S.Hrg.119-69

1[Senate Hearing 119-69]2[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]34                                                         S. Hrg. 119-6956                  LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR7                              FISCAL YEAR 202689=======================================================================1011                                HEARINGS1213                                before a1415                          SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE1617                     COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS18                        UNITED STATES SENATE1920                    ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS2122                             FIRST SESSION2324                                   on2526                           H.R. 4249/S. 22572728         AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH FOR29          THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, AND FOR OTHER30          PURPOSES3132                               __________3334                        Architect of the Capitol35                      Congressional Budget Office36                    Government Accountability Office37                      Government Publishing Office38                          Library of Congress39                      United States Capitol Police40                 United States Senate Sergeant at Arms41                               __________4243         Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations4445               [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]4647       Available via the World Wide Web: https://www.govinfo.gov4849                               __________5051                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE525360-273 PDF                WASHINGTON : 20265455                      COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS5657                     SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine, Chair58MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky            PATTY MURRAY, Washington, Vice59LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska                   Chair60LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina       RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois61JERRY MORAN, Kansas                  JACK REED, Rhode Island62JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota            JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire63JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas               JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon64SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware65JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana              BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii66CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi        TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin67BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee              CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut68KATIE BOYD BRITT, Alabama            CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland69MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma           MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico70DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                GARY C. PETERS, Michigan71MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota            KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York72                                     JON OSSOFF, Georgia7374                  Elizabeth McDonnell, Staff Director75                  Evan Schatz, Minority Staff Director7677                                 ------7879                 Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch8081                  MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma, Chairman8283DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico, Ranking84MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota             Member85                                     JON OSSOFF, Georgia8687                           Professional Staff8889                             Molly McCarty9091                      Richard Braddock (Minority)9293                         Administrative Support9495                              Brian Gutro96                         Molly Akers (Minority)9798                            C O N T E N T S99100                              ----------101102                                hearings103104                        Tuesday, April 29, 2025105106                                                                   Page107108Congressional Budget Office......................................     1109    Honorable Dr. Phillip Swagel, Director:110        Prepared Statement of....................................     5111        Statement of.............................................     3112113Government Accountability Office.................................     1114    Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General:115        Prepared Statement of....................................    16116        Statement of.............................................    14117118Government Publishing Office.....................................     1119    Honorable Hugh N. Halpern, Director:120        Prepared Statement of....................................    29121        Statement of.............................................    27122123                          Tuesday, May 6, 2025124125Library of Congress..............................................    47126    Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress:127        Prepared Statement of....................................    50128        Statement of.............................................    49129130Architect of the Capitol.........................................    47131    Thomas E. Austin, Architect of the Capitol:132        Prepared Statement of....................................    64133        Statement of.............................................    62134135                        Wednesday, May 14, 2025136137United States Senate Sergeant at Arms andDoorkeeper..............    95138    Honorable Jennifer Hemingway:139        Prepared Statement of....................................    98140        Statement of.............................................    97141142United States Capitol Police.....................................    95143    Chief J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police:144        Prepared Statement of....................................   104145        Statement of.............................................   103146                              ----------147148                              back matter149150List of Witnesses, Communications, and Prepared Statements.121151152Nondepartmental Witnesses.......................................?? deg.153154Subject Index:155    Architect of the Capitol.....................................   123156    Congressional Budget Office..................................   123157    Government Accountability Office.............................   123158    Library of Congress..........................................   123159    United States States Capitol Police..........................   124160161                  LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR162                              FISCAL YEAR 2026163164                              ----------165166                        TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2025167168                                       U.S. Senate,169           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,170                                                    Washington, DC.171172    The subcommittee met at 10:01 a.m., in room SD-138, Dirksen173Senate Office Building, Hon. Markwayne Mullin, (Chairman),174presiding.175    Present: Senators Fischer, Rounds, Heinrich, Murray, and176Ossoff.177178                 U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE179180                      GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE181182                      CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE183184             opening statement of senator markwayne mullin185186    Senator Mullin. Good morning, the subcommittee will come to187order. Welcome to the fiscal year 2026 budget hearing for the188agencies underneath the jurisdiction of the Legislative Branch189Appropriations Subcommittee.190    This is my first hearing with the Appropriations Committee,191and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as chairman of192this subcommittee. I am also grateful for Chair Collins and193Leader Thune for the commitment to bring appropriation bills to194the Senate floor.195    I would like to welcome Ranking Member Heinrich, who was196kind enough to invite me onto CODEL over the break. And197unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it, but thank you.198    I am looking forward to working with him and other Members199of this subcommittee in crafting responsible funding for200Legislative and for the--to support Congress and the entire201Legislative Branch needs.202    Today, we will--with us we have with us Director of the203Congressional Budget Office, Dr. Phil Swagel; the Head of the204Government Accountability Office, Comptroller General Gene205Dodaro, [Do-da-ro], thank you; and the Director of Government206Publishing Office, Mr. Hugh Halpern. Thank you so much.207    Before we get into the specific details of the budget208request, I want to acknowledge that after years of significant209spending, the Federal Government, as a whole, must show fiscal210restraint. And the majority of the American people want to make211sure that their tax dollars are being used efficiently and212effectively. The Legislative Branch is no exception and must213demonstrate that we are a good steward of taxpayers' hard-214earned dollars.215    I want to thank all the witnesses for being here today. I216look forward to our discussion and to learn more about the217agencies' priorities for the year.218    Now I would like to turn it to the Ranking Member, Senator219Heinrich, for remarks he would like to make.220221              opening statement of senator martin heinrich222223    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward224to working with you this year to prepare a fiscally responsible225bill that will meet the needs of the Congress and our support226agencies, so that we can effectively carry out our227constitutional responsibilities on behalf of the American228people.229    Thank you to the witnesses providing testimony today and to230the folks at your agencies who work every day to facilitate the231Congress' work.232    Mr. Dodaro, the Government Accountability Office plays an233important role in providing oversight of government spending.234This year, the GAO is requesting nearly $934 million to perform235that critical work. I know your agency's workload is large. In236fiscal year 2024, GAO received over 550 requests to perform237work from 93 percent of the standing committees of the238Congress. This is in addition to the thousands of products,239recommendations, and adjudications you all completed.240    However, with a flat budget in fiscal year 2025, GAO was241required to shrink its staffing level and defer critical242investments in the agency's operations. I look forward to your243testimony about your fiscal year 2026 budget request and to244hearing more about what resources you need to support Congress245and our Government.246    Dr. Swagel, the Congressional Budget Office has requested247nearly $76 million to perform your agency's critical work in248support of Congress, an increase of almost $6 million. Now, I249understand that in fiscal year 2024, CBO published about 1,100250cost estimates for legislation, in addition to hundreds of251reports and informational products to support Congress' work.252The work of the CBO requires highly skilled subject matter253experts to provide the quality analysis we need to do our job.254So I look forward to hearing from you about the resources you255need this fiscal year.256    Mr. Halpern, the Government Publishing Office is requesting257$135 million to support personnel costs and resources necessary258to carry out the work of your agency, a 2.6 percent increase. I259know that your work is crucial to providing resources to the260American people so that they can easily access information261about their government.262    And I understand that a portion of the requested increase263in funding pays for the cost of providing a digital format of264Federal Government publications to over a thousand Federal265repository libraries nationwide.266    So I look forward to hearing more about the resources you267need to continue to get critical information into the hands of268the American people. And again, thank you to all of our269witnesses for being here today, Mr. Chairman.270    Senator Mullin. Thank you, Senator Heinrich.271    I want to remind everybody that we do have a timer, and I272will be strict on it. I will be strict for the Republicans, as273much I will be strict to our witnesses, and to our colleagues274in the Democrat Party. Everybody's time is important, and so we275have five minutes. I would kindly ask all of our witnesses, in276your statement, when you notice you are about 20 seconds up,277look for an ending, because at five minutes I will be starting278to--I will begin to tap the gavel. Okay?279    So with that, Mr. Swagel, you are up first.280STATEMENT OF HON. PHILLIP L. SWAGEL, PH.D., DIRECTOR281    Dr. Swagel. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman Mullin, Ranking282Member Heinrich, and Members of the subcommittee. Thank you for283the opportunity to present the CBO's budget request.284    As you said, Mr. Chairman, CBO requests an appropriation of285$75.8 million for 2026. That is an increase of $5.8 million, or2868.2 percent, from the amount that was provided in 2025, and the287same amount that was provided in 2024. The request would288address increased cost for pay and benefits, allow CBO to289improve its IT infrastructure, and add staff in areas of290especially intense legislative interest.291    CBO's mission is to provide nonpartisan analysis to the292Congress that is timely, rigorous, and transparent. When293Legislation is heading to a vote, we provide cost estimates and294real-time analysis of amendments, sometimes hundreds or even295thousands of them, for bills such as the NDAA. We provide296analysis and technical assistance as the legislation is being297developed, such as is the case now with reconciliation.298    We produce budget and economic projections that incorporate299the effects of recent legislation, economic developments, and300administrative actions. Those administrative actions have been301an especially big part of our work in the last couple of302months.303    And we provide analysis of a broad range of policy issues304confronting the Congress, bringing to bear data and research305from a variety of sources, including experts who members tell306us to go talk with.307    With continuing strong interest in CBO's work, the308additional resources I have asked for this year would enable us309to do even better on both responsiveness and transparency.310    In 2025, CBO will maintain its staffing at 270 employees,311and we will focus on the highest priority efforts of preparing312cost estimates, providing technical assistance for legislation,313and analyzing the economic and dynamic budgetary effects of314proposed policies. We are reducing our expenditures elsewhere.315We have deferred some hiring and are waiting on some longer316term improvements in our IT infrastructure.317    For 2026, a little more than half of our requested318increase, about $3 million, would cover increases in current319employees' salaries and benefits, and then would enable CBO to320expand in key areas of congressional interest. The full request321would allow CBO to add 15 employees, to go up to 285. I would322add analysts first in healthcare, in dynamic analysis, national323security, and homeland security.324    The remaining 48 percent of CBO's increase, about $2.8325million, would address increased costs to enhance our326cybersecurity, and our IT infrastructure, including for some327projects that are on hold this year with--you know, with the328resources we have. This spending is aimed at protecting329sensitive data and improving the agency's computing power for330analyzing complex data sets.331    Our requested budget would support our goal to provide332budgetary and economic information when it is most useful to333the Congress. We will support the Appropriations committees by334providing real-time, provision-by-provision estimates of the 12335annual appropriation bills and any supplemental appropriation336bills or continuing resolutions.337    We will also respond to thousands of requests for technical338assistance and preliminary estimates, often on quick339turnarounds, as committees craft legislation. We will provide340hundreds of cost estimates as required by statute, and for341nearly all of them, provide them before a floor vote. We will342also publish dozens of statutory or requested reports on a wide343variety of topics, from opioids, to immigration, Navy344shipbuilding, wildfires, and many other things. And then we345offer help in person, by phone, and video to member offices as346you and your staff craft legislation.347    In summary, to achieve our goal of being as responsive as348possible, CBO requests an increase of $5.8 million. With your349support, we look forward to continuing to provide timely and350high quality analysis to the Congress.351    Thank you again. I am happy to answer questions.352    [The statement follows:]353354[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]355356    Senator Mullin. Thank you, sir. And thanks for being357efficient with your time, too. I guess that is what CBO is358supposed to be. Appreciate you setting the standard.359    Sir, I am going to say this one right this time. So don't360correct me, let me do it right.361    Mr. Dodaro. Okay?362    Senator Mullin. [Do-ra-do]--[Do-da-ro], Dodaro, correct?363    Mr. Dodaro. That is correct, sir.364    Senator Mullin. Okay.365    Mr. Dodaro. Mr. Chairman, yes.366    Senator Mullin. You are up. Thank you.367    Mr. Dodaro. Absolutely.368    Senator Mullin. I am going to call you Gene by the time369this is over with, by the way.370    Mr. Dodaro. Gene is fine.371    Senator Mullin. And then if I say Gene, you can call me372Markwayne. We are good.373    Mr. Dodaro. All right. That is a deal.374    Senator Mullin. All right.375    Mr. Dodaro. That is a deal.376                                ------377378             UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE379380STATEMENT OF HON. GENE L. DODARO, COMPTROLLER GENERAL381    Mr. Dodaro. Mr. Chairman, good morning to you, Ranking382Member Heinrich, Senator Rounds. It is a pleasure to be here to383talk about our request.384    We appreciate the support that we have received from this385subcommittee over the years and this Congress as a whole. We386give a good return on that investment. Last year, as a result387of Congress and the agencies implementing our recommendations,388there was over $67 billion in financial benefits to the389government. In the last 6 years, we have averaged $123 in390financial benefits back to the government for every dollar391invested in GAO.392    This year we updated our high-risk list, which we do at the393beginning of each new Congress. There are over 38 areas on that394list, ranging from Medicare, Medicaid, to defense weapons395systems, to the tax administration system. This year we added396improvements needed in the delivery of disaster assistance to397individuals. FEMA is stretched way too thin, too many agencies398are involved, and recoveries drag out too long. Reform is399needed in that area.400    On average, $40 billion of financial benefits each year401come from improvements in implementing our recommendations on402the high-risk areas. We also do an annual report on overlap,403duplication, and fragmentation in the Federal Government. So404far, over the past 14 years, we have made 2,000405recommendations, of which 73 percent have been fully or406partially implemented. That has led to over $667 billion in407financial benefits to the Federal Government. So both the high-408risk and overlap, duplication, fragmentation reports are very409important work that lead to government efficiency and410effectiveness, and we need to continue to have the resources411necessary to continue those efforts.412    As Senator Heinrich mentioned, demand for our work is high.413We receive hundreds of requests each year. We have about 150414recurring mandates. The NDAA last year had 95 specific requests415for GAO studies. The Water Resources Act, another 26, and the416most recent FAA reauthorization, another 36 requirements. Most417major pieces of legislation have mandated reporting418requirements for GAO.419    Because of the continuing resolution for this year, we will420have about 126 less people at the end of the fiscal year than421we had at the beginning. The request that I put forward for422next year is for an increase, but even that will not take us423back to fully replacing those 126 people. As the auditor of the424Federal Government's financial statements, I know too well that425the Federal Government is on an unsustainable long-term fiscal426path and there needs to be efficiencies and effectiveness.427    I am trying to be respectful of that need in our request428going forward, recognizing that GAO has tremendous value that429helps the government solve that problem as well. And we do work430for over 93 percent of the standing committees of the Congress.431One of the areas that I want to make sure GAO continues to432invest in is national security. As I mentioned, we do a lot of433work for the Armed Services Committees, and it is important434because of the efforts of our government to try to increase our435military readiness and to remain the superior military force in436the world.437    Also, another priority area for us is health care. Health438care continues to be the fastest-growing component of the439Federal budget, except for interest on the debt. Another440priority area is cybersecurity, including both Federal and441private sector systems. We do work looking at critical442infrastructure systems including water systems, the electricity443grid, and telecommunications. The other priority area for us is444science and technology.445    Congress has specifically asked us to increase our capacity446to conduct science technology assessments, and we have done447work in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, hypersonic448weapons, et cetera. These are the main priority areas that our449budget request will support.450    I want to also publicly recognize the GAO workforce, which451is one of the most talented and dedicated workforces in the452world. This is the last year of my term as Comptroller General.453I have been in this job now for 17 years. I have been in GAO454over 52 years. But I can tell you that the GAO workforce will455continue doing the work that we have been known for.456    Thank you very much for your attention. I know you will457give careful consideration to our budget requests.458    [The statement follows:]459460[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]461462    Senator Mullin. Thank you so much.463    Mr. Halpern.464                                ------465466                    THE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE467468STATEMENT OF HON. HUGH N. HALPERN, DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT469            PUBLISHING OFFICE470    Mr. Halpern. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member471Heinrich and Senator Rounds. Thank you so much for the472opportunity to present GPO's fiscal year 2026 request.473    On behalf of my 1,653 teammates, I am requesting474appropriations of $135.4 million for fiscal year 2026, which is475an increase of about $3.4 million over our fiscal year 2025476appropriation. This request incorporates increased labor and477material costs while accommodating certain important478initiatives for Congress and the rest of the Legislative479Branch.480    This is a 2.6 percent increase, which I would note is lower481than the CPI rate over the last 12 months. Many of you are new482to GPO and may not realize that we operate as a business483enterprise, and directly appropriated funds represent only484about 9 percent of our total revenue.485    In fiscal year 2024, the remainder of our nearly $1.3486billion in revenue came from GPO's billings to its other487Federal customers, such as the Department of State, National488Archives, Department of Defense, and countless others.489    We sell products and services to those customers, and we490adjust pricing based on the cost of materials, labor, and491overhead. As most of GPO's appropriations requests are based on492funding for Congress' own publishing needs and the agency's493operation of the Federal Depository Library Program, we have494also had to increase our appropriations' request when faced495with increased costs.496    Our model continues to deliver results. We closed our books497for fiscal year 2024 with a net positive income of $57.5498million, enabling us to continue investing in our team,499equipment, and campus. It is also important to note that, given500the conditions with our customers and increased materials501costs, I expect our net income to be lower in fiscal year 2025,502although still positive.503    Our fiscal year 2026 request includes $83 million for504congressional publishing, which is the same amount as our505fiscal year 2025 appropriation. It is based on our estimate of506Congress's likely needs, informed by historical trends and507available unexpended balances. For this account, we can offset508our increased labor and materials costs through efficiency.509    Our request for the Public Information Programs account,510through which we administer the FDLP, is about $42.9 million.511This represents an increase of about $5 million over fiscal512year 2025, and that is due largely to rising labor costs.513    Our final request is for $9.5 million for GPO's revolving514fund to support key technology upgrades, and that is about $2515million less than the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2025.516About 40 percent of that amount will support continued517development of XPub, our next-generation composition engine.518    We are continuing to push forward with the final stages of519development for XPub for bills, resolutions, and amendments.520    To date, we are on track with the first phase of user521acceptance testing with the Senate, and the House began testing522last month. While I do not have a firm deployment date, we are523continuing to make significant progress with our customers524toward deploying this critical piece of software soon.525    The remainder of our revolving fund request is for funds to526support GovInfo, our online trusted digital repository. The527data in that system supports the Library of Congress, Congress'528own bulk data efforts, and dozens of other Federal agencies,529enabling Americans to access government information digitally530rather than in print.531    The system receives more than 142 million requests a month,532and the subcommittee's past support has allowed us to add533260,000 document packages during the last fiscal year.534    Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Senator535Rounds, thank you for this opportunity to present our fiscal536year 2026 request, and for the support you and your staff have537extended us in the past.538    I look forward to answering any questions you may have.539540[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]541542    Senator Mullin. Thank you so much. Since I am here until543the end, no matter what, I am going to defer my questions at544the beginning, and I will turn it over to Senator Rounds.545    Senator Rounds. