Agency Responsible

House Report Page

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf

The Committee has received requests and suggestions from Members and other interested parties for various proposals that warrant further study and consideration, including lifting the cap on the number of full-time staff a Member of the House is able to employ. The Committee recognizes that each Member office has its own plans for staff and personnel organization and that the Members of the Senate have no such cap on fulltime staff. The Committee is requesting the appropriate House offices study and report on these issues. In addition this study should also address additional staff capacity for a district that has been impacted by a federally declared natural disaster

"Appropriate House Offices"

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=5

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=43

The Committee requests that Congressional budget justifications for fiscal year 2022-onward include a description of the activities of the AOC Construction Division, identifying the number and size of projects, the number of staff funded through Construction Division activities, and the funding provided to the Division from AOC jurisdiction accounts. The Committee also requests that the justifications include in each jurisdiction’s section the appropriations bill language requested, along with any changes to be identified with brackets and italicization.

The Committee recognizes the urgent need to complete the Cannon Building renewal, which will replace outdated building systems, conserve historic aspects of the building, and optimize the functionality of Member suites, among other improvements. However, the Committee is concerned that the cost estimate for the project has increased by 19 percent to a total of $896,000,000. That estimate has been recently validated by the General Accountability Office, the AOC Inspector General and an expert outside contractor, who have all concluded that the estimate is within a 90 percent confidence interval. The AOC has taken several important steps to control future costs in the project: (a) establishing a cut-off date for change requests; (b) incorporating known changes from early phases into the base contract to avoid paying change order premiums; (c) using more aggressive schedule management to quickly identify the schedule impacts of changes and better control acceleration costs; (d) requiring a better protocol for contractors to provide cost, schedule and feasibility feedback for proposed changes; and (e) expediting the evaluation and selective demolition in the basement and fifth floor to identify potential unforeseen site conditions early to lessen the impact on cost and schedule. The Committee receives periodic reports from the Architect, the AOC IG, and the GAO on the Cannon project schedule, actual costs incurred and expected future costs, and design and construction modifications. However, a recent report from the AOC has acknowledged that the COVID–19 virus pandemic is one of the top risks for timely completion of the project. The report indicated thatcost and schedule impacts are possible due to supply chain issues, workforce availability, site access, and enhanced protection measures related to the virus. Therefore, the Committee expects to receive fast turnaround notice in the periodic reports that are provided if any further cost increases are anticipated and how the AOC expects to absorb them. The AOC is reminded of the administrative provision in the bill prohibiting funding for incentive or award payments to contractors for projects that are behind schedule or over budget.

The Committee is concerned by the lack of availability of gender-neutral restrooms throughout the House office buildings. The Committee requests the Architect to submit a report within 90 days of enactment of this Act detailing the number and availability of gender-neutral public bathrooms in each House office building. The Architect is further encouraged to consider how to incorporate gender-neutral bathrooms in appropriate future construction and remodeling projects for House office buildings

The Committee understands there is interest in making menstrual hygiene products available at no cost to all those who use restroom facilities in House office buildings. The Committee hopes that CHA will consider making this policy change. As part of this process, the Committee requests the Architect to submit a report to both the Committee and CHA no less than 90 days after enactment of this Act on the feasibility, scope, and cost of making these products available at no cost in House office buildings.

The Committee is interested in the potential use of waterless and low-flow plumbing fixtures in restroom facilities in House office buildings to reduce water usage and associated costs. The Committee requests the Architect to submit a report to the Committee no later than 120 days after enactment of this Act on the potential costs and savings associated with the installation and usage of waterless toilet fixtures, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and other water usage reduction technologies in the restrooms of the House office buildings.

Committee provides no less than $4,348,000 for the AOC Inspector General office to support no less than 16 FTE. The $200,000 increase above the request is intended for one FTE follow-up evaluator.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=25

The Committee notes that there are several processes within the House that could be improved and streamlined through technology, and that modernizing Congress is essential to its core functions as an institution. For example, all steps of the flag request process should be submitted through a single online portal and a universal online onboarding process for new staff members should be implemented to help new staff become familiar with all of these processes.

