[Questions from Chairman Walsh and responses follow:] Question. Before you proceed Jay, the House has reduced its budgets and FTE employment significantly. Give the Committee a sense of those reductions since the beginning of the 104th Congress. Response. The following comparative table shows each fiscal year appropriation since fiscal year 1995 and estimated outlays. The impact of these factors is presented in the following chart. From an FTE perspective, there have been significant related reductions. The comparative table below shows the relationship between funded FTEs and actual usage for fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997 with estimated usage for fiscal year 1998. Question. For the record, prepare a five year table which shows the recent history of House funding and FTE levels. Response. The information follows: Mr. EAGEN. Referring to pages 13 through 35 of the Subcommittee Print, for salaries and expenses of House leadership offices, $12,689,000. Mr. Chairman, I submit for the record the balance of pages 4 through 15 and would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. WALSH. Without objection. [The information follows:] HOUSE LEADERSHIP OFFICES For salaries and expenses of the House Leadership Offices, $12,689,000. Each Leadership office may be entitled to a statutory allowance, lump sum allowance and/or official expense allowance pursuant to existing statute. The Statutory Allowance authorizes each Leadership Office certain positions and compensation rates specifically established by law. A lump sum allowance is authorized to all Leadership Offices except the Speaker's Office for Legislative Floor Activities and Nine Minority Employees. The lump sum allowance provides funding for all other positions and non-personnel expenditures. An annual official expense allowance is authorized to the Speaker, the Majority and Minority Leaders and the Whips. The FY '99 budget request represents full funding of all authorizations for each leadership office. A parity has been maintained between the Majority and Minority Offices, excluding the Speaker, and two-thirds of the nine minority employees. I will now present ..each Leadership Office funding request. OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER For the Office of the Speaker, $1,705,000. This request includes full funding for six statutory positions, a Lump Sum Allowance and $25,000 for the Speaker's official expenses allowance. The lump sum allowance is an amount established by law and increased each year by the annual cost of living adjustment pursuant to existing law. This allowance is used for personnel and non personnel expenses for this office. Note: The FY 97 enacted amount was adjusted by a reprogram approved by the Subcommittee. OFFICE OF THE MAJORITY FLOOR LEADER For the Office of the Majority Floor Leader, $1,669,000. This request includes full funding for six statutory positions, a lump sum allowance and $10,000 for the Leader's official expenses allowance. The lump sum allowance is an amount established by law and increased each year by the annual cost of living adjustment pursuant to existing law. This allowance is used for personnel and non personnel expenses for this office. OFFICE OF THE MINORITY FLOOR LEADER (See Pages 19-20 Subcommittee Print) For the Office of the Minority Floor Leader, $1,696,000. This request includes full funding for seven statutory positions, a lump sum allowance and $10,000 for the Leader's official expenses allowance. The lump sum allowance is an amount established by law and increased each year by the annual cost of living adjustment pursuant to existing law. This allowance is used for personnel and non personnel expenses for this office. |