On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, the full House Appropriations Committee favorably (32-26) reported the FY 2023 Legislative Branch Subcommittee Bill (with amendments) and committee report. They are packed with good government reforms and significant investments in Congress’s capacity to legislate, conduct oversight, serve constituents, and more.

We and our civil society colleagues made recommendations of dozens of items to include — see our FY 2023 Appropriations requests, FY 2023 appropriations testimony, and report on updating House Rules for the 117th Congress — a number of which made it into the bill and report. We are deeply appreciative of Chair Ryan, Ranking Member Herrera Beutler, and members of the committee for their consideration of our requests. For resources on prior Legislative Branch Appropriations bills, go here.

We already have published summaries of what the House included in its FY 2023 Leg Branch Approps bill text, and you can see the changes in the appropriations line items here. 

As the Senate considers what to include in its Legislative Branch Subcommittee bill and report, we highlight a few provisions in the House bill that the Senate should consider for itself. They include:

• Creation of new offices to enhance diversity and inclusion, specifically the creation of the House Intern Resource Office and the Office of Translation Services.
• Strong investments in staff benefits and care, specifically child care, emergency care (which now include custodial and contract workers), and student loan repayments.
• Heightened funding for technology and modernization projects, specifically the congressional staff directory, collaborative legislative drafting tools, standardization of legislative documents, and separate technology modernization fund. 

Although we were unable to include everything below, you can find a complete list of FY 2023 Legislative Branch Appropriations report items in a comprehensive spreadsheet. The following are some of the highlights. 

Appropriations Spreadsheet

To help keep track of all items requested by the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, we built a public spreadsheet that maintains a catalog of items, broken down by title, the entity responsible, the timeline for completion, and the due date. See the spreadsheet here and below:

Quick List of Items Included in Approps 

Our summary of items below is broken out into the following categories:

Staff Capacity, Salaries, and Benefits

• Congressional Staff Salaries (MRA increase)
• House Interns
• House Intern Resource Office
• Housing of U.S. House of Representatives Interns
• Workforce Development
• Childcare
• Childcare Access
• Extension of Health Benefits
• Congressional Staff Academy
• Emergency Care
• Mental Health Services
• Translation Services
• Office of Translation Services
• Member Office Closures
• Compensation and Diversity Study
• Streamlining Transparency and Diversity in the House of Representatives

Legislative Branch-wide

• Results, Oversight, Transparency, and Accountability
• Staffing Data in Budget Documents
• Congressional Requirements for Legislative Branch Cyber and Physical Data Security
• Audit of Inspector General Coverage
• Offensive Capitol Statuary

Modernization, Data and IT

• Modernization Initiatives Account
• Lobbyist Disclosure Unique Identifier
• Comparative Print Project
• Electronic House Functions
• Staff Technology Point of Contact
• Digital Workspace Technologies
• Collaborative Legislative Drafting
• Congressional Staff Directory
• Document Standardization

Science and Technology

• Science and Technology Assistance for Congress
• GAO Science and Technology Assistance
• GAO Unimplemented Recommendations

Capitol Police

• Arrest Summary Data
• Two-Way Sharing of Critical Information
• USCP Office of Inspector General Reports
• USCP Public Information Office
• Maintaining Public Access
• Risk-Based Protection for Members of Congres

Library of Congress

• Law Library
• CRS: Availability of Bill Summaries on Congress.gov
• CRS: Improving Features on Congress.gov
• CRS: Customer Service and Data Gathering

Congressional Budget Office

• Customer Service and Data Gathering

Government Accountability Office

• Appropriations and Budget Law
• Customer Service and Data Gathering
• Hiring Practices at CRS
• Power of the Purse Efforts

Key Language in the Appropriations Bill and Committee Report

Staff Capacity, Salaries, and Benefits

Congressional Staff Salaries (MRA Increase)

House Bill, p. 3

House Report, p. 7

Language: The Committee has taken steps to make up for an effective cut of 21 percent over the last decade. In accordance with the House Inspector General recommendation, the recommendation provides a 4.6 percent increase to the clerk hire portion of the MRA formula calculation.

