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The Congressional Research Service mission is to work exclusively and directly for all Members and Committees of Congress in support of their legislative and oversight functions. This department of the Library of Congress provides high quality research, analysis, and information services that are timely, objective, nonpartisan, and confidential. The Service's knowledgeable staff both responds to and anticipates congressional needs and addresses policy issues in an interdisciplinary, integrative manner. The Service maintains close ties with the Congress and, consistent with its broad congressional mandate, provides a wide variety of services with the goal of contributing to an informed national legislature.

To carry out this mission, CRS staff provide a great diversity of research and reference services, including close support to the legislative process through analytic reports and consultations, analyses of alternative legislative proposals and their impacts, assistance in hearings and other phases of the legislative and oversight processes, and analysis of emerging issues and trend data.

CRS also works cooperatively with other Congressional support agencies; the Congressional Budget
Office and the General Accounting Office, and with other specialized entities of the Congress.

Fiscal 1999 Request

The Congressional Research Service is requesting a total of $68,461,000 to support services to the Congress in fiscal 1999. This represents an increase of $3,858,000 over fiscal 1998, and is composed of $2,587,630 for mandatory increases, $398,600 for price level changes, and $871,770 for the first year of an initiative to maintain CRS research capacity at a time when up to half of the CRS is likely to retire by 2006. These increases are necessary to maintain responsiveness, timeliness, and quality of research support for the Congress.

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Funds are requested to cover ingrade and reallocation increases.

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Annualization of January 1998 pay raise

This increase is necessary to provide for annualization of the 1998 pay raise of 2.45 percent, effective January 1998.

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+ $ 356,900

(3)

Funding for January 1999 pay raise

$ 1,040,100

This increase is necessary to provide for a 3 percent pay increase effective January 1999.

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22,000

2,600

201,800

$ 1.266,500

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CRS is requesting funds to hire 20 staff during fiscal 1999 in order to begin addressing a major threat to its ability to maintain services to the Congress. According to a staff survey conducted in January 1997, of the 381 staff eligible to retire between 1997 and 2006 (half of all staff), nearly two-thirds of them plan to do SO. This assessment indicates that CRS is at risk of losing significant portions of its analytic capacity in a wide variety of subject areas. Rebuilding such capacity typically involves a multi-year learning period to develop the breadth and depth of knowledge about the public policy issues within the framework of law-making that is resident in our top level analysts and specialists.

As early as the year 2000, CRS projects diminished capacity in such areas as legal analysis of international law, congressional committee operations, executive management and personnel, civil rights, crime and criminal justice programs, global change and earth science, and defense policy and budgets. In each case, the projected retirements will leave CRS with between 20-75% of the current research capacity in that subject area. The losses in CRS capacity accelerate through 2004 and beyond and by then affect all areas of legislative support that CRS provides to the Congress.

Without advanced development of future capacity through early hiring at entry level, the retirement demographics for CRS could portend substantial erosion in CRS capacity to fulfill its mission of supporting the Congress in all areas of legislative activity. Hiring, training, and assimilating new analysts and information specialists will provide for the orderly transfer of institutional knowledge of public policy issues in the congressional environment without severe disruptions in CRS services.

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Beginning in fiscal 1999, CRS is requesting funding for a total of 60 additional FTES to be hired over a three year period (20 in fiscal 1999, 20 in fiscal 2000, and 20 in fiscal 2001) with the subsequent net decrease of 60 FTEs over the following 5 years (a decrease of 10 FTEs per year from 2002-2005, and a decrease of 20 FTES in 2006). fiscal 2006 CRS would return to the fiscal 1997 authorized level.

By

By applying succession planning models developed in the private and public sector and selected professions, where junior associates and residencies are critical to the maintenance of service quality and delivery, CRS will effectively manage this future challenge.

IncreasO

Amount

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