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the courtesy. I546most certainly appreciate it. And I will be brief with my Q&As547as well today.548    First, thank you all for being here today and preparing the549testimony for us to review.550    Comptroller Dodaro, first of all, thank you for your551extended service to our country, your contributions have been552noted, and they are appreciated.553    We have seen an explosion in Federal agencies experimenting554with artificial intelligence, often without clear oversight555frameworks in place. Recognizing that it is a moving target and556that there is no way that it is going away, it is going to be557here, and our government will be using it just like the private558entities in our country will be using it, and our adversaries559will be using it.560    I am just curious, sir, has GAO conducted or planned a561comprehensive review of how agencies are adopting AI tools,562particularly to guard against waste, cybersecurity563vulnerabilities, or mission drift? And if so, when can Congress564expect any report or an analysis of findings?565    Mr. Dodaro. Yes. Since 2018, we have issued over 50 reports566dealing with artificial intelligence, its use in the defense567arena, its potential in accelerating drug development, for568medical diagnostic purposes, and other areas. We have done the569first inventory across the Federal Government of all the use570cases that have been put in place, we just issued a report on571generative AI, its use in health care, its human effects, and572its potential effects on the workforce. We are constantly doing573new work in the AI area.574    I think it is very important to note that we have also575developed a framework for how to audit artificial intelligence576algorithms in terms of the data governance structure and other577areas. As you mentioned, it is a moving target. So you are not578auditing anything static, particularly in a generative, machine579learning environment.580    We have a robust program. We have tripled the number of581people we had, at Congress' urging, in the science and582technology area, so we have experts in AI now in larger583numbers, and I am very pleased with the development of our584program. I would be happy to provide our plans to the committee585as well as, for the record, the reports that we have issued in586these areas.587    Senator Rounds. Thank you. I am going to turn to Director588Swagel now. Given the rapid advances in technology and the589economy, is CBO developing internal capabilities to model how590emerging technologies, like AI, could impact Federal spending591and revenues over the next decade?592    And if I could, between the two of you, explain to me the593differences between your missions, specifically with regard to594how we look at AI, and the development and analysis of AI, and595whether or not we are being effective in its use within the596government.597    Dr. Swagel. Okay. Sure. So we are looking at technology and598AI, and the biggest direct impact on the Federal budget would599be through the overall size of the economy. If the technology600improves, if AI contributes to increased productivity, that601will make all workers more productive. It will mean the capital602we have is more productive. There will be more GDP, and more603revenue, and a lower deficit. And we have done lots of work on604the effects of increased productivity on the deficit.605    The challenge is understanding where exactly AI fits into606the economy and the payoff, and there is lots of analysis for607us still. It is a little bit too soon to say: Okay, there is608this bonus from AI, or the economy is bigger as a result of AI.609So we are watching that, but we are not there yet.610    I will just say two last things and then I will stop. We611are looking at the impacts within the economy, what it means612for workers and in different parts of the country. In terms of613us versus GAO, in a sense, we look forward, we are looking at614what is the projection over the ten-year window, what does AI615mean for legislation. And GAO would tend to evaluate backwards616not in a negative sense, but what has happened, and they would617make recommendations, whereas we would not.618    Senator Rounds. But what you are saying is they deal in619facts, and you deal in projections?620    Dr. Swagel. There is a sense in which that is right. I621mean, we try to judge what the facts are and what they mean for622the future, but there is a sense in which that is right.623    Mr. Dodaro. I think, a slight modification to Phil's624response, it is not just evaluating the past, it is also the625present. We are doing real-time auditing of what is going on626right now. Now, in AI, a big role that we are going to play is627the quality of the data that the agencies are using. From our628auditing on an ongoing basis across the spectrum of Federal629Government's operations, I can tell you the quality of the data630is not good.631    If you don't have good data going into these systems, you632need to worry about bias, you need to worry about accuracy, you633need to worry about what unintended consequences might occur.634So that will be a big focus of our efforts--that is, are these635investments actually paying off in producing reliable outcomes636that lead effectively to carrying out their program objectives?637    Senator Murray. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.638    Senator Mullin. Thank you. Senator Heinrich.639    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Dodaro, GAO640receives more than 100 new report mandates a year, plus another641150 recurring mandates. In addition, GAO is responsible for642informal technical assistance and resolving bid protests. Add643to that oversight and auditing of Federal programs within the644Federal agencies. How does GAO's budget request help the agency645handle its current workload, and any new mandates that are646coming down the road currently?647    Mr. Dodaro. Yes. We maintain active conversations with all648the committees across the Congress on what their highest649priorities are. We have a good sense of their priorities, and650we reprioritize as events occur, such as when administrations651start new initiatives, or there is a major event like a natural652disaster, global conflict or pandemic.653    Our request is based upon our experience dealing with the654committees, and only if we receive the requested budget can I655guarantee that we will get to all the priority requests from656various committees across the Congress. We are stretched thin.657Our budget has not grown as the Federal Government has grown658over the years. In inflationary terms, the Federal Government's659spending has increased 116 percent. GAO's budget has decreased6601.4 percent. So we need this budget request just to stay661abreast.662    Senator Heinrich. You spoke about data. How has the access663that DOGE has had in the modifications of government IT systems664impacted GAO's ability to conduct oversight and audits of665Federal programs on behalf of the Congress?666    Mr. Dodaro. Right now we are auditing the DOGE access. We667are looking at the digital footprint within each of these major668systems across government, whether it is Social Security,669Treasury, OPM, or others. And so we will have a better idea670about what impact DOGE's accesses had on the data systems and671whether there has been any information added to the system, or672taken out of the system.673    We spend a lot of time on data reliability before we do any674assessment at GAO. This has added another element of complexity675to that work.676    Senator Heinrich. How is that information then communicated677back to us?678    Mr. Dodaro. We will issue public reports to the Congress.679    Senator Heinrich. What is the timeframe, do you think?680    Mr. Dodaro. We are just getting started across government,681and I do not have a timeframe right now. We are going to try to682provide iterative reports. In other words, we will release them683as they are available for each agency. I am not going to wait684until we complete this work across the government, and so that685will give some indications.686    Now, on a positive side, I mean, they have opened up some687data barriers that had been preventing the Federal Government688from detecting improper payments and fraud. So there are some689benefits. I don't want to imply that there are just concerns.690We are looking at the benefits as well.691    Senator Heinrich. Talk to me about the data validation. How692does GAO make sure the information it gets from agencies is693valid, authentic, accurate?694    Mr. Dodaro. Yes. Well, a lot these data----695    Senator Heinrich. You will also need the active----696    Mr. Dodaro. A lot of these databases we work with year in697and year out over time. So first we will look at what the698agency does itself to validate the information. What kind of699checks they put in place? We will do some testing. We will do700some data edits to see if there are any anomalies in the data.701We have a whole set of methodologies and procedures. I have702experts in this area who assist each of the audit teams.703    We also audit the Federal Government's financial704statements. So we are doing our own sampling and testing of the705accuracy of the Federal financial information.706    Senator Heinrich. I can imagine that has probably never707been more important than it is right now.708    Switching to you for a moment, Mr. Halpern, talk to us a709little bit more about the digitization of the publications at710the Federal repository libraries and what you are looking at711there?712    Mr. Halpern. Sure. Most documents today begin life as713digital documents, so when you drop a bill, that manuscript714comes to GPO and we turn that into electrons. Most of the time,715if you go to Senate Legislative Counsel, we are getting a good716file that we can work with. But if you write something on the717back of a napkin, our folks will input that data, and then we718produce a good document, both in PDF and as structured data in719a machine-readable format.720    And that is really key to the future. We don't produce721nearly as many tangible documents as we used to, and that is722why we have really moved the Federal Depository Library Program723to a more digital format. And that is something that our724library partners wanted as well.725    Senator Heinrich. Got you. Thank you.726    Senator Mullin. Thank you. Senator Fischer.727    Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome,728gentlemen. It is good to see you here today.729    Mr. Dodaro, as I am sure you are aware, GAO recently issued730observations regarding EPA's submission of notices of decision731on Clean Air Act preemption waivers as rules under the732Congressional Review Act.733    In 2020, GAO wrote in a legal decision, quote, ``When an734agency submits a document to our office under CRA, we consider735that to be the agency's determination that the document is a736rule under CRA. When a rule is submitted to Congress, Congress737has an opportunity to review the rule and pass a joint738resolution of disapproval to void the rule.''739    Do you believe that that statement is true?740    Mr. Dodaro. It is generally true.741    Senator Fischer. If it is true, why then did GAO not742consider these three Clean Air Act waivers to be rules when EPA743submitted them to your office under CRAs?744    Mr. Dodaro. Well, first, there was confusion. When EPA745first submitted them to us on February 19, they said they were746orders, not rules, meaning they are not subject to CRA, which747is consistent with the decision that we made in 2023. They even748cited our decision in the first submission. Then, a week or so749later, they submitted them as if they were rules. And so we750asked EPA why there was this inconsistency. We never got a751response from them.752    Now, when you quoted that decision, the GAO language is753true. We said we do not issue legal opinions once they have754submitted it. In this case, this was not a legal opinion, it755was observations, because we had issued the previous opinion in7562023. Now, we didn't change that opinion----757    Senator Fischer. Well, in 2023, EPA did not submit the758action to GAO as a rule, which meant that GAO was called upon759to decide whether that waiver constituted a rule. But in 2025,760EPA did submit the three waivers to GAO and to Congress under761CRA. In this case, precedent would dictate that you consider762the document a rule once it was submitted to your office under763CRA. So, sir, it is a rule.764    Mr. Dodaro. Well, EPA asserts it is a rule, but the issue765is the same as what we----766    Senator Fischer. But under your own precedent, it would be767a rule?768    Mr. Dodaro. Not necessarily. We have prior case law on this769issue, which we relied on in this case. It is the same issue.770In 2023, Congress asked us: Shouldn't EPA have submitted it as771a rule? And we said, no. It is an order under the772Administrative Procedures Act, and it remains an order. The773President can make changes on this----774    Senator Fischer. But in 2025, though, they did submit the775three waivers.776    Mr. Dodaro. Well, after they submitted it saying it wasn't777the rule, they submitted it both ways, and on the----778    Senator Fischer. And most recently they submitted it as a779rule. So if you have a precedent saying that agencies have the780primary responsibility to determine which agency actions meet781CRA definition of a rule, and additional precedent that says:782That when an agency submits a document to our office under CRA,783we consider that to be the agency's determination that the784document is a rule under CRA.785    Doesn't that make it pretty clear that Congress should786decide when using the CRA is appropriate after an agency787submits that document?788    Mr. Dodaro. Well, in this case, certain Members of Congress789had questions about it in terms of our case law. So we have an790obligation to inform Congress of our views on these particular791issues. I would also clarify that our decisions are not792dispositive on the Congress. They are advisory. Congress can793overrule our legal decisions.794    Senator Fischer. Well, I just believe that we are looking795at a completely different scenario than 2023, when you are796dealing with an agency action that was not submitted to your797agency.798    Mr. Dodaro. It was submitted to us, twice, as I said, once799as an order and then once as a rule. I can understand----800    Senator Fischer. And then again--and then again this year,801sir.802    Mr. Dodaro. Yes. Well, again, this year it was submitted803twice as an order and a rule by EPA within a week of one804another. I am not talking about 2023. I am talking about twice805in 2025. I can understand why Congress had questions about it806and asked us: Well, what do you think? We are in business to807help the Congress and inform them based upon our work. That is808all we did in this case.809    Senator Fischer. I would disagree with you. Thank you.810    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.811    Senator Mullin. Thank you for your time.812    Sir, we will stay with you. I just have a couple questions,813if you don't mind. How many employees right now work for you?814    Mr. Dodaro. A little over 3,500.815    Senator Mullin. 3,500, and what do you feel like the need816is?817    Mr. Dodaro. I think we need to be at least at 3,600 to8183,700 staff. GAO used to be over 5,000 people that was819downsized in the 1990s, and since then----820    Senator Mullin. And we also did not have the same821technology we have today, I mean, that is----822    Mr. Dodaro. Yes, that is true. But the government was a lot823smaller then, too, than it is now.824    Senator Mullin. And you have a request of how much825increase, 122 million?826    Mr. Dodaro. That is correct.827    Senator Mullin. And what is your total budget?828    Mr. Dodaro. The total budget right now is $811 million,829almost $812.830    Senator Mullin. So you are going to be approaching a831billion dollars?832    Mr. Dodaro. That is correct.833    Senator Mullin. Is that correct?834    Mr. Dodaro. Right.835    Senator Mullin. At the same time we are trying to shrink836the Federal Government, we are trying to use efficiencies. I837mean, one of the things we try to do is be more efficient. What838type of technology are you using to try to offset this? And I839use this from the--you know, let us just use real world, right?840Our Payables and Receivables Office doesn't have near as many841people in it as it used to. Our Payroll Department doesn't have842near as many people in it as it used to because of the new843technology that is available to us.844    Mr. Dodaro. Right.845    Senator Mullin. And I would say most of the research and846accounting offices around the country have shrunk considerably.847So what type of technology have you changed to be able to848absorb that, to be able to help your efficiencies? Because we849are cutting all the cost to government, so it is hard for us to850justify $122 billion--$122 million increase, which is roughly85115 percent for GAO.852    Mr. Dodaro. Right. Well, I think the first justification853for our request comes from the fact that we return to the854government $123 back for every dollar invested. Now, in terms855of our----856    Senator Mullin. How many people in your office do you have857that is specifically, because I have heard you quote that now858three times----859    Mr. Dodaro. Yes.860    Senator Mullin [continuing]. Work on that specific issue to861tell us how much money you spend--you return back to us?862    Mr. Dodaro. Well, we actually use estimates from CBO and863the Congress as well as from the agency.864    Senator Mullin. But how many people do you have on your865staff that is designated just to provide that number to us?866    Mr. Dodaro. Every team does it based upon their own audit867work. It is not any central group that does it. They compile868it. There is one, maybe one person there that compiles the869numbers as part of a lot of other responsibilities. But it is870everybody, and GAO's job to try to be more--871    Senator Mullin. I do hear what you are--I do hear what you872are saying. The issue that we are having here is, is that we873are not going to be able to increase it.874    Mr. Dodaro. Yes.875    Senator Mullin. And so we have got to get more efficient,876and that goes for every agency. We have got to get more877efficient.878    Mr. Dodaro. Right.879    Senator Mullin. And we are asking the Executive Branch to880be more efficient. The Executive Branch is becoming more881efficient. We have to do the same.882    Mr. Dodaro. Yes. One thing that this Committee could do to883help us in our efficiency is to have the agencies that we audit884provide the information more quickly, and reliably to us.885    Senator Mullin. Right.886    Mr. Dodaro. And because we can then do work a lot faster if887the agencies are cooperative.888    Senator Mullin. Sure. Mr. Halpern, quickly, can you explain889to us what you are doing to become more efficient with the890taxpayer dollars as funding?891    Mr. Halpern. Sure. We are trying to automate processes892where we can. Some of our requirements are that we support893older processes. So for instance, as I was explaining to894Senator Heinrich, if you write a bill on a legal pad, I have to895be able to take that and turn that into good legislative text.896That requires people to do it.897    We are getting more efficient when it comes to the actual898printing. For instance, we have changed from conventional899offset printing for our daily publications to digital inkjet900printing, which means I have much smaller crews manning those901printing presses.902    Senator Mullin. Now, you mentioned multiple times in your903statement that you operate as a business.904    Mr. Halpern. We do.905    Senator Mullin. And you have customers?906    Mr. Halpern. We do.907    Senator Mullin. And those customers, are they competitive908bids, or are you kind of assumed the one and only supplier for909the needs for printing?910    Mr. Halpern. It depends. So for instance, the U.S.911passport, our single largest product, we have one customer,912that is the Department of State, and----913    Senator Mullin. But I mean, you are not bidding against914outside private groups to do this?915    Mr. Halpern. We are not, because the security requirements916for that document are significant----917    Senator Mullin. And I say that because you operate like a918business, but yet you have an appropriation request, plus an919increase on it. What keeps you from just adjusting your prices920to actually cover your cost, because if you are operating as a921business, then you should have the ability to adjust your cost922to be able to make sure it is not costing the taxpayers any923extra funding, other than to the agency?924    Mr. Halpern. The Appropriations' request covers three925things. It covers Congress' own printing needs. Congress926decided that it is easier to appropriate those dollars to us927directly than to have us bill them per page.928    Senator Mullin. Okay.929    Mr. Halpern. So that is $83 million of that request.930    Senator Mullin. Because I am over time, I will come back.931    Mr. Halpern. Sure.932    Senator Mullin. I want to be respectful of my time, just933like everybody else's. I will turn the question over to Senator934Murray.935    Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank936you to you and Senator Heinrich for holding this hearing,937really important for our ability to be able to write our938appropriations bills, so I appreciate it.939    And I want to thank each of you and all your staff at your940agencies for your really excellent support that you provide to941this Committee and to Congress.942    You know, from day one, President Trump has unilaterally943frozen or contravened critical funding provided in our944bipartisan laws. Those actions by Trump and Russ Vought have945really wreaked havoc for our families and communities across946the country. That is really not what the Constitution947envisioned. Congress has the power of the purse. Period. Our948presidents cannot pick and choose which parts of a law they can949follow.950    So Comptroller Dodaro, I want to ask you. You have951testified that GAO is investigating the Trump's952administration's efforts to block Federal funds as potential953violations of the Impoundment Control Act. What is the status954of those investigations?955    Mr. Dodaro. We have right now 39 different investigations956underway. We are trying to get the information from the957agencies about what their legal position is for not expending958the money. I am looking forward to what I understand to be a959submission by the administration of a rescission package, which960is the process outlined in the Impoundment Control Act.961    So we will look at that. We are also monitoring all the962litigation surrounding these areas that we are investigating.963Only three agencies so far have given us the information that964we require. OMB has not been responsive, nor EPA. A number of965other agencies are due to get us information this week or next966week.967    I would imagine starting next month, after we look to see968what is in the rescission package----969    Senator Murray. Next month, as in May?970    Mr. Dodaro. Yes. They won't all come at once, they will971come as we collect and analyze all the information.972    Senator Murray. What options do you have if you don't get973timely or responsive information from the Federal agencies?974    Mr. Dodaro. Well, we will have to make decisions then on975our own, based upon the available information. Some of it will976be in the lawsuit filings that we are following right now, and977then we will have to go forward with the information that we978have. We've had to do this in the past, for example with the979Interior Department, which didn't respond for a long period of980time.981    Congress put in language then, after that experience, in982the Appropriations Act, requiring Interior to give us983information within a certain period of time. I would suggest,984respectfully, that a requirement be included in this year's985Appropriations Bill, specifically as it relates to Impoundment986Control Act decisions, that requires agencies to be timely in987responding to GAO. We can give you a reasonable timeframe to988include. It would also be helpful to also include a provision989of general cooperation giving GAO access to the information we990need in our audits. This would also address the Chairman's991question about GAO being more efficient. We can only be as992efficient as allowed by the timeliness and quality of the993information from the agencies.994    Senator Murray. Right.995    Mr. Dodaro. We give agencies up to 30 days to respond to996our draft reports, sometimes they take longer.997    Senator Murray. Okay. Well, I appreciate that, and we,998Congress, really rely on GAO's expertise as a nonpartisan999expert watchdog. So we appreciate your work, and I am going to1000stay on top of this. Look forward to working with you on that.1001    Mr. Swagel, Republicans are, as you know, moving full speed1002ahead with the reconciliation package, promising to deliver1003more than $5.3 trillion in new tax breaks for billionaires and1004large corporations. And at the same time, some Republicans have1005promised that Medicaid, which is a lifeline for our kids and1006seniors, is safe. But the reality is, Republicans can't keep1007both of those promises.1008    I want to examine this with you. The Republican1009reconciliation instruction directs $880 billion in cuts within1010the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction1011over Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.1012You responded to a question from House Ranking Member Brendan1013Boyle and Frank Pallone in March regarding spending within the1014House Energy and Commerce Committee's jurisdiction, excluding1015Medicare, which Republicans say is off the table.1016    In your response, you said over 10 years Medicaid outlays1017will account for 93 percent of baseline budget projections for1018Energy and Commerce; is that correct?1019    Dr. Swagel. Yes, that is correct.1020    Senator Murray. And if you add in CHIP, is it fair to say1021you are now talking north of 95 percent?1022    Dr. Swagel. That is right. Once you take out Medicaid and1023CHIP, there is only $381 billion still in the current baseline.1024    Senator Murray. Okay. So looking at table one in that March10255th letter, is it fair to say the remainder is nowhere close to1026that $880 billion?1027    Dr. Swagel. That is correct. In the letter that we sent to1028Mr. Boyle and Mr. Pallone, the dollars after Medicare,1029Medicaid, and CHIP, are much smaller than the instruction.1030    Senator Murray. Yes. Okay. So just for the record, I just1031want to say it would appear to me to be impossible for Energy1032and Commerce, the committee with jurisdiction, to reach the1033spending cuts required under the Republican Reconciliation1034instructions without cutting Medicaid or putting Medicare back1035on the table.1036    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.1037    Senator Mullin. Thank you. Mr. Heinrich, I understand you1038have got a couple more questions?1039    Senator Heinrich. Mr. Dodaro, what was the ratio again of1040dollars invested in GAO to dollars saved?1041    Mr. Dodaro. For the last 6 years, it is $123 back for every1042dollar invested in GAO.1043    Senator Heinrich. Do we have any data at this time to1044suggest what the ratio might be from the activities associated1045with DOGE?1046    Mr. Dodaro. Not at this time. We will have to take a look1047at it. They have used some of our reports and have said that1048they are working to implement some of our open recommendations.1049We estimate that our open recommendations that Congress or the1050agencies have not addressed yet could save up to $208 billion.1051We issue about 1,400 new recommendations every year. We always1052follow up on our recommendations. But how much in savings1053relates specifically to DOGE, I am not sure yet.1054    Senator Heinrich. How can we facilitate that information?1055How do we go about that?1056    Mr. Dodaro. I expect that we would receive a request from1057Congress asking us to look at their claims for savings. We have1058not yet received that, but I would imagine that would come at1059some point. We are tracking it now in terms of how they are1060using our open recommendations so that we can show the results1061of our work and the impact our work has. If what they are doing1062goes beyond implementing our recommendations, we would have to1063look at it and validate their estimate.1064    Senator Heinrich. So for example, if you have a buyout of a1065Federal employee, you have to back that value out of the so-1066called savings, right?1067    Mr. Dodaro. Absolutely. And also, if the person becomes1068unemployed, the Federal Government has to pay unemployment1069benefits.1070    Senator Heinrich. And then--yes.1071    