[House Report 114-901]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Union Calendar No. 712
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 114-901
_______________________________________________________________________
THE REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
during the
114TH CONGRESS
TOGETHER WITH MINORITY VIEWS
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 30, 2016.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
23-172 WASHINGTON : 2016
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
House of Representatives,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC, December 30, 2016.
Hon. Karen L. Haas,
Clerk of the House,
Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Clerk: Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 1, paragraph
(d) of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, I hereby
transmit the Annual Report on the Activities of the Committee
on House Administration. This report summarizes the activities
of the Committee with respect to its legislative and oversight
responsibilities in the 114th Congress from January 2015 to
December 2016.
Sincerely,
Candice S. Miller,
Chairman.
Union Calendar No. 712
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 114-901
======================================================================
THE REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
DURING THE 114TH CONGRESS
_______
December 30, 2016.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mrs. Candice S. Miller of Michigan, from the Committee on
House Adminstration, submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
INTRODUCTION
The Committee on House Administration (``Committee'') is
charged with the oversight of federal elections and the day-to-
day operations of the House of Representatives.
The Committee on House Administration oversees
appropriations for the salaries and expenses of all House
committees (except for the Committee on Appropriations);
allowance and expenses of House Members, officers, and
administrative offices; and the auditing and settling of these
accounts. The Committee further oversees the employment of
staff for House Members, committees, and stenographers. The
Committee has jurisdiction over the House Library; the statuary
and art in the Capitol; the Franking Commission; the
Congressional Record; accounts of the House; and the assignment
of office space for House Members and committees. The Committee
also has the important duty of overseeing the Capitol Police
and security of the House office buildings and grounds.
Additionally, the Committee's jurisdiction covers the
election of the President and Vice President, House Members,
Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, and Senators as well as
House contested elections, credentials and qualifications of
candidates, corrupt practices, and campaign finance matters in
federal elections. Regarding Member services, the Committee
oversees the House restaurant, parking facilities, and
administration of the House office buildings and of the House
wing of the Capitol. The Committee also deals with the travel
of Members; and the compensation, retirement and other benefits
of Members, officers and employees of Congress. Lastly, the
Committee has jurisdiction over the Library of Congress, the
purchase of books and manuscripts, the Botanic Garden, and the
Smithsonian Institution.
COMMITTEE FUNDING
The Committee on House Administration reports a biennial
primary expense resolution by which standing and select
committees of the House (except the Committee on
Appropriations) are authorized operating funds for each
Congress. During the first three months of each new Congress,
House Rule X, clause 7, provides a temporary authorization for
House committees to continue operations. This temporary
authorization is based on their funding authorizations from the
preceding session and allows committees to organize, adopt
legislative and oversight agendas, and seek spending authority
through the adoption of a primary expense resolution by the
House.
On March 4, 2015 the Committee met to consider House
Resolution 132, providing for the expenses of certain
committees of the House of Representatives for the 114th
Congress. The amounts proposed in H. Res. 132 reflect the
justifications provided to the Committee by the Chairs and
Ranking Members during their testimony at the Committee Hearing
held on February 11, 2015. The Committee approved H. Res, 132
by voice vote. On March 19, 2015, the House, again by voice
vote, agreed to the Resolution.
On November 19, 2015, the Committee adopted Committee
Resolution 114-10, which allocated $300,000 from the Reserve
Fund created in H. Res. 132 to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce for purposes of funding a portion of the operations of
its Select Investigative Panel.
On June 17, 2016, the Committee adopted Committee
Resolution 114-19, which allocated $490,000 from the Reserve
Fund created in H. Res. 132 to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce for purposes of funding a portion of the operations of
its Select Investigative Panel.
On November 15, 2016, the Committee considered and adopted
H. Res. 933, which authorized the final installment of funding,
$800,000, to the Committee on Energy and Commerce for purposes
of funding a portion of the operations of its Select
Investigative Panel.
On December 1, 2016, the House of Representatives
considered and adopted by a vote of 234-181, H. Res. 933, which
provided the final installment of funding, $800,000, to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce for purposes of funding a
portion of the operations of its Select Investigative Panel.
MEMBERS' REPRESENTATIONAL ALLOWANCE
The Committee has jurisdiction over the use of
appropriations from the accounts of the U.S. House of
Representatives for the Members' Representational Allowance
(``MRA'') as well as official travel by Members and staff, and
compensation, retirement and other benefits of Member office
employees. The MRA is the annual authorization made to each
Member of the House to obligate U.S. Treasury funds not to
exceed a certain amount. These funds may be used by the Member
to pay ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred by the
Member and his or her congressional office employees in support
of the conduct of the Member's official and representational
duties on behalf of the district from which the Member is
elected. The annual MRA is available for one legislative year
(i.e., January 3 of one year through January 2 of the following
year).
The MRA is made up of three primary expense components:
personnel compensation, official expenses, and official
(franked) mail expenses. The amount of the MRA varies from
Member to Member based on the distance of a Member's district
from Washington, D.C., the cost to lease federal office space
in a Member's district, and the number of U.S. Postal Service
private delivery stops in a Member's district. The use of funds
in any expense category is not limited by the amount factored
into a corresponding expense component, e.g., a Member may
spend more or less than the amount of the travel component to
travel and from his or her district. Each Member has complete
discretion in budgeting the total amount of his or her MRA as
he or she determines to support the operation of his or her
Washington, D.C., and district congressional offices,
consistent with applicable Federal law and House Rules and
regulations.
Federal law authorizes the Committee to fix and adjust the
amounts, terms, and conditions of, and other matters relating
to the MRA (including all aspects of official mail) by reason
of:
1. A change in the price of materials, services, or
office space;
2. A technological change or other improvement in
office equipment; or
3. An increase in rates of pay under the General
Schedule, e.g., a comparability and/or locality wage
adjustment.
During the 114th Congress, the Committee took the following
actions pertaining to the Member's Representational Allowance:
On February 8, 2016, the Committee set authorization
amounts for each of the 441 Members of the House of
Representatives for the legislative year starting on January 3,
2016, until January 2, 2017. The amounts were authorized with a
1% increase to each of the 114th Congress first session
amounts.
On March 16, 2016, the Committee on House Administration
considered and adopted updates to the following regulations:
Members' Congressional Handbook;
Committee Congressional Handbook;
Guide to Outfitting and Maintaining an Office; and
Regulations pursuant to H. Res. 5 regarding
Congressional Member Organizations.
COMMISSION ON CONGRESSIONAL MAILING STANDARDS
The Franking Commission, established by Public Law 93-191,
is composed of six Members appointed by the Speaker of the
House: three from the majority, and three from the minority.
The Speaker designates as Chairman of the Franking Commission
one of the Members appointed to the Commission, who must also
be a Member of the Committee on House Administration. In the
114th Congress, the Commission was chaired by Rep. Candice S.
Miller of Michigan, with Rep. Susan A. Davis of California
serving as Ranking Member, and joined by Commission Members
Rep. Robert E. Latta of Ohio, Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois,
Rep. Brad Sherman of California, and Rep. Cedric Richmond of
Louisiana.
By law, House Rule and regulation, the jurisdiction and
related functions of the Franking Commission are:
1. To prescribe regulations governing the proper use of the
franking privilege by those entitled to use the privilege in
connection with the mailing or contemplated mailing of franked
mail under 39 U.S.C. sections 3210, 3211, 3212, 3213(2), 3218,
3219 or in connection with the operation of section 3215; in
connection with any other Federal law (other than any law which
imposes any criminal penalty), or in connection with any Rule
of the U.S. House of Representatives relating to franked mail
(2 U.S.C. 501(d)).
2. Upon the request of any person entitled to use the
franking privilege and other official communication resources,
to provide guidance, assistance, advice, and counsel, through
Advisory Opinions or consultations, in connection with the
distribution or contemplated distribution of franked mail or
official communications regarding the application and/or
compliance with applicable Federal statutes and House Rules and
regulations. The staff assigned to the Commission is delegated
authority by the Commission to perform advisory and counseling
functions, subject to review by the Commission. (2 U.S.C.