In H. Report 116–64, the Committee directed the CAO to produce and submit to the Committee a report on the adequacy of district office rent allocations in the MRA in districts where there is no Federal office space available for rent and districts with above-average market rate rents. The Committee looks forward to receiving this report in a timely manner.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=7

The Committee is aware of the ongoing pilot to support Member offices with their casework business processes via a casework privacy release app. The Committee supports the CAO’s efforts to investigate these technologies that will provide electronic document management, accessibility, and the creation of constituent forms that can be viewed, edited, and electronically signed. This type of technology is widely used by businesses and will improve Member office efficiency, workflow, and provide cost savings. Implementation of this technology will help Member offices implement new constituent electronic consent authorities granted under the House-passed H.R. 1079: Creating Advanced Streamlined Electronic Services for Constituent Act of 2020 or the ‘‘CASE Act’’.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=10

The CAO is encouraged to continue to investigate and pilot various cloud service options that will provide House offices with greater accessibility to their files, enhanced collaboration tools, and more storage. The Committee supports standardizing cloud services to strengthen the House’s security posture and provide Member offices additional support and cost savings.

The Committee recognizes that the use of digital workspace technologies in Member offices can increase user productivity, enhance cybersecurity, and allow workforce flexibility for both Congressional staff and Members of Congress. The Committee continues to encourage the exploration of multi-factor authentication solutions to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of all legislative offices, including strategies and programs that reduce the total life cycle costs of traditional legacy workspace infrastructure.

The Committee appreciates the effort to implement the first ever Congressional Staff Salary report as requested in the fiscal year 2019 report. Given existing realities of gender and racial pay gaps in America, the Committee is concerned the data collected and findings asserted in the salaries report, where the report details an approximate 50 percent participation rate, fails to adequately capture the necessary bench-mark data of which was the goal of the survey. The Committee directs the CAO to explore options to mandate participation and to re-implement the survey expeditiously

The Committee is concerned that according to the recent House of Representatives Compensation and Diversity Study Report, 53.5 percent of Member office staff are not satisfied with their pay, and as a result, 49 percent of those staffers are considering looking for employment elsewhere. No later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, the CAO shall produce and submit to the Committee a report with recommendations on how to improve retention and bring staff salaries in line with executive agency equivalents. The CAO is further directed to solicit anonymized input from House personnel for suggestions on how to improve retention and increase staff salaries.

The Committee is concerned with the recent layoffs of House cafeteria employees that have led the remaining employees to shoulder a higher workload, and, as a result, patrons are receiving a lower quality of customer service. The Committee directs the CAO to submit a report to this Committee no later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act detailing the number of current employees, the number of employees under the previous food service provider, and how the current food service provider is compensating the cafeteria employees for the additional work. In the same report, the CAO shall include the level of wages paid to cafeteria employees and whether this amount is a livable wage for the Washington, D.C. area.

The CAO is urged to examine the feasibility of a House-wide paid family and medical leave policy for House employees and report its findings no later 180 days after enactment of this Act

Eligible Congressional Member Organization (eCMO)

The Committee notes that the eCMO process was set up in the 114th Congress to streamline the documentation process and ease of processing paperwork. The process outlined in House Rules, was amended in the beginning of the 116th Congress to lower requirements for more participation of smaller CMOs. The Committee on House Administration (CHA) adopted regulations that defined the required paperwork for establishing and appointing staff to eCMOs in Committee Resolution 116–06. The CAO is directed to provide an assessment of current procedures and provide recommendations for more efficiencies should they exist no later than 120 days after enactment of this Act

The CAO is directed to study the feasibility of a tuition remission program for House of Representative employees in addition to the student loan repayment program currently in effect. The CAO shall share its findings with the Committee on Appropriations and CHA in a report no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act.

The Select Committee recommended that the CAO leverage the bulk purchasing power of the House of Representatives. The CAO should provide a standard suite of quality, up-to-date devices and software, such as desktop and laptop computers, tablets, printers, mobile phones and desk phones at no cost to the MRA. The Committee believes that fragmented and duplicative contracts cause inefficiencies and unnecessary costs for Member, Committee, and leadership offices. The Committee recommends that the CAO negotiate House-wide contracts or purchasing services for Member, Committee, and Leadership offices with the goal of saving taxpayer dollars by purchasing centrally rather than independently.

