Ranking Member Espaillat Statement at the Fiscal Year 2024 Office of Congressional Workplace Right Budget Request Hearing

Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee's hearing on the fiscal year 2024 budget request for the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights:

**As prepared for delivery**

Thank you, Chairman Amodei.

I look forward to continuing working with you on this Subcommittee.

The Leg Branch Subcommittee is one of the Subcommittees where bipartisanship views are often shared.

What we do on this Subcommittee directly impacts the operations of Congress, unlike any other Subcommittee.

If Congress is not operational, it can't set rules to govern itself, it can't consider legislation or create committee assignments.

Without Congress there would be no voice for the people!

For the 118th Congress, we should continue to expand on the good deeds of this Subcommittee, recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce, modernizing Congress and its supporting Agencies, and ensuring the safety and security of our entire Capitol Complex.

Now let’s get to the task at hand.

Welcome Mr. Findlay. Thank you for appearing before the Subcommittee today.

As indicated in your budget request, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) is responsible for one major program: administering the provisions of the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA).

Your mission is to advance workplace rights, safety and health, and accessibility for 30,000 employees in the legislative branch.  

For fiscal year 2024 operations, the OCWR requests a funding level of roughly $8.5 Million which is about $549 thousand, or nearly 7%, above the fiscal year 2023 enacted level.

I look forward to hearing your testimony today regarding the budget needs of OCWR and the Agencies’ efforts to modernize OCWR’s IT systems.

In addition, I look forward to an update on the Congressional unionization efforts since the resolution was approved.

We appreciate the work of the OCWR team, and we look forward to your success.

And with that, I yield back.