36–357 

116TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 116–64 

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2020 

MAY 16, 2019.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. RYAN, from the Committee on Appropriations, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

MINORITY VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 2779] 

The Committee on Appropriations submits the following report in 

explanation of the accompanying bill making appropriations for the 

Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, 

and for other purposes. 

INDEX TO BILL AND REPORT 

Page Number 

Bill Report 

Highlights of Bill ........................................................................................ ........ 2 

Title I—Legislative Branch Appropriations ............................................. 2 6 

House of Representatives ................................................................... 2 6 

Joint Items: 

Joint Economic Committee ......................................................... 13 14 

Joint Committee on Taxation ..................................................... 13 14 

Office of the Attending Physician ............................................... 14 14 

Office of Congressional Accessibility Services ........................... 15 15 

Capitol Police ....................................................................................... 15 15 

Office of Congressional Workplace Rights ........................................ 16 16 

Congressional Budget Office .............................................................. 17 17 

Office of Technology Assessment ....................................................... 17 17 

Architect of the Capitol (except Senate Office Buildings) ............... 17 18 

Library of Congress ............................................................................. 22 26 

Government Publishing Office ........................................................... 28 33 

Government Accountability Office ..................................................... 32 34 

Open World Leadership Center Trust Fund ..................................... 34 34 

John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development .................................................................................................. 34 35 

Title II—General Provisions ...................................................................... 34 35 

Bill-wide Reporting Requirements ............................................................ ........ 35 

Minority Views ........................................................................................... ........ 59 


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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BILL 

The bill recommended by the Committee provides modest funding increases to support the staffing and other resources needed to 

help Congress do its job well, maintain and build analytical capacity to support lawmaking and oversight, and address high-priority 

needs in areas such as information technology and security. 

The legislation appropriates a total of $3,972,000,000 in fiscal 

year 2020, which is $164,229,000 (4.3 percent) more than the comparable amount for fiscal year 2019. These appropriations support 

the operations of the House of Representatives, the care and preservation of the historic buildings in which Congress works, and 

agencies that provide research and analysis to assist the legislative 

process. They also support other institutions such as the Library of 

Congress, one of the leading repositories of knowledge and culture 

in the world, as well as the Government Accountability Office and 

the Government Publishing Office. 

In keeping with longstanding practice under which each chamber 

of Congress determines its own housekeeping requirements and the 

other concurs without intervention, the bill does not include funds 

for the Senate or for Senate office buildings. Similarly, the Senate 

will consider a Legislative Branch appropriations bill that addresses Senate but not House funding. 

House of Representatives Overview: The budget of the House of 

Representatives is significantly smaller than it was at the beginning of this decade, largely because of a series of budget cuts enacted during fiscal years 2011 through 2013. The total House appropriation for fiscal year 2019 is about 10 percent below the fiscal 

year 2010 level in unadjusted dollars, and about 23 percent below 

2010 after adjustment for inflation. The Committee has heard concerns from Members of Congress and outside observers that existing funding levels are hampering the ability of the House to do its 

jobs of developing legislation to meet national needs, providing 

oversight of government operations, and assisting constituents in 

their dealings with government. The bill’s funding levels represent 

a modest step towards addressing these issues. 

A second factor this year is that there are ongoing actual and potential shortfalls in three accounts that together make up threequarters of the House of Representatives budget: Members Representational Allowances (MRA), committee salaries and expenses, 

and ‘‘Government Contributions’’ (which covers payroll taxes and 

benefit costs for all House employees). For these accounts, current 

appropriations aren’t sufficient to support currently authorized 

spending levels. The Committee needs to bring appropriations into 

line with currently authorized spending before it can provide funds 

to increase that authorized spending. Addressing this problem 

takes about 40 percent of the overall increase for the House in this 

bill. 

Members Representational Allowance (MRA): The Committee recommends $615,000,000 for the MRA in fiscal year 2020, 

$41,370,000 more than in the prior year. Almost half of the increase is needed just to bring the appropriation more in line with 

currently authorized spending, but the Committee’s level should be 

sufficient to support a roughly 4.0 percent increase in the allowance (about $55,000 per Member office) in 2020. 


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Allowance for Paid Interns: The 2019 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act established an allowance for paid interns in Members’ 

offices. This was done in recognition of the importance of internships in gaining work experience and opening doors to future employment, and that many well-qualified candidates are simply not 

in a financial position to work as interns without pay—especially 

in a high-cost area like Washington, D.C. The new intern allowance 

has been well received, and this bill takes modest steps towards expanding it, raising the allowance for each Member office from 

$20,000 to $25,000 and initiating an allowance for Leadership offices. 

Committee Expenses: The Committee recommends $159,628,000 

for the expenses of House committees, a $8,611,856 increase above 

the prior year. This amount will support the funding allocated to 

committees for 2020 by the biennial funding resolution adopted by 

the House in March (H. Res. 245), which is 3.5 percent above the 

level allocated in 2018. 

House Officers and Support Agencies: The Committee-recommended bill provides $245,736,000—$25,391,000 more than in 

fiscal year 2019—for the salaries and expenses of House officers 

and employees, including the offices of the Clerk of the House, Sergeant at Arms, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Parliamentarian, and Legislative Counsel, among others. Most of the increases are targeted to information technology (IT) and security 

needs, including modernization of the House Legislative Information Management System, upgrades at House Information Resources including further movement toward cloud computing and 

strengthening cybersecurity, and replacement of the badly outdated 

emergency announcement system in the Capitol and House office 

buildings. In this report, the Committee directs the CAO to provide 

quarterly status reports on IT upgrade efforts, including project 

milestones and spending targets. 

The recommended bill also provides initial funding for two new 

offices established by the House at the beginning of this Congress: 

$1,000,000 for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and $750,000 

for the Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman. 

House Studies: The Committee has received requests and suggestions from Members of the House and other interested parties for 

various proposals which warrant further study and consideration, 

including development of House-wide policy and funding for paid 

family and medical leave for employees, a possible increase in the 

lifetime cap on student loan repayment amounts for House employees, and a possible tuition assistance program. The Committee is 

requesting the appropriate House offices to study and report on 

these and other issues, including processing times for security 

clearances for House employees and progress on developing unique 

identifiers for use in the lobbying disclosure process. 

Office of Technology Assessment (OTA): As requested by a number of Members of Congress, the Committee bill includes 

$6,000,000 in initial funding to re-establish the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA). This Legislative Branch agency was created in 1972 and operated until funding was discontinued in 1995. 

To do its job in this modern era, Congress needs to understand 

and address the issues and risks resulting from a wide range of 

rapid technological developments such as cryptocurrencies, autonoVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 17, 2019 Jkt 036357 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR064.XXX HR064

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mous vehicles, gene editing, artificial intelligence, and the ever-expanding use of social media platforms, to give just a few examples. 

A re-opened OTA will play an important role in providing accurate, 

professional, and unbiased information about technological developments and policy options for addressing the issues those developments raise. In that role, OTA will complement the work of the 

Government Accountability Office in the area of science and technology. 

Congressional Budget Office (CBO): The Committee’s bill includes 

$52,666,000 for the Congressional Budget Office, $1,929,000 more 

than in fiscal year 2019. This funding level will allow CBO to continue and modestly increase its efforts to improve modeling and analytical capability in key areas and to make its work as transparent and accessible as possible. 

Library of Congress: For the Library of Congress, including the 

Copyright Office, Congressional Research Service, and National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, the Committee recommends a total of $720,290,000 in fiscal year 2020, an 

increase of $24,178,000 over the prior year. This funding level will 

allow continued progress on urgent information technology needs 

and on modernization of systems for copyright registration and recordation and support ongoing Library initiatives such as the Veterans’ History Project. 

The Committee recommendation includes $5,000,000 for a second 

installment of funding for the Library’s Enhancing the Visitor Experience initiative, subject to the Committee’s review of the specific 

plans, cost estimates, and schedules for the initiative which the Library is expected to provide this summer. It also includes not less 

than $5,500,000 for modernizing the website that handles distribution of audio and braille reading materials at the National Library 

Service for the Blind and for purchase of braille e-readers. 

Office of Congressional Workplace Rights: The bill includes 

$6,333,000 for the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, the 

same level as in fiscal year 2019. The Office did not request any 

increase for fiscal year 2020, stating that substantial increases received in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 have led to a funding level sufficient to initially support the increased responsibilities it received 

under the legislation enacted last year. 

Government Accountability Office (GAO): The Committee recommends $615,604,000 for the GAO. This level should allow the 

GAO to sustain increases in staffing to handle its large workload 

and begin to address its information technology and building renovation needs. 

Capitol Police: The Committee recommends $463,341,000 for the 

Capitol Police, $7,033,000 more than in fiscal year 2019. This increase will help cover the cost of operations at the national party 

conventions next year as well as meeting current operational 

needs. 

Architect of the Capitol: The Committee recommends 

$624,668,000 for the Architect of the Capitol, $15,515,000 less than 

in fiscal year 2019. (These totals do not include appropriations for 

Senate Office Buildings, which as is customary are left to the sole 

consideration of the Senate.) Among other things, the reduction reflects support for fewer new renovation projects than in fiscal year 


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2019, due to overall budget constraints, but the bill nevertheless 

supports twelve such projects. 

Employment of DACA Recipients: The bill recommended by the 

Committee includes language permitting all the Legislative Branch 

agencies it funds to employ ‘‘Dreamers’’—that is, residents of the 

United States brought to this country as children without proper 

immigration status—who hold employment authorization under the 

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (‘‘DACA’’) program. Despite 

that employment authorization, use of appropriated funds to hire 

DACA enrollees is not currently permitted because of a government-wide provision carried annually in the Financial Services and 

General Government Appropriations Act. That provision prohibits 

use of funds to employ people who are not U.S. citizens and do not 

hold one of several listed types of immigration status—a list that 

doesn’t currently include DACA work authorization. 

Pending any government-wide resolution of this issue, the Committee recommends welcoming these members of our national community to seek employment in the Legislative Branch. 

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH-WIDE MATTERS

Reprogramming Guidelines: The Committee expects all agencies 

to notify the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the 

Senate of any significant departures from budget plans presented 

to the Committees in any agency’s budget justifications. In particular, agencies funded through this bill are required to notify the 

Committees prior to each reprogramming of funds in excess of the 

lesser of 10 percent or $750,000 between programs, projects or activities, or in excess of $750,000 between object classifications (except for shifts within the pay categories, object class 11, 12, and 13 

or as further specified in each agency’s respective section). This includes cumulative reprogrammings that together total at least 

$750,000 from or to a particular program, activity, or object classification as well as reprogramming FTEs or funds to create new organizational entities within the agency or to restructure entities 

which already exist. The Committees desire to be notified of reprogramming actions which involve less than the above-mentioned 

amounts if such actions would have the effect of changing an agency’s funding requirements in future years or if programs or projects 

specifically cited in the Committee’s reports are affected. 

Staffing Data in Budget Documents: The Committee continues to 

direct the legislative branch agencies to include in their budget justifications data on FTE levels that would actually be supported by 

the associated request or enacted funding levels. The Committee 

also continues to direct the Legislative Branch Financial Managers 

Council to coordinate on a plan for aligning FTE levels with the 

Legislative branch agencies for consistency in reporting. 

Zero Base Budgeting: The Committee continues to direct all 

agencies of the Legislative Branch to develop budget requests from 

a zero base. The Committee believes that this valuable budgeting 

process has given agencies the opportunity to take a fresh look at 

all areas of their operations and make funding reductions and 

alignments within the current budget base. The Committee believes that there are continued opportunities to realize meaningful 

savings by carefully reviewing each agency’s budget requirements 

from a zero base. 


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Committee Requests, Furloughs and Performance Based Merit Increases: The Committee directs that adherence to the language carried in House Reports 112–148, 112–511 and 113–417 pertaining to 

Committee Requests and Furloughs to be continued unless otherwise so directed. Performance Based Merit Increases are not to exceed the maximum allowable for agencies with a certified SES performance appraisal system. 

Data Centers: The Committee understands that Legislative 

Branch Agencies use information technology (IT) infrastructure to 

support critical functions to carry out their statutory missions, including functions essential to carrying out the constitutional responsibilities of the Legislative Branch. 

IT infrastructure may be located in data centers covering several 

geographic regions or using several types of cloud services. Regardless of how such infrastructure is provisioned, an agency’s IT infrastructure must satisfy the following requirements: must meet ‘concurrently maintainable’ requirements of data centers certified from 

the Uptime Institute or equivalent certifying authority; must maintain continuous operation against an ‘all hazards’ risk evaluation; 

and must incorporate technical communications capabilities to ensure that all necessary IT resources required to support the mission of the Legislative Branch can interoperate effectively with the 

House, Senate, and other agencies under ‘all hazards’ conditions. 

