Article I of the Constitution, in Sections 2 and 3, authorizes the House of Representatives and Senate to choose their own officers. The number of such congressional support personnel, as well as their specific responsibilities, is left to the discretion of each chamber. Over time, both chambers have authorized a number of offices to assist them, collectively or individually, in their work. These offices perform legislative, administrative, financial, and ceremonial functions. They also ensure the protection of Congress and preserve its institutional memory. The roles of House support offices have been established by House Rules, statute, and custom. They may also be shaped by congressional authorities with oversight, funding, or appointing responsibility for the offices. The House Administration Committee, for example, has jurisdiction over legislation pertaining to services to the House. The committee is also charged with providing policy direction for the Inspector General and oversight of the Clerk, Sergeant at Arms, Chief Administrative Officer, and the Inspector General. The committee may approve a reorganization of these offices. It also frequently distributes "Dear Colleague" letters to communicate its response to internal operational issues relating to these and other support offices. The House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, through its consideration of the annual spending measure for the legislative branch, also shapes the chamber's internal operations. Guidance from the committee may be found in hearings, the House report accompanying the legislative branch appropriations bill, the bill text, and the conference committee report. The Speaker, as the appointing authority for some of these offices and as a member of the House Office Building Commission, also has influence over their work. This report is an overview of the relationships among, and different roles and functions performed by, the "daily operations" offices in the U.S. House of Representatives. The organizational authorities are also addressed. Certain entities shared with the Senate, like the legislative support agencies, are included in this report, although it focuses whenever possible on their service to the House. Offices with responsibilities in more than one area are addressed in successive sections. More detailed information on select offices is available in additional Congressional Research Service products identified throughout. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and their staff have numerous avenues for assistance in legislative matters. Support offices are available to participate in all stages of the legislative process, from background research on public policy issues, to the drafting of potential bills, through the submission, consideration, and evaluation of proposed legislation. The three legislative branch agencies, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), serve both chambers. Other legislative support offices are dedicated mainly to serving the House of Representatives. Three agencies are dedicated to serving the legislative branch in legislative, representational, and oversight matters: the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). These agencies each assist committees, Members of both chambers, and their staff by providing nonpartisan research and analysis. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is the public policy research arm of Congress. It provides nonpartisan, confidential analysis exclusively for Members of Congress. CRS staff conduct briefings on specific policy issues, arrange regular educational seminars on a variety of legislative topics, produce reports on current legislative issues, deliver expert testimony before congressional committees, and prepare customized written analyses in response to specific inquiries. Originally established as the Legislative Reference Service in 1914, the Congressional Research Service was renamed and given expanded research and analytic duties with the passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. The Librarian of Congress, after consultation with the Joint Committee on the Library, appoints the director of CRS. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provides estimates of the costs of bills, joint resolutions, and amendments. These estimates are required for any measure reported by a regular or conference committee that may vary revenues or expenditures, although estimates may be issued at other stages of the legislative process upon request. CBO issues the projected effect of the measure for the current and four ensuing fiscal years. Since passage of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, CBO has also been charged with estimating the impact of these reported measures on state and local governments for the same time period. CBO also provides estimates of the nation's spending and revenue over the next 10 years; an analysis of the President's annual budget proposal; Monthly Budget Reviews , which track the monthly status of outlays, receipts, and the deficit or surplus throughout the year; studies requested by congressional committees and subcommittees; and, resources permitting, requests from individual Members. Along with the House and Senate Budget Committees, CBO was established as part of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Its director is appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate, acting jointly, after consideration of recommendations made by the House and Senate Budget Committees. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), formerly known as the General Accounting Office, was originally established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. GAO is directed by the Comptroller General of the United States, who is appointed for a 15-year term by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. GAO assists in congressional oversight by evaluating the performance of government policies and programs. GAO also conducts financial and management audits and makes recommendations for corrective legislation and actions. Its Office of Special Investigations examines allegations of fraud, misconduct, and waste. Some GAO work is prescribed in mandates, including statutes, congressional resolutions, conference reports, and committee reports. Requests also come from the congressional leadership, committee chairs and ranking minority Members, and only in rare instances, individual Members, with priority in those cases going to Members on a committee of jurisdiction. GAO informs these requesters within 10 days whether or not the request can be undertaken. GAO may also initiate its own work. If a congressional request results in a written report, the requester may ask that its public release be restricted for 30 calendar days after issuance. Restrictions may be lifted, after consultation with the requester, if related legislation is under consideration in either chamber. The Clerk of the House is an elected officer of the House who performs legislative, administrative, educational, and preservation duties. A Clerk has been elected at the start of each Congress since 1789. The Committee on House Administration provides oversight for this office. Nine offices assist the Clerk in areas currently under the Clerk's jurisdiction. Two of these offices are directly involved in the daily legislative operations of the House. The first, the Office of Legislative Operations, assists the Clerk in fulfilling duties related to the handling of House documents. These include a mandate that the Clerk "attest and affix the seal of the House to all writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by order of the House and certify the passage of all bills and joint resolutions," and present House-originated bills and Joint Resolutions to the President. Within this office are five clerks: bill clerks receive introduced bills and amendments; enrolling clerks prepare the official engrossed copy of House-passed bills, transmit messages to the Senate regarding approved legislation, and prepare the official enrolled copy of any House-originated bill or resolution; journal clerks compile the minutes of proceedings in the House, fulfilling the requirement in Article I, Section V of the Constitution that "each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings"; reading clerks read all of the bills, resolutions, and amendments before the House; and the tally clerks operate the electronic roll call voting system. Another legislative function under the Clerk's direction is the production of the Congressional Record and supervision of the official reporters, who have provided verbatim transcripts of congressional debate for this publication since 1873. The House Office of the Legislative Counsel provides impartial and confidential drafting services to all Members and committee offices. The office is charged with assisting clients "in the achievement of a clear, faithful, and coherent expression of legislative policies" and is prohibited from advocating any position. With the exception of amendments made in order by the Rules Committee under special rules, there is no general requirement that Members utilize this service for their drafting needs. The office may be involved in several stages of the legislative process. It may assist conference committee managers in the drafting of a bill or the accompanying explanatory statement. It also aids House committees and subcommittees in drafting bills. Finally, the office may assist individual Members in drafting bills and amendments, subject to time constraints. Originally established as the Legislative Drafting Service with the Revenue Act of 1918, the office currently operates under provisions set forth in the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. The office is headed by the Legislative Counsel of the House, who is appointed by the Speaker. The Office of the Parliamentarian provides advice on the interpretation of House Rules and precedents. A parliamentarian has been appointed by the Speaker each Congress since 1927. The position has remained strictly nonpartisan, as evidenced by the long tenures of the occupants: Lewis Deschler, the first parliamentarian, served from 1928-1974; William Holmes Brown, 1974-1994; Charles W. Johnson, III, 1994-2004; John V. Sullivan, 2004-2012; and Thomas J. Wickham Jr., 2012-present. The Speaker, or other designated presiding officer, is responsible for ruling on questions of order in the House. The parliamentarian or an assistant is always present when the House or Committee of the Whole is in session, ready to assist in determining appropriate rulings and responses. The parliamentarian sits on the top tier of the House dais, located to the presiding officer's right. The Rules of the House are not self-enforcing, and any Member alleging a violation must rise to make a point of order and insist upon enforcement. Although no requirement exists that the House follows the advice of the parliamentarian, and Members may appeal certain types of rulings, in most cases the parliamentarian's advice is considered definitive.