The CAO is also encouraged to develop and pilot baseline tech packages for new Member offices in order to take advantage of bulk purchasing rates and streamline the process of equipping Member offices with necessary technologies. The CAO, in consultation with the Committee on House Administration, should determine what constitutes a good, baseline technology package for Member offices. The CAO may pilot a baseline tech package with freshman offices, then expand the pilot to other offices accordingly

The Committee commends the recommendations produced by the Select Committee, particularly those regarding centralized Human Resources. A centralized human resources program would provide standardized hiring, promoting, and managing guidelines and improve in the retention and recruitment of a diverse workforce. The Committee requests a report within 120 days of enactment from the CAO on the feasibility of a centralized Human Resources system.

According to the Bureau of the Census, there are 40.7 million citizens who are non-institutionalized individuals with a disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Individuals with disabilities should have full digital access to government digital properties, especially those made available by Member offices, including websites, applications, and electronic document retrieval programs. The Select Committee has highlighted improving access to Congressional websites for individuals with disabilities as a top priority. The Committee directs the CAO to provide a report, no later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, on the current state of web accessibility of Member websites and provide a plan that defines the scope, timeline, and cost estimates for all Member of Congress websites to be accessible for the disabled. This report shall be submitted to the Committee and the Committee on House Administration.

The Committee directs the AOC in consultation with the CAO and other relevant stakeholders to develop recommendations to provide an environmentally responsible working environment for the House of Representatives with a focus on reducing its carbon footprint and if possible, achieving carbonneutrality. These recommendations shall be submitted to the Committee no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=3

The issues of pay comparability and disparities will be of continuing interest, particularly as the new Office of Diversity and Inclusion begins its work. The Committee, therefore, requests that the CAO, working with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, explore ways of providing data on salaries and benefits in the House on an annual basis including through approaches such as possible use of payroll data and/or information collected during the employee onboarding process or recurring surveys of samples of employees or offices. The CAO should report its conclusions and recommendations on that subject to the Committee and the Committee on House Administration.

CAO + Office of D&I

Capitol Police officers interact with thousands of domestic and international visitors every day. Visitors have varying cultural and social needs, including but not limited to individuals with limited English proficiency, diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and disabilities. The Committee recognizes the U.S. Capitol Police for including diversity training as a part of the current Capitol Police training sessions and encourages the Capitol police to continue strengthening its curriculum to ensure service is provided to all visitors in a culturally competent manner.

The goal of any organization should be to build a workforce with people from diverse backgrounds. The Committee believes that hiring more officers from underrepresented groups in the U.S. should be a critical priority for the USCP. Therefore, the Committee directs the USCP to provide a report concurrent with the budget submissions that details: 1) the number of activities to try to promote workforce diversity, including partnering with organizations that focus on developing opportunities for minorities and women; 2) the steps taken to attract and retain a diverse workforce, and; 3) a breakout of USCP positions sworn and civilian by race and gender.

The Committee is interested in what programs and training methods and procedures USCP use to eliminate racial profiling. The Committee directs the USCP to provide a report to the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on House Administration detailing: 1) what policies and procedures are in place at the academy to eliminate unconscious bias and racial profiling during training; 2) what steps the USCP has taken to eliminate existing practices that permit or encourage racial profiling; and 3) arrest information disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender.

The Committee is aware that the U.S. Capitol Police does publicly share its arrest data, however, it is not available in a user-friendly format that is searchable, sortable, downloadable, and is made available on a cumulative basis. The Committee directs the U.S. Capitol Police to explore the potential of developing a system that can meet these requirements and provide the Committees a report of the cost of such a system no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act.

The Committee is aware that the public does not have access to reports issued by the Capitol Police Office of Inspector General. While the Committee understands that these reports can be sensitive to law enforcement actions and Congressional security, the Committee is interested in what reports can be shared with the general public. The Committee believes thatthe Inspector General should make an effort to make appropriate reports public if they do not compromise law enforcement activities, national security, or Congressional security and processes without redaction. Therefore, no later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General is directed to conduct a review of all issued reports within the previous 3 years and provide to the Committees a report listing which reports could have been made public.