Our work: 

We note that Demand Progress and others have conducted significant research on the defunding of the Legislative Branch over the last decade, especially the defunding of Congressional staff, to which this is a partial remedy.

House Interns

House Bill, p. 3-4 

House Report, p. 7

Language: The Committee supports House interns and recommends an increase to $46,800 per Member office, providing the opportunity for interns to be offered a livable wage of $15 per hour, which is important, especially in a high-cost area like Washington, D.C. The bill continues to support these rewarding programs, and the Committee recommends $20,638,800 for the Member Office Intern Program, $586,000 for the Leadership Office Intern Program, and $3,063,000 for the Committee Intern Program. This is a total increase of $6,125,306 over the fiscal year 2022 enacted level across all intern programs.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2022 Appropriations Request, p. 59

House Intern Resource Office

House Bill, p. 11

House Report, p. 7

Language: The recommendation provides $350,000 for the creation of a House Intern Resource Office within the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). The House Intern Resource Office shall promulgate best practices for intern hiring; provide guidance, training, support, assistance to interns regarding their work environment; connect with personal, committee and leadership offices regarding the use of funding rules and regulations for internships; reach out to historically underrepresented communities to provide greater internship opportunities; and gather demographic and other data about interns (including stipends and wage rates) employed by the House of Representatives in personal, committee, and leadership offices and to make publicly available statistical summaries and trends concerning that data.

Our Work:

Taylor J. Swift Public Witness Testimony for FY 2023 on the Creation of a Centralized House Intern Resource Office

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Request, p. 60

Housing of the U.S. House of Representatives Interns

House Report, p. 7

Language: Finding short term housing as an intern can be challenging. The Committee directs the CAO House Intern Resource Office to submit a report on the feasibility and potential impacts of a needs-based subsidized intern housing program, such as the subsidized housing provided for the Senate Page program, to ensure the broadest pool of applicants for House internships. This report should include any recommendations for legislative proposals. Furthermore, the Committee directs the House Intern Resource Office to explore the possibility of providing a list of intern housing resources and report its findings to the Committee no later than 180 days after enactment.

Our Work:

Taylor J. Swift Public Witness Testimony for FY 2023 on the Creation of a Centralized House Intern Resource Office

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Request, p. 60

Workforce Development

House Report, p, 5

Language: Congressional support staff are critical in fulfilling many roles to ensure the institution runs smoothly, and many of the staff are from underserved communities. Given the high stress environment of Capitol Hill, career growth and personal wellbeing are critical to a healthy workforce. Within 60 days of enactment of this Act, the Committee directs the support agencies of the Legislative Branch to provide a report on workforce development programs that assist employees with professional development.

Childcare

House Report, p. 13

Language: The Committee recognizes that childcare costs are a major hardship for families across the nation and helping to cover those costs can be a major incentive to recruiting and retaining employees, including those of the House of Representatives. The Committee thanks the CAO’s Task Force on a Diverse and Talented House Workforce for its study on potential staff benefits and efforts to retain staff including childcare stipends, subsidies, or other benefits related to childcare. The Committee looks forward to continuing discussions with the Task Force and its stakeholders to identify the best options to pursue for House staff regarding childcare access. The CAO shall provide a report to the Appropriations Committee and the Committee on House Administration within 120 days of the posting of this report that examines the feasibility of providing a childcare stipend to House staff with children. The report should examine and make recommendations on (1) how many staff might qualify to receive such a benefit, (2) an appropriate age range for a child to be eligible, (3) the appropriate level of benefit to provide, (4) costs of administration, and (5) how best to structure the benefit. As part of this report, the CAO should conduct a survey of current House employees on their challenges accessing affordable childcare, both within the House of Representatives Child Care Center and in external childcare settings. This survey shall include efforts to determine the percentage of household income spent on childcare among house employees, whether childcare costs are or would be a barrier to remaining as an employee with the House, and what efforts to defray those costs might be effective as a retention tool.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 21

We note that Demand Progress has long championed addressing the insufficient child care resources, such as in this report.