Contracting Opportunities for Minority-Owned Businesses: The 

Committee urges all agencies across the Legislative branch to explore opportunities to provide minority-owned businesses increased 

access to vendor contracts. 

Advertising Contracts: The Committee directs each department 

and agency to include the following information in its fiscal year 

2021 budget justification: Expenditures for fiscal year 2019 for (1) 

all contracts for advertising services; and (2) contracts for the advertising services of (I) socially and economically disadvantaged 

small business concerns (as defined in section 8(a)(4) of the Small 

Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(4)); and (II) women- and minorityowned businesses. 

Performance Measures and Customer Service: The Committee believes that development of organizational priority goals and outcomes, such as performance outcome measures, output measures, 

and efficiency measures, is important for all agencies funded under 

this bill. The Committee also notes the importance of implementing 

proper customer service standards for agencies that provide direct 

services to the public. Development of these service standards 

should include identifying and surveying target customers and 

tracking internal performance against those standards. 

TITLE I—LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $1,232,663,035 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 1,355,669,363 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 1,345,725,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +113,061,965 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥9,944,363 


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The Committee recommends $1,350,725,000 for the salaries and 

expenses of the House of Representatives. In addition, sec. 115 rescinds $5,000,000. 

HOUSE LEADERSHIP OFFICES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $25,378,875 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 27,916,055 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 28,428,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +3,049,125 

Change from request ................................................................... +511,945 

The Committee recommends $28,428,000 for salaries and expenses of staff in House leadership offices. 

The allocation by office follows: 

Office of the Speaker .......................................................................... $7,964,000 

Office of the Majority Floor Leader .................................................. 2,955,000 

Office of the Majority Whip ............................................................... 2,456,000 

Democratic Caucus ............................................................................. 2,061,000 

Office of the Minority Floor Leader .................................................. 8,682,000 

Office of the Minority Whip ............................................................... 1,904,000 

Republican Conference ....................................................................... 2,406,000 

MEMBERS’ REPRESENTATIONAL ALLOWANCES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $573,630,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 613,000,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 615,000,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +41,370,000 

Change from request ................................................................... +2,000,000 

The Committee recommends $615,000,000 for the Members Representational Allowance (MRA). This level of funding will more 

closely align the appropriation with currently authorized spending 

and under current estimates is likely to be sufficient to support a 

4.0 percent increase in the authorized MRA in 2020. 

Analysis of Members’ Representational Allowances: The Committee believes that the formula used to calculate the MRA is due 

for a review and re-examination. For example, one issue that merits study is whether the MRA adequately supports the cost of district office rent in districts where there is no Federal office space 

available for rent and districts with above-average market rents. 

The Committee understands that the CAO is conducting an analysis of the MRA formula and looks forward to the results of that 

analysis. 

ALLOWANCE FOR COMPENSATION OF INTERNS IN MEMBER OFFICES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $8,800,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 8,820,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 11,025,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +2,225,000 

Change from request ................................................................... +2,205,000 

The Committee recommends $11,025,000 for the compensation of 

interns who serve in the offices of Members of the House of Representatives. This recommendation also increases the intern allowance cap from $20,000 to $25,000 per Member office. 


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ALLOWANCE FOR COMPENSATION OF INTERNS IN HOUSE LEADERSHIP

OFFICES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $0 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 0 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 365,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +365,000 

Change from request ................................................................... +365,000 

The Committee recommends $365,000 for the compensation of interns who serve in the offices of House Leadership. This recommendation includes $200,000 for the compensation of interns 

who serve in House leadership offices of the majority, to be allocated among such offices by the Speaker of the House, and 

$165,000 for the compensation of interns who serve in House leadership offices of the minority, to be allocated among such offices by 

the Minority Floor Leader. 

COMMITTEE EMPLOYEES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $151,016,144 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 164,567,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 159,628,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +8,611,856 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥4,939,000 

The Committee recommends $159,628,000 in total for Committee 

Employees, including $132,509,000 for standing and select committees, which should be sufficient to cover the amounts allocated to 

committees (other than the Committee on Appropriations) in House 

Resolution 245. The total also includes $24,269,000 for the Committee on Appropriations and $2,850,000 for committee room renovations. 

This account includes funding for salaries and expenses of Committees including equipment, telecommunications, printing, contract services, and supplies. Funding is available until December 

31, 2020. 

SALARIES, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $220,345,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 249,728,292 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 245,736,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +25,391,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥3,992,292 

The Committee recommends $245,736,000 for the salaries and 

expenses of House officers and employees of the various activities 

funded through this consolidated item. 

Following is a summary of the funding allocation provided to 

each component of the account: 

Office of the Clerk .............................................................................. $32,228,000 

The Committee recommends $32,228,000 for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Clerk. This represents an increase of 

$3,923,000 over the fiscal year 2019 enacted total and a decrease 

of $598,000 from the fiscal year 2020 request. Most of this increase 

($3,120,000) is to support the modernization and redevelopment of 

the House Legislative Information Management System (LIMS). 

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mittee supports the Clerk’s efforts in developing a system that will 

meet the needs of the House and provide a more flexible, extensible, robust and secure application. 

Lobbyist Disclosure Unique Identifier: The Committee requests a 

report from the Clerk of the House, within 60 days of enactment 

of this Act, regarding progress on generating a Congress-wide 

unique identifier for lobbyists and disclosing that identifier to the 

public as structured data as part of the lobbying disclosure 

downloads. 

Immediate Roll Call Vote Availability: The Committee requests a 

report from the Clerk of the House, within 60 days of enactment 

of this Act, on the feasibility of making roll call votes available immediately to the general public on its website. 

Voting Display Board: The Committee requests a report from the 

Clerk of the House, within 60 days of enactment of this Act, regarding the feasibility of installing additional voting display boards 

in the House Chamber or on smaller touch screens at certain exits 

to assist members in tracking their votes during a vote series. 

Automating Co-Sponsorship of Bills: The Committee is aware of 

ideas for automating the process of inviting and recording co-sponsorship of bills, through an electronic system that would provide 

lists of bills available for co-sponsorship and provide a secure and 

verifiable means for Members to request that their names be added 

to a bill. The Clerk is encouraged to work to develop such a system, 

if feasible. 

Facilitating Public Access to Legislative Information: The Committee encourages the Clerk of the House to explore ways to make 

the publication of legislative branch information as data more readily available to the public, which includes providing assistance to 

the public with finding and obtaining legislative data; supporting 

the annual Legislative Data and Transparency Conference; supporting the Bulk Data Task Force; and other duties as the House 

Clerk deems appropriate that promotes public or congressional access to legislative information as data. 

Office of the Sergeant At Arms ......................................................... $22,071,000 

The Committee recommends $22,071,000 for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Sergeant at Arms. This represents an 

increase of $3,298,000 over the fiscal year 2019 enacted total and 

a decrease of $1,649,292 from the fiscal year 2020 request. Most of 

the increase results from provision of $2,995,000 for upgrades to 

the emergency announcement system of the Capitol complex. The 

Committee supports the shared effort with Senate Sergeant at 

Arms, Architect of the Capitol, and Capitol Police to replace the 

aging wireless emergency annunciator system with the Joint Audible Warning System which will be used to provide emergency notification during emergency events to every office, hearing room, 

meeting room and work area of the House. 

Security Clearance Report: The Committee requests an unclassified report from the Sergeant at Arms on March 1 of each of the 

next two years on the average and median length of time from 

open to close of all security clearance requests, to help determine 

whether Legislative Branch security clearances are being finalized 

and adjudicated consistent with executive branch timelines. This 

unclassified report may contain a classified annex which includes 


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the average and median length of time from open to close of all security clearance requests broken down by level of security clearances (confidential, secret, top secret, and TS/SCI) so as to better 

provide context of timelines to Members and cleared staff. 

Office of the Chief Administrative Officer ........................................ $164,308,000 

The Committee recommends $164,308,000 for the salaries and 

expenses of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). 

This represents an increase of $16,250,000 over the fiscal year 2019 

enacted total and a decrease of $2,295,000 from the fiscal year 

2020 request. This recommendation makes available funding for 

the following programs: 

House Information Resources: The Committee recognizes the 

need to bring congressional information technology up to date and 

to provide the best services to staff and constituents. To this end, 

the Committee has provided the resources, requested for this purpose. In particular, the Committee recommendation provides 

$93,743,000 for the Office of House Information Resources (HIR), 

an increase of $11,081,000 over the fiscal year 2019 enacted level 

including $24,505,000 for the Office of Cybersecurity and 

$8,123,000 for Cloud Computing Initiatives such as Enterprise Licenses and email cloud migration and the House Cloud platform. 

Funding these activities is aimed at strengthening the House’s 

business continuity and cybersecurity postures. With this major investment for the House, the Committee directs the CAO to provide 

quarterly status updates including project milestones and spending 

targets. Lastly, the Committee is intrigued by the CAO’s request 

to improve technology innovation across the House and has included $450,000 within the HIR recommended funding level to support these efforts. To utilize these funds, the CAO is directed to establish a detailed plan for review by this Committee. 

Electronic Consent: The Committee is aware of the ongoing pilot 

to support Member offices with their casework business processes 

via a casework privacy release app. The Committee supports the 

CAO’s efforts to investigate these technologies that will provide 

electronic document management, accessibility, and the creation of 

constituent forms which can be viewed, edited and electronically 

signed. This type of technology is widely used by businesses and 

will improve Member office efficiency, workflow and provide cost 

savings. Implementation of this technology will help Member offices implement new constituent electronic consent authorities 

granted under the House-passed H.R. 1079: Creating Advanced 

Streamlined Electronic Services for Constituent Act of 2019 or the 

‘‘Case Act’’. 

Cloud Technologies: The CAO is encouraged to investigate and 

pilot various cloud service options that will provide House offices 

with greater accessibility to their files, enhanced collaboration 

tools, and more storage. The Committee supports standardizing 

cloud services to strengthen the House’s security posture and provide Member offices additional support and cost savings. 

Digital Workspace Technologies: The Committee recognizes that 

the use of digital workspace technologies in Member offices can increase user productivity, enhance cybersecurity, and allow workforce flexibility for both Congressional staff and Members of Congress. The Committee encourages the exploration of multi-factor 


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authentication solutions to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of 

all legislative offices, including strategies and programs that reduce 

the total life cycle costs of traditional legacy workspace infrastructure. 

Studies of Member and Committee Office Salaries: The Committee looks forward to receiving the study requested in last year’s 

report regarding salaries and benefits of personal office and committee staff in the House, including comparisons with executive 

branch and private sector counterparts and assessment of whether 

men and women and people from different racial and ethnic groups 

receive similar pay for similar work. This study is due in September 2019. 

These issues of pay comparability and disparities will be of continuing interest, particularly as the new Office of Diversity and Inclusion begins its work. The Committee therefore requests that the 

CAO, working with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, explore 

ways of providing data on salaries and benefits in the House on an 

annual basis including through approaches such as possible use of 

payroll data and/or information collected during the employee onboarding process or recurring surveys of samples of employees or 

offices. The CAO should report its conclusions and recommendations on that subject to the Committee on Appropriations and the 

Committee on House Administration. 

House Student Loan Repayment Program: The Committee requests a report from the CAO discussing the costs and impacts associated with increasing the House Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) maximum lifetime benefit from $60,000 to $80,000. 

House-Wide Training Program: Workplace rights and diversity 

training are important tools in creating and maintaining a respectful, inclusive workplace. The Committee is encouraged by the 

House-wide training program that addresses these important 

issues. Therefore, the Committee has provided the requested 

amount of $5,450,000, which is an increase of $4,450,000 over the 

fiscal year 2019 enacted level because most training costs in 2019 

were funded by carryover from fiscal year 2018. 

Employee Advocacy: Workplace harassment and discrimination 

are an abuse of power and perpetrators must be held accountable 

to promote a safe and dignified environment. While there is more 

work to be done, Congress took positive action by overhauling its 

reporting and dispute resolution process, requiring regular and 

anonymous climate surveys and anti-harassment training, and 

mandating annual reporting to Congress. Another positive step was 

establishing the Office of Employee Advocacy. To continue support 

of this office, the Committee recommends $1,413,000 for the Office 

to cover additional full-time employees, staff travel to district offices to litigate cases if necessary, and contractor support for court 

reporters to transcribe hearings and depositions. 