501(d), House Rule XXIV, and the Regulations of the Committee
on House Administration).
3. To investigate, decide, and dispose of complaints
regarding the misuse of the franking privilege (2 U.S.C.
501(e)).
On June 9, 2015 the Commission agreed by unanimous vote to
issue an advisory opinion on Cedric Richmond request number
47853-11, ruling that it is permissible to include in an
official mailing or communication, information from a private
source which refers to specific instructional or educational
material about emergency preparedness, survival, and relief.
Any such reference may not be the sole purpose of the
communication and may not promote, endorse, or solicit on
behalf of any organization.
On October 29, 2015 the Commission amended the Regulations
on the Use of the Congressional Frank by Members of the House
of Representatives to permit the use of franked mail in support
of officially-sanctioned competitions as authorized in the
Members Congressional Handbook.
At the time of filing this report, the Franking Commission
had reviewed 12,850 requests for advisory opinions and issued
10,083 final advisory opinions during the 114th Congress.
Staff of the Franking Commission travelled with the
Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Ethics
to meet with the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada
from August 16th through 24th. The purpose of the trip was to
meet with legislators and leadership of the regulatory agencies
that govern the use of franked mail and official resources. The
meetings informed policy and oversight considerations as the
Commission considers proposals on social media, advertising,
postal transactions, and public disclosure.
On August 31, 2016 the Franking Commission received a
complaint filed pursuant to the Rules of Practice in
Proceedings before the House Commission on Congressional
Mailing Standards. On October 17, 2016, the Commission issued
an order to dismiss the complaint by unanimous vote pursuant to
Rule 3 of the Rules of Practice in Proceedings before the House
Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, having
determined that there was no reason to believe that a violation
had occurred as alleged in the complaint.
Effective January 3, 1996, all communications required to
receive an Advisory Opinion from the Franking Commission are
subject to full public disclosure. Communications that require
an Advisory Opinion prior to distribution, publication,
dissemination, etc. include mass mailings, and mass
communications (regardless of medium) as defined by 39 U.S.C.
section 3210(a)(6)(E) and the Members Congressional Handbook.
The Franking Commission is responsible for monitoring requests
to review Advisory Opinions filed at the Legislative Resource
Center to ensure that the applicable public disclosure
requirements are fully complied with. It is the practice of the
Franking Commission to provide notice to a Member whenever his
or her public disclosure file has been reviewed in whole or in
part.
OVERSIGHT AND LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE
The Committee continues to work with House Leadership and
Legislative Branch Appropriations to reduce overall costs and
efficiently manage House operations.
Officers of the House
One of the responsibilities of the Committee is to conduct
oversight of the Officers of the House, whose organizations
serve primary roles in legislative operations and the day-to-
day administrative and operational infrastructure necessary to
support the Members and staff of the House.
Clerk of the House
The Office of the Clerk is charged with overseeing nine
departments including the Office of Art and Archives, the
Legislative Resource Center, and the Office of Official
Reporters. The Clerk's primary responsibilities involve the
legislative activities of the House. This includes managing the
bills originating in the House as well as overseeing the voting
system.
The Committee worked with several of the Clerk's
subdivisions on projects throughout the past two years,
including the Historian, to produce the Hispanic Americans in
Congress book in e-Book format in January 2015. The Committee
also encouraged the Clerk to publish an online phone book for
staff to increase the timeliness of the information and reduce
printing costs. The online phone book was launched in August
2016.
The Committee also heard testimony from the Clerk regarding
her FY16 priorities in its June 3, 2015 hearing on ``House
Officer Priorities for 2016 and Beyond.'' During the hearing
the Committee received an update on the upgrade of the House's
Electronic Voting System, a critical component of the House's
Legislative operations. The new system, which includes new
voting stations and cards, is to be complete in August 2017.
The Clerk continued to co-chair the Bulk Data Task Force
and to work with Committee staff to implement continued
progress in transparency and digital transformation in the
House.
The House Rules for the 114th Congress continued to call
for greater transparency and accessibility to legislative
information. Among other things, the Rules instructed the Clerk
of the House to make available electronically each memorial
pertaining to Article V of the Constitution of the United
States and added a requirement that parallel citations for
amendatory instructions to Public Laws and Statutes at Large
that are not classified in the U.S. Code be included in
proposed legislation.
House Bill Summaries were made available as XML bulk data
on the FDsys Bulk Data Repository. Senate bill summaries were
added to this collection in January 2015. In April, 2015 the
House Clerk began publishing some Member data in XML format.
The Speaker announced an initiative to publically provide
all forms of law in XML format. The Office of the Clerk is
coordinating this project with the Government Publishing Office
and the Office of the Federal Register.
The Clerk worked with the Committee on House Administration
to develop a standard for House Committee Hearing documents. A
pilot project produced sample hearings for review. The Joint
Committee on Printing has tasked GPO to operationalize the
Hearing Modernization project to increase transparency and
reduce the cost of producing hearings.
Sergeant-at-Arms and the United States Capitol Police
The House Sergeant-at-Arms (`HSAA') is responsible for
maintaining the security of the House side of the Capitol
Grounds and for ensuring the security of Members of Congress,
staff, and visitors.
Oversight of the House Sergeant-at-Arms and the United
States Capitol Police (`USCP') continued to be a priority for
the Committee. In order to receive regular updates regarding
security in both Washington and in Member districts, the
Committee meets with both the HSAA and the USCP on a regular
basis. The Committee coordinated with the HSAA and other House
officers to continually reassess House security policies and
procedures, and monitored both new and ongoing projects. HSAA
and USCP made enhanced security screening efforts a priority
for the House campus and District Offices. The Committee
coordinated extensively with USCP, HSAA, Leadership, and other
committees of jurisdiction to achieve successful installation
of screening measures at garage entrances in the Longworth, and
Cannon underground garages and Ford House Office Buildings. The
Committee will continue to work with HSAA and USCP to plan for
similar improvements in the Rayburn and Cannon House Office
Buildings. The Committee worked closely with the HSAA to
provide Member District Offices with mail screening hoods.
Finally, CHA passed a Committee resolution determining that the
management and operation of safes in the House buildings will
now be managed by the Sergeant at Arms rather than the Chief
Administrative Officer. The Committee continues to work with
both organizations to implement the transition and additional
recommendations from the House Inspector General related to the
program.
On May 20, 2015, the Committee held a hearing inviting
Chief Kim Dine of the USCP to testify regarding management
challenges within USCP and his vision for the force. The
hearing revealed his plan for the Department, and
organizational and operational changes followed in the months
after the hearing. Chief Dine announced his eventual retirement
in August of 2015, and the Committee met frequently with the
HSAA and Capitol Police Board regarding the search for a new
Chief of Police. When Chief Matthew Verderosa was sworn-in, the
Committee held a hearing in May of 2016 regarding his
priorities as the Department transitioned under his leadership.
Preceding the hearing, the Committee reported favorably a bill
allowing USCP to accept and dispose of surplus property,
bringing them into line with other federal law enforcement
agencies.
Chief Administrative Officer
The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (`CAO')
supports the budget, finance, procurement, logistics, and
information technology needs of the House and all of its
components. The Committee is charged with overseeing the CAO
and its support staff. After the retirement of the previous
CAO, Ed Cassidy, on December 31, 2015, Will Plaster temporarily
assumed the role of CAO for seven months. Pursuant to H. Res.
826, Philip G. Kiko was sworn in as CAO effective August 1,
2016. Over the past two years, the Committee worked with the
CAOs and his staff on a variety of cost-savings and process
improvement initiatives, policies, and programs throughout all
facets of the organization.
The Committee continued the oversight over the CAO's
management of the House finances and financial system. The CAO,
in cooperation with both the Committee and the Inspector
General, continues to make progress on improving internal
controls over IT systems, financial reporting, and property and
equipment.
