MONDAY, MAY 10, 1982 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 7:55 a.m., in room S-128, the Capitol, Hon. Mack Mattingly (chairman) presiding. Present: Senator Mattingly. U.S. SENATE SECRETARY OF THE SENATE STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM F. HILDENBRAND ACCOMPANIED BY: MARILYN E. COURTOT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE PROCEDURE Senator MATTINGLY. The meeting will come to order. This morning the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch opens 2 days of hearings on the fiscal year 1983 budget requests of the Congress and related agencies, as well as requests for fiscal year 1982 supplemental appropriations. This morning we will hear from Senate officers, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office. This afternoon the Comptroller General and Public Printer will testify. Our hearings will conclude on Friday morning with testimony from the Librarian of the Congress, the Director of the Congressional Research Service, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Copyright Royalty Tribunal. BUDGET REQUEST The budget estimate for the Legislative Branch bill in 1983 totals $1.396 billion. Of this total, $236 million is for the Senate, $902 million is for all congressional operations, including the Senate, and $495 million for the other agencies funded in this bill. The subcommittee must also consider requests for $66 million in supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 1982, well over half of which is for increased pay costs. (1) CONGRESSIONAL SALARIES The 1983 figures do not represent the total costs of the legislative branch. Last year, a permanent appropriation was established for Senators' and Representatives' salaries. These salaries are no longer funded through an annual appropriation but are automatically paid from the Treasury without any further action by Congress. The bottom line, however, is the same: The U.S. Government will incur these expenses. Had these salary costs been included in their traditional manner, this bill would be over $6 million higher for the Senate and $29 million higher for the House, for a total in the legislative branch of $1,431,520,000. REDUCING DEFICITS Much remains to be completed on the overall fiscal plan for the coming year. Because of the extraordinary budgetary problems we face, Congress is at least a month behind in framing the outlines of the 1983 budget. But on one point there seems to be substantial agreement—discretionary nondefense domestic spending will be frozen at the fiscal year 1982 level. As much as many around here consider congressional programs as mandatory, they are in fact discretionary programs and should be subject to the same strict analysis and the same long, sharp knife as every other program is facing this year. Many of my colleagues argue that the way to reduce the projected deficits is to raise taxes. Because of inflation, taxes in fact have risen dramatically over the years, and this has been a major factor in the weakness of our economy. President Reagan has taken Herculean steps to reverse this trend of rising taxes and last year won approval of one of the most important tax bills of this century. I am dedicated to the position that we must relieve the American taxpayer, especially the middle-income taxpayer, of oppressive tax burdens. I am equally committed to the notion that the way to reduce the projected Federal deficit is through holding the line on spending. That is the approach I will take with regard to legislative branch appropriations in 1983. REDUCING SENATE EXPENDITURES Last year, my first as chairman of this subcommittee, it was my objective to achieve a reduction in Senate expenditures and those of the other parts of the legislative branch. I am proud that Senate appropriations were 5 percent under those for the preceding year, an unprecedented reduction. It did not prove possible to reduce the entire bill under the 1981 level, but the overall bill was limited to barely a 3-percent increase, the smallest increase in years. This year my objective will be to pass a bill which will appropriate a total of no more for fiscal year 1983 than will be available in 1982. I would like to put our witnesses on notice that officials requesting an increase in fiscal year 1983 will bear an extremely tough burden in establishing that the increase is justified. Our first two witnesses are the Secretary of the Senate and the Senate |