[DOCID: f:hr029.110]
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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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