Mr. Dodaro. There are a lot of puts and takes in these1072estimates that you have to look at, because at the end of the1073day, you want to know what is the net cost.1074    Senator Heinrich. Exactly. I am looking forward to the1075GAO's analysis of that. What three, you said three agencies1076have been responsive with respect to the Empowerment Control1077Act issues. What three agencies are those?1078    Mr. Dodaro. State and Transportation, but one of them had1079two requests, bringing it to three responses, so far.1080    Senator Heinrich. All right. So EPA has not been1081responsive?1082    Mr. Dodaro. No.1083    Senator Heinrich. How about Department of Energy?1084    Mr. Dodaro. They are working on it. I am also outreaching,1085as I normally do, with all new Cabinet officials and the1086leadership of agencies. I am due to meet with Secretary McMahon1087this week. I will talk to her about responsiveness to GAO. I1088had problems with the last administration, regarding the1089Education Department. They weren't very cooperative, so I am1090hopeful that that will change.1091    Senator Heinrich. What about Interior?1092    Mr. Dodaro. Interior, so far has not responded, but I am1093going to outreach to Secretary Burgum. I met with Secretary1094Collins at VA already, and I have meetings set with Secretary1095Wright at the Energy Department. And I will meet with all the1096leaders across government. I always do that.1097    Senator Heinrich. I look forward to learning the results of1098that.1099    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.1100    Senator Mullin. Thank you. And Mr. Swagel, I didn't have1101time to ask you any questions the first time. So if you do not1102mind, how many CBO--or how has CBO been able to absorb the1103significant increase in cost estimate workload? If you could,1104explain the operational improvements that have helped with1105that, and the employment--and employees that you have there.1106    Dr. Swagel. Okay. Yes. I know, thank you. And the number of1107requests, both the formal cost estimates and the informal1108technical assistance has gone up. We have done it really in two1109ways. One is by focusing on the prioritization, and we take our1110prioritization from the budget committees and the leadership,1111and the committees of jurisdiction. And we look to them to say:1112What should we do first?1113    Within the agency, we have shifted to more flexibility1114within our staff. So we will have staff who will cover multiple1115areas, that we can shift people around when there is something1116that is especially urgent. We have done that also, in part, by1117shifting to younger staff, and hiring staff right out of1118college, who are in more--instances more agile than some of our1119older staff.1120    Senator Mullin. So that might answer my second question.1121You know, Congress is always changing, and we are changing1122rapidly, really, it depends on the flavor of the month, what is1123in the news cycle. How do you adjust for that?1124    Dr. Swagel. You know, we try in a sense to get there before1125you do, to figure out what is coming, and have our analysis1126ready. Sometimes we do it, sometimes we don't get there. There1127are some things that are perennials. So health care is our1128biggest substantive area. As an example, we have been working1129on Medicaid now for months to be ready, so it is that kind of1130mix of getting guidance and then using our judgment to see1131where the Congress is going.1132    Senator Mullin. Thank you. Mr. Dodaro, I guess I have more1133of a comment than a question. There is a concern, especially on1134our side of the aisle, that some--or the CRA response looked1135political, especially since you made the opinion in about eight1136days. And then the last time, you know, the EPA submitted to1137you, they submitted it to you as a rule.1138    I just would throw this out, and I throw this out to all1139the agencies. We don't want you to be political. We don't want1140you to make a political decision. This is the fastest way to1141get myself or my ranking member upset. I want to run this1142committee in a very bipartisan way, because what we are talking1143about is bipartisan stuff. There is nothing that comes in front1144of this Committee that should be political at all.1145    But if I perceive it to be, you will hear from me. And I1146will make adjustments as needed. And we, as a committee, will1147make adjustments as needed. So when you are making a decision1148and when you are responding to us, just give us the facts, not1149your political opinion and your political bias. We deal with1150that every single day on both sides of the aisle. As I say it1151again, I do not want that in this committee at all. And I will1152hold the members accountable, and I will hold myself1153accountable to do it the same. So with that being said, thank1154you a lot--1155    Mr. Dodaro. Might I respond?1156    Senator Mullin. Yes, sir.1157    Mr. Dodaro. Mr. Chairman, I can assure you that decision on1158EPA was not political. It was routine business, we got a1159question about a prior decision that we made. We did not change1160the prior decision. We gave a summary. I know there are1161appearance issues, but I can assure you I have been in this job1162now, as I said, for 17 years. I took the oath to keep this job1163as a nonpartisan job. I have approached it always that way.1164    Senator Mullin. I will take your word for it today. But as1165I say, the proof is in the pudding. And so for now, I will take1166your word for it.1167    Mr. Dodaro. I appreciate that.11681169                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS11701171    Senator Mullin. All right then. Guys, I appreciate you1172allowing me to entertain you a little bit as I stumble through1173my very first hearing. I appreciate your time.1174    Senator Heinrich, appreciate your time too. Look forward to1175working with everybody, and hopefully have a close relationship1176as we go forward.1177    With that, the committee is closed.1178    [Whereupon, at 10:55 a.m., Tuesday, April 29, the1179subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of1180the Chair.]11811182                  LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR1183                              FISCAL YEAR 202611841185                              ----------11861187                          TUESDAY, MAY 6, 202511881189                                       U.S. Senate,1190           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,1191                                                    Washington, DC.11921193    The subcommittee met at 10:04 a.m., in room SD-138, Dirksen1194Senate Office Building, Hon. Markwayne Mullin (Chairman),1195presiding.1196    Present: Senators Mullin, and Heinrich.11971198                      U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND11991200                        ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL12011202             OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARKWAYNE MULLIN12031204    Senator Mullin. The committee will come to order. I want to1205thank everybody for being here. I would like to let everybody1206know that, you know, obviously this is our second of our fiscal1207year 2026 budget Hearing for the Legislative Branch1208Appropriations Subcommittee.1209    Today we will have Dr. Hayden, the Library of Congress; and1210Mr. Austin, the Architect of the Capitol. I appreciate the1211willingness of the witnesses to appear before the subcommittee1212today, and I look forward to their testimony.1213    Before we turn to the specifics of our budget request, I1214want to comment on the overall outlook for the fiscal year of12152026. We are looking at a significant decrease in discretionary1216spending across the Federal Government, and we must do our part1217to make responsible decisions in the bill on how we allocate1218our limited funds.1219    Now, we begin this year's appropriations process not1220knowing what kind of increase, if any, we will be able to1221accommodate, which makes it even more important that we fully1222understand your agency's greatest needs and how these requests1223position you to continue to provide support for Congress.1224    This year, the total budget request for the Library of1225Congress is $946.2 million, which includes an offset of1226collections and an appropriation of $9 million and $100.31227million. This represents the increase of $48.4 million, or a12285.4 increase above the enacted level. I support the funding--I1229understand the funding would support continued investments in1230IT modernization, including improvements to Congress.gov and1231other Library websites and applications, and additional1232investments in the Library's digital capacity and1233accessibility.1234    The Architect of the Capitol request for fiscal year 20261235is over $1.3 billion, an increase of $506.3 million, or a 611236percent increase above the level provided for the full-year CR.1237This significant increase is primarily for project requests,1238which reflects the fact that important infrastructure projects1239have been delayed or phase-funded. I would like to hear the1240impact of delaying some of this work year after year in terms1241of increasing deterioration of these historic buildings and the1242growing cost and risk to operate them.1243    And thank you again to the witnesses for being here today,1244I look forward to a productive discussion and understanding1245your agency's priorities for this year.1246    Now, I would like to turn it over to our Ranking Member,1247Senator Heinrich, for any remarks you would like to make.12481249              OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH12501251    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman. I look forward to1252hearing from today's witnesses as we continue our work to1253prepare a fiscally responsible bill that meets the needs of the1254Legislative Branch as a separate but equal branch of1255Government.1256    Thank you to the witnesses providing testimony today, and1257to the folks at your agencies who work every day to facilitate1258the Congress' work.1259    Mr. Austin, the Architect of the Capitol, plays an1260important role in keeping the Capitol Complex fully functional.1261As the newly appointed Architect, you are the caretaker of the1262building that embodies our democracy, and it is because of the1263dedication of you and your staff that Congress can perform its1264work effectively, and that millions of people each year can1265access and experience the seat of American Government.1266    This year the AOC is requesting $1.3 billion to carry out1267its mission, a $506 million increase over the fiscal year 20251268enacted level. Now, I understand that this increase addresses1269both salaries and infrastructure requirements. I also1270understand that you are finalizing a Capitol Complex Master1271Plan that will help inform project priorities for the AOC for1272the next several years. And I look forward to your testimony1273about the status of the Master Plan and the resources your team1274needs to do its job.1275    Dr. Hayden, you bring both a deep commitment to public1276access and a modern vision for preserving and sharing knowledge1277of the Library of Congress. You have requested $900 million to1278support Library operations, the Congressional Research Service,1279the Copyright Office, and the National Library Services for the1280Blind and Print Disabled.1281    While your request is a $49 million increase over the1282fiscal year 2025 enacted level, I understand that the Trump1283administration recently froze funding for library service1284programs and that this freeze may have indirect impacts on your1285programs. So I look forward to hearing about how this impacts1286your work and about the resources that you need for your1287programming in the coming year. I would also like to hear about1288the Library's ongoing Visitor Experience Project and your work1289with the Architect on this effort.1290    Again, thank you to both of our witnesses for being here1291today. And thank you, Chairman, for the time.1292    Senator Mullin. Thank you. And with that, we will let our1293witnesses have a five-minute opening.1294    We will start with Ms. Hayden, if you want to start.1295                                ------12961297                        U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS12981299STATEMENT OF HON. CARLA HAYDEN, LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS1300    Dr. Hayden. Thank you, Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member1301Heinrich. And this is an opportunity to provide testimony in1302support of the Library's fiscal 2026 budget request.1303    The mission of the Library is to engage, inspire, and1304inform the Congress and the American people with a universal1305and enduring source of knowledge and creativity. Above all, the1306Library exists to serve. Service to Congress remains the1307foundation for the Library's mission every day with analysis,1308policy consultations, briefings, programs, and constituent1309engagement.1310    I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the1311ongoing and extraordinary support that this Committee and1312Congress give to the Library. I especially appreciate the1313funding you have provided for major information technology1314(IT), investments that we are implementing and continuously1315improving to meet user expectations for greater access and new1316and enhanced tools.1317    Also, special thanks for your continued support for the1318Library's Visitor Experience Initiative. The Library's1319Treasures Gallery opened to the public in June of 2024, and we1320are excited to open the Library's new education center, The1321Source, by the end of 2025, in time for the Nation's America1322250 Celebrations. And I am pleased to report that construction1323and fabrication for the Orientation Gallery, the third element,1324is now underway too.1325    Staff are the heart of the Library of Congress, bringing1326unparalleled knowledge, expertise, and experience to bear for1327the benefit of Congress and the American people, while1328modernization and automation have allowed us to expand1329productivity in some areas and to do more with less, it is1330worth noting that the Library's staffing level has remained1331largely unchanged since fiscal 2015, and indeed, the Library's1332permanent workforce steadily declined from over 5,000 employees1333in the early 1990s to its current level of approximately 3,300.1334It is critical that this relatively low staff level be1335adequately supported.1336    The Library's fiscal 2026 appropriations request does1337include $30.9 million in mandatory pay and price level1338increases. And as a result of the Continuing Resolution, the1339Library has had to absorb the cost of mandatory pay and high1340inflationary price level increases in fiscal 2025.1341    The need to absorb these expenses threatens our ability to1342execute the Library's full range of programs and services. As a1343result, the Library has three modest programmatic requests for1344fiscal 2026 that, if funded, would provide the resources we1345need to develop strategic initiatives that deliver greater1346access and enhanced services, strengthen our capacity, and1347still foster innovation.1348    These requests would also help us to keep pace with digital1349advancements and continue to deliver exceptional service to1350Congress and the American people.1351    These requests are: Preservation object storage upgrade,1352web application delivery and management improvements,1353continuous development of the Enterprise Copyright System, ECS.1354The Library is also resubmitting three requests that were not1355funded in fiscal 2025. These would support CRS's data and1356analytics capacity, digital collections processing capacity,1357and digital accessibility. We also revised these resubmissions1358to reduce overall funding and eliminate permanent staff hires1359where possible.1360    So we thank you again for supporting the Library, Congress,1361and for your consideration of the Library's 2026 budget1362request. The staff of the Library of Congress, many of whom are1363here today, remain dedicated to our number one mission of1364service to the Members and staff of the U.S. Congress and the1365people it serves.13661367    [The statement follows:]1368     Prepared Statement of Carla Hayden, The Librarian of Congress1369Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the1370Subcommittee:13711372    Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of1373the Library's fiscal 2026 budget request.1374    The mission of the Library of Congress is to ``Engage, inspire and1375inform the Congress and the American people with a universal and1376enduring source of knowledge and creativity.'' Above all, the Library1377exists to serve. Service to the Congress remains the foundation for the1378Library's mission every day with analysis, policy consultations,1379briefings, programs and constituent engagement.1380    The Library's resources are authoritative, expansive, and1381evergreen. In a time of rapidly evolving technology in a fast-changing1382world, the Library of Congress stands as it has for over two hundred1383and twenty-five years (225) as the steward of the largest collection of1384information and resources ever assembled--not as a memorial but as a1385living source of knowledge and creativity for Congress and the1386betterment of the nation. The Library meets its responsibility to1387collect, preserve and share these treasures every day by constantly1388renewing the collections and the services it provides to the Congress1389and the American people. With congressional support, the Library is1390extensively modernizing and optimizing its systems, processes, and1391staff. Throughout, the Library never stops its drive to engage, inspire1392and inform, increasingly through digital means.1393    I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the ongoing and1394extraordinary support that this committee and the Congress gives to the1395Library. I especially appreciate the funding you have provided for1396major Information Technology (IT) investments that we are implementing1397and continuously improving to meet user expectations for greater access1398and new and enhanced tools.1399    These investments include the Copyright Office's Enterprise1400Copyright System (ECS); CRS's IT Modernization; the National Library1401Service's Braille and Audio Reading Download service (BARD) and next1402generation devices; the Library Collections Access Platform (LCAP);1403Congress.gov; and the Library's core IT infrastructure and IT security.1404Across the Library there's been great progress in modernization and1405information technology security, but we are not yet finished. Pulling1406back now will jeopardize our efforts, and we must maintain this1407momentum and continue building upon these investments to leverage their1408true potential for all Americans.1409    I would also like to give special thanks for your continued support1410of the Library's Visitor Experience initiative. The Library's Treasures1411Gallery opened to the public in June 2024, and we are excited to open1412the Library's new education center--The Source--by the end of 2025, in1413time for the Nation's Semiquincentennial celebrations. I am pleased to1414report that construction and fabrication for the Orientation Gallery is1415now underway, too.1416    I come before you today to discuss the Library's fiscal 20261417appropriations request of $946.2 million, which represents a 5.41418percent increase over the Library's current funding, which has been set1419at fiscal 2024 appropriation levels as we operate under a continuing1420resolution (CR). Given current economic conditions, we have revised1421programmatic increases and minimized out-year costs, deferring all but1422the most time-critical requests.1423    The Library's fiscal 2026 appropriations request aligns with the1424strategic goals set forth in our fiscal 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, A1425Library for All--expand access, enhance services, strengthen capacity,1426and foster innovation. It affirms the Library's user-centered mission1427of service. It builds on multiyear strategic efforts to rebuild the1428Library's information technology foundation and to optimize advanced IT1429systems and business processes, while at the same time enhancing access1430and customer service. And it invests in the future, ensuring that the1431Library can safeguard and support its collections, services, and1432workforce in person and online.1433    Staff are the heart of the Library of Congress. Our employees1434represent the apex of their professions, bringing unparalleled1435knowledge, expertise, and experience to bear for the benefit of1436Congress and the American people.1437    We are providing more programs and services than ever before, and1438while modernization and automation have allowed us to expand1439productivity in some areas and to do more with less, it is worth noting1440that the Library's staffing level has remained largely unchanged since1441fiscal 2015. Indeed, the Library's permanent workforce steadily1442declined from over 5,000 employees in the early 1990s to its current1443level of approximately 3,300. It is critical that this relatively low1444staff level be adequately supported.1445    With that said, the Library's fiscal 2026 appropriations request1446does include $30.9 million in mandatory pay and price-level increases.1447As a result of the continuing resolution, the Library has had to absorb1448the cost of mandatory pay and high inflationary price-level increases1449in fiscal 2025. The need to absorb these expenses threatens our ability1450to execute the Library's full range of programs and services. It also1451has an outsized negative impact on the Library of Congress, Salaries &1452Expenses appropriation, which funds centralized support services across1453the entire agency.1454    The Library has three new programmatic requests for fiscal 20261455that, if funded, would provide the resources we need to develop1456strategic initiatives that deliver greater access and enhanced1457services, strengthen our capacity, and foster innovation. These1458requests would also help us to keep pace with digital advancements and1459deliver exceptional service to the Congress and the American people.1460                  preservation object storage upgrade1461    The Library is requesting $5.4 million to replace and upgrade the1462decades-old digital preservation system at the Library's on-premises1463sites with Object Storage technology to achieve compatibility with1464cloud-native technologies and storage.1465    The Library is responsible for preserving and securing the world's1466largest collection of knowledge. To meet this responsibility with1467digital collections and data, the Library's Office of the Chief1468Information Officer (OCIO) has established specific strategies for1469preservation data (preserved for future generations) and presentation1470data (available on Library web sites). Both strategies require multiple1471copies of data stored securely on-premises and in the cloud.1472    The Library currently maintains two digital preservation tape1473libraries that are now over twenty years old. The requested funding1474will allow OCIO to replace and upgrade this decades-old digital1475preservation system with the industry standard Object Storage format,1476which is required to support the applications developed by the Library1477within the cloud including: the digital collections platform; NLS's1478Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) application; the Enterprise1479Copyright System (ECS), and the Audio-Visual Content Management System1480(AVCMS). Each of these cloud-native applications depends on access to1481Library data to deliver content and provide important services to the1482public.1483    This upgrade will establish parity between the Library's on-1484premises and cloud storage environments and best support current and1485future cloud-native technologies.1486          web application delivery and management improvements1487    The Library is requesting $2.5 million annually to better serve the1488millions of users who access the Library's data, collections, and1489services through its primary public websites by transitioning web1490development activities and hosting to the cloud. In fiscal year 2024,1491nearly 120 million people viewed more than a half a billion pages of1492websites managed by the Library.1493    In recent years, however, keeping up with the sites' higher usage1494and the fast-growing scope and scale of the sites' content has led to1495challenges maintaining a high level of scalability, reliability, and1496performance.1497    The technical and financial limitations of physical data centers1498leave us unable to provide needed capacity during periods of high1499demand from individual users and impact a growing number of data1500partners and research institutions using bulk-data services such as1501Application Program Interfaces (APIs).1502    This request will enable OCIO to update the Congress.gov, loc.gov,1503and copyright.gov websites and applications to utilize elastic1504technology available from commercial cloud providers. Elastic1505technology is a cloud feature that allows for the quick adjustment of1506resources like memory, storage, and processing power based on demand.1507This allows users to scale resources up or down to meet changing1508demands, without having concerns about capacity planning or peak usage.1509    This request invests in upgrading how the Library makes content and1510service available to the Congress and the American people and supports1511the access of collections in connection with the Preservation Object1512Storage Upgrade request.1513    continuous development of the enterprise copyright system (ecs)1514    The Library is requesting an appropriation of $6.8 million for the1515U.S. Copyright Office for 3 years to accelerate development and1516delivery of the Registration component of the Enterprise Copyright1517System (ECS), reducing the time to completion by approximately 2 years.1518    Recent stakeholder concerns, evolving technological demands, and1519congressional focus make it imperative to more quickly address the1520limitations of the existing online registration system, eCO, which has1521been used to support copyright registrations for over 15 years. There1522have been growing demands to accelerate the pace of IT development and1523delivery of the ECS Registration component to include the capabilities1524to support the entire registration process.1525    Registration acceleration will include all types of registration1526and methods of deposit (electronic and/or physical) presently available1527in eCO. Increasing resources devoted to registration will meet the1528demands of stakeholders for a new, enhanced and efficient registration1529system, allowing the Copyright Office to quickly sunset the legacy eCO1530system and other workflows that rely on legacy platforms.1531                       fiscal 2025 re-submissions1532    In keeping with the Library's strategic goals, the Library is re-1533submitting the following three requests that were not funded in fiscal15342025. Given current economic conditions, these requests have been1535revised to reduce overall funding and eliminate permanent staff hires1536where possible.1537    Digital Collections Processing Capacity and Infrastructure1538(Expanding Access) will enable the Library to invest in end-to-end1539modernization of IT infrastructure to support the centrality of digital1540collecting and to upskill staff capacity to process digital content and1541support the associated IT systems.1542    This request is essential as the Library increasingly moves toward1543digital as the preferred format for acquiring items for the collections1544that were born digital or converted from analog form.1545    Transitioning from an almost exclusively physical collections to1546increasingly digital collections is a multi-year undertaking. Existing1547digital systems that support most digital collections were developed1548iteratively more than a decade ago and are in need of investment to1549better standardize, integrate, and modernize to accommodate the scale1550of digital collections growth. These resources allow the Library to1551manage the actual digital collections ingest, processing, and access.1552    The request supports ongoing work to digitize and manage materials1553from the collections, and the continued growth of acquisitions in1554digital format. To achieve this, the request will provide resources1555critical to upgrading and improving the IT systems, workflows, and1556processes necessary to support ongoing work to digitize and manage1557digital materials from our collections, and to support the continued1558growth of acquisitions in digital format.1559    CRS: Expanding Data Analytics Capacity (Strengthening Capacity &1560Fostering Innovation) will enable the Congressional Research Service1561(CRS) to expand capabilities in quantitative data analysis and policy1562simulation capacity. It will expand CRS' ability to perform1563quantitative analysis of both research and operational ``big data'' for1564congressional clients, establishing a base process and increased1565capacity for in-depth data analysis. In alignment with Congressional1566Members and Committees expressed interest, CRS is investigating how1567artificial intelligence (AI) technologies could enhance its work for1568the Congress.1569    CRS is working to make information more readily discoverable and1570accessible. It is also working to make finding reports and experts1571easier on CRS.gov and exploring AI and machine learning for analyzing1572legislative bills and text to expedite summaries and searches. CRS1573divisions are developing interactive tools for Members, so that Members1574can determine more easily and immediately how multiple policy1575approaches might impact specific constituencies.1576    Ensuring Access through a Digital Accessibility Program (Expanding1577Access) will enable the Library to fully meet its mission in the1578information age. The Library's digital products, materials, and1579services must be accessible to all, including veterans and those with1580disabilities. Direct patron and staff feedback, along with preliminary1581expert assessments, point to a large gap between the Library's1582products, materials, and services and Federal/international1583accessibility standards.1584    Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the1585Subcommittee, thank you again for supporting the Library of Congress1586and for your consideration of our fiscal 2026 budget request. The staff1587of the Library of Congress remain dedicated to our number one mission1588of service to the members and staff of the U.S. Congress.1589  Prepared Statement of Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and1590                    Director, U.S. Copyright Office1591Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the1592Subcommittee:15931594    Thank you for the opportunity to submit the U.S. Copyright Office's1595fiscal 2026 budget request. The Copyright Office is charged with1596overseeing the national copyright registration and recordation systems,1597advising Congress on copyright policy and legislation, working with the1598Department of Justice and other Federal agencies on copyright1599litigation and international matters, conducting targeted regulatory1600activity, administering certain statutory licenses, and educating the1601public about copyright.