[House Report 105-30]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 105-30
_______________________________________________________________________
PROVIDING AMOUNTS FOR THE EXPENSES OF CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS
_______
March 17, 1997.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Thomas, from the Committee on House Oversight, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H. Res. 91]
The Committee on House Oversight, to whom was referred the
resolution (H. Res. 91) providing amounts for the expenses of
certain committees of the House of Representatives in the One
Hundred Fifth Congress, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the
resolution as amended be agreed to.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. COMMITTEE EXPENSES FOR THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--With respect to the One Hundred Fifth Congress,
there shall be paid out of the applicable accounts of the House of
Representatives, in accordance with this primary expense resolution,
not more than the amount specified in subsection (b) for the expenses
(including the expenses of all staff salaries) of each committee named
in that subsection.
(b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $7,656,162; Committee
on Banking and Financial Services, $8,901,617; Committee on the Budget,
$9,940,000; Committee on Commerce, $14,576,580; Committee on Education
and the Workforce, $10,125,113; Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight, $20,020,572; Committee on House Oversight, $6,100,946;
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $4,815,526; Committee on
International Relations, $10,368,358; Committee on the Judiciary,
$10,699,572; Committee on National Security, $9,756,708; Committee on
Resources, $9,876,550; Committee on Rules, $4,649,102; Committee on
Science, $8,677,830; Committee on Small Business, $3,906,941; Committee
on Standards of Official Conduct, $2,456,300; Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, $12,483,000; Committee on Veterans'
Affairs, $4,344,160; and Committee on Ways and Means, $11,066,841.
SEC. 2. FIRST SESSION LIMITATIONS.
(a) In General.--Of the amount provided for in section 1 for each
committee named in subsection (b), not more than the amount specified
in such subsection shall be available for expenses incurred during the
period beginning at noon on January 3, 1997, and ending immediately
before noon on January 3, 1998.
(b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $3,791,039; Committee
on Banking and Financial Services, $4,363,817; Committee on the Budget,
$4,970,000; Committee on Commerce, $7,122,959; Committee on Education
and the Workforce, $5,002,127; Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight, $11,702,573; Committee on House Oversight, $3,093,200;
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $2,358,040; Committee on
International Relations, $5,145,358; Committee on the Judiciary,
$5,054,800; Committee on National Security, $4,729,454; Committee on
Resources, $4,800,014; Committee on Rules, $2,306,407; Committee on
Science, $4,263,672; Committee on Small Business, $1,936,471; Committee
on Standards of Official Conduct, $1,276,300; Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, $6,141,500; Committee on Veterans'
Affairs, $2,084,368; and Committee on Ways and Means, $5,387,934.
SEC. 3. SECOND SESSION LIMITATIONS.
(a) In General.--Of the amount provided for in section 1 for each
committee named in subsection (b), not more than the amount specified
in such subsection shall be available for expenses incurred during the
period beginning at noon on January 3, 1998, and ending immediately
before noon on January 3, 1999.
(b) Committees and Amounts.--The committees and amounts referred to
in subsection (a) are: Committee on Agriculture, $3,865,123; Committee
on Banking and Financial Services, $4,537,800; Committee on the Budget,
$4,970,000; Committee on Commerce, $7,453,621; Committee on Education
and the Workforce, $5,122,986; Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight, $8,317,999; Committee on House Oversight, $3,007,746;
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, $2,457,486; Committee on
International Relations, $5,223,000; Committee on the Judiciary,
$5,644,772; Committee on National Security, $5,027,254; Committee on
Resources, $5,076,536; Committee on Rules, $2,342,695; Committee on
Science, $4,414,158; Committee on Small Business, $1,970,470; Committee
on Standards of Official Conduct, $1,180,000; Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, $6,341,500; Committee on Veterans'
Affairs, $2,259,792; and Committee on Ways and Means, $5,678,907.
SEC. 4. VOUCHERS.
Payments under this resolution shall be made on vouchers authorized
by the committee involved, signed by the chairman of such committee,
and approved in the manner directed by the Committee on House
Oversight.
SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.
Amounts made available under this resolution shall be expended in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House
Oversight.
SEC. 6. RESERVE FUND FOR UNANTICIPATED EXPENSES.
