Legislative Branch: FY2019 Appropriations
Released: 2018-11-13T00:00:00

FY2019 Consideration: Overview of Actions

The first section of this report provides an overview of the consideration of FY2019 legislative branch appropriations, with subsections covering each action to date, including

the initial submission of the request on February 12, 2018; hearings held by the House Legislative Branch Subcommittee in April 2018 and hearings held by the Senate Legislative Branch Subcommittee in April and May 2018; House subcommittee markup held on April 26, 2018; House full committee markup on May 8, 2018; the May 24, 2018, inclusion of a modified text of the legislative branch bill ( H.R. 5894 ) in a print issued by the House Rules Committee; meetings of the House Rules Committee on June 5 and 6, 2018, to consider rules providing for the consideration of H.R. 5895 , which included legislative branch funding as Division B; House consideration of a special rule for H.R. 5895 on June 6, 2018, and consideration of a special rule for further consideration for H.R. 5895 on June 7, 2018; House floor consideration of H.R. 5895 on June 7 and 8, 2018, followed by House passage on June 8, 2018; Senate full committee markup and reporting of its version of the legislative branch appropriations bill ( S. 3071 ) on June 14, 2018; Senate consideration of H.R. 5895 , beginning June 18, 2018, and the agreement to S.Amdt. 2910 , an amendment in the nature of a substitute, on June 18, 2018, followed by Senate passage of H.R. 5895 , as amended, on June 25, 2018; and conference report ( H.Rept. 115-929 ) agreed to by the Senate on September 12, 2018, by the House on September 13, 2018, and signed into law on September 21, 2018 ( P.L. 115-244 ; the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019).

It is followed by a section on prior year actions and funding, which contains a historical table and figure.

The report then provides an overview of the FY2019 budget requests of individual legislative branch agencies and entities.

Table 5 through Table 9 list enacted funding levels for FY2018 and the requested and House-passed, Senate-passed, and enacted levels for FY2019, while the Appendix lists House, Senate, and conference bills and reports; public law numbers; and enactment dates since FY1998.

Status of FY2019 Appropriations: Dates and Documents

Submission of FY2019 Budget Request on February 12, 2018

The Budget for Fiscal Year 2019 was submitted on February 12, 2018. It contains a request for $4.960 billion in new budget authority for legislative branch activities. By law, the legislative branch request is submitted to the President and included in the budget without change.

Timing of the FY2019 Budget Submission Prior to the Enactment of FY2018 Funding: Implications

In general, FY2019 legislative branch budget requests had already been developed and submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prior to the enactment of full-year funding for FY2018, which occurred on March 23, 2018.

Accounts in the Budget therefore include the following disclaimer:

Note.—A full-year 2018 appropriation for this account was not enacted at the time the budget was prepared; therefore, the budget assumes this account is operating under the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 (Division D of P.L. 115–56, as amended). The amounts included for 2018 reflect the annualized level provided by the continuing resolution.

Agency assessments for FY2019 may subsequently have been revised following the enactment of the FY2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act—for example, to account for items funded or not funded in that act. Subsequent discussions may vary from the levels or language included in the budget request due to this timing. For purposes of this report, however, FY2019 requested levels refer to the requested levels originally submitted unless otherwise noted.

Senate and House Hearings on the FY2019 Budget Requests

Table 2 lists the dates of hearings of the legislative branch subcommittees in April and May 2018. Prepared statements of witnesses were posted on the subcommittee websites.

House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch Markup

On April 26, 2018, the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch held a markup of the FY2019 bill. The subcommittee recommended $3.811 billion, a $133 million increase (+3.6%) from the comparable 2018 enacted level, not including Senate items, which are historically considered by the Senate and not included in the House bill.

No amendments were offered.