While the USCP is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 USC 552), the Committee encourages the USCP to develop a policy and procedure for the sharing of information that follows the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act. This policy should be consistent with, and not interfere with, USCP’s primary function of protecting the Congress.

USCP communication is vital to provide accurate and timely information to Members and Staff, as well as the general public that often visits the Capitol Hill Complex. While the USCP does an excellent job of keeping Members and staff informed, the Committee is concerned that the general public is often not aware of severe weather events and security incidents while on the complex grounds. The Committee directs the USCP to establish a community notification system that can be utilized by visitors and community members to allow a larger audience to receive USCP notifications. The USCP may leverage social platforms to meet this goal. The Committee further directs the USCP to provide a report no later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act on its progress to meet this directive.

The USCP’s primary mission is to ‘‘Protect the Congress—its Members, employees, visitors, and facilities—so it can fulfill its constitutional and legislative responsibilities in a safe, secure and open environment.’’ The Committee is interested in how the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and USCP navigate overlapping jurisdiction and what agreements and regulations are in place that allows the USCP to operate beyond their primary and extended jurisdictions. The Committee directs the UCSP to provide a report that details its working relationship with MPD, the number of arrests made beyond USCP’s primary and extended jurisdictions, and how many times USCP has responded to incidents outside of its jurisdiction, as well as the reason for responding. This report shall be submitted no later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.

Federal Law Enforcement - Use of Force and de-escalation, racial profiling, implicit bias, and procedural justice trainings

The Committee notes that the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021 directs the Attorney General to establish a training program to cover the use of force and de-escalation, racial profiling, implicit bias, and procedural justice, to include training on the duty of Federal law enforcement officers to intervene in cases where another law enforcement officer is using excessive force, and make such training a requirement for Federal law enforcement officers. The Committee further notes that several Departments and agencies funded by this Act employ Federal law enforcement officers and are Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers partner organizations. The Committee directs such Departments and agencies to adopt and follow the training program established by the Attorney General, and to make such training a requirement for its Federal law enforcement officers. The Committee further directs such Departments and agencies to brief the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on their efforts relating to training no later than 90 days after the Attorney General has established such a training program.

90 Days After AG Establishes The Program

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=4

The Committee directs such Departments and agencies, to the extent that such Departments and agencies have not already done so, to submit their use of force data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s National Use of Force Data Collection database. The Committee further directs such Departments and agencies to brief the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations no later than 90 days after enactment of this Act on their current efforts to tabulate and submit its use of force data to the FBI.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=4

The Committee is interested in the costs and benefits of allowing lawmakers to request and receive formal cost estimates of legislation prior to Committee markups. CBO should examine the feasibility, cost, benefits, and drawbacks of providing formal cost estimates, and provide guidance on the amount of time and resources such requests would demand from CBO. The report should also shall assess how many additional personnel might be required to accomplish this task. This report should be submitted to the Committee no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act.

The CBO provides Congress with budgetary and economic analysis that supports the legislative process and can have significant policy implications. The Committee supports the work CBO has done in the area of responsiveness and recognizes that CBO’s access to Federal agency data enhances its ability to respond quickly to the Congress. To that end, the Committee requests information pertaining to CBO’s access to Federal agency data, including both data sources and data sets. The requested information should be submitted to the Committee no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act.

CBO is charged with providing Congress with independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process. Each year, the agency’s economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports and hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation, not to mention thousands of informal analyses upon request. To accomplish this task, CBO must ingest, analyze, store, manage, secure, and report on a variety of disparate datasets. These data sources and the complexity of analyses continue to grow. The Committee is concerned that CBO relies on legacy technologies including spreadsheets and manual processes. The Committee recommends that CBO explore using new technology such as artificial intelligence that could improve budgetary analysis to ensure CBO continues to provide Congress with effective and efficient analysis of budgetary and economic issues.