There is hereby established a reserve fund of $7,900,000 for
unanticipated expenses of committees for the One Hundred Fifth
Congress. Amounts in the fund shall be paid to a committee pursuant to
an allocation approved by the Committee on House Oversight.
SEC. 7. ADJUSTMENT AUTHORITY.
The Committee on House Oversight shall have authority to make
adjustments in amounts under section 1, if necessary to comply with an
order of the President issued under section 254 of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 or to conform to any
reduction in appropriations for the purposes of such section 1.
Committee Action
On March 13, 1997, by voice vote, a quorum being present, the
Committee agreed to a motion to report the resolution favorably
to the House, as amended.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
Statement on Budget Authority and Related Items
The resolution does not provide new budget authority, new
spending authority, new credit authority, or an increase or
decrease in revenues or tax expenditures, and a statement under
clause 2(l)(3)(B) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is not required.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states, with
respect to the resolution, that the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office did not submit a cost estimate and
comparison under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974.
Oversight Findings of Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
The Committee states, with respect to clause 2(l)(3)(D) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, that the
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight did not submit
findings or recommendations based on investigations under
clause 4(c)(2) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
Rollcall Votes
In compliance with clause 2(l)(2)(B) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, with respect to each rollcall
vote on a motion to report the resolution and on any amendment
offered to the resolution, the total number of votes cast for
and against, and the names of those Members voting for and
against, are as follows:
H. Res. 91, Rollcall No. 1
Motion by Mr. Ney. Subject: Motion to agree to the amendment
in the nature of a substitute offered by Mr. Thomas.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member Aye Nay Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Thomas................................ X ........ ........
Mr. Ney................................... X ........ ........
Mr. Boehner............................... X ........ ........
Mr. Ehlers................................ X ........ ........
Ms. Granger............................... ........ ........ ........
Mr. Gejdenson............................. ........ X ........
Mr. Hoyer................................. ........ X ........
Ms. Kilpatrick............................ ........ X ........
-----------------------------
Total................................. 4 3 ........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
general discussion
Voice vote
The Committee by voice vote, with a quorum present, on
March 13, 1997, agreed to report H. Res. 91, as amended,
favorably to the House.
General discussion
H. Res. 91, as amended, authorizes $178,321,878 for
committee salaries and expenses for all standing committees of
the House of Representatives (except the Committee on
Appropriations), the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
and the reserve fund for the 105th Congress. The amendment in
the nature of a substitute offered by the majority, and passed
by the Committee, was the only amendment offered to the
resolution. The minority offered no amendments to the funding
resolution. In a separate Committee resolution, approved on
March 12, 1997, the Committee on House Oversight established
franked mail allocations for these committees.
Significant changes were enacted at the beginning of the
104th Congress which affected the structure and jurisdiction of
Committees. In the 104th Congress, three standing committees
and 32 subcommittees were abolished. Committee staff was
reduced by 33% from the 103rd Congress levels and committee
funding authorization was reduced by a total of 30%,
$67,003,290. Additionally, committees became directly
responsible and accountable for costs previously paid from
funds not specifically authorized through a committee funding
resolution. These costs included, scanning and graphics, local
telephone line charges, long-distance telephone call charges,
office supplies mail. Prior to the 104th Congress, these costs
were paid from other House funds, separate from the
investigative and statutory funding procedures. The 30%
reduction in funding was achieved even after mandating full
accountability by committees for these costs.
The 104th Congress was one of the most prolific and
substantive Congresses in history. According to statistics
complied by the Committee on Rules, the House spent 2,445 hours
in session deliberating on and passing 333 bills into law,
including landmark legislation such as welfare reform, a
balanced budget and health care reform. This was accomplished
with fewer committee staff and significantly fewer financial
resources than was authorized in the prior Congress.
Requests
The sum total of all budget requests for the 105th Congress
was $180,129,315. The amount authorized for the basic
operations of committees is $170,421,878, including $3.8
million for a special investigation by the Committee on
Government Reform and Oversight. The authorization for the
basic operations of committees is reduced by $9,707,437, 5.4%,
from the sum of all amounts requested by committees.