Wellness Program: The Committee continues to support the comprehensive wellness program created to support and empower 

House staff with resources to navigate the fast pace of working on 

Capitol Hill while maintaining a healthy life. Providing employees 

with the proper tools leads to higher productivity, increased employee engagement, and a stronger workforce. These types of programs help in retaining talented staff. Tech companies that have 

embedded wellness programs within their charters are able to comVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 17, 2019 Jkt 036357 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR064.XXX HR064

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pete and think more creatively as well as manage their high stress 

environments. The Committee commends the efforts of the House 

Wellness Program and recommends $280,000 in this bill to continue growing the program. 

Congressional Staff Family and Medical Leave Policies: The 

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides for 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave during a 12-month period. There is interest 

among Members of Congress to investigate the feasibility of implementing a standard House-wide paid family leave policy. The Committee directs the CAO to report within 180 days of enactment of 

this legislation, or by January 15, 2020, whichever is sooner, on the 

feasibility and costs of establishing and maintaining a House-wide, 

paid family and medical leave policy and program. Options evaluated should include up to 12 weeks of paid leave for eligible Congressional employees with one year of tenure for the birth and care 

of a newborn child of an employee; for placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care; to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition; or to take 

medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a 

serious health condition. 

Asset Tracking: The Committee directs the CAO to engage with 

stakeholders and allocate resources to address the multi-year significant deficiency identified in the House’s Financial Statement 

Audit reports related to controls over property and equipment. The 

Committee encourages the CAO to explore next-generation technology, including intelligent organization, to address asset tracking 

and inventory management needs. 

Congressional Staff Tuition Assistance Program: The Committee 

directs the CAO to submit a report within 180 days of enactment 

of this Act of possible staff tuition assistance programs that could 

be implemented, as well as the resources needed to implement such 

a program. 

Study on Accessibility Services: The Committee recognizes challenges to accessing disability services and accommodations, particularly as it pertains to Members’ offices. No later than 6 months 

after enactment of this Act, the CAO shall produce and submit to 

the Committee a report with recommendations that reviews disability services in the House of Representatives to evaluate (1) the 

ease of access to disability information and services, and (2) the effectiveness of coordination between offered disability services and 

accommodations. This report should also provide recommendations 

on increasing the coordination and efficiency of services to help 

Members offices. 

Office of Diversity and Inclusion ....................................................... $1,000,000 

The Committee is encouraged by the establishment of the Office 

of Diversity and Inclusion. The Committee supports the efforts to 

staff the Office and the implementation of the House Diversity 

Plan in the 116th Congress. 

Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman ......................................... $750,000 

Congress plays a critical role in both learning from, and protecting, whistleblowers. Additionally, its constitutionally mandated 

oversight work very often relies on vital disclosures from Federal 

workers and employees within the private sector. The House of 


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Representatives took an important step this year in helping whistleblowers by including a new House Office of the Whistleblower 

Ombudsman in the Rules Package for the 116th Congress. The 

Committee supports the establishment of the House Office of the 

Whistleblower Ombudsman and recommends $750,000 for that 

purpose in this bill. 

Office of the Inspector General ......................................................... $5,019,000 

Office of General Counsel .................................................................. 1,518,000 

Office of the Parliamentarian ............................................................ 2,088,000 

Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House ............................ 3,419,000 

Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House ................................ 11,937,000 

Office of Interparliamentary Affairs ................................................. 814,000 

Other authorized employees .............................................................. 584,000 

ALLOWANCES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $253,493,016 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 291,638,016 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 290,543,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +37,049,984 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥1,095,016 

The Committee recommends a total of $290,543,000 for allowances and expenses. 

The following table summarizes the funding allocation provided 

to each major component of the account: 

Supplies, materials, administrative costs and Federal tort claims $526,000 

Official mail (committees, administrative, and leadership offices) 190,000 

Government Contributions ................................................................ 262,000,000 

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery .................................... 17,668,000 

Transition Activities ........................................................................... 4,489,000 

Wounded Warrior Program ............................................................... 3,000,000 

Wounded Warrior Program: The Wounded Warrior program is 

one of the House’s most popular initiatives. The program currently 

provides 110 two-year fellowship positions for wounded veterans in 

Congressional offices. The Committee believes that with effective 

management of the program, funding exists to expand the program 

by an additional 10 fellowship positions. Furthermore, the Committee directs the CAO to propose guidelines that would expedite 

the selections and hiring process for new fellows. 

Office of Congressional Ethics ........................................................... 1,670,000 

Miscellaneous items ........................................................................... 1,000,000 

ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Section 110 provides for unspent amounts remaining in the 

Members’ Representational Allowances account to be used for deficit or debt reduction. 

Section 111 places a limitation on the amount available to lease 

vehicles. 

Section 112 amends the allowance for compensation of interns in 

member offices. 

Section 113 provides an allowance for compensation of interns in 

Leadership offices. 

Section 114 limits the sharing of House information by Federal 

entities. 

Section 115 rescinds amounts in the Stationery and Page Dorm 

revolving funds. 


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Section 116 provides for using available balances of expired 

funds for death gratuity payments and workers compensation and 

unemployment compensation payments. 

Section 117 provides for reduction in the amount of tuition 

charged for children of House Child Care Center employees. 

JOINT ITEMS 

JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $4,203,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 4,203,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 4,203,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... 0 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $4,203,000 for the salaries and expenses of the Joint Economic Committee. 

The Joint Economic Committee was created by the Employment 

Act of 1946. The primary tasks of the Committee are to review economic conditions and to recommend improvements in economic policy. The Committee performs research and economic analysis and 

monitors and analyzes current economic, financial, and employment conditions. 

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $11,169,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 11,563,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 11,563,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +394,000 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $11,563,000 for the salaries and expenses of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). 

The Joint Committee on Taxation operates under the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 and its predecessors dating to the Revenue 

Act of 1926. It has responsibility to (1) investigate the operation 

and effects of internal revenue taxes and the administration of 

such taxes; (2) investigate measures and methods for the simplification of such taxes; (3) make reports to the House Committee 

on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance (or to 

the House of Representatives and the Senate) on the results of 

such investigations and studies and to make recommendations; and 

(4) review any proposed refund or credit of income or estate and 

gift taxes or certain other taxes set forth in Code section 6405 in 

excess of $2,000,000 ($5,000,000 in the case of a C corporation). In 

addition to these functions that are specified in the Internal Revenue Code, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the Joint 

Committee to provide revenue estimates for all tax legislation considered by either the House or the Senate. 

OFFICE OF THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $3,798,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 3,868,260 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 3,868,260 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +70,260 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 


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The Committee recommends $3,868,260 for the Office of the Attending Physician. 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 . ....................................................... $1,486,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 1,509,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 1,509,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +23,000 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $1,509,000 for the operation of the 

Office of Congressional Accessibility Services. 

The Office of Congressional Accessibility Services provides and 

coordinates a variety of accessibility services for individuals with 

disabilities including Members of Congress, staff and visitors in the 

United States Capitol Complex. 

CAPITOL POLICE 

SALARIES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $374,804,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 378,062,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 378,062,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +3,258,000 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $378,062,000 for the personnel salaries, benefits, and overtime requirements, to include the cost of 

overtime necessary for providing training. The increase of $3,258,000 includes $72,000 for one additional civilian position in the Office of the Inspector General and 

$3,186,000 for overtime for covering the 2020 National Conventions. 

Horse Mounted Units: The Committee commends the efforts by 

the United States Capitol Police and local law enforcement partners to enhance patrol coverage on the Capitol grounds with the 

deployment of Horse Mounted Units. 

Wellness Programs for Law Enforcement: The Committee appreciates the efforts undertaken by the United States Capitol Police to 

develop and implement a holistic wellness and resiliency program 

for its workforce, to include its partnership with the House 

Wellness Center. The Committee recognizes the importance that 

mindfulness plays in having a first responder workforce that is holistically balanced and resilient. Therefore, the Committee directs 

the United States Capitol Police to continue this effort and to closely collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal 

Law Enforcement Training Center to expand this initiative through 

a pilot program, so it may be reviewed and considered for full implementation across all aspects of Federal law enforcement. 

Diversity Training: Capitol Police officers interact with thousands of domestic and international visitors every day. Visitors 

have varying cultural and social needs, including but not limited 

to individuals with limited English proficiency, diverse cultural and 

ethnic backgrounds, and disabilities. The Committee recognizes the 

U.S. Capitol Police for including diversity training as a part of the 

current Capitol Police training sessions and encourages the Capitol 


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police to continue strengthening its curriculum to ensure service is 

provided to all visitors in a culturally competent manner. 

Use of Grounds: The Committee understands the need to maintain safety and order on the Capitol grounds and commends the 

Capitol Police for their efforts. Given the family-style neighborhood 

that the Capitol shares with the surrounding community the Committee continues to instruct the Capitol Police to forebear enforcement of 2 U.S.C. 1963 (‘‘An act to protect the public property, turf, 

and grass of the Capitol Grounds from injury’’) and the Traffic Regulations for the United States Capitol Grounds when encountering 

snow sledders on the grounds. 

GENERAL EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $81,504,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 85,279,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 85,279,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +3,775,000 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $85,279,000 for general expenses to 

support the responsibilities for law enforcement, Capitol complex 

physical and technological security, dignitary protection, intelligence analysis, event management, hazardous material/devices, 

information technology, and other specialized responses, as well as 

logistical and administrative support. 

ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION

Section 118 amends 2 USC 1936(c), by increasing the employee 

educational assistance program reimbursement limit from $40,000 

to $60,000 for student loan repayments. 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS 

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $6,333,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 6,333,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 6,333,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... 0 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $6,333,000 for salaries and expenses 

of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights as requested. Of 

the total, $1,000,000 shall remain available until September 30, 

2021. 

The Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) established an independent Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR), formerly the Office of Compliance, to apply the rights and protections 

of 13 Federal labor and employment statutes to employees within 

the Legislative Branch. The office provides administrative dispute 

resolution services, safety and health compliance inspections, reviews of public access for disabled Capitol visitors, labor-management relations services, and education and outreach for Members 

and staff. In 2018, the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 

Reform Act expanded the Office’s duties and responsibilities, as 

well as the number of legislative branch offices covered by the 

CAA. 


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The Committee is aware that the OCWR is in the process of developing regulations to implement its new responsibilities, and the 

budgetary requirements are not yet certain. The current request is 

based on estimates and takes advantage of the pre-payment of 

some anticipated needs from fiscal year 2019 funding. 

Given the increased paper flow anticipated with OCWR’s new responsibilities, the Committee encourages the agency to accelerate 

its plans to scan documents pertaining to its cases rather than seek 

increased storage space. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $50,737,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 53,556,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 52,666,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +1,929,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥890,000 

The Committee recommends $52,666,000 for salaries and expenses of the Congressional Budget Office. 

This office is responsible for producing independent analyses of 

budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget 

process. Each year, the agency produces dozens of reports, including its outlook on the budget and economy, and hundreds of cost 

estimates for proposed legislation. 

Responsiveness: The Committee continues to expect the Congressional Budget Office to ensure a high level of responsiveness to 

committees, leadership and Members, to the greatest extent practicable under the priorities for CBO set by law, especially when 

working on current pending legislation. As an agency that prides 

itself as being nonpartisan, CBO should be providing the same information to all stakeholders at the appropriate time when addressing legislation that has been made public. 

OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT 

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... – – – 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... – – – 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. $6,000,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +6,000,000 

Change from request ................................................................... +6,000,000 

The Committee recommends $6,000,000, to remain available 

until September 30, 2021, for a reinstituted Office of Technology 

Assessment (OTA). This funding will permit the start-up of the Office and initial hiring of staff as well as the appointment of a governing Technology Assessment Board. 

Since the de-funding of OTA in 1995, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to restore the office. During that time, it has 

become increasingly clear that Congress does not have adequate resources available for the in-depth, high level analysis of fast-breaking technology developments and their public policy implications 

that was formerly provided by OTA. While the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has increased its technology assessment 

activities attempting to fill that gap, the structure and culture of 

GAO somewhat constrain its ability to replicate OTA. The Office’s 


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governance by a bipartisan board and its ability to tap outside expert resources and rely on a Technology Assessment Advisory 

Council provide the capacity to offer policy recommendation options 

to Congress, which are not available from other Congressional 

sources. 

ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL 

(EXCLUDING SENATE OFFICE BUILDINGS)

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $640,183,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 744,270,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 624,668,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... ¥15,515,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥119,602,000 

The Committee recommends $624,668,000 for the activities of the 

Architect of the Capitol (AOC). Excluded are Senate items which 

are traditionally left for consideration by that body. Within the recommended level, the Committee continues its prioritization of 

projects that: (1) promote the safety and health of workers, occupants, and visitors; (2) decrease the deferred maintenance backlog; 

and (3) invest to achieve future energy savings. The Committee 

was able to support about half of the program increases, and pay 

raise and inflation adjustments proposed in the operating budgets 

of the AOC accounts. 