Childcare Access

House Report, p. 4

Language: Providing access to quality, affordable childcare is critical for retaining staff and advancing women in the workplace, who are still disproportionately primary caregivers. The Committee strongly supports further investments to further reduce the waitlist, expand admissions, and ensure quality care at Capitol complex childcare centers. With the goal of gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the current state of childcare supports offered to employees across the Legislative Branch, the Committee directs the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Librarian of Congress to consult with the Committee and issue a report to the Committee within 120 days of the posting of this report evaluating the current state of childcare for their employees.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 21

We note that Demand Progress has long championed addressing the insufficient child care resources, such as in this report.

Extension of Staff Benefits

House Report, p. 12

Language: The Committee commends the CAO Task Force on a Diverse and Talented House Workforce for providing the House Staff Benefits and Retention Study. The Committee directs the Task Force to fully research and develop the following employee benefit programs for House staff: (1) Reimbursing staff for the costs of adoption or fertility treatment not covered by insurance; (2) Providing child-care subsidies for staffers who do not use the House daycare; (3) Offering staff access to a tax-advantaged college-savings benefit; (4) Enabling staff of offices that are closing down operations to stay on the House payroll for 60 additional days past the date of office closure, a benefit the Senate already extends to its workforce. The Committee directs that within 120 days after the official posting of this report, the task force shall present ‘‘ready to implement’’ employee benefit program options as outlined above and associated costs to House Leadership, the House Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on House Administration. Implementation of these programs is subject to the approval of the Committee on Appropriations and regulations set forth by the Committee on House Administration.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 20

Congressional Staff Academy 

House Report, p. 13

Language: The Committee encourages the House CAO to offer courses through the Congressional Staff Academy and the new Congressional Member Leadership Development Program that will promote civility, collaboration and leadership skills. Suggested topics for training include but are not limited to (1) best practices for facilitating forums that bring constituents with opposing views together to promote dialogue and understanding, (2) fostering bipartisan collaboration as a chair and/or ranking member, (3) perspectives on social media distortions (4) leadership development including legislative effectiveness, and (5) conflict resolution. In addition, the Committee recognizes the critical role that senior-level staff play in recruiting, hiring, retaining a diverse workforce and ensuring that congressional offices are safe and professional work environments in which diverse talent can succeed. However, current training requirements for senior-level staff may not fully equip them with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to fulfill this responsibility. Therefore, the Committee directs the CAO to conduct an assessment of unmet training needs for senior-level congressional staff and to report to the Committee on the results of this assessment no later than 120 days after the official posting of this report.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 38

Emergency Care

House Report, p. 14

Language: The House Wellness Center has an agreement with a work life services provider to support House staff with technical assistance for financial planning, legal aid, and child and elder care. This service is an important mechanism to help promote staff retention for employees facing everyday life challenges. The Committee supports the ongoing offering of backup care, which provides staff with temporary, alternative coverage for a dependent when primary coverage falters.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 38

Mental Health Services

House Report, p. 14

Language: The Committee expresses concern with the availability of mental health resources for all staff including custodial staffs and other contractors who work in the Capitol Complex. The Committee directs the CAO and the AOC to ensure mental health services are available to support the diverse needs of all staff and conduct an awareness campaign advertising these services for all those who work in the Capitol Complex within 30 days of the enactment of this Act.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 38

Translation Services

House Report, p. 14

Language: Of the funds provided, the recommendation includes $500,000 for expenses pertaining to the translation of official, communication material on behalf of constituents with Limited English Proficiency.

Office of Translation Services

House Report, p. 14

Language: The Committee recognizes that language barriers prevent Member offices from adequately communicating vital information with constituents with limited English proficiency. As such, the Committee directs the CAO, in coordination with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, to submit a report within 60 days of enactment of this Act on the resources necessary to establish an Office of Translation Services to assist Members of Congress with translating official materials into additional languages. The report should include the top 20 languages based on the most recent Census, staff required, and expected turnaround time to fulfill requests.

Member Office Closures

House Report, p. 11

Language: The Committee directs the Clerk to report on current processes for the closure of a Member’s personal office in the event of a Member’s death or departure midterm; what considerations are made for the care, employment, and direction of Member office staff in the event of such departure; and what future concerns should be considered by the full House with respect to office operations of departed Members

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 30

Compensation and Diversity Study

House Bill, p. 

