Equipment, Purchase, Lease and Maintenance For net expenses of Purchase, Lease and Maintenance of office Equipment, $2,445,000. This is a decrease of $9.3 million or 79 percent under the FY '95 enacted appropriation. With the expansion to state of the art equipment for many offices this amount may change before markup. This request includes $11.5 million for D.C. purchases which is a decrease of $5.5 million under the amount in the FY '95 budget, yet nearly $3.9 million more than the actual expenditures in FY '94. Also included in this request is $8.9 million estimated to be used in Members district offices. Added to the estimated D.C. expenditures, the anticipated fiscal 1996 expenditures are $34.6 million. The total estimated expenditures of $34.6 million are offset by estimated revenues of $32.2 million. Included in the revenue is $32 million anticipated to be collected from user fees. January 1992 was the beginning of a new user fee structure charging offices 100 percent for monthly maintenance fees. User fees increased 17 percent during FY '93, the first full year of the new structure. Since then, the rate of increase has slowed to approximately 5 percent annually. growth rate. A detailed summary of actual FY '94 expenses, estimated FY 95 expenses, and the FY '96 request is on the following page. The FY '96 estimate is based on this 5 percent Equipment Purchase. Lease and Maintenance * FY '94 actual figures were provided by the Department of Office Systems Management and reflect actual expenses and reimbursements as of October 31, 1994. Differences in actual expenditures from the previous page is attributed to various obligations reported by Office Systems Management. Net Expenses for Telecommunications (See Page 48 Subcommittee Print) Net expenses for telecommunications, $9,908,000. This estimate of $9,908,000 represents the net expenses of items that cannot be charged back to other accounts, such as, Cannon Building rewire ($400,000); Intuity Voice Mail expansion ($100,00); Video Teleconference ($150,000) and the System 85 telephone upgrade ($3.5 million). The House telephone system was installed eight years ago employing three year old technology. The request for funds to upgrade the House telecommunications system must be seriously evaluated. The House/AT&T contract will expire in 1997. At that time, the age and extensive use of the switching hardware and telephone sets will result in significant increases in maintenance as well as a loss of reliability. Failure to prepare for this situation by a "phased upgrade" approach now will more than likely result in a costly and disruptive replacement in 1997. Net Expenses for Telecommunications Appropriations. Actual Expenditures. Unexpended Balances Furniture and Furnishings (See Page 49 Subcommittee Print) For Furniture and Furnishings, $1,886,000. This is a decrease of $126,000 under the FY '95 enacted appropriation and can be associated with the "off year" concept where furniture and furnishing needs go down during the second session of each Congress. The FY '96 budget was estimated with consideration given to the following areas. There are continuing requests for executive ergonomic chairs and systems furniture. Several committee offices have requested replacement of twenty year old filing systems which no longer have available replacement parts. Stenographic Reporting of Committee Hearings For Stenographic Reporting of Committee Hearings, $950,000. This is a $150,000 reduction in the amount provided in the FY '95 appropriation bill. This request includes costs of stenographic services and transcripts covered by commercial reporting firms in connection with any meetings or hearings of a committee, including Standing Committees, Special and Select. These funds are expended only when official reporters to House committees are not able to cover all of the committee hearings being conducted in the House on stenographic reporting services for committee hearings held in congressional districts across the country by the various House committees. Stenographic Reporting of Committee Hearings For Reemployed Annuitants Reimbursement, $2,451,000. This is an increase of $1,172,000 over the amount appropriated in fiscal 1995. These funds are required to compensate the Civil Service Retirement Fund for an amount equal to the annuities paid employees who retired under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) and then accepted House employment. The number employed has recently increased as expected due to the elimination of the alternative form of annuity (lump sum) in September 1994. The number of Reemployed Annuitants as of August 31, 1994 were 42. At the end of September there were 89 Reemployed Annuitants on the House payroll. There are 67 annuitants in the FY '96 estimate. |