[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 91 (Thursday, June 9, 2016)] [House] [Pages H3635-H3655] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2017 General Leave Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5325, and that I may include tabular material on the same. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia? There was no objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 771 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 5325. The Chair appoints the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves) to preside over the Committee of the Whole. {time} 1828 In the Committee of the Whole Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 5325) making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other purposes, with Mr. Graves of Louisiana in the chair. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Graves) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The overarching goal of the bill we are considering here today is to ensure that we continue to preserve the beauty, enhance the security, and improve the institutions of the United States Capitol complex. I am glad to report that we have accomplished our mission, and we have done it in a way that respects taxpayers. By making tough choices, this bill demonstrates the great work that Congress can do even during a time of lean budgets. The American people will be proud to know that this bill continues to use a zero-based budgeting approach. That means each legislative branch agency was required to justify its budget from scratch. This practice curbs wasteful [[Page H3636]] spending and safeguards taxpayer dollars. Another part of our effort to respect taxpayers was the orderly shutdown of the Open World Leadership Center, which is outdated, and a multimillion-dollar-a-year program that no longer will exist. Additionally, we continue the freeze on Members' pay. Now, this was a simple decision for me. If our constituents aren't getting a raise in this economy, then we shouldn't either. Now, it is also worth noting that the Capitol Dome Restoration project is on time and it is under budget. In fact, my office has had a little fun with this, posting pictures each day on social media of the progress of the scaffolding coming off the dome, using the hashtag ``Free the Dome.'' We also have a family-themed bill this year. We have worked with Members on both sides of the aisle to make certain that baby-changing stations are available throughout all the House office buildings and in the Capitol. Visiting the Capitol with a new baby can be difficult enough. Young mothers and fathers traveling with their children in tow should have the appropriate facilities available to them, and now they will. {time} 1830 Additionally, with so many mothers-to-be working for the House of Representatives through their pregnancies, the committee wants to ensure that these working moms have access to convenient parking. Of course, we have also carried on the new tradition of sledding on Capitol Hill. Again this winter, children and adults alike living in the area can sled on the west front of the Capitol--something that, unfortunately, was banned before we changed it last year. Simply put, this bill makes the Capitol more inviting and accessible to young families. I would, of course, like to thank the ranking member for her role throughout the process of writing this bill and all the members of our committee for their hard work and their valuable contributions. In seeing this bill through the committee process, a good bill was made even better. Together, we have received and worked through more than 200 submissions from Republicans and Democrats, appropriators and nonappropriators, many of which we have included in this legislation. We continued conversations with Members of both the majority and the minority up to and through full committee markup, and saw an amendment process that incorporated proposals from both sides of the aisle, including additional resources to better serve our constituents, increased savings dedicated to the Historic Buildings Revitalization Trust Fund, and support for efforts to enhance the security of the Capitol campus. I would also like to thank all of the staff on both sides of the aisle who have worked on the bill this year. In particular, I am appreciative of the hard work Liz Dawson, Tim Monahan and Shalanda Young, and, of course, Jenny Panone who really stepped up to the plate after we lost our good friend, Chuck Turner. As a longtime professional staff member of this subcommittee, Chuck has been missed this appropriations season. The appropriations family just isn't the same without him, and I want to express my continued sympathies to his family, his friends, and those he worked so closely with all these years. I would also like to thank Jason Murphy and John Donnelly in my personal office, as well Sarah Arkin and Rosalyn Kumar from Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz's office. Finally, I would like to note the important contributions that Congressman Sam Farr and Congressman Scott Rigell both have made to our subcommittee. Their hard work and dedication has been extremely valuable, and they will be dearly missed by our subcommittee and by this body. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. [[Page H3637]] [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH080616.001 [[Page H3638]] [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH080616.002 [[Page H3639]] [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH080616.003 [[Page H3640]] [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH080616.004 [[Page H3641]] Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill is a total of $3.481 billion--$72 million above the fiscal year 2016 enacted bill. I thank our full committee chairman, Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, for understanding the challenges posed by years of cuts and providing an allocation to begin rebuilding the capacity of Congress to do the people's work. Chairman Graves funded critical investments with the additional allocation. He knows that if we were only discussing funding today, I would be with him in protecting the good work of the subcommittee. Specifically, I am pleased with the critical investments in the Copyright Modernization Project and the Historic Buildings Revitalization Trust Fund. The bill provides the Copyright Modernization Project with a 17 percent increase. This critical funding will enable the Copyright Office to hire the necessary staff to begin to make technological advancements to improve the way they do business. It is unacceptable in the year 2016 that copyright users have to make certain requests via paper in the 21st century. That is inefficient and a drag on commerce that is dependent on the copyright system. There is also report language included that makes it clear that the Library of Congress shall continue to defer to the Register of Copyrights on all copyright-related issues. While the Copyright Office is within the Library of Congress, it has unique functions that make it necessary to have a strong leader that can answer to Congress and the copyright community when issues arise. The Register of Copyrights should have the freedom to make decisions and be responsive to the copyright community. I am also happy to see increased funding for the Historic Buildings Revitalization Trust Fund. This is the same fund that we used to save for the downpayment on the Cannon Building Restoration. This bill provides $17 million for the fund, which is $7 million above fiscal year 2016 funding. I thank the chairman for working with me to sustain this important program. We started the trust fund after the construction of the Capitol Visitor Center. That project was over budget by fourfold, and its management was, frankly, an embarrassment. It was an example of ballooning government projects that pull resources away from other worthy initiatives. The trust fund was created to avoid the pitfalls of the CVC project by creating a reserve of funds that can be used for future large-scale projects. We must put on our forward-thinking caps and look 10 to 20 years down the road so that we save appropriately for large-scale projects. This long-term thinking will ensure that our smallest appropriations bill--the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill--does not have to absorb such large projects to the detriment of other worthy programs. While there are many positives in this bill, Mr. Chairman, there are also issues that must be addressed as we move through the process. One particularly troublesome issue is that the report accompanying this bill includes language seeking to influence the Library of Congress' process to change its subject headings related to immigration. The Library of Congress decided in March of this year to begin using the terms ``noncitizens'' and ``unauthorized immigration'' for cataloging purposes. They did so after being petitioned by Dartmouth College in 2014--a petition they turned down initially--and then again by the American Library Association earlier this year. In January of this year, the American Library Association adopted a resolution calling on the Library of Congress to change the heading ``illegal aliens'' to ``undocumented immigrants.'' Now, these are search terms. The Library of Congress uses subject headings to help researchers be able to find topics based on what they are appropriately to be called. The Library did not adopt the term ``undocumented immigrants'' but chose to begin to use the two phrases ``noncitizens'' and ``unauthorized immigration.'' These new subject headings are still in the process of being considered, as the public will have 60 days to comment on them. The fact that this project is ongoing makes the inclusion of report language even more problematic. How can the Library of Congress be expected to go through a fair and open comment period with this language included in the report accompanying the appropriations bill? My side of the aisle could have certainly pushed to have the Library of Congress reconsider its decision after the Dartmouth petition was turned down in 2014 because many Democrats and Republicans believe that the term ``illegal alien'' labels a group of people based on a misconception that an immigrant's presence in our Nation is a criminal violation, but we allowed the process to work because the Library of Congress is in the business of language and nomenclature and should be free to make these decisions without political interference. Congress should not be setting ourselves up as the word police. Let's be clear: this puts the Library of Congress front and center on one of our Nation's most contentious and emotional political issues. Over the years, as ranking member, this is certainly not the first time I find myself in disagreement with the chairman on a particular issue. However, I have been able to work closely with the chairman of this subcommittee to move the bill and the process forward. And though I have been committed as always to resolving our policy differences, the politicization of the Library of Congress in order to perpetuate a misconception about immigrants in our country is simply an issue on which my principles will not allow me to bend an inch. This language is not necessary, it is not appropriate, and it jeopardizes the work of our Nation's oldest Federal cultural institution and the research arm of this body. The Library of Congress makes thousands of changes to its subject headings every year. At one time, ``Negro'' was a subject heading, but when it became pejorative, they changed it to ``Afro American,'' and eventually the term used today, ``African American.'' The chairman and other Republican members emphasize that they are the Library of Congress--emphasis on Congress--and we should dictate to them what terms they use in their subject headings. Well, I ran for Congress, not word police. We should leave search terms for researchers to the experts and not politicize this bill that simply funds the legislative branch. I am also concerned that under this bill, the Capitol Police budget increases by $325.3 million. This would increase funding for the Capitol Police by 5 percent, above the 8 percent increase they received in the current fiscal year. We value and respect the officers on staff, but I think many Members will join me in raising a skeptical eye when they realize this bill would add 72 new officers and bring the total number of officers to close to 1,900. Just as mayors and city councils across the country have to balance law enforcement with other city services like repairing aging infrastructure, so must Congress. In the near future, the congressional leadership and committees of jurisdiction will need to have a serious discussion about the appropriate size of the Capitol Police. The officers I speak to don't complain about not having enough officers, but, rather, about decisions on how the officers they do have are deployed by police leadership. It is fiscally irresponsible to grow the police at this rate. Also, as Member and committee budgets have been cut, Congress has had to rely on support agencies to fill the gaps in staff expertise. One of those agencies, Mr. Chairman, is the Congressional Research Service, or CRS. CRS was funded in the bill at $107.9 million, $1 million above the fiscal year 2016 enacted level. At the level included in the bill, CRS remains $4.6 million below the fiscal year 2010 levels. According to CRS, recent funding levels have led to a loss of 13 percent of its purchasing power since 2010. The $1 million increase provided by this bill will not cover mandatory pay for CRS' current staff. CRS' budget request sought to rebuild the agency. They asked for two defense policy staff, [[Page H3642]] five health policy staff, three education policy staff, two budget and appropriation staff, four technology policy staff, and two data management and analysis staff. None of those staffs will be funded under the bill before us, therefore, denying Congress of an unbiased analysis of these critical policy areas. Before concluding, Mr. Chairman, I also want to join the chairman in acknowledging the loss of our beloved Chuck Turner. I had the privilege of working with Chuck when I was the chairman of this committee, and he has served both sides of the aisle with integrity, commitment, and love of this institution. His loss was tremendous for the entire appropriations family, and he will be greatly missed on both sides of the aisle. I also want to issue a big thanks to Liz Dawson, the majority clerk and her staff, Jenny Panone and Tim Monahan. Many thanks as well to Jason Murphy with Chairman Graves' personal office. Thank you to my team, Shalanda Young on the committee's minority staff who has worked tirelessly on those issues. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my personal staff, Rosalyn Kumar and Sarah Arkin. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the full Committee on Appropriations. Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to support the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill that is before us. This is the third of the 12 bills to make it to the floor. We have passed eight of the bills through the full committee, and 10 of them through the subcommittees. But this bill provides the important funding that Congress needs to do our work on behalf of the American people. From maintaining the hallowed halls of this very building, to providing services for our constituents, to funding the agencies that keep us informed and in check, the $3.48 billion in this bill supports the largest and freest democracy the world has ever known. In total, our funding is increased slightly--$73 million above current levels. That increase is directed to essential health and safety improvements to aging or damaged facilities as well as to the Capitol Police to protect Members, staff, and our visitors. At the same time, this bill keeps the belt tight, continuing our trajectory of trimming funding for the House of Representatives by 13.2 percent since 2011 and extending the pay freeze for Members of Congress. The funds provided for House operations will allow Members of Congress to continue serving the American people to the fullest extent and representing their voices in Washington, D.C. For the thousands and thousands of people who enter this Capitol complex each day--be it visitors, staff, or Members themselves--safety is of the utmost importance. As we have seen recently, the brave men and women of the Capitol Police force must remain vigilant and well-equipped to secure the Capitol complex. The bill funds the Capitol Police at $391.3 million-- that is $16.3 million above current levels--to enhance security and maintain public access to this complex. To ensure the safety of the buildings in the Capitol complex, which, as we know, has historic but aging facilities, the legislation provides $551 million for the Architect of the Capitol. That includes ongoing rehab projects as well as deferred maintenance. In addition, the bill provides funding for the congressional support agencies that we rely on each day to do our jobs. That includes $533 million for the Government Accountability Office, which provides Congress with accurate reporting on how tax dollars are spent, and $629 million for the Library of Congress. {time} 1845 Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill that targets funds to critical operations while keeping a close eye on every tax dollar spent. I want to thank Chairman Graves for his hard work to ensure that every dollar in this bill helps make the people's House run efficiently and productively. I also want to thank Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz, and all of the subcommittee members and staff for their efforts that brought this bill to the floor. Finally, I do want to specify a thanks to our staff for their knowledge and expertise and passion for this place throughout this process. As we continue our important work on the 2017 appropriations bills, I am proud to support good bills like this one, bills that fulfill their mission in a responsible, targeted way. I urge all Members to support this bill as well. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I want to acknowledge the presence of Chairman Graves' lovely daughter, because it is always nice as a parent to have your children with you while you are doing your work. So welcome to the House of Representatives. I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), our ranking member of the full Appropriations Committee. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz. And I thank Chairman Graves and Chairman Rogers. It is a pleasure for me to work here with all of them. However, in the fiscal year 2017 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill, the House majority has put its political interests first with a process that limits amendments based on a fear of another embarrassing failure, like the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which the House rejected 2 weeks ago. The legislative branch bill contains a number of important services that allow the public to safely visit the U.S. Capitol and for Members to respond to the needs of their constituents. The bill would provide modest increases for the first time in years, including more funding for the Library of Congress, Capitol Police, Architect of the Capitol, and the Members' Representational Allowance. These increases are badly needed. The legislative branch bill has remained essentially flat for several years, despite the steadily growing needs of this institution, including staff shortages, enhanced security, repairs to aging buildings and infrastructure, and preservation at the Library of Congress, among others. Unfortunately, rather than focus on these institutions' value to the public, House Republicans went out of their way to include provisions that ignore these issues, and instead push a partisan agenda that wastes taxpayer dollars. First of all, House Republicans inserted language meant to appease the most extreme members of their conference by directing the Library of Congress to use the term ``illegal alien'' in its subject headings for searches rather than the Library's preferred ``noncitizens'' or ``unauthorized immigration.'' This unnecessary interference into the routine work of the Library of Congress politicizes a change meant to help provide the most up-to-date, thorough information. The inclusion of such language is sadly nothing new for the subcommittee. In the past few years, the majority has spent close to $7 million on a partisan, political Benghazi investigation; $2.3 million defending the Defense of Marriage Act; and is now engaging in shameful, unprecedented attacks on biomedical researchers and women's health. Frankly, I am outraged at how the majority on the Select Investigative Panel is conducting its business. The majority's witch hunt of researchers, including scientists, physicians, and even graduate students, will have real consequences that harm medical advances, and are nothing more than a political charade and waste of taxpayer money. Their request for information and subpoenas without any assertion of wrongdoing are an abuse of authority, a violation of House oversight practices, and a page out of the McCarthy-era bullying tactics that are a stain on our legislative process. The panel should be disbanded immediately. It is unacceptable that we cannot move appropriation bills forward in a bipartisan manner because Republicans would rather play partisan politics with taxpayer dollars than deal with the pressing challenges facing this institution and this country. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before I recognize my friend from Illinois, I have the deepest respect for [[Page H3643]] the ranking member of the full committee, Mrs. Lowey. I know that she represents what she believes very well and eloquently. But I must point out for clarification, for the Record, really what the report language says. I think that is important. I think words are important. I listened very intently to what was shared a minute ago that this committee is directing the Library of Congress to use certain words. She even used certain terms that she said we are prescribing them to use, such as ``illegal alien'' or ``illegal immigrant.'' In fact, this is what the committee passed in subcommittee and full committee. It says: ``To the extent practicable, the committee instructs the Library to maintain certain subject headings that reflect terminology used in title 8, United States Code.'' Now, I read it several times and I saw it in committee, but nowhere in there do I see any specific terms used. It just says can you be consistent with U.S. Code. I will point out that we are Congress, and they are the Library of Congress. We write laws, and it is important that the Library of Congress reference and refer to the laws that we have written. I will also note that the gentlewoman is also a Member of Congress and has the full ability--and since the subcommittee meeting when we had this first discussion, I have yet to see the bill she has introduced to change any terminology in the U.S. Code. I have not seen it. I don't know, Mr. Chairman, if you have seen it. I have not seen it, and I look forward to seeing it. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Will the gentleman yield? Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I thank the gentleman. Will the gentleman point out to the House of Representatives what is referenced in the U.S. Code to which the report refers? Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Title 8 of the U.S. Code has a lot of terminology in there. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. What is the term that is referenced in that section? Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. There is not one single term that is used in that Code. In fact, there are multiple terms. I would ask, and maybe encourage, the gentlewoman to read that. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I have, and it refers specifically to the term ``illegal alien.'' That is how it is referenced in the United States Code. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. In addition to other terms. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I just want to make sure that the committee understands that the report language just directs the Library of Congress to be consistent with the laws of this land when they have subject headings. That is not too much to ask. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis), my good friend. Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I really would like to thank Chairman Graves for his leadership on this issue. I think the debate this evening shows us what part of the problem is when we try and follow our Forefathers' constitutional appropriations process to spend money wisely that the taxpayers send to Washington, D.C., to spend it wisely on their behalf. It is tertiary issues that bog down the debate, instead of talking about doing what is right for the upwards of 5 million families that tour our Capitol Grounds each and every year. It becomes a political debate, rather than a debate on how to effectively use taxpayer dollars to ensure that one of the most popular destinations for families, hardworking families, to spend their money to vacation right here in the Capitol, to make sure we spend that wisely so that they have better facilities. That is exactly what this bill does, Mr. Chairman. I want to, again, thank all of those who served on this subcommittee from both sides of the aisle, because we have to get back to the vision that our Forefathers have put forth on how we should spend money in this House, and how we regain the power of the purse. As I said, upwards of 5 million families from across the Nation come see their government at work each year. I am pleased this bill contains report language that will make it easier for families with infants and small children to visit the Capitol, House and Senate office buildings by implementing additional changing stations and other family-friendly improvements throughout this Capitol Hill complex. Mr. Chairman, I say this as the father of twin boys. Trust me, changing stations when they were younger were very, very important. We should make it as easy as possible for families with young children to visit and explore Capitol Hill and our complexes. Minor improvements and changes along these lines can make a huge difference in improving the experience for visitors. I look forward to working with the Architect of the Capitol in my capacity as a member of the Committee on House Administration to complete these important changes. I will continue to look for ways to work in a bipartisan manner to make our Capitol family-friendly. Mr. Chairman, I urge passage of this bill. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will point out that title 8 of the U.S. Code specifically references the term ``illegal aliens.'' The purpose of referencing it that way in this legislation is specifically so that the majority can require the Library of Congress to continue to use the term ``illegal alien'' in their subject heading. We are being a little too cute by half here, and we are simply not going to let the majority get away with it. I will also point out that Congressman Joaquin Castro is the sponsor of legislation that would do exactly what the chairman just suggested. He has legislation that would change the term ``illegal alien'' in title 8 of the U.S. Code. Instead of dealing with a political issue in the midst of an unrelated appropriations bill, we should allow the legislative process to work under regular order and have that bill move through the process. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to follow up on that just for a moment. I am glad to hear there is legislation to address their concerns. I think that is the appropriate way. What better way to make that legislation more applicable than to identify here in this report language that whatever is referenced in title 8 could be used. I think that is the right way to go forward. But to suggest that asking the Library of Congress to use terms that are consistent with the laws of this land that this body has voted on, that the Senate has voted on, and that the President of the United States has signed into law is, in some way, pejorative; words that have been used by the Supreme Court just in recent weeks are pejorative, inflammatory, and dehumanizing, I would suggest to the minority that even some of the most liberal justices have used the term ``illegal alien'' or ``illegal immigrant'' just in the last couple of weeks and they are not racist, they are not using negative terms, they are not dehumanizing any individual, they are using U.S. law terminology. I can understand the disagreement with the terms, I can respect that, but that is the law. I have yet to see or hear what their proper terminology would be for somebody who does not abide by the laws of the land and what that would be. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will point out that it is not a criminal act to be in the United States as an immigrant. The suggestion in the 21st century that the term ``illegal alien'' is an appropriate one is similar to suggesting that we continue to use the term ``Negro.'' We evolve in this country, and it is understandable that someone who was not a member of a group of immigrants wouldn't understand that that term could feel pejorative. So we, as a responsible body, should evolve as society evolves. To continue to insist that the Library of Congress by law use a pejorative term that they have been petitioned to change by the American Library Association so that researchers can search for the appropriate term [[Page H3644]] when they are doing research is truly unbelievable. To be so committed to racist and bigoted terms that really have no place in the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill is outrageous. That is why this language should have been deleted. I think it is truly unfortunate that the majority did not have at least the courage to allow my amendment and Congressman Castro's amendment to be made in order so that we could have a proper debate on this subject on the floor of the House of Representatives. {time} 1900 I will point out and remind the chairman that my amendment that would have done just that only was defeated in the Appropriations Committee by one vote. So this is not a slam dunk when it comes to your side of the aisle either. It would have been nice to give your colleagues an opportunity to have had that discussion. I reserve the balance of my time. The CHAIR. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. If I heard the ranking member correctly, she said that somebody who is undocumented in this country, who is not from this country, is not here illegally. I thought I heard that, and I hope I heard that incorrectly. I will point out that the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 237(a)(1)(b) reads, in fact--and this is law that was voted on by this body and that was signed into law by the President of the United States, who was elected by the people--that aliens who are present in the U.S. in violation of immigration code are breaking the law and are deportable. That is U.S. law. That is not the majority's opinion; that is not a party's opinion; that is not an individual's opinion. That is the law of this land. Now, you can disagree with those laws, and you can disagree with the terminology, but that is the law. That is the law, in fact, to the point that, in Arizona v. United States, in 2012, Justice Sotomayor asked: So how--where do they get the records that show that this person is an illegal alien that is not authorized to be here? Was she being racist? pejorative? demeaning? dehumanizing? I don't think so. I don't agree with all of her decisions, but I don't believe that that was her intent when she broached that question there. I will point out this provision--maybe I should read it again. I will read it again for the ranking member. To the extent practicable, the committee instructs the Library to maintain certain subject headings that reflect terminology used in title VIII of the United States Code. That is all it says. It is right here. There is nothing so demeaning about that. This provision, in fact, was created in consultation, Mr. Chair, with the Library of Congress. Imagine that. In working with the Library of Congress, we were able to come up with that language. Existing subject headings, including the term ``illegal alien,'' have been used for years and have been enshrined in law for 100 years. This is nothing new. Supreme Court Justices, as I have pointed out, have used it time and time and time again. Now, if the Library of Congress adopted the practice of responding to every instance in which there is a perceived offensive phrase, it would impact their ability to prioritize the quality of service they provide to patrons every day. We are, actually, helping the Library here. We are not telling them what words to use. We are just saying, hey, be consistent with U.S. law. That keeps it pretty simple, I believe. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before we passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s and when we had the Jim Crow laws, which were an unfortunate stain on our history, there were plenty of people who said that the laws that were in place were doing a favor to Negroes, which is the way they were referred to at the time. For the chairman to suggest that we are doing the Library of Congress a favor by requiring them to continue to use a term that they have been petitioned to stop using, ``illegal alien,'' is insensitive, inappropriate, outdated, and political. This is the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. We are supposed to be discussing how to fund the functions of the legislative branch, and we have just spent an extraordinary amount of time debating the immigration debate that has been raging in this country for far too long. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the majority believes that we should continue to label people as ``illegal.'' People aren't illegal. Acts that are committed are illegal, but people are not illegal, Mr. Chair. That is, simply, why the American Library Association, the umbrella policy organization for libraries across this country, has petitioned the Library of Congress to change the use of the term ``illegal alien.'' What the majority is doing here, as I said, is setting Congress up as the word police. Where are we going to stop? There are thousands of subject headings that they change at the Library of Congress every year. I can't imagine how many pages this bill will be when we start referencing and spending time arguing over what they call each of those. It is inappropriate; it is unacceptable; it is a complete waste of time. It injects politics into a bill that usually and, most often, doesn't have it. It is unfortunate that the funding of the Planned Parenthood select committee and that the funding of the Benghazi Select Committee have continued to politicize a bill that should, simply, be an effort for us to make sure that we can sustain the most significant beacon of democracy that the world has ever seen. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It is remarkable that we are actually spending so much time on this; but we must point out to the constituency who is watching that we have had 7\1/2\ years of an executive who wants to ignore our laws. We have had 7\1/2\ years of overreach by the executive branch, of its totally ignoring the laws that have been passed by this body, and just poking us in the eye, saying, I don't care about the legislative branch. I don't care about that legislative body. I don't care about the laws of the land. In fact, I will ignore them, and I will instruct my agencies to do something different. Yet, I hear it again from the minority that they want to ignore the words, the terms, the identifications, the definitions of the very laws of this land. What message does that send to the youth of our country? What message does that send to law-abiding citizens in our country, that there is a party in Washington, D.C., that, for whatever reason, wants to pick and choose which laws they want to uphold and defend, or which laws or words or terms or definitions in the laws that they will acknowledge or not acknowledge? We are a Nation of laws. Whether we agree with the laws or we don't, whether we agree with the terminology or we don't, we have all been elected by 700,000-plus constituency districts in which we can change those laws if we choose. This is the opportunity to do it for the minority party if they like. In fact, throughout our laws, these terms are used. Whether they are agreeable terms or not by the minority, those are the words that are in our laws. I think we can all agree that the term ``illegal alien'' does not mean the human being is illegal. This is not an effort to demean anyone. We don't even identify what terms the Library must use. We just say, Hey, please be consistent with U.S. Code. That is it. The simple fact is that immigrants, if they have entered this country illegally, are, in fact, illegal immigrants. According to U.S. Code, U.S. laws, they have committed a crime. It is not the job of this committee's to create an alternate reality whatsoever. The laws are the laws. Thankfully, the Supreme Court sees it the same way. We have Justice Sotomayor as using the term ``illegal alien'' a half a dozen times and the published opinion written by Justice Kennedy, and he joined the Court's more liberal block as well, using it a number of times. It is very consistent. [[Page H3645]] I recall it was, maybe, a year or two that the ranking member, on a different occasion, disagreed with me on another term. It was ``ObamaCare.'' We were having a debate about policies, Mr. Chair, and I used the term ``ObamaCare.'' She found it offensive, pejorative maybe, very negative, demeaning, used in a negative light. I believe she tried to strike my words during that time. So, if anybody is trying to be word police in this body, maybe it is the ranking member, who has a history of it. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. Parliamentary Inquiry Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I have a parliamentary inquiry. The CHAIR. The gentlewoman will state her parliamentary inquiry. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Is it not appropriate for the ranking member and the chairman, when we are debating, to go through the Chair when we are having that debate? The CHAIR. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I would ask that you remind the chairman to do so, please. The CHAIR. Members have been reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would point out that the gentleman from Georgia is absolutely correct. I did raise that concern, and I thought it was appropriate to raise the concern that the way the majority meant the term ``ObamaCare,'' as applied at the time, was intended to be pejorative. Then President Obama embraced the term; so we evolved because President Obama decided that he liked that his name would be associated with making sure that 20 million people who now have health insurance but who didn't before would be associated with his name. That is all that the American Library Association and the Library of Congress are asking with regard to the people who are labeled as ``illegal aliens.'' The gentleman from Georgia, it would be understood, is not someone who is labeled that way, so, perhaps, it is understandable that he would not understand why that was offensive. The American Library Association and the Library of Congress have recognized that the evolution beyond using a term that has been determined to be pejorative is essential. That is called progress. That is called tolerance. Unfortunately, the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill, through the reference to title VIII in the United States Code, requires, in this bill, the Library of Congress to continue to use the term ``illegal alien.'' It is inappropriate, unfortunate, and it should be deleted. We should have had an opportunity to debate an amendment to have allowed that to happen. The majority chooses to hide the fact. I mean, I wish they would have just owned up to it. Mr. Chair, they should have just put it right up in the bill. I don't know why they didn't. If they think it is the right thing to do, they should have just put that term right in the bill and spelled out that they expect the Library of Congress to continue to use it. Hiding behind title VIII of the U.S. Code shows that they don't have, necessarily, the courage of their convictions to stand up for that term. Why? Because there are a whole lot of people in this country who think it is offensive, including me and the Members of my party. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am sorry this is taking so long tonight to reach the admission by the ranking member that this term does not exist in this bill. I mean, she just said it: Why didn't they just be more explicit? Why didn't he just use the term? In fact, they are hiding behind U.S. Code. That is what I just heard from the ranking member. As Americans, we don't hide behind the U.S. Code. The U.S. Code is our defense; it is our shield. The laws of this land are what protect us from one from another; so to suggest that one is hiding behind it when, in fact, we are defended by it is really amazing to hear tonight. I am pleased to hear, though, that the ranking member has acknowledged that nowhere in this legislation do we direct the Library of Congress to use any term other than what is found in and is consistent with the U.S. Code. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. What I suggested was that, because the majority realizes that the term ``illegal alien'' is not something that is appropriate to continue to use as a subject heading, if they had spelled it straight out in the bill rather than hiding what their true intention was behind the reference to the U.S. Code, they probably would have had to have answered a little bit more closely to the fact that they were making this effort. Now we have been able to at least have this discussion, and I am intentionally using most of my time to be able to shine a spotlight on the fact that the majority wishes to continue to label people as ``illegal,'' wishes to continue to politicize the legislative branch appropriations bill to inject the immigration debate into the funding of the legislative branch, and to set themselves up as the word police with regard to subject headings. This is what we need our colleagues to wrap their minds around, Mr. Chair--requiring the Library to continue to use an offensive term in their subject headings so that researchers can't use the term that the American Library Association has deemed more appropriate and not offensive. Instead, they insist on continuing to use an offensive term. {time} 1915 That is unacceptable. It is inappropriate. We are going to continue to insist, and I will not be able to support this legislation as a result of the insistence of the majority on labeling an entire group of people ``illegal'' and politicizing this bill when the Library of Congress should be allowed to let the process work that works for thousands of other changes to their subject headings. I will also point out, Mr. Chairman, that we do embrace evolution of terminology here. Just in May, a few weeks ago, we finally deleted the last vestiges of the terms ``Oriental'' and ``Negro'' from the United States Code. So we do have a process by which we take legislation like that that has been introduced by Congressman Joaquin Castro, and we allow it to move through the process. That is the appropriate way that we deal with discussion about changes in terminology in the code. We don't do it in the legislative branch bill. And that is exactly what the majority is doing by insisting that the Library of Congress continue to use that offensive term ``illegal alien.'' I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I recognize this has been an exciting and tantalizing debate this evening. Whenever the gentlewoman from Florida is ready to close, I will be ready as well. I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, how much time do I have remaining? The CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Florida has 7 minutes remaining. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. I think it is unfortunate that myself and my colleagues on our side of the aisle don't feel that we can lend our support to this legislation for a variety of reasons. First, there has been an overwhelming injection of politics into what should be an otherwise solid piece of legislation in which we have done a lot of good work to make sure that the functions of the legislative branch are able to make sure that we can exercise our roles and responsibilities as Members of the legislative branch. Unfortunately, due to the funding of the select committee on Planned Parenthood, which continues the witch hunt into an organization that simply exists to provide millions of women access to quality health care, in which there has been absolutely no evidence whatsoever that there was any wrongdoing, the majority continues to insist on funding the witch hunt that is designed to prevent women from getting access to quality, affordable health care. [[Page H3646]] It also continues funding for the Select Committee on Benghazi, an investigation in which the majority has actually admitted that they found absolutely no wrongdoing. Yet they have not disbanded the committee, and they continue to provide funding for it in this bill. Lastly, as we have been able to spend a few minutes debating here on the floor, this bill tragically sets the legislative branch up as the word police and Members of Congress as the watchful sentries over the uses of the terms and subject headings at the Library of Congress. I am glad that we are really carefully protecting the card catalog in the Library of Congress to make sure that we can continue to use offensive terms when researchers look them up in the Library of Congress, like ``illegal alien.'' This bill makes sure that, instead of evolving, instead of moving forward, instead of letting professionals who work in libraries decide what terms should be used in their subject headings, Congress is going to establish ourselves as the word police, politicize something where we should not inject politics, and label people as ``illegal.'' Again, I will reiterate that there should have been an opportunity for us to debate this issue separately. I am glad we have had an opportunity to discuss it here and to expose the majority for wanting to continue a bigoted, offensive term as the subject heading in the Library of Congress. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. We have heard a lot tonight about why the minority is opposed to this bill. They are opposed to this bill because of what is not in it. Do you notice that? It is because of what is not in it. They have yet to talk about the great things, the good things, and what this bill really is about. In fact, they are going to oppose this bill, as they did last year, just because of things that don't exist, that are absent. I will point out, and I want to remind the chairman and the committee, that this is really a good piece of legislation. It is very family friendly, which is one of our major focuses. We have thousands and thousands of visitors each year that come and visit this place, this Capitol Building, this historic beacon of hope for our country and for the world. Visitors come and visit our offices and tour the facilities, and we want it to be family friendly, safe and secure, and a welcoming environment. That is what this bill achieves. It does that by providing something that is unique, something that I was very passionate about in my days in the State of Georgia, and that is doing zero-based budgeting, something very unique. It is not done in all the other appropriations bills, but it is done in this one, where every agency starts from zero and justifies each expense forward. That is what our constituents expect. It even does it by eliminating the Open World Center, zeroing out, winding down, and eliminating a program that was well-intended back in the 1980s when it was first founded. But it is time to wind it down, move on, and use those dollars for something else, changing priorities. That is what this committee was focused on. It continues the Member pay freeze. As I stated earlier, when our constituents aren't getting a raise in this economy, the Obama economy, then I don't believe we should be getting a raise either. It eliminates that. It freezes that. We do this by also cutting the House budget by 13.2 percent since Republicans took the majority. That is something we don't share enough of. The House has taken the necessary steps to lead by example in cutting our budgets by 13.2 percent since taking the majority in 2010. I can't say the same about the Senate. I can't say the same about the executive branch, nor the judicial. But we can say that about our side, because we are leading by example. Then it has a strong focus on constituent services. We were able to provide additional resources for all Members, Republican and Democrat alike, from all corners of this country and from all the territories to make sure that they have the resources necessary to meet the needs of their constituents, because that is really one of our number one priorities back in our districts and from our offices here is to provide the services to our constituency. We have heard a lot tonight about the Library of Congress. Look, the Library of Congress has a great history, a great heritage, and provides a tremendous service. It has a history of providing law services to this body and to the Senate over the years as well as constituencies that come and do research. It does a great job. All we have done in this bill is say, as you do your subject headings, just make sure it is consistent with U.S. Code, be consistent with the laws of this land. That way, those who are searching topics are searching topics that are consistent with what is being debated in the Supreme Court, what is being debated in other courts throughout the country because they are using the laws of this land as they try various cases. So why not just use terminology that is consistent with the Code that this body and that the Senate and that a President has signed into law at some point. Mr. Chair, I want to commend to this body and to the committee the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. It is a good bill to be supported and to be proud of and to know that you are going to be able to take care of your constituents better. And we have got a great family-friendly, safe, and secure environment for them to come and visit. I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Byrne). All time for general debate has expired. Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 5-minute rule. The bill shall be considered as read. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5325 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other purposes, namely: TITLE I LEGISLATIVE BRANCH HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Salaries and Expenses For salaries and expenses of the House of Representatives, $1,189,050,766, as follows: House Leadership Offices For salaries and expenses, as authorized by law, $22,278,891, including: Office of the Speaker, $6,645,417, including $25,000 for official expenses of the Speaker; Office of the Majority Floor Leader, $2,180,048, including $10,000 for official expenses of the Majority Leader; Office of the Minority Floor Leader, $7,114,471, including $10,000 for official expenses of the Minority Leader; Office of the Majority Whip, including the Chief Deputy Majority Whip, $1,886,632, including $5,000 for official expenses of the Majority Whip; Office of the Minority Whip, including the Chief Deputy Minority Whip, $1,459,639, including $5,000 for official expenses of the Minority Whip; Republican Conference, $1,505,426; Democratic Caucus, $1,487,258: Provided, That such amount for salaries and expenses shall remain available from January 3, 2017 until January 2, 2018. Members' Representational Allowances Including Members' Clerk Hire, Official Expenses of Members, and Official Mail For Members' representational allowances, including Members' clerk hire, official expenses, and official mail, $562,632,498. Committee Employees Standing Committees, Special and Select For salaries and expenses of standing committees, special and select, authorized by House resolutions, $127,053,373: Provided, That such amount shall remain available for such salaries and expenses until December 31, 2018, except that $3,150,200 of such amount shall remain available until expended for committee room upgrading. Committee on Appropriations For salaries and expenses of the Committee on Appropriations, $23,271,004, including studies and examinations of executive agencies and temporary personal services for such committee, to be expended in accordance with section 202(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 and to be available for reimbursement to agencies for services performed: Provided, That such amount shall remain available for such salaries and expenses until December 31, 2018. Salaries, Officers and Employees For compensation and expenses of officers and employees, as authorized by law, $181,487,000, including: for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Clerk, including the positions of the Chaplain and the Historian, and including not more than $25,000 for official representation and reception expenses, of which not more than $20,000 is for the Family Room and not more than $2,000 is for the Office of the Chaplain, $26,268,000; for [[Page H3647]] salaries and expenses of the Office of the Sergeant at Arms, including the position of Superintendent of Garages and the Office of Emergency Management, and including not more than $3,000 for official representation and reception expenses, $15,505,000, of which $5,618,902 shall remain available until expended; for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer including not more than $3,000 for official representation and reception expenses, $117,165,000, of which $2,120,000 shall remain available until expended; for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Inspector General, $4,963,000; for salaries and expenses of the Office of the General Counsel, $1,444,000; for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Parliamentarian, including the Parliamentarian, $2,000 for preparing the Digest of Rules, and not more than $1,000 for official representation and reception expenses, $1,999,000; for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House, $3,167,000; for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House, $8,979,000; for salaries and expenses of the Office of Interparliamentary Affairs, $814,000; and for other authorized employees, $1,183,000. Allowances and Expenses For allowances and expenses as authorized by House resolution or law, $272,328,000, including: supplies, materials, administrative costs and Federal tort claims, $3,625,000; official mail for committees, leadership offices, and administrative offices of the House, $190,000; Government contributions for health, retirement, Social Security, and other applicable employee benefits, $245,334,000, to remain available until March 31, 2018; Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, $16,217,000, of which $5,000,000 shall remain available until expended; transition activities for new Members and staff $2,084,000, to remain available until expended; Wounded Warrior Program $2,500,000, to remain available until expended; Office of Congressional Ethics, $1,658,000; and miscellaneous items including purchase, exchange, maintenance, repair and operation of House motor vehicles, interparliamentary receptions, and gratuities to heirs of deceased employees of the House, $720,000. Administrative Provisions requiring amounts remaining in members' representational allowances to be used for deficit reduction or to reduce the federal debt Sec. 101. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any amounts appropriated under this Act for ``HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES--Salaries and Expenses--Members' Representational Allowances'' shall be available only for fiscal year 2017. Any amount remaining after all payments are made under such allowances for fiscal year 2017 shall be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction (or, if there is no Federal budget deficit after all such payments have been made, for reducing the Federal debt, in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury considers appropriate). (b) Regulations.--The Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives shall have authority to prescribe regulations to carry out this section. (c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``Member of the House of Representatives'' means a Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress. delivery of bills and resolutions Sec. 102. None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to deliver a printed copy of a bill, joint resolution, or resolution to the office of a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) unless the Member requests a copy. delivery of congressional record Sec. 103. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to deliver a printed copy of any version of the Congressional Record to the office of a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress). limitation on amount available to lease vehicles Sec. 104. None of the funds made available in this Act may be used by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives to make any payments from any Members' Representational Allowance for the leasing of a vehicle, excluding mobile district offices, in an aggregate amount that exceeds $1,000 for the vehicle in any month. limitation on printed copies of u.s. code to house Sec. 105. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to provide an aggregate number of more than 50 printed copies of any edition of the United States Code to all offices of the House of Representatives. delivery of reports of disbursements Sec. 106. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to deliver a printed copy of the report of disbursements for the operations of the House of Representatives under section 106 of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 5535) to the office of a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress). delivery of daily calendar Sec. 107. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to deliver to the office of a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) a printed copy of the Daily Calendar of the House of Representatives which is prepared by the Clerk of the House of Representatives. delivery of congressional pictorial directory Sec. 108. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to deliver a printed copy of the Congressional Pictorial Directory to the office of a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress). adjustments to compensation Sec. 109. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no adjustment shall be made under section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501) (relating to cost of living adjustments for Members of Congress) during fiscal year 2017. overseas travel to accompany members of house leadership Sec. 110. (a) Travel Authorized.-- (1) In general.--A member of the Capitol Police may travel outside of the United States for official duty if-- (A) that travel is with, or in preparation for, travel of a Member of the House of Representatives who holds a position in a House Leadership Office, including travel of the Member as part of a congressional delegation; and (B) the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives gives prior approval to the travel of the member of the Capitol Police. (2) Definitions.--In this subsection-- (A) the term ``House Leadership office'' means an office of the House of Representatives for which the appropriation for salaries and expenses of the office for the year involved is provided under the heading ``House Leadership Offices'' in the act making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year involved; (B) the term ``Member of the House of Representatives'' includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress; and (C) the term ``United States'' means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the territories and possessions of the United States. (b) Reimbursement From Sergeant at Arms.-- (1) In general.--From amounts made available for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives shall reimburse the Capitol Police for the overtime pay, travel, and related expenses of any member of the Capitol Police who travels under the authority of this section. (2) Use of amounts received.--Any amounts received by the Capitol Police for reimbursements under paragraph (1) shall be credited to the accounts established for the general expenses or salaries of the Capitol Police, and shall be available to carry out the purposes of such accounts during the fiscal year in which the amounts are received and the following fiscal year. (c) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2017 and each succeeding fiscal year. JOINT ITEMS For Joint Committees, as follows: Joint Economic Committee For salaries and expenses of the Joint Economic Committee, $4,203,000, to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. Joint Committee on Taxation For salaries and expenses of the Joint Committee on Taxation, $10,095,000, to be disbursed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives. For other joint items, as follows: Office of the Attending Physician For medical supplies, equipment, and contingent expenses of the emergency rooms, and for the Attending Physician and his assistants, including: (1) an allowance of $2,175 per month to the Attending Physician; (2) an allowance of $1,300 per month to the Senior Medical Officer; (3) an allowance of $725 per month each to three medical officers while on duty in the Office of the Attending Physician; (4) an allowance of $725 per month to 2 assistants and $580 per month each not to exceed 11 assistants on the basis heretofore provided for such assistants; and (5) $2,780,000 for reimbursement to the Department of the Navy for expenses incurred for staff and equipment assigned to the Office of the Attending Physician, which shall be advanced and credited to the applicable appropriation or appropriations from which such salaries, allowances, and other expenses are payable and shall be available for all the purposes thereof, $3,838,000, to be disbursed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives. Office of Congressional Accessibility Services Salaries and Expenses For salaries and expenses of the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services, $1,429,000, to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. CAPITOL POLICE Salaries For salaries of employees of the Capitol Police, including overtime, hazardous duty pay, and Government contributions for health, retirement, social security, professional liability insurance, and other applicable employee benefits, $325,300,000 of which [[Page H3648]] overtime shall not exceed $35,305,000 unless the Committee on Appropriations of the House and Senate are notified, to be disbursed by the Chief of the Capitol Police or his designee. General Expenses For necessary expenses of the Capitol Police, including motor vehicles, communications and other equipment, security equipment and installation, uniforms, weapons, supplies, materials, training, medical services, forensic services, stenographic services, personal and professional services, the employee assistance program, the awards program, postage, communication services, travel advances, relocation of instructor and liaison personnel for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and not more than $5,000 to be expended on the certification of the Chief of the Capitol Police in connection with official representation and reception expenses, $66,000,000, to be disbursed by the Chief of the Capitol Police or his designee: Provided, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the cost of basic training for the Capitol Police at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center for fiscal year 2017 shall be paid by the Secretary of Homeland Security from funds available to the Department of Homeland Security. Administrative Provision authority to dispose of forfeited and abandoned property and to accept surplus or obsolete property offered by other federal agencies Sec. 1001. (a) Section 1003(a) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2003 (2 U.S.C. 1906(a)) is amended by striking ``surplus or obsolete property of the Capitol Police'' and inserting the following: ``surplus or obsolete property of the Capitol Police, and property which is in the possession of the Capitol Police because it has been disposed, forfeited, voluntarily abandoned, or unclaimed,''. (b) Upon notifying the Committees of Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate, the United States Capitol Police may accept surplus or obsolete property offered by another Federal department, agency, or office. (c) This section and the amendment made by this section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2017 and each succeeding fiscal year. OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE Salaries and Expenses For salaries and expenses of the Office of Compliance, as authorized by section 305 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1385), $3,959,000, of which $450,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2018: Provided, That not more than $500 may be expended on the certification of the Executive Director of the Office of Compliance in connection with official representation and reception expenses. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE Salaries and Expenses For salaries and expenses necessary for operation of the Congressional Budget Office, including not more than $6,000 to be expended on the certification of the Director of the Congressional Budget Office in connection with official representation and reception expenses, $46,500,000. Administrative Provision establishment of senior level positions Sec. 1101. (a) Notwithstanding the fourth sentence of section 201(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601(b)), the Director of the Congressional Budget Office may establish and fix the compensation of senior level positions in the Congressional Budget Office to meet critical scientific, technical, professional, or executive needs of the Office. (b) Limitation on Compensation.--The annual rate of pay for any position established under this section may not exceed the annual rate of pay for level II of the Executive Schedule. (c) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2017 and each succeeding fiscal year. ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL Capital Construction and Operations For salaries for the Architect of the Capitol, and other personal services, at rates of pay provided by law; for all necessary expenses for surveys and studies, construction, operation, and general and administrative support in connection with facilities and activities under the care of the Architect of the Capitol including the Botanic Garden; electrical substations of the Capitol, Senate and House office buildings, and other facilities under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol; including furnishings and office equipment; including not more than $5,000 for official reception and representation expenses, to be expended as the Architect of the Capitol may approve; for purchase or exchange, maintenance, and operation of a passenger motor vehicle, $88,542,234, of which $5,268,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2021. Capitol Building For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and operation of the Capitol, $33,005,499, of which $9,005,499 shall remain available until September 30, 2021. Capitol Grounds For all necessary expenses for care and improvement of grounds surrounding the Capitol, the Senate and House office buildings, and the Capitol Power Plant, $12,826,000, of which $2,946,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2021. House Office Buildings For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and operation of the House office buildings, $187,481,000, of which $61,404,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2021, and of which $62,000,000 shall remain available until expended for the restoration and renovation of the Cannon House Office Building. In addition, for a payment to the House Historic Buildings Revitalization Trust Fund, $17,000,000, to remain available until expended. Capitol Power Plant For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and operation of the Capitol Power Plant; lighting, heating, power (including the purchase of electrical energy) and water and sewer services for the Capitol, Senate and House office buildings, Library of Congress buildings, and the grounds about the same, Botanic Garden, Senate garage, and air conditioning refrigeration not supplied from plants in any of such buildings; heating the Government Publishing Office and Washington City Post Office, and heating and chilled water for air conditioning for the Supreme Court Building, the Union Station complex, the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building and the Folger Shakespeare Library, expenses for which shall be advanced or reimbursed upon request of the Architect of the Capitol and amounts so received shall be deposited into the Treasury to the credit of this appropriation, $104,480,000, of which $27,339,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2021: Provided, That not more than $9,000,000 of the funds credited or to be reimbursed to this appropriation as herein provided shall be available for obligation during fiscal year 2017. Library Buildings and Grounds For all necessary expenses for the mechanical and structural maintenance, care and operation of the Library buildings and grounds, $47,080,000, of which $22,137,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2021. Capitol Police Buildings, Grounds and Security For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and operation of buildings, grounds and security enhancements of the United States Capitol Police, wherever located, the Alternate Computing Facility, and Architect of the Capitol security operations, $26,697,000, of which $9,164,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2021. Botanic Garden For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and operation of the Botanic Garden and the nurseries, buildings, grounds, and collections; and purchase and exchange, maintenance, repair, and operation of a passenger motor vehicle; all under the direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, $14,067,000; of which $4,054,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2021: Provided, That of the amount made available under this heading, the Architect may obligate and expend such sums as may be necessary for the maintenance, care and operation of the National Garden established under section 307E of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1989 (2 U.S.C. 2146), upon vouchers approved by the Architect of the Capitol or a duly authorized designee. Capitol Visitor Center For all necessary expenses for the operation of the Capitol Visitor Center, $20,557,000. Administrative Provisions no bonuses for contractors behind schedule or over budget Sec. 1201. 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, unless the Architect of the Capitol, or agency-employed designee, determines that any such deviations are due to unforeseeable events, government-driven scope changes, or are not significant within the overall scope of the project and/or program. scrims Sec. 1202. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used for scrims containing photographs of building facades during restoration or construction projects performed by the Architect of the Capitol. working capital fund Sec. 1203. (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a working capital fund (hereafter in this section referred to as the ``Fund'') for the Architect of the Capitol. (b) Availability of Amounts.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available to the Architect of the Capitol for such common agency services, activities, and equipment, such as construction, capital repairs, renovations, rehabilitation, maintenance of real property, and similar agency expenses, on a reimbursable basis within the Architect of the Capitol as the Architect determines to be appropriate, efficient, and economical. (c) Contents.--The capital of the Fund consists of-- (1) amounts appropriated to the Fund; (2) the reasonable value of stocks of supplies, equipment, and other assets and inventories on order that the Architect transfers [[Page H3649]] to the fund, less related liabilities and unpaid obligations; (3) receipts from the sale or exchange of property held in the Fund; (4) all miscellaneous receipts compensating the Architect of the Capitol for loss or damage to any Government property under the Architect's jurisdiction or care, including but not limited to the United States Botanic Garden; (5) reimbursements pursuant to subsection (d); and (6) amounts transferred to the Fund pursuant to subsection (e). (d) Reimbursement.--The Fund shall be reimbursed from available accounts of the Architect of the Capitol for supplies, materials, services, and related expenses, at rates which will approximate the full cost of operations, including-- (1) accrual of employee leave and benefits; (2) depreciation of plant, property, and equipment; and (3) overhead. (e) Transfers From Other Accounts.--The Architect is authorized to transfer amounts from other available Architect of the Capitol accounts to the Fund in this and each succeeding fiscal year as the Architect determines to be appropriate, efficient, and economical, subject to the approval of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, or both (as the case may be), in accordance with section 306 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997 (2 U.S.C. 1862). (f) Continuing Availability of Funds.--Amounts in the Fund are available without regard to fiscal year limitation. (g) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2017 and each succeeding fiscal year. authority for a house office buildings shuttle Sec. 1204. (a) The proviso in the item relating to ``Capitol Grounds'' in title VI of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1977 (90 Stat. 1453; 2 U.S.C. 2163) is amended by striking ``appropriated under this heading'' and inserting ``appropriated for any available account of the Architect of the Capitol''. (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2017 and each succeeding fiscal year. use of expired funds for unemployment compensation payments Sec. 1205. (a) Available balances of expired Architect of the Capitol appropriations shall be available to the Architect of the Capitol for reimbursing the Secretary of Labor for any amounts paid with respect to unemployment compensation payments for former employees of the Architect of the Capitol, not withstanding any other provision of law, without regard to the fiscal year for which the obligation to make such payments is incurred. (b) This section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2017 and each succeeding fiscal year. flag office revolving fund Sec. 1206. (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the United States a revolving fund to be known as the ``Flag Office Revolving Fund'' (in this section referred to as the ``Fund'') for services provided by the Flag Office of the Architect of the Capitol (in this section referred to as the ``Flag Office''). (b) Deposit of Fees.--The Architect of the Capitol shall deposit any fees charged for services described in subsection (a) into the Fund. (c) Contents of Fund.--The Fund shall consist of the following amounts: (1) Amounts deposited by the Architect of the Capitol under subsection (b). (2) Any other amounts received by the Architect of the Capitol which are attributable to services provided by the Flag Office. (3) Such other amounts as may be appropriated under law. (d) Use of Amounts in Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available for disbursement by the Architect of the Capitol, without fiscal year limitation, for expenses in connection with the services provided by the Flag Office, including-- (1) supplies, inventories, equipment, and other expenses; and (2) the reimbursement of any applicable appropriations account for amounts used from such appropriations account to pay the salaries of employees of the Flag Office. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Salaries and Expenses For all necessary expenses of the Library of Congress not otherwise provided for, including development and maintenance of the Library's catalogs; custody and custodial care of the Library buildings; special clothing; cleaning, laundering and repair of uniforms; preservation of motion pictures in the custody of the Library; operation and maintenance of the American Folklife Center in the Library; preparation and distribution of catalog records and other publications of the Library; hire or purchase of one passenger motor vehicle; and expenses of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board not properly chargeable to the income of any trust fund held by the Board, $449,971,000, of which not more than $6,000,000 shall be derived from collections credited to this appropriation during fiscal year 2017, and shall remain available until expended, under the Act of June 28, 1902 (chapter 1301; 32 Stat. 480; 2 U.S.C. 150) and not more than $350,000 shall be derived from collections during fiscal year 2017 and shall remain available until expended for the development and maintenance of an international legal information database and activities related thereto: Provided, That the Library of Congress may not obligate or expend any funds derived from collections under the Act of June 28, 1902, in excess of the amount authorized for obligation or expenditure in appropriations Acts: Provided further, That the total amount available for obligation shall be reduced by the amount by which collections are less than $6,350,000: Provided further, That of the total amount appropriated, not more than $12,000 may be expended, on the certification of the Librarian of Congress, in connection with official representation and reception expenses for the Overseas Field Offices: Provided further, That of the total amount appropriated, $8,444,000 shall remain available until expended for the digital collections and educational curricula program: Provided further, That of the total amount appropriated, $1,300,000 shall remain available until expended for upgrade of the Legislative Branch Financial Management System: Provided further, That of the total amount appropriated, $4,039,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2019 to complete the first of three phases of the shelving replacement in the Law Library's collection storage areas: Provided further, That of the total amount appropriated, $24,000,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2019 to migrate the Library's Primary Computing Facility (PCF) in the James Madison Building to an alternate PCF. Copyright Office salaries and expenses For all necessary expenses of the Copyright Office, $68,827,000, of which not more than $31,269,000, to remain available until expended, shall be derived from collections credited to this appropriation during fiscal year 2017 under section 708(d) of title 17, United States Code: Provided, That the Copyright Office may not obligate or expend any funds derived from collections under such section, in excess of the amount authorized for obligation or expenditure in appropriations Acts: Provided further, That not more than $5,929,000 shall be derived from collections during fiscal year 2017 under sections 111(d)(2), 119(b)(3), 803(e), 1005, and 1316 of such title: Provided further, That the total amount available for obligation shall be reduced by the amount by which collections are less than $37,198,000: Provided further, That $4,531,000 shall be derived from prior year unobligated balances: Provided further, That not more than $100,000 of the amount appropriated is available for the maintenance of an ``International Copyright Institute'' in the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress for the purpose of training nationals of developing countries in intellectual property laws and policies: Provided further, That not more than $6,500 may be expended, on the certification of the Librarian of Congress, in connection with official representation and reception expenses for activities of the International Copyright Institute and for copyright delegations, visitors, and seminars: Provided further, That notwithstanding any provision of chapter 8 of title 17, United States Code, any amounts made available under this heading which are attributable to royalty fees and payments received by the Copyright Office pursuant to sections 111, 119, and chapter 10 of such title may be used for the costs incurred in the administration of the Copyright Royalty Judges program, with the exception of the costs of salaries and benefits for the Copyright Royalty Judges and staff under section 802(e). Congressional Research Service salaries and expenses For all necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of section 203 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 166) and to revise and extend the Annotated Constitution of the United States of America, $107,945,000: Provided, That no part of such amount may be used to pay any salary or expense in connection with any publication, or preparation of material therefor (except the Digest of Public General Bills), to be issued by the Library of Congress unless such publication has obtained prior approval of either the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives or the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate. Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped salaries and expenses For all necessary expenses to carry out the Act of March 3, 1931 (chapter 400; 46 Stat. 1487; 2 U.S.C. 135a), $50,248,000: Provided, That of the total amount appropriated, $650,000 shall be available to contract to provide newspapers to blind and physically handicapped residents at no cost to the individual. Administrative Provisions reimbursable and revolving fund activities Sec. 1301. (a) In General.--For fiscal year 2017, the obligational authority of the Library of Congress for the activities described in subsection (b) may not exceed $188,188,000. (b) Activities.--The activities referred to in subsection (a) are reimbursable and revolving fund activities that are funded from sources other than appropriations to the Library in appropriations Acts for the legislative branch. [[Page H3650]] library of congress national collection stewardship fund Sec. 1302. (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States, as an account for the Librarian of Congress, the ``Library of Congress National Collection Stewardship Fund'' (hereafter in this section referred to as the ``Fund''). (b) Contents of Fund.--The Fund shall consist of the following amounts: (1) Such amounts as may be transferred by the Librarian from available amounts appropriated for any fiscal year for the Library of Congress under the heading ``Salaries and Expenses''. (2) Such amounts as may be appropriated to the Fund under law. (c) Use of Amounts.--Amounts in the Fund may be used by the Librarian as follows: (1) The Librarian may use amounts directly for the purpose of preparing collection materials of the Library of Congress for long-term storage. (2) The Librarian may transfer amounts to the Architect of the Capitol for the purpose of designing, constructing, altering, upgrading, and equipping collections preservation and storage facilities for the Library of Congress, or for the purpose of acquiring real property by lease for the preservation and storage of Library of Congress collections in accordance with section 1102 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2009 (2 U.S.C. 1823a). (d) Continuing Availability of Funds.--Any amounts in the Fund shall remain available until expended. (e) Annual Report.--Not later than 180 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Librarian shall submit a joint report on the Fund to the Joint Committee on the Library and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate. (f) Initial 5-Year Plan.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Librarian shall submit to the Joint Committee on the Library and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate a report providing a plan for expenditures from the Fund for the first 5 fiscal years of the Fund's operation. (g) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2017 and each succeeding fiscal year. film preservation programs Sec. 1303. (a) National Film Preservation Board.-- (1) Reauthorization.--Section 112 of the National Film Preservation Act of 1996 (2 U.S.C. 179v) is amended by striking ``through fiscal year 2016'' and inserting ``through fiscal year 2026''. (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the National Film Preservation Act of 1996. (b) National Film Preservation Foundation.--Section 151711(a)(1)(C) of title 36, United States Code, is amended by striking ``through 2016'' and inserting ``through 2026''. sound recording preservation programs Sec. 1304. (a) National Recording Preservation Board.-- Section 133 of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 (2 U.S.C. 1743) is amended by striking ``through fiscal year 2016'' and inserting ``through fiscal year 2026''. (b) National Recording Preservation Foundation.-- (1) Authorization of appropriations.--Section 152411(a) of title 36, United States Code, is amended by striking ``through fiscal year 2016'' and inserting ``through fiscal year 2026''. (2) Number of members of board of directors.--Section 152403(b)(2)(A) of such title is amended by striking ``nine directors'' and inserting ``12 directors''. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE Congressional Publishing (including transfer of funds) For authorized publishing of congressional information and the distribution of congressional information in any format; expenses necessary for preparing the semimonthly and session index to the Congressional Record, as authorized by law (section 902 of title 44, United States Code); publishing of Government publications authorized by law to be distributed to Members of Congress; and publishing, and distribution of Government publications authorized by law to be distributed without charge to the recipient, $79,736,000: Provided, That this appropriation shall not be available for paper copies of the permanent edition of the Congressional Record for individual Representatives, Resident Commissioners or Delegates authorized under section 906 of title 44, United States Code: Provided further, That this appropriation shall be available for the payment of obligations incurred under the appropriations for similar purposes for preceding fiscal years: Provided further, That notwithstanding the 2-year limitation under section 718 of title 44, United States Code, none of the funds appropriated or made available under this Act or any other Act for printing and binding and related services provided to Congress under chapter 7 of title 44, United States Code, may be expended to print a document, report, or publication after the 27-month period beginning on the date that such document, report, or publication is authorized by Congress to be printed, unless Congress reauthorizes such printing in accordance with section 718 of title 44, United States Code: Provided further, That any unobligated or unexpended balances in this account or accounts for similar purposes for preceding fiscal years may be transferred to the Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund for carrying out the purposes of this heading, subject to the approval of the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate: Provided further, That notwithstanding sections 901, 902, and 906 of title 44, United States Code, this appropriation may be used to prepare indexes to the Congressional Record on only a monthly and session basis. Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents salaries and expenses (including transfer of funds) For expenses of the public information programs of the Office of Superintendent of Documents necessary to provide for the cataloging and indexing of Government publications and their distribution to the public, Members of Congress, other Government agencies, and designated depository and international exchange libraries as authorized by law, $29,500,000: Provided, That amounts of not more than $2,000,000 from current year appropriations are authorized for producing and disseminating Congressional serial sets and other related publications for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 to depository and other designated libraries: Provided further, That any unobligated or unexpended balances in this account or accounts for similar purposes for preceding fiscal years may be transferred to the Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund for carrying out the purposes of this heading, subject to the approval of the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate. Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund For payment to the Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund, $7,832,000, to remain available until expended, for information technology development and facilities repair: Provided, That the Government Publishing Office is hereby authorized to make such expenditures, within the limits of funds available and in accordance with law, and to make such contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as provided by section 9104 of title 31, United States Code, as may be necessary in carrying out the programs and purposes set forth in the budget for the current fiscal year for the Government Publishing Office Business Operations Revolving Fund: Provided further, That not more than $7,500 may be expended on the certification of the Director of the Government Publishing Office in connection with official representation and reception expenses: Provided further, That the Business Operations Revolving Fund shall be available for the hire or purchase of not more than 12 passenger motor vehicles: Provided further, That expenditures in connection with travel expenses of the advisory councils to the Director of the Government Publishing Office shall be deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of title 44, United States Code: Provided further, That the Business Operations Revolving Fund shall be available for temporary or intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not more than the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title: Provided further, That activities financed through the Business Operations Revolving Fund may provide information in any format: Provided further, That the Business Operations Revolving Fund and the funds provided under the heading ``Public Information Programs of the Superintendent of Documents'' may not be used for contracted security services at Government Publishing Office's passport facility in the District of Columbia. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Salaries and Expenses For necessary expenses of the Government Accountability Office, including not more than $12,500 to be expended on the certification of the Comptroller General of the United States in connection with official representation and reception expenses; temporary or intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not more than the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of such title; hire of one passenger motor vehicle; advance payments in foreign countries in accordance with section 3324 of title 31, United States Code; benefits comparable to those payable under sections 901(5), (6), and (8) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4081(5), (6), and (8)); and under regulations prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States, rental of living quarters in foreign countries, $533,100,000: Provided, That, in addition, $23,350,000 of payments received under sections 782, 791, 3521, and 9105 of title 31, United States Code, shall be available without fiscal year limitation: Provided further, That this appropriation and appropriations for administrative expenses of any other department or agency which is a member of the National Intergovernmental Audit Forum or a Regional Intergovernmental Audit Forum shall be available to finance an appropriate share of either Forum's costs as determined by the respective Forum, including necessary travel expenses of non-Federal [[Page H3651]] participants: Provided further, That payments hereunder to the Forum may be credited as reimbursements to any appropriation from which costs involved are initially financed. OPEN WORLD LEADERSHIP CENTER TRUST FUND For a payment to the Open World Leadership Center Trust Fund for financing activities of the Open World Leadership Center under section 313 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2001 (2 U.S.C. 1151), $1,000,000. JOHN C. STENNIS CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT For payment to the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Development Trust Fund established under section 116 of the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development Act (2 U.S.C. 1105), $430,000. TITLE II GENERAL PROVISIONS maintenance and care of private vehicles Sec. 201. No part of the funds appropriated in this Act shall be used for the maintenance or care of private vehicles, except for emergency assistance and cleaning as may be provided under regulations relating to parking facilities for the House of Representatives issued by the Committee on House Administration and for the Senate issued by the Committee on Rules and Administration. fiscal year limitation Sec. 202. No part of the funds appropriated in this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond fiscal year 2017 unless expressly so provided in this Act. rates of compensation and designation Sec. 203. Whenever in this Act any office or position not specifically established by the Legislative Pay Act of 1929 (46 Stat. 32 et seq.) is appropriated for or the rate of compensation or designation of any office or position appropriated for is different from that specifically established by such Act, the rate of compensation and the designation in this Act shall be the permanent law with respect thereto: Provided, That the provisions in this Act for the various items of official expenses of Members, officers, and committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, and clerk hire for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives shall be the permanent law with respect thereto. consulting services Sec. 204. The expenditure of any appropriation under this Act for any consulting service through procurement contract, under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, shall be limited to those contracts where such expenditures are a matter of public record and available for public inspection, except where otherwise provided under existing law, or under existing Executive order issued under existing law. costs of lbfmc Sec. 205. Amounts available for administrative expenses of any legislative branch entity which participates in the Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council (LBFMC) established by charter on March 26, 1996, shall be available to finance an appropriate share of LBFMC costs as determined by the LBFMC, except that the total LBFMC costs to be shared among all participating legislative branch entities (in such allocations among the entities as the entities may determine) may not exceed $2,000. limitation on transfers Sec. 206. None of the funds made available in this Act may be transferred to any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government, except pursuant to a transfer made by, or transfer authority provided in, this Act or any other appropriation Act. guided tours of the capitol Sec. 207. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), none of the funds made available to the Architect of the Capitol in this Act may be used to eliminate or restrict guided tours of the United States Capitol which are led by employees and interns of offices of Members of Congress and other offices of the House of Representatives and Senate. (b) At the direction of the Capitol Police Board, or at the direction of the Architect of the Capitol with the approval of the Capitol Police Board, guided tours of the United States Capitol which are led by employees and interns described in subsection (a) may be suspended temporarily or otherwise subject to restriction for security or related reasons to the same extent as guided tours of the United States Capitol which are led by the Architect of the Capitol. computer network activity Sec. 208. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to maintain or establish a computer network unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography. (b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall limit the use of funds necessary for any Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforcement agency or any other entity to carry out criminal or Congressional investigations, prosecution, or adjudication activities. spending reduction account Sec. 209. The amount by which the applicable allocation of new budget authority made by the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives under section 302(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, excluding Senate items, exceeds the amount of proposed new budget authority is $0. This Act may be cited as the ``Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017''. The Acting CHAIR. No amendment to the bill shall be in order except those printed in House Report 114-611. Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question. It is now order to consider amendment No. 1 printed in House Report 114-611. Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Ellison The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 2 printed in House Report 114-611. Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 4, line 22, after the first dollar amount, insert ``(reduced by $1,000,000) (increased by $1,000,000)''. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 771, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota. Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, we can raise living standards for working families across this country if we use Federal dollars to create good jobs. My amendment would reprogram funds to create an office of good jobs within the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer. This office would help ensure that the House's procurement and contracting decisions encourage the creation of decently paid jobs, support collective bargaining rights, and encourage responsible employment practices. Our amendment does nothing to alter existing procurement, debarment, or contracting processes. Right now, the U.S. Government is America's leading low-wage job creator, funding over 2 million poverty jobs through contracts, loans, and grants in corporate America. That is more than the total number of low-wage workers employed by Walmart and McDonald's combined. Mr. Chairman, at this point, the Federal Government is leading the race to the bottom through its processes and its failure to capitalize on the procurement process. U.S. contract workers earn so little that nearly 40 percent use public assistance programs like food stamps and Section 8 to feed their families. In other words, Mr. Chairman, because these jobs are paid so low that are funded by the Federal contracts, Uncle Sam has to subsidize these people, working people, because they are not getting paid enough by the Federal contractors that employ them. To add insult to injury, many of these low-wage U.S. contract workers are driven deeper into poverty because their employers steal their wages and break other Federal labor laws. Treating the people who work with us here at the Capitol with dignity and respect is absolutely essential. It is intended that the appropriation for the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer be used to establish an Office of Good Jobs aimed at ensuring that the Chief Administrative Officer's procurement decisions encourage the creation of decently paid jobs, collective bargaining rights, and responsible employment practices. The office's structure shall be substantially similar to the Centers for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships located within the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of State, Small Business Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Corporation for National and Community Service, and U.S. Agency for International Development. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I know Mr. Ellison is well-intended in [[Page H3652]] his amendment. In fact, his amendment was offered during the House debate on the Energy and Water Appropriations bill just recently, and it was rejected by an overwhelming majority on a bipartisan basis. In fact, the vote was 174-245. I know his intentions are well-meaning, and he speaks well of the topic, but this amendment is no more appropriate in this context than it was previously. It ignores the fact that Congress operates an entirely different procurement system than other Federal agencies. The House has an established procurement process that is in place to ensure that all procurements are executed in a fair and a competitive manner. The function of this amendment would only add additional time to an already sound procurement process. I oppose the amendment. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz). Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I support my colleague's amendment. The aim of this amendment is to create an office of good jobs for the House within the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer. This office would help ensure that the House makes contracting and employment decisions, encouraging the creation of decently paid jobs, implementation of fair labor practices, and responsible employment practices. As the legislative branch, we ought to be setting an example for the Nation when it comes to contracting decisions. Members of Congress who are committed to creating good-paying jobs and supporting workers have a chance with this amendment to see those values reflected right where we work. This office will help guide the legislative branch in making responsible contracting and employment decisions and do right by the countless men and women who help us perform the people's business each and every day. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment by voting ``yes.'' Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining? The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Minnesota has 2 minutes remaining. Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I think this is a great example to show the openness of this process. In fact, this amendment was offered recently with the Energy and Water Appropriations bill and is applicable to be offered even here today. While I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment, I think it is just a good example of bipartisanship and this open process, of an orderly structured process to get our job done here. However, this amendment doesn't achieve what we would hope it would, and that is why I have to rise in opposition. I mean, it is clear that vendors that do business with the House are already reviewed against the GSA's excluding parties list, which includes businesses that are then precluded from doing business with the Federal Government for and, among other things, violating employees' legal employment rights. {time} 1930 As written, this amendment fails to do really much of anything. It has no legislative effect. It fails to define what the office should examine, where in the House of Representatives organizational structure the office would reside, and what recourse, if any, a Member would have if he or she disagreed with a finding of the office. Again, with that, I have to oppose the gentleman's amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, it is long past time, given this economy that we have, for the Congress of the United States to prioritize good jobs. The fact is that, if we have an agency, an office of good jobs making sure that everyone who we do business with is making sure that workers are paid fairly, that they get every penny that they earn, and that we are making sure that we prioritize good employers over the bad ones, this is exactly what we should be doing. We live in a time of 40 years of wage stagnation, and the Federal Government is deeply implicated in this wage stagnation. The Federal Government, the U.S. Congress should do something about it. Mr. Chairman, let me tell you about a friend of mine named Vee. Vee has been a catering worker here at the House of Representatives for 27 years. She is 67 years old. She says she has next to nothing for retirement. She jokes that she will be working until half an hour before her funeral. In Vee's own words: We aren't looking for a handout; we are looking for a hand up. No one who works for decades should be left without a secure retirement. Retirement insecurity isn't the only trouble she and her colleagues face. Some of them don't get healthcare benefits from their employer. Of the 50 catering workers serving Members and visitors to the Hill, only about half have access to year-round health care. We need to make it clear to current and future contractors that we want them to put taxpayers' dollars in their contracts to use, taking care of Americans who are working for them. This will help raise living standards for all workers. Let me tell you this, Mr. Chairman, when we see the Federal Government and we see State governments make good jobs the issue, the private sector falls in line. We have seen the Gap, even Walmart, talking about raising issues. Why? Because President Obama signed an executive order to say that anyone who works for a Federal contractor has to get paid at least $10.10 an hour. That kind of leadership is what makes the Federal Government not the leader in the race to the bottom but the leader in the race to the top. Vote ``yes'' on my amendment. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for the gentleman's time tonight and taking time on this late evening to express his passion and zeal for workers all across this country. However, with that, because of his amendment and, as I mentioned, the impact that it, in effect, really wouldn't have, I would have to oppose the gentleman's amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison). The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the noes appeared to have it. Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Minnesota will be postponed. Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Blumenauer The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 3 printed in House Report 114-611. Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 17, line 6, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced by $100,000) (increased by $100,000)''. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 771, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon. Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chairman, there is a bike share revolution that is spreading across America. Over 70 systems are now operating in 104 cities, including, next month, my hometown of Portland, Oregon. Atlanta's system opened today. This is an opportunity to provide the bicycle in a more convenient form, where people can rent by the half hour, by the hour, by the day. We find that research shows that the bike share is safer than regular bicycles. There have been no fatalities recorded in more than 35 million trips around the country so far. It is cheaper. It is a healthier form of transit. Low-cost memberships are available for low- income populations, for example, in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia and Chicago. The Nation's Capital is a model for bike share. Launched in 2010, there are now over 350 stations around the D.C. area. Daily ridership is over 9,000. Bike share members report annual savings [[Page H3653]] of $700 to $800 a year due to riding the bike share. My amendment suggests that it is time for the Architect of the Capitol to have the Capitol Grounds included in this process, requiring a feasibility study on the installation and operation of bike share stations on the Capitol Grounds. Right now, the nearest station to House Office Buildings is at the bottom of Capitol Hill, between the busy Independence Avenue and freeway on-ramps. It is not convenient to our staff. It is not convenient to the millions of visitors that come to Capitol Hill every year. Thinking for a moment about the problems we have got now with the Metro maintenance, every person that takes a bike share is one more person who is not on the road ahead of you or crowded into overcrowded facilities. I respectfully suggest that this amendment be adopted, that we have $100,000 within the Architect of the Capitol's budget to undertake this feasibility study to improve the quality of life, the health, and mobility in and around this vital area of our Nation's Capital. It is unfortunate that this intense area of activity is underserved. This amendment would help remedy that. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition. The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia? There was no objection. The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I don't claim the time in opposition to speak against it. In fact, I am supportive of the gentleman's amendment, and I appreciate him bringing this forward. As a cyclist myself, I can tell you, I understand the importance of making sure, on a campus such as this or in a town such as this or an area such as this, that there is plenty of availability, and the bike share facilities and locations are certainly around here, but we understand that there are some absences or vacancies in spaces near to this campus. Saying all that, I do respect the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police and some of their concerns that they have expressed, and I would hope that, as the Architect moves forward with a study such as this, that they would take those considerations into effect as well as they put their study together. I thank the gentleman for his amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer). Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Blumenauer amendment to request a feasibility study on the installation and operation of Capital Bikeshare stations on the Capitol Grounds. I would like to thank Mr. Blumenauer for his bike-partisan leadership over the years and for his work on this issue specifically. His passion for cycling is known to and appreciated by so many of us. Mr. Chairman, Capital Bikeshare opened in 2010 in the District of Columbia and in Arlington, Virginia, which I am proud to represent. Since then, the system has grown steadily to include more than 350 stations. It has changed the way many people in this region travel. The U.S. Capitol receives millions of visitors every year, and millions more visit our offices to talk about their issues and concerns. These people are friends, families, and constituents. There are also guests of the United States from all over the world. Capital Bikeshare has been successful precisely because many of these visitors want to see our city up close, from the seat of a bicycle. Expanding this very successful program to the Capitol Grounds is a great way to give tourists, local commuters, and our staffs an excellent transportation alternative, not to mention the benefits the bicycle has on the environment, individual health, and traffic congestion. This need is especially great right now as the D.C.'s Metrorail system undergoes extensive, prolonged maintenance. This puts a real strain on all the other modes of transportation in the city. Capital Bikeshare is beloved by D.C. residents and visitors alike, and we should be setting a strong example by supporting the program and welcoming stations in the place where we work, right here on the Capitol Grounds. Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Blumenauer for his leadership and urge my colleagues to support the amendment. Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer). The amendment was agreed to. Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Welch The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 4 printed in House Report 114-611. Mr. WELCH. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 17, line 6, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced by $500,000)''. Page 17, line 11, after the dollar amount, insert ``(increased by $250,000)''. Page 17, line 23, after the first dollar amount, insert ``(increased by $250,000)''. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 771, the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Vermont. Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be here presenting this amendment. My cosponsor of this amendment, Jaime Herrera Beutler, is unable to be here, but it is relevant. She had a baby 2 weeks ago--this is not her first child--and she is a breastfeeding mother. This amendment is about creating the potential for the House Office Buildings and this Capitol to come into compliance with the General Services Administration guidelines for having breastfeeding stations available for women who need them. There are 7,000 women who work here. There are thousands of women who visit on a regular basis, and we don't have the stations that the women who visit the Capitol, work in the Capitol, work in the House Office Buildings, or visit need to be here in order to take care of their infant children. It is just amazing to me. Jaime Herrera Beutler is someone we all admire. She can't be here--she wishes she was--but she is a big advocate of this. What this amendment would do is not cost new money, but it would allow a shift in money, $500,000, from the capital construction and operations account to the Capitol Building and House Office Building accounts, appropriating $250,000 each. The fact is, why wouldn't we want to be in compliance with the GSA requirements as to the access to the breastfeeding stations for mothers who work and visit here? Mr. Chair, my hope is that there will be broad bipartisan support to do something that I think all of us know needs to be done. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Will the gentleman yield? Mr. WELCH. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for his thoughtful amendment. We are prepared to accept it, support it. Mr. WELCH. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the ranking member of the committee. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I join the chairman in supporting the gentleman's amendment. This amendment would add approximately 30 lactation rooms to the Capitol complex. Working mothers rely on these rooms--and I can speak from experience--to ensure that they can continue to work while breastfeeding their children. This amendment rightfully recognizes that Congress must lead by example to ensure that women can be both moms and leaders in their field. In fact, my own office right now is serving as a lactation room, and that is because one of my wonderful staff is a nursing mom. While I am happy to do that, it is our responsibility to maintain an environment where all of our employees feel comfortable, including working mothers. Our staff deserves to feel welcome [[Page H3654]] and secure when they are ready to return to work. We should be doing everything we can to encourage working moms to return to the workplace, and it must start here on Capitol Hill. As we all know, the offices in which we work are inadequate for moms to pump. Our staff is many to an office with open-air cubicles. Having lactation rooms is mandatory, essential, if we want to keep talented women in the workplace. I want to thank the gentleman for offering this amendment. I urge its support and appreciate the chairman's support. Mr. WELCH. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Graves. I appreciate his support of this amendment. I also want to thank the ranking member for her support. I also thank my cosponsors, Congresswoman Matsui and Congresswoman Frankel, but I especially want to thank and congratulate Congresswoman Herrera Beutler. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Chair, I want to thank Congressman Welch for his leadership on this common sense amendment. Working mothers are driving our economy forward. Two out of every three women are the sole or equal breadwinner in their households. Many of these women are juggling the responsibilities of caring for their children and supporting their family. Having workplaces that accommodate the needs of our hard working American mothers makes our economy stronger. Businesses across the country have made important improvements in their work place standards for women. And the Federal government has too. In fact, the General Services Administration now requires that federal buildings have lactation stations for breastfeeding mothers. But here in the U.S. Capitol we are not living up to these standards--at the expense of the thousands of women who work in the Capitol and the millions of women who pass through these grounds every day. We need to make working mothers' ability to contribute to our economy easier, not harder. This amendment simply brings the House of Representatives into compliance with existing laws already on the books and would not require any new funding. It is a common sense step forward for working mothers. Our Capitol is a symbol of our democracy and should set the highest example for the American people. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment which makes our Capitol more welcoming to all. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch). The amendment was agreed to. {time} 1945 The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 5 printed in House Report 114-611. Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mrs. Blackburn The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 6 printed in House Report 114-611. Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: Sec. __. (a) Each amount made available by this Act is hereby reduced by 1 percent. (b) The reduction in subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to-- (1) accounts under the heading ``Capitol Police''; (2) ``Architect of the Capitol--Capitol Police Buildings, Grounds and Security''; or (3) the amount provided for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Sergeant at Arms under the heading ``House of Representatives--Salaries, Officers and Employees''. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 771, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Tennessee. Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, I want to begin by thanking the committee for the hard work that they have put into this bill and for the way the House has approved reducing our budget over the last several years. If every department of the Federal Government were to be as active as we were in reducing our spending, our budget would be in better shape. This bill provides a net total of $3.482 billion in fiscal year 2017 base discretionary budget authority. That is $153 million below the President's budget request, $73 million above the enacted 2016 level, and $140 million above the level proposed by the Appropriations Committee for fiscal year 2016. However, I think there is more work that needs to be done. And thus, as I do for most of our appropriations bills, I am here with my 1 percent across-the-board spending reduction amendment. It would reduce discretionary budget authority by $31 million and outlays by $28 million. It exempts the Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Police Buildings, Grounds and Security, and the Sergeant at Arms. I am certainly aware that there is opposition to doing the penny-on- a-dollar cut. I have heard many times that cuts like this are damaging and we shouldn't do them, but I think that cutting an extra penny on every dollar not only goes to putting us on a better track, it helps to preserve our Nation's sovereignty for future generations. When we have $19.2 trillion in debt, our constituents are saying: What are you going to do about this? Well, here is an action that we can take: making a penny-on-a-dollar cut and saving ourselves some more money--$31 million--that will help to send the right message that, again, we are going to cut a little bit more, just as the families in our districts are doing. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition. The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Florida is recognized for 5 minutes. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I strongly oppose this amendment, as it takes a meat-ax approach to cutting this bill by $31 million with an across-the-board cut of 1 percent. The amendment exempts the Capitol Police and its buildings, as well as the Sergeant at Arms. It does not exempt our staff, including the offerer's own staff because it would cut the Members' Representational Allowance. It would also cut the Congressional Research Service, the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Budget Office, committees of Congress, and the Office of Compliance. The Legislative Branch bill, Mr. Chairman, has been flat for 3 years. And this bill finally provides a modest overall increase of 2.1 percent, but because we have not kept up with inflation, each year we are buying less and less for our dollar. The Congressional Research Service, for example, is still below FY 2010 levels and reports it has lost 13 percent of its purchasing power. We can't continue to do more with less. There is a reason the perception of Congress is damaged. We are damaging our ability to write and analyze legislation and have serious debates because we take the politically expedient route, like the across-the-board cuts, because they play well during town halls. But if we bothered to explain the brain drain within the halls of Congress and the need to boost funding for staff to do oversight, I have the belief that our constituents would understand that. If Members want a strong legislative branch to ensure oversight of the executive, this amendment should be defeated. The cut to the MRA is one of the most egregious that would result from this amendment. I happen to think my staff contributes to the well-being of my constituents and are worth every penny we can afford to pay them after years of cuts to the MRA. The MRA is $97 million less than it was in fiscal year 2010. This amendment would cut $5.6 million more. Mr. Chairman, you get the government you pay for, and I fear that this amendment would do nothing more than hurt the service we are able to provide to our constituents. I urge defeat of the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, I will have to say that people do like across-the-board cuts. Indeed, many governors, Republican and Democrat alike, use these. From coast-to-coast, they have used these. And our constituents like them. Take a look at the December 2012 POLITICO-George Washington University Battleground Tracking Poll. It shows 75 percent approve of them. January 2013, The Hill, 6-in-10 approve. Look at what happened in Oklahoma in December: a 3 percent across-the-board cut. In March, they did a 4 percent across-the-board cut. [[Page H3655]] Why is it that our governors do these? They work. Department heads like to be able to go in there and find a way to cut a little bit more in that budget and still meet the needs that the people have said they want to see their government meet. We have $19.3 trillion in debt. We are working to get the cost of government down, but we have to do a little bit more. This is a way to engage rank-and-file Federal employees and to say to them: It is time for us to get our fiscal house in order. A penny on the dollar is what our constituents are doing. We should do likewise. It is what our States are doing, because they can't crank the printing press. They can't go borrow money. They can't have more of our debt that is owned by China and Japan and OPEC and the entities that own our debt. They have to have balanced budget amendments. When I was in the Tennessee State Senate, we didn't go home until we had the budget in balance. So I would encourage support of this amendment. It is a penny out of a dollar. It is another $31 million in savings. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, as I said, this bill has already taken hit after hit. We are far below the levels that we were at in 2010. We have employees who deserve to be assured that we have enough respect for their professionalism that we are going to adequately fund their ability to do their jobs, which is to represent our constituents. This amendment takes, as I said, a meat-ax approach rather than what the chairman and I worked together to do, which is to develop the substantive portions of this bill related to the funding of the legislative branch in a precisionlike way. It doesn't make sense. I have never heard of polling that actually asks generic questions of constituents on whether they like or dislike across-the-board cuts. I am not sure what the purpose of electing Members of Congress is if we are going to just make indiscriminate, across-the-board decisions rather than use our brains and build consensus around the decisions that we make. That is the type of approach that this amendment would take, and it is inappropriate. We need to make sure that we are adequately funding the legislative branch functions so that we can represent our constituents effectively. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time. Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, the American people think they have taken hit after hit. And they have taken it right in the wallet. They are sick and tired of this. They feel like this economy has taken a meat-ax approach to their well-being. What they want to see is leadership that will work to get our spending habits under control here in Washington. This is a great opportunity to lead by example and to say: A penny on the dollar, we are going to do it for the children and for future generations. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, the American people are appreciative and understand that we have been through 75 straight months of private sector job growth, that we have added 20 million people who didn't have health insurance before and who are now able to go to the doctor when they are sick, that we have cut the deficit by nearly three-quarters, and that we have made progress. And we need to continue to build on that progress and help more Americans have an opportunity to reach the middle class. All of those things were accomplished through funding the legislative branch. And we need to appropriately fund it, adequately fund it, so we can effectively represent our constituents. I urge defeat of this ill-advised amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn). The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes appeared to have it. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Tennessee will be postponed. The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 7 printed in House Report 114-611. Parliamentary Inquiry Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I have a parliamentary inquiry. The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Could the Chair inform the committee of what the intentions are tonight, about how many amendments we would move forward and how many for tomorrow? The Acting CHAIR. The Chair has just announced that amendment No. 7 is now in order. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I have an additional parliamentary inquiry. The Acting CHAIR. The Chair would be prepared to entertain a motion to rise. Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise. The motion was agreed to. Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Amodei) having assumed the chair, Mr. Byrne, Acting Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5325) making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other purposes, had come to no resolution thereon. ____________________