veterans Disabled for 
Life Memorial, the operations of the AOC's Office of Security 
Programs, issues related to the newly leased O'Neill Building, 
and the continued planning and implementation of the Capitol 
Dome renewal project.
    The Committee accelerated oversight of the Cannon 
renovation, as that project is scheduled to formerly begin in 
January of 2015. Along with the Appropriations Committee and 
the House Office Building Commission, the Committee continued 
to review the AOC governance of this ten-year project. The 
Committee also initiated a broad communications plan to inform 
the House community about the project, especially issues 
related to Member office moves and other disruption to the 
House community that are inevitable in a project of this size, 
scope and duration.
    The Committee coordinates with the management team of the 
Congressional Visitors Center, and met regularly to ensure 
visitor operations are running effectively. Finally, the 
Committee worked with the AOC and House Superintendent to 
ensure a smooth transition period for both new and departing 
Members.

Office of Congressional Accessibility Services

    The Office of Congressional Accessibility Services 
(``OCAS'') was created by the Capitol Visitor Center Act of 
2008. OCAS operates under the direction of the Congressional 
Accessibility Services Board and is charged with providing and 
coordinating accessibility services for individuals with 
disabilities including Members of Congress, officers and 
employees of the House and Senate, and visitors to the U.S. 
Capitol Complex. The Committee on House Administration is 
charged with overseeing the agency and meets with OCAS 
quarterly.
    During the year, the Committee met with the OCAS Director 
on a variety of accessibility issues impacting Member and 
committee offices and the public including, but not limited to, 
sign language interpreting services, assistive listening 
services, accessibility training, accessible tours, and House 
intranet improvements for accessibility resources and maps. The 
Committee reviewed and approved improved OCAS content for the 
House intranet so it is more easily accessible for internal 
House users.

Library of Congress and Joint Committee on the Library

    Committee staff met regularly with Library management to 
monitor and review operations, services, and planning 
initiatives. The Committee reviewed changes to the 
organizational structure and administrative management of the 
Library and expects to continue to examine these issues in 2015 
as the Library evolves their human capital plan.
    The Committee reviewed the capabilities of the Packard 
Campus Audio-Visual Conservation Facility to better understand 
Library collections procedures. The Committee also worked with 
the Library on specific projects of value to the House 
community, such as the development and communication of updates 
on Congress.gov and LIS websites to Members and staff. In 
addition, the Committee coordinated on plans for significant 
initiatives such as the National Book Festival, Junior Fellows 
Program, and developments within the Library's respective 
service units.
    The Committee worked with the Library to explore and 
develop outreach opportunities for the Library to advertise and 
promote their services to both Congress, and the general 
public. Specific ideas included newsletters, regular email 
updates, services lists, and more.
    The Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides non-
partisan and objective legislative information and analysis to 
Members and staff on Capitol Hill. The Committee met with key 
personnel from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to 
review the services and practices CRS uses in order to provide 
the needed information to inform Congressional debate.
    The Joint Committee on the Library (``JCL'') has no 
legislative authority but is tasked with oversight of the 
Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service, and 
the United States Botanic Garden (USBG), as well as management 
of the National Statuary Hall Collection.
    In this role, the JCL reviewed extended hours requests for 
the USBG for the Holiday season, as well as special educational 
events for the general public. For the Library of Congress, the 
JCL reviewed special art and exhibit requests, donations to 
collections, and special operational projects, such as 
functionality and operational changes made to the LIS and 
Congress.gov website. Finally, the JCL approved Trust Fund 
Board Resolutions relating to critical issues for the Library.

Fine Arts Board

    The House Fine Arts Board is comprised of the five House 
Members of the Joint Committee on the Library. It has authority 
over works of fine art and historical objects that are the 
property of Congress and are for display in the House wing of 
the Capitol or in the House Office Buildings. The Board also 
accepts gifts of fine art and historical objects on behalf of 
the House, and the Clerk maintains the collection.
    During the past year, the Fine Arts Board approved requests 
to organize portrait fund Committees from Representative Doc 
Hastings, Representative Bill Shuster, Representative Buck 
McKeon, Representative Henry Waxman, and former Representative 
Richard Pombo.
    Further, the Board approved the acceptance and deed of gift 
for the portraits of Representative Chris Smith, Representative 
Lamar Smith, Representative Spencer Bachus, former 
Representative Steve Buyer, Representative Darrell Issa, 
Representative Buck McKeon, Representative Dave Camp, former 
Representative Chris Cox, Representative Doc Hastings, and 
Representative Sam Graves which will be added to the House 
Collection.