As part of the Member Expense Review, the Committee
reviewed the voucher review and approval process within the
CAO. Based on this review, the Committee worked with the CAO to
make numerous training and process improvements to ensure that
all expenses submitted for reimbursement are in compliance with
Committee regulations and have the required supporting
documentation. The Committee also used this process to revise
the Voucher Documentation Standards, which had not been updated
since 2010. Working with the CAO, the Committee provided
training for all financial administrators and financial
counselors and implemented the new voucher standards on October
1, 2016.
Also as part of the Member Expense Review, the Committee
directed the CAO to make improvements to the transparency of
Member expenses, including more precise descriptions of Office
travel expenses in the Statements of Disbursement (SOD), which
are published quarterly. The Committee also directed the CAO to
publish the SOD in open formats that are more easily searchable
and sortable.
A significant portion of the Congress was spent on
coordinating and planning transition activities with the CAO.
The Committee approved the 115th Congress Transition Policies
covering everything from mobile device policies to the shipment
of Member papers to VOIP and broadband policies for the
district offices. The 115th Congress Standard Lease templates
and approval processes were also updated to include a broadband
requirement. Lastly, the Committee approved the Master Contract
for CMS and Maintenance Providers for the House. This master
contract included two new vendors increasing the CMS options
for House Offices.
The Committee continued to exercise its responsibility over
the CAO through the review and approval of the Food Services
RFP and contract. In August 2015, the newly selected vendor,
Sodexo, transitioned into the House while bringing with it, a
Subway deli in Rayburn, a Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins in
Longworth, and other welcome renovations and changes in the
Longworth Caf.
Lastly, the Committee was proud to approve the expansion of
the House's Wounded Warrior Program in October 2015. The CAO-
managed program provides a wonderful opportunity for Member
Offices to employ a wounded warrior in their DC or District
Offices for a two year period. The program has had 50 positions
since its inception in 2008 and it now has 54 fellowships which
are widely sought after. The Committee will continue to work
with the CAO to see if further expansion is possible while also
maintaining the same budget.
OTHER OVERSIGHT AND LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE
House Information Resources
Throughout the Congress, the Committee worked with House
Information Resources (`HIR') to improve technology services
for the House community. These services included the approval
of new hardware and software standards, faster district
internet connectivity, and support for cloud based services
including Office 365 and district office telephone support. CHA
worked with HIR to complete the House's Technology Vendor
Agreements for the 115th Congress.
The Committee conducted oversight over HIR's technology
support for Member offices, including the support for the over
900 district offices throughout the United States. At the
Direction of the Committee, HIR has transitioned over 100
district offices to internet-based connections to improve speed
and will continue this transition next Congress. HIR is
evaluating options to reduce costs and increase mobility for
district office telephone support.
The Committee continued to examine HIR's management of
various technology service vendors and approved incremental
improvements to policies and procedures governing these
vendors. The Committee believes additional changes are
warranted to these programs to better serve Member needs and
reduce costs.
Like any governmental organization, the House must
continually evolve its cybersecurity capabilities to meet
changing threats. The Committee continued the review of HIR's
security policies and procedures and worked with HIR to make
improvements where warranted. The Committee approved the
issuance of cybersecurity policies to address strengthening
training requirements, network security, privileged account
management, and cloud usage policies.
Finally, the Committee continued to examine HIR's effort to
improve technology governance, including efforts to improve
strategic planning, service management and enterprise
architecture.
Inspector General
House Rule II creates the Office of the Inspector General
(`OIG') and charges the Committee with oversight of the office.
During the past two years, the OIG produced twelve management
advisory reports and thirteen audit reports. Of particular note
were the FY 2014 and FY 2015 House Financial Statement Audits
which the Committee released on May 20, 2015 and April 26, 2016
respectively. The House received unqualified or `clean'
opinions on its financial statements and internal controls over
financial reporting. The FY15 audit was the eighteenth
consecutive `clean' audit the House has received.
At the Committee's direction, the House Inspector General
worked with the Officers of the House in 2015 to develop a
strategic plan for the continued improvement of House
operations. The plan focused on improving governance over
information technology, service delivery to House offices, and
physical security initiatives. As a result of this work, the
Committee formed staff working groups on technology governance
and service delivery that developed a number of recommendations
for implementation in the next Congress.
The Architect of the Capitol
The Architect of the Capitol (`AOC') is responsible for the
maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the
entire Capitol Complex, which includes 17.4 million square feet
of building space and more than 460 acres of land. Certain
decisions regarding management of the House office buildings
and the House side of the Capitol reside with the House Office
Building Commission, but the Committee supervises and oversees
AOC implementation of its programs.
The Committee met regularly with the House Office Building
Superintendent, his senior staff, and other AOC management and
staff during the period of this report. In addition, regular
meetings with the Architect of the Capitol were held to review
critical items and projects.
The Committee continued to monitor AOC operations,
including the completion of work addressing the Americans with
Disabilities Act requirements, the operations of the AOC's
Office of Security Programs, issues related to the newly leased
O'Neill Building, and the continued planning and implementation
of the Capitol Dome renewal project.
The Committee significantly expanded oversight of the
Cannon renovation, as that project has now begun and will
require the relocation of 31 Member suites beginning in January
2017. Along with the Appropriations Committee and the House
Office Building Commission, the Committee continued to review
the AOC governance of this ten-year project. The Committee
initiated a working group to meet and address any issues
related to the project. Participants include House
Administration, House Leadership staff, Appropriations
Committee Staff, House Officers, USCP, and the AOC. The group
has developed a targeted communications plan to inform the
House community about the project, especially issues related to
Member office moves and other disruption to the House community
that are inevitable in a project of this size, scope and
duration.
In June 2016, the House Superintendent discovered elevated
lead levels in water sources in the Cannon House Office
Building. The Committee assisted the AOC in developing a
communications and outreach strategy to relay to Members and
staff what was happening as well as the remedy to identify and
fix the problem.
The Committee also coordinates with the management team of
the Congressional Visitors Center, and met regularly to ensure
visitor operations are running effectively. A point of
Committee emphasis was the CVC's ability to adapt tours
throughout 2015 and 2016, as the Capitol experienced temporary
periods where the Rotunda was closed due to the Dome
Restoration. Finally, the Committee worked with the AOC and
House Superintendent to ensure a smooth transition period for
both new and departing Members.
Office of Congressional Accessibility Services
The Office of Congressional Accessibility Services (`OCAS')
was created by the Capitol Visitor Center Act of 2008. OCAS
operates under the direction of the Congressional Accessibility
Services Board and is charged with providing and coordinating
accessibility services for individuals with disabilities
including Members of Congress, officers and employees of the
House and Senate, and visitors to the U.S. Capitol Complex. The
Committee on House Administration is charged with overseeing
the agency and meets with OCAS quarterly.
The Committee met with the OCAS Director on a variety of
accessibility issues impacting Member and committee offices and
the public including, but not limited to, sign language
interpreting services, assistive listening services,
accessibility training, accessible tours, and House intranet
improvements for accessibility resources and maps. Finally,
OCAS was charged with accommodating guests with accessibility
requirements for the historic visit of Pope Francis to address
Congress. The Committee coordinated with the Director to ensure
OCAS received the support and resources it required for such a
large-scale event.
Library of Congress and Joint Committee on the Library
Committee staff met regularly with Library management to
monitor and review operations, services, and planning
initiatives.
The Committee reviewed the storage capabilities of Library
of Congress and worked with the Library to develop alternate
solutions to the challenges the backlog creates. The Committee
also worked with the Library on specific projects of value to
the House community, such as the development and communication
of updates on Congress.gov and LIS websites to Members and
staff. The Committee also coordinated with the Library on
transitioning away from Thomas.gov.
A significant point of emphasis for the Committee's
Oversight of the Library was Library IT infrastructure and
continuity abilities. A series of IT outages and incidents, as
well as a pair of critical GAO reports related to Library IT
capabilities spurred concerns about the Library's ability to
manage and develop its systems. The Committee coordinated
closely with the Library during its search for a Chief
Information Officer, and has met regularly with Bud Barton
after he was hired. Regular progress meetings are used to
assess the Library's status.