\1\ With approximately 470 full time staff and a1602modest budget, we have provided these valuable services for over 1251603years since Congress recognized the Office as a separate organization1604in the Library.1605    Processing times for our core services of registration and1606recordation stand at historic lows. We continue to make significant1607progress on IT modernization of our new Enterprise Copyright System1608(ECS), with three of the four components already in production and used1609by the public and our staff. We are nearing the three-year anniversary1610of the new small claims tribunal created by Congress. We are actively1611engaged in administrative oversight of the designation of the entities1612established by the Music Modernization Act (MMA). In the past year, we1613completed the ninth triennial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)1614Section 1201 rulemaking and issued two reports on artificial1615intelligence and copyright. We have expanded our public outreach1616through educational events and other programs for a variety of1617audiences.1618                 key accomplishments over the past year1619    Administration of the Copyright Act.--The Office is charged with1620administering the Copyright Act, which involves providing several core1621services to the public. Much of this work is involved in our ongoing IT1622modernization initiative, discussed further below.1623    Registration.--In fiscal 2024, we registered 424,155 copyright1624claims involving millions of works. Over the past 3 years, we have1625markedly improved registration processing times: the average time for1626examining all copyright claims stands at 2.1 months for the first half1627of fiscal 2025. For fully electronic claims that do not require1628correspondence, the average is just 1.5 months.\2\ Electronic1629applications with physical deposits without correspondence average 2.71630months, while paper applications have remained at an average of 3.81631months for claims without correspondence. Approximately 99% of all1632applications are now submitted electronically through our electronic1633Copyright Office (eCO) portal, which we are in the process of replacing1634as part of our modernization.1635    Recordation.--In fiscal 2024, the Office recorded 16,971 documents1636containing titles of 1,738,530 works.\3\ Our online Section 2051637recordation pilot, launched in April 2020, has significantly shortened1638processing times, with the average time from submission to generation1639of the public record now measured in weeks rather than months. On1640August 1, 2022, we opened the pilot to all members of the public and1641have seen an increase in users; nearly 90% of all recordations now come1642in electronically.\4\1643    Public Records.--The Office is the custodian of records related to1644registration and recordation, many going back more than a hundred1645years, which we are working to make available online. In fiscal 2024,1646we continued development of the new Copyright Public Records System1647(CPRS) (which includes both recordation and registration records). To1648date, 3.6 million physical records have been made available in CPRS.1649    Licensing.--The Office maintained our effective stewardship of $1.61650billion in statutory licensing funds as of the end of fiscal 2024.\5\1651For the seventh consecutive year, we received an unmodified or1652``clean'' audit opinion of the fiscal 2023 statutory licensing1653fiduciary asset financial statements.1654    Additional Major Activities.--The Copyright Office is engaged in1655other significant activities, such as implementing legislation, issuing1656rulemakings, and conducting economic research and public outreach.1657    Copyright Claims Board (CCB).--This June, the CCB will complete 31658years of operations. As of the end of March 2025, 1,222 claims had been1659filed, and the CCB had issued 35 final determinations. CCB officers1660have successfully facilitated 94 agreements by holding settlement1661conferences. Staff have participated in scores of public events to1662promote the CCB's use and have reached nationwide audiences in-person1663and virtually.\6\ Claims have come from forty-eight states, D.C. and1664Puerto Rico, and forty other countries. As required by the Copyright1665Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020, the Office1666has begun a review of the CCB's operations to be completed in February16672026.1668    DMCA Section 1201 and the Music Modernization Act (MMA).--Over the1669past few years, the Office has conducted numerous rulemakings.\7\ For1670example, in October 2024, we completed the ninth triennial proceeding1671under section 1201 of Title 17 regarding temporary exemptions to1672section 1201's prohibition against the circumvention of technological1673measures that control access to copyrighted works. Under the MMA, the1674Office maintains an oversight role as directed by the statute and1675engages in education and outreach activities. In January 2024, we1676issued a notice of inquiry seeking public comments regarding the1677periodic review of our designations of the mechanical licensing1678collective (MLC) and digital licensee coordinator (DLC).1679    Additional Regulatory Work.--The Office's additional regulatory1680work includes a rulemaking to provide a group registration for1681frequently updated news websites. Last September, we issued1682clarifications to regulations involving termination rights and the1683MMA's blanket license. We have several rulemakings underway, including1684a proposed group registration option for two-dimensional artwork and an1685update to our existing regulation regarding the selection of electronic1686deposits of published works for addition to the collections of the1687Library of Congress.1688    Initiative on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence.--The Copyright1689Office also provides impartial advice and expertise to Congress, the1690courts, and government agencies, and information to the public. For1691example, the Office has been active in taking forward a comprehensive1692initiative to examine the copyright law and policy issues raised by1693generative AI. We issued initial registration guidance for applicants1694in March 2023. In 2024, we reviewed the 10,000 comments received in1695response to a public notice of inquiry. We are issuing our Report in1696several parts, with Part 1: Digital Replicas published on July 31,16972024, and Part 2: Copyrightability on January 29, 2025. The next Part1698will address the legal implications of training AI models on1699copyrighted works, including licensing considerations.\8\ This year, we1700plan to update the March 2023 Registration Guidance and initiate a1701request for public comments on relevant revisions to the Compendium of1702U.S. Copyright Office Practices. The Office recognizes that Congress1703continues to consider multiple important issues related to AI, and we1704are available to provide technical assistance.1705    Working with Other Agencies.--The Office regularly provides legal1706advice and assistance across the government regarding complex areas of1707copyright law and policy. We participate in Supreme Court and appellate1708litigation with the Department of Justice and engage in interagency1709collaboration and consultation on international matters and trade that1710impact copyright.1711    Economic Work.--The Office's first Chief Economist has released1712several economic reports, including two in the past year, with1713additional research projects underway.\9\ The economic team also has1714worked to provide easy public access to decades of copyright1715registration and recordation data in bulk format.1716    Public Outreach and Education.--The Office engages in numerous1717outreach activities to provide information on copyright law and to1718raise awareness of the CCB and other Office resources and programs. In1719fiscal 2024, we hosted or participated in 209 public events and1720speaking engagements, continuing an upward trend. We engaged with many1721audiences, from stakeholders to lawyers to academics, including well-1722attended public webinars for users of our systems to gather feedback.1723Our Public Information Office and our new reading room provide in-1724person services by appointment.1725            continuous development of information technology1726    The modernization of the Office's information technology (IT)1727continues to be a top priority as well as a strategic goal. We are,1728however, facing an uncertain fiscal environment as we plan for fiscal17292026, which may impact the timeline for this work. The Office is1730committed to making regular updates and improvements to avoid repeating1731the experience of having to overhaul severely outdated legacy1732systems.\10\ Our Enterprise Copyright System development includes four1733main components (registration, recordation, public records, and1734licensing). We also collaborate with OCIO on other business priorities1735enabled by technology, such as improving online access to historical1736public records and the operation of our new Contact Center.1737    Recordation.--Our online recordation system was the first ECS1738component to be released to the public, enabling recordation of1739documents under section 205 of Title 17. In August 2022, full access1740was provided to all members of the public. We are now incorporating1741user feedback to make iterative improvements and to build new1742functionality for processing notices of termination.1743    Copyright Public Records System (CPRS).--The second ECS component1744to be publicly released was a pilot for the new CPRS, which provides1745access to registration and recordation data with advanced search1746capabilities, filters, and improved interfaces. The CPRS has expanded1747online access and research options by adding 3,676,970 card catalog1748records. It will become the Office's sole source of authoritative1749online copyright information by summer 2025.1750    Licensing.--The Office completed the development and design of the1751licensing component and initial automated workflows to replace outdated1752systems and processes. We implemented the statement of account1753examination processes in ECS and transitioned royalty accounting1754processes onto the Library's Financial System to streamline and enhance1755operations. On March 13, 2025, we activated this component into1756production.1757    Registration.--Registration is the largest and most complex of the1758Office's services and the focus of the greatest public attention. In1759response to strong demand from stakeholders, the current focus of ECS1760development is on accelerating the replacement of the existing online1761system, which is almost 20 years old. We have expanded the staff1762working on ECS Registration to comprise three teams: one dedicated to1763the external (public facing) component, one to the internal (staff)1764component, and one to electronic deposit (eDeposit) development (which1765will provide enhanced upload and rendering capabilities to support the1766submission of large numbers of files in one group application, such as1767photographs, and very large files, such as feature-length motion1768pictures and television episodes).1769    In late 2024, we initiated a limited pilot of both the eDeposit1770upload functionality and the new interface and functionality of the1771most commonly used registration form, the Standard Application1772(currently representing approximately 72% of all claims). During1773January and February 2025, we conducted 50 in-depth pilot test sessions1774with 57 participants representing individual and organizational users.1775The reaction has been uniformly positive, with comments noting that the1776difference between our current eCO system and the proposed model is1777``like night and day.'' This feedback will inform future development1778steps and functionalities.1779    Historical Public Records.--As part of the Office's commitment to1780the preservation of and access to historical records, we are digitizing1781print and microfilm records and making them available online.\11\ This1782includes the old card catalog, the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCEs),1783microfilm, and the internal record books.\12\ Digitization is the first1784step, to be followed by metadata capture to enhance searchability, with1785all records eventually available through the new CPRS. Great progress1786has been made to digitize and make available the Office's record books:1787the first 500 were published on the Library's website in February 2022,1788\13\ and now 16,874 record books--well over half of the 26,142 total--1789are available online.1790    New Contact Center.--The Office's modernization of customer contact1791routing and reporting recently achieved a major milestone. Working with1792the GSA Centers of Excellence, we implemented a best-in-class customer1793relationship management (CRM) solution. This CRM enhances the public's1794experience, enables robust data analytics, and provides centralized1795knowledge management capabilities to track and route customers' calls1796and emails more effectively.1797    Copyright Public Modernization Committee.--In January 2021, the1798Librarian of Congress appointed a Copyright Public Modernization1799Committee (CPMC) to enhance communication with external stakeholders1800about the technology-related aspects of the ECS. The CPMC was1801originally established for a three-year term, with thirteen members1802from a range of interested sectors; it held public online meetings1803twice a year with hundreds of virtual attendees, as well as several1804informal briefings.\14\ Last year, the Librarian reauthorized the CPMC1805for another three-year term, and a new set of thirteen members were1806selected (including some returning members).\15\ The first public1807meeting of the new CPMC was held online on October 10, 2024, and the1808most recent one was held on April 3, 2025.1809          funding and update to the fiscal 2026 budget request1810    The Copyright Office performs all of its work on a modest budget,1811composed of three separate budgets allocated by program areas:18121813  (1)  Basic Budget.--This funds most of the Office's operations and1814        initiatives, including the majority of payroll and related1815        expenses and the operations of the CCB. Historically, the Basic1816        Budget has been composed of a combination of appropriated1817        dollars and offsetting fee collection authority, with fees1818        constituting less than one half of the total.1819  (2)  Licensing Division Budget.--This is derived entirely from1820        collections of licensing royalties payable to copyright owners1821        and filing fees paid by cable and satellite licensees pursuant1822        to statutory licenses administered by the Office.1823  (3)  Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ) Budget.--Although the CRJ program1824        is not part of the Office, we provide it with budget, financial1825        management, and administrative support on behalf of the1826        Library. CRJ appropriated funding supports payroll and1827        partially funds other expenses not supported by fees and1828        royalty payments.18291830    Request in Fiscal 2025.--For fiscal 2025, the Office requested an1831overall budget of $107 million in funding and 478 FTEs, of which $45.91832million would be funded through offsetting fees collected in fiscal18332023 and prior years. That budget request would have covered mandatory1834pay increases, price level increases, and nothing more. We did not1835request additional appropriations for IT development, as we are now1836completing the last year of prior Congressional funding. With the1837fiscal 2025 basic budget now final, the impact of a full year1838Continuing Resolution on the Office's programs amounted to an effective1839$4 million reduction.1840    Request for Fiscal 2026.--Given that work to modernize our IT1841systems and services is still underway and accelerating, further1842support through an increase in appropriated funds will be needed. In1843our fiscal 2025 budget statement, we previewed that both the Copyright1844Office and OCIO anticipated the need for greater financial resources1845for IT modernization in fiscal 2026.\16\ The request for additional1846funds in fiscal 2026 will support work on IT-related initiatives to1847meet user demands for ECS functionality and continuous development for1848components already in use by the public. Stakeholders have praised the1849work we have done so far on modernizing IT systems, and maintaining1850momentum is essential to deliver a timely ECS Registration component.1851To summarize, our fiscal 2026 requests are as follows:18521853  --Basic Budget.--$97.763 million and 445 FTEs, to include a net1854        $4.791 million for mandatory pay-related and price level1855        increases, a program decrease for non-recurring Searchable1856        Historic Records costs, and a program increase for Continuous1857        Development of the ECS. This budget comprises $37.025 million1858        in offsetting fee collections (40%) and $60.738 million (60%)1859        in appropriated dollars.1860  --Licensing Division Budget.--$6.712 million and 26 FTEs, all of1861        which are to be funded from collection of licensing royalties1862        payable to copyright owners and filing fees paid by cable and1863        satellite licenses pursuant to statutory licenses administered1864        by the Office. The net decrease includes a mandatory pay-1865        related and price level increases of $0.231 million and an1866        adjustment for the Copyright Royalty Judges.1867  --Copyright Royalty Judges Budget.--$3.801 million and 7 FTEs include1868        the mandatory pay-related and price level increase and a net1869        program increase of $0.608 million from Copyright Licensing. Of1870        this total, royalties and participation fees offset $1.1121871        million (for non-personnel-related expenses). The remainder,1872        $2.689 million in appropriated dollars, is to cover the1873        personnel and other related expenses of the three judges and1874        their staff.18751876    For fiscal 2026, the Office is requesting an appropriation increase1877of $6.8 million each year for the next 3 years to accelerate1878development and delivery to the public of the Registration component of1879ECS. These funds will allow the Office to increase IT development team1880capacity and meet sharply rising costs within the industry. In fiscal18812029, $4.1 million will non-recur, leaving base funding of $2.7 million1882for ongoing continuous development.1883    Drawing on the feedback from the limited pilot described above, the1884Copyright Office and OCIO plan to deliver the full ECS Registration1885component in fiscal 2028 and then transition to continuous development1886in fiscal 2029. Between now and then, planned steps include the1887following. In fiscal 2026, we will continue work on the Standard1888Application and the integration of the ECS Registration applicant-1889facing module, the examination module, the eDeposit uploader and1890examination renderer, and the message center. In fiscal 2027, we aim to1891complete the development of the group applications and digital1892registration certificates. In fiscal 2028, we will focus on integration1893with financial systems, including unified deposit accounts, and the1894workflow for physical deposits. Throughout, the Office will conduct1895user pilots to validate the system's evolving functionality.1896    Without the annual increase of funding over the next 3 years as1897proposed in our fiscal 2026 request, our plans to accelerate the ECS1898Registration system are at risk. That risk will likely escalate over1899time, as funds will have to be used to operate and maintain existing1900systems that are already beyond their useful life. The delivery1901timeline will significantly increase for the fully operational1902registration system demanded by stakeholders with the required1903components, workflows, and integrations. Looking ahead, after ECS1904Registration is made available to the public, the Copyright Office1905anticipates submitting a fiscal 2029 request to fund the necessary1906integration with other copyright functions (such as APIs, service1907request processing, content management capabilities, and a warehouse1908and records management system for copyright records and deposits that1909are submitted as part of registration).1910    In conclusion, the Copyright Office appreciates the Subcommittee's1911and Committee's continued support of our work to benefit the users of1912our services and the public, and to further our Constitutional mission1913of ``promot[ing] the progress of science and useful arts.'' \17\1914---------------------------------------------------------------------------1915    \1\ 17 U.S.C. Sec. 701 (general responsibilities and organization),1916Sec. 702 (authority to establish regulations).1917    \2\ Registration processing times are posted on our website at1918https://copyright.gov/registration/docs/processing-times-faqs.pdf. For1919the October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 timeframe, 87% of all1920registration claims were eService claims (online claims and electronic1921deposits); 12% were deposit ticket claims (online claims with1922separately mailed physical deposit materials); and about 1% were mail1923claims (paper claim forms and physical deposits).1924    \3\ There are three primary types of documents that may be1925submitted for recordation: transfers of copyright ownership, other1926documents pertaining to a copyright, and notices of termination. The1927pilot and newly released system are currently focused on the first1928category (section 205 documents).1929    \4\ Recordation processing times are posted on our website at1930https://copyright.gov/1931recordation/. Regardless of the processing time, the effective date of1932recordation is the date the Copyright Office receives the complete1933submission in acceptable form.1934    \5\ The Licensing Section is responsible for helping to administer1935the Copyright Act's various statutory licenses, including secondary1936transmissions of radio and television programs by cable and satellite1937systems; and from digital audio recording devices or media. The1938Licensing Section collects and distributes royalties to copyright1939holders based on orders from the Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ), a1940three-judge board which is part of the Library of Congress, not located1941in the Copyright Office.1942    \6\ For more details on the work of the CCB, see Nora Scheland,1943``How the Copyright Claims Board Can Lighten the Federal Court1944Docket,'' Blog: Creativity At Work (Dec. 20, 2024), at https://1945blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2024/12/how-the-copyright-claims-board-can-1946lighten-the-Federal-court-docket/.1947    \7\ U.S. Copyright Office, Rulemakings webpage, https://1948copyright.gov/rulemaking.1949    \8\ For more information on our AI initiative, visit1950www.copyright.gov/ai.1951    \9\ U.S. Copyright Office, Economic Research webpage, at https://1952copyright.gov/economic-1953research/, which also points to the reports, The Geography of Copyright1954Registrations (September 2024), The Resilience of Creativity: An1955Examination of the COVID-19 Impact on Copyright-Reliant Industries and1956Their Subsequent Recovery (May 2024). In 2024, our team also convened a1957group of academic scholars to discuss economic issues related to1958copyright and AI and published a document summarizing a structured1959framework for evaluating relevant economic evidence. See Lutes, Brent1960A. ed., Identifying the Economic Implications of Artificial1961Intelligence for Copyright Policy: Context and Direction for Economic1962Research, U.S. Copyright Office (Feb. 2025).1963    \10\ Under the Library of Congress's centralized IT structure, the1964Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) is leading work on user1965experience design and platform services--that is, the design and1966architecture capabilities underpinning the ECS. Years ago, the Library1967transitioned to an agile IT development model that emphasizes1968continuous development as well as rapid delivery of new functions and1969features that optimize the stakeholder experience. We have seen the1970benefits of this model for meeting evolving changes in technology,1971providing secure and interconnected systems, and managing contract cost1972increases.1973    \11\ For details on our Historical Public Records program, visit1974https://www.copyright.gov/1975historic-records/.1976    \12\ The Office already digitized and made available online our1977physical card catalog, which is available in the Virtual Card Catalog1978(VCC), as well as the CCEs. See https://copyright.gov/1979vcc/.1980    \13\ See U.S. Copyright Office, NewsNet 947, Copyright Office1981Launches Digitized Copyright Historical Record Books Collection (Feb.19827, 2022), https://www.copyright.gov/newsnet/2022/947.html. The scans1983are posted at https://www.loc.gov/collections/copyright-historical-1984record-books-1870-to-1977/about-this-collection/.1985    \14\ Video and related material from CPMC public meetings can be1986found on the U.S. Copyright Office webpage at https://1987www.copyright.gov/copyright-modernization/#modernization-committee.1988    \15\ Library of Congress, Library