Informal eateries and food vendors appeared in the Capitol in the 1800s, arising from the need Members of Congress had for meals, snacks, and beverages during long and unpredictable legislative workdays. For many years, this need was especially great because dining options in the surrounding Capitol Hill neighborhoods were limited. Efficiency has been a primary goal for the House and Senate restaurants from their inception through the current day, as this helps facilitate legislative and representational work. The House and Senate soon began to exercise some degree of oversight over these eateries, which were typically run by individuals. By the middle of the nineteenth century, each chamber operated its own restaurants. As Congress grew, and as House and Senate office buildings were added to the Capitol complex, additional eateries became incorporated into the restaurant systems. Each chamber today retains oversight over its own restaurants, but the House and the Senate each utilize private food service contractors to manage the day-to-day operations in their restaurants. The history of how the restaurant systems were incorporated into congressional entities, and how they later split off into private entities, helps explain the unique arrangements the restaurants still maintain with House and Senate committees and other congressional offices. Over time, many of the challenges facing the restaurant systems have remained similar, including concerns about restaurant finances, facilities, food services provided, and employee wages and benefits. Because the House and Senate restaurants operate within a unique congressional environment, information particular to their history may be useful for discussions about their current and future operations. On-site dining at the Capitol quickly became desirable, if not a necessity, for Members of Congress working in Washington, DC, while it transformed into the nation's capital city. Historical records from 1828 indicate that prepared food was available for sale by private restauranteurs in the Capitol while Congress was in session, and the sale of these refreshments was supervised by the Commissioner of Public Buildings, as instructed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. Around the 1830s or 1840s, separate eating establishments were established for each chamber, and this operational division continues today. By the early 1900s, quicker dining options, like lunch counter service, were being introduced in the House and Senate restaurants to meet the needs of busy Members, staff, and visitors. As Congress grew, demands for additional restaurant space were met with periodic renovations and expansions or the creation of new dining facilities. When Congress agreed to build an extension of the east central front of the Capitol in 1955, the plans incorporated a new private dining room for Representatives and one for Senators, which opened in January 1962. New cafeterias and dining facilities were also built into the plans for each House and Senate office building as it was constructed. Carryout food service was first made available in both Cannon and Longworth House Office Buildings in early 1953 to help alleviate continued crowding during peak lunch hours and to accommodate the need for fast dining options. Table 1 displays the congressional entities that have been involved in House restaurant management. Independent restauranteurs provided the earliest dining for the House, and decisions related to the restaurants during the 1800s were made, at different times, by the Speaker of the House, the Commissioner of Public Buildings, the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, and the Committee on Accounts. The restauranteur was able to set menu prices and keep any profits made from sales, but he was required to pay the House a flat fee for "the privilege of keeping the restaurant of the House." As part of the Capitol facilities, the additional resources required to run the restaurants, like coal, gas, and, electricity, were provided by Congress, despite the objection of some Members. The use of Capitol space to house the restaurants may help explain why the Speaker charged the Commissioner of Public Buildings to oversee the other aspects of restaurant administration in 1828, and granted the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) similar authority from 1940-1971. Today, the AOC still oversees the general maintenance of the House restaurant facilities. As the number of Members and staff in the House grew, so did the expectations for its restaurants. From 1921 to 1947, the House restaurants were under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Accounts, and, since 1947, the restaurants have generally been under the jurisdiction of the Committee on House Administration. The growth of congressional operations, as well as the specialized nature of restaurant management, led the House to create the Select Committee on the House Restaurant, which oversaw the restaurant system from July 1969 through 1974. Around the turn of the twentieth century, a series of problems with the House restaurant led to calls for greater dining oversight, with some advocating that the House fully take over and operate its own dining services. In 1904, the House rejected the idea of running its own restaurants, but other attempts to improve the restaurants faltered, and by 1921, the private restauranteur was removed and the restaurant was operated by