The Committee believes that Congressional staff members need digital options to complete their critical day-today functions, such as collecting signatures for letters. The Committee requests a report from the Clerk of the House, no later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, on the feasibility of the use of digital signatures.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=9

The Committee is interested in the feasibility, the costs and requirements for the implementation of an automated Committee Roll Call Voting System for all Committees. The report should provide cost estimates with the emphasis on flexible implementation for each Committee if this is action is possible. The report should also address the number of Committees that may be interested in automated voting. This report should also consider whether publishing these electronic votes in a central online database, managed by the House Clerk, would facilitate other goals of Committee vote transparency and efficiency. This report shall be submitted no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=9

The Committee requests a report from the Clerk of the House, no later than 60 days after enactment of this Act, regarding progress on generating a Congresswide unique identifier for lobbyists and disclosing that identifier to the public as structured data as part of the lobbying disclosure downloads.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=9

The Committee directs the Clerk of the House to provide a report on the feasibility and cost of installing additional voting display boards in the House Chamber or on smaller touch screens at certain exits to assist members in tracking their votes during a vote series.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=9

The Committee is aware that due to COVID–19 the Clerk of the House has taken action to make Office of the Clerk functions electronic. For example, for the official reporters, extensions of remarks and general leave statements are electronic. For legislative operations, Members can now introduce legislation electronically, add cosponsors, as well as provide constitutional authority statements. The Committee applauds the Clerk’s forward thinking on these matters and encourages the Clerk to continue to develop more electronic systems for House processes. The Committee further directs the Clerk to provide a report detailing these actions as well as the cost of implementation of these, and further necessary actions to update the functions of the Office of the Clerk. This report shall be submitted no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=9

The Committee encourages the Clerk of the House to explore ways to make the publication of Legislative Branch information as data more readily available to the public, which includes providing assistance to the public with finding and obtaining legislative data; supporting the annual Legislative Data and Transparency Conference; supporting the Bulk Data Task Force; and other duties as the House Clerk deems appropriate that promote public or Congressional access to legislative information as data.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=10

The Clerk of the House in consultation with the Congressional Research Service and other relevant stakeholders, is directed to report to the Committee no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act on the feasibility and cost of hyperlinking Congressional Record entries to video of floor proceedings on Congress.gov

The Committee applauds the Clerk of the House for updating legislative systems to modernize House operations and comply with the rules of the House such as House rule XXI, clause 12 (referred to as the ‘‘Posey Rule’’). The Committee is aware of advances made in Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) products that could be used to expand resources for Members and staff. The Committee directs the Clerk, in consultation with the CAO, to study this issue and develop a list of COTS systems that can be easily integrated with existing House platforms leading to increase in productivity and cost savings. Furthermore, the report should examine the comparative advantages of available COTS alternatives that have been authorized for use by the Committee on House Administration for use throughout the House. This report shall be submitted no later than 90 days after enactment of this Act.

The CRS provides valuable education seminars for Congressional staff on the legislative process. To strengthen and expand those educational opportunities and to assist in retaining staff, the Committee is interested in the concept of a more rigorous and extensive program for staff training. CRS is requested to provide a report within 120 days of enactment of this Act that develops a design concept for a one-year pilot continuing education Congressional law program for senior Congressional staff. The pilot could be operated by CRS or by a local law school chosen by competitive grant. Subject matter could include topics such as Federal judiciary and constitutional law; legislation and the regulatory state; and international law. The CRS report should include recommendations on the appropriate number of participants, the composition of the group, and selection process, the projected costs of such a pilot, and possible funding sources, to include Member office and student contributions.

The Committee requests that within 60 days of enactment of this Act the CRS provide a report to the Committee evaluating the possibility of publication of CRS reports contained in its CRSX archive, specifically examining the feasibility, cost, and benefits of integrating all or a subset of the reports online. This analysis should include an assessment of the utility to the public and Congress of online access to the reports.

The Library is requested to provide to the Committee within 60 days of enactment of this Act a report describing the process, timeframe and costs of making available to the public all currently available non-confidential CRS Reports in HTML format rather than PDF, or a successor format when appropriate. The Committee understands that CRS already publishes reports on its internal website in HTML. Making this change in format for external audiences would facilitate the use and re-use of the information contained in the reports.

