The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 () is an

appropriations bill An appropriation, also known as supply bill or spending bill, is a proposed law that authorizes the expenditure of government funds. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending. In some democracies, approval of the legislature is ne ...

that would make appropriations for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

for fiscal year 2015. The bill is considered one of the two easiest appropriations bills to pass each year. The bill would appropriate $3.3 billion to the legislative branch for FY 2015, which is approximately the same amount it received in FY 2014. The bill was introduced in and passed in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

during the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

Background

An appropriations bill is a bill that appropriates (gives to, sets aside for) money to specific federal government departments, agencies, and programs. The money provides funding for operations, personnel, equipment, and activities. Regular appropriations bills are passed annually, with the funding they provide covering one fiscal year. The ''fiscal year'' is the accounting period of the federal government, which runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 is an example of a regular appropriations bill. Appropriations bills are one part of a larger United States budget and spending process. They are preceded in that process by the president's budget proposal, congressional budget resolutions, and the 302(b) allocation. The

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nationa ...

( Article I, section 9, clause 7) states that "No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law..." This is what gives Congress the power to make these appropriations. The President, however, still has the power to veto appropriations bills. The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 falls under the jurisdiction of the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch. The bill covers appropriations for the

and its related agencies. The House and Senate currently consider appropriations bills simultaneously, although originally the House went first. The House Committee on Appropriations usually reports the appropriations bills in May and June and the Senate in June. Any differences between appropriations bills passed by the House and the Senate are resolved in the fall. In 2013, Congress was unable to pass all twelve appropriations bills (for fiscal year 2014) before October 1, 2013, when the new fiscal year. This led to the

United States federal government shutdown of 2013 From October 1 to October 17, 2013, the United States federal government entered a shutdown and curtailed most routine operations because neither legislation appropriating funds for fiscal year 2014 nor a continuing resolution for the interi ...

. The shutdown lasted for 16 days. Finally, late in the evening of October 16, 2013, Congress passed the

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014 The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014 (; ) is a law used to resolve both the United States federal government shutdown of 2013 and the United States debt-ceiling crisis of 2013. After the Republican-led House of Representatives could not a ...

, and the President signed it shortly after midnight on October 17, ending the government shutdown and suspending the

debt limit A debt limit or debt ceiling is a legislative mechanism restricting the total amount that a country can borrow or how much debt it can be permitted to take on. Several countries have debt limitation restrictions. Description A debt limit is a l ...

until February 7, 2014. In reaction to this situation, House Committee on Appropriations Chairman

Hal Rogers Harold Dallas Rogers (born December 31, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician serving his 21st term as the U.S. representative for , having served since 1981. He is a member of the Republican Party. Upon Don Young's death in 2022, Rogers ...

has stated that his goal is to pass all twelve regular appropriations bills for 2015 before Congress has a recess in August because he wants to avoid a similar situation.

Provisions of the bill

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on ...

, a

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

source.'' The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 has multiple separate titles. Title I: Legislative Branch Appropriations would make appropriations to the House of Representatives for FY2015 for: (1) salaries and/or expenses of the House leadership offices, committees (including the Committee on Appropriations), and officers and employees; and (2) Members' representational allowances. Section 101 would require deposit in the Treasury of any amounts of a Member's representational allowance remaining after all payments are made, to be used for federal deficit reduction, or, if there is no deficit, federal debt reduction. Section 102 would prohibit the use of funds made available in this Act to deliver a printed copy of a bill, joint resolution, or resolution to the office of a Member of the House of Representatives unless the Member requests a copy. Section 103 would prohibit the use of funds made available in this Act to deliver a printed copy of any version of the ''

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record In ...

'' to the office of a Member. Section 104 would prohibit the use of funds made available in this Act by the

Chief Administrative Officer of the United States House of Representatives The Chief Administrative Officer of the United States House of Representatives (CAO) is the chief administrative officer of the United States House of Representatives, charged with carrying out administrative functions for the House, including h ...

to make any payments from any Members' Representational Allowance for the leasing of a vehicle (except mobile district offices) in an aggregate amount that exceeds $1,000 for the vehicle in any month. Section 105 would prohibit the use of funds made available in this Act to provide an aggregate number of more than 50 printed copies of any edition of the U.S. Code to all House offices. The bill would make appropriations for salaries and/or expenses of: (1) the

United States Congress Joint Economic Committee The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is one of four standing joint committees of the U.S. Congress. The committee was established as a part of the Employment Act of 1946, which deemed the committee responsible for reporting the current economic ...

; (2) the

United States Congress Joint Committee on Taxation The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is a Committee of the U.S. Congress established under the Internal Revenue Code at . Structure The Joint Committee is composed of ten Members: five from the Senate Finance Committee and five from the House W ...

; (3) the

Office of the Attending Physician The Attending Physician of the United States Congress is the physician responsible for the medical welfare of the members of the United States Congress (the 435 representatives, five delegates, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, and 100 se ...

; (4) the

Office of Congressional Accessibility Services An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

; (5) the Capitol Police; (6) the

United States Congress Office of Compliance The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) applied workplace protection laws to approximately 30,000 employees of the legislative branch nationwide and established the Office of Compliance (OOC or Office) to administer and ensure the inte ...

; (7) the

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manag ...

(CBO); and (8) the

Architect of the Capitol The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of the legislative branch of the federal government and i ...

(AOC), including for the care and operation of Capitol buildings and grounds, House office buildings, the Capitol power plant, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

buildings and grounds, the Capitol Police buildings, grounds, and security, the

United States Botanic Garden The United States Botanic Garden (USBG) is a botanical garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., near Garfield Circle. The Botanic Garden is supervised by the Congress through the Architect of the Capitol, who i ...