of Congress Announces New Members1989of Copyright Public Modernization Committee, Sept. 24, 2024, at https:/1990/newsroom.loc.gov/news/library-of-congress-announces-new-members-of-1991copyright-public-modernization-committee/s/2d289494-93b4-4404-98a1-1992452cb791571d.1993    \16\ Statement of Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter Before1994the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch of the Committee on1995Appropriations of the U.S. Senate, May 15, 2024, at page 6, at https://1996www.copyright.gov/laws/hearings/USCO-Senate-FY25-Appropriations-1997Testimony-May-16-2024.pdf. Recall that the initial financial support1998for our modernization initiative, funded for 5 years as part of the1999fiscal 2019 budget, ended in fiscal 2023. The other segment of2000authorized Historical Public Records funding from fiscal 2019 was2001provided for 7 years and ends in fiscal 2025.2002    \17\ U.S. CONST. art. I, Sec. 8, cl. 8.2003---------------------------------------------------------------------------2004 Prepared Statement of Karen Donfried Director, Congressional Research2005                                Service2006Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the2007Subcommittee,20082009    Thank you for the opportunity to present the fiscal 2026 budget2010request on behalf of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). In2011addition to outlining CRS's budget requirements for the upcoming fiscal2012year, my testimony will provide a brief overview of CRS's work in2013support of Congress during fiscal 2024, and bring you up to date on the2014Service's progress with respect to several strategic initiatives.2015    I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my predecessor,2016Robert Newlen, whose steady leadership was instrumental in guiding the2017Service through a period of transition and moving forward the many2018important initiatives that CRS has underway.2019                 crs service to congress in fiscal 20242020    As in previous years, CRS provided support to virtually every2021Member and committee office in fiscal 2024. The Service provided2022research and analysis to Congress at every stage of the legislative2023process and across all public policy issues on its agenda. CRS experts2024handled over 75,000 congressional requests, published over 1,000 new2025products, and updated over 1,700 existing products. In addition, CRS2026bolstered its growing library of multimedia products, posting 146 new2027videos and podcasts to CRS.gov on a variety of topics including:2028Federal administrative law after the Supreme Court's Loper Bright2029decision; Federal standards and guidelines for voting systems; critical2030minerals for energy; U.S. trade policy and the role of Congress;2031expiring tax provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; Federal economic2032development programs; and tracking Federal programs and funding from2033the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act2034and the CHIPS and Science Act.2035    CRS hosted a variety of seminars and programs for Members and staff2036including series on financial services, disruptive technology, and2037immigration. In addition, CRS held its annual Issues and Policies2038seminar; the Legislative and Budget Process Institute; the twice-yearly2039scheduled Federal Law Update series; as well as several CRS Defense2040Institute sessions throughout the year. In total, the Service conducted2041350 programs that were attended by over 12,500 congressional2042participants in fiscal 2024.2043            fiscal 2026 budget request and program increase2044    CRS's budget request for fiscal 2026 is 144.568 million dollars, an2045increase of 8.488 million dollars (or 6.2 percent) over the amount2046appropriated in the Full Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions2047Act, 2025. The requested increase includes 5.013 million dollars for2048mandatory pay related and price level increases and a programmatic2049increase of 3.475 million dollars to support continued enhancement of2050CRS's data analytic and artificial intelligence capabilities. As in2051previous fiscal years, staff pay and benefits account for approximately205290 percent of CRS's budget request. Thus, operating2053    under the appropriated fiscal 2024 level in fiscal 2025 has led to2054significant cuts to research materials and training, as we preserve our2055most important asset, our people.2056    In addition to our budget request to enhance data analytic2057capabilities, CRS priorities for fiscal 2026 include exploring2058artificial intelligence applications, developing innovative products,2059improving Congress.gov, and modernizing CRS IT infrastructure.2060Underlying each of these initiatives will be CRS's focus on the2061delivery of timely, authoritative, nonpartisan, and objective products2062and services tailored to meet the needs of Congress for research and2063analysis.2064Strengthening Data Analysis Capabilities, Including an AI Component2065    CRS's requested program increase for fiscal 2026 includes2066approximately 3.5 million dollars to continue enhancement of the2067Service's capacity to perform quantitative data analysis and policy2068simulation, including the modeling of ``big data'' sets, for2069congressional clients. In recent years, CRS has observed an increasing2070demand from Members and committees to provide this type of analytical2071support. While CRS has conducted some limited quantitative analysis and2072policy simulation, it lacks the capacity to provide this service on a2073broader scale.2074    In the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated2075Appropriations Act, 2023, Congress encouraged CRS ``to explore ways to2076expand its ability to perform quantitative analysis of research2077data . . . .'' and directed the Service to ``engage with an external entity2078to produce a report detailing the feasibility of CRS engaging in the2079analysis and modeling of big data sets by highlighting the information2080technology infrastructure, staffing, and analytical support required to2081establish and maintain such a capability.'' In response to the2082direction provided in the Joint Statement, CRS contracted with a2083company in fiscal 2022, to conduct a study identifying the IT2084infrastructure, staffing, and analytical support required to establish2085and maintain a greater data analytics capability. In September 2023,2086CRS procured a vendor to pilot a small set of cloud based quantitative2087data models consistent with the recommendations in the study.2088Additional resources are required to continue supporting these and2089future data models in the cloud.2090    Enhancing its ability to perform quantitative data analysis would2091enable CRS to more precisely assess, and communicate to congressional2092requestors, the impact of legislative proposals on various demographic2093groups, as well as the interaction of such policies with other2094programs.2095    CRS would allocate 1.076 million dollars of the requested amount to2096contract two teams of data personnel (data scientists, programmers, and2097digital interface designers) in its research divisions, to develop and2098maintain data models and projects in a cloud-based environment. An2099additional 1.466 million dollars would be invested in the tools2100required to setup and maintain a secure cloud computing environment and2101the datasets necessary to expand CRS's data analytic capacity.2102    In addition, CRS would utilize 560,000 dollars to acquire modeling2103tools, AI software and associated user training resources. In the first2104instance, these AI tools or software would support data analysis, but2105CRS would look for these tools to be as flexible as possible to enable2106us to address a range of use cases and maximize the impact of our2107investment.2108    The remaining 373,000 dollars would be expended on training and2109contractual support for IT security services to support Security2110Assessment & Authorization (SA&A) efforts, to obtain/maintain system2111Authority-To-Operate (ATO), and to support system development and2112operations through designing, testing, and deploying cloud native2113software.2114                         strategic initiatives2115    As the requested program increase illustrates, CRS is continually2116exploring opportunities to enhance its products, services, and2117operational capabilities to meet the evolving needs of Congress. Of2118note recently, in April 2025, CRS implemented a realignment of several2119offices and sections that will optimize the use of resources and staff2120expertise. These changes, which are focused on the infrastructure side2121of CRS, will increase synergies throughout the Service, improve2122efficiency, and buttress CRS staff's many efforts to provide excellent2123products and services to Congress.2124    The following is a brief summary of CRS's progress with respect to2125other initiatives focused on achieving this important objective.2126Product Innovation: Interactive Graphics and Other Visually Based2127        Products2128    CRS continues to focus on the development of new, visually based2129products through the efforts of its Visualization and GIS Section. This2130past year, CRS has worked to streamline the production of interactive2131graphics within written products, address technical issues that arise,2132facilitate innovation in interactive displays, and expand interactive2133visual options. In addition, CRS has explored adaptation of content2134into interactive infographics within short reports, assessed additional2135chart options for creating interactive graphic formats, and worked2136closely with OCIO to ensure that CRS's IT infrastructure is more2137compatible with its interactive graphic needs.2138    As of April 2025, CRS's product line includes 72 infographics, 852139interactive graphics, and 1 interactive report. CRS is also piloting2140and has published a new interactive report product (also known as2141``storymap''), a next-generation platform that integrates interactive,2142multimedia, and visual elements to create a narrative. These innovative2143products represent CRS's focus on presenting its research, analysis,2144and information to Congress in new, accessible, and user-friendly2145formats.2146Recruitment and Retention of a Skilled and Productive Workforce2147    CRS continued its efforts to recruit, retain, and professionally2148develop a highly skilled and collaborative workforce. During fiscal21492024, the Service submitted postings for 62 merit selection positions2150and attended 10 recruiting events. Attendance at these events allowed2151CRS to engage with a variety of prospective candidates, increase2152awareness of CRS's brand, and highlight available employment and2153internship opportunities. These efforts were part of a broader multi-2154year recruiting campaign which has succeeded in returning CRS staffing2155to pre-pandemic levels.2156    CRS offered training opportunities for staff professional2157development, including to enhance leadership, writing, and presentation2158skills. Staff also attended sessions on technology topics, such as2159statistics and visualization in excel, R programming, data management,2160and a series of forums discussing various artificial intelligence2161applications. Further, CRS has encouraged staff engagement through a2162series of listening sessions.2163Exploring Artificial Intelligence Applications2164    CRS continues to evaluate the potential of AI technologies to2165enhance support for Congress consistent with the Service's mission and2166core values. CRS is actively engaging with AI developers, legislative2167and parliamentary research organizations, and national libraries to2168share information and identify additional AI technologies for potential2169CRS use cases.2170    Under the guidance of the CRS Artificial Intelligence Working Group2171(AIWG), CRS has tested and evaluated a number of AI tools and models2172for legal research and analysis, editing and writing assistance, and2173drafting CRS bill summaries. In the case of bill summaries, CRS, in2174collaboration with OCIO, tested multiple AI approaches using six2175different Large Language Models (LLMs). Unfortunately, these summaries2176failed to meet CRS standards for accuracy, coherence, relevance, and2177objectivity (less than 3% of 3000 summaries were acceptable). These2178results have identified some opportunities to explore the use of AI at2179different stages of the bill summary workflow (research, analysis, and2180writing and review).2181    Evaluation of AI tools for use in various parts of the CRS workflow2182involves assessing their relative utility in assisting CRS staff to2183provide timely support for Congress, while confirming adequate2184safeguards are present to ensure the authoritativeness and/or2185confidentiality of CRS's work product. Notably, as a product of ongoing2186efforts to evaluate AI tools and models, CRS has approved its first AI2187tool for use by CRS staff. The tool is a commercial subscription2188product that provides java script coding assistance to CRS Visual2189Information Specialists to assist them with the production of2190interactive graphics in CRS products.2191IT Modernization2192    CRS continues to work closely with the Library's Office of the2193Chief Information Officer (OCIO) to modernize its core IT systems and2194move toward full migration into the cloud-based M365 platform. In2195partnership with OCIO, the Service has implemented more than 1002196improvements to its congressional relationship management system2197(``Minerva'') since initial deployment in 2023; many suggested by CRS2198staff, as part of the continuous development approach implemented by2199OCIO. In addition, CRS continued the migration of its authoring and2200publishing and content management systems into the M365 environment.2201    In fiscal 2024, CRS accomplished the rollout of a new and improved2202Text Analysis Program (TAP 2.0) that uses Natural Language Processing2203to research, analyze, compare, and summarize bills and supports the2204``Related Bills'' feature on Congress.gov. In addition, CRS launched2205the newly redesigned CRS.gov website, which includes an enhanced2206taxonomy and a new search capability, one week ago, on April 28.2207Congress.gov2208    CRS continues active engagement with Senate, House, and GPO data2209partners in support of multiple initiatives to improve the2210interoperability of data sources aggregated by Congress.gov. Fiscal2211year 2024 marked an historic, behind-the-scenes accomplishment for2212authoritative information produced by our Senate and House data2213partners. Senate and House data partners collaborated with the Library2214to retire first generation, 30--40-year-old out-of-date data sources2215for Congress.gov. Modernizing behind-the- scenes workflows advances our2216legislative data partnerships in support of better tracking legislative2217information and Member contributions through Congress.gov.2218    CRS is deeply appreciative for our data partners' efforts to2219improve data quality by standardizing formats for legislative2220documents. The United States Legislative Markup, or USLM, is a2221legislative branch-wide standard that is integral to future editing and2222publishing interoperability within the legislative ecosystem. We look2223forward to integrating USLM into Congress.gov which will improve the2224user experience.2225    Continuous engagement with users, and continuous collaboration2226among specialized staff across all legislative branch data partners is2227key to our collective progress. During fiscal 2025, we continue to2228deliver user-focused enhancements, including the recent release of HTML2229for CRS products in Congress.gov and through the Congress.gov API2230(Application Programming Interface). We are also working with Secretary2231of the Senate colleagues to improve the Days in Session calendar and2232provide comprehensive full-text searching of Senate amendment texts2233dating back to previous years.2234    To date, researchers can access more than 3.5 million historical2235and contemporary items from Congress.gov. We remain committed to2236working with our data partners, including Secretary of the Senate and2237Sergeant at Arms partners, to continually improve accuracy, timeliness,2238and completeness of legislative information available from2239Congress.gov?the official website for U.S. Federal legislative2240information.2241(CONAN) Modernization2242    Known officially as the ``Constitution of the United States of2243America: Analysis and Interpretation,'' CONAN serves as the official2244record of the U.S. Constitution for Congress. In 2019, CRS collaborated2245with OCIO and the Law Library to introduce a website for CONAN:2246constitution.congress.gov. This site features hundreds of pages of2247updated constitutional analysis and content. During fiscal 2024, CRS's2248CONAN attorneys continued to provide comprehensive analysis of the2249Supreme Court's jurisprudence as it relates to every provision of the2250U.S. Constitution, including the implications of recently decided2251cases. To make CONAN more accessible to online users, content has been2252drafted and revised in the form of short, granular essays that focus on2253specific, discrete topics. CRS has also been preparing the printed2254pocket-part supplements to the decennial 2022 edition of CONAN. Since2255the launch of the public website in 2019, CONAN has received more than2256seventy million views and remains the most up-to-date source of2257constitutional analysis.2258    As part of the Library of Congress's Legislative and Appropriations2259Request to the 118th Congress, CRS requested elimination of the2260statutory requirement to publish CONAN and its supplements in hardbound2261copy. On March 8, 2024, Representative Bice introduced H.R.7592, a bill2262``To direct the Librarian of Congress to promote the more cost-2263effective, efficient, and expanded availability of the Annotated2264Constitution and pocket-part supplements by replacing the hardbound2265versions with digital versions.'' The bill was approved by the House on2266September 9, 2024 and referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and2267Administration on September 10th. In the 119th Congress, similar2268legislation, H.R. 1234, was introduced by Representative Bice on2269February 12, 2025 and referred to the Committee on House2270Administration; the bill was approved by the House on March 31, and, on2271April 1, was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and2272Administration.2273Outreach to Members and Committees2274    In fiscal 2024, CRS engaged in a variety of efforts to target its2275outreach to Senators and Senate Committee offices. The Service offered2276twice monthly introductory briefings to Senate staff, as well as a2277series of congressional programs to highlight the legislative research2278and analysis that CRS provides to all Members. CRS contacted Chiefs of2279Staff and State Directors to offer briefings on the products and2280services available to DC and state offices. In addition, CRS's research2281divisions engaged with the relevant committees of jurisdiction to2282inform Senate Committee staff of the products and expertise available2283to support their legislative and oversight activities. Interim Director2284Newlen also personally engaged Members of Congress at Library events2285and solicited direct feedback regarding CRS service, which I have2286continued in fiscal 2025.2287Knowledge Management2288    CRS continues to develop and implement strategies to capture,2289manage, preserve, and distribute institutional knowledge that it relies2290upon to provide exceptional service to Congress. Utilizing robust2291cloud-based environments that foster better knowledge sharing with2292colleagues, CRS staff leverage a unique collection of resources,2293leading to greater efficiencies in everyday work, as well as employee2294on- and offboarding. At the end of fiscal 2024, the Service maintained229554 research portal sites and collaborative online spaces that contained2296topical content curated by experts across disciplines. CRS fosters2297collaboration by sharing knowledge and best practices through monthly2298meetings for communities of practice, a quarterly Knowledge Cafe, and2299an annual Summer Series on emerging technologies. For fiscal 2024, the2300summer series focused on knowledge management fundamentals and featured2301speakers from across the Library of Congress. In fiscal 2025, the2302knowledge management team is facilitating the agency's effort to2303migrate its intranet and research portal sites to SharePoint online.2304                               conclusion2305    Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the2306Subcommittee, CRS is honored to serve as a trusted and reliable2307resource for Congress. The initiatives outlined above represent the2308Service's ongoing commitment to provide exceptional research, analysis,2309and information to meet the needs of every Member and committee. I look2310forward to the Committee's input on how CRS can improve its products2311and services and strengthen operational capabilities. On behalf of my2312colleagues at CRS, I would like to express my appreciation to the2313Committee for your continued support and your consideration of our2314fiscal 2026 request.23152316    Senator Mullin. Thank you, and thanks for yielding back2317extra time. We will be efficient with our time today.2318    Mr. Austin, you are recognized for five minutes.2319                                ------23202321                        ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL23222323STATEMENT OF MR. THOMAS E. AUSTIN, ARCHITECT OF THE2324            CAPITOL2325    Mr. Austin. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Mullin,2326Ranking Member Heinrich. I am honored to make my first2327appearance before you to represent the men and women of the2328Architect of the Capitol and discuss our budget request for2329fiscal year 2026.2330    I would like to thank the Members of your staff,2331particularly Molly McCarty and Richard Braddock, for their2332expertise and consistent professionalism.2333    I welcome this opportunity to share more about the agency's2334work in preserving the historic buildings and grounds that2335inspire our Nation while serving the 20,000 daily occupants and2336the three million annual visitors to the Capital Campus. In2337fact, I am happy to report that the Capitol Visitor Center just2338welcomed their 30-millionth visitor since it opened in 2008.2339    Before I go further, I would like to acknowledge and2340express my deepest gratitude to the 2,500 dedicated Architect2341of the Capitol employees for all of their hard work, which2342makes it possible for this agency to successfully carry out its2343mission to serve Congress and the Supreme Court, preserve2344America's Capitol, and inspire memorable experiences, all of2345which require around-the-clock care for the 18.5 million square2346feet of historic facilities, 570 acres of grounds, and2347thousands of works of art that make up our historic Campus.2348    As you know, I began my tenure in June of 2024. It is the2349greatest honor of my professional career to serve as the 13th2350Architect of the Capitol. Thank you for entrusting me to serve2351as a steward of the historic and vital buildings that make up2352the U.S. Capital Campus, ensuring their preservation,2353functionality, and safety for generations to come.2354    One of my top priorities is consistent communication with2355the Architect of the Capitol staff, which I believe is2356essential to building and maintaining faith and confidence in2357our agency's leadership. Whether discussing the particulars of2358everyday operations, or our broader visions for the future of2359the agency, I am equally committed to practicing clear and2360timely communication that ensures accountability and2361coordination with this Committee, Congress, and our internal2362entities.2363    For fiscal year 2026, the Architect of the Capitol is2364requesting a combined total of $1.3 billion. This request is2365focused on three key priorities: life safety, physical2366security, and the critical infrastructure needs of the Campus.2367Additionally, this budget request ensures adequate funding is2368available for the staffing levels necessary to oversee our2369planning and project management needs and to deliver quality2370services to Congress2371    Because our people are the heart and hands of this agency,2372over the past year, the AOC aggressively recruited to fill our2373existing staffing shortfalls, which resulted in a reduction of2374our overall vacancy rate from 11 percent to 8 percent. And our2375team has certainly been busy. Over the past year, the AOC has2376responded to 77,000 work orders for the Senate community, with2377a 96 percent on-time completion rate.2378    Across the entire Campus, a total of over 495,000 work2379orders were executed in fiscal year 2024. Across the agency, we2380dedicate time and attention to safety training, procedures, and2381operations. I am proud to report that our employee injury rate2382is significantly less than that of the private sector. We are2383equally committed to the safety and functionality of the Campus2384for all those who work here and visit.2385    This involves proactively addressing the entire range of2386safety challenges, big and small, everything from trimming tree2387limbs before they become a safety hazard, to ensuring the2388compliance of life and safety code, to long-range master2389planning for the future of this Campus. Security is also a key2390priority, with the support of this Committee and in2391coordination with U.S. Capitol Police, we have made significant2392progress over the past few years and will continue to improve2393the security posture across the Campus.2394    Another top priority for the agency is the critical2395infrastructure needs of this historic Capital Campus. To assist2396in addressing challenges of aging infrastructure, we are2397developing the Enterprise Asset Management System. This robust2398system will enhance data-driven decisions and help prioritize2399projects aimed at reducing our very significant and growing2400maintenance backlog.2401    I recognize the importance of a well-coordinated, holistic,2402multi-year approach to the facilities management, and we are2403committed to working closely with you and your staff, as well2404as the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, to2405ensure the Architect of the Capitol meets the needs and2406expectations of the U.S. Senate and the American people.2407    With the support of Congress and an incredibly talented and2408skillful team, I am proud that we have accomplished much over2409the past year, and I look forward to the success of future2410projects.2411    The fiscal year 2026 budget request is not only critical to2412facing the challenges posed by our aging infrastructure, but2413also ensuring we account for the future needs of this Campus.2414    Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of2415this Committee, thank you again for your continued support and2416consideration of the Architect of the Capitol's budget request.2417I am honored to be here, and look forward to your questions.24182419    [The statement follows:]2420   Prepared Statement of Thomas Austin, Architect, Architect of the2421                                Capitol2422    Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and distinguished Members2423of this Committee, thank you for the opportunity to present the2424Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) budget request for Fiscal Year (FY)24252026. We are committed to working closely with you and your staff to2426ensure the AOC meets the needs and expectations of the U.S. Senate in2427service to Congress and the American people.2428    It is an honor to serve as the 13th Architect of the Capitol and as2429a steward of the historic and vital buildings that make up the Capitol2430complex, ensuring their preservation, functionality, and safety for2431Members of Congress, staff, and visitors. As you know, I began my2432tenure in June of 2024 and I feel priviledged, day in and day out, to2433be entrusted to lead this amazing agency.2434    I speak on behalf of the entire AOC leadership team when I say we2435are enormously grateful for the 2,500 hardworking, devoted AOC2436employees who tirelessly carry out their duties in support of Congress,2437the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress (Library), and the