Capitol Police basic training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

The Committee is pleased with GAO’s efforts to strengthen its technology and science function by creating the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) team. The STAA’s initial products such as its first technology assessments and its Science and Tech Spotlights recognize Congressional interest in the production of short- to medium-term analyses. The Committee encourages GAO to continue to develop new components of STAA studies by including policy recommendation options, when appropriate to the subject. STAA is also encouraged to identify new cloud data management and storage solutions for GAO’s enormous volume of data that would enhance STAA’s analytic capabilities and make the data more accessible and usable

The Committee remains concerned that the GAO Budget Appropriations Group (the Group) is not always prompt with formal legal opinions, informal legal advice and its responsibilities under the Impoundment Control Act. The Committee noted in the report accompanying P.L. 116–94 that the number of requests to the Group has increased dramatically over the last five years, demonstrating how GAO’s analyses are vital to the Committee’s work. The Committee is pleased by the administrative steps taken by GAO to increase the future efficiency of the Group, however, the agency is encouraged to consider whether its resources are optimally allocated between its operational teams to adequately support its important appropriations law functions and to provide more timely responses to the Committee.

Since passage of Public Law 111–139, GAO has been mandated to produce a report to Congress identifying duplicative programs throughout the Federal government. In a yearly report GAO identifies Federal programs, agencies, offices and initiatives that have duplicative goals or activities. Since 2011, GAO has presented 805 actions in more than 300 areas for Congress or executive branch agencies to reduce, eliminate, or better manage fragmentation, overlap or duplication. As of March, 2019, Congress and the executive branch have addressed or partially addressed 621 of those actions resulting in roughly $216,000,000,000 in financial benefits. The Committee continues to direct GAO to issue these reports and urges Congress and the executive branch to address duplicative programs.

Funds provided in this bill will support the annualized costs of staff hired during fiscal year 2020 and maintain 2020 staffing levels in 2021, as well as address IT and infrastructure requests.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=38

$2,438,000 for the GAO Inspector General office to support no less than 11 FTE

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=38

There has been interest among some Members during the past several years in reinstituting the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which had provided technology assessment analysis for Congress until its de-funding in 1995. The Committee responded to this interest by requesting the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to recommend whether Congress should re-start OTA or take other action. The NAPA report, released in November, 2019, recommended that OTA should not be re-started and instead that GAO and the Congressional Research Service should expand their technology assessment efforts. As a result, the bill increases funding for GAO to strengthen its new Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) team. The Committee has been pleased with STAA’s initial efforts, but will continue to review its work to see if other steps are needed in the future.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=5

The Committee recognizes that Members of Congress and their staff frequently use social media and other digital assets to communicate with their constituents in their official capacity and in doing so, face growing threats from criminals and potentially foreign governments looking to impersonate their online personas, perpetrate fraud or conduct other malicious activity via these digital channels. The Committee encourages the Sergeant at Arms to explore technology solutions to actively protect the digital personas of Members of Congress from fraud, exploitation and abuse.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=10

House Report 116–64 directed the Sergeant at Arms to provide a report on Legislative Branch security clearances. The Committee has received the first of two reports and has concluded that additional information is necessary. Therefore, the Committee directs the Sergeant at Arms to also include, in the appropriate format, the number of clearances disaggregated by security level as well as clearances pending.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=10

The Committee continues to support the comprehensive wellness program created to support and empower House staff with resources to navigate the fast pace of working on Capitol Hill while maintaining a healthy life. Providing employees with the proper tools leads to higher productivity, increased employee engagement, and a stronger workforce. These types of programs help in retaining talented staff. Technology companies that have embedded wellness programs within their charters are able to compete and think more creatively as well as manage their high stress environments. The Committee encourages the House Wellness Program to gather statistics on the short-term and longterm effects on House staff who regularly utilize the program offerings. In addition, the Committee recommends $300,000 in this bill to continue growing the program.

