Furniture & Furnishings (Capital) ($147,000)

The Capital decrease of $147,000 is the result of the second term of a Congress when costs are historically lower.

$30,000 The Radio/TV gallery is requesting funds for 4 PC's and a printer.

$5,000 The PDS-Immediate office is requesting PC Upgrades and additional software. $40,000 The Printing office is expanding its service to include items readily available in the Private sector. The office is requesting a copier, additional software, laser color plotter, two CD-ROM's and a color scanner.

$15,000 Increase in user fees for additional equipment.

$15,000 Postal Operations requests funding for 3 PC's, 9 track tape drive and CD-ROM. $6,000 The office of Employee Assistance is requesting a laptop with projector screen

capability and a projector screen.

$25,000 Personnel and Benefits is requesting funds for a one time study related to the purchase of the next generation of the Optical Disk System.

$64,000 Furniture Resource Center is requesting a Vanguard Computer Engraving system, four 16 Meg Modules, a digital camera, two turbo Mister Dry Cleaning

Extractors, a Minute Man Portable Extractor, and a Radio Frequency System. $8,000 The office of Food Services is requesting funds to purchase a software reservation system and a new PC for the additional FTE.

$192,000 The office of Procurement is requesting funds for maintenance agreements on the Systems Integrator and Procurement Desktop. Also, funds will be required for memory expansion to maintain performance criteria for Procurement Desktop. $175,000 The Finance office is requesting funds to acquire a new payroll system. -$3,000 The office of Internal Controls functions have significantly been reduced. -$470,000HIR has savings in equipment, software leases, and licensing fees from

mainframe migration to smaller processor network centric technology.

Net Expenses of Equipment (Capital) ($6,266,000)

The FY'97 expenditures of office equipment are estimated at $41,307,995 with offsetting revenues of $41,113,703. The Capital decrease of $6,266,000 is the

Explanation of Changes Shown on Schedule C

SALARIES, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

For salaries and expenses of the Office of Inspector General, $4,344,000. This is an increase of $390,000 or 9.9% over the amount provided in fiscal year 1997.

Mandatory Pay and Related Changes:

Personnel increases are attributed to the annualization of the FY '97 Cost of Living Adjustment, annualization of the FY '97 longevity increases, prorated FY '98 Cost of Living Adjustment, prorated FY '98 longevity increases, and FY '98 meritorious increases.

Price Level Changes:

Price increases are attributed to inflation.

Program Type Changes:

Staff Travel: An increase of $2,000 is required for requested four additional staff members. Rent. Communications. Utilities: An increase of $2,000 is required for requested four additional staff members.

Other Services: U. S. General Accounting Office (GAO) Government Auditing Standards require that auditors and specialists supporting auditors receive 80 hours of training every two years. In order to meet this requirement the Office of Inspector General would use Government training programs provided by the GAO and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency's auditor training institute at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and non-Government contractors such as public accounting firms and technical training institutions. Estimate training can be provided at about $1,025 per student, per year, or $24,000 annually. An increase of $4,000 is required for training for the requested four additional staff members.

Supplies and Materials: An increase of $4,000 is required for requested four additional staff

members.

Equipment: A budget of $50,000 represents a $19,000 increase over FY '97. This amount provides four computer workstations and associated computer software to meet the needs of the four new positions, including applicable installation charges and annual user fees for the current equipment and proposed new purchases.

Four new positions: An increase of $197,000 is requested for four non-supervisory positions, ($49,211 per), to augment the existing audit staff. The additional staff will increase each audit team by one auditor, thus alleviating the problem of completing audits in a timely manner. Approval of additional staff was delayed since the 103rd Congress until the Office of Inspector General could identify actual workload trends and report on audit results from the 104th Congress. Based on the Office of Inspector General established workload, results of audits, and related cost savings reported during the