Joint Committee on Printing and U.S. Government Publishing Office

    The Government Publishing Office (``GPO'') produces, 
preserves and distributes the official publications and 
information products of the Congress and Federal government. By 
House rule, the Committee on House Administration has oversight 
of and legislative jurisdiction over the Government Publishing 
Office. By law, the Chairman of the Committee on House 
Administration and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on 
Rules and Administration serve with four other Members of each 
committee on the Joint Committee on Printing (``JCP''). The 
bicameral JCP exercises certain authority over federal printing 
policy, congressional printing and administration of the GPO.
    Throughout the first half of the year the Committee worked 
closely with GPO on the production, communication and 
distribution of several publications including the 113th 
Congressional Directory, the Hispanic Americans in Congress 
book, and the President's 2015 budget. These books were 
produced in both physical and electronic copies. In addition to 
fulfilling requests for these publications, the Committee 
responded to numerous requests on a weekly basis for other 
Congressional publications including Pocket Constitutions, Our 
Flag, Our American Government, and How Our Laws Are Made.
    During the summer, the Committee participated in several 
meetings with GPO and House Committee clerks on making 
improvements to GPO's billing process. Additionally, Committee 
staff participated in the annual Federal Depository Library 
Conference hosted at GPO's North Capitol Street location. 
Finally, in early August, the Committee approved GPO's 
Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment Program which targeted 
about 110 FTEs.

Smithsonian

    The Committee serves as the primary legislative and 
oversight body for the Smithsonian Institution, a federal trust 
instrumentality composed of 19 museums, numerous research 
centers, and the National Zoo. Approximately two-thirds of the 
Institution's funding is from direct federal appropriations.
    Governance of the Smithsonian is vested in a 17-member 
Board of Regents, consisting of the Chief Justice, Vice 
President, six Members of Congress and nine citizen regents 
nominated by the Board and approved by joint resolution of 
Congress. In 2014, the Smithsonian Board of Regents nominated 
John Fahey, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey and Michael Lynton to serve as 
citizen regents and nominated John McCarter for reappointment 
to a second term. Legislation providing for these appointments 
was introduced and referred to the Committee. In January, 
February and September, Committee Members met with Mr. Fahey, 
Ms. Lavizzo-Mourey and Mr. Lynton respectively to discuss 
Smithsonian governance and assess the nominees' views and 
qualifications. In March, Committee Members also spoke directly 
with Mr. McCarter regarding his reappointment nomination. 
Subsequently, the House approved the legislation by unanimous 
consent appointing Mr. Fahey (S.J. Res. 28 on February 11, 
2014); Ms. Lavizzo-Mourey (S.J. Res. 29 on February 11, 2014); 
Mr. McCarter (S.J. Res. 32 on March 13, 2014) and Mr. Lynton 
(S.J. Res. 40 on September 18, 2014).
    On April 2, 2014, the Committee held an oversight hearing 
on ``The National Zoo of Today and Tomorrow--an Innovative 
Center Focused on the Care and Conservation of the World's 
Species.'' The Committee received testimony from Mr. Dennis 
Kelly, Director, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian 
Institution; Dr. Steven Montfort, Director, Smithsonian 
Conservation Biology Institute, and Mr. Jim Maddy, President 
and CEO, Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The purpose of the 
hearing was to hear directly from Zoo management officials 
regarding animal care practices, particularly in the wake of 
recent animal deaths at one exhibit; discuss research and 
species conservation initiatives; and review how the Zoo has 
managed its resources. Zoo officials assured the Committee that 
that animal care remains a top priority and recent funding 
constraints due to sequestration did not impact the safety and 
welfare of the animals in the Zoo's care. The Committee also 
reviewed the rigorous process the Association of Zoos and 
Aquariums (AZA) used to re-accredit the Zoo in 2013.
    Also on April 2, 2014, the Committee held a markup of H.R. 
863, legislation establishing a commission to study the 
potential creation of a National Women's History Museum in 
Washington, DC and its environs. The commission is charged with 
submitting a report to President and Congress containing 
recommendations regarding the establishment of a museum, 
including whether the museum should be part of the Smithsonian 
Institution. The 8-member commission, equally appointed by 
bipartisan and bicameral congressional leadership, is 
prohibited from using federal funds and is solely responsible 
for payment of its expenses. The commission terminates 30 days 
after submitting its final report. The Committee favorably 
reported the bill to the House. On May 7, 2014, the bill passed 
the House by a vote of 383-33 under suspension of the rules.
    Throughout the year, the Committee has been engaged in 
oversight of the Institution through ongoing discussions, 
meetings and briefings with Smithsonian officials and the 
Inspector General on various topics including construction of 
the National Museum of African American History and Culture; 
agendas for the Board of Regent meetings; financial management 
and federal budget requests; and facilities planning and 
projects. Committee staff also participated in site visits of 
the National Zoological Park in advance of the April oversight 
hearing and the National Museum of African American History and 
Culture to view progress on construction of the facility.

Office of Compliance

    The Office of Compliance (``OOC'') was created by the 
Congressional Accountability Act (``CAA'') to facilitate the 
application of statutes identified in the CAA to Congress. The 
Committee has oversight over the OOC, and bipartisan Committee 
staff meets regularly with OOC leadership to discuss their 
initiatives and any issues arising in the course of OOC 
operations.