House Report, p. 16

Language:  The Committee appreciates the effort to implement the first ever Congressional Staff Salary report as requested in House Report 115–696. Given existing realities of gender and racial pay gaps in America, the Committee is concerned the data collected and findings asserted in the salaries report, where the report details an approximate 50 percent participation rate, insufficiently captures the necessary bench-mark data to reach the primary goal of the survey. The Committee directs ODI, in conjunction with the CAO, to explore options to re-implement the House Compensation and Diversity survey on a routine basis, and in a manner that provides a robust accounting of the population, exceeding prior year’s sample sizes. These considerations could include execution by in-house efforts, biannual application, or other means to improve accuracy and increase survey participation. The Committee requests a briefing from ODI to update the Committee on the progress no later than 120 days after enactment of this Act. The Committee recognizes the need for reliable data on Congressional staff diversity, including demographic information about staff recruitment, hiring, retention, and termination. The Committee encourages the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to brief the Committee on any gaps in available data that may hinder their development of a plan to improve recruitment, hiring, and retention of diverse staff 120 days after enactment of this Act.

Our Work:

We note that Demand Progress led the efforts to trigger the first compensation study in over a decade as part of the FY 2019 Appropriations bill and the conduct of a study on an ongoing basis and with greater detail is also a matter championed by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and many others.

Streamlining Transparency and Diversity in the House of Representatives

House Report, p. 16

Language: The Committee continues to recognize and to support the steps taken by the ODI to increase diversity on Capitol Hill through surveys and comprehensive reports. The Committee continues to support the streamlining of these efforts by adding disaggregated demographic data collection to the official onboarding process in the House of Representatives. Congress looks forward to seeing the implementation of this additional implementation of additional questions to employee onboarding forms requested in House Report 117–80.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 7

Legislative Branch-wide

Results, Oversight, Transparency, and Accountability

House Report, p. 2

Language: The Committee on Appropriations of the House (hereinafter ‘‘the Committee’’) recognizes that effective programs, projects, and activities must set transparent goals and measure progress toward those goals in tangible ways. Data-driven results should be the yardstick for measuring success. The recommendation continues to prioritize the proper management of taxpayer dollars, including strong internal controls, reduced inefficiency, ineffectiveness, and waste, fraud, or abuse, and a focus on results, and customer service for all agencies under the jurisdiction of this Act. The Committee continues its focus on reducing unnecessary expenditures and expects the agencies funded by this Act to identify cost savings and efficiencies where possible.

Our Work: Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 29

Staffing Data In Budget Documents

House Report, p. 4

Language: The Committee continues to direct the Legislative Branch agencies to include in their budget justifications data on FTE levels that would 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.

Our Work: Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Request, p. 24

We note that reliable data on staff at support offices and agencies is very difficult to find and uses different metrics. This is a welcome improvement.

Congressional Requirements for Legislative Branch Cyber and Physical Data Security

House Report, p. 5

Language: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Public Law 117–103, directed all legislative agencies to protect their Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and ensure secure data storage to maintain continuity of government operations in case of cyberattack. Consistent with the Act, the Committee directs all agencies to submit quarterly status reports on their progress to 1) physically migrate data out of noncompliant data facilities to compliant data facilities, and 2) accomplish complementary, additional migration to cloud services. Detailed reports shall be transmitted to the Committee by October 1, 2022, and build on the agency action plans for a resilient data infrastructure that were required of all legislative branch agencies by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 36

Demand Progress FY 2022 Security Supplemental Recommendations, p. 3

Audit of Inspector General Coverage

House Report, p. 6

Language: The Committee recognizes the tremendous value provided by Inspectors General across the Legislative Branch. However, further improvements in coordination and coverage offer the potential for enhanced protection from fraud, waste, and abuse. Therefore, the Committee directs the GAO, within 180 days of enactment of this Act, to produce a report examining the oversight coverage gaps of Legislative Branch Inspectors General. The report shall identify offices and organizations that are not covered by the existing Inspectors General, overlapping jurisdiction, coordination challenges, and recommendations around structures and best practices that can enhance oversight within the Legislative Branch. In doing so, the GAO is encouraged to consult with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and other internal and external stakeholders with expertise around Inspectors General.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriation Request, p. 39