The AOC is responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. This 

includes mechanical and structural maintenance of the Capitol, 

Congressional office buildings, the Library of Congress buildings, 

the U.S. Botanic Garden, the Capitol Power Plant, and other facilities, as well as the upkeep and improvement of the grounds surrounding the Capitol complex. 

The following table summarizes the allocation of funds by appropriation account: 

Capital Construction and Operations ............................................... $124,704,000 

Capitol Building .................................................................................. 45,912,000 

Capitol Grounds .................................................................................. 19,336,000 

House Office Buildings ....................................................................... 153,273,000 

Capitol Power Plant ........................................................................... 111,557,000 

Library Buildings and Grounds ........................................................ 86,833,000 

Capitol Police Buildings, Grounds and Security .............................. 52,840,000 

Botanic Garden ................................................................................... 15,822,000 

Capitol Visitor Center ........................................................................ 23,391,000 

The bill provides the request of $32,000,000 for minor construction throughout these accounts. 

CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONS

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $103,962,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 128,915,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 124,704,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +20,742,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥4,211,000 

The Committee recommends $124,704,000 for campus-wide architectural and engineering design; project, property and construction 

management; financial management; procurement; personnel services; equipment; communications; and other central support activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 17, 2019 Jkt 036357 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR064.XXX HR064

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ties of the AOC. Within the total, the Committee provides 

$1,093,000 for the AOC Inspector General office. 

Item Committee 

recommendation 

Operating Expenses ........................................................................................................................................ $124,704,000 

Workplace Rights Policies: The Committee is concerned about recent reports of sexual harassment and unprofessionalism within 

multiple departments of the Architect of the Capitol. A culture of 

professionalism and creating a safe work environment is a top priority of this subcommittee. The subcommittee is encouraged by the 

steps the Acting Architect of the Capitol is taking to eradicate the 

toxic behavior from the agency. The Committee also supports the 

Acting Architect’s effort to modify the AOC organizational structure so that the AOC Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Dispute 

Resolution reports directly to the Architect to provide additional 

oversight, stronger management and better accountability, as recommended by the AOC Inspector General. 

E-recyling: The Committee recognizes the importance of electronic waste recycling (e-recycling) within the legislative branch. 

Proper e-recycling of products such as televisions, computers and 

cellphones conserves natural resources, ensures appropriate handling of toxic materials, provides a more sustainable source of precious metals, and protects human health and the environment. The 

Committee is pleased that the AOC is actively recycling electronic 

equipment, with 30 tons from the House office buildings having 

been recycled in 2018. The Committee is also encouraged to learn 

that the House office buildings have identified an opportunity to 

generate revenue from its e-waste, similar to the scrap metal program, and is in the process of contracting for that service. 

Greening the Capitol: The Committee encourages the AOC, as 

part of its energy reduction and sustainability efforts, to continue 

increasing its use of smart power strips and EPA-approved waterconserving toilets throughout the Capitol complex. 

Additional Needs Fund: The Committee provides $10,000,000 in 

the Capital Construction and Operations account, made available 

until September 30, 2024, to be used for high priority needs of the 

Architect of the Capitol, which may include operating expenses 

needs such as additional project managers and information technology upgrades, as well as construction needs. The language permits transfer of this funding to other AOC accounts. Prior to obligation of this funding, the AOC is required to submit a spending 

plan to the Appropriations Committees for approval. 

CAPITOL BUILDING

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $43,992,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 68,878,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 45,912,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +1,920,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥22,966,000 

The Committee recommends $45,912,000 for the operation, maintenance, and care of the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Visitor Center 

(CVC). Of the total, $18,599,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2024. 


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Item Committee 

Recommendation 

Operating Expenses ........................................................................................................................................ $27,313,000 

Projects: 

FY20 Presidential Inaugural Stands/Support Facilities ........................................................................ 7,000,000 

Electrical Power Distrib. System Replacement Phase I ........................................................................ 5,500,000 

Minor Construction ................................................................................................................................ 5,500,000 

Conservation of Fine and Architectural Art .......................................................................................... 599,000 

Display of Indian Nation and Pueblo Flags in the Capitol Complex: The Committee notes that the flags of the States and Territories are displayed within the Capitol complex and encourages the 

Architect to consider displaying the flags of American Indian Nations and Pueblos in the complex. The AOC is requested to provide 

a report to the Committee within 120 days of enactment of this Act 

describing its assessment of possible locations. 

Depictions of Native Americans: There are depictions of Native 

Americans throughout the Capitol complex that do not portray Native Americans as equals or Indian nations as independent 

sovereigns. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the way these works 

are described during Capitol tours is not always respectful. The 

Committee is aware that the Architect is reformatting tours to address the issues with the artwork and reframing the timeline exhibit in the Capitol, and urges the AOC to work with Native American historians and professionals at the National Museum of the 

American Indian to ensure that the Capitol complex more accurately and respectfully represents the history of Native Americans. 

Native American History in the Capitol: Similar to the information displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) about the role 

of slave laborers in the building of the Capitol, the Committee requests the AOC to consider displaying somewhere within the Capitol complex information correcting the sometimes incomplete or incorrect depictions of Native Americans portrayed in historical artwork in the complex. The AOC is also encouraged to acknowledge 

in its exhibitions on American history and tradition the elements 

that have originated from Native American cultures. 

Accessibility: The Committee believes it is important for all individuals, including those with disabilities, who are visiting the U.S. 

Capitol complex to receive the same information and experiences as 

those who do not have disabilities. Signage, brochures and many 

exhibit descriptions are available in braille and/or large print. 

There are several touchable models available, such as an audio descriptive tour of the Exhibition Hall in the CVC. The Committee 

supports the efforts of the Office of Congressional Accessibility 

Services to develop a touchable model/map of the CVC and the 

Capitol complex. The Committee also supports the development of 

a descriptive audio tour for the future redesigned Exhibition Hall. 

Further, the Committee supports efforts to enhance independent 

navigation and access to visual information for those who are blind 

or have low vision and is aware that enhanced access technologies 

are emerging, including remote video connectivity to trained visual 

interpreters that can support such access. The Committee understands that the Smithsonian is using such a technology to allow 

visitors to use their smartphone cameras or special glasses to get 

free on-demand verbal descriptions of individual items as well as 

entire exhibits. The Committee encourages the AOC to explore this 


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technology. The Committee recommends that the Architect, working with the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services, research 

and evaluate access technologies for those who are blind or have 

low vision which enable access to visual information and enhance 

independent navigation. The Committee requests a report on the 

Architect’s findings no later than 180 days after enactment of this 

Act. 

Recognition of Increasing Numbers of Women in Congress: The 

116th Congress celebrates the highest number of female Members 

of Congress ever to serve in the body. In honor of this historic 

progress, the Committee requests the Architect, working in conjunction with the House curator, to consider increasing the number 

of women’s images within public spaces inside the Capitol and on 

its grounds. The images should reflect not only the increasing numbers of women serving in Congress, they should reflect the positive 

contributions women Members have made. 

The Committee is pleased that the CVC will offer a variety of 

programming through August, 2020 that highlights the passage 

and ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to 

vote, as well as the Women in Congress exhibit located in the 

House connecting corridor. The Committee requests a briefing 

within 90 days of enactment of this Act to describe what the AOC 

plans to do to begin increasing female representation within public 

spaces inside the Capitol and its grounds. 

CAPITOL GROUNDS

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $16,761,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 22,824,000 

Committee Recommendation ............................................................. 19,336,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +2,575,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥3,488,000 

The Committee recommends $19,336,000 for the care of the 

grounds surrounding the Capitol. Of the total, $7,600,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2024. 

Item Committee recommendation 

Operating Expenses ........................................................................................................................................ $11,736,000 

Projects: 

Campus Wide Utility Survey .................................................................................................................. 4,600,000 

Minor Construction ................................................................................................................................ 3,000,000 

Bike Lanes: The Committee supports the Louisiana Avenue protected bike lane project and encourages the District of Columbia 

Department of Transportation, the Architect of the Capitol, and the 

Senate Sergeant at Arms to pursue completion of this project in a 

timely manner to safely connect residents, commuters, and tourists 

to the U.S. Capitol, Union Station, and the National Mall. 

Capitol Grounds Improvements: The Committee is pleased that 

the AOC is responding to 2019 report language urging the improvement of the grounds surrounding the Metro station with landscape 

plantings and a project study that will be ready for funding in 

2021. The Committee encourages the AOC to continue its efforts in 

identifying areas on the Capitol grounds that may be suitable for 

additional gardens, green space, and pedestrian and bicycling thoroughfares. 


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HOUSE OFFICE BUILDINGS

(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $187,098,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 154,701,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 153,273,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... ¥33,825,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥1,428,000 

The Committee recommends $153,273,000 for the operation, 

maintenance, and care of the Rayburn, Cannon, Longworth, Ford, 

O’Neill House Office Buildings, and the House underground garages. Of the amount made available, $8,000,000 will be derived 

from the House Office Building Fund for operations and maintenance of the O’Neill House Office Building. Of the total provided, 

$30,300,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2024. The 

bill includes $62,000,000 for future phases of the Cannon House 

Office Building renovation project, which shall remain available 

until expended, to continue the established funding strategy. The 

bill does not include funding for the House Historic Buildings Revitalization Trust Fund. The Trust Fund currently has a large balance and its utility for large construction projects has not been resolved. 

Item Committee recommendation 

Operating Expenses ........................................................................................................................................ $60,973,000 

Projects: 

Electrical Distrib. Switchgear Upgrade Phase 1, LHOB ....................................................................... 17,200,000 

Minor Construction ................................................................................................................................ 7,000,000 

CAO Project Support .............................................................................................................................. 6,100,000 

Cannon Building Restoration ................................................................................................................ 62,000,000 

Financing Sources for Repairs to House Office Buildings: The 

costs of the Capitol Visitors Center construction and the Cannon 

Building renovation have spotlighted the problems Congress faces 

each time it is confronted with financing the renovation costs of its 

aging buildings. Looming on the horizon are billions of dollars in 

cost to repair and modernize the Longworth and Rayburn House office buildings. 

The House Historic Buildings Revitalization Trust Fund was intended to build a corpus of funding that could be targeted to large 

construction projects, but it has faced the same budget pressures 

as the rest of the bill and has not achieved the necessary balances. 

The Committee understands that the AOC has commissioned a 

study of financing alternatives from the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to support its future plans for the House 

office buildings. The Committee requests that the NAPA study be 

provided to the Committee upon its completion. The study may be 

a springboard for consideration of alternative ways to finance large 

construction projects that could spread costs across years in a manageable way. 

Cannon Building Accessibility: The Committee believes that access to Members of Congress is critical for all Americans, including 

individuals with disabilities. The Committee commends the Architect for the accessibility-related upgrades to the Cannon House Office Building as part of its ongoing renewal. Items such as the increase in the number of elevators and accessible restrooms ensure 


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that all individuals can more easily and comfortably visit Members 

of Congress. The Committee recognizes that in any large construction project there will be some items that need to be adjusted based 

on lessons learned. The Committee directs the Architect to request 

the expert assistance of its Universal Accessibility Coordinator as 

well as the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services to ensure 

that plans in subsequent project phases for items such as button 

heights for power-assisted doors and signage fully accommodate the 

needs of the disabled. 

Cannon Building Costs: The Committee recognizes the critical 

need to complete the Cannon Building renewal which will replace 

outdated building systems, conserve historic aspects of the building, and optimize the functionality of Member suites, among other 

improvements. However, the Committee is concerned that the Architect may not be able to complete the full scope of the multi-year 

project, which is about 40 percent complete, within its 

$752,700,000 budget. The Committee is aware that prospective and 

unresolved contractor claims on completed project phases and 

greater-than-expected preliminary estimates for future phases are 

creating cost pressures on the project. Given the scale of the project 

and its potential impact on other important funding priorities, it is 

imperative that the Architect provide to the Committee on a quarterly basis the most updated and comprehensive information on 

project costs. Therefore, no later than 60 days after enactment of 

this Act, the Architect is directed to begin providing quarterly reports to the Committee which include the actual costs incurred and 

expected costs to complete the project, accounting for risks and uncertainties. In addition, the report should list all scope increases or 

reductions already completed or anticipated to be made to control 

project costs. 

Displays Outside Congressional Offices: The Committee is 

pleased that the Architect has recognized that the current Hallway 

Policy does not address the display of a single frame or plaque affixed to the wall adjacent to the main door of a Member or committee office and is now permitting such display. The Committee 

understands that a more general review of the Hallway Policy is 

underway and expects that displays of such frames or plaques will 

continue to be permitted. 