In addition to Library IT systems, the Committee explored
the user experiences and IT capabilities for the U.S. Copyright
Office. GAO concluded that there were fundamental challenges
facing how the Copyright Office managed customer work flows,
and proposed technological solutions did little to address the
critical problems. In December of 2015, the Committee held a
hearing with the Acting Librarian of Congress David Mao,
Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante, and the Managing
Director for Information Technology at GAO Joel Willemssen. The
hearing explored how both organizations were focusing their
resources and priorities to adapt to the digital age. In the
aftermath of the hearing, the Committee has held numerous
follow-up meetings and sent additional correspondence to
continue its Oversight.
During the Committee markup in May of 2016, multiple bills
were reported favorably related to the Library's operations.
H.R. 4511, the Gold Star Families Act expanded the Library's
Veterans' History Project to include stories from immediate
family members of soldiers who were killed or are missing in
action. On November 28, 2016, the President signed the bill
into law becoming Public Law 114-246. In addition, the
Committee voted to reauthorize the Library's National Film and
Sound Recording Preservation Boards and Foundations. Finally,
the Committee passed H.R. 5227, the Library of Congress
Modernization Act. This bill would institute a number of
administrative reforms for the Library. These include allowing
the Library to purchase and provide refreshable braille
displays for users of the Library's National Service for the
Blind, establishing a National Collection Stewardship fund that
is intended to provide the Library with consistent financial
resources and flexibility in addressing its storage issues, and
finally establishing continuity on the Joint Committee on the
Library during the transition into a new Congress.
The Committee also reported favorably H.R. 4092, sponsored
by Mr. Brady, to reauthorize the sound record and film
preservation programs of the Library of Congress. A similar
bill, S. 2893, was signed by the President on July 29, 2016 and
became Public Law 114-217.
One final example of the Committee exercising its oversight
with Library operations took place after the Library announced
their intent to reorganize certain subject headings referring
to the term ``illegal alien.'' After meeting with the Committee
to discuss such a change, it was discovered that the Library
had not yet completed its appropriate process to formally
propose or process the action. The Library is currently still
proceeding through appropriate steps in evaluating subject
heading changes.
The Joint Committee on the Library (`JCL') has no
legislative authority but is tasked with oversight of the
Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service, and
the United States Botanic Garden (USBG), as well as management
of the National Statuary Hall Collection.
In this role, the JCL reviewed extended hours requests for
the USBG for the Holiday season and Titan Arum exhibit, as well
as special educational events for the general public. For the
Library of Congress, the JCL reviewed special art and exhibit
requests, donations to collections, and special operational
projects. In addition, the JCL worked with the AOC on multiple
requests for Statue Replacement and relocations related to the
National Statuary Hall Collection. Finally, the JCL approved
Trust Fund Board Resolutions relating to critical issues for
the Library.
Fine Arts Board
The House Fine Arts Board is comprised of the five House
Members of the Joint Committee on the Library. It has authority
over works of fine art and historical objects that are the
property of Congress and are for display in the House wing of
the Capitol or in the House Office Buildings. The Board also
accepts gifts of fine art and historical objects on behalf of
the House, and the Clerk maintains the collection.
During the past two years, the Fine Arts Board approved
requests to organize portrait fund Committees for Chairman Jeb
Hensarling, Chairman Jeff Miller, Chairman John Kline, Chairman
Fred Upton, and Chairman Paul Ryan.
Further, the Board approved the acceptance and deed of gift
for the portraits of Representative Frank Lucas, Representative
Harold Rogers, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
Representative Louise Slaughter, Representative John Kline,
Former Representative Richard Pombo, Former Representative John
Spratt, and Former Representative Henry Waxman which will be
added to the House Collection. Lastly, on June 8, 2016, the
Board approved the House's acquisition of the 19th century
painting of the first Dean of the House, the Honorable Thomas
Newton, Jr., of Virginia.
Joint Committee on Printing and U.S. Government Publishing Office
The Government Publishing Office (`GPO') produces,
preserves and distributes the official publications and
information products of the Congress and Federal government. By
House rule, the Committee on House Administration has oversight
of and legislative jurisdiction over the Government Publishing
Office. By law, the Chairman of the Committee on House
Administration and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Rules and Administration serve with four other Members of each
committee on the Joint Committee on Printing (`JCP'). The
bicameral JCP exercises certain authority over federal printing
policy, congressional printing and administration of the GPO.
Throughout the Congress the Committee worked closely with
GPO on the production, communication and distribution of
several publications including the 114th Congressional
Directory, the 114th Congress Pictorial Directory, and the
President's 2016 and 2017 budgets. These books were produced in
both physical and electronic copies. In addition to fulfilling
requests for these publications, the Committee responded to
numerous requests on a weekly basis for other Congressional
publications including Pocket Constitutions, Our Flag, Our
American Government, and How Our Laws Are Made.
Smithsonian
The Committee serves as the primary legislative and
oversight body for the Smithsonian Institution, a federal trust
instrumentality composed of 19 museums, numerous research
centers, and the National Zoo. Approximately two-thirds of the
Institution's funding is from direct federal appropriations.
Governance of the Smithsonian is vested in a 17-member
Board of Regents, consisting of the Chief Justice, Vice
President, six Members of Congress and nine citizen regents
nominated by the Board and approved by a joint resolution of
Congress. In 2015, the Smithsonian Board of Regents nominated
David Rubenstein for reappointment to a second term as a
citizen regent. Legislation providing for this appointment was
introduced and referred to the Committee. In March 2015,
Committee Members met with Mr. Rubenstein to discuss
Smithsonian governance and assess the nominees' views and
qualifications. Subsequently, the House approved the
legislation by unanimous consent. (H.J. Res. 10 on March 26,
2015)
On June 17, 2015, the Committee held an oversight hearing
on ``The State of the Smithsonian.'' The Committee received
testimony from Albert G. Horvath, Acting Secretary of the
Smithsonian. The hearing provided an overview of the challenges
and opportunities confronting the new Secretary who assumed
office on July 1, 2015 and updated on the Committee the
Smithsonian's progress regarding collections stewardship. The
Committee received testimony from Acting Secretary Horvath on
the Smithsonian's ongoing effort to reduce their deferred
maintenance backlog and on their Collections Space Framework
Plan which documents the need for more than one million square
feet of new collection space over the next 30 years. Acting
Secretary Horvath also updated the Committee on the National
Museum of African American History and Culture construction
project and on efforts to satisfy several Smithsonian Inspector
General recommendations in the area of collection stewardship,
most of which were closed out or nearly closed out.
On June 22, 2016, the Committee held an oversight hearing
on ``Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Revitalization.'' The Committee received testimony from David
J. Skorton, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and Albert
G. Horvath, Undersecretary for Finance and Administration. The
purpose of the hearing was to conduct congressional oversight
of a federally-funded facilities revitalization project at one
of the most-visited museums in the world and to explore the
need for renovation, alternatives considered, cost and funding,
impact on visitor experience during the renovation, and the
need for new collections storage facilities. Smithsonian
officials assured the Committee that the proposed phased
revitalization plan, rather than construction of a new
facility, is the most cost-effective option with the least
impact on visitors, as half of the museum would remain open
during the renovation. The Smithsonian informed the Committee
that construction of a new collections storage module at the
Udvar-Hazy facility is an integral component of the Air and
Space Museum project, serving as temporary swing space for
items moved out of the Mall museum during the renovation.
On April 29, 2016, H.R. 5160, a bill to include as part of
the National Gallery of Art all buildings, service roads,
walks, and other areas within the exterior boundaries of any
real estate or interest in land that the Gallery acquires was
introduced and referred to the Committee. This expansion
provides the National Gallery policing authority required to
protect their property and the visiting public in any buildings
or spaces it acquires, including temporary space. On May 17,
2016, the Committee ordered H.R. 5160 to be favorably reported
by voice vote. On June 16, 2016, the Committee filed H. Rept.