Elections

    On June 25, 2014, the Committee held a hearing on ``H.R. 
186, to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 
permit candidates for election for Federal office to designate 
an individual who will be authorized to disburse funds of the 
authorized campaign committees of the candidate in the event of 
the death of the candidate.'' The witness at the hearing was 
the Representative from North Carolina's 3rd Congressional 
District, the Honorable Walter Jones. The Committee heard 
testimony about how H.R. 186, introduced by Representative 
Jones, would allow candidates for Federal office to submit a 
simple statement to the FEC to designate an individual to 
disburse funds from the candidate's authorized campaign 
accounts in the event of the candidate's death, which would 
give candidates peace of mind knowing that funds in their 
campaign accounts will be disbursed in a manner consistent with 
their wishes.
    On July 23rd, 2014, the Committee held a hearing on 
``Examining the Voting Process--How States Can Build on 
Recommendations from the Bauer-Ginsberg Commission.'' The 
witnesses were Mr. Robert F. Bauer and Mr. Benjamin L. 
Ginsberg. Mr. Bauer and Mr. Ginsberg testified about how states 
can build upon their recommendations made during their service 
on the Presidential Commission on Election Administration.
    Following the November 4, 2014 federal elections, the 
Committee sent Democratic and Republican staff to five 
congressional contests to serve as observers and to collect 
evidence regarding the conduct of the election on behalf of the 
Committee. The Committee sent observers to the Seventh, 
Sixteenth, Twenty-Sixth, and Fifty-Second Districts of 
California and the Second District of Arizona.

            ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE

House Office of Legislative Counsel and Law Revision Counsel 
        Modernization Project

    The Committee worked with the House Office of Legislative 
Counsel (``HOLC''), the Office of Law Revision Counsel 
(``LRC''), leadership, and the Office of the Clerk on 
legislative modernization projects. One goal of the LRC is to 
maintain a complete, authoritative, accurate, and consolidated 
version of the U.S. Code. Since the original release of the 
U.S. Code in XML in July of 2013, the LRC has continued to 
update the U.S. Code on a timely basis and make it available 
for downloads in XML. This has been enthusiastically received 
by the Hill community and the public at large. The Committee 
also supported continued modernization of the LRC's 
codification tools, including the development of a side-by-side 
comparison tool to show changes in existing law being proposed 
by the LRC's bills.
    HOLC completed the project of converting to XML the most 
frequently used compilations of laws in its database, thereby 
moving away from the legacy GPO typesetting format and allowing 
for broader application of the Ramseyer program.
    The Committee continues to work with these offices to 
implement other aspects of the Legislative Modernization 
Initiative including the Amendment Impact Program (``AIP'') 
which provides Members and staff rapid access to the impacts 
that proposed amendments have to the underlying bill or 
resolution and a new tool to enable a user to readily lookup 
and link to a law that is being referenced in a bill or other 
legislative document.

                  EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Outreach to Member and Committee Offices

    In early 2014, as part of its Member office outreach and 
education responsibilities, the Committee hosted a series of 
briefings and focus groups for Member and committee offices to 
help them improve their own office operations. The first 
briefing prepared Member office staff for spring constituent 
visits, by sharing tips and information on tour booking 
procedures and upcoming spring exhibits in the CVC, Botanic 
Garden, Library of Congress and Smithsonian. This was the 
second annual briefing of this type.
    The second committee-hosted briefing also produced for its 
second consecutive year, provided intern coordinators with 
rules, regulations, and best practices surrounding summer 
intern programs. It was also webcast in order to allow district 
office participation.
    Starting in the summer of 2014, the Committee launched a 
number of initiatives to improve outreach to Members. The 
Committee produced a one-page document for Members outlining 
the key staff and services available for them at the Committee 
in order to better utilize our resources designed for the 
Members and staff. The Member Outreach department conducted 
one-on-one personal meetings with Chiefs of Staff to introduce 
them to all the services available at the Committee, get 
feedback on what offices need and help answer any questions in 
our jurisdiction.
    The Committee started the framework and planning of a new 
2015 professional development & educational program for House 
staffers. We administered surveys to essentially all office 
staff positions for feedback, suggestions and examples of areas 
in which training is needed. The Committee plans to launch the 
new series in January 2015.
    The Committee produced and distributed a Personnel 
Expenditure Study for House Members and staff, which lists many 
staff positions within a House Member Office and data about the 
compensation for each position. The Committee's goal was to 
help each Member Office with navigating House resources and 
information and the study was designed to assist offices when 
deciding on how to manage their own office and help set 
individual salary structures.
    Finally, the Committee planned and hosted its third annual 
Legislative Data Standards Conference in the Capitol Visitor 
Center on May 29th. One hundred forty-five people registered as 
speakers and attendees. Participants spent a full day in the 
CVC Auditorium discussing a number of topics including: 
internal legislative branch tools and developments, including 
House Office of Legislative Counsel's new Amendment Impact 
Program; an update from the Bulk Data Task Force; a series of 
short updates on outside developments; panels on future XML 
Legislative Data Standards; and preserving the benefits of 
paper documents in an electronic world.