An additional $7,900,000 is included in the resolution, as
authorization held in reserve. The ``Reserve Fund'' is for
future allocation by the Committee on House Oversight for
unanticipated committee activities during the 105th Congress.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
105th
Committee request \1\ H. Res. 91 1997 1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture............................................. $7,792,162 $7,656,162 $3,791,039 $3,865,123
Banking and Financial Services.......................... 9,414,785 8,901,617 4,363,817 4,537,800
Budget.................................................. 9,940,000 9,940,000 4,970,000 4,970,000
Commerce................................................ 15,191,538 14,576,580 7,122,959 7,453,621
Education and the Workforce............................. 10,569,157 10,125.113 5,002,127 5,122,986
Government Reform and Oversight......................... 20,020,572 20,020,572 11,702,573 8,317,999
House Oversight......................................... 6,160,946 6,100,946 3,093,200 3,007,746
Intelligence............................................ 5,040,526 4,815,526 2,358,040 2,457,486
International Relations................................. 11,143,892 10,368,358 5,145,358 5,223,000
Judiciary............................................... 12,037,046 10,699,572 5,054,800 5,644,772
National Security....................................... 10,668,640 9,756,708 4,729,454 5,027,254
Resources............................................... 10,418,537 9,876,550 4,800,014 5,076,536
Rules................................................... 4,649,102 4,649,102 2,306,407 2,342,695
Science................................................. 9,128,727 8,677,830 4,263,672 4,414,158
Small Business.......................................... 4,339,817 3,906,941 1,936,471 1,970,470
Standards of Official Conduct \2\....................... 2,439,300 2,456,300 1,276,300 1,180,000
Transportation and Infrastructure....................... 14,096,282 12,483,000 6,141,500 6,341,500
Veterans' Affairs....................................... 5,744,757 4,344,160 2,084,368 2,259,792
Ways and Means.......................................... 11,333,529 11,066,841 5,387,934 5,678,907
-------------------------------------------------------
Sub-total......................................... 180,129,315 170,421,878 85,530,033 84,891,845
Reserve Fund............................................ 7,900,000 7,900,000 ............ ............
-------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................. 188,029,315 178,321,878 85,530,033 84,891,845
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Amount requested in budget request submitted to Committee on House Oversight.
\2\ H. Res. 91 includes $60,000 for Ethics Reform Task Force expenses.
Committee funding process
The 105th Congress is the second funding cycle under the
biennial funding process instituted in the 104th Congress. At
the beginning of the 104th Congress House Rules were revised,
changing the Committee funding process to a biennial cycle and
abolishing the bifurcation of funding under statutory and
investigative accounts.
Committee Chairmen in the 104th Congress achieved the
ambitious goals established by the new Republican majority,
including those of fiscal conservatism and legislative
proclivity. The biennial committee funding process has proven
successful in at least two respects. First, every House
committee chairman was a new chairman, and was asked to present
a two-year budget and to predict the needs and the legislative
goals of the committees over which they had only recently taken
control. 104th Congress Chairmen did plan realistic budgets
which funded the needs of their committees, simultaneously
reducing budgets by an average of 30% from their predecessors.
Second, a two-year budget cycle saves time and resources for
all committees because the process is undertaken only once per
Congress, rather than twice as was done previously. The
biennial funding process facilitates long term planning and
cuts in half the time and resources dedicated to making,
defending and approving budget requests.
At the outset of the 104th Congress, the Committee on House
Oversight adopted a regulation which required committees to
reimburse legislative and executive branch agencies or
departments for any detailees working for the committee. The
regulation has been revised for the 105th Congress. Committees
must continue to reimburse for detailees from the Government
Printing Office. Committees will not, however, be required by
the Committee on House Oversight to reimburse other agencies
for details, so long as the number of details at any one
committee does not exceed 10% of their staff ceiling. Agencies
must be reimbursed for details above this 10% limit. While
details often provide special expertise not available on
committee staff, or expertise not required on a permanent
basis, this policy is intended to continue to ensure prudent
use of other agencies resources and to continue a full-
accountability model for committee funding.
Funding for the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
The Committee on Government Reform and Oversight has
requested and been allocated a total 48% increase over the
104th Congress authorization. The Committee on Government
Reform and Oversight was established in the 104th Congress, by
combining the jurisdictions of three former committees: The
Committee on Government Operations, The Committee on the
District of Columbia and The Post Office and Civil Service
Committee (exclusive of its jurisdiction over the Commission on
Congressional Mailing Standards). When the former three
committees were combined into one entity, the Committee on
Government Reform and Oversight, staff levels and funding were
reduced substantially:
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
103d Percent 104th Percent 105th Percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government Operations Committee.............................. $11.8 ....... (\1\) ....... (\1\) .......