114-626 and the same day H.R. 5160 was placed on the Union
Calendar, Calendar No. 485. On November 29, 2016, the House
agreed to passage of H.R. 5160 without objection.
Committee staff conducted several site visits to various
Smithsonian facilities. Three site visits (May 27, 2015, July
13, 2016, and September 23, 2016) were conducted to view
progress on the construction of the National Museum of African
American History and Culture which opened to the public on
September 24, 2016. On June 5, 2015, Committee staff visited
the Smithsonian Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland to
view the condition of storage facilities and ongoing efforts to
preserve existing artifacts. On October 14, 2015, Committee
staff visited the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in
Edgewater, Maryland, to review ongoing long-term research
projects and the Center's outreach and engagement initiatives.
On November 12, 2015, Committee staff visited the Smithsonian's
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia to review
and discuss plans for constructing a new storage module, the
NASM Master Plan, and the Center's outreach and engagement
programs with senior Center staff. On May 24, 2016, Committee
staff visited the National Air and Space Museum on the National
Mall to inspect the outer envelope and support systems of the
building in anticipation of a Committee hearing on the subject
that was held on June 22, 2016.
Committee staff also conducted an oversight visit to the
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in the Republic
of Panama from February 14, 2016 through February 19, 2016. The
purpose of the oversight trip was to meet the new STRI
leadership team and to follow up on a 2013 Inspector General
report detailing some weaknesses in financial management at
STRI and to discuss corrective actions taken to address them.
The Committee also reviewed construction and facilities
maintenance projects including the new Gamboa Laboratory
facility at STRI.
Throughout the 114th Congress, the Committee has been
engaged in oversight of the Institution through ongoing
discussions, meetings and briefings with Smithsonian staff and
the Inspector General on various topics including construction
of the National Museum of African American History and Culture;
financial management; agendas for the Board of Regents
meetings; the impact of reduced federal appropriations on
Smithsonian activities; and budgetary matters.
Office of Compliance
The Office of Compliance (``OOC'') was created by the
Congressional Accountability Act (``CAA'') to facilitate the
application of statutes identified in the CAA to Congress. The
Committee has oversight over the OOC, and bipartisan Committee
staff meets monthly with OOC leadership to discuss their
initiatives and any issues arising in the course of OOC
operations.
Elections
On March 4, 2015, the Committee met to mark up H.R. 195,
the ``Election Assistance Commission Termination Act,'' and
H.R. 412, ``To reduce Federal spending and the deficit by
terminating taxpayer financing of presidential election
campaigns.'' Both bills were reported favorably by the
Committee.
Following the November 8, 2016 federal elections, the
Committee sent Democratic and Republican staff to 3
congressional contests to serve as observers and to collect
evidence regarding the conduct of the election on behalf of the
Committee. The Committee sent observers to the Seventh, Tenth,
and Forty-Ninth Districts of California.
House Office of Legislative Counsel and Law Revision Counsel
Modernization Project
The Committee worked with the House Office of Legislative
Counsel (`HOLC'), the Office of Law Revision Counsel (`LRC'),
leadership, and the Office of the Clerk on legislative
modernization projects. One goal of the LRC is to maintain a
complete, authoritative, accurate, and consolidated version of
the U.S. Code. Since the original release of the U.S. Code in
XML in July of 2013, the LRC has continued to update the U.S.
Code on a timely basis and make it available for downloads in
XML. This has been enthusiastically received by the Hill
community and the public at large. The Committee also supported
continued modernization of the LRC's codification tools,
including the development of a side-by-side comparison tool to
show changes in existing law being proposed by the LRC's bills.
The Committee continues to work with these offices to
implement other aspects of the Legislative Modernization
Initiative including the Amendment Impact Program (`AIP') which
provides Members and staff rapid access to the impacts that
proposed amendments have to the underlying bill or resolution
and a new tool (legislative look up and link, or ``LLL'') to
enable a user to readily look up and link to a law that is
being referenced in a bill or other document. HOLC is now using
AIP internally for quality control in its drafting of
amendments and Rules Committee has begun testing the use of AIP
in connection with amendments offered at the Committee.
EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
Outreach and Communications
Training: The Committee launched a professional development
training series for Members' DC and District staffs. Committee
staff initially focused on the basics of individual job
responsibilities, learning about other positions in the office,
and working with Committee and Leadership staff. Additionally,
Committee staff offered training on all the services the
Committee and the House Officers provide to Members and their
staff. The Committee expanded the professional development
training in 2016, cohosting with the Speaker's office, to
launch the first Committee training series specifically focused
on Oversight Best Practices for Committees. This is the first
training series of its kind and staff will look to host future
series on additional topics for Committee staff.
The Committee on House Administration is helping to educate
Financial Administrators as well as other house staffers on the
new voucher documentation standards through a series of
briefings as well as webinars. The educational briefings and
webinars emphasize the importance of documentation standards,
increase awareness on documentation submission practices and
prepare Financial Administrators for the implementation of the
new changes.
The Committee has increased one-on-one educational outreach
on rules and regulations on franking/official communication
rules with a strong focus on rules surrounding evolving social
media platforms.
The Committee designed and put on a new Designated Aide
program for staff attending with the New Members for
orientation. This program helps aides prepare for their
Member's swearing in and their first two years in office.
New Joint Guidance Document for House Staff: Straight to
the Source is a joint guidance document regularly produced by
the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on
Ethics designed to address pressing and important questions in
congressional offices. The topics we will address have
overlapping jurisdiction with House Administration & Ethics,
and this document is intended to provide clarity on those
items.
Helping Departing Members: The Committee has been working
to ensure a smooth congressional transition with increased
outreach to departing member offices. This has included not
only training/helping incoming members via NMO but providing
increased personal assistance to departing offices.
New Member Orientation
The Committee is responsible for coordinating the
orientation program and associated travel and logistics for
newly elected Members of Congress and their designated aides.
The program was held during the week of November 14-18, 2016,
and continued during the week of November 28-December 2, 2016.
Over the course of the two-week bipartisan New Member
Orientation, the Committee facilitated training on the Members'
Congressional Handbook, the Franking Commission, practical
guidance on setting up a congressional office, an overview of
procedures on the House Floor, an introduction to the
legislative process, and several Member-led panels on relevant
topics. The Members-elect were also given presentations from
the House Officers, the Committee on Ethics, the Office of the
General Counsel, the Office of Compliance, the Office of House
Employment Counsel, and the Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer. The Committee utilized a digital binder system to
disseminate all materials associated with the Orientation.
Congressional Internship Program for Individuals with Intellectual
Disabilities
During the period of this report, the internship program,
which started in 2010, had its highest level of participation
since its creation. The bipartisan program had 56 House and
Senate offices participate in the program since Fall 2015. Over
the life of the program more than 150 unique offices have
hosted interns. The Committee intends to continue to build on
the success of the program established by Representative
Harper.
Summer Intern Lecture Series
The Congressional Summer Intern Lecture Series is a
bipartisan, bicameral effort coordinated annually by the
Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on
Rules and Administration. Started by former Representatives
Gerald Ford and Donald Rumsfeld in the 1960s, both committees
extend invitations, mostly to current and former government and
military officials, policy experts, and media personalities, to
speak to congressional interns.
There were a total of 33 lectures over the two-month period
between June 1, 2016 and July 26, 2016, with a lecture nearly
every day during that time. Notable speakers from this year's
series included the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
General Paul Selva; Speaker of the House, Paul D. Ryan; House
Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi; Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson; Secretary of the Department of
Transportation, Anthony Foxx; and NASA Administrator, Major
General Charles Bolden (USMC-Ret.).
Parking Policy
Committee staff conducted regular oversight of House
Parking Security to ensure compliance with the parking policy.