House Appropriations Committee Legislative Branch Markup

On May 8, 2018, the House Appropriations Committee met to mark up the FY2019 bill reported from its legislative branch subcommittee. The following amendments were considered:

a manager's amendment, offered by Chairman Yoder of Kansas, which was agreed to by voice vote, with technical and other changes, including (1) the repeal of authorizations for office space, office expenses, franking and printing privileges, and staff for former Speakers of the House; and (2) directing the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to hire an external contractor to conduct a House employee salary study; an amendment offered by Representative Wasserman Schultz of Florida, related to the House historical buildings revitalization trust fund, which was not agreed to; and an amendment offered by Representative Kilmer of Washington and Representative Cuellar of Texas, containing language expressing the sense of Congress that the Comptroller General should present an annual report on the fiscal state of the nation, which was withdrawn.

The bill, as amended, was reported out of committee by roll call vote of 47-0 ( H.R. 5894 , H.Rept. 115-696 ).

House Consideration of a Special Rule

On May 24, 2018, the text of H.R. 5894 was included in a print issued by the House Rules Committee entitled "Text of Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act 2019" (Committee Print 115-71, which also contained the text of H.R. 5895 and H.R. 5786 along with modifications). An announcement regarding the amendment process was issued.

The House Rules Committee met on June 5 and 6, 2018, to consider a special rule for the consideration of H.R. 5895 , which included legislative branch funding as Division B. The House Rules Committee met to consider a special rule providing for the further consideration of H.R. 5895 on June 7, 2018. A total of 33 proposed amendments to the legislative branch section of the bill were considered by the committee (including 9 that the committee considered late or late revised and 2 that were withdrawn). Seven amendments to Division B were made in order under the rule reported by the House Rules Committee ( H.Res. 918 , amendments printed in H.Rept. 115-712 ).

H.Res. 918 was agreed to in the House on June 6, 2018 (223-175, Roll N o. 235 ; see also H.Res. 923 ).

House Floor Consideration and Passage

The House proceeded to consideration of H.R. 5895 on June 7, 2018, and continued consideration on June 8. Of the seven amendments to Division B made in order by H.Res. 918 , six were offered and four were agreed to:

H.Amdt. 758 , agreed to by voice vote, increasing funding for the House Wounded Warrior Program by $250,000 (offset by a decrease in funding for the AOC's Capital Construction and Operations account); H.Amdt. 759 , agreed to by voice vote, increasing funding for the House Office of Employee Assistance by $500,000 (offset by a decrease in funding from the AOC's Capitol Grounds account); H.Amdt. 760 , agreed to by roll-call vote ( Roll No. 254 ), reestablishing a semiannual GAO financial review of obligated expenditures from the Independent Counsel; and H.Amdt. 762 , agreed to by voice vote, prohibiting funds made available in the bill from being used to purchase plastic drinking straws.

H.R. 5895 was passed in the House on June 8, 2018, by a vote of 212-179 ( Roll N o. 257 ).

Senate Appropriations Committee Legislative Branch Markup and Reporting

On June 14, 2018, the Senate Appropriations Committee met to mark up its version of the FY2019 bill. One amendment was agreed to via unanimous consent related to providing funds to pay interns in Senators' offices.

The committee recommended $3.367 billion, a $55.5 million increase from the FY2018 enacted level (+1.7%). This total does not include funding for House items, which are historically considered by the House. One amendment was offered as part of a manager's package, which was agreed to by unanimous consent, and the bill was ordered reported ( S. 3071 , S.Rept. 115-274 ).

Senate Floor Consideration and Passage

The Senate began its consideration of FY2019 legislative branch appropriations on June 18, 2018, as part of a "minibus" appropriations package that also included the text of the energy and water and military construction and veterans affairs appropriations bills. An amendment in the nature of a substitute ( S.Amdt. 2910 ) was made to the related House-passed appropriations bill ( H.R. 5895 ). Four amendments addressing the legislative branch portion of the bill were agreed to:

S.Amdt. 2953 , designating $250,000 for the Library of Congress's Surplus Books Program to promote the program and donations for it; S.Amdt. 3051 , designating $2,383,000 for the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project to continue digitization efforts for its collections, engage in outreach with veterans, and promote public access to the project; S.Amdt. 3053 , designating a maximum of $5,000 for the Architect of the Capitol to spend working with contractors to eliminate or reduce the use of plastic drinking straws in facilities under the Architect's care; and S.Amdt. 3057 , requiring that the Congressional Budget Office use at least $500,000 to improve the transparency of budgetary effects scoring and improve the availability and replicability of models and data.