House Wellness Program

The Committee was encouraged to receive the Library’s IT Modernization and Integrated Master Schedule this spring. The Committee expects the LOC to continue to refine the Master Schedule and consider it an evolving document. The plan should be used to integrate schedules and cost baselines for responsible project management. In addition, the leadership of Office of the Librarian should help shape and use it as an important management tool. The Library is engaged in many agency-wide modernization efforts, which are being coordinated through a centralized chief information officer (CIO) directorate. This centralization was implemented based on the recommendations of GAO and other oversight entities because of the efficiencies it would create from a funding, IT support, cybersecurity, and IT development perspective. Some of these benefits have already been realized under the new structure. However, on occasion, the centralized structure may determine a lower priority for initiatives that benefit only one of the Library agencies rather than all of them, even though the project would help the single agency fulfill its mission. The Committee urges the Library to provide a report to the Committee no later than 90 days after enactment of this Act detailing the internal safeguards the Office of the CIO uses to ensure that funds will be allocated in a way responsive to both agency-specific and crosscutting IT needs, as well as the priorities identified by Congress and other external stakeholders

The Committee commends the Law Library for continuing to provide support to the time-sensitive and complex needs of the Congress, the Supreme Court, executive branch agencies, courts, practicing attorneys, State bars, State and local governments, American businesses, scholars, journalists, and those with legal research needs. The Committee urges the Law Library to continue its digitization strategy as part of the Library’s overall digitization strategy to increase online access to major parts of its collection, such as the U.S. Serial Sets and Supreme Court Records and Briefs.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=33

Contracting Opportunities for Minority-Owned Businesses

Contracting Opportunities for Minority-Owned Businesses

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=6

Advertising Contracts with women and minority owned businesses

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=6

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=6

equal to last year, and would have increased if not for social distancing

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=3

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=3

The Committee is supportive of the Select Committee’s recommendations to adopt standardized formats for legislative documents and expedite the legislation comparison project.

Providing access to quality, affordable child care is critical for retaining staff, and advancing women in the workplace, who are still disproportionately primary caregivers. The Committee strongly supports further investments to further reduce the waitlist, expand admissions, and ensure quality care at Capitol complex child care centers.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=7

Penalty for Behind Schedule/ Over Budget Contractors (Sec. 117)

No bonuses for contractors behind schedule or over budget, “None of the funds made available in this Act for the Architect of the Capitol may be used to make incentive or award payments to contractors for work on contracts or programs for which the contractor is behind schedule or over budget”

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=22

The Committee directs the OCAS to submit a report to the Committees no later than 120 days after enactment of this Act on the number of interpreter requests the Office processes each year for deaf and hard-of-hearing staff members, interns, or visiting public on Capitol Hill. In addition, the Committee requests the OCAS to provide recommendations on what types of deaf and hard-of-hearing technological-assisted devices Capitol Hill staff, interns, or members of the public require for use in the Capitol, and if increased funding for resources are needed to help expand opportunities on Capitol Hill for those individuals.

Office of Congressional Accessibility Services

The Committee is aware of the diversity pilot initiative launched in January 2020 to track the diversity of the expert witnesses who testify before Congress through an optional survey shared along with the required Truth In Testimony Form to outside witnesses. The diversity initiative aims to ensure that a diversity of voices and perspectives are considered by all Committees to ensure inclusive policies and legislation that benefit the entire country. The Committee strongly supports this initiative and looks forward to the results of the effort

Workplace harassment and discrimination are an abuse of power and perpetrators must be held accountable to promote a safe and dignified environment. While there is more work to be done, Congress took positive action by overhauling its reporting and dispute resolution process, requiring regular and anonymous climate surveys and anti-harassment training, and mandating annual reporting to Congress. Another positive step was establishing the Office of Employee Advocacy. To continue support of this office, the Committee recommends $1,491,000 for the Office to cover additional full-time employees, staff travel to district offices to litigate cases if necessary, and contractor support for court reporters to transcribe hearings and depositions.

Office of Employee Advocacy

Members Represetnational Allowances (MRA) Increase

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=3

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=16

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=16

Cybersecurity Assistance for House of Representatives (Sec. 112)

federal entities providing the House assistance with cybersecurity must take all the steps necessary to ensure the constitutional integrity of the separate branches of the government at all stages of providing the assistance, including applying minimization procedures to limit the spread or sharing of privileged House and Member information

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=9

Limitation on Telecommunications Equipment Procurement (Sec. 208)

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=38

Authority to Hire Individuals Covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (Sec. 212)

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=40

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=42

Limitation on Cost of Living Adjustments for Members (Sec. 213)

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LB_38861.pdf#page=40

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY21LEGBill20.7.2_0.pdf#page=43