MINORITY VIEWS OF RANKING MEMBER ROBERT A. BRADY, REPRESENTATIVE ZOE
LOFGREN AND REPRESENTATIVE JUAN VARGAS
MASSIVE RENOVATION OF SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collects,
preserves, studies, and exhibits artifacts, archival materials,
and works of art related to the history, culture, and science
of aviation and spaceflight and the study of the universe. It
holds the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in
the world. Its two landmark facilities--on the National Mall,
and in Chantilly, Virginia--together welcome more than eight
million visitors a year, making it the most visited museum in
the United States and the second most visited in the world,
behind only the Louvre in Paris. It was designed for 2 million
visitors, but current annual attendance is 7-8 million,
increasing wear and tear on the building and its
infrastructure.
At a Committee oversight hearing on June 22, 2016, which
introduced Secretary David Skorton to the Committee, we were
surprised by the funding estimated to be needed for renovations
of the Museum on Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C. The
Museum had been built by the General Services Administration
(GSA) ``on the cheap'' for the 1976 Bicentennial, but its
design and construction materials proved wholly inadequate for
the succeeding decades of massive public use and proper
maintenance of the collections. Construction in that era used
techniques, including very thin marble sheeting on the outside,
which the Smithsonian does not employ on its modern
construction projects. This has resulted in a structure with a
shorter lifespan than would have been the case had it been
constructed with a larger initial funding commitment and modern
technologies.
As a result, the building suffers from serious structural
problems 40 years later, including a deteriorating marble
facade with stone falling off the building, inadequate heating
and cooling systems, and water infiltration. The exterior
marble ``cladding'' does not provide sufficient support for a
proper interior environment. The mechanical systems are at the
end of their useful life due to construction materials and
methods which left the thin (1\1/2\ inches) stone facade
without adequate support and the museum without a proper
heating and air conditioning system for the long-term.
In 2009, our Committee had previously focused on the Air
and Space Museum in a hearing called by then-Chairman Brady
about issues of asbestos abatement and the maintenance of
public safety during that process.
Costs
Significant structural deterioration of the building
threatens public safety and the integrity of the priceless
artifacts housed there, and has necessitated planning for a
massive revitalization/renovation project. The revitalization
will require use of Federal appropriated funds for exterior and
structural repairs at the main museum building. The most-recent
estimated cost presented to the Board of Regents on June 13,
2016, including removing and reinstalling collections where
needed, would tentatively be $676,035,000, but could ultimately
be significantly more expensive: $43 million through fiscal
2016; $5 million in FY 2017; $127 million in each of FY 2018
and 2019; $125 million in each of FY 2020 and 2021; and $124
million (est.) in FY 2022.
This does not include additional amounts needed for
construction of two new, smaller support buildings. Separate
from the $676 million will be funding for construction of two
storage facilities: at the Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy
building in Chantilly, and ``Pod 6'' at the Museum Support
Center at the Suitland Collections Center in Suitland,
Maryland. Funds to renovate the interior exhibition spaces in
D.C. will be privately raised.
This is the highest cost for a renovation in the history of
the Institution and exceeds the total cost of construction for
the newly opened Smithsonian National Museum of African-
American History and Culture. But it must be appropriated and
spent in a timely and cost-effective manner. The American
people will quickly notice the absence of, or loss of access
to, its most popular national museum. The Regents had even
considered, but rejected, an option of tearing down the Museum
and starting from scratch.
The Smithsonian constantly engages in necessary maintenance
throughout all of its facilities. What is unusual here is the
size and expense of the project, the need to take drastic
measures to protect the public and retain a functional museum,
the need to either ``shelter in place'' or remove most of the
building's collections, and the impact to the public in being
potentially cut off from access to portions of one of the
nation's foremost tourist attractions during four years of
renovation.
Keeping the Museum Open
In light of the Air and Space Museum's status as a
principal Washington destination, public interest in the
progress of the revitalization will be substantial, since over
a period estimated to be six or seven years the entire museum
will be shut down and reopened incrementally to allow removal
or protection-in-place of exhibits while renovation in each of
seven ``zones'' of the Museum is occurring. There will be no
access to areas of the Museum while they are undergoing
renovation, but during this period the rest of the Museum will
be open to the public.
The Museum building has been divided into seven zones to
ensure that some portions remain open at all times. The
Smithsonian has erected a temporary covered walkway around
vulnerable portions of the building, to remain in place until
facade replacement is completed. The revitalization will
replace the Museum's existing Tennessee Pink Marble facade with
a similar but thicker stone (3 inches), improve blast and
earthquake resistance, upgrade energy efficiency of the
exterior envelope, replace mechanical systems and provide more
secure access and egress. The method chosen for revitalization
includes recladding the entire exterior of the museum, closing
some areas completely for a period of time while moving
artifacts, then reopening them and moving repairs to another
sector.
The Democratic Members of the Committee on House
Administration want to ensure that the Museum revitalization
will be cost-effective, structurally sound and safe, utilize
the proper technologies to safely house its exhibits, and
retain public access to the most-visited museum in the country
to the greatest extent feasible while the work proceeds. In
order to facilitate the renovation, which requires moving
exhibits out of the D.C. site and relocating them for several
years, legislation was introduced authorizing funding for the
Dulles storage module expansion space at the Udvar-Hazy
building and construction of new facilities at the Museum
Support Center in Suitland (``Pod 6'') which would serve the
Institution's broader needs in phasing out decaying facilities
in Suitland and protecting the Institution's collections for
the long-term. The Udvar-Hazy ``expansion space'' must be ready
in time to receive collection items being removed from the D.C.
building.
A side-issue, not addressed directly in the legislation but
representing a continuing problem for the Committee, is the
Republican Leadership's destructive practice of applying ``cut-
go'' principles to authorization bills, which would require
reductions of funding in other projects prior to consideration
of legislation in the House, to pay for the new construction
costs. Authorization bills do not actually provide funding;
they authorize subsequent appropriations. Yet the Republican
leadership believes that cutting them as well could have an
impact on overall spending levels. The effects of any such
authorization cuts, if directed at the Smithsonian, would
likely be substantial and disruptive.
``SELECT INVESTIGATIVE PANEL'' TO ATTACK WOMEN'S HEALTH
This subunit of the Energy and Commerce Committee was
created as a partisan witch hunt solely to smear Planned
Parenthood with discredited allegations related to use of fetal
tissue. The Ranking Member, Rep. Schakowsky, has branded it a
``pack of lies.'' The House Administration Committee's
jurisdiction relates to its funding, which has been handled
irregularly, to say the least.
On October 7, 2015, the House passed House Resolution 461
and created the Select Investigative Panel to investigate
inflammatory videos created by David Daleiden and the Center
for Medical Progress (CMP), anti-abortion activists who spent
more than two years secretly recording Planned Parenthood and
other reproductive health services. After Daleiden and CMP
released deceptively edited video footage in July 2015, three
Republican-led House committees immediately launched
investigations into Planned Parenthood and others.
Background
Starting in July 2015, anti-abortion activists, through the
Center for Medical Progress, began releasing footage alleging
that Planned Parenthood clinics were selling tissue from
aborted fetuses for profit. For example, a number of highly
edited online videos showed a Planned Parenthood official in
California discussing over lunch the price of providing fetal
parts to a man and woman who are never shown on camera, but who
are posing as buyers from a firm that procures tissue for
medical researchers.
Despite massive media coverage and a rush by Republicans to
investigate, CMP's videos contain no evidence that Planned
Parenthood has done anything illegal. A 1993 law states that
clinics can't profit when women donate fetal tissue, and in the
first video Planned Parenthood official Deborah Nucatola says
repeatedly that the group does not. It is, however, standard
practice for clinics to be compensated for staff time,
resources, and transportation involved in providing tissue,
which is what Planned Parenthood says Nucatola is seen
discussing. These donations are crucial for ongoing medical
research.
Forensics analysts, mainstream media outlets and the
creator of the videos himself, David Daleiden, have proven and
confirmed that the smear campaign was highly edited. The five
videos of Planned Parenthood staff have at least 42 splices
where content is cut and edited to create the appearance of
seamless conversation. In an interview with CNN, Daleiden not
only conceded to editing the videos but also acknowledged that
video and images he used have nothing to do with Planned
Parenthood. As CMP continues to refuse to release the unedited
source footage, experts have concluded that the clips cannot be
authenticated.