CAPITOL POWER PLANT

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $114,050,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 142,225,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 102,557,000 

Offsetting collections .................................................................... 9,000,000 

Total available ............................................................................. 111,557,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... ¥11,493,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥39,668,000 

The Committee recommends $102,557,000 in direct appropriations for the operations of the Capitol Power Plant which is the 

centralized provider of utility services for the Capitol campus. Of 

the total, $18,900,000 shall remain available until September 30, 

2024. In addition, $9,000,000 in offsetting collections is available 

from reimbursements for steam and chilled water. 


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Item Committee 

recommendation 

Operating Expenses .......................................................................................................................................... $83,657,000 

Projects: 

R Tunnel Improvements, Constitution ..................................................................................................... 10,100,000 

Cannon B Tunnel Repair, CPP ................................................................................................................ 3,600,000 

Switchgear A and Final Chiller Replacement, WRP ............................................................................... 1,200,000 

Minor Construction .................................................................................................................................. 4,000,000 

LIBRARY BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $68,525,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 121,346,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 86,833,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +18,308,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥34,513,000 

The Committee recommends $86,833,000 for the care and maintenance of the Thomas Jefferson Building; James Madison Memorial Building; John Adams Building; Packard Campus; Ft. Meade 

Collection Storage Facility; National Library Services Facility; and 

the St. Cecilia Special Services Facilities Center. Of the total, 

$57,500,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2024. 

Item Committee 

recommendation 

Operating Expenses .......................................................................................................................................... $29,333,000 

Project: 

Emergency Generator Replacement, Madison Bldg ................................................................................ 48,800,000 

ESPC Management Program ................................................................................................................... 5,200,000 

Minor Construction .................................................................................................................................. 3,500,000 

CAPITOL POLICE BUILDINGS, GROUNDS, AND SECURITY

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $57,714,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 54,966,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 52,840,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... ¥4,874,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥2,126,000 

The Committee recommends $52,840,000 for the maintenance, 

care and operation of buildings, grounds and security enhancements of the United States Capitol Police (USCP) and AOC security operations. Of the total, $26,500,000 shall remain available 

until September 30, 2024. 

Item Committee recommendation 

Operating Expenses ........................................................................................................................................ $26,340,000 

Projects: 

Barrier and Security Kiosk Repairs, Phase IV ...................................................................................... 8,300,000 

Roof Replacement, Alternate Computer Facility ................................................................................... 7,300,000 

Perimeter Security Fence Modification .................................................................................................. 4,900,000 

Visitor Vestibules, U.S. Capitol ............................................................................................................. 1,000,000 

Minor Construction ................................................................................................................................ 5,000,000 

Improved Coordination of Legislative Branch Data Centers: Recent system failures at the Alternate Computing Facility (ACF), 

which is managed by the AOC, have brought into glaring focus the 

inadequacies of the current governance of data centers throughout 

the legislative branch. All legislative agencies use the ACF either 

as their primary or secondary data facility, but each independently 


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determines the length of time it intends to stay in the facility and 

manages its data center space and procedures without any standardized requirements. There is a critical need for central oversight 

of the management of the ACF, particularly as various legislative 

branch agencies consider different locations for their data centers, 

type of facility (whether leased or built), and type of computing 

(center- versus cloud-based). The Committee urges the AOC to 

work with the legislative branch chief information officers to form 

a governance board that will have authority over common elements 

among agencies’ management of their data centers. This board 

should also engage the legislative branch agencies to achieve some 

commonality in their decisions to move portions of their data center 

operations to the cloud or leased facilities. 

K–9 Checkpoints: The Committee is aware of collaborative efforts 

between the Sergeant at Arms and the AOC to ensure the health 

and safety of USCP officers and K–9 teams. While some progress 

has been made to protect K–9 teams from adverse weather conditions, the Committee encourages the AOC to increase regular 

maintenance of the offsite K–9 inspection checkpoints to reduce 

heat on the dogs’ paws and reduce oil and debris. Further, the 

Committee encourages the AOC, in coordination with the Capitol 

Police Board, to evaluate the current conditions and cost of constructing a physical shelter at offsite K–9 inspection checkpoints. 

The Committee requests the AOC to report these findings to the 

Committee no later than 90 days after enactment of this Act. 

BOTANIC GARDEN

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $14,759,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 16,094,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 15,822,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +1,063,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥272,000 

The Committee recommends $15,822,000 for the improvement, 

operation, care, and maintenance of the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) Conservatory; the National Garden; the Administration Building; the Bartholdi Park and Fountain; heritage and other 

plant collections; and the USBG Production Facility at D.C. Village. Of the total, $4,000,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2024. 

Item Committee 

recommendation 

Operating Expenses ........................................................................................................................................ $11,822,000 

Projects: 

Minor Construction ................................................................................................................................ 4,000,000 

Within Operating Expenses, the Committee has provided the 

$150,000 increase requested for the USBG exhibits program celebrating its 200th anniversary year. The bill also includes the requested $200,000 increase for the partnerships program for urban 

agriculture. 

Agricultural Training and Education: The Committee encourages 

the Botanic Garden to expand its urban agriculture training and 

education initiative and build on its successful work from previous 

years. The bill includes the $200,000 increase requested in the 

budget for this activity. The USBG seeks to build partnerships 


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with other botanic gardens and agricultural and educational institutions, to provide training and educational resources, and to 

strengthen urban agriculture in areas of job training, entrepreneurship, food security, nutrition, education, and community development. This Committee supports the USBG efforts to serve as a 

training resource for local and national audiences on topics related 

to productive and sustainable urban agriculture, food handling and 

preparation, and nutrition. 

People’s Garden: The United States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) started the first People’s Garden at its headquarters in 

2009 and has since helped to initiate 1,896 additional gardens at 

Federal agencies and nearby communities across the country. The 

Committee encourages the Architect to partner with USDA to start 

a People’s Garden on the U.S. Capitol grounds. 

CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $23,322,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 24,321,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 23,391,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +69,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥930,000 

The Committee recommends $23,391,000 for the operations of 

the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). The CVC was established to provide a secure public environment to welcome and manage a large 

number of visitors and to protect the Capitol, its occupants, and 

guests in an atmosphere of open access. 

Diversity Among Tour Guides: To ensure that the Capitol complex more accurately and respectfully represents the history of Native Americans, the Committee encourages the hiring of Native 

Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians as tour guides. 

Non-English Tours: The Committee commends the AOC for making tours of the U.S. Capitol available in languages other than 

English. Hundreds of thousands of international visitors visit the 

Capitol each year to experience firsthand the ‘‘symbol of our democracy’’. Currently, translated brochures are available in twelve languages—Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Listening devices for tours are available in six languages—French, 

German, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean and Spanish. The Committee encourages the AOC to review enhancement of audio translations options as part of the CVC Exhibition Hall redesign and to 

make listening devices available in additional languages, beginning 

with those for which brochures have already been translated. 

ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION

Section 119 prohibits payment of bonuses to contractors behind 

schedule or over budget during fiscal year 2020 and all subsequent 

fiscal years. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Established by Congress in 1800, the Library of Congress is one 

of the largest libraries in the world, with a collection of more than 

168,000,000 print, audio, and video items in 470 languages. Among 

its major programs are acquisitions, preservation, administration of 


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U.S. copyright laws by the Copyright Office, research and analysis 

of policy issues for the Congress by the Congressional Research 

Service, and administration of a national program to provide reading material to the blind and physically handicapped. The Library 

maintains a significant number of collections and provides a range 

of services to libraries in the United States and abroad. 

Appropriations Shifts to Reflect Centralized Funding for Information Technology: During fiscal year 2018, in an effort to reduce duplication, increase efficiency, and better utilize specialized expertise, the Library of Congress began providing more Information 

Technology (IT) services centrally though its Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) rather than in the Library’s various component organizations. In fiscal years 2018 and 2019, Library components which have separate appropriations accounts reimbursed 

the main Library of Congress Salaries and Expenses account 

through intra-agency agreements for the IT services being provided 

to them centrally by the OCIO under this initiative. 

For fiscal year 2020, however, the Library has requested that 

funding for centralized IT services be appropriated directly to the 

main Salaries and Expenses account for use by the OCIO instead 

of to the component organizations receiving the services, in order 

to reflect where services are actually being performed and avoid 

the need for repeated reimbursement transactions. The Committee 

has agreed to this request. 

As a result, the Committee bill reflects a shift in appropriations totaling $13,556,000 to the Library of Congress Salaries and Expenses account, with $2,708,000 of that shift coming from the 

Copyright Office, $8,767,000 coming from the Congressional Research Service, and $2,081,000 coming from the National Library 

Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. While these 

shifts cause the affected accounts to increase or decrease, they 

merely reflect changes in the approach to financing IT services 

rather than any programmatic change. Leaving aside the IT funding shifts, the Committee’s recommendation for each of the main 

Library of Congress accounts represents an increase above fiscal 

year 2019. 

Visitor Experience Initiative: The Librarian of Congress has outlined a major multi-year initiative, envisioned as a public-private 

partnership and termed ‘‘Enhancing the Visitor Experience’’. This 

initiative is intended to improve the experience of visitors to the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, better display many of the 

treasures in the Library’s collections, more effectively communicate 

the Library’s mission and the range of its services and holdings, 

and provide displays and activities targeted to children and youth 

visiting the Library. The total multi-year cost was estimated at 

$60,000,000, with two-thirds of that envisioned as coming from appropriations and the other one-third from private donations. 

The Appropriations Committees considered this idea to have 

promise, and the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for 2018 

appropriated an initial $10,000,000. Of that amount, $2,000,000 

was made available for developing specific plans, cost estimates, 

and schedules for the initiative, and the remaining $8,000,000 was 

withheld from obligation pending review and approval of the resulting planning documents by the chairs and ranking minority members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees’ SubVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 17, 2019 Jkt 036357 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR064.XXX HR064

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committees on the Legislative Branch. The plans are expected to be 

ready during the summer of 2019 and the Committee looks forward 

to receiving and reviewing them. This bill provides an additional $5,000,000 for the Enhancing the 

Visitor Experience initiative, similarly withheld from obligation 

pending receipt, review, and approval of the plans, estimates and 

schedules. Once that review and approval has occurred, the Committee will be better positioned to consider appropriate funding levels during conference discussions with the Senate Appropriations 

Committee. 

Public Access to Legislative Information: The Library of Congress 

has become one of the pre-eminent sources of public information 

about federal legislation and congressional processes, particularly 

through its role in hosting the ‘‘Congress.gov’’ website but also 

through other digital activities. The Committee commends the Library for its achievements in this area. 

The Committee also understands that users of the Library’s legislative information services have suggestions regarding ways in 

which those services could be improved or expanded, and the Committee would like to encourage creation of a more structured process for receiving and considering such suggestions. Such a process 

should also recognize some of the limits on the Library’s ability to 

implement improvements and expansions of these services, however. For example, much of the information presented on the Congress.gov website is not generated or controlled by the Library but 

rather comes from other sources—particularly various offices of the 

House of Representatives and the Senate and the Government Publishing Office—and expanding or changing the content of Congress.gov will often require those sources to do something new or 

different. Further, some improvements and expansions would require commitment of substantial time and resources by offices both 

within and outside the Library that already have a heavy IT workload. 

To facilitate public input into the Library’s legislative information services and how they could be improved, the Committee urges 

the Library to convene a public meeting at least once a year during 

the next two years to discuss these issues. The Library should invite a broad range of potentially interested parties to participate, 

such as journalists, academics, advocacy and public interest organizations, research institutions, libraries, and publishers of legislative information. The Library should also invite and encourage participation from representatives of Legislative Branch stakeholders 

such as the Clerk of the House, the Secretary of the Senate, and 

the Government Publishing Office. 

Following the meeting, the Library should prepare a report, to be 

submitted to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees 

and also to relevant authorizing committees and officers of the 

House and Senate. The report should summarize the comments 

and suggestions made, indicate which could be implemented by the 

Library itself and which would require action by other entities, 

roughly estimate the cost and effort needed (where possible), and 

provide the Library’s evaluation and recommendations for further 

action. 

Primary Computing Facility: In fiscal year 2017 the Library of 

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vestment to migrate the Library’s primary computing facility to 

certified Tier III facilities. By appropriating this funding, Congress 

underscored the urgent need to move the Library’s current data 

center to a safe and secure offsite certified Tier III data center. 

As the Library’s Office of the Chief Information Officer has confirmed that it is on schedule to complete the Data Center Transformation Program by the end of fiscal year 2020, the Committee 

directs the Librarian of Congress to provide a written report outlining a month-by-month timeline of when the data center migration will be completed, including a detailed overview of how the Library intends to meet its 2020 deadline to migrate to an offsite certified Tier III data center. The report is to be delivered within 30 

days of enactment of this bill to all stakeholders. 