Offensive Capitol Statuary 

House Report, p. 6-7

Language: The bill includes language directing the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) to remove the statues or busts in the United States Capitol that represent figures who participated in the Confederate Army or government, as well as the statues of white supremacists Charles Aycock, John C. Calhoun, and James Paul Clarke and the bust of Roger B. Taney. The Architect of the Capitol is instructed to work with the States who contributed Confederate statues to return them to the donor State. The placement of statues in the Capitol commemorating men who tried to overthrow the government of the United States or who were white supremacists has been controversial for years and offensive to many of the visitors who come to the Capitol each year. The Committee believes their removal is long overdue.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2022 Appropriations Request, p. 27

Demand Progress, in partnership with the R Street Institute, has called for the removal of the statues multiple times going back at least to 2017.

We note that similar language was included in the FY 2022 appropriations bills.

Modernization, Data, and IT

Modernization Initiatives Account

House Bill, p. 9

Language: For the House of Representatives Modernization Initiatives Account established under section 115 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2021 (2 U.S.C. 5513), $10,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That disbursement from this account is subject to approval of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives: Provided further, That funds provided in this account shall only be used for initiatives recommended by the Select Committee on Modernization or approved by the Committee on House Administration.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Request, p. 64

Lobbyist Disclosure Unique Identifier

House Report, p. 11

Language: The Committee is aware of ongoing efforts by the Office of the Clerk to generate a Congresswide unique identifier for lobbyists and disclose that identifier to the public as structured data as part of the lobbying disclosure downloads. The Committee agrees with the Clerk’s recommendation that a complete overhaul of the aging system is required, and the recommendation includes $1,400,000 for the project.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2022 Appropriations Request, p. 21

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations p. 28

We note language directing the use of a lobbyist disclosure unique identifier was included in prior appropriations bills, and the Clerk’s office submitted a report on its implementation in April 2022. Last we checked, the Clerk was waiting for direction from the House Administration Committee.

Comparative Print Project

House Report, p. 10

Language: Currently in phase 4 of a multi-year project, the Comparative Print Suite is available to 190 individuals from 19 committees, including Select and Special committees, the House offices of Legislative Counsel and Law Revision Counsel, as well as other stakeholders in the Legislative Branch to include the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service, and the Congressional Budget Office. This recommendation provides the full request for fiscal year 2023.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Requests, p. 46

Electronic House Functions

House Report, p. 11

Language: The Committee commends the Clerk of the House for taking action to make Office of the Clerk functions electronic. For example, the official reporters’ extensions of remarks and general leave statements are electronic. For legislative operations, Members can now introduce legislation electronically, add cosponsors, as well as provide constitutional authority statements. The Committee applauds the Clerk’s forward thinking on these matters and encourages the Clerk to continue to develop more electronic systems for House processes. The Committee encourages the Clerk, in consultation with other offices as may be necessary, to explore ways to further modernize the co-sponsorship process and allow offices to submit co-sponsorship information as structured data.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Request, p. 44

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 33

Staff Technology Point of Contact

House Report, p. 15

Language: The Committee understands the needs of Members and staff for sufficient support when it comes to technological questions and needs. The Committee commends CAO for their efforts to provide Members and staff with resources through the customer advocate program and encourages the CAO to communicate and advertise the various options available for Members and staff in regard to technical support.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 34

Digital Workspace Technologies

House Report, p. 15

Language: 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 continues to encourage the exploration of multi-factor 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.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 36-37

Collaborative Legislative Drafting

House Report, p. 18

Language: The ability to streamline the workflow and better collaborate on proposed legislative text between member, committee, and leadership offices is of great importance to members and staff. Within 120 days after the posting of this report, the Clerk, the House Office of Legislative Counsel (HOLC) and the CAO are directed to provide a report to the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on House Administration on ways to leverage existing enterprise-wide applications, as well as other tools and solutions to better facilitate legislative drafting between member, committee and leadership offices and the HOLC.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 16

Congressional Staff Directory

House Report, p. 19

Language: The Committee is concerned with the unavailability or insufficiency of currently-provided congressional staff contact information. The absence of a congressional staff directory that covers the House, Senate, support offices, and support agencies makes it difficult for congressional staff to identify relevant staff and connect with them. The Committee endorses the creation of a shared staff directory for Congress and congressional support agencies to enhance the exchange of information and improve collaboration. Within 180 days of enactment, of this Act the Office of the Clerk and the CAO, in consultation with other relevant support offices and agencies, are requested to provide to the Committee a plan to create a centralized congressional staff directory including associated costs. The directory should contain the name, title, office, office phone number, email address, and issue set for each employee. That information should be filterable by data element, e.g., office, title, party, and issue set. It should be continuously updated. The directory should be available inside the congressional firewall and provide a public-facing version with appropriate omissions for certain fields.