District of Columbia Committee............................... 5.1 ....... ...... ....... ...... .......
Post Office & Civil Service Committee........................ 9.7 ....... ...... ....... ...... .......
--------------------------------------------------
Govt. Reform Committee (equivalent funding).................. 26.6 ....... 13.5 ....... 16.2 61
Special Investigation.................................... ...... ....... ...... ....... 3.8 .......
--------------------------------------------------
Total Authorization.................................... 26.6 100 13.5 51 20.0 75
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Not applicable.
In the 104th Congress, the Government Reform and Oversight
Committee maintained a heavy workload, conducted numerous
investigations and performed essential and unexpected oversight
functions despite the decrease in staff and resources. The
Government Reform Committee anticipates a marked increase in
their workload for the 105th Congress, and has received an
authorization increase of 20% over two years for its basic
functions. Even after this increase in authorization for its
basic operations, the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight is funded at 39% less than its 103rd Congress
predecessors.
Included in the 105th Congress authorization for the
Government Reform and Oversight Committee is $3.8 million
available in 1997 for a special investigation into alleged
illegal executive branch activities related to the 1996 federal
campaigns.
Changes to the Rules of the House to accommodate funding for matters
that are unanticipated during the biennial funding process
House rule XI, clause 5(a) allows for a reserve fund to be
included in the primary expense resolution reported by the
Committee on House Oversight. The total amount allocated to the
reserve fund in the 105th Congress is $7,900,000. Amounts from
this fund will be authorized to a specific standing committee
or to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence only after
approval by the Committee on House Oversight. If no requests
are received or no authorization is approved, the funds will
not be spent. Funds allocated from the Reserve Fund are to be
for unanticipated matters that arise within a committee's
jurisdiction. Historically, during a Congress new matters and
issues come to the attention of the House which require study
and review. Under a two-year funding cycle, there is a
significantly greater likelihood that Committees cannot
accurately anticipate all matters which may arise in their
jurisdiction. The reserve fund is therefore established as a
prudent method for funding such unexpected matters.
Minority resources
The majority is proud of the progress that has been made by
its committees towards the goal of allocating one-third of each
committee's resources to the minority. We remain committed to
this goal. In 1990, the Democratic Majority, pursuant to
Democratic Caucus Rule 34(F), adopted a policy that the
committee caucuses shall not be required to provide for more
than 20 percent of the total funding for minority investigative
staff for the full committee and each subcommittee of the
committee. In 1994, at the end of the 103rd Congress, only four
committees (exclusive of those that share bipartisan and
nonpartisan staff) allowed one-third of their resources, staff
and funds, to the minority party.
When the new majority assumed control in the 104th
Congress, the number of committee staff allocated to the
minority party significantly improved:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
102d 103d 104th 105th
-------------------------------- 1995 & 1997 &
1991 1992 1993 1994 1996 1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------
Percent of Committees providing 33% of staff slots
\1\ to the minority................................. 6 13 0 6 44 47
Number of Committees providing:
33% or more...................................... 1 2 0 1 7 7
25% to 32%....................................... 3 2 5 5 6 7
20% to 24%....................................... 5 1 3 2 3 1
Less than 20%.................................... 7 11 8 8 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For the 102d and 103d Congress the calculation is from the investigative staff.
For the 105th Congress, there has been no erosion of the
resources provided to the minority party, and additional
progress has been made. Of those seventeen committees that have
partisan staff, nine committees have achieved the goal of one-
third allocation of the total budget or staff salaries to the
minority. Of the eight remaining committees, three have
increased their allocation to the minority party for the 105th
Congress. The situation has improved significantly and progress
will be monitored and encouraged.
Minority Views
Many of the chairman who presented their committees'
budgets have done a commendable job of achieving a balance
between carrying out the committee's responsibilities and
seeking increased resources to ensure a fair allocation of both
staff positions and financial resources to the Minority. For
example, Chairman Thomas of the Committee on House Oversight
demonstrated his commitment to the House-adopted objective of
providing at least one-third of the staff positions and
resources to the Minority. In his budget presentation, Chairman
Thomas allocated to the Minority one-third of the positions
under the Committee's Speaker-established staff ceiling, one-
third of the amount approved by the House for committee
operations (one half in the case of contested elections), and
control of those resources by the Minority. Several other
committee chairmen provided a welcome allocation to the
Minority of positions and resources, and we would be remiss if
we failed to recognize the progress such committees have made.
