Legislative Branch: FY2008 Appropriations (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 23, 2008 |
| Report Number |
RL34031 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
ida A. Brudnick, Government and Finance Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
From beginning of the fiscal year on October 1, 2007, until the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act on December 26, 2007, funding for the legislative branch was provided through a series of interim continuing appropriations measures. The first, which was signed by President Bush on September 29, 2007, provided funding at FY2007 levels through November 16, 2007. Three additional continuing appropriations measures were enacted on November 13, December 14, and December 21, 2007.
Legislative branch entities requested $4.3 billion in new budget authority for FY2008. The House version of the FY2008 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, H.R. 2771, was introduced on June 19, 2007. The bill proposed $3.1 billion in new budget authority for the legislative branch for FY2008, not including Senate items. This amount reflects a 4.1% increase over the $2.98 billion (including the FY2007 supplemental but not including Senate items) approved by Congress for FY2007 and less than the 13% increase requested.
The Senate version of the FY2008 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, S. 1686, was reported to the Senate on June 25, 2007. The bill would have provided approximately $2.78 billion in new budget authority, not including House items. This amount reflects an increase of 5.2% over the nearly $2.65 billion (including the FY2007 supplemental but not including House items) approved by Congress for FY2007 and less than the 16% increase requested.
By comparison, in FY2007, overall legislative branch budget authority was increased by approximately 1.5% (including supplemental appropriations), which had followed a 4.2% increase in new budget authority for FY2006 and a 3.1% increase approved for FY2005.
Among issues that were considered during discussions on the FY2008 budget are the following:
completion of the Capitol Visitor Center and consideration of the Architect of the Capitol's request for an additional $20 million for this project;
the renaming of the "Great Hall" of the Capitol Visitor Center;
repair of the Capitol Power Plant tunnels and the role of the Office of Compliance in monitoring progress on this effort;
funds requested to support the "Greening of the Capitol" initiative and the use of alternative fuels;
the merger of the U.S. Capitol Police and the Library of Congress Police;
funding for the acquisition of new technology for the "Books for the Blind" program; and
the future of the Open World Leadership Program.
This report will be updated to reflect major congressional action.