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Requests, p. 21

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 40

Document Standardization

House Report, p. 19

Language: The Committee remains supportive of the Select Committee’s recommendations to adopt standardized formats for legislative documents and expedite the comparison project.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Recommendations, p. 64

Science and Technology

Science and Technology Assistance for Congress

House Report, p. 5-6

Language: The Committee notes the interest among some Members during the past several years in reinstituting the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which ceased to exist after 1995. In fiscal year 2019 the Committee instructed the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to conduct a study to determine the best way to increase Congressional access to needed in-depth analysis of fast-breaking technology developments. The NAPA report, released in November 2019, recommended strengthening the capacity of the GAO and Congressional Research Service (CRS) in technology assessment rather than restarting OTA. The Committee is pleased with both CRS and the GAO’s efforts to increase the depth and breadth of their capacity to provide research and policy analysis on current and emerging legislative issues related to science and technology (S&T) and Federal uses and oversight of S&T. As was stated in House Report 117–80, CRS is encouraged to continue to hire additional staff for their specialized teams working on science and technology issues expanding its capacity and expertise to allow CRS to meet the growing need of Congress for timely, complex, and multidisciplinary analysis of policy issues related to these rapidly changing technologies, the effects of the Federal government in oversight of such technologies, and the effects of the Federal government S&T policies across all sectors. CRS is also encouraged to increase outreach efforts to make Members and congressional staff more aware of the resources it provides related to S&T issues Congress is examining. Additionally, in 2019 the GAO established a Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) team to better address the evolving and time-sensitive needs of Congress. The Committee encourages the GAO to continue to strengthen its STAA S&T team and the Innovation Lab to increase the depth, breadth, and diversity of knowledge available to meet congressional needs. As a result, the bill provides the full request for CRS and GAO to strengthen S&T programs. The Committee will continue to review the work of CRS and the GAO to see if other steps are needed in the future.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 42

Demand Progress FY 2022 Appropriations Request, p. 32

See this report by Demand Progress and the Lincoln Network outlining how to further strengthen Science and Technology inside the Legislative branch.

GAO Science and Technology Assistance

House Report, p. 43-44

Language: The Committee is pleased with GAO’s institutional development of its technology and science function through the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) team and its rapid expansion since its creation in 2019. The Committee is pleased with STAA’s unbiased fact-based scientific and technological expertise. The Committee encourages GAO to continue to develop new components of STAA studies by including policy recommendation options, when appropriate to the subject. STAA is also encouraged to seek external feedback on science and technology matters that should be explored in its work.

Our Work: 

Demand Progress Rules Recommendations, p. 42

Demand Progress FY 2022 Appropriations Request, p. 32

See this report by Demand Progress and the Lincoln Network outlining how to further strengthen Science and Technology inside the Legislative branch.

GAO Unimplemented Recommendations 

House Report, p. 44

Language: Within 12 months, the Comptroller General shall provide a report to the Committee and oversight committees of jurisdiction, estimating the cost savings that could be achieved if agencies acted on GAO’s recommendations organized by agency.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2022 Appropriations Request, p. 33

The Lincoln Network has led on this issue.

Capitol Police

Arrest Summary Data

House Report, p. 23

Language: The Committee commends the USCP for their progress toward compliance with a directive to post arrest summary information in a user-friendly format that is searchable, sortable, downloadable, and is available on a cumulative basis. The Committee reminds the Department of the importance of this directive and directs the Department to provide a briefing on their ongoing efforts to publish this information within 30 days of the official posting of this report. Furthermore, the Department is directed to submit a report of arrests made both on the Capitol complex and the surrounding Capitol Hill community on a quarterly basis to the Committee.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Request, p. 9

We note that similar language was included in the FY 2021 and FY 2022 Legislative branch appropriations bills but has yet to be implemented by the Capitol Police.