Notwithstanding the progress on such committees, actions by
certain other committees deserve no such credit. In particular,
the Government Reform and oversight Committee demands
discussion.
government reform and oversight committee
There is absolutely no excuse for the manner in which the
Minority of the Government Reform and oversight Committee has
been treated. That Committee's initial and supplemental funding
requests--a 48% increase over the last Congress--were granted
in toto. Yet, despite the sensitive nature of this Committee's
responsibilities, its Chair has arbitrarily proposed a totally
inadequate and unfair allocation of resources to the Minority.
The Government Reform and Oversight Committee submitted its
budget without prior consultation with the Minority. This
Committee has indicated that in the best case it will give the
Minority only between 15% and 25% of the total resources. This
Committee has been granted up to 41 new positions, including
detailees, and has thus far earmarked only 7 to the Minority.
This Committee has proposed a blatantly partisan investigation,
and its Chair has unilaterally issued over 30 subpoenas without
Committee approval. Without consultation with the Minority,
this Committee's Chair established a document protocol which is
contrary to the Rules of the House of Representatives. It
purports to authorize the Chairman, without consulting his
Committee, to publicly disclose any subpoenaed document. This
Committee's nearly $12 million budget for the First Session of
the 105th Congress focuses exclusively upon an investigation of
Democrats, the Democratic Party, and White House campaign
contribution issues, while ignoring valid parallel Republican
campaign contribution issues, such as the use of Congressional
buildings for Republican fundraising activities. This Committee
cavalier disregard of elemental notions of fairness should not
be rewarded with a nearly $12 million budget for 1997 alone.
Incredibly, to compound their unjust distribution of money,
staff, and resources, the Republicans are creating a $7.9
million slush fund, to be spent by the Republican Majority of
the Committee on House Oversight as it sees fit. Without a vote
of the House, these monies could be added to the already
excessive budget the Government Reform and Oversight Committee
has to conduct its highly partisan investigation. The reason
for creating the slush fund, according to the Republicans
during markup, was to eliminate the need for supplemental
funding resolutions.
The net effect of creating the slush fund, however, is to
deny the American taxpayer the opportunity to hear the requests
of committees seeking to tap into that $7.9 million slush fund.
Under current House Rules, any committee seeking additional
funding is required to have its request debated on the House
floor, and voted on by every House member, a process providing
direct accountability to the Members and the public. But the
new slush fund language provides the Committee on House
Oversight, by simple majority vote, with authority to spend
$7.9 million. This is on a committee with a ratio understood to
be six Republicans to three democrats. And of course, removing
spending decisions from the bright lights of House floor debate
also removes an important element of accountability to the
taxpayer.
bipartisanship in question
To the extent that Republicans profess a desire for
bipartisan administration of the House, their intentions must
be manifested through their actions. If the scope of the
Government Reform and Oversight Committee's investigation
remains as specified by the Chairman in his budget
presentation, oversight report, and supplemental request, then
it is clear that Republican partisanship is governing the
funding and investigative processes at issue here, and that
Republicans have rejected objectivity and fairness. With the
scope of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee's
investigation so clearly a partisan one, Republicans are adding
insult to injury by cutting the Minority out of any effective
or meaningful participation in the investigation by providing
inadequate investigative funding by any measure. The Democrats
want the truth, but the partisan nature of this investigation
calls directly into question the likelihood that a fair and
balanced conclusion will be reached, or that the American
public will ever be informed of the range of campaign
contribution issues which need to be addressed now by
legislation, including those attendant to Republican
fundraising.
Republicans have dedicated more money to this investigation
than any other such investigation in recent history, allowed
the Chairman to act beyond his authority, disarmed the Minority
through a devastating restriction on resources, and targeted
the Democratic Party and White House. We believe these partisan
decisions stem from the continuing Republican desire to avoid
any meaningful campaign finance reform legislation in this
Congress. Neither we nor the American people will stand by idly
while the Republicans use this uncontrolled investigation to
justify their delay.
We cannot support the funding resolution in its present
form.
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick.
Steny H. Hoyer.
San Gejdenson.