H.R. 5895 , as amended, was passed in the Senate on June 25, 2018, by a vote of 86-5 (Rollcall Vote No. 139 Leg.).

Conference Report Agreed to and Enactment of Funding Law

On September 10, 2018, a conference report ( H.Rept. 115-929 ) was filed on H.R. 5895 , the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019.

The conference report was agreed to in the Senate on September 12 (92-5, Record Vote Number 207) and in the House the following day (377-20, Roll No. 399).

The President signed the bill on September 21 ( P.L. 115-244 ). It provides $4.836 billion for the legislative branch for FY2019 (Division B).

The FY2019 funding level represents an increase of $136.0 million (+2.9%) from the FY2018 level.

Funding in Prior Years: Brief Overview and Trends

Legislative Branch: Historic Percentage of Total Discretionary Budget Authority

The percentage of total discretionary budget authority provided to the legislative branch has remained relatively stable at approximately 0.4% since at least FY1976. The maximum level, 0.48%, was in FY1995, and the minimum, 0.31%, was in FY2009.

FY2018

FY2018 funding was provided in Division I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 ( P.L. 115-141 ), which was enacted on March 23, 2018. The $4.700 billion provided by the act represented an increase of $260.0 million (+5.9%) from the FY2017 enacted level.

In addition, P.L. 115-123 , enacted February 9, 2018, provided $14.0 million to the Government Accountability Office "for audits and investigations relating to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and the 2017 wildfires." (Title IX of Division B)

FY2017

FY2017 funding was provided in Division I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 ( P.L. 115-31 ), which was enacted on May 5, 2017. The $4.440 billion provided by the act represented a $77.0 million increase (+1.7%) from the FY2016 enacted level.

FY2016

FY2016 funding was provided in Division I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 ( P.L. 114-113 ), which was enacted on December 18, 2015. The $4.363 billion provided by the act represented a $63.0 million increase (+1.5%) from the FY2015 enacted level.

FY2015

FY2015 funding was provided in Division H of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 ( P.L. 113-235 ), which was enacted on December 16, 2014. The $4.300 billion provided by the act represented an increase of $41.7 million (+1.0%) from FY2014.

FY2014

Neither a legislative branch appropriations bill nor a continuing appropriations resolution (CR) containing FY2014 funding was enacted prior to the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1, 2013. A funding gap, which resulted in a partial government shutdown, ensued for 16 days. The funding gap was terminated by the enactment of a CR ( P.L. 113-46 ) on October 17, 2013. The CR provided funding through January 15, 2014. Following enactment of a temporary continuing resolution on January 15, 2014 ( P.L. 113-73 ), a consolidated appropriations bill was enacted on January 17 ( P.L. 113-76 ), providing $4.259 billion for the legislative branch for FY2014.

FY2013

FY2013 funding of approximately $4.061 billion was provided by P.L. 113-6 , which was signed into law on March 26, 2013. The act funded legislative branch accounts at the FY2012 enacted level, with some exceptions (also known as "anomalies"), not including across-the-board rescissions required by Section 3004 of P.L. 113-6 . Section 3004 was intended to eliminate any amount by which the new budget authority provided in the act exceeded the FY2013 discretionary spending limits in Section 251(c)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011 ( P.L. 112-25 ) and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ( P.L. 112-240 ). Subsequent to the enactment of P.L. 113-6 , OMB calculated that additional rescissions of 0.032% of security budget authority and 0.2% of nonsecurity budget authority would be required. The act did not alter the sequestration reductions implemented on March 1, which reduced most legislative branch accounts by 5.0%. The accompanying OMB report indicated a dollar amount of budget authority to be canceled in each account containing nonexempt funds.