Two-Way Sharing of Critical Information

House Report, p. 24

Language: The Committee believes the USCP must be better positioned to identify threats to the Capitol Complex, the Congress, individual Members of Congress and their families, and the legislative process, at the earliest point in the threat process, and the furthest possible point away from the intended target. This requires relying heavily on developing a robust threat identification and assessment process that is fully connected to local, state, and Federal law enforcement agencies. It also involves direct access to the national intelligence community with full transparency and two-way sharing of critical information with which to inform mission-related decisions. The Committee directs the Department not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, to undertake an evaluation and provide an implementation plan.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Recommendations for FY 2022 Security Supplemental, p. 5

We note that similar language was included in the FY 2022 and FY 2021 Legislative branch appropriations bills but has yet to be implemented by the Capitol Police.

USCP Office of Inspector General Reports

House Report, p. 25

Language: The Committee is aware that the public does not have access to reports issued by the Capitol Police Office of Inspector General. While the Committee understands that these reports can be sensitive to law enforcement actions and Congressional security, the Committee is interested in what reports can be shared with the general public. The Committee believes that the Inspector General should try to make appropriate reports public if they do not compromise law enforcement activities, national security, or Congressional security and processes without redaction. The Committee instructs the Inspector General to institute procedures to make reports publicly available whenever practicable and to begin publishing reports on its website.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Request, p. 11

Demand Progress FY 2022 Security Supplemental Recommendations, p. 6

We note that language requesting the USCP IG review all reports over the prior 3 years and make recommendations for those which could be released to the public was included in both the FY 2021 and FY 2022 Appropriations bills, but we have not yet seen any reports made available to the public. This language is slightly stronger than in prior years.

USCP Public Information Office

House Report, p. 25

Language: The Committee appreciates the detailed report as requested in House Report 117–80 regarding a community notification system that may be utilized by visitors and community members. The Committee remains concerned that the public is not often alerted to significant events such as security incidents impacting the Capitol Complex. The Committee encourages the Department to continue exploring ways to keep the Capitol Hill community and visitors informed.

Our Work: 

Demand Progress FY 2022 Security Supplemental Recommendation, p. 5

We note that similar language was included in the FY 2021 and FY 2022 appropriations bills.

Maintaining Public Access

House Report, p. 30

Language: In making security decisions about public access to the Capitol Grounds, the Committee reminds the Capitol Police Board that the Capitol Grounds are intended to be open to the public and are located in a residential neighborhood in the District of Columbia, and used by D.C. residents and visitors for recreation, leisure and transportation.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2022 Security Supplemental Recommendations, p. 3

Risk-Based Protection for Members of Congress

House Report, p. 22-23

Language: In light of this year’s 107 percent increase in threats against Congress, the Committee continues to find that ensuring the continuity of government must include protecting the physical security of Members of Congress. The recommendation provides $2,000,000 for the Department to enhance Member security outside of the Capitol campus in the National Capital Region (NCR), as warranted by risk-based analyses. As laid out in the December 2018 report detailing the Department’s plans to enhance off-campus Member security in the NCR, the Committee expects the USCP to continue working closely with the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms and local law enforcement partners in the NCR and educating Member offices on the USCP strategy for Members’ protection within the NCR while outside the Capitol Grounds. The Committee instructs USCP to coordinate with the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms to direct patrols to buildings or locations where the Members tend to congregate in order to fulfill its mission under 2 U.S.C. 1966.

Demand Progress FY 2022 Security Supplemental Recommendations, p. 3

Library of Congress

Law Library

House Report, p. 37

Language: The Committee continues to commend the Law Library for providing 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 part of the Library’s overall digitization strategy to increase online access to major parts of its collection, such as the United States Serial Sets and Supreme Court Records and Briefs. The Committee further encourages the Library to assess the feasibility of audiobooks and text-to-speech options for accessibility purposes for visually impaired individuals, those with cognitive disabilities/disorders or learning difficulties as it continues to develop its digitization strategy.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Library of Congress Recommendation Report, p. 2 

Congressional Research Service

Availability of Bill Summaries on Congress.gov

House Report, p. 39

Language: The Committee directs that no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, the Congressional Research Service shall provide a report to the Committee on resources necessary to ensure bills receiving a floor vote have a nonpartisan summary available.

