HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES A&E-SUPPLIES, MATERIALS, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS BY OBJECT CLASS 11 Personnel Compensation. 12 Personnel Benefits....... ALLOWANCES AND EXPENSES Supplies, Materials, Administrative Costs and Federal Tort Claims SCHEDULE C U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DETAILED ANALYSIS OF CHANGE BY ORGANIZATION A&E-SUPPLIES, MATERIALS, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS Explanation of Changes Shown On Schedule C ALLOWANCES AND EXPENSES SUPPLIES, MATERIALS, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS This account is used for general. administrative items not funded elsewhere for House operations in addition to equipment, supplies and telephones for certain offices. The FY '99 request is $2,706,000. This is an increase of $481,000 or 21.6% over the FY '98 amount enacted, primarily due to $443,000 attributable to items such as New Member Orientation which occurs every other year. The FY '99 Administrative Items requested are outlined below. Bottled Water—is a service for all Members and staff who use the Cloak rooms. The FY '99 budget request is based on spending patterns established over two fiscal years. News Wire Services-- is a service for all Members and staff on the House floor. The FY '99 budget is predicated on a 3.2% monthly increase to both UPI and AP contractual services. Parking Lot Utilities-- is used to pay for the utility costs for the outdoor parking lot owned and used by the House located in front of the Ford House Office Building. Federal Tort Claims—is used to pay minor House settlements. Actual disbursements for tort claims for both FY '96 and FY '97 exceeded $43,500 for both years. The disbursements for one of those years was nearly $47,000. Price Level Changes: Program Type Changes: There are increases in programs due to every other year cyclical funding of the New Member Orientation and shipment of Member documents, both a result of the odd fiscal year Congressional election. There is $400,000 being requested for the New member Orientation and $35,000 for the shipment of Member's documents. This is $435,000 that is not included in the FY '98 base due to its every other year requirement. Additionally, there are FY '99 funds requested for photography costs. Specifically, there are Member flash cards and Member pictorial photo slides for House Pages and Police Officers. There are also Member pictures to be published in the biennial pictorial handbook. These are every other year costs charged to this account. The FY '99 requested funding is $7,700. This is $355 above the actual FY '97 costs. Telephones- $18.000: There is an anticipation of greater phone and fax usage associated with the need for continued communications and use of current and new. technology. The FY '99 telephone request is a 6.7% increase over the amount provided in FY '98. Equipment $16.000: Approximately 60% of the entire budget is for equipment. The FY '99 equipment budget is a 1% increase in the amount provided for FY '98. These funds are requested to maintain current technology and replace aging computers. Included in the equipment request are the following types of equipment. Equipment maintenance costs are a significant cost of the equipment and are also included in this request. |