many2438other AOC- managed facilities.2439    One of my top priorities is close communication with AOC staff,2440which I believe is essential to building and maintaining faith and2441confidence in our agency's leadership. Whether discussing the2442particulars of daily operations or our broader visions for the future2443of the campus, I am equally committed to practicing clear and timely2444communication that ensures accountability and coordination with this2445Committee, Congress and AOC-internal entities.2446                              i. overview2447    The AOC plays a vital role in supporting the operations of2448Congress, the Supreme Court and the Library. Our staff works around-2449the-clock to preserve and maintain over 18.5 million square feet of2450facilities, 570 acres of grounds and thousands of works of art. This245124-hour, seven-days-per- week operation works in concert to preserve2452our historic assets and improve aging infrastructure. Beyond these2453preservation and maintenance priorities, our team is also responsible2454for hosting many key events and seasonal traditions that bring together2455thousands of visitors each year. From preparations for the annual2456Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, to a multi-month effort in2457constructing the Presidential Inauguration platform, the AOC2458continually delivers with professionalism and expertise.2459    For FY 2026, the AOC is requesting $1.3 billion in appropriations2460to address critical infrastructure repairs/revitalization as well as2461safety, security, and modernization efforts across the Capitol complex.2462This request reflects our commitment to ensuring the safety,2463preservation and operational efficiency of the Capitol complex while2464being responsible stewards of taxpayer funds. Over the past year, the2465agency navigated significant budget adjustments, including a 12 percent2466reduction from the FY 2024 enacted budget to the FY 2025 Full Year2467Continuing Resolution (CR) level, which resulted in the deferment of2468critical projects to future fiscal years.2469    The FY 2025 CR funding level required budget adjustments resulting2470in temporary spending limitations, deprioritized projects and2471operational constraints.2472    While the AOC adjusted to the FY 2025 CR constraints, it is2473critical to restore funding in FY 2026 to maintain the integrity and2474functionality of the Capitol complex. This includes, among other2475things, restoration of deferred maintenance and Capitol projects,2476critical security enhancements, workforce investments, and emergent2477critical mission requirements. The requested increase is a strategic2478investment in long-term efficiency, resiliency, safety and2479preservation.2480            ii. prioritizing physical security & life safety2481    Ensuring physical security and life safety is paramount. Thanks to2482your support, the AOC has made significant strides in enhancing2483security measures across the campus. Collaboration with internal and2484external partners has strengthened emergency planning and bolstered2485security for events at the Capitol complex. The FY 2026 budget request2486aligns with our coordinated approach to address security projects,2487consisting of significant construction or system replacement2488requirements to support the United States Capitol Police and House and2489Senate Sergeant at Arms' missions.2490    The agency also remains committed to staff safety, dedicating time2491and attention to training, processes, procedures and operations. These2492efforts ensure staff are well trained to assist visitors during2493emergencies. This budget request recognizes these essential measures2494with projects and requests that focus on supporting our concentrated2495effort to avoid hazards, risks and interruptions.2496                  iii. supporting the senate community2497    The AOC's FY 2026 budget request highlights significant priorities2498for the Senate office buildings and Senate operations. These critical2499needs can be addressed through close collaboration with this Committee2500and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.2501    This budget requests also helps us continue to address each2502facility's deferred maintenance, systems and capital renewal2503requirements. Maintaining and modernizing critical infrastructure such2504as hearing rooms and elevators is fundamental to the daily and future2505operations of the Senate. Additionally, the AOC is continually looking2506forward to ensure future Senate requirements and modernization of the2507campus are accounted for in our long-term planning.2508             iv. modern management of aging infrastructure2509    The AOC is dedicated to a long-term strategy for facilities2510management that emphasizes the maintenance and preservation of the2511Capitol complex while also modernizing these spaces. The aging2512infrastructure and facilities of the campus present ongoing challenges2513which are further compounded by inflationary increases, uninterrupted2514operations and unforeseen emergency repairs. For example, in FY 2024,2515the AOC successfully completed nearly half a million work orders across2516the Capitol campus including nealy 80,000 in direct support of the2517Senate community. These work orders range from paint touch-ups and2518mounting pictures on the wall to ruptured pipes and power outages. This2519number will keep rising due to aging infrastructure.2520    The AOC's FY 2026 budget request focuses on critical priorities2521such as upgrading hearing rooms, addressing aging elevators, replacing2522mechanical systems, and needed renovations of fire alarms and sprinkler2523systems.2524    Additionally, the AOC is developing an Enterprise Asset Management2525system to create an enhanced, organized method for managing,2526coordinating and overseeing asset-related activities throughout their2527respective lifecycles. A well-developed asset management system will2528offer more detailed insights to enhance data-driven financial decisions2529and prioritization of projects, while also addressing backlog and2530deferred maintenance issues.2531        v. workforce investments & meeting mission requirements2532    Our workforce is a top priority at the AOC. The agency must ensure2533it retains a skilled workforce capable of maintaining and modernizing2534the complex. Our Human Capital Strategy revolves around three pillars:2535talent acquisition, talent development, and engagement and retention of2536employees. Over the past year, the AOC aggressively recruited to fill2537our staffing shortfalls which resulted in a reduction of our overall2538vacancy rate from 11% to 8%. The AOC recently completed a study on2539wage-grade salaries, which contribute to retention and attrition. One2540important thing we learned was that pay for our Wage Graded staff was2541not on par with other Federal agencies. The FY 2026 budget request will2542help us appropriately compensate and retain a skilled workforce to meet2543the needs of Congress.2544                             vi. conclusion2545    On behalf of the men and women at the AOC, I extend our gratitude2546to this Committee for your ongoing support. Your dedication and2547partnership in service to the American people is integral to our daily2548operations and mission accomplishment. Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member2549Heinrich, and Members of the Committee, thank you for your time and2550support in consideration of the AOC's FY 2026 budget request.25512552    Senator Mullin. Thank you, to you both. Thanks for being2553brief with your remarks.2554    I will start with answering question--or asking questions.2555Typically, I usually let someone else go in front of me because2556they have to leave, but the Ranking Member and myself, we are2557going to be here either way, yes, so we are not going anywhere.2558So we will probably go back and forth until we run out of2559questions, if you don't mind.25602561              SPACE UTILIZATION AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS25622563    Dr. Hayden, first of all, let me ask you, could you tell us2564how the Library utilizes its space across these three2565buildings? And by the way, just for--I know people in this room2566probably know--our three buildings are the Thomas Jefferson,2567John Adams, and James Madison Memorial Buildings. Could you2568explain how those are utilized, and the space is utilized?2569    Dr. Hayden. The three buildings on the Capital Campus are2570not simply office buildings. They have mission-essential2571functional facilities that have been technically designed and2572outfitted to preserve the collections. And the estimate is that2573nearly one-fifth of the space serves for those permanent2574collections and the storage. And the buildings also, all three,2575have public and congressional reading rooms, and meeting rooms2576that also serve the general public. We have a number of high--2577level----2578    Senator Mullin. All three of them have meeting rooms?2579    Dr. Hayden. Yes, to varying degrees.2580    Senator Mullin. And I just say that because, I mean, I have2581been here for 13 years, and I have only been to one building2582for meetings.2583    Dr. Hayden. Well, the other buildings, the Adams Building2584that is directly behind the Jefferson Building that opened in25851939 after they ran out of space in the Jefferson Building, has2586meeting capacity.2587    Senator Mullin. Are they utilized all the time?2588    Dr. Hayden. Not all the time.2589    Senator Mullin. Or are they underutilized?2590    Dr. Hayden. You can book them. And so we are looking at,2591and we are working----2592    Senator Mullin. How often are you at 100 percent capacity2593in those meeting rooms through all three buildings?2594    Dr. Hayden. Pardon? I didn't hear that one?2595    Senator Mullin. How often are you at 100 percent capacity2596at all three buildings?2597    Dr. Hayden. At the same time?2598    Senator Mullin. At the same time.2599    Dr. Hayden. I am not sure, and we would have to look at2600putting that together.2601    Senator Mullin. Are they ever all fully booked?2602    Dr. Hayden. I can't say that they are all of that----2603    Senator Mullin. I think that I--now, mind you, this is the2604first time I chair the Committee, but this is--it is the first2605time I heard there was meeting spaces at the other two2606buildings, other than the main building.2607    Dr. Hayden. Yes. There are meeting spaces, and in the2608Madison Building in particular, that opened in 1980, the2609meeting spaces are used regularly, especially on the sixth2610floor by Members of Congress and committees, and there are all2611types of things, and they have audiovisual capacity as well. I2612would like to get back to you on the percentage of occupancy of2613all of the meeting rooms and to give a listing of all the2614meeting rooms, at that time, that would be very helpful.2615    Senator Mullin. Yes, that would be helpful to know exactly2616how much square footage----2617    Dr. Hayden. Yes. I can----2618    Senator Mullin [continuing]. Is dedicated two meeting rooms2619for the Members of Congress, what is utilized, how2620underutilized it is, because obviously we are hurting for space2621everywhere. I mean, we are constantly rotating meeting rooms,2622looking for additional places to have hearings. And I just--my2623mindset is I think we underutilize the Library of Congress and2624the proximity it is to the Capitol, the proximity it is to our2625office buildings. And so I would like to know if there is--if2626it is being underutilized, how we can--how we can help use2627that.2628    Dr. Hayden. Good. And our Congressional Relations Office2629makes sure that that is part of their orientation and their2630communication with member offices, that these rooms are2631available. And we are part of an AOC study that is going on in2632terms of space utilization, so that is going to yield2633additional information. So immediately we can get the meeting2634room information to you and also attendance, because we have a2635meeting schedule, and we can get that to you.26362637              STATUS OF COPYRIGHT ROYALTY FEE DISTRIBUTION26382639    Senator Mullin. And switching gears here. I understand2640there is more than $1.4 billion in royalty fees that come back2641as of 2014; is that right? Undistributed, is that correct?2642    Dr. Hayden. For the copyright royalty?2643    Senator Mullin. For the copyright.2644    Dr. Hayden. Yes. And that has been something that we are2645working with the Copyright Royalty Board, and also would like2646to work with Congress on how the processes could be2647accelerated. There are some things that might be necessary by2648statute, or changing things so that the distribution could2649happen quicker.2650    Senator Mullin. All right. My time is almost up. When we2651get back another round, I want to dig into this a little bit2652more----2653    Dr. Hayden. Sure.2654    Senator Mullin. To figure out exactly what we can do.2655    Dr. Hayden. Thank you.2656    Senator Mullin. Because, I mean, that is a lot of royalty2657sitting there for consumers.2658    With that, I will yield to the Ranking Member.2659    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.2660    Mr. Austin, in May of 2024, as you noted, you became the266113th Architect of the Capitol. You took over an agency that had2662undergone significant leadership changes, and frankly needed a2663new leadership direction. What are your general observations2664about the Architect of the Capitol and its observations at this2665point?2666    Mr. Austin. Senator, thank you for the question. I would2667say that one of the biggest ones that jumps out is the breadth2668of this agency. I am continually amazed by the breadth of our2669mission and the skills of our workforce that service that2670mission. There are so many tasks, big and small. I mentioned in2671my opening remarks that, over the--across Capital Campus, we2672did close to half a million work orders just this past year.2673You break it down by day that is more than 1,300 per day that2674we are executing. And that is 365 days a year.2675    And the workforce that services those work orders is an2676extremely dedicated and talented team. The breadth of our2677talent of the agency is also something that really, I am2678continually amazed by. They really enjoy their jobs. They feel2679connected to the mission. They know that this is more than just2680a job. This is a career. This is a vocation. This is a calling.2681You know, and I look at that, especially the folks at the2682Capitol Visitor Center and the Botanic Gardens, kind of that2683first public face for our visitors when they come and see these2684great spaces, and the enthusiasm that they present, the2685collections, and tell the history of our buildings, which2686probably should bring my next observation about our buildings,2687because we do have an amazing Campus, but it is aging.2688    We have too much deferred maintenance, and some of our2689facilities are in desperate need of a full renovation. The2690daily maintenance I spoke about just a moment ago, I think we2691do very well with that. I think we have good responsiveness2692rate. We had a 96 percent on-time completion rate for the2693Senate community. But it does take a lot of day-to-day band-aid2694type repairs in order to keep the Capital Campus functioning2695for the needs of Congress.2696    And communicating those issues is something that I have2697noticed since I have been, as far as the agencies; I don't2698think we did a great job of in the past. I don't think we have2699been able to communicate our facility conditions, assessments,2700and indexes to the members in a way that they can understand2701the fine line we walk between functionality, and budget, and2702the appropriation cycle.2703    So when we are talking about building revitalization and a2704holistic approach to facilities management, I don't think we2705have done a good job of messaging that. And that is why I am2706trying to address that, as you alluded to in your remarks,2707Senator, about the master plan. Is that we are taking a look at2708the long-term issues for this Campus over the next 20 to 502709years.2710    The last master plan update was in 2012. Normally these are2711done in every 5-year cycle, so we are very, very far behind.2712And I think I understand why. It was not just the leadership2713turnover you mentioned, Senator, but it is also just because2714this is a hard problem to get your arms around. It is pricey,2715as we have a lot of stakeholders in Congress that we are trying2716to address their needs. And there are a lot of things where you2717are trying to compare apples to oranges across the Campus, and2718that is difficult--especially when we have gone beyond, say,2719the facility life that we expected to have these buildings, and2720where we are right now.2721    So as we are communicating that to Congress, that is2722something that we are making a focus of over the next year, to2723communicate with this committee and others to understand the2724full needs of Congress.2725    Senator Heinrich. Does the Architect of the Capitol's2726fiscal year 2026 budget request begin to address your vision2727for the agency, and how does that dovetail with the master2728plan?2729    Mr. Austin. Yes. The short answer to your question is yes,2730and I will explain how that is. We have a couple different2731things that are addressed in the budget request. Certain items2732in there are for the initial pre-design work for some of these2733long-term facility needs that we are talking about, such as the2734Rayburn renovation on the House side, but also things like the2735SCIF, that we have received signals in fiscal year 2022 and27362021, as well as inquiries from this Committee, and the2737Committee of Rules referenced the need for a SCIF.2738    So we have some pre-design work in there. We also have work2739to address some of those immediate infrastructure needs, try to2740offset some of the risk that we have with our HVAC system and2741some of our plumbing systems on both sides of the Campus, as2742well as working with our chief security officer for some of the2743security projects.2744    So we are addressing that. We also have some of our2745personnel we are looking to bring on board, whether it be a2746chief artificial intelligence officer, or additional planners2747and architects.27482749                STATUS OF THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE PROJECT27502751    Senator Heinrich. Great. Dr. Hayden, the Visitor Experience2752Project has been underway for several years, includes several2753enhancements to the Jefferson Building to improve the visitor2754experience there. During this time, the project has experienced2755some challenges. What is the current status of that project?2756    Dr. Hayden. I am very excited, actually, about the progress2757of the Visitor Experience Project and grateful to Congress for2758its support. The first-ever permanent Treasures Gallery opened2759in June of 2024, and there is a continuing rotating display of2760our collections in that. And then the Youth Center, which is2761the second component, there are three components as you know,2762the Youth Center is scheduled to open in late December of this2763year. And we have been very pleased to have the advice of a2764number of Congressional children and grandchildren who have2765been part of an advisory committee. They have named it The2766Source.2767    And the last component, the orientation space, is2768anticipated to open in late 2026 and early 2027, possibly. And,2769AOC has begun construction. And, I just want to take this2770opportunity to say that we have been working very closely with2771AOC, including the relationship with Mr. Austin and me as the2772head of the Library, our Chiefs of Staff, and our bi-weekly2773meetings. And so in the last year, there has been so much more2774communication and progress, and we are very excited about what2775can happen.2776    Senator Mullin. We are playing ping-pong.2777    Senator Heinrich. Are you sure?27782779      CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR COPYRIGHT ROYALTY FEE DISTRIBUTION27802781    Senator Mullin. Yes. Thank you again. Let us dig back in to2782the $1.4 billion in royalty fees that is all the way back to27832014. You mentioned that you might need some help with Congress2784on getting this problem resolved. As you can imagine, this is2785probably an extremely frustrating sticking point, and I am2786having a hard time wrapping my head around it, why it is so2787hard to get these fees out the door and back in the hands where2788they belong. And I am interested to see why Congress would have2789to do something additional when it was originally set up for2790the Library of Congress to handle?2791    Dr. Hayden. The Library of Congress, through the Copyright2792Royalty Board, we are the administrators of that process.2793    Senator Mullin. Right.2794    Dr. Hayden. And there are many formal proceedings there2795that are involved. So people, for instance, or companies can2796litigate, they can appeal, and so that process is one that the2797Copyright Royalty Board is really looking at, about setting for2798instance things like a time limit, saying that you have to2799resolve this by a certain time. And that could be something2800that would help quite----2801    Senator Mullin. How long have you been looking at that? It2802does not seem like--I don't think Congress needs--we don't have2803to give you the authority to do that. You can set that2804yourselves----2805    Dr. Hayden. Some of the aspects, and we can provide more2806detail on this, for the record, and would like to engage on2807this, of what solutions might help move the process along. So2808that would be very helpful.2809    Senator Mullin. Could you please get back to us on that?2810    Dr. Hayden. Oh. Yes.2811    Senator Mullin. And the reason why I say that is because,2812you know, with the way we structure our fees right now--and if2813I am misunderstanding this--the way that we structure our fees2814right now for copyrights is that we charge a certain fee, but2815really Congress is offsetting some of that. And if I am not2816mistaken, you would have noted that the Copyright Office lists2817one of their priorities for this fiscal year is to conclude a2818fee study of copyright services and prepare an adjusted fee2819schedule for submission to Congress.2820    And if we are going to raise the fee, which I would like to2821do that, because that way it would more reflect what it2822actually costs Congress to do, rather than taxpayers paying for2823a copyright to be put through, we would be able to have the2824person asking the copyright to actually pay for that fully. If2825we are able to do that and offset the cost, then we probably2826need to be better at getting the royalty fees out.2827    Dr. Hayden. Those are two separate processes, and it is2828up--and so----2829    Senator Mullin. I get it. I understand they are two2830separate processes, but it is still through the same overall:2831Do you know?2832    Dr. Hayden. Yes. I do know.2833    Senator Mullin. No. I just saw a head shake back here and--2834--2835    Dr. Hayden. And that is the Register of Copyrights, Shira2836Perlmutter so----2837    Senator Mullin. Right. But I mean, if I understand it----2838    Dr. Hayden [continuing]. So copyright would----2839    Senator Mullin [continuing]. We pay for the fees, or we2840charge the fees to come in to----2841    Dr. Hayden. We charge.2842    Senator Mullin. Right.2843    Dr. Hayden. And copyright protection is automatic under the2844law.2845    Senator Mullin. Right.2846    Dr. Hayden. Unlike a patent.2847    Senator Mullin. But we are in charge of both?2848    Dr. Hayden. Copyright registration is voluntary, and people2849pay for that, and companies pay for that. And what that gives2850them is some legal support.2851    Senator Mullin. I understood that. But we are responsible2852for both.2853    Dr. Hayden. 40 percent of----2854    Senator Mullin. Are we not--sorry--are we not responsible2855for both?2856    Dr. Hayden. Yes.2857    Senator Mullin. Okay, and so we take the fee----2858    Dr. Hayden. For Copyright Royalty Board, which manages the2859output of royalties.2860    Senator Mullin. Sure. But we charge to register it?2861    Dr. Hayden. For copyright registration.2862    Senator Mullin. Right. We charge for that, and we accept2863the money. But we are having a hard time giving the royalty2864fees out.2865    Dr. Hayden. And the Register of Copyright is actually2866helping me to differentiate those two processes.2867    Senator Mullin. I understand there are two separate2868processes. I am not arguing that. I understand there are two2869separate processes, two separate processes between walking2870forward and walking backwards too. I understand that. I am2871saying is, if we are able to charge money to register, and we2872are able to accept the funds, when we go out to give the2873royalties out, it should also be a smooth process exiting as it2874is entering, even though those are two separate processes. I am2875just, I am trying to figure out how we can become more2876efficient, and then also offset the cost if we need to do a fee2877structure?2878    Dr. Hayden. The fee structure for the Copyright Royalty2879Board is for cable and satellite royalties.2880    Senator Mullin. Okay.2881    Dr. Hayden. Not individual authors, and artists, and even2882companies. So copyright registration fees are separate from the2883cable and the satellite royalties, that is why we really would2884like to work with the Committee on ways that the copyright,2885cable, and satellite royalty funds could be distributed in a2886more timely fashion with some changes in----2887    Senator Mullin. How far behind are we on it?28882889                      COPYRIGHT ROYALTY LITIGATION28902891    Dr. Hayden. It depends on the different cases, I mean, and2892so----2893    Senator Mullin. How long does a case typically last?2894    Dr. Hayden. That I would have to get back to you on, in2895terms of a typical case, because there are not typical cases.2896It could be depending on if there is litigation or----2897    Senator Mullin. Average, how long does the average case2898take?2899    Dr. Hayden. I would have to get back to you on that.2900    Senator Mullin. And I would like suggestions on how to2901streamline that.2902    Dr. Hayden. We have been working with the Copyright Royalty2903Board on that and we----2904    Senator Mullin. How long have you been working with them?2905    Dr. Hayden. Personally, as librarian, I have been working2906with them for definitely the last three or 4 years on that2907particular one.2908    Senator Mullin. To make a decision?2909    Dr. Hayden. Not to make a decision to look at2910possibilities.2911    Senator Mullin. So we haven't even got to the point of2912the--I am sorry.2913    Dr. Hayden. It is okay.2914    Senator Mullin. That is absurd to think we have been2915looking at a solution for 3 years and we have not come up with2916a solution to actually come up--I am just----2917    Dr. Hayden. There are recommendations, sir.2918    Senator Mullin [continuing]. As a business owner, I don't2919understand that.2920    Dr. Hayden. Well, there are recommendations, and I have2921been in----2922    Senator Mullin. How long does it take to submit those2923recommendations to us?2924    Dr. Hayden. The Copyright Royalty Board is working to work2925with the Committee, so.2926    Senator Mullin. I am sorry. I don't know how long I am2927going to chair this board or this, you know, Committee, but I2928know I am here for the next 2 years. I can't tell you what is2929going to happen after the midterm, but I suggest us--I suggest2930that we really work hard to get more efficient. That is2931unacceptable taking 3 years to just come with a suggestion. I2932don't know how many times the board has to look at something to2933figure out how we can do it better, now that is----2934    Dr. Hayden. That was not in terms of what the board has2935been doing. This was referring to my active involvement with2936the Copyright Royalty Board, so that is----2937    Senator Mullin. Okay. Well, let us put a--let us put a time2938limit on this thing.2939    Dr. Hayden. Yes.2940    Senator Mullin. Okay. So let us put a time limit on it.2941Come to me within a couple weeks, because you have plenty of2942time to look at it. Give me some suggestions. The Committee2943will look at it, see if there are things for us to do. Let us2944make a decision and