Demand Progress Library of Congress Recommendation Report, p. 11

Improving Features on Congress.gov

House Report, p. 39

Language: The Committee directs that no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, the Library of Congress, in coordination with the Committee on Appropriations and Committee on Modernization, shall provide a report on resources necessary to add additional features to Congress.gov to improve its functionality for Congressional staff and the public, including providing a clearer accounting of Member contributions in legislation, such as indicating when a co-sponsor is from the committee of jurisdiction.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Request, p.17-18

Demand Progress Library of Congress Recommendation Report. p. 5-8

Customer Service and Data Gathering

House Report, p. 39

Language: The Committee directs CRS to take steps to continue ensuring that their products, services, and outreach are designed to adapt and meet the customer needs of an evolving Congress. In addition, CRS should report to committees of jurisdiction on any challenges in accessing Federal data and to identify whether Congress can take any actions to ensure continuous and real-time access.

Our Work:

Demand Progress Library of Congress Recommendation Report, p. 6 

Congressional Budget Office

Customer Service and Data Gathering

House Report, p. 26

Language: The Committee directs CBO to take steps to ensure that their products, services, and outreach are designed to adapt and meet the customer needs of an evolving Congress. In addition, CBO should report to committees of jurisdiction on any challenges in accessing Federal data and to identify whether Congress can take any actions to ensure continuous and real-time access.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Requests, p. 33

Government Accountability Office

Appropriations and Budget Law

House Report, p. 42

Language: The Committee notes and commends the improvements made by the GAO Appropriations Law Group (the Group) in response to concerns identified by the Committee in House Report 116–447, including through the agency’s efforts to increase resources dedicated to supporting Congress’s power of the purse and oversight role. The Group plays an important support role in protecting Congress’ constitutional power of the purse and the rule of law, and the Committee encourages the Group to continue to build on these improvements. As timely decisions by GAO facilitate informed Congressional action, the Committee also encourages the Group to find ways to ensure that its formal legal decisions are published in a timely manner and to prioritize the publication of decisions from outstanding requests.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Requests, p. 27

Customer Service and Data Gathering

House Report, p. 42

Language: The Committee directs GAO to take steps to continue ensuring that their products, services, and outreach are designed to adapt and meet the customer needs of an evolving Congress. In addition, GAO should report to committees of jurisdiction on any challenges in accessing Federal data and to identify whether Congress can take any actions to ensure continuous and real-time access.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Requests, p. 27

Demand Progress Report on GAO Funding Model, p. 11

Hiring Practices at CRS

House Report, p. 42-43

Language: The Committee requests that GAO assess CRS’s hiring, promotion, and awards practices, including implementation of the Merit Selection Plan and use of special hiring programs. GAO should assess CRS’s hiring practices, with a focus on whether the programs are effective at recruiting a diverse workforce. CRS is encouraged to provide all necessary information to the GAO. The final report shall be provided to the CRS Director, the Librarian of Congress, the Appropriations Committees, the Senate Rules Committee, and the Committee on House Administration.

Power of the Purse Efforts

House Report, p. 43

Language: The Committee notes and commends GAO’s efforts to support the Committee’s work to strengthen and reassert Congress’s power of the purse over appropriations. In GAO’s Proposals to Reinforce Congress’s Constitutional Power of the Purse, GAO recommended requiring the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to publicly post all apportionments of executive branch appropriations as a way to improve Congressional oversight and facilitate GAO providing more timely advice and legal decisions to Congress. Consistent with GAO’s recommendation, Congress enacted that proposal in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. The Committee appreciates GAO’s recommendations and technical assistance on good government provisions to strengthen Congress’s power of the purse.

Our Work:

Demand Progress FY 2023 Appropriations Requests, p. 27

Demand Progress Report on GAO Funding Model

Power of the Purse Coalition Letter to 117th Congress