Despite the fact that none of these three Committees
uncovered any evidence of wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood or
other providers, the House Majority nonetheless created the
select panel to mollify members who were threatening to shut
down the government if Planned Parenthood were not defunded.
Funding
The resolution authorizing the Select Investigative Panel
set no expiration date or budget for the Panel's work. It also
placed no requirement on the Panel to establish an
investigative plan or rules to govern its work and, despite
repeated requests by the Panel's Democratic Members, Chairwoman
Marsha Blackburn has refused to discuss or adopt rules or a
plan. As a result, Panel Republicans have conducted a viciously
partisan investigation that has excluded Democrats at every
turn, and resulted in an abuse of congressional authority that
has put health care providers, researchers, and their life-
saving work at risk.
The primary method for funding the Panel--through polls of
the House Administration Committee--has allowed the Panel to
operate without the transparency and accountability that the
House committee funding process usually provides. For example,
in November 2015, Republicans used a reserve fund created by
the House's primary expense resolution funding committees for
the 114th Congress to transfer $300,000 for use by the Select
Panel through the end of that year. The Democratic Members of
the Committee on House Administration opposed the transfer of
funds as ``wasteful'' and ``unnecessary'' and called for a
public meeting to ``ensure the opportunity for amendments and
thorough debate.'' The request was not granted and the money
was transferred for use by the Select Panel.
On June 16, 2016, Republicans repeated this closed-door
process to transfer an additional $490,000 to the Select Panel.
The Democratic members of the Committee on House Administration
requested a special meeting of the Committee to consider the
Majority's proposal. The request was not granted and the money
was transferred for use by the Select Panel without any public
debate or accountability.
To date, the Select Panel is on track to spend well over
$1.5 million by the end of 2016, including up to $800,000 which
the House voted to approve on December 1 (H. Res. 933)
following a public markup in the Committee on House
Administration and votes on the House floor which the Majority
could no longer avoid.
Use of ``Polls'' and lack of transparency
Much of the funding for the Select Investigative Panel was
accomplished using ``polls'' of Members of the House
Administration Committee circulated by the Chairman, a practice
which doesn't exist under the rules of the House and has no
legal effect. But it has long been tolerated by our Committee
members and chairmen of both parties as a convenience on minor,
noncontroversial administrative matters requiring committee
action, such as approval of committee consultant contracts.
Members often did not wish to take the time to convene formally
to consider such matters individually in the absence of a more
substantial meeting agenda to act upon when there was no real
disagreement, or where proposed actions are directives to
personnel of the House subject to the Committee's control.
These actions usually took the form of internal ``committee
resolutions'' and were not reported to the House. However, the
use of polling to fund the Select Investigative Panel went far
beyond any previous practice as a matter of convenience,
careening instead into conducting a controversial investigation
which violated the rules of the House under a veil of secrecy.
The House Rules and Manual (sec. 407-8, Jefferson's Manual)
states clearly that Members of a committee ``. . . can only act
when together, and not by separate consultation and consent--
nothing being the report of the committee but what has been
agreed to in committee actually assembled'' and ``The House has
adhered to the principle that a report must be authorized by a
committee acting together, and a paper signed by a majority of
the committee acting separately has been ruled out . . . . No
measure or recommendation shall be reported from any committee
unless a majority of the committee were actually present
(clause 2 (b) of rule XI).''
By informal agreement, until the 113th Congress, any CHA
member could object to any proposed poll, demand to enforce the
rules of the House and assert their own rights to vote as
representatives of their districts by requiring the Chairman to
convene the Committee to consider these matters. However, in
the 113th and 114th Congresses the rules and the former
practice were disregarded when the chairman asserted the
unilateral right to approve controversial internal committee
resolutions by poll regardless of objection, and refused
demands by Ranking Member Brady that the Committee meet and
vote publicly. This was the procedure used to dispense money
from the reserve fund to the Select Investigative Panel. Using
this tactic, the Majority was able to avoid committee meetings,
quorums, public votes, transcripts, press coverage and any
other semblance of public accountability.
The Committee also needs to insist upon its jurisdiction by
requiring entities which operated outside the checks and
balances of House rules and committee funding mechanisms, such
as the now-defunct Benghazi Select Committee and any
misbegotten successors, to appear before us to request funding
directly, rather than allowing the leadership to hide funding
in resolutions adopting House rules with no ceiling on ultimate
expenditures.
GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE (GPO)
March 4, 2016, marked the GPO's 155th anniversary and
Congress needs the GPO today as much as ever to facilitate our
legislative and oversight activities. The GPO constitutes the
linchpin of Congress' efforts to keep America informed, and
from our perspective, GPO employees are doing a great job under
the leadership of Director Davita Vance-Cooks.
Since our last activities report, the GPO has continued its
work disseminating public information and guaranteeing its
permanent preservation. For example, the GPO has replaced its
former digital information platform, ``FDsys,'' with its latest
generation system, ``govinfo,'' which provides greater access
to public documents than ever before. The new, more robust
system is easier to use and provides better service to
researchers, students, federal employees and others.
Along those lines, this year the GPO has worked with the
Library of Congress to make legislative data available to users
in bulk format. While this move did not generate banner
headlines across the country, it expands the ability of
interested parties to monitor congressional action. GPO is also
working with the Library to digitize the bound Congressional
Record back to 1873; it is already digitized and available back
to 1981, with the 1970's scheduled for release in February
2017. Other historic documents will follow.
In addition to its improving preservation and access work,
GPO continues to deliver millions of dollars' worth of work
ordered by its many federal-agency customers. Because GPO
procures the majority of its printing through contracts with
private-sector printers nationwide, it is working to modernize
its print-procurement program and seeing results. For
congressional work, GPO has installed new equipment that is
reducing the cost of producing the hearing transcripts that we
all use.
GPO has been a key partner in the formal program to design
and produce a new generation U.S. electronic passport for the
U.S. Department of State. GPO has made significant capital
investments in new and improved facilities, custom designed
equipment, and digital manufacturing and quality control
systems for this product known to millions of Americans and
around the world. Since 2011, GPO has invested more than $100
million in the passport project and is prepared to begin
delivering the new documents when the State Department directs.
GPO continues to deliver security documents to the Department
of Homeland Security and others. GPO is also working with other
Legislative-branch agencies on key ways to improve information-
technology performance and enhance cybersecurity.
On the financial front, for fiscal years 2016 and 2017,
Director Vance-Cooks sent Congress a flat budget request. She
has reduced overhead costs in various ways, including through a
voluntary buy-out, and thus lowered the budget requests for
congressional printing. In addition, as the nature of printing
has changed, GPO has managed to consolidate production within
its North Capitol Street plant and accommodates other federal
agencies in need of offices.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The Committee continued to exercise its jurisdictional
oversight of the Library of Congress, particularly with respect
to the Copyright Office and the Library's continuing efforts to
modernize its information technology infrastructure.
We trust that the installation of the 14th Librarian of
Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, will hasten the pace of innovation
at the Library of Congress and we look forward to working with
Dr. Hayden and the Library's Chief Information Officer to
improve the institution's IT systems, as recently recommended
by the Government Accountability Office.
Of particular interest to us is further improvement of the
services provided by the Copyright Office, which needs a bold,
forward-thinking, creative new Register to fill the vacancy
there as soon as possible. Throughout the 114th Congress, and
before, House Administration exercised vigorous oversight of
the Copyright Office to ensure the office's leadership was
making the necessary progress within the framework of the
Library-wide IT modernization plan. We recognize the need for a
modern and efficient Copyright Office given its important role
to a large and varied group of stakeholders. We do not expect
the abrupt resignation of former Register Maria Pallante to
hinder any efforts of IT modernization and we will work with
Acting Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple Claggett and the
eventual permanent Register to ensure full implementation.