FY2012 and Prior

Division G of the FY2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act ( P.L. 112-74 ) provided $4.307 billion for the legislative branch. This level was $236.9 million below (-5.2%) the FY2011 enacted level. P.L. 112-10 provided $4.543 billion for legislative branch operations in FY2011. This level represented a $125.1 million decrease from the $4.668 billion provided in the FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act ( P.L. 111-68 ) and the FY2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act ( P.L. 111-212 ). The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act provided $4.402 billion. In FY2009, an additional $25.0 million was provided for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. P.L. 111-32 , the FY2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act, also contained funding for a new Capitol Police radio system ($71.6 million) and additional funding for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ($2.0 million).

As seen in Table 3 , legislative branch funding decreased each year from FY2010 through FY2013. Funding did not exceed the FY2010 level until FY2018 (+0.7% in current dollars).

Figure 1 shows the same information graphically, while also demonstrating the division of budget authority across the legislative branch in FY2018.

Figure 2 shows the timing of legislative branch appropriations actions, including the issuance of House and Senate reports, bill passage, and enactment, from FY1996 through FY2019. It shows that fiscal year funding for the legislative branch has been determined

on or before October 1 six times during this period (FY1997, FY2000, FY2004, FY2006, FY2010, and FY2019); twice during the first month of the fiscal year (FY1998 and FY1999); twice in November (FY1996 and FY2002); six times in December (FY2001, FY2005, FY2008, FY2012, FY2015, and FY2016); and eight times in the next calendar year (FY2003, FY2007, FY2009, FY2011, FY2013, FY2014, FY2017, and FY2018).

FY2017 funding, enacted on May 5, 2017, represented the latest date of enactment during this period.

FY2019 funding, enacted on September 21, was the first time funding had been enacted at or before the start of the fiscal year since the enactment of FY2010 funding.

FY2019 Legislative Branch Funding Issues

The following sections discuss the various legislative branch accounts.

During consideration of the legislative branch bills, the House and Senate conform to a "longstanding practice under which each body of Congress determines its own housekeeping requirements and the other concurs without intervention."

As stated above, FY2019 legislative branch budget requests were generally developed and submitted to OMB prior to the determination of FY2018 funding, which was enacted on March 23, 2018.

Senate

Overall Funding

The Senate requested $990.1 million for FY2019, a 7.6% increase over the $919.9 million provided in FY2018. The Senate-passed bill ( H.R. 5895 , as amended) would have provided $933.5 million, a $13.5 million increase from the FY2018 enacted level (+1.5%). The FY2019 law provided $934.8 million for the Senate, a $14.9 million increase from the FY2018 enacted level (+1.6%).

Additional information on the Senate account is presented in Table 6 .

Senate Committee Funding

Appropriations for Senate committees are contained in two accounts.

The inquiries and investigations account contains funds for all Senate committees except Appropriations. The Senate requested $135.8 million, an increase of $2.5 million (+1.9%) from the $133.3 million provided in FY2018. The Senate-passed bill and FY2019 act continued the FY2018 level. The Committee on Appropriations account contains funds for the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Senate-requested level of $15.5 million, which was provided in the FY2019 act, represents an increase of $354,000 (+2.3%) from the $15.1 million provided each year since FY2015.

Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account15

The Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA) provides each Senator with funds to administer an office. It consists of an administrative and clerical assistance allowance, a legislative assistance allowance, and an official office expense allowance. The funds may be used for any category of expenses, subject to limitations on official mail.

The Senate requested $474.6 million, $50.6 million above (+11.9%) the $424.0 million provided in FY2018. The FY2019 Senate-passed and enacted level of $429.0 million represents an increase of $5 million (+1.2%). The $5 million was added by an amendment at the Senate Appropriations Committee markup for the purpose of providing compensation to interns working in Senators' offices.

