Last year, three primary areas of legislative information generation and transfer-were identified. These areas included the compilation of the Congressional Record, the creation and finalization of bill text and reports to accompany legislation and complete electronic versions of committee hearing transcripts.

In all three areas, we are working with involved parties with the long-term goal of having a single, electronic file created as completely as possible in its final form within the Office of the Clerk. The file would then be released for printing and public dissemination. Compilation of documents and legislative actions would be ‘in-house,' granting the House greater flexibility in the transmittal, printing and handling of legislative information. And, as I outlined last year, it will allow for immediate print-on-demand abilities within the Office of the Clerk, even opening opportunities for Members and staff to simply print on demand the information or documents they desire.

The Congressional Record is the most difficult and most important of the goals. While we view this as a multi-year effort, we have already established the preliminary (model) computer connections and have successfully transferred some House Floor proceedings to the Government Printing Office for its use. This has yet to develop into a day-to-day activity, but I anticipate its expanded and regular use over the next few months.

On January 23, 1996, a new era of professionalism and employee management arrived on Capitol Hill with the implementation of the Congressional Accountability Act, primarily the

application of the Fair Labor Standards Act and other civil protections for House employees. While I share the belief that this law greatly improves both the image and future operation of the House, I raised to the Committee on House Oversight several legal and operational concerns regarding the formulation of the Office of Compliance regulations and, most importantly, the need to create the Office of House Employment Counsel.

As legal scholars and other labor specialists began to analyze the impact of the CAA on the House and the potential for litigation in this area, concerns quickly arose in light of the Office of General Counsel's traditional role in handling such matters as well as representing the institutional position of the House in all legal matters. Simply, it became apparent that both responsibilities could directly conflict. As an alternative structure, it was agreed that a separate office should be created to assist in the counseling, support and representation of 'employing authorities' in employment matters. The creation of the office was strongly advocated by the Office of General Counsel and in mid-December the Committee on House Oversight quickly adopted its creation.

In my letter to the Committee on House Oversight, I noted the need to move slowly on the creation of this office in light of the unknown workload it would face. In addition, I must stress the non-partisan nature in which the office is being created, will operate and my recommendation for bipartisan review by the Chairman and ranking Member prior the official

appointment of key personnel. Candidates are currently pending before the Committee on House Oversight.

There have been other accomplishments during the last twelve months, including the first competitive bid process regarding the award of a closed captioning contract. While the process concluded with the retention of the same private contractor, it resulted in a three-year, annually renewable contract at tens of thousands of dollars less than what the House had previously spent. I was pleased that such a large contract could be competitively bid and I hope this competitive process will be continued into the future.

Since my last appearance, the Committee on House Oversight approved my earlier request to transfer the filing of Federal Election Commission reports from the Offices of the Clerk to the FEC directly. With this change in filing, we have been able to better centralize the handling of FEC materials and increase Member and public access to FEC files on Capitol Hill. We are continuing to improve access of electronic information in this area, several changes will be occurring in the next few months.

With the combination of responsibilities of several previously separate offices into the Legislative Resource Center (the House Library, House Historian, House Document Room and Office of Records and Registration) our abilities to meet House needs has greatly improved. We are anxiously working with the Architect of the Capitol to centralize the LRC into a single location that will include space for the better operation of our Xerox DocuTech machine, the House Library and computer access to various legislative files and information. We hope the renovation will begin soon so our relocation can be completed in the next several months.

As Members, House Employees and the public's point of contact in all or in part regarding recent changes in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the new House Gift Rule, Official and Outside Travel Disclosures, Financial Disclosures and Federal Election Commission records, the LRC employees have experienced and successfully implemented more concurrent change than has occurred in several years. We knew that January 1996 was going to be challenging time when all traditional and previous systems were replaced and the new requirements implemented. We know these laws have confused and concerned many, so we in the Offices of the Clerk moved quickly to design and distribute new forms, provided public seminars and conducted our own in-house training to ensure the best possible service could be provided to all interested parties. We anticipate this will be an evolutionary process as these new rules and procedures are actually implemented. While we expect this will not be a seamless transition, we of course will continue to provide professional and quality assistance to those affected by these dramatic changes.

In closing, I wish to thank every one of you for the support you have given me during the last year and seek your continued support with my FY97 request. I welcome any of your

suggestions. I stand ready to answer any questions or provide any further detail you wish regarding our operations.

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