Legislative Branch: FY2012 Appropriations

Ida A. Brudnick
Analyst on the Congress

The legislative branch appropriations bill provides funding for the Senate; House of Representatives; Joint Items; Capitol Police; Office of Compliance; Congressional Budget Office; Architect of the Capitol, including the Capitol Visitor Center; Library of Congress, including the Congressional Research Service; Government Printing Office; Government Accountability Office; and Open World Leadership Program.

The legislative branch budget request of $4.857 billion, which is included in the President’s budget, was submitted on February 14, 2011. This represents an approximately 7% increase over funds provided for FY2011, although the request was submitted prior to the enactment of the FY2011 appropriations act. The FY2011 act (P.L. 112-10, enacted on April 11, 2011) provided $4.54 billion for legislative branch activities, which represented a decrease of nearly 3% from the $4.66 billion provided for FY2010. From October 1, 2010, until the enactment of this law, the legislative branch operated on continuing resolutions (P.L. 111-242, P.L. 111-290, P.L. 111-317, P.L. 111-322, P.L. 112-4, and P.L. 112-6).

The House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch held a markup on July 7, 2011, which was followed by a full committee markup on July 13. The full committee ordered reported a $3.3 billion bill, H.R. 2551 (H.Rept. 112-148). This total represents a $227 million, or 6.4%, reduction from the FY2011 level.

The Subcommittees on the Legislative Branch of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees both held hearings during which Members considered the FY2011 legislative branch requests. Among issues that were considered during hearings were the following:

•          the potential for flat or reduced funding levels, including the effect on agency operations, plans for various budget scenarios, and potential efficiencies; 

•          security plans and costs, especially for Members and district offices; 

•          expenses for legal services related to the Defense of Marriage Act following Attorney General Eric Holder’s February 23, 2011, letter to Speaker John Boehner regarding the President’s determination that Section 3 of this act is unconstitutional and the Speaker’s March 9, 2011, announcement that the House General Counsel was directed to initiate a legal defense of this law; 

•          the role of the Government Printing Office in the digital age; and 

•          status of current Architect of the Capitol projects and timing of future renovations. 

Previously, P.L. 111-68 (enacted October 1, 2009) provided $4.656 billion for FY2010. The FY2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-212) provided an additional $12.96 million for the Capitol Police. The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-8, enacted on March 11, 2009) provided $4.4 billion for legislative branch activities. In FY2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) provided an additional $25 million for the Government Accountability Office, and the FY2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 111- 32) provided $71.6 million for the new U.S. Capitol Police radio system and $2 million for the Congressional Budget Office.


Date of Report: July 19, 2011
Number of Pages: 28
Order Number: R41870
Price: $29.95

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