Administrative Provisions

The Senate-passed bill contained the following three administrative provisions:

1. One provision, which was first included in FY2016, would require amounts remaining in the Senators' Official Personnel and Expense Account (SOPOEA) to be used for deficit reduction or to reduce the federal debt. 2. One provision would continue the freeze on Member salaries at the 2009 level. Member salaries are funded in a permanent appropriations account, and the legislative branch bill does not contain language funding or increasing Member pay. A provision prohibiting the automatic Member pay adjustments could be included in any bill, or be introduced as a separate bill. 3. One provision would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require all designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under the act to be filed directly with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

The SOPOEA and FEC provisions were included in the FY2019 act as administrative provisions, along with a provision extending an authorization for committee expenditures. The provision freezing Member salaries was included in the act as a general provision (§212).

The conference report also provided for two studies regarding Senate administrative operations. First, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was directed to review the current operations of the Senate Employees' Child Care Center (SECCC). Second, the Secretary of the Senate was directed to carry out a study of salaries and benefits for Senate personal office and committee staff.

House of Representatives

Overall Funding

The House requested $1.257 billion for FY2019, a 4.7% increase from the FY2018 enacted level of $1.199 billion. The House-passed bill and the act included $1.233 billion, an increase of $32.7 million (+2.7%) over FY2018.

Additional information on headings in the House of Representatives account is presented in Table 7 .

House Committee Funding

Funding for House committees is contained in the appropriation heading "committee employees," which typically comprises two subheadings.

The first subheading contains funds for personnel and nonpersonnel expenses of House committees, except the Appropriations Committee, as authorized by the House in a committee expense resolution. The House requested $126.9 million (-0.1%), a slight decrease from the FY2018 and FY2017 enacted level and an increase of 2.4% from the level provided in FY2014, FY2015, and FY2016. The House-passed and enacted level of $127.9 million provides an increase of $850,000 (+0.7%) over the level provided in FY2018 and FY2017.

The second subheading contained funds for the personnel and nonpersonnel expenses of the Committee on Appropriations. The House-passed and enacted level is $23.1 million (-0.5%), a slight decrease from the level provided in FY2017 and FY2018.

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

The House-reported version of H.R. 5894 would have provided $230,000 for FY2019 for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The commission was established in the 110 th Congress ( H.Res. 1451 , agreed to September 24, 2008) and continued in the House rules packages adopted for subsequent Congresses. Following a point of order during consideration of H.R. 5895 in the House, this funding provision was not included in the FY2019 House-passed bill or in the act.

Members' Representational Allowance20

The Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) is available to support Members in their official and representational duties.

The House-requested level of $573.6 million, also included in the House-passed bill and the act, represents an increase of $10.998 million (+2.0%) from the level provided in FY2017 and FY2018.

Administrative Provisions

The House requested the continuation of several administrative provisions from prior years related to

1. unexpended balances from the MRA; 2. limiting amounts available from the MRA for leased vehicles; and 3. limiting or prohibiting the delivery of copies of bills and resolutions, the Congressional Record , the U.S. Code , the Statement of Disbursements , the Daily Calendar , and the Congressional Pictorial Directory .

The House-passed bill contained these provisions, as well as additional administrative provisions related to

1. repealing the authorizations for former Speakers' office space, office expenses, franking and printing privileges, and staff; 2. prohibiting a cost-of-living adjustment to the salaries of Members of Congress in FY2019; and 3. authorizing transfer authority among House leadership offices.

All of these provisions were included in the act, along with an administrative provision establishing an allowance for interns in Member offices (up to $20,000 per office during any calendar year; $8.8 million was provided in the FY2019 act). The provision freezing Member salaries was included in the act as a general provision (§212).

Another requested provision, amending the House Services Revolving Fund to allow for the collection of a fee from vendors for failure to abide by and maintain House security policies, had previously been included in the FY2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The House also requested additional administrative provisions that were not included in the House-passed or the enacted versions of the bill

limiting or prohibiting the delivery of copies of the President's budget and the Federal Register ; and relating to the provision of cybersecurity assistance to the House by other federal entities.