We are delighted that the Congress managed to reauthorize
the sound and film preservation programs at the Library of
Congress and expanded the scope of the Books for the Blind
Program to authorize distribution of reading devices to program
clients in any format. Unfortunately, the Congress did not
enact sundry proposals approved by this Committee to facilitate
construction of long-planned storage modules at Fort Meade,
Maryland, and expand opportunities for the Library to earn
money and thus lessen its dependence on appropriations. We hope
the Committee will resume its efforts to enact these and other
reasonable proposals early in the 115th Congress.
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
The Honorable Phil Kiko was sworn in as the Chief
Administrative Officer (CAO) on August 1, 2016. We are
cautiously optimistic about the direction of the CAO's
organization and are prepared to continue to work with the
majority where we can share progress. We urge the CAO to focus
on the following Democratic priorities.
Cybersecurity
We support dramatic and historic investments in our
cybersecurity infrastructure, staffing, planning and support
for Member offices. This is the CAO's top responsibility. We
intend to hold the CAO accountable for the cybersecurity
posture of the House of Representatives.
District office operations
The CAO needs to have deeper engagement with our more than
900 district offices. The general lack of understanding of
district office operations is a persistent gap in our service
delivery. The CAO should consider implementing a team to work
directly on district office issues.
Financial operations
The investigation and indictment of former Representative
Aaron Schock, a member of the Committee on House
Administration, engendered a Member Expense Review led by
Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Rodney Davis. The review
resulted in substantial bipartisan changes and strengthening of
the Voucher Document Standards and other Committee regulations
designed to provide more accountability and transparency to the
taxpayer. The minority supports the current finance office
strategic planning process. We also urge the CAO to immediately
and aggressively push House-wide adoption of the electronic
voucher program. The program uses best business practices to
process vouchers. An electronic voucher submission process is
now standard in the executive branch and would be the best way
for the House to expeditiously process financial matters and
protect taxpayers.
Training
The CAO training program needs comprehensive reform. We
look forward to working with the CAO, the majority, and the
House Inspector General to implement changes to the program to
meet the evolving business needs of the CAO and the
congressional community.
Shared employees
The CAO must continue working with the Inspector General's
office on recommendations to improve shared employees
performance. The status quo is an enormous risk to the House.
In addition to being inefficient, it is possible there are
serious threats to our cybersecurity as a result of the shared
employee arrangements.
Potential merger of CAO and Architect of the Capitol (AOC) operations
The Democrats asked the Inspector General (IG) to explore
merging the blue collar operations of the CAO and AOC. The
Democrats urge a serious discussion of the options once the
final IG report is presented.
Ongoing Oversight
The minority appreciate the collaboration between the
Committee Republican and Democratic staffs on the oversight of
all of the House officers. This collaboration has resulted in
direct improvement to the CAO's operation. Specifically,
updating voucher document standards and Committee handbook
regulations, improving district office connectivity and
updating transition policies are among the highlights of this
work.
We look forward to continuing these collaborative efforts
in the 115th Congress.
HACKING THE PRESIDENCY
During the 2016 election campaign, the principal American
intelligence agencies announced that there had been significant
activities, led by Russia, to attempt to influence and corrupt
the results of our presidential election. President Obama, just
before the end of the 114th Congress, promised to publicly
release information in mid-January on the extent of these
activities and what the American response would be. President-
elect Donald Trump has refused to acknowledge either the
Russian involvement or the seriousness of these incursions and
has instead attacked the intelligence agencies.
The integrity of our election system should be a major
issue for the 115th Congress. If a Republican-led Congress can
launch and fund ridiculous investigations of Benghazi and
Planned Parenthood which spend millions and amount to nothing,
it can finally start to do its job in defending our country
against one of the most insidious attacks it had ever faced.
ELECTION ACTIVITIES
On July 14th, House Administration Ranking Member Robert A,
Brady introduced H.R. 5799, a bill to automatically register
willing eligible voters for federal elections. Our current
registration systems are aging and an in desperate need of
modernization. Notably, two states' registration systems--
Arizona and Illinois--were the target of foreign cyber
intrusions while the threat and possibility of foreign
interference with our election was ever-present in 2016.
In addition to bolstering the security and privacy and
voter registration records, H.R. 5779 ensures that no eligible
voter that wants to participate in their democracy will be
denied that opportunity due to arbitrary and restrictive voting
laws. Registering to vote should easy, efficient, and secure
and H.R. 5799 would accomplish these aims.
For each federal election, the House Administration
Committee trains House employees who have volunteered to serve
as election observers. If requested by a campaign, the
Committee sends out bipartisan teams of observers to monitor
vote canvassing surrounding close.
Congressional races in the event that a race ends up before
the Committee as an election contest The Committee received
three requests for election observers, each from the Republican
challenger in the district. We sent observers to the following
districts: California's 7th Congressional District,
California's 10th Congressional District, and California's 49th
Congressional District. The House did not ultimately receive a
formal notice of election contest from any of the unsuccessful
candidates in these districts.
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
House Administration Democrats still support the mission of
the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and believe in its
usefulness and effectiveness in carrying out this mission. The
majority tried again in the 114th Congress, and again failed,
to abolish the EAC. But we expect them to try again.
In 2016, the EAC dedicated itself to helping election
administrators and officials prepare for the 2016 general
election. There are more than 8,000 independently operating
election jurisdictions in the country. So, helping
administrators prepare is a large undertaking.
The EAC acts as a clearinghouse and facilitator between
states. In 2016, the EAC produced 22 instructional and
facilitative videos, nearly 100 blog posts, held 10 public
meetings, summits, and round tables, and testified before
Congress.
In addition to helping the more than 8,000 election
jurisdictions prepare for the general election, the EAC also
furthered its other primary objectives of testing and
certifying voting machine--certifying five machines--and
conducted the federally mandated Election Administration Voting
Survey.
Operating with a quorum of Commissioners, the EAC has
demonstrated its usefulness to local and state election
officials, among whom it enjoys broad support. We look forward
to equipping the EAC with the resources and support necessary
to make it even stronger.
House Administration Democratic Forum on Military Voting
On May 6, 2016, the Democratic Members of the Committee on
House Administration conducted a public forum on issues
relating to military voting, in San Diego County, California,
with Rep. Juan Vargas presiding. The meeting was an open
dialogue where top government officials and military voting
experts provided attendees with information on the state of
military voting and provided best methods for protecting the
rights of service members. All Members of the Committee on
House Administration were invited to attend. Attending the
forum was Rep. Vargas, Matt Boehmer, Director of the Federal
Voting Assistance Program, and Michael Vu, Registrar of Voters,
County of San Diego.
We discussed how Congress can do more to ensure that no
valid ballot goes uncounted from active duty service members
abroad. Registrar Vu spoke about the challenges service members
face abroad and the tools that the Election Assistance
Commission provides local governments. Director Boehmer
discussed the pilot projects underway and his efforts to reach
out to all active duty service members abroad. Additionally,
our panelists discussed issues regarding the military postal
infrastructure, the various voting rights per each individual
states, the security of the internet for overseas voting and
the effectiveness the MOVE Act. Recommends also included (1)
establishing partnerships between state and local election
officials and local military installations; (2) that all
Federal Post Card Applications be treated as a permanent voter
registration form; and (3) providing user-friendly information
on what is on the ballot and when the ballot applications has
been accepted. Participants, including local members of the
Armed Services, interacted with the panelists with their
questions and insights into how to improve military and
overseas voting.
As the Republican Congress have failed to address key
issues, such as a lack of accessibility to the ballot, we have
spearheaded efforts to get feedback from the community on
potential improvements. The right to vote is the bedrock of a
democratic process and it is imperative to foster this right.
Participating in the political process while deployed abroad
presents an entirely new set of challenges, often times
preventable.
A transcript of the Forum follows:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Robert A. Brady,
Ranking Member.
Zoe Lofgren,
Member.
Juan Vargas,
Member.
[all]