STEM Academic Competition

    In 2013, the House approved H. Res. 77, sponsored by 
Committee Chairman Candice S. Miller, establishing an Academic 
Competition for high school students in the areas of science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics (``STEM''). In 2014, 
the Committee assisted Member offices in the administration of 
House Student App Challenge competitions by providing 
logistical support and helping develop registration 
infrastructure and outreach methods for the promotion of the 
contest.
    Upon completion of the Member office competitions, the 
Committee worked with the CAO to create a website to display 
contest winners on the House.gov site. In addition, the 
Committee coordinated with departments from the AOC and CAO to 
design and arrange for a display of contest winners in the U.S. 
Capitol.

New Member Orientation

    The Committee is responsible for coordinating the 
orientation program and associated travel and logistics for 
newly elected Members of Congress and their designated aides. 
The program was held during the week of November 12-20, 2014. 
The bipartisan administrative orientation program included a 
review of ethics and official resource rules, practical 
guidance on setting up a congressional office, an overview of 
procedures on the House Floor, and an introduction to the 
legislative process.

Cloud Storage pilot for New Member Orientation

    The Committee, working with HIR, established a pilot 
program for Members-elect and their aides to receive briefing 
materials, manuals, and other materials in electronic form 
using a cloud-based content management service. The pilot 
exceeded expectations and allowed for the quick dissemination 
of information with minimal use of paper materials.
            Congressional Internship Program for Individuals with 
                    Intellectual Disabilities
    During the period of this report, the internship program, 
which started in 2010, had its highest level of participation 
since its creation. 44 House and Senate offices participated in 
the program during the most recent semester. Over the life of 
the program--15 semesters to date--more than 96 offices have 
hosted interns. The Committee intends to continue to build on 
the success of the program established by Representative 
Harper.
            Summer Intern Lecture Series
    The Congressional Summer Intern Lecture Series is a 
bipartisan, bicameral effort coordinated annually by the 
Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on 
Rules and Administration. Started by former Representatives 
Gerald Ford and Donald Rumsfeld in the 1960s, both committees 
extend invitations, mostly to current and former government and 
military officials, policy experts, and media personalities, to 
speak to congressional interns.

            MINORITY VIEWS OF RANKING MEMBER ROBERT A. BRADY

                           Frivolous Lawsuits

    We strongly object to the Chairman's unilateral approval of 
contracts wasting public money to support Republican leadership 
litigation against the President of the United States. As had 
happened previously with contracts relating to the Republican 
leadership's frivolous lawsuit trying to deny same-sex couples 
the right to marry, the Majority continues to compromise 
transparency, deliberation and the regular order in a rush to 
waste Federal funds on ideological crusades.
    During the second session of the 113th Congress, the 
Minority had grave procedural and substantive concerns about 
House Resolution 676, which authorized the Speaker to initiate 
or intervene in litigation against the President or other 
federal officials for alleged violations of law in the 
implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act (Pub. L. 111-148). The resolution, which placed no limits 
on spending to satisfy tea-party House Republicans and their 
constituency then clamoring for impeachment, had been referred 
to the Rules Committee and the House Administration Committee. 
We believed, and still believe, that the subject matter 
desperately needed airings in both committees.
    Anticipating that the Majority would waive CHA's 
jurisdiction and leave all responsibility to the Rules 
Committee, in an unprecedented move Representatives Brady, 
Lofgren and Vargas on July 24, 2014 sent letters to Chairman 
Miller pursuant to clause 2(c)(2) of House rule XI, formally 
requesting a CHA committee meeting to consider the legislation. 
This action would have ultimately required the support of five 
committee members.
    With the responsibility to oversee the expenditure of 
nearly every dollar appropriated to this House, the Majority 
declined the opportunity to hear testimony on the resolution or 
offer amendments. One would think this Committee would insist 
on being heard and discharging its responsibility on a 
resolution the Republicans portrayed as so momentous.
    The Rules Committee did hold a hearing on the proposal and 
reported it to the House by recorded vote in a public session 
with an amendment to require ongoing public reporting of how 
much money is being wasted, which is actually within CHA 
jurisdiction. Chairman Miller assented to the Speaker's action 
to discharge our Committee.
    The Committee's neglect of its responsibilities in 
connection with this lawsuit did not end there. Since the House 
voted on July 30, 2014, to pass the resolution and pursue this 
reckless course, the House General Counsel has three times 
negotiated contracts with private attorneys to supplement his 
office's resources. We do not know what may have transpired on 
the Majority side, but in no case did the Minority have an 
opportunity to debate or question the terms of a contract, 
which was presented to us already approved by the Chairman. 
(SEE ATTACHMENTS)
    We believe the problem with these contracts is their 
purpose, not their terms, so the Majority may have been correct 
to assume that we would not have voted to approve the contracts 
no matter what they said. But by having approved them without a 
public meeting or even informal consultation, the Majority will 
never know. Regardless, the Minority was deprived of any 
opportunity to participate in consideration of these contracts.
    If the Chairman enters into new contracts for outside 
counsel during the 114th Congress, or modifies existing ones, 
we believe in the strongest possible terms, that the Committee 
must respect the demands of Committee members to be heard first 
and to vote yea or nay.