Support Agency Funding

U.S. Capitol Police (USCP)

The U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) are responsible for the security of the Capitol Complex, including, for example, the U.S. Capitol, the House and Senate office buildings, the U.S. Botanic Garden, and the Library of Congress buildings and adjacent grounds.

The FY2018 level was $426.5 million. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following:

requested: $456.4 million (+7.0%) House-passed: $456.4 million (+7.0%) Senate-passed: $453.0 million (+6.2%) enacted: $456.3 million (+7.0%)

Additional information on the USCP is presented in Table 8 .

Appropriations for the police are contained in two accounts—a salaries account and a general expenses account.

1. Salaries—the Capitol Police requested, and the House-passed bill and FY2019 act included, $374.8 million for salaries, an increase of $23.1 million (+6.6%) from the $351.7 million provided in FY2018. The Senate-passed bill would have provided $371.5 million, an increase of $19.8 million (+5.6%) from the FY2018 level. 2. General Expenses—the Capitol Police requested, and the House- and Senate-passed bills would have provided, $81.55 million for general expenses, an increase of $6.75 million (+9.0%) from the $74.8 million provided in FY2018. The FY2019 act provides $81.50 million, an increase of $6.70 million (+8.96%).

Another appropriation relating to the Capitol Police appears within the Architect of the Capitol account for Capitol Police buildings and grounds. The FY2018 level was $34.2 million. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following:

requested: $59.3 million (+73.2%) House-passed: $52.5 million (+53.4%) Senate-passed: $54.7 million (+59.7%) enacted: $57.7 million (+68.5%)

Office of Compliance

The Office of Compliance is an independent and nonpartisan agency within the legislative branch. It was established to administer and enforce the Congressional Accountability Act, which was enacted in 1995. The act applies various employment and workplace safety laws to Congress and certain legislative branch entities.

The Office of Compliance requested $4.6 million for FY2019, $406,000 (-8.2%) less than the FY2018 enacted level. As with all legislative branch requests, however, the Office of Compliance request was developed prior to the enactment of the FY2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The FY2018 act provided $4.96 million, an increase of $1.0 million (+25.3%) from the $3.96 million provided each year since FY2015. The increased funding followed heightened attention beginning in late 2017 to sexual harassment policies in Congress and discussions related to potential future changes to the Congressional Accountability Act.

The House-passed bill would have provided $5.4 million (+9.1%). The Senate-passed level of $6.3 million (+27.7%) was included in the FY2019 act.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

CBO is a nonpartisan congressional agency created to provide objective economic and budgetary analysis to Congress. CBO cost estimates are required for any measure reported by a regular or conference committee that may affect revenues or expenditures.

The FY2018 level was $49.95 million. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following:

requested: $50.7 million (+1.6%) House-passed: $50.7 million (+1.6%) Senate-passed: $50.3 million (+0.7%) enacted: $50.7 million (+1.6%)

The FY2019 act also states that the Director shall use not less than $500,000 to increase transparency of estimates and increase the availability of models, economic assumptions, and data (see also S.Amdt. 3057 ).

Administrative Provisions

CBO requested two administrative provisions, which would

1. apply certain provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to CBO, which were enacted in the FY2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act, but included in the FY2019 budget request due to timing; and 2. authorize CBO to reimburse new employees for relocation expenses.

The House-passed bill included the relocation expense reimbursement language. The Senate-passed bill and the FY2019 act did not include either provision.

Architect of the Capitol (AOC)

The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the U.S. Capitol Complex, which includes the Capitol and its grounds, House and Senate office buildings, Library of Congress buildings and grounds, Capitol Power Plant, Botanic Garden, Capitol Visitor Center, and Capitol Police buildings and grounds. The Architect is responsible for the Supreme Court buildings and grounds, but appropriations for their expenses are not contained in the legislative branch appropriations bill.