Law Library: The Committee commends the Law Library for continuing to provide support to the time-sensitive and complex needs 

of the Congress, the Supreme Court, executive branch agencies, 

courts, practicing attorneys, state bars, state and local governments, American businesses, scholars, journalists, and those with 

legal research needs. The Committee urges the Law Library to continue its digitization strategy as party of the Library’s overall 

digitization strategy to increase online access to major parts of its 

collection, such as the U.S. Serial Sets and Supreme Court Records 

and Briefs. 

Preservation: The Library’s extremely diverse collections require 

a range of preservation strategies, including assessment, treatment, reformatting, environmental storage and protective housing. 

The Committee considers mass deacidification to be an important 

part of a balanced preservation strategy and directs the Library to 

continue funding for mass deacidification at not less than the fiscal 

year 2019 level. 

Veterans History Project: The Committee recommends an appro- priation of $3,587,000 for the Veterans History Project, recognizing 

the critical importance of the project as a way to collect, preserve 

and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans for the benefit of future generations. As the Veterans History 

Project relies on volunteers to collect and submit veteran’s stories, 

the Committee encourages the Library of Congress to do further 

outreach with schools, Girl and Boy Scout programs, and Veterans 

Service Organizations and nonprofit and community stakeholders 

serving veterans from historically underrepresented groups to enhance the project. 

World War II Archives: The Committee recognizes the important 

work the Library of Congress is doing to archive stories, documents, and other materials from U.S. military veterans through its 

Veterans History Project. The Committee requests that the Library 

further strengthen its partnerships with military families, local 

veterans service organizations, memorials, and museums across the 

country to collect additional stories, documents and materials from 

WWII-era veterans and disseminate them for use by the National 

Park Service, National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, 

and American Battle Monuments Commission. 

Outreach to Minority Serving Institutions: The Committee encourages the Library of Congress to increase cooperative partnerships, fellowship opportunities, and curriculum program associations with community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and UniVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 17, 2019 Jkt 036357 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR064.XXX HR064

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versities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American and native 

American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, American Indian 

Tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and other minority serving-institutions. The Committee requests a report from the Library detailing its efforts in this area not later than 90 days after enactment of this bill. 

National Film & Sound Preservation: The Committee recognizes 

the important work of the National Film Preservation Program and 

the National Sound Recording Preservation Program, including the 

federally chartered National Film and National Recording Preservation Foundations. Consistent with the authorizing statute, the 

Foundations utilize both public and private matching funds to provide grants to a wide array of educational and non-profit organizations that help preserve historical and cultural artifacts that would 

otherwise disappear or be destroyed over time. Given that these 

programs were reauthorized under the Library of Congress Sound 

Recording and Film Preservation Programs Reauthorization Act of 

2016 (Public Law 114–217), the Committee expects that the Library will provide support to these programs. 

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $474,052,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 522,570,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 501,303,000 

Offsetting collections .................................................................... 6,000,000 

Total available ............................................................................. 507,303,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +27,251,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥21,267,000 

The Committee recommends $501,303,000, plus authority to 

spend $6,000,000 in receipts, for salaries and expenses. 

Note Regarding IT Centralization: The appropriation for this account reflects the shifts associated with the centralization of IT 

funding described at the beginning of the Library of Congress heading in this report. A total of $13,556,000 is being moved to this account in fiscal year 2020, reflecting the cost of IT activities that 

had been funded in other Library accounts in previous years that 

are now being funded centrally in this account. Disregarding that 

shift, net appropriations recommended in the bill for this account 

are $13,695,000 higher than in fiscal year 2019. 

COPYRIGHT OFFICE

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $43,589,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 43,289,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 42,153,000 

Offsetting collections .................................................................... 49,703,000 

Total available ............................................................................. 91,856,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... ¥1,436,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥1,136,000 

The Committee recommends $42,153,000 plus authority to spend 

$49,703,000 in receipts for salaries and expenses of the Copyright 

Office. 

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ing described at the beginning of the Library of Congress section 

of this report. A total of $2,708,000 is being moved from the Copyright Office account to the main Library of Congress Salaries and 

Expenses account, to cover IT costs previously funded in this account but now being funded centrally. Disregarding that shift, net 

appropriations included in the bill for the Copyright Office are 

$1,272,000 higher than in fiscal year 2019. 

Copyright Modernization: Few government bodies are more important to the growth of creativity and commercial artistic activity 

in our nation than the Copyright Office. The Committee continues 

to support the Copyright Office’s efforts to modernize its IT infrastructure in order to effectively serve users and copyright owners 

in the 21st century. 

Alternative Funding Options: The Committee encourages the 

Copyright Office to explore, and consider using, alternative funding 

options, such as public-private partnerships and transaction-based 

contract models to meet the Copyright Office’s current and future 

IT modernization and transformation requirements, including the 

Enterprise Copyright System (ECS). Such models can be cost-efficient and lead to an effective and ongoing modernization of mission 

critical, citizen-facing, fee-based systems. 

Copyright Expertise: The Committee understands the Copyright 

Office has offered its expertise on copyright matters to the Executive Branch, including participation in international discussions, 

and expects the Office to continue that important role. Consistent 

with historical practice, the Committee expects the Library to continue to defer to the copyright expertise of the Register of Copyrights. 

CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $125,688,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 121,572,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 119,889,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... ¥5,779,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥1,683,000 

The Committee recommends $119,889,000 for salaries and expenses of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS works for 

Members and Committees of Congress to support their legislative, 

oversight, and representational functions by providing nonpartisan 

and confidential research and policy analysis. 

Note Regarding IT Centralization: The decrease shown in this account in fiscal year 2020 results from the centralization of IT funding described at the beginning of the Library of Congress section 

of this report. A total of $8,767,000 is being moved from the Congressional Research Service account to the main Library of Congress Salaries and Expenses account, to cover IT costs previously 

funded in this account but now being funded centrally. Disregarding that shift, net appropriations included in the bill for the 

Congressional Research Service are $2,988,000 higher than in fiscal year 2019. 

Expertise on American Indian Affairs: The Committee is concerned that the Congressional Research Service currently does not 

employ a dedicated specialist on American Indian Affairs. Tribal afVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 17, 2019 Jkt 036357 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR064.XXX HR064

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fairs expertise is vital for enabling Members to understand, evaluate, and make informed policy decisions regarding the complex 

issues Native communities face and the unique trust relationship 

between the federal government and Indian tribes. The Committee 

recommends that CRS appoints a specialist and senior specialist in 

American Indian Affairs to provide Congress with easily accessible, 

non-partisan information and research. 

Unfilled Analyst Positions: In an effort to identify where additional resources are required, the Committee directs the Congressional Research Service to report to Congress within 90 days after 

enactment of this bill regarding how many FTE positions for legislative topic area analysts available to assist Members and staff 

have not been filled subsequent to retirements or other vacancies 

during each of the last five years. 

Congressional Staff Education: The Congressional Research Service provides valuable education seminars for congressional staff on 

the legislative process. The Committee encourages CRS to continue 

to incorporate analyses of federal law and related judicial developments, legislation and the regulatory process, and international 

law into their curriculum. 

BOOKS FOR THE BLIND AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $52,783,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 59,646,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 56,945,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +4,162,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥2,701,000 

The Committee recommends $56,945,000 for salaries and expenses of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically 

Handicapped (NLS). 

The NLS is a free braille and talking book library service for people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, or a physical disability that prevents them from reading or holding the 

printed page. Through a national network of regional and sub-regional libraries, NLS circulates books and magazines in braille and 

audio formats, delivered by postage-free mail or instantly 

downloadable. 

Note Regarding IT Centralization: The recommended level for 

this account in fiscal year 2020 reflects the centralization of IT 

funding described at the beginning of the Library of Congress section of this report. A total of $2,081,000 is being moved from the 

Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped account to the 

main Library of Congress Salaries and Expenses account, to cover 

IT costs previously funded in this account but now being funded 

centrally. Disregarding the shift, appropriations included in the bill 

for Books for the Blind are $6,243,000 higher than in fiscal year 

2019. 

BARD Modernization and Acquisition of Braille E-Readers: Of 

the amount appropriated for this account, the Committee intends 

that not less than $5,500,000 be used for the NLS for its initiatives 

to modernize and upgrade the BARD (Braille and Audio Reading 

by Download) website used to distribute audio and electronic 


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braille materials and to purchase braille e-Readers for use by its 

patrons. 

ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION

Section 120 limits to $231,975,000 the amount that may be obligated during fiscal year 2020 from various reimbursements and revolving funds available to the Library of Congress. 

GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

The Government Publishing Office (GPO) publishes and disseminates Federal government publications to Congress, Federal agencies, Federal depository libraries, and the American public. 

CONGRESSIONAL PUBLISHING

(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $79,000,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 79,000,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 79,000,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... 0 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $79,000,000 for Congressional Publishing. This account funds the costs of publishing congressional information products in both digital and print formats. 

PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAMS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF

DOCUMENTS

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $32,000,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 31,296,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 31,296,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... ¥704,000 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $31,296,000 for the salaries and expenses of the Public Information Programs of the Superintendent 

of Documents. 

This appropriation primarily supports the cataloguing and indexing of Federal Government publication (the results of which are 

now available online) and for operating the Federal Depository Library system and providing Federal documents to the network of 

1,133 depository libraries nationwide. 

BUSINESS OPERATIONS REVOLVING FUND

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $6,000,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 6,704,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 6,704,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +704,000 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $6,704,000 for the Business Operations Revolving Fund, which finances GPO’s publishing operations. 


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This business-like fund is used to pay GPO’s costs in performing 

or procuring from private-sector sources congressional and agency 

publishing, information product procurement, and publications dissemination activities. The fund is reimbursed from payments from 

customer agencies, sales to the public, appropriations to the fund, 

and transfers from GPO’s two annual appropriations. 

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $589,750,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 647,637,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 615,604,000 

Offsetting Collections ................................................................... 24,800,000 

Total available ............................................................................. 640,404,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +25,854,000 

Change from request ................................................................... ¥32,033,000 

The Committee recommends $615,604,000 in direct appropriations for the Government Accountability Office (GAO), plus 

$24,800,000 in offsetting collections derived from reimbursements 

for conducting financial audits of government corporations and 

rental of space in the GAO building. Funds provided will support 

the full-year costs of staff hired during fiscal year 2019, including 

those associated with the Science, Technology Assessment, and 

Analytics team, and partially address information technology and 

infrastructure requests. Within the total, the Committee provides 

$2,375,000 for the GAO Office of Inspector General. 

GAO was established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. 

GAO works for Congress by responding to requests for studies of 

Federal government programs and expenditures, and may also initiate its own work. 

Duplicative Government Programs: Since passage of Public Law 

111–139, GAO has been mandated to produce a report to Congress 

identifying duplicative programs throughout the Federal government. In a yearly report GAO identifies Federal programs, agencies, offices and initiatives that have duplicative goals or activities. 

Since 2011, GAO has presented 805 actions in more than 300 areas 

for Congress or executive branch agencies to reduce, eliminate, or 

better manage fragmentation, overlap or duplication. As of October, 

2018, Congress and the executive branch have addressed or partially addressed 604 of those actions resulting in roughly $178 billion in financial benefits. The Committee continues to direct GAO 

to issue these reports and urges Congress and the executive branch 

to address duplicative programs. 

OPEN WORLD LEADERSHIP CENTER TRUST FUND 

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $5,600,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 5,800,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 5,800,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... +200,000 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $5,800,000 for salaries and expenses 

of the Open World Leadership Center Trust Fund. 

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gram has promoted dialogue and mutual understanding with Russia and former Soviet countries considered to be strategically important to the United States in the post-Soviet era. In view of the 

current multi-polar world that presents both challenges and opportunities, the Committee strongly encourages the program to expand 

beyond Russia and post-Soviet countries to include other countries 

of strategic necessity to the United States. The goal is to support 

the Congress in fostering relationships with select foreign states as 

an adjunct to United States diplomatic relations, and to gain greater understanding between our nations. 

Poland: The Committee is concerned that the murder of Gdansk 

mayor Pawel Adamowicz may foster political polarization and 

urges Open World to extend a hand of friendship to the Polish people and strengthen U.S.-Poland relations through the establishment of a Pawel Adamowicz Democratic Exchange to empower Polish civil society and upcoming democratic leaders. 