                  Oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police

    In our Minority Views appended to last year's Activities 
report, we expressed great concern about the Committee's 
reduced level of oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP). 
Now, twelve months later, we are gravely concerned.
    All of our observations at the close of 2013 remain true 
today. The Committee has held no oversight hearings for the 
Police. We have still not convened a hearing to give the now 
not-so-new Chief of Police, Kim Dine, the opportunity to 
discuss publicly his vision for the agency. The oversight 
meetings between the Committee's bipartisan staff and USCP 
senior staff, generally held weekly from 2007-2011 under 
Chairman Brady and later during Chairman Lungren's tenure, did 
not continue in the 113th Congress. The fact that the Majority 
eliminated the Subcommittee on Capitol Security could lead a 
casual observer, let alone rank-and-file USCP officers and 
civilian employees, to conclude that this Committee has lost 
interest in the Capitol Police. This is unfortunate.
    Whether the Committee engages in proper USCP oversight or 
not, the USCP's work goes on all day, every day. We depend on 
the Capitol Police to protect us, our employees and the 
millions who visit this campus each year. We are fortunate 
that, as of this writing, no major terrorist or criminal 
incident has severely disrupted the work of this institution 
during this second session. In our view, without more vigorous 
oversight we cannot know whether this stems from mere good 
fortune or whether the Committee may rightly rest assured that 
our police are prepared to the greatest extent possible. We 
certainly hope for the latter but have little difficulty 
finding questions that have arisen this year. Since we are not 
permitted to raise them in public hearings or meetings of the 
Committee, we will mention some here.
    For example, following embarrassing confusion occurring 
during emergency evacuations of the Capitol Visitor Center 
(CVC) this summer, the USCP and the Sergeant at Arms assured us 
that key training would be enhanced and certain changes made to 
command-center duties. Have these changes sufficed and have CVC 
managers detected a difference? Following two separate 
unsuccessful attempts to enter the Cannon House Office Building 
by persons carrying firearms, should there be posted at all 
public doors a conspicuous list of prohibited items, as there 
is at the CVC entrance? Recently some have proposed that 
federal law-enforcement officers be equipped with body cameras. 
If adopted for other federal officers, should the Capitol 
Police be included given the unique nature of their mission?
    We urge the Majority to initiate a more robust role in 
policymaking for the Police and undertake more vigorous 
oversight of its execution. That begins with starting to 
perform the Committee's basic oversight functions. It is 
ultimately this Committee's responsibility to strike the proper 
balance between the level of access Congress has historically 
sought to provide and indulging our understandable desire to 
maximize the secure operation of the institution.

                        House Officer Oversight

    While we believe most House operations are managed well, we 
continue to have serious concerns with the lack of Member-level 
oversight of the House Officers. Specifically, no hearings were 
held with House Officers during the 113th Congress. Both the 
Chairman and the Ranking Member are in virtually total 
agreement that CHA should serve and represent Member and 
Committee Offices. We feel that this objective is compromised 
by the lack of regular oversight hearings in key areas of the 
Committee's jurisdiction.

                    THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

    In our December 2013 activity report, Committee Democrats 
welcomed the election of a new Chief Administrative Officer 
(CAO). We had high hopes that the new CAO would hit the ground 
running and move an aggressive agenda to fix what has been, in 
general terms, an organization with serious systemic, 
operational and leadership deficiencies. After one year under 
the direction of the current CAO, organizational problems 
persist, specifically but not exclusively in the areas of 
general management, staffing, personnel , management training/
development, and staff morale. We believe that these continuing 
deficiencies are most impactful and apparent in the management 
of House Information Resources (HIR), an area in which we have 
expressed grave concerns.

                   HOUSE INFORMATION RESOURCES (HIR)

    We believe that key elements of HIR operations are in dire 
need of major strategic and operational overhaul. We applaud 
the recent appointment of Catherine Szpindor as Deputy IT 
Director. She brings with her a wealth of experience and a 
strong focus on process improvement. We have also been 
immediately impressed by her focus on the institution and the 
individuals within HIR that are charged with providing direct 
service to Member Offices. Our concern is that the assigned 
task of assessing and reorganizing HIR is nearly an impossible 
one. We urge the CAO to dedicate the necessary resources to get 
HIR up to the standard the U.S. House deserves.