get off center. I mean, because the2945definition of insanity is doing the same thing, expecting2946different results. And we are doing the same thing, expecting2947different results. There is plenty of stuff out there we can2948look at to get more efficient.2949    Dr. Hayden. And I am sure the Copyright Royalty Board and2950the Register, who is here with me today, would be very pleased2951to present this.2952    Senator Mullin. All right. Well, let us set up a meeting in2953two weeks.2954    Dr. Hayden. Great, thank you.2955    Senator Mullin. Let us sit down and come to the meeting2956with suggestions.2957    Dr. Hayden. Thank you.2958    Senator Mullin. And Ranking Member, if you would like to be2959there, we would set it up. We don't have to have a hearing on2960it. We just sit there and we will have a conversation.2961    Dr. Hayden. That would be very, very helpful. Thank you.2962    Senator Mullin. Senator.2963    Senator Heinrich. Mr. Austin, obviously the requested2964increase for fiscal year 2026 encompasses a number of2965additional positions. Can you talk about what those positions2966are required for and what unmet need you would be able to2967accomplish with the additional positions?2968    Mr. Austin. Yes, thank you, Senator. Yes, we are requesting296957 more positions in the fiscal year 2026 budget, we obviously2970had none in the CR, and there was almost none in the 2024, so2971some of this is a bit of pent-up request over the last several2972years. It kind of runs the full gamut, I spoke about the2973breadth of the agency earlier. We have everything from2974electricians, and plumbers, additional electricians and2975plumbers, and the electricians, the high-voltage electricians,2976will allow us to have a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week response in2977case of any electrical emergency on Campus.2978    Currently, that is an on-call response if it is after2979hours. We have HR specialists that are in there to help us work2980on our vacancy backlog. Right now, we are trying to get our2981time to hire down to 80 days. We have made some great progress2982in there, but some of it is just the capacity of our HR team.2983There is more visitor guides. We are seeing increased tourism2984since the--you know, COVID is over, and we are seeing an2985upswing in tourism.2986    In fact, the day after inauguration was our largest retail2987day that we have ever had in the agency, just that one day. But2988that would also include five visitor guides to help with that2989workload, so it kind of runs again. We also have--we are trying2990to take some contractors that we have on our chief security2991office, and bring them in to be government employees, so it is2992shifting that from a contract over to a regular employment.2993    Overall, those FTE increases are just under $10 million2994that adds to the total agency budget. So the impact, if we2995don't get those, some of those issues I spoke about as far as2996the time to hire, and the on-call request versus on-site2997request would remain, and that would have potential issues that2998we have.2999    Like for instance, on the House side, we have a 24-hour3000response in case of an elevator outage, but sometimes it is not3001an elevator technician that responds to it, and we have to call3002that person in from home. And that creates a lag in that time,3003and we are trying to remedy those types of issues. But they3004kind of run the full gamut, but overall, it is a fairly minor3005number in the overall scheme of the budget, but it is close to3006$10 million, so I am not going to downplay it either.3007    Senator Heinrich. I am curious. Let me just say, I am3008always amazed at the quality of work that your staff does. It3009is remarkable. How do you hire and find the skill sets to be3010able to do the kind of work that you do supporting the Capitol?3011    Mr. Austin. Thank you again for that question. This is3012another one of those. It kind of depends on where we are going3013with this, because we have such a breadth of skill sets in the3014agency. We do things, we have done partnership with some3015professional associations, some trade schools, to get the word3016out. Obviously, we use USA Jobs just like everyone does, but3017some of our skill sets are pretty niche.3018    Senator Heinrich. Yes.3019    Mr. Austin. You know, decorative plasters, decorative3020painters, some of that we grow internally. We take someone that3021has come from, say, a labor or custodial role. They come and do3022an apprenticeship in our paint shop, or our carpentry shop, and3023then they work to gather those skills. When it comes to like3024electricians and plumbers, we work with the--you know, we3025advertise with the unions and some of the trade groups out3026there.3027    Engineers and architects the same way, partnership with3028SAME or AIA, depending on what skill set we are looking for, we3029advertise with them, going to job fairs, it really runs the3030gamut. But because our skill sets, many of them are very niche,3031some of those we grow internally.3032    Senator Heinrich. Talk to me about the process that you3033went through to decide what infrastructure projects would be3034included in the fiscal year 2026 budget initiative.3035    Mr. Austin. So project prioritization, we look at three3036driving factors. Number one, you can break down to risk,3037importance, and how it affects our deferred maintenance. When3038we look at risk, it is the risk of the system failing and what3039impact that would have on our congressional stakeholders. So3040some of our components are quite old, many are well beyond3041their design life and we are putting them together with minor3042repairs, and they need a major repair--or major renovation or3043refurbishment like I talked about with the master plan earlier.3044    Senator Heinrich. Give us an example or two of that3045category?3046    Mr. Austin. Sure. So the air-handling units in the Rayburn3047Building, they are the originals, 60 years old. Originally were3048designed for probably, I would have to check on this, but3049somewhere around 30 years is typical in those homes, 20 to 303050years. So we are well beyond those--that design threshold. Some3051of our components we have to custom-make because they don't3052make those parts anymore. So we have to fabricate those3053internally, or we have to hire it out, which has long lead3054times to get those pieces back. So that would be an example, a3055specific one.3056    But it really does run the gamut. We have, you know,3057painting that is tearing, plaster that is flaking. We have3058great people who are working on it, but it is--I spoke to some3059plasterers the other day, you have definite job guarantees3060because we have so much of it around here for them to do.3061    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.3062    Senator Mullin. Thank you. I will switch to Mr. Austin. How3063many employees do you have right now?3064    Mr. Austin. We are a little over 2,500 at the moment,3065Senator. It varies a bit seasonally. We hire more people,3066visitor guides and visitor assistants for the summer months3067because of increased visitorship in the CVC. We have more3068employees at the moment on the Senate side to effect the Senate3069moves, but it varies seasonally, but it is a little over 2,500.3070    Senator Mullin. How many of those are for maintenance3071purposes?3072    Mr. Austin. Sure. I think it is kind of a good question. I3073am glad you asked it. Because of our team, about 70 percent are3074what we consider trades people, hourly workers, wage grade,3075wage supervisors, wage leaders. That runs the gamut from things3076like custodial laborers, plumbers, carpenters, sheet metal3077workers, pipefitters, all those kinds of things. So that is3078about 70 percent of my workforce are the hands-on labor force3079that does the work around the Campus.3080    About 15 percent are what you would consider professional3081trades, engineers, architects, legal, safety professionals, and3082so about 15 percent would be support functions.3083    Senator Mullin. On subcontractors, how many subcontractors3084do you have working on the complexes?3085    Mr. Austin. I would need to get back with you on the exact3086number, but we usually have on Campus, depending on the3087project, we probably have around an additional 500 contractors3088that are working on Campus based on, you know, the prime3089contractors we use----3090    Senator Mullin. For maintenance purposes?3091    Mr. Austin. Oh. For maintenance purposes?3092    Senator Mullin. Yes, not building, not rebuilding and3093that----3094    Mr. Austin. Okay. Not for buildings. Very few, we have some3095for--we have some assistance with elevators because of the3096workload, and we have some in a few other areas, but relatively3097few.3098    Senator Mullin. Yes, at the power plant I noticed you had3099quite a few workings there.3100    Mr. Austin. Power plants are almost exclusively run by3101government employees.3102    Senator Mullin. Yes.3103    Mr. Austin. So we have contractors out there doing some of3104the work on our construction projects, and some of those3105things, like we had a tie around one of the smokestacks out3106there that had broken off, and that was made structurally3107unstable.3108    Senator Mullin. Right.3109    Mr. Austin. That was beyond the skill set, we brought in3110contractors to fix that. So we do have them coming in for one-3111off missions like that.3112    Senator Mullin. And what about the--I think when I was out3113there I saw them maintenance--in a burner or chiller, I think.3114    Mr. Austin. Yes, a chiller.3115    Senator Mullin. I forget what it was.3116    Mr. Austin. Yes, it was probably a boiler is what they are3117doing, since we are coming off a season on those. And so for3118those, yes, we do have some folks who do--not day-to-day, that3119is not a day-to-day maintenance that is, you know, annual3120refurbishment, where they come in and remove the scaling, and3121refurbish it.3122    Senator Mullin. So the majority of the plumbing,3123electrical, HVAC, carpentry, that is all done in-house? We are3124not subbing any of that out?3125    Mr. Austin. Yes, Senator.3126    Senator Mullin. So are we behind in hiring people, or are3127you able to keep fully staffed, pretty much. Fully staffed, I3128would consider anything over 90 percent really.3129    Mr. Austin. If that is the metric we are working off, then3130we are about 92 percent right now as far as our staffing, so we3131would be----3132    Senator Mullin. What is your turnover like?3133    Mr. Austin. It is time to hire.3134    Senator Mullin. Turnover.3135    Mr. Austin. Oh. Turnover; varies a bit, depending on what3136trade and what personnel we are talking about, but we are--I3137would have to get back with the exact number, but it is 4- to 53138percent I think per any----3139    Senator Mullin. What is your pay compared to the private3140market? Let us say for an electrician?3141    Mr. Austin. So that is something that we are looking at3142right now. We actually just are in the final throes of a wage3143grade study, where we are looking at how our pay compares to3144the private sector, and to other Federal Government employers.3145Because our employees, depending on what sector you are looking3146at we have--or what trade you are looking at, we are either3147comparable or below. We don't have anybody really who is above3148that level.3149    Senator Mullin. You are doing a study on the wages for3150trade?3151    Mr. Austin. Wage grade study, to see about how our pay3152compares to other Federal entities, and I mean that study has3153been----3154    Senator Mullin. How long have you been doing a study on3155that?3156    Mr. Austin. Because we are looking at----3157    Senator Mullin. No. I mean, how long have you been doing3158this study?3159    Mr. Austin. Oh. How long is the study? Probably, less than3160a year, I think, less than a year. They are coming back to us3161with the--they have already given us the results--one of the3162issues is if we wanted to change the way we do our pay, we have3163to go to the Federal----3164    Senator Mullin. I understand that. I just think of these3165studies--I am sorry, being a contractor myself, I just sit3166there and I look at it, and I go, you know, I can tell you real3167quick what my competitors are paying. And these are union3168employees, and so it seems like you could call the local union3169hall for pipefitters, and for electricians, and for mechanical,3170and find out what they are paying pretty quick. I mean, you3171could do that in 30 minutes.3172    Mr. Austin. And you could but that--we will never be paying3173as high as the hourly rate for the----3174    Senator Mullin. I understand that. I just want to know what3175the competitiveness is, let me see if there is a--because if3176you are--I mean, if you have got a 92 percent--I mean, you are3177hired at 92 percent right now, and your turnover is pretty low3178when it comes to trades like that, I mean, you are doing pretty3179good.3180    Mr. Austin. Yes.3181    Senator Mullin. And I am just saying, if there is a way for3182us--if we are behind, if there is a way for us, we need to be3183looking at hiring more tradesmen.3184    Mr. Austin. Um-hum.3185    Senator Mullin. I didn't know if there is a problem. At 923186percent, I would say there is probably not really that big of a3187problem for it, because I would say the benefits are pretty3188good. And that way we can get started on this deferred3189maintenance, yes.3190    Mr. Austin. So that is the overall rate. I would have to3191get back to you for as far as the specific trades, because I3192know there is more turnover, say, of our custodians. And some3193of our other trades people have much higher turnover because of3194the pay. But I have always--when I do my visits with employees,3195I always say we are never going to be competitive with the3196hourly workers from the unions because their pay is seasonal,3197it fluctuates, goes up and down. Ours is going to be steady. We3198have a better benefits package than you are going to get from,3199say, a union job.3200    So we are never going to compete with those on a per-hour3201basis. But the job security, the fact that they can work in a3202predictable environment, they are not traveling all over the3203city or across the country for jobs, that they are getting a3204predictable paycheck, those have benefits too.3205    Senator Mullin. They do.3206    Mr. Austin. And so when we are talking to our employees,3207and so when we are talking about the wage, we say it is not3208just the--that was kind of informing us what the private sector3209does. Kind of we say, call down the union, take 30 minutes, we3210have done those kinds of things, but also talking about the3211other Federal agencies and seeing what we can do about it,3212because we are, you know, in the Federal Government there is3213only so much we can do about adjusting pay for our employees.3214    Senator Mullin. Thank you so much.3215    This concludes the Legislative Branch Appropriations3216Subcommittee hearing regarding the fiscal year 2026 funding for3217the Library of Congress and Architect of the Capitol.3218    Thank you, Dr. Hayden, and Mr. Austin, for testifying3219today.3220    The hearing record will remain open for seven days,3221allowing Members to submit statements and/or questions for the3222record, which should be sent to the subcommittee by close of3223business on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.3224    The next hearing for the subcommittee will be held on3225Wednesday, May 14th at 3:00 p.m., in room SD-192 in the Dirksen3226Senate Office Building. We will be hearing testimony from the3227U.S. Capitol Police and Sergeant at Arms regarding their fiscal3228year 2026 budget.3229                                ------32303231              COMMITTEE QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING3232                          LIBRARY OF CONGRESS32333234       MEETING ROOM UTILIZATION IN LIBRARY OF CONGRESS BUILDINGS3235    Question. How often is the Library at 100 percent capacity in3236meeting rooms through all three buildings? Can you provide a listing of3237all the meeting rooms and the percentage of occupancy?32383239    Answer. Senator Markwayne Mullin, Chairman of the Senate Committee3240on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, asked the3241Librarian of Congress during the May 6, 2025 hearing A Review of the3242Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Requests for the Library of Congress and the3243Architect of the Capitol, for a list of meeting rooms in all three3244Library of Congress (Library) buildings on Capitol Hill, the respective3245square footage of each space, and how often they are used.32463247    This document and Attachment A provide the requested information in3248addition to important background and context for space utilization by3249the Congress, the Library of Congress, and external parties.3250                           public event space3251    The Library of Congress has a variety of meeting and event spaces3252in its three Capitol Hill buildings available for Congressional use.3253The Thomas Jefferson Building has rooms suitable for functions ranging3254from small meetings and dinners for 12 attendees, to concerts for 485,3255and large receptions for 1,200. The James Madison Building houses the3256nation's official memorial to President James Madison with space for3257receptions for 200 attendees, a small theater for 64, and other meeting3258rooms for lectures and small conferences. This summer, a new event3259space will open on the 5th floor of the John Adams Building capable of3260hosting events up to 350 people.3261    The attached PDF lists more than twenty reservable meeting and3262event spaces in the John Adams, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson3263Buildings, along with their square footage and attendee capacity in3264various seating configurations (reception, dinner, theatre-style, etc.)32653266  --Four of these event spaces, all in the Jefferson Building, are3267        reserved for the exclusive use of Congress or the Librarian:3268        the Congressional Pavilion, Emerson Hall, the Librarian's3269        Ceremonial Office, and the Member's Room.3270  --Three of the spaces, in the Madison Building, are used for LOC3271        staff meetings: LM-139, the Oval Gallery, and the Staff3272        Multipurpose Room.3273  --All other event spaces listed may be booked for Congressional use,3274        and are also used for the Library's public events, internal3275        staff meetings, and some of the in-person seminars and classes3276        for Congressional staff offered by the Congressional Research3277        Service (CRS) and the Law Library.3278  --Two of the event spaces, the Great Hall in the Jefferson Building3279        and Madison Hall in the Madison Building, are available only3280        for evening events, since they are open to the public during3281        the day.3282    meeting room utilization in the jefferson and madison buildings3283    The Library analyzed room reservation data from September 1, 20233284to May 5, 2025 to determine utilization patterns, efficiency, and3285trends within the specified period.3286                                results3287    There were over 2,700 bookings of Library of Congress meeting rooms3288and event spaces between September 1, 2023 and May 5, 2025. The3289analysis revealed variations in room utilization, influenced by event3290type, day of the week, and the Congressional calendar. By accounting3291for these factors, the daytime utilization of the primary event rooms3292in the Jefferson and Madison buildings, when Congress is in session,3293between 9am-5pm is 25%. The evening utilization of events after 5pm is329424% in the Jefferson building and 14% in the Madison building. The most3295utilized space, booked 41% of the time while Congress is in session, is3296the Members Room in the Jefferson building, reserved for use3297exclusively by Members of Congress and the Librarian of Congress. The3298second most utilized room at 30% is the Montpelier Room in the Madison3299Building. Seven additional spaces have utilization percentages between330025-30%. Looking at the utilization of available time by day of the3301week, midweek appears to have the most utilization of space at 29% on3302Wednesdays and Thursdays. The lowest utilization is on Mondays at 13%.3303Thursday nights are the most booked evenings, linked to the public3304``Live at the Library'' events, with 25% of space utilized.3305    Of the more than 2,700 actual bookings during this time, 40% were3306Library Sponsored events. These events included in-person CRS and Law3307Library classes exclusively for Congressional Staff. 26% of the3308bookings were of events hosted by congressional offices. The graph3309below displays the events by sponsor category.33103311[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]33123313    Most events, 53%, were by invitation only, including meetings3314limited to Library staff or invited outside guests. 24% of the events3315were open to the general public, and 23% were limited exclusively for3316congressional attendees only. The graph below displays the events by3317audience category.33183319[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]33203321                                caveats3322    From September 1, 2023 to May 5, 2025, there were also more than33232,300 additional room reservations made and later canceled. These3324reservations were excluded from the utilization data, but should be3325taken into account, as often events, particularly congressional events,3326are canceled and/or rescheduled at the last minute, preventing other3327reservations from being made and skewing the utilization percentages.3328    Although there are over twenty different Library event spaces3329available to reserve, the capacity for the Library's employees to3330simultaneously support events is constrained by staffing and equipment3331in many cases versus room availability. The following capacity3332constraints should be considered regarding staff availability:33333334  --event coordinators to organize events and manage guests;3335  --event operations specialists to oversee vendor load-in and out as3336        well as support services;3337  --event operations assistants to provide equipment and food service3338        support;3339  --materials handlers to setup and breakdown furniture before and3340        after every event;3341  --security personnel, especially for evening events; and3342  --overtime pay for staff supporting evening events.33433344    These caveats are especially important when considering that events3345take place in public buildings open to researchers from 8:30am to33468:30pm and visitors from 10am to 5pm and movement of event furniture is3347scheduled at 6:00am and after hours. Even at current utilization,3348Library staff are required to work large amounts of overtime to support3349the event schedule.3350    The historic Thomas Jefferson Building is a challenging venue to3351host simultaneous events due to three of the most popular rooms being3352on the same floor with shared access to elevators, stairs, restrooms, a3353single kitchen, and storage. In the Madison Building, Library staff3354also must supply technical equipment and food service support to dozens3355of in-person seminars for Congressional staff held in CRS classrooms.3356               new event space in the john adams building3357    Later this summer, the Library will debut LA-516 in the John Adams3358Building as an event space. The room incorporates Art Deco designs and3359features a mural by American artist Ezra Winter illustrating the3360characters in the ``Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. Capacities3361will allow theater seating for 320 and round tables for 220, making it3362one of the Library's largest event spaces. We look forward making this3363space available for Congressional use.3364                               conclusion3365    Although most Library event spaces are utilized an average of 25%3366of Library working hours, expanding usage is complicated by the3367availability of staff to manage spaces and events. However, we welcome3368increased use by Members of Congress and Congressional staff,3369especially in our soon to be opened Adams Building space.3370    We also look forward to working with the Committee to explore3371avenues to further publicize the availability of Library of Congress3372event space for Congressional offices as well as for external parties.33733374[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]33753376                                ------33773378              COMMITTEE QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING3379                  REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS AND DIRECTOR33803381               STREAMLINING COPRYIGHT ROYALTY PROCEEDINGS3382    Question. Can you provide more details on the Copyright Royalty3383Pool distribution process and what solutions would help move the3384process along?3385    Answer. A proceeding to distribute cable or satellite royalties\1\3386has two phases: an allocation phase wherein the royalty fund is3387allocated among categories of claimants (e.g., sports, commercial TV,3388music) and a distribution phase where the allocation is distributed to3389individual claimants. The attached document provides an overview of the3390second phase: the distribution process.3391     adding another panel of judges specifically for distribution3392                              proceedings.3393    In addition to the cable and satellite distribution proceedings,3394the CRB conducts proceedings to set rates under statutory licenses for3395activities as varied as reproducing and distributing nondramatic3396musical works in analog or digital form for distribution (including via3397digital download and interactive streaming); publicly performing sound3398recordings via webcasting, satellite and cable radio, and by business3399establishments; and noncommercial public broadcasting of musical works.3400Since 2018, the CRB also sets the administrative fee that funds the3401Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), a non-profit organization3402established to administer the statutory mechanical blanket license for3403reproducing and distributing analog and digital musical works in3404phonorecords. The CRB also conducts rulemakings consistent with the3405Administrative Procedure Act when establishing or updating CRB3406regulations.3407    To speed up distribution proceedings, Congress may wish to consider3408authorizing the Librarian to appoint a second panel of full- or part-3409time judges, specifically for cable and satellite distributions and3410related work.3411            internal efficiencies to streamline the process.3412    The CRB and the Library have been considering ways to improve the3413distribution process through rulemakings and changes in internal3414processes.3415                  larger advance partial distributions3416    The CRB is authorized to make partial distribution of royalty funds3417in advance, while proceedings (and appeals) are pending. Recipients are3418required to agree to return any overpayments, plus interest, before the3419final distribution, so that fair and accurate final payments can be3420made. These advance partial distributions have historically been for3421approximately 40% of the royalties on deposit. If the risks can be3422mitigated, it may be reasonable to increase this so that more funds are3423paid out to owners more quickly. Recent advance distributions have3424reached as high as 85% of amounts on deposit.3425                        target completion dates3426    To bring more structure to the CRB proceedings and to set3427expectations among the participants more clearly, the CRB is3428considering a practice used in other administrative proceedings whereby3429at the outset of a proceeding, and considering comments from the3430participants, the CRB sets a target date by which the entire proceeding3431should end. Extension beyond that date would require justification from3432the parties or the Judges, as appropriate, and could require the3433approval of the Librarian.3434        efficiencies that would likely require statutory change.3435    Some potential efficiencies to the process for distributing cable3436and satellite royalties would likely require statutory change.3437     disputes regarding representation of claimants; sanctions