Hungary: The Committee is also concerned about opportunities 

for increased Russian influence in the region, including challenges 

with corruption and weakening civil society in Hungary. The Committee urges Open World to establish exchanges with Hungarian 

civil society and local leaders to shore up democratic institutions 

and extend American goodwill in the face of significant democratic 

challenges. The Committee recognizes that such a course of action 

would be in line with the Administration’s strategy to compete for 

influence in Central and Eastern Europe in the face of increased 

Russian and Chinese influence. 

JOHN C. STENNIS CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TRAINING 

AND DEVELOPMENT 

Appropriation, fiscal year 2019 ......................................................... $430,000 

Budget request, fiscal year 2020 ....................................................... 430,000 

Committee recommendation .............................................................. 430,000 

Change from enacted level ......................................................... 0 

Change from request ................................................................... 0 

The Committee recommends $430,000 for salaries and expenses 

as requested. The Center provides Congressional staff training and 

development opportunities to promote and strengthen public service leadership in America. 

TITLE II—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Includes new language permitting funding in this Act to be used 

to employ individuals with an employment authorization document 

under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. 

Also continues a number of provisions from prior years, including 

language regarding maintenance and care of private vehicles, fiscal 

year limitation, rates of compensation and designation, consulting 

services, the Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council, a limitation on transfers, guided tours of the Capitol, limitations on telecommunications equipment procurement, prohibition on certain 

operational expenses, and plastic waste reduction. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPORT REQUIREMENTS 

The following items are included in accordance with various requirements of the Rules of the House of Representatives: 


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STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the following is a statement of general performance goals and objectives for which this measure authorizes funding: 

The Committee on Appropriations considers program performance, including a program’s success in developing and attaining 

outcome-related goals and objectives, in developing funding recommendations. 

RESCISSIONS

Pursuant to clause 3(f)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the following details the rescissions in the accompanying bill: 

$1,000,000 from the revolving fund established under House Resolution 94, 98th Congress 

$4,000,000 from the revolving fund relating to ‘‘Stationery’’ under 

the heading ‘‘House of Representatives, Contingent Expenses of the 

House’’ in the first section of the Legislative Branch Appropriation 

Act, 1948 

TRANSFER OF FUNDS

Pursuant to clause 3(f)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the following lists the transfers of funds included in the accompanying bill: 

Section 116(a)(2) authorizes transfer of available balances of expired appropriations for the House of Representatives to ‘‘House of 

Representatives—Allowances and Expenses’’ for payments to the 

Employees Compensation Fund and for reimbursement for unemployment compensation payments for former employees of the 

House. 

A proviso in the appropriation for ‘‘Architect of the Capitol—Capital Construction and Operations’’ permits the transfer of 

$10,000,000 of funding available for five years to other Architect of 

the Capitol accounts. 

A proviso in the appropriation for ‘‘Architect of the Capitol— 

House Office Buildings’’ directs transfer of $8,000,000 into that account from the House Office Buildings Fund. 

Within the Government Publishing Office, provisos in the appropriations for ‘‘Congressional Publishing’’ and ‘‘Public Information 

Programs of the Superintendent of Documents, Salaries and Expenses’’ authorize transfer of unobligated or unexpended balances 

of expired discretionary funds appropriated under those headings 

for fiscal year 2020 to the ‘‘Government Publishing Office Business 

Operations Revolving Fund’’ account. 

DISCLOSURE OF EARMARKS AND CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED

SPENDING ITEMS

Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no Congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9 of rule XXI. 


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COMPLIANCE WITH RULE XIII, CL. 3(e) (RAMSEYER RULE) 

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

SECTION 120 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH 

APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019 

ALLOWANCE FOR COMPENSATION OF INTERNS IN MEMBER OFFICES

SEC. 120. (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ALLOWANCE.—There is established for the house of representatives an allowance which shall be 

available for the compensation of interns who serve in the offices 

of members of the house of representatives 

(b) CAP ON AMOUNT AVAILABLE PER OFFICE.—An office of a 

Member of the House of Representatives may not use more than 

$20,000 of the allowance under this section during any calendar 

year. 

(c) BENEFIT EXCLUSION.—Section 104(b) of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act (2 

U.S.C. 5321(b)) shall apply with respect to an intern who is compensated under the allowance under this section in the same manner as such section applies with respect to an intern who is compensated under the Members’ Representational Allowance. 

(d) NO EFFECT ON PAYMENT OF INTERNS UNDER MEMBERS’ REP- RESENTATIONAL ALLOWANCE.—Nothing in this section may be construed to affect the use of the Members’ Representational Allowance for the compensation of interns, as provided under section 104 

of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical 

Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 5321). 

(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

(1) the term ‘‘intern’’ has the meaning given such term in 

section 104(c)(2) of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 5321(c)(2)); 

and 

(2) the term ‘‘Member of the House of Representatives’’ 

means a Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress. 

(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to 

be appropriated to carry out this section $8,800,000 for fiscal year 

2019ø.¿, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020 

and each succeeding fiscal year. 

SECTON 312 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH 

APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1992 

SEC. 312. (a)(1) The Chief Administrative Officer of the House of 

Representatives shall maintain and operate a child care center (to 

be known as the ‘‘House of Representatives Child Care Center’’) to 

furnish pre-school child care and (subject to the approval of regulations by the Committee on House Administration) child care for 

school age children other than during the course of the ordinary 

school day— 


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(A) for children of individuals whose pay is disbursed by the 

Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives 

and children of support personnel of the House of Representatives; 

(B) if places are available after admission of all children who 

are eligible under subparagraph (A), for children of individuals 

whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate and children of employees of agencies of the legislative branch; and 

(C) if places are available after admission of all children who 

are eligible under subparagraph (A) or (B), for children of employees of other offices, departments, and agencies of the Federal Government. 

(2) Children shall be admitted to the center on a nondiscriminatory basis and without regard to any office or position held by 

their parents. 

(b)(1)(A) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint 15 individuals (of whom 7 shall be upon recommendation of 

the minority leader of the House of Representatives), to serve without pay, as members of an advisory board for the center. The board 

shall— 

(i) provide advice to the Chief Administrative Officer on matters of policy relating to the administration and operation of 

the center (including the selection of the director of the center); 

(ii) be chosen from among Members of the House of Representatives, spouses of Members, parents of children enrolled 

in the center, and other individuals with expertise in child care 

or interest in the center; and 

(iii) serve during the Congress in which they are appointed, 

except that a member of the board may continue to serve after 

the expiration of a term until a successor is appointed. 

(B) The director of the center shall serve as an additional member of the board, ex officio and without the right to vote. 

(2) A vacancy on the board shall be filled in the manner in which 

the original appointment is made. 

(3) The chairman of the board shall be elected by the members 

of the board. 

(c) In carrying out subsection (a), the Chief Administrative Officer is authorized— 

(1) to collect fees for child care services; 

(2) to accept such gifts of money and property as may be approved by the Chairman and the ranking minority party member of the Committee on House Oversight of the House of Representatives, acting jointly; and 

(3) to employ a director and other employees for the center. 

(d)(1) There is established an account which, subject to appropriation, and except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), shall be 

the exclusive source for all salaries and expenses for activities carried out under this section. The Chief Administrative Officer shall 

deposit in the account any amounts received under subsection (c). 

(2) With respect to employees of the center, the House of Representatives shall make Government contributions and payments 

for health insurance, retirement, employment taxes, and similar 

benefits and programs (including the subsidies provided on behalf 

of employees of the center as a result of reductions in the amount 

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ployees under paragraph (4)) in the same manner as such contributions and payments are made for other employees of the House of 

Representatives. 

(3) The House of Representatives shall make payments from 

amounts provided in appropriations acts for salaries and expenses 

of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer for the following 

activities carried out under this section: 

(A) The payment of the salary of the director of the center. 

(B) The reimbursement of individuals employed by the center for the cost of training classes and conferences in connection with the provision of child care services, together with the 

cost of travel (including transportation and subsistence) incurred in connection with such classes and conferences. 

(4) In the case of a child of an employee of the center who is furnished care at the center, the Chief Administrative Officer shall reduce the amount of tuition otherwise charged with respect to such 

child during a month by the greater of— 

(A) 50 percent; or 

(B) such percentage as may be necessary to ensure that the 

total amount of tuition paid by the employee with respect to all 

children of the employee who are furnished care at the center 

during the month does not exceed $1,000. 

(e) As used in this section— 

(1) the term ‘‘Member of the House of Representatives’’ 

means a Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress; 

(2) the term ‘‘agency of the legislative branch’’ means the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the Botanic Garden, the 

General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, 

the Library of Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment, 

the Congressional Budget Office, and the Copyright Royalty 

Tribunal; and 

(3) the term ‘‘support personnel’’ means, with respect to the 

House of Representatives, any employee of a credit union or of 

the Architect of the Capitol, whose principal duties are to support the functions of the House of Representatives. 

(f) House Resolution 21, Ninety-ninth Congress, agreed to December 11, 1985, enacted into permanent law by section 103 of the 

Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1987 (as incorporated by 

reference in section 101(j) of Public Law 99–500 and Public Law 

99–591) (40 U.S.C. 184b–184f) is repealed. 

SECTION 908 OF THE EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL ACT, 

2002 

EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYEES

SEC. 908. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In order to recruit or retain 

qualified personnel, the Chief of the Capitol Police may establish 

an educational assistance program for employees of the Capitol Police under which the Capitol Police may agree— 

(1) to repay (by direct payments on behalf of the participating employee) all or any portion of a student loan previously 

taken out by the employee; 


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(2) to make direct payments to an educational institution on 

behalf of a participating employee or to reimburse a participating employee for all or any portion of any tuition or related 

educational expenses paid by the employee. 

(b) SPECIAL RULES FOR STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS.— (1) APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS UNDER EXECUTIVE BRANCH

PROGRAM.—In carrying out subsection (a)(1), the Chief of the 

Capitol Police may, by regulation, make applicable such provisions of section 5379 of title 5, United States Code, as the 

Chief determines necessary to provide for such program. 

(2) RESTRICTIONS ON PRIOR REIMBURSEMENTS.—The Capitol 

Police may not reimburse any individual under subsection 

(a)(1) for any repayments made by the individual prior to entering into an agreement with the Capitol Police to participate 

in the program under this section. 

(3) USE OF RECOVERED AMOUNTS.—Any amount repaid by, or 

recovered from, an individual under subsection (a)(1) and its 

implementing regulations shall be credited to the appropriation 

account available for salaries or general expenses of the Capitol Police at the time of repayment or recovery. Such credited 

amount may be used for any authorized purpose of the account 

and shall remain available until expended. 

(c) LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—The total amount paid by 

the Capitol Police with respect to any individual under the program under this section may not exceed ø$40,000¿ $60,000 

(d) NO REVIEW OF DETERMINATIONS.—Any determination made 

under the program under this section shall not be reviewable or appealable in any manner. 

(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2003 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

CHANGES IN THE APPLICATION OF EXISTING LAW

Pursuant to clause 3(f)(1)(A) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the following statements are submitted 

describing the effect of provisions in the accompanying bill that directly or indirectly change the application of existing law: 

1. The bill provides that certain appropriation items remain 

available for more than one year, where programs or projects are 

continuing in nature under the provisions of authorizing legislation 

but for which that legislation does not specifically authorize such 

extended availability. 

2. The bill includes a number of provisions which place limitations on or change or extend existing limitations, appropriations, or 

authorizations, and which under some circumstances might be construed as changing the application of existing law. 

3. The bill continues the practice of providing official reception 

and representation allowances for officers and offices of the Legislative Branch. 

4. The bill authorizes disbursal of funds for various agencies. 

5. The bill authorizes transfer authority between accounts for 

certain agencies in the bill. 

6. The bill includes language allowing the use of funds for studies and examinations of executive agencies and temporary personnel services. Funds can also be available for reimbursement to 

agencies for services performed. 


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7. The bill includes language providing funds for the Family 

Room, the Superintendent of Garages, Office of Emergency Management, and preparing the Digest of Rules. 

8. The bill includes language providing funds for House motor vehicles, interparliamentary receptions, and gratuities. 

9. The bill requires unspent funds remaining in Members’ Representational Allowances to be used for deficit or debt reduction. 

10. The bill includes language that places a limitation on the 

amount that a Member can spend on a leased vehicle per month. 

11. The bill includes language establishing intern allowances for 

Member and leadership offices. 

12. The bill includes language requiring that any Federal agencies that are assisting the House with cybersecurity risks ensure 

the constitutional integrity of the separate branches of government. 

13. The bill includes language permitting expired appropriations 

to be used to pay employee death gratuities and unemployment insurance. 

14. The bill includes language reducing the amount of tuition 

charged for children of employees of the House child care center. 

15. The bill authorizes allowances for employees of the Office of 

the Attending Physician and provides reimbursement to the Department of the Navy. 