                        HIR CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

    In the area of HIR Contract Management, personnel with 
little to no federal government contract management experience 
or training are currently managing multimillion dollar 
contracts. We understand that the CAO has begun to recruit a 
new Director of Procurement and we believe that this is long 
overdue.
    Democratic Members of the Committee, as well as Democratic 
Committee staff have expressed their disagreement with and 
displeasure over the recent decision by the current CAO to lift 
a suspension from marketing services to the House by a vendor 
who has been plagued by serious lapses in security and systems 
update infrastructure dating back to 2012.These lapses include 
failure to host websites in secure environments, failure to 
implement vital software updates and therefore jeopardizing 
Member and Committee websites, failure to adequately defend 
House sites from known hacking vulnerabilities and failure to 
adequately communicate with Member and Committee offices on 
these multiple vulnerabilities.
    We believe that the continued presence as a ``trusted'' 
vendor within the House jeopardizes the integrity and 
credibility of our information technology infrastructure. By 
restoring them to full status in the House, HIR is sending the 
message to Member and Committee offices that this is a vendor 
with whom they can trust a vital element of their operation. 
Given the repeated disregard for sound business and information 
technology practices--things that are generally industry 
standard--we do not believe that this is a message to send.
    The general lack of interest and understanding of district 
office operations is another major organizational disconnect. 
As district office operations have become a bigger part of 
Member office operations, the CAO staff has been slow to engage 
with district staff. Committee Democrats' suggestions of 
increased CAO staff engagement at the district level have been 
ignored. We urge the CAO to consider implementing a small team 
to work directly on district office issues.
    While the Committee Majority increased the number of staff 
level CAO oversight meetings in 2014 to biweekly, we continue 
to believe very strongly that more Committee engagement--at the 
Member level--is strongly needed and that its absence poses a 
significant threat to the House.
    When there has been progress in the CAO's operations it has 
come as a result of collaboration between the Committee 
Majority and Minority staffs. In these instances, our 
coordinated and consistent message and direction to the Office 
of the CAO have resulted in significant positive movement. 
Specifically, updating furniture storage, upgrading House bulk 
mail policy, rethinking IT issues, and pushing a review of the 
property and equipment inventory processes to name a few.
    We look forward to continuing these collaborative efforts 
in the 114th Congress.

                   Government Publishing Office (GPO)

    We are pleased Congress honored the request of Public 
Printer Davita Vance-Cooks, first made to this Committee in 
2013, for redesignation by law of the Government Printing 
Office as the Government Publishing Office. This long-overdue 
change rightly proclaims to the American people how Congress 
and the President view GPO.
    The proud men and women of GPO do not fulfill their mission 
to ``Keep America Informed'' solely by applying ink to paper. 
For decades GPO employees have been in the vanguard of the 
government's shift toward electronic publishing. The agency's 
former name, focused on the technological limits available at 
GPO's birth in 1861, no longer reflected the breadth of its 
abilities and importance. GPO's work publishing and 
distributing information in multiple formats assures Americans 
perpetual access to the documents of our democracy. This change 
gives GPO and its employees the recognition they have earned.
    During 2014 GPO has continued making significant strides 
under the stewardship of Ms. Vance-Cooks, who has now become 
the first Director of the Government Publishing Office. 
Evidence of the Director's strong management and sound judgment 
abounds there.
    For example, the Partnership for Public Service listed GPO 
as one of the Best Places to Work and among the top 10 most 
innovative mid-sized federal agencies. The Partnership compiled 
its list based on the results of the OPM Federal Viewpoint 
Survey for 2013. Along a similar vein, a survey of over 500 
customer agencies found 90% are generally satisfied with the 
goods and services GPO provides.
    GPO's improved electronic gateway to the growing expanse of 
government information, Federal Digital System, or ``FDsys'', 
recorded its one-billionth document retrieval. FDsys users can 
now browse among over one million titles as routine as daily 
editions of the Federal Register and as historic as President 
Nixon's Watergate grand-jury testimony. GPO is already taking 
steps to create the next generation FDsys with improved search 
and retrieval capabilities.
    Although the Director and her management team have much to 
be proud of, challenges remain. We are pleased that the 
Director has embraced last year's National Academy of Public 
Administration study of GPO, especially its recommendation that 
GPO increase revenues through lease of surplus space. GPO has 
redoubled efforts to attract office tenants, including 
Legislative agencies for which proximity to the Congress offers 
a premium. With the support of the Joint Committee on Printing, 
GPO solicited the private sector's input with a Request for 
Information on how to make better use of several acres of land 
now devoted to parking The Director successfully completed a 
new round of wage agreements with GPO's employee unions, 
prudently setting future wage increases at the rate proposed by 
the President and Congress for all other federal civil-service 
employees. In addition, a successful employee buy-out conducted 
this year will improve the agency's financial condition.
    We are greatly encouraged by the Director's eagerness to 
work constructively with her earnest and talented Inspector 
General, Michael Raponi, and to incorporate his invaluable 
findings and recommendations into her strategic planning. The 
Committee recently asked Mr. Raponi to review concerns 
expressed about GPO's billings for work performed for House 
committees. Mr. Raponi's careful review identified problems 
inherent in the current billing process and offered 
constructive improvement that GPO is working to carry out. At 
the Inspector General's recommendation, the Director has also 
acted to strengthen GPO's procurement process. We sincerely 
hope this beneficial relationship continues.
    We look forward to working with Ms. Vance-Cooks and the 
dedicated men and women of the Government Publishing Office 
during the coming session.

