Legislative Branch

“House Democrats are committed to an orderly appropriations process that gets the people’s business done on time – and that includes the business of the People’s House. The Fiscal Year 2020 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill is an example of that commitment. By providing a total of $3.943 billion, $135 million above FY 2019 levels, this bill would ensure that members of Congress can effectively work on behalf of their constituents and that the public can safely visit the Capitol campus.”

"Fundamentally, our bill provides modest increases to support the staffing and other resources needed by Congress to do its job well, to maintain and build analytic capacity in the Legislative Branch, and to address high-priority needs in areas like information technology and security. Our bill also increases the allowance for paying interns, from $20,000 to $25,000 per Member office. Internships are a valuable means of gaining work experience and opening doors to future employment—and that opportunity shouldn’t be available only to those who can afford to work for free."

"This year’s request is for a net appropriation of $747 million—an increase of $51 million or 7 percent above the current year. That increase covers things like needed fixes to the Library’s IT systems, improvements to the legislative information systems for Congress and the public, a strategy to better exhibit the Library’s treasures to visitors, and some interesting new technology to make the written word more readily accessible to people who are blind."

"Whatever the format, GPO’s fundamental function is making information about the operations of government—particularly the Congress— readily available to the public. That’s a crucial function in a democracy."

"Congress needs your agency’s neutral expertise these days more than ever – with the complexity of Federal programs and tax policy threatening to overwhelm Congress’s capacity to perform adequate oversight."