, and the

United States Capitol Visitor Center The United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) is a large underground addition to the United States Capitol complex which serves as a gathering point for up to 4,000 tourists and an expansion space for the US Congress. Section 1001 would bar the use of funds made available by this Act for scrims containing photographs of building facades during restoration or construction projects performed by the AOC. The bill would appropriate funds for: (1) the Library of Congress for salaries and expenses, the

United States Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that maintains records of copyright registration, including a copyright catalog. It is used by copyright title searchers who ar ...

(CRS), and Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; (2) the

Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes informati ...

(GPO) for congressional printing and binding (including transfer of funds); (3) GPO for the Office of Superintendent of Documents (including transfer of funds); (4) the Government Printing Office Revolving Fund; (5) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for salaries and expenses; and (6) a payment to the Open World Leadership Center Trust Fund. Section 1101 would establish an upper limit of $203.058 million for the FY2015 obligational authority of the Library of Congress with regard to certain reimbursable and revolving fund activities. Section 1201 would require the Comptroller General (GAO) to establish the Center for Audit Excellence within GAO to: :*build institutional auditing capacity; and :*promote good governance by providing affordable, relevant, and high-quality training, technical assistance, and products and services to qualified personnel and entities of governments (including federal, state, and local governments, tribal governments, and governments of foreign nations), international organizations, and other private organizations. The bill would authorize GAO to: :*establish, charge, and collect fees (on a reimbursable or advance basis) for the training, technical assistance, and products or services; and :*accept and use conditional or non-conditional gifts of real and personal property and services (including services of guest lecturers) to support the Center's operation. The bill would prohibit GAO from accepting or using such a gift if its acceptance or use would compromise or appear to compromise GAO's integrity. The bill would express the sense of Congress that the center should be staffed primarily by GAO personnel not otherwise engaged in carrying out other GAO duties, so as to ensure that the center's operation will not have a negative impact on GAO's ability to maintain a consistently high level of service to Congress. The bill would establish in the Treasury (as a separate GAO account) the Center for Audit Excellence Account consisting of fees deposited by GAO and such other amounts as may be appropriated under law. The bill would make amounts in the Account available to GAO in amounts specified in appropriations Acts and without fiscal year limitation to carry out this Act. The bill would authorize appropriations. The bill would prohibit GAO from operating the center until: :*it submits a business plan for the Center to congressional appropriations committees; and :*each such committee approves the plan. Title II: General Provisions would specify authorized and prohibited uses of funds appropriated by this Act identical or similar to corresponding provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2014. Section 206 would authorize the AOC to maintain and improve the landscape features, excluding streets, in specified grassy areas of Washington, DC, SW. Section 208 would prohibit the use of funds made available to the AOC in this Act to eliminate or restrict guided tours of the

U.S. Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

led by congressional employees and interns. The bill would allow temporary suspension or restriction of such tours for security or related reasons to the same extent as guided tours of the U.S. Capitol led by the AOC. Section 209 would prohibit a Member of Congress from receiving a cost of living adjustment to his or her salary under the

Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (also known as the Congressional Reorganization Act, ch. 753, , enacted August 2, 1946) was the most comprehensive reorganization of the United States Congress in history to that date. Background The n ...

during FY2015. Section 210 would establish a spending reduction account consisting of the amount by which each applicable allocation of new budget authority made by the House Committee on Appropriations, excluding Senate items, exceeds the amount of proposed new budget authority. Makes such amount $0 (increased by $3,166,946). Section 211 would prohibit the use of funds made available by this Act to deliver to a Member's office a printed copy of: :*the report of disbursements for House operations, or :*the Daily Calendar of the House of Representatives prepared by the House Clerk.

Spending

*$488.6 million for the Architect of the Capitol *$21 million for the final phase of the project to restore the Capitol Dome *$347 million for the Capitol Police *$595 million for the Library of Congress

Procedural history

The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 was introduced into the

on April 17, 2014, by Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK). Cole is the chairman of the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch. It was reported as an original measure by the

United States House Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Comm ...

. The corresponding report wa
report 113-417
On May 1, 2014, the House voted i
Roll Call Vote 193
to pass the bill 402–14.

Debate and discussion

The amount of money appropriated in this bill is 3.7% lower than President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

requested in his

2015 United States presidential budget request The 2015 United States federal budget was the federal budget for fiscal year 2015, which runs from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015. The budget takes the form of a budget resolution which must be agreed to by both the United States House o ...

. The House and Senate customarily defer to each other regarding each chamber's spending levels, so this bill only includes funding for the House and not the Senate. The legislation retains the freeze on member salaries that has existed since 2010.

, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said that "the House will continue to led by example and hold the line on spending." The Library of Congress and Librarian of Congress James Billington were praised for their work at digitalizing the library by Rep.

Tom Cole Thomas Jeffery Cole (born April 28, 1949) is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party and serves as Deputy Minority Whip. The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) from ...

(R-OK). According to Rep. Cole, the bill meets its goals "in both an effective and efficient manner, and has done so in a genuinely bipartisan, inclusive and deliberative fashion."

bill

External links

Library of Congress - Thomas H.R. 4487beta.congress.gov H.R. 4487GovTrack.us H.R. 4487OpenCongress.org H.R. 4487House Report 113-417 on H.R. 4487Official Congressional source tracking all FY 2015 appropriationsHouse Republican Conference's legislative digest on H.R. 4487
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R. 4487 113th Congress) Proposed legislation of the 113th United States Congress United States federal appropriations in the 113th Congress