The FY2018 level was $712.1 million. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following:

requested: $768.4 million (+7.9%) House-passed: $721.8 million (+1.4%) Senate-passed: $701.1 million (-1.5%) enacted: $733.7 million (+3.0%)

Operations of the Architect are funded in the following 10 accounts: capital construction and operations, Capitol building, Capitol grounds, Senate office buildings, House office buildings, Capitol Power Plant, Library buildings and grounds, Capitol Police buildings and grounds, Capitol Visitor Center, and Botanic Garden. Additional funding information on the individual AOC accounts is presented in Table 9 .

Administrative Provisions

The AOC also requested four administrative provisions:

1. a provision prohibiting the use of funds for bonuses for contractors behind schedule or over budget, first included in appropriations acts in FY2015; 2. a provision prohibiting scrims containing photographs of building facades during restoration or construction projects performed by the Architect of the Capitol, first included in FY2015; 3. a provision related to AOC's small purchase contracting authority, which would increase the threshold from $100,000 to $150,000; and 4. a provision amending authority related to AOC's Office of Security Programs, including interagency transfers of appropriations.

The House-passed bill contained these four provisions, with a modification to the small purchase contracting authority that would raise the threshold from $100,000 to $250,000. The House-passed bill also contained two other administrative provisions:

1. a provision that would authorize the AOC to enter into a joint agency agreement to provide for interagency employee detailees; and 2. a provision that would permit the AOC to accept payment on the office's behalf from nonfederal sources for travel and related expenses for meetings related to employees' duties.

The Senate-passed bill contained the first two administrative provisions requested by the AOC, pertaining to the use of funds for bonuses and the prohibition of scrims.

The FY2019 act contained all six of these administrative provisions.

Library of Congress (LOC)

The Library of Congress serves simultaneously as Congress's parliamentary library and the de facto national library of the United States. Its broader services to the nation include the acquisition, maintenance, and preservation of a collection of more than 164 million items in various formats; hosting nearly 1.8 million visitors annually; service to the general public and scholarly and library communities; administration of U.S. copyright laws by its Copyright Office; and administration of a national program to provide reading material to the blind and physically handicapped. Its direct services to Congress include the provision of legal research and law-related services by the Law Library of Congress, and a broad range of activities by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), including in-depth and nonpartisan public policy research, analysis, and legislative assistance for Members and committees and their staff; congressional staff training; information and statistics retrieval; and continuing legal education for Members of both chambers and congressional staff.

The FY2018 level was $669.9 million. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following:

requested: $672.7 million (+0.4%) House-passed: $709.9 million (+6.0%) Senate-passed: $687.4 million (+2.6%) enacted: $696.1 million (+3.9%)

These figures do not include additional authority to spend receipts. As stated above, the budget request levels were developed prior to the enactment of full-year appropriations for FY2018.

The FY2019 budget contains four headings:

1. Salaries and expenses —The FY2018 level was $470.7 million, not including authority to spend receipts ($6.35 million in FY2018, $6.0 million in FY2019). In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following: requested: $469.2 million (-0.3%) House-passed: $487.8 million (+3.6%) Senate-passed: $468.4 million (-0.5%) enacted: $474.1 million (+0.7%) 2. Copyright Office —The FY2018 level was $28.4 million, not including authority to spend receipts and prior year unobligated balances ($43.6 million in FY2018 and $49.8 million in FY2019). In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following: requested: $38.6 million (+35.9%) House-passed: $43.6 million (+53.2%) Senate-passed: $42.6 million (+49.9%) enacted: $43.6 million (+53.2%) 3. Congressional Research Service —The FY2018 level was $119.3 million. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following: requested: $113.6 million (-4.7%) House-passed: $125.7 million (+5.4%) Senate-passed: $123.8 million (+3.8%) enacted: $125.7 million (+5.4%) 4. Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped —The FY2018 level was $51.5 million. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following: requested: $51.2 million (-0.6%) House-passed: $52.8 million (+2.5%) Senate-passed: $52.5 million (+2.0%) enacted: $52.8 million (+2.5%)

The Architect's budget also contains funds for the Library buildings and grounds . In FY2018, $74.9 million was provided. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following:

requested: $113.4 million (+51.5%) House-passed: $70.2 million (-6.2%) Senate-passed: $64.1 million (-14.4%) enacted: $68.5 million (-8.5%)

Administrative Provisions

The Library requested

1. authority to obligate funds for reimbursable and revolving fund activities ($194.6 million); and 2. language related to the operations of the Copyright Office in the event of a lapse in annual appropriations.