the Committee on Accounts. Many of the complaints during this era included issues with the House dining facilities, noting that they were too small, dirty, and lacked the modern amenities needed to operate efficiently. To address these concerns, the House dining room became exclusively for use by Members of the House, an additional dining room opened in 1908 with the completion of the Cannon House Office Building, and the Speaker authorized a full restaurant renovation in 1911. Despite the improved facilities, food and management problems persisted. The restaurant manager was unable to turn a profit and customers lamented the "marked deterioration in service and quality of food" from changes he initiated to recoup lost income. Some observers thought that the financial troubles stemmed from the ban of liquor sales in the restaurant, which were "formerly its main source of revenue." Others believed that the restaurant struggled before the ban was in place, noting that "Terrapin Tom" Murray, who served as House restauranteur from 1892 to 1897, "was extremely popular with his customers and ruined himself financially trying to conduct the place according to the suggestions he received." When the Committee on Accounts fully assumed oversight and executive management responsibilities for the House restaurants in 1921, funds for employee salaries and other expenses not fully defrayed by restaurant profits were paid out of the contingent fund of the House. Some Members worried that the House had undertaken a venture that could never be profitable and would cost the government money. After the House took over the operation of its restaurants, food quality did apparently improve; one newspaper claimed, "If it is true that 'men fight on their stomachs,' then good legislation ought to result from the present session because special care has been taken that the members shall be well fed and satisfactorily fed." Several new dining options became available to serve Members, staff, and visitors in the Capitol and in the House office buildings by the mid-twentieth century, yet these additional facilities did not adequately meet the needs of the House. During the 84 th Congress (1955-1956), the Committee on House Administration established a Special Subcommittee on the House Restaurant to study restaurant space needs. The subcommittee recommended an extension to the east central front of the Capitol, in which a new private dining room for House Members (and a separate one for Senators) opened during January 1962. The House restaurant system, overall, struggled to break even. Many of the financial problems were tied to the restaurants' operating hours, which often extended beyond the times the House was in session. As a result, dining revenues were not sufficient to cover the labor costs associated with keeping the restaurants open. Some attempts to improve restaurant finances involved menu price increases, yet these were generally not enough to offset the increases in costs. Those familiar with the restaurants noted that House restaurant workers were paid higher wages than workers in comparable private restaurants, although some Members maintained that restaurant workers were still paid too little. House restaurant finances were particularly impacted by measures that affected the wages and benefits of House employees. Often, the smaller eateries, like the coffee shops, carry-outs, and vending machines, and catering services, would generate revenue for the House restaurant system, but not enough to offset losses from other facilities in the system. Even when the restaurants did turn a profit, some news accounts suggested that the House restaurant system was propped up through taxpayer subsidies. Table 2 displays the congressional entities that have been involved with Senate restaurant management. The Hole in the Wall, also known as the Senate Club, was the first restaurant in the Senate, set up in a small, circular room accessible through the old Senate Post Office. It began as an informal eatery sometime before the mid-1830s, where the Sergeant at Arms would bring in food made at home by his wife to serve as luncheon fare. At some point before it closed in 1857, expenses related to the Hole in the Wall were paid for out of the Senate contingency fund. A newspaper article from 1881 stated that the president pro tempore would review applicants for new Senate restaurant vendors and that "[u]nder the rules of the Senate the Vice President has control of the restaurant." The Standing Rules of the Senate from 1884 indicate that the Senate Committee on Rules was responsible for the Senate restaurant as part of the committee's broader role in regulating the properties on the Senate side of the Capitol. That year, the Senate also adopted a more comprehensive set of rules for the Senate facilities, stating that the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, under the direction of the Presiding Officer, would enforce any related directives made by the Committee on Rules. Beginning September 15, 1942, a joint resolution agreed to by Congress transferred Senate restaurant management from the Committee on Rules to the AOC, although the committee still retained the right to approve general policies made by the Architect and the ability to regain its jurisdiction over the restaurants if desired. On July 18, 1947, the Committee on Rules and Administration adopted a resolution to regain jurisdiction over the Senate restaurants.