Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies

Audrey Celeste Crane-Hirsch
Information Research Specialist

This list of about 200 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. In each case, the information was supplied by the agency itself and is current as of the date of publication. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.

Specific telephone numbers for correspondence, publications, and fax transmissions have been provided for each applicable agency. When using fax, it is important to include the entire mailing address on a cover sheet, as many of the listed fax machines are not directly located in the liaison offices.

A number of agency listings include an e-mail address. When e-mailing agencies please remember to include your name, affiliation, phone number, and return address, to ensure a speedy response. Users should be aware that e-mail is not a confidential means of transmission.


Date of Report: October 22, 2012
Number of Pages: 39
Order Number: 98-446
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Privacy: An Abbreviated Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping

Gina Stevens
Legislative Attorney

Charles Doyle
Senior Specialist in American Public Law

This report provides an overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). ECPA consists of three parts. The first, often referred to as Title III, outlaws wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping, except as otherwise provided. The second, the Stored Communications Act, governs the privacy of, and government access to, the content of electronic communications and to related records. The third outlaws the use and installation of pen registers and of trap and trace devices, unless judicially approved for law enforcement or intelligence gathering purposes.

FISA consists of seven parts. The first, reminiscent of Title III, authorizes electronic surveillance in foreign intelligence investigations. The second authorizes physical searches in foreign intelligence cases. The third permits the use and installation of pen registers and trap and trace devices in the context of a foreign intelligence investigation. The fourth affords intelligence officials access to business records and other tangible items. The fifth directs the Attorney General to report to Congress on the specifics of the exercise of FISA authority. The sixth, scheduled to expire on December 30, 2012, permits the acquisition of the communications of targeted overseas individuals and entities. The seventh creates a safe harbor from civil liability for those who assist or have assisted in the collection of information relating to the activities of foreign powers and their agents.

This report is an abridged version of CRS Report 98-326, Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping, by Gina Stevens and Charles Doyle, without the footnotes, attributions to authority, the text of ECPA or FISA, or appendices found there. The ECPA sections of the longer report are available separately as CRS Report R41733, Privacy: An Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, by Charles Doyle, which in turn is available in abridged form, CRS Report R41734, Privacy: An Abridged Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, by Charles Doyle. Related CRS reports include CRS Report R42725, Reauthorization of the FISA Amendments Act, by Edward C. Liu, and CRS Report R40138, Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Extended Until June 1, 2015, by Edward C. Liu.


Date of Report: October 9, 2012
Number of Pages: 18
Order Number: 98-327
Price: $29.95

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Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping

Gina Stevens
Legislative Attorney

Charles Doyle
Senior Specialist in American Public Law

This report provides an overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). ECPA consists of three parts. The first, often referred to as Title III, outlaws wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping, except as otherwise provided. The second, the Stored Communications Act, governs the privacy of, and government access to, the content of electronic communications and to related records. The third outlaws the use and installation of pen registers and of trap and trace devices, unless judicially approved for law enforcement or intelligence gathering purposes.

FISA consists of seven parts. The first, reminiscent of Title III, authorizes electronic surveillance in foreign intelligence investigations. The second authorizes physical searches in foreign intelligence cases. The third permits the use and installation of pen registers and trap and trace devices in the context of a foreign intelligence investigation. The fourth affords intelligence officials access to business records and other tangible items. The fifth directs the Attorney General to report to Congress on the specifics of the exercise of FISA authority. The sixth, scheduled to expire on December 30, 2012, permits the acquisition of the communications of targeted overseas individuals and entities. The seventh creates a safe harbor from civil liability for those who assist or have assisted in the collection of information relating to the activities of foreign powers and their agents.

This report includes the text of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as well as appendixes listing the citations to state statutes that correspond to various aspects of ECPA. The report is available in an abridged form without footnotes, attributions to authority, the text of ECPA or FISA, or appendixes found here as CRS Report 98-327, Privacy: An Abbreviated Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping, by Gina Stevens and Charles Doyle. CRS Report R41733, Privacy: An Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, by Charles Doyle, replicates portions of this report. Related CRS reports include CRS Report R42725, Reauthorization of the FISA Amendments Act, by Edward C. Liu, and CRS Report R40138, Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Extended Until June 1, 2015, by the same author.


Date of Report: October 9, 2012
Number of Pages: 162
Order Number: 98-326
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President of the United States: Compensation

Barbara L. Schwemle
Analyst in American National Government

The Constitution of the United States provides that “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected.... ” (Constitution of the United States, Article II, Section 1.) The amount of compensation, which is not specified in the Constitution, is set and adjusted by Congress. The President currently receives a salary of $400,000 per annum, which became effective at noon on January 20, 2001, under P.L. 106-58. (P.L. 106-58, Title VI, §644(a); September 29, 1999; 113 Stat. 430, at 478.) An expense allowance, currently set at $50,000, also is provided. This report discusses the President’s compensation and the three most recent increases to the salary enacted in 1949 (81st Congress), 1969 (91st Congress), and 1999 (106th Congress). It will be revised as events dictate.


Date of Report: October 17, 2012
Number of Pages: 9
Order Number: RS20115
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Churches and Campaign Activity: Analysis Under Tax and Campaign Finance Laws

Erika K. Lunder
Legislative Attorney

L. Paige Whitaker
Legislative Attorney

As the 2012 election cycle heats up, there are allegations that some houses of worship have engaged in impermissible activities. Under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), churches and other houses of worship with tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status may not participate in campaign activity. They are permitted under the tax laws to engage in other activities that are political in nature (e.g., distribute voter guides and invite candidates to speak at church functions) so long as the activity does not support or oppose a candidate. Additionally, religious leaders may engage in campaign activity in their capacity as private individuals without negative tax consequences to the house of worship.

The tax code’s political campaign prohibition is sometimes referred to as the “Johnson Amendment,” after then-Senator Lyndon Johnson, who introduced the provision as an amendment to the Revenue Act of 1954. While some have argued the prohibition violates the free exercise and free speech rights of houses of worship under the First Amendment, the two federal courts of appeals to address the issue have not agreed with this position. In recent years, numerous churches have participated in an event known as “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” during which pastors preach a political sermon. A purpose of the event is to develop litigation for another challenge to the prohibition on First Amendment grounds. This year, Pulpit Freedom Sunday was held on October 7, 2012.

Separate from the prohibition in the tax code, the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) also regulates the ability of houses of worship to engage in electioneering activities.

In the 112th Congress, H.R. 3600 would repeal the Johnson Amendment, thus permitting houses of worship and other 501(c)(3) organizations to engage in campaign activity without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status so long as the other criteria for tax-exempt status are met.


Date of Report: October 9, 2012
Number of Pages: 13
Order Number: RL34447
Price: $29.95

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