                     Architect of the Capitol (AOC)

    During the 2nd Session of the 113th Congress, the Architect 
of the Capitol and the House Superintendent continued to 
provide excellent service and support on behalf of the House, 
its staff, and visitors. This service level, however, is 
hampered by budgetary constraints which continue to cause 
serious deferred maintenance issues. The AOC has found ways to 
prioritize projects in this fiscal climate but we still have 
concerns for the health and safety of House Office Building 
occupants and visitors in the most severe cases.
    The two-year renovation of the Capitol Dome began during 
the 2nd Session and is progressing without delay thus far. The 
full renovation of the historic Cannon House Office Building 
(CHOB) is also well underway as Phase 0 of the process has 
commenced. Unfortunately, the CHOB continues to deteriorate at 
an unpredictable rate. Examples include failures of ornamental 
features on the building's exterior and serious water leaks in 
the building's interior. In both cases, emergency repairs were 
required to ensure a safe environment for the building's 
occupants and visitors. This deterioration is not limited to 
CHOB as the Longworth, Rayburn, and Ford House Office Buildings 
continue to cope with the consequences of deferred maintenance. 
CHA Democrats view these and other examples as part of the 
serious neglect of building maintenance caused by misguided 
funding practices for which the AOC is not at fault.
    The Democratic Members view addressing the House's deferred 
maintenance issues as a more cost effective alternative to the 
full renovation the House is being forced to undergo in the 
case of the Cannon Building. While we have full confidence in 
the ability of the AOC to fix and sustain building structures 
and systems, until funding is restored to address these serious 
issues, the House will continue to face potentially hazardous 
health and safety concerns.

                             CANNON RENEWAL

    The construction phase of the renewal of the Cannon House 
Office Building began in late 2014 and continues in 5 phases 
through 2024. It is expected to cost in excess of $750 million.
    The Committee Democrats urge the Majority appoint a full-
time professional staff person whose only responsibility would 
be overseeing parts of the renovation that fall under the 
Committee's jurisdiction as specified in House rule X. We would 
like to see a position much like the one the Committee had 
during the Capitol Visitors Center construction.

                        Campaigns and Elections

    In its only legislative hearing related to elections in 
2014, on June 25th, the Committee held a hearing on H.R. 186, 
introduced by Rep. Jones of North Carolina. The bill amends the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to allow for the 
designation of authorized individuals to disburse funds of 
deceased candidates' authorized campaign committees. The 
content of H.R. 186 was well-worn territory for the Committee 
as similar versions of the bill were passed by the House of 
Representatives in the 110th, 111th, and 112th Congresses. 
However, in this case there was no follow up, as the Committee 
failed to hold a markup or bring the bill to the Floor under 
suspension of the rules.

           PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON ELECTION ADMINISTRATION

    On July 23rd, 2014, the Committee held a hearing to explore 
recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Election 
Administration (PCEA) in their official report
    The PCEA was established by President Obama by executive 
order in March 2013. The PCEA's mission was to improve election 
practices in response to failures of the system in the 2012 
presidential election. The PCEA was chaired by former White 
House Counsel Robert Bauer and Benjamin Ginsberg, counsel to 
the 2000 and 2004 Bush-Cheney campaigns and national counsel to 
the Romney 2012 campaign.
    Since June 2013, the PCEA held public meetings across the 
country to solicit input from election officials and the voting 
public on how to better improve election administration. The 
recommendations made by the PCEA fell into four broader 
categories: voter registration modernization, access to the 
polls, polling place resources, and updating voting machine 
technology. Following the PCEA's sixth and final meeting on 
December 3, 2013 in Washington, DC, the Commission made its 
recommendations to the President.

                       POTENTIAL FUTURE HEARINGS

    It is the Minority's view that the Committee should 
exercise more robust oversight of the agencies within its 
jurisdiction such as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and 
the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). For instance, a 
recent FEC Inspector General report highlighted the ongoing 
vacancies in key leadership positions such as general counsel 
and chief financial officer as a major deficiency.
    The Election Assistance Commission won a new lease on life 
in the final days of the session as the Senate confirmed three 
new EAC commissioners, including our former committee 
Democratic Elections Counsel, Tom Hicks. With the anticipation 
of renewed EAC activity at a time when the Voting Rights Act 
has been weakened and the Republican Party is advocating 
increased voter suppression, the Committee should exercise 
judicious oversight of its operations and abandon its ongoing 
efforts to pass legislation to abolish the agency.