The House- and Senate-passed bills and the FY2019 act included the reimbursable and revolving fund language, but not the Copyright Office language.

Government Publishing Office (GPO)29

The FY2019 enacted level of $117.0 million is equivalent to the funding requested by GPO and included in the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of the FY2019 bill. The level is $68,000 (-0.1%) less than the level provided in FY2018 and FY2017.

GPO's budget authority is contained in three accounts:

1. Congressional publishing—The FY2019 enacted level of $79.0 million (a decrease of $528,000, or -0.7%, from FY2018) is equivalent to the funding requested by GPO and included in the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of the FY2019 bill. 2. Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents (salaries and expenses)—The FY2019 enacted level of $32.0 million (an increase of $3.0 million, or +10.3%, from FY2018) is equivalent to the funding requested by GPO and included in the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of the FY2019 bill. 3. Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund —The FY2019 enacted level of $6.0 million (a decrease of $2.5 million, or -29.7%, from FY2018) is equivalent to the funding requested by GPO and included in the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of the FY2019 bill.

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

GAO responds to requests for studies of federal government programs and expenditures. GAO may also initiate its own work.

The FY2018 level was $578.9 million. In comparison, levels considered for FY2019 include the following:

requested: $616.1 million (+6.4%) House-passed: $578.9 million (0.0%) Senate-passed: $589.8 million (+1.9%) enacted: $589.8 million (+1.9%)

These levels do not include offsetting collections ($23.8 million in FY2018; $24.2 million in the request; $23.8 million in the House-passed bill; and $35.9 million in the Senate-passed bill and law).

Open World Leadership Center

The Open World Leadership Center administers a program that supports democratic changes in other countries by inviting their leaders to observe democracy and free enterprise in the United States. The first program was authorized by Congress in 1999 to support the relationship between Russia and the United States. The program encouraged young federal and local Russian leaders to visit the United States and observe its government and society.

Established at the Library of Congress as the Center for Russian Leadership Development in 2000, the center was renamed the Open World Leadership Center in 2003, when the program was expanded to include specified additional countries. In 2004, Congress further extended the program's eligibility to other countries designated by the center's board of trustees, subject to congressional consideration. The center is housed in the Library and receives services from the Library through an interagency agreement.

The legislative branch bills have included a provision since FY2016, also contained in the FY2019 act, stating

That funds made available to support Russian participants shall only be used for those engaging in free market development, humanitarian activities, and civic engagement, and shall not be used for officials of the central government of Russia.

Open World requested $5.8 million for FY2019, an increase of $200,000 (+3.6%). The FY2019 act included the House-passed and Senate-passed level of $5.6 million, the same as the enacted level for FY2018, FY2017, and FY2016.

The location and future of Open World, attempts to assess its effectiveness, and its inclusion in the legislative branch budget have been discussed at appropriations hearings and in report language for more than a decade. The funding level for Open World has also varied greatly during this period. For additional discussion, see the "Prior Year Discussion of Location and Funding of Open World" section in CRS Report R44899, Legislative Branch: FY2018 Appropriations , by Ida A. Brudnick.

John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development

The center was created by Congress in 1988 to encourage public service by congressional staff through training and development programs. The FY2019 act provides $430,000, which is approximately the same level provided since FY2006.

General Provisions

As in past years, Congress considered a number of general provisions related to the legislative branch. These provisions and their status are listed in Table 4 .

Introduction to Summary Tables and Appendix

Table 5 through Table 9 provide information on funding levels for the legislative branch overall, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Capitol Police, and the Architect of the Capitol.

The tables are followed by an Appendix , which lists House, Senate, and conference bills and reports; public law numbers; and enactment dates since FY1998.

Appendix. Fiscal Year Information and Resources