16. The bill authorizes expenses of the Capitol Police for motor 

vehicles, communications and other equipment, uniforms, weapons, 

supplies, materials, training, medical services, forensic services, 

stenographic services, personal and professional services, the employee assistance program, the awards program, postage, communication services, travel advances, and relocation expenses. 

17. The bill provides that the cost of Capitol Police basic training 

at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center be paid by the 

Department of Homeland Security. 

18. The bill includes language that increases the employee educational assistance program reimbursement limit. 

19. The bill allows the Architect of the Capitol to purchase or exchange, maintain, and operate one passenger motor vehicle. 

20. The bill includes authorization allowing reimbursements for 

chilled water and steam provided to the Government Publishing 

Office, the Washington City Post Office, the Supreme Court, the 

Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, Union Station 

Complex, and the Folger Shakespeare Library to be credited to the 

AOC Capitol Power Plant appropriation and made available for obligation. 

21. The bill allows the Architect of the Capitol to expend funds 

to maintain, care for, and operate the National Garden. 

22. The bill prohibits paying bonuses for contractors who are behind schedule or over budget and making that provision permanent. 

23. The bill provides the authority to expend funds collected 

under the authority of 2 U.S.C. 150 and to the balance to remain 

available until expended. 

24. The bill establishes that the amount available for obligation 

by the Library of Congress is reduced by offsetting collections. 

25. The bill provides funds for the digital collections and educational curricula program, and the American Folklife Center. 


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26. The bill allows the Library of Congress to hire or purchase 

one passenger motor vehicle. 

27. The bill allows funds from offsetting collections to be used for 

the Library’s Copyright Office. 

28. The bill includes language authorizing the expenditure of receipts, with the exception of salaries and benefits, for the administration of the Copyright Royalty Judges program. 

29. The bill contains language which provides that no funds in 

the Congressional Research Service can be used to publish or prepare material to be issued by the Library of Congress unless approved by the appropriate committee, with an exception. 

30. The bill provides funds to provide newspapers to the blind 

and physically handicapped. 

31. The bill contains language under the Library of Congress 

placing a limitation on obligations for Reimbursable and Revolving 

Fund activities. 

32. The bill contains language restricting the use of funds appropriated to the Government Publishing Office for the permanent edition of the Congressional Record for individual Representatives and 

Senators, Resident Commissioners or Delegates, and language providing that appropriations recommended shall be available for the 

payment of obligations incurred under appropriations for similar 

purposes for preceding fiscal years, limiting the printing of certain 

documents to a time certain, and authorizing the transfer of unobligated balances. 

33. The bill includes language authorizing the Public Information 

Programs of the Superintendent of Documents to pay for printing 

certain publications in prior years for the depository library program. There is language authorizing the transfer of unexpended 

balances. 

34. There is language authorizing the operation of the Government Publishing Office revolving fund, and which authorizes travel 

expenses for advisory councils, the purchase of not more than 12 

passenger motor vehicles and that the revolving fund may be used 

to provide information in any format. 

35. The bill includes language relating to the Government Accountability Office, authorizing the direct procurement of expert 

and consultant services under 5 U.S.C. 3109 at certain rates; authorizing the hire of one passenger motor vehicle, as required by 

31 U.S.C. 1343; authorizing the Government Accountability Office 

to make advance payments in foreign countries in accordance with 

31 U.S.C. 3324; and providing certain benefits, including rental of 

living quarters in foreign countries. Appropriations are authorized 

for administrative expenses of any other member department or 

agency to finance an appropriate share of the costs of the National 

Intergovernmental Audit Forum or a Regional Intergovernmental 

Audit Forum. 

36. The bill includes language prohibiting the use of funds in the 

Act for the maintenance or care of private vehicles except for emergency assistance and cleaning as may be provided under regulations relating to parking facilities for the House issued by the Committee on House Administration and for the Senate by the Committee on Rules and Administration. 


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37. The bill provides no part of the funds appropriated in this Act 

shall remain available for obligation beyond fiscal year 2020 unless 

expressly so provided in this Act. 

38. The bill provides that whenever any office or position not specifically established by the Legislative Pay Act of 1929 is appropriated for herein, or whenever the rate of compensation or designation of any position appropriated for herein is different from 

that specifically established for such position by such Act, the rate 

of compensation and the designation of the position, either appropriated for or provided herein, shall be the permanent law with respect thereto: Provided that the provisions herein for the various 

items of official expenses of Members, officers, and committees of 

the Senate and House, and clerk hire for Senators and Members 

shall be the permanent law with respect thereto. 

39. The bill requires that certain information regarding consulting services shall be a matter of public record. 

40. The bill authorizes Legislative Branch entities to share the 

costs of the Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council. 

41. The bill limits the transfer of funds in this Act. 

42. The bill prohibits funds in this Act being used to eliminate 

or restrict staff-led guided tours. 

43. The bill prohibits funds from being used to acquire telecommunications equipment from a particular class of vendors. 

44. The bill prohibits funds from being used to maintain or establish a computer network unless the network blocks pornography. 

45. The bill includes language requiring agencies funded in the 

Act to eliminate or reduce plastic waste. 

46. The bill includes language permitting funds to be used to employ individuals with an employment authorization document 

under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. 

APPROPRIATIONS NOT AUTHORIZED BY LAW

Pursuant to clause 3(f)(1)(B) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the following lists the appropriations in 

the accompanying bill which are not authorized by law for the period concerned: 

1. An appropriation of $11,025,000 for the Allowance for Compensation of Interns in Member Offices in the House of Representatives; this allowance was first authorized and appropriated for in 

the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2019, with both authorization and appropriation equal to $8,800.000. 

2. An appropriation of $365,000 for the Allowance for Compensation of Interns in House Leadership Offices; this allowance has not 

previously received an authorization or appropriation. 

BUDGETARY IMPACT OF THE FY 2020 LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS BILL PREPARED IN CONSULTATION WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL

BUDGET OFFICE PURSUANT TO SEC. 308(A), PUBLIC LAW 93–344, AS

AMENDED

[IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS]

COMPARISON WITH BUDGET RESOLUTION

Section 308(a)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget Act requires the 

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tain a statement comparing the levels in the bill to the suballocations submitted under section 302(b) of the Act for the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget for the applicable fiscal year. 

[In millions of dollars] 

302(b) Allocation This Bill 

Budget 

Authority Outlays Budget Authority Outlays 

Comparison of amounts in the bill with Committee allocations 

to its subcommittees: Subcommittee on Legislative Branch 

General Purpose Discretionary .............................................. 5,010 5,037 3,972 1 4,162 

Mandatory ............................................................................. 150 149 150 1 149 

1 Includes outlays from prior-year budget authority. 

FIVE-YEAR OUTLAY PROJECTIONS

In compliance with section 308(a)(1)(B) of the Congressional 

Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93– 

344), as amended, the following table contains five-year projections 

associated with the budget authority provided in the accompanying 

bill. 

[In millions of dollars] 

Outlays 

Projection of outlays associated with the recommendation: 

2020 ...................................................................................... .................... .................... 1 3,449 

2021 ...................................................................................... .................... .................... .................... 447 

2022 ...................................................................................... .................... .................... .................... 105 

2023 ...................................................................................... .................... .................... .................... 47 

2024 and future years .......................................................... .................... .................... .................... 27 

1 Excludes outlays from prior-year budget authority. 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

In accordance with section 308(a)(1)(C) of the Congressional 

Budget Act of 1974, as amended, the Congressional Budget Office 

has provided the following estimates of new budget authority and 

outlays provided by the accompanying bill for financial assistance 

to State and local governments. 

[In millions of dollars] 

Budget 

Authority Outlays 

Financial assistance to State and local governments for 2020 .................................................... 0 1 0 

1 Excludes outlays from prior-year budget authority. 

PROGRAM DUPLICATION

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the following states that: No provision of this 

bill establishes or reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public 

Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 


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COMMITTEE HEARINGS

For the purpose of secton 103(i) of H. Res. 6 of the 116th Congress— 

The following hearings were used to develop or consider the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2020: 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights fiscal year 2020 budget request on February 7, 2019. The Subcommittee received testimony 

from Susan Tsui Grundmann, Executive Director. The Legislative 

Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the Open World Leadership Center fiscal year 2020 budget request on February 7, 2019. 

The Subcommittee received testimony from Jane Sargus, Executive 

Director. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the Architect of the Capitol fiscal year 2020 budget request on February 

26, 2019. The Subcommittee received testimony from Christine A. 

Merdon, Acting Architect of the Capitol. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the Congressional Budget Office fiscal year 2020 budget request on February 26, 2019. The Subcommittee received testimony from Christine A. Merdon, Acting Architect of the Capitol. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the Congressional Budget Office fiscal year 2020 budget request on February 26, 2019. The Subcommittee received testimony from Dr. 

Keith Hall, Director. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the Government Accountability Office fiscal year 2020 budget request on 

February 27, 2019. The Subcommittee received testimony from 

Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the Government Publishing Office fiscal year 2020 budget request on February 27, 2019. The Subcommittee received testimony from Herbert 

H. Jackson, Acting Deputy Director. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the Library of Congress fiscal year 2020 budget request on March 7, 

2019. The Subcommittee received testimony from Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress; Dr. Mary B. Mazanec, Director, Congressional Research Services; and Ms. Karyn Temple, Acting U.S. 

Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the 

House of Representatives fiscal year 2020 budget request on March 

12, 2019. The Subcommittee received testimony from the Honorable Cheryl L. Johnson, Clerk of the House; the Honorable Paul D. 

Irving, Sergeant at Arms; the Honorable Philip G. Kiko, Chief Administrative Officer; E. Wade Ballou, Legislative Counsel; Douglas 

N. Letter, General Counsel; Michael T. Ptasienski, Inspector General; and Ralph Seep, Law Revision Counsel. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on the U.S. 

Capitol Police fiscal year 2020 budget request on March 12, 2019. 

The Subcommittee received testimony from Matthew Verderosa, 

Chief of Police. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on fiscal 

year 2020 agency budget requests on April 2, 2019 with Members 

of Congress. The Subcommittee received testimony from Rep. Mark 


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Takano, Rep. Sean Casten, and Rep. Anna G. Eshoo. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. and Rep. Susan A. Davis submitted written testimony for 

the record. 

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee held a hearing on fiscal 

year 2020 agency budget requests on April 2, 2019 with public witnesses. The Subcommittee received testimony from Femi Cadmus, 

President, American Association of Law Libraries; Zach Graves, 

Head of Policy, Lincoln Network; Daniel Schuman, Demand 

Progress and Demand Progress Action; Samantha Feinstein, Senior 

Legal and International Analyst, Government Accountability 

Project; Rebecca Jones, Policy Counsel, Project on Government 

Oversight; Joseph Alessi, Program Director, Congressional App 

Challenge; Kel McClanahan, Executive Director, National Security 

Counselors, National Security Law; Mandy Smithberger, Director, 

Center for Defense Information at the Project on Government Oversight; and Gabe Cazares, Manager of Government Relations, National Federation of the Blind. 


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MINORITY VIEWS 

The Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2020 

provides $3,972,000,000, which is $164,228,000 or 4.3 percent 

above the Fiscal Year 2019 enacted level. Appropriations Committee Republicans opposed the bill when it was considered by the 

Full Committee. 

Not only are Committee Republicans concerned about the funding provided in this bill, we object to the unrealistic topline discretionary funding level the Majority has proposed, which does not 

have bipartisan, bicameral consensus. Lack of an agreement could 

potentially lead to a Presidential veto, a government shutdown, 

and devastating sequestration cuts, including to the operations of 

the Legislative Branch. 

During Full Committee consideration, Committee Republicans 

supported an amendment to drive down the spending level in the 

bill. This would have been a small step to show the American people that Congress is leading by example to reduce Federal spending, and it is unfortunate that our colleagues did not support this 

amendment. 

We are also disappointed that the Majority party decided to include a controversial immigration policy rider in a bill that historically has been supported in a bipartisan manner. We intend to 

work with our colleagues to remove provisions that could prevent 

the bill from being signed into law. 

We must come together with our colleagues in the Senate and 

the Administration to find common ground on funding levels and 

policy matters. It is our responsibility as elected representatives to 

ensure that appropriations bills are enacted. 

Finally, we would like to thank the Chairman of the Subcommittee for his cooperation throughout the development of the 

bill. The Subcommittee held eleven public hearings, one of which 

was held with members of the public, to provide them the opportunity to advocate for specific outcomes in the bill. We appreciate 

that the Chairman conducted this open and transparent process 

and was responsive to the Minority party’s concerns. 

KAY GRANGER. 

JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER. 

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