                        POST-ELECTION OBSERVERS

    For each federal election, the House Administration 
Committee trains House employees who have volunteered to serve 
as election observers. If requested by a campaign, the 
Committee sends out bipartisan teams of observers to monitor 
vote canvassing surrounding close House races in the event that 
a race ends up before the Committee as an election contest. No 
contests have been filed at this point in the session and there 
does not appear to be unresolved controversy. The Democratic 
Election Observer effort was led by Khalil Abboud.
    After November 4, the Committee received five requests for 
election observers, each from the Republican challenger in the 
district. We sent observers to the following districts:

Arizona 2nd District

            Rep. Ron Barber (D) v. Martha McSally (R)
    The Committee minority sent Khalil Abboud of the CHA staff 
to observe the state-mandated recount in the Arizona 2nd 
congressional district from December 5 to 12, 2014. Ms. McSally 
was ultimately certified as the winner in the year's closest 
contest.

California 7th District

            Rep. Ami Bera (D) v. Doug Ose (R)
    The Committee minority sent Lillian German of the House 
Judiciary Committee staff to observe the canvass in California 
7th congressional district from November 12 to 15, 2014. Rep. 
Bera was ultimately certified as the winner.

California 16th District

            Rep. Jim Costa (D) v. Johnny Tacherra (R)
    The Committee minority sent Russ Kelley of Rep Suzanne 
Bonamici's staff to observe the canvass in California 16th 
congressional district from November 12 to 15, 2014. Rep. Costa 
was ultimately certified as the winner.

California 26th District

            Rep. Julia Brownley (D) v. Jeff Gorrell (R)
    The Committee minority sent Teresa Frison of Rep. Jerry 
McNerney's staff to observe the canvass in California 26th 
congressional district from November 7 to 13, 2014. Rep. 
Brownley was ultimately certified as the winner.

California 52nd District

            Rep. Scott Peters (D) v. Carl Demaio (R)
    The Committee minority sent Ron LeGrand of the House 
Judiciary Committee staff to observe the canvass in California 
52nd congressional district from November 7 to 9, 2014. Rep. 
Peters was ultimately certified as the winner.

                        Smithsonian Institution

    In May of 2011, the 23-member Commission to Study the 
Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino 
issued a report recommending creation of the museum as a part 
of the Smithsonian Institution. Since then, the Democratic 
members of the Committee on House Administration repeatedly 
urged former Chairman Lungren and Chairman Miller to hold a 
hearing to receive the report and testimony from the 
commissioners, and to address the bipartisan legislation 
introduced by Rep. Xavier Becerra to create a museum. 
Significant issues of funding and location, among others, need 
to be determined.
    Chairman Miller stated publicly on a number of occasions 
that she would hold a hearing on the issue in 2014, and during 
the summer it appeared that the Committee was moving toward a 
hearing date early in September, though no formal announcement 
was made. However, due to unrelated scheduling issues the 
hearing was postponed and was not rescheduled in the post-
election session. The issue remains ripe for Committee action. 
We also expect that Rep. Becerra's legislation will be promptly 
reintroduced. The Democratic members remain optimistic that we 
will be able to finally address the issue early in 2015.

             Office of Congressional Accessibility Services

    The Office of Congressional Accessibility Services (OCAS) 
has implemented several projects which include providing 
additional adaptive services for ease of access to the Capitol 
grounds as well as all CVC exhibits and programs. We support 
OCAS efforts to create a more accessible environment for 
Members, staff, and visitors. We also share OCAS' interest in 
adding assisted listening device options to the House gallery 
and updating FM systems (sound amplification devices) currently 
used in CVC meeting rooms, House hearing and other rooms. We 
commend the OCAS for its dedication to providing additional 
training and etiquette courses for House employees, expanding 
awareness and educating the public and Member offices about its 
services, and the strides they've made in modifying tours to 
meet the varying needs of all visitors.
    OCAS has expressed concerns since the September 2014 
release by the Office of Compliance of new regulations for 
Congress pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act. We 
are confident that the OCAS will remain an indispensable 
partner in ongoing efforts to make the Capitol more accessible.

                           Strategic Planning

    The Majority working with the Democrats on the Committee 
directed the Office of Inspector General to lead a House wide 
two phased strategic planning process. We are happy to report 
Phase 1 began in late fall 2014 and continues into 2015. This 
phase will develop 10 to 15 business objectives for 
consideration by the Committee.
    The second phase begins later in 2015, and will involve 
asking House officers to develop their own individual strategic 
plans.

                         New Member Orientation

    In November of 2014, the Committee Democrats and Majority 
coordinated a successful week long bipartisan training program 
for new Members-elect and designated aides. The Committee 
Democrats have continued an outreach effort to our 18 new 
Members to ensure a smooth transition to the 114th Congress.


                                           Robert A. Brady,
                                                    Ranking Member.