on3438                              participants3439    With a few exceptions, copyright owners are represented before the3440CRB by organizations that pursue the owners' claims collectively, e.g.,3441the Joint Sports Claimants, the National Association of Broadcasters.3442Ultimately, these organizations pay the individual copyright owners3443from the royalty share distributed by the CRB in accordance with3444agreements between the owners and their representatives.3445    In recent years, the CRB has seen motions to disallow certain3446claims, based on the allegation that claimant organizations are not3447bona fide representatives of copyright owners. Producing evidence and3448arguments and resolving such disputes is highly fact-specific and time-3449consuming. This type of challenge is appropriate when raised in good3450faith. However, these disputes have largely been brought by one3451distribution phase participant, who has repeatedly been found to have3452submitted unfounded or fraudulent claims themselves.3453    In 2017 the CRB pursued a rulemaking to enable imposition of3454sanctions on participants submitting fraudulent claims. Ultimately, no3455sanctions regulations were adopted as it was not clear whether the CRB3456had the statutory authority to impose effective sanctions on a3457participant who submits fraudulent claims.3458    It may be helpful to provide clear statutory authority for the CRB3459to impose certain sanctions on participants (and related entities,3460given the fact that multiple related corporate entities have3461participated in past proceedings) who have been found to have submitted3462fraudulent claims in a prior proceeding. Sanctions for other improper3463litigation conduct may be appropriate as well. While some sanctions3464could be monetary, other sanctions could also foreclose the ability to3465participate in current and future proceedings.3466    The CRB is mindful that it may be beneficial for the participants3467to have notice of any findings of fraudulent claims and the3468consequences of a finding of fraudulent claims, and for copyright3469owners to have notice of the risk of choosing to be represented by a3470participant found to have submitted fraudulent claims. Owners should be3471informed that the consequences may include diminishment of royalty3472awards, or foreclosure of obtaining any royalty awards for claims3473represented by a sanctioned or foreclosed participant.3474     assigning additional tasks to a single copyright royalty judge3475    While most of the CRB's work is done as a panel of three judges,3476there is a list of matters in 17 U.S.C. 803(b)(6) that can be assigned3477to and decided by a single judge. It may be useful to add discovery3478motions to that list. As discovery disputes often turn on particular3479matters of copyright law or economic evidence, assignment to the judge3480with the relevant specialized experience makes sense. Having matters3481handled be one judge rather than all three would speed matters up.3482Adding authority for the Chief Judge to assign any intermediate task3483(i.e., not a final determination) to a single judge would provide even3484greater flexibility.3485                     accountability for performance3486    Following a 2012 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.3487Circuit, the Librarian's ability to remove a Judge is no longer limited3488to a for-cause removal. The Librarian's ability to address performance3489or conduct is limited to sanction or removal, however, as the Judges do3490not receive performance appraisals and are not in a performance-based3491pay system.3492    Congress may wish to consider updating the CRB statute to adopt the3493pay and performance language that applies to the recently created3494Copyright Claims Board. Unlike the Copyright Royalty Judges, whose pay3495is linked to the fixed scale for administrative law judges, the3496Copyright Claims Officers are paid under the senior level system, which3497is a performance-based pay system. The Claims Officers' independence is3498preserved by language establishing that the performance appraisals they3499receive may not consider the substantive result of any of their3500decisions.3501---------------------------------------------------------------------------3502    \1\ For secondary transmissions of television or other broadcast3503programming under 17 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 111, 119, and 122.35043505[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]35063507                                ------35083509              COMMITTEE QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING3510                      COPYRIGHT ROYALTY LITIGATION35113512                LENGTH OF COPRYIGHT ROYALTY PROCEEDINGS3513    Question. How long does a distribution proceeding last?3514    Answer. As shown in the table below, cable royalty distribution3515proceedings, covering both proceeding phases, can vary from 5 years to3516more than 10 years depending on factors such as:35173518  --The volume and complexity of issues in controversy (i.e., excluding3519        issues where the parties do not resolve those issues by3520        settlement or stipulation) that must be addressed in the3521        proceeding.3522  --The volume and complexity of collateral issues (e.g., whether a3523        party legitimately represents rightsholders) that must be3524        addressed.3525  --Whether a party seeks a rehearing by the Copyright Royalty Board3526        (CRB) after an initial determination in either the allocation3527        or distribution phase.3528  --Whether a party appeals a final CRB determination to the Court of3529        Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and whether the Court remands the3530        case to the CRB for further proceedings.35313532    The substantive role of the CRB (and, prior to 2005, the Copyright3533Arbitration Royalty Panels) in a proceeding does not commence in3534earnest until after (1) the royalty information becomes available to3535the parties; (2) the parties accumulate the evidence and analyze the3536opinions generated by their experts (e.g., surveys, regression3537analysis, etc.); and (3) the parties indicate or the CRB otherwise3538determines that a controversy exists.3539    Multiple royalty years are typically combined into a single3540proceeding to make it more efficient and cost effective for the parties3541to litigate. The proceedings do not begin until after the final royalty3542year has been added to the case.35433544[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]35453546                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS35473548    Senator Mullin. Until then, the subcommittee stands3549adjourned.3550    [Whereupon, at 10:50 a.m., Tuesday, May 6, the subcommittee3551was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.]35523553                  LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR3554                              FISCAL YEAR 202635553556                              ----------35573558                        WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 202535593560                                       U.S. Senate,3561           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,3562                                                    Washington, DC.35633564    The subcommittee met at 3:08 p.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen3565Senate Office Building, Hon. Markwayne Mullin, (Chairman),3566presiding.3567    Present: Senators Rounds, Heinrich, and Murray.35683569  SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED STATES SENATE35703571                      UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE35723573             OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARKWAYNE MULLIN35743575    Senator Mullin. I guess I will say the hearing will come to3576order.3577    That you guys were waiting on me, so I apologize about3578that. Right in the middle of votes and another hearing, it has3579been interesting. Anyways, I am looking for my opening3580statement.3581    I would like to welcome everyone here to the third and3582final, fiscal year 2026 budget hearing for the Legislative3583Branch Appropriations Subcommittee.3584    Today we have with us, Chief--is it Manger? Manger? Chief,3585I know we have talked multiple times. Thank you. I will be3586referring to you as Chief, because that is more fitting to your3587title. So appreciate it so much for you being here. I3588understand that this is probably your last hearing with us.3589    Mr. Manger. It is.3590    Senator Mullin. And so anyways, we sure appreciate you3591being here.3592    We have Jennifer Hemingway, the Senate Sergeant at Arms.3593Thank you. Both of you guys do phenomenal work, both agencies'3594work tirelessly to protect Members of Congress, and our staff3595and almost eight million visitors to the Capitol Campus each3596and every year.3597    I would like to take this opportunity to thank the men and3598women at the United States Capitol and the Sergeant at Arms for3599the work they do to keep us safe. Their commitment enables us3600to do our job on behalf of our constituents, and I mean that3601sincerely.3602    We couldn't do it without you guys, it was never more3603evident than when you guys are truly willing to jump in front3604of a bullet for us and make sure we get home, when honestly,3605our family loves us no more, no less than your families do. But3606it is a service that you guys have decided to do, and I don't3607take that for granted, ever. So thank you, guys, and thank you3608for the ones that you had the privilege of serving with.3609    Now, I would like to mention at our first two hearings this3610year we faced--you know, we are faced with a budget environment3611that will require difficult and important decisions on how we3612move forward in the coming fiscal year, while we do that, we3613can't forget that we need to support our agencies and their3614mission's requirements. It is important that every legislative3615branch agency is responsible and good stewards of the resources3616and makes wise choices about priorities.3617    The fiscal year the Senate--this fiscal year, the Sergeant3618at Armed Service is requesting $357.4 million, an increase of3619$46.6 million, which is above the fiscal year 2025 enacted3620level. This request includes funding for innovative--to3621innovations to enhance the Senate's physical and cybersecurity,3622State office operations, and Member protection. It also3623includes additional FTEs to support operations across the3624agency.3625    The United States Capitol Police budget request is $967.83626million, an increase of $161.3 million, or a 20 percent3627increase over the funding level provided in a full-year CR. The3628funding level would support continued growth in sworn and3629civilian staff levels, and provide an increase of $52.6 million3630for general expenses.3631    I want to thank our witnesses for being here today. I look3632forward to a productive discussion. And I understand your3633agencies' priorities for the upcoming year.3634    Now, I would like to turn to the Ranking Member, Senator3635Heinrich. And thank you so much for your patience, sir.36363637              OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH36383639    Senator Heinrich. No problem. Thank you, Chairman.3640    I want to begin today by just expressing how disappointed I3641am in President Trump's removal of Dr. Hayden, our Librarian of3642Congress. As I said when she appeared before us last week, Dr.3643Hayden has served the American people with distinction, working3644to bring literacy to every single American. Her removal by the3645President is both unwarranted and, in my view, improper.3646    Now, turning to today's witnesses, I look forward to3647hearing from Chief Manger and Mrs. Hemingway. Thank you both3648for being here today, and thank you to the dedicated3649professionals at your agencies who provide safety and security3650to the Senate every day as we carry out our constitutional3651responsibilities.3652    It is through the dedication of your teams that the3653American people can visit the U.S. Capitol and witness their3654Government in action.3655    Chief Manger, I want to thank you for your--is it 46 years3656of service--46 of service as you prepare to retire from your3657current position as Chief of the United States Capitol Police.3658    You served as Chief of Police during a difficult time and3659focused your efforts on the challenges that the department3660faced. The Senate is grateful for your service and that of all3661the Capitol Police.3662    Now, I understand the department is requesting $9673663million, an increase of $161 million over fiscal year 20253664enacted levels, and this request includes funding for salaries,3665general expenses, and reimbursements to State and local3666governments for law enforcement functions.3667    As you mentioned in your written testimony, it is a3668substantial request, and we look forward to working with your3669team to prioritize funding that is critical to the execution of3670the department's mission, and critical to keeping our officers3671safe. I look forward to hearing more about your fiscal 20263672budget request.3673    And Ms. Hemingway, as our Sergeant at Arms, you play a3674critical role as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the3675Senate. I would like to thank you for this work, the work that3676you and your team do to support this institution. Your request3677is $357 million for fiscal year 2026, a 15 percent increase3678over 2025 enacted levels.3679    I understand this funding will enable the Sergeant at Arms3680to continue its efforts to increase security, modernize IT3681systems, and enhance interagency coordination. And I look3682forward to hearing more about your vision for the Office of the3683Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper.3684    Again, thanks to you both for being here today. And I am3685looking forward to this hearing.3686    Senator Mullin. I would like to thank Senator Rounds and3687Senator Murray for being here.3688    At this time we will turn to our witnesses for their3689opening statements. Please be as precise to 5 minutes as3690possible.3691    Ms. Hemingway, I will ask you to start.3692                                ------36933694  SERGEANT AT ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED STATES SENATE36953696STATEMENT OF HON. JENNIFER HEMINGWAY, SERGEANT AT ARMS3697            AND DOORKEEPER3698    Ms. Hemingway. Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich,3699Senator Rounds, Vice Chair Murray, and Members of the3700subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify in3701support of the Sergeant at Arms fiscal year 2026 budget3702request.3703    The Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper serves the Senate as3704the Chief Law Enforcement and Protocol Officer and is3705responsible for the Senate's physical security, cybersecurity,3706emergency preparedness, and several support functions. Security3707is a significant piece of our day-to-day mission. In calendar3708year 2024, we addressed more than 5,700 requests for law3709enforcement assistance, a 35 percent increase over the prior3710year.3711    Using authority and monies provided by this Committee, we3712fund security equipment, monitoring services, and physical3713security improvements for senators' homes. We offer a data3714removal tool to make it more difficult for bad actors to find3715specifics about senators on the Internet. Our efforts extend3716beyond D.C. to provide security enhancements and upgrades for3717more than 460 State offices. Working with the Federal3718Protective Service, we have conducted 156 assessments and3719enrolled 56 senators in our Temporary Armed Guard Service3720Program.3721    The SAA provides other services too. We spend $1.85 million3722monthly on rent for State office space. 99 percent of Senate3723offices and committees participated in employee assistance and3724well-being services last year to enhance staffs' personal and3725professional effectiveness. Senate offices and committees3726ordered more than 19,000 printed materials and 8,700 flags from3727our printing and graphics team.3728    Accomplishing our mission under a continuing resolution has3729required some belt tightening. To prioritize funding for3730projects and improvements that benefit our Senate customers, I3731instituted a selective hiring freeze, will not provide merit3732raises or a cost-of-living increase, and canceled a $4 million3733contract that was internal to the Sergeant at Arms for human3734capital management.3735    For fiscal year 2026, as both of you mentioned, we seek3736$357 million--a $47 million increase over our current funding.3737Much of this increase was also proposed in fiscal year 2025.3738    Among our requests is a $5 million increase for the Office3739of Security, Emergency Preparedness, and Continuity. Because of3740increasing confrontations, disruptive visitors, and hundreds of3741potential threats against senators, I believe this funding is3742necessary for the safety and security of senators, staff, and3743visitors to Senate offices.3744    In addition, we ask this Committee to provide $10.5 million3745in no-year funds. $5.5 million would establish a State Office3746Operations Fund. This fund would allow us to pay rent if3747regular appropriations are not available.3748    This fund could also be used to directly support leasehold3749improvements in Federal buildings that are often delayed due to3750GSA's resource approach. This fund would be similar to the3751Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery fund established by3752this Committee in the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of37532022.3754    Our remaining requests are detailed in my written3755testimony. Thank you for the opportunity to highlight some of3756the key pieces of our proposal. I believe this budget will3757allow us to meet the security and operational needs of the3758Senate, and I welcome your questions.37593760    [The statement follows:]3761         Prepared Statement of Honorable Jennifer A. Hemingway,3762             Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate3763    Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and members of the3764Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of the3765Sergeant at Arms' (SAA) fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request.3766    The Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper serves the Senate as its chief3767law enforcement and protocol officer and is responsible for a host of3768services in the Senate, including critical physical security,3769cybersecurity, emergency preparedness, and support services.3770    Earlier this year we supported three (3) National Special Security3771Events in 15 days: the January 6 Joint Session to Count Electoral3772Votes, the State Funeral for former President James Earl Carter, and3773the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies.3774    These events required effort across the Sergeant at Arms. From3775media credentialing to technical support to security planning to3776photography, every office in the Sergeant at Arms supported the Senate3777during these events while carrying out our day-to-day mission.3778    Our law enforcement work is a significant piece of our daily3779operations. In calendar year 2024, the office of the Sergeant at Arms3780addressed more than 5,700 requests for law enforcement assistance,3781including security escorts for Senators' domestic travel, advice for3782public events, and local law enforcement support. This was an increase3783of 35 percent (35%) over the previous year. We also prevented the3784delivery of more than 2,300 suspicious mailings that required further3785scrutiny by the Capitol Police.3786    Using authority and funding provided by this Committee since FY37872023, we have funded security equipment, monitoring services, and3788physical security improvements for Senators' homes through the3789Residential Security System Program. Participation in the program has3790increased from 17 percent (17%) in the first year to 40 percent (40%)3791this year, with 40 Senators participating as of May 5, 2025.3792    Thanks to the Appropriations Committee, we are able to provide the3793Privacy Bee data removal tool to Senators and their spouses upon3794request, too. This privacy tool helps participants blur their homes on3795Apple Maps and Google Street View as well as remove personal3796information from data broker websites, corporate databases, and many of3797the major junk mail lists. That makes it more difficult for bad actors3798to find specifics about Senators through a quick Internet search.3799Privacy Bee also conducts vulnerability monitoring to determine whether3800a participant's personal information has been compromised through a3801hack or phishing scam.3802    In calendar year 2024, we conducted emergency training for more3803than 4,100 staff and more than 120 members of the press and, in3804response to the August 2, 2023, false active shooter threat, an SAA3805team led a working group to review and update our active shooter3806training. We worked with Senate offices to review their Emergency3807Action Plans and Continuity of Operation Plans. These reviews occur on3808a rolling, two-year basis, and in 2024 we helped update 123 Emergency3809Action Plans and 41 Continuity of Operation Plans. We also finalized3810the online Emergency Action Plan tool in May 2024, which includes room-3811specific evacuation routes, AED locations, and Emergency Staging Areas.3812This mobile app enables members of the Senate community to have this3813information in the palms of their hands, saving critical time in an3814emergency.3815    Of course, our security efforts extend beyond Washington, D.C. to3816more than 460 state offices across all 50 states. During calendar year38172024, we partnered with the Capitol Police and local law enforcement to3818provide security training at 82 state offices, reaching 313 staff. We3819provided hands-on security training and consultations to more than 2303820staff representing 43 Senators in our State Office Demonstration Room3821here in Washington, D.C., too.3822    We provided physical security enhancements and system upgrades for382377 state offices and security systems. While 99 percent (99%) of state3824offices have adopted some level of SAA- recommended and funded security3825enhancements, I am hopeful that this year we can achieve 100 percent3826participation.3827    Working with the Federal Protective Service (FPS), we have3828conducted a total of 156 state office facility security assessments and3829have enrolled 56 Senators in our Temporary Armed Guard Service (TAGS)3830program through early May, 2025. TAGS allows Senators to request FPS3831Protective Security Officers at commercial state offices, and we3832deployed FPS officers at eight (8) state offices during calendar year38332024.3834    We continue to offer the AlertMedia emergency notification tool to3835Senators, their spouses, and staff at no cost to Senate offices.3836AlertMedia provides customized notifications to users about severe3837weather incidents, civil unrest, major crime, and other potentially3838impactful events. At this time, more than 700 individuals from 493839Senate offices use this service.3840    Further, we offer to provide satellite phones to Senators and their3841state offices for emergency communications. After Hurricane Helene3842caused record flooding across several states last fall, one State3843Director reported that satellite phones were the only mode of3844communication for a prolonged period of time, and having SAA-issued3845satellite phones allowed the Senator and his team to remain in contact3846with other Senate offices as well as state and local officials. Eighty-3847one (81) Senators utilize these phones.3848    Securing the Senate also involves cybersecurity. We have3849strengthened our cyber threat detection and response capabilities by3850hiring three (3) new security analysts to monitor and defend the Senate3851network as well as by adding a threat intelligence position in October38522023 that represents the Senate on the National Cyber Investigative3853Joint Task Force. The latter hire allows us to communicate about cyber3854threats in real-time with 20 law enforcement and intelligence agencies.3855We have increased our efforts to make the Senate community aware of3856cybersecurity tactics and scams. Recent alerts to Senate staff have3857warned of current phishing lures and a focused smishing campaign; we3858also offer monthly briefings about cybersecurity topics, tips, and best3859practices.3860    We successfully completed our second large-scale cybersecurity3861assessment of the Senate network at the end of 2024 as well. That3862assessment made minimal recommendations, such as removing end of life3863operating systems and unsupported web browsers, as well as patching3864some third-party software. We have closed out a number of those3865recommendations and expect to have all of them closed by the end of3866calendar year 2025.3867    As I mentioned earlier, security is only part of our mission. Over3868the past several months, we have been focused on new Senator3869orientation and office transitions in D.C. and the states. In November,3870we joined the Secretary of the Senate in welcoming Senators-elect,3871their spouses, and their transition staff to Washington, D.C. We3872offered guidance about security, setting up state offices, and office3873equipment and technology. Since then, we have supported 14 outgoing and387414 incoming Senators' office building moves, assisted with the turnover3875of 36 state offices to new Senators, and continue to support Senate3876office and committee moves.3877    We welcomed our first Stars of Valor Fellow in March and, as of May38785, 2025, are actively recruiting for placements for eleven (11)3879Senators.3880    In addition, last year we refreshed the working space within the3881Chamber dais for the Legislative Clerks and Parliamentarian and built a3882new desk for Capitol Police and Senate Pages in the Senate tunnel. In3883calendar year 2024 we completed upgrades of end-of-life audio-visual3884equipment in the hearing rooms of this Committee, the Committee on3885Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the3886Budget, the Committee on Rules and Administration, and the Committee on3887Veterans Affairs. We also upgraded our digital audio network to improve3888the audio feeds from all hearing rooms to the news media.3889    We completed the Otis payroll automation, which allows offices to3890submit payroll actions electronically; enhanced the electronic3891financial disclosure application; and built PILLARS, a seating3892application for the Inaugural Ceremonies. We revamped the Senate3893Employment Bulletin to make it simpler for job seekers to explore and3894apply for Senate vacancies and easier for Senate office staff to review3895the applicant pool.3896    We are on track to complete the migration of services from the3897TranSAAct application to ServiceNow during this fiscal year. This3898platform will make it easier for Senate offices to request a variety of3899SAA services, including phone support, Congressional IDs, and floor3900privileges.3901    Accessibility improvements remain a priority. We purchased two ADA-3902compliant shuttle buses that transport about 10,000 passengers each3903year. Members of my team have completed training to create accessible3904documents for Senate offices, and we provided QR codes to Senate3905committees that enable individuals with hearing impairments to access3906live captions of hearings on their personal devices.3907    Last year 84 Senate offices and 16 committees ordered more than39082,200 printed materials using Direct Xpress, our online order3909fulfillment service. We covered more than 3,000 photography assignments3910at the request of Senate offices, and offices ordered more than 31,0003911photo prints from the Sergeant at Arms. We broadcast over 1,000 hours3912of Senate floor proceedings and 452 hearings. Our media galleries3913credentialed approximately 1,450 correspondents, for a total of almost39145,100 credentialed media.3915    In 2024, nearly 6,400 Senate employees attended training provided3916by the Employee Assistance Program or participated in well-being3917activities, and approximately 1,800 employees accessed resources3918addressing childcare, parenting, adult care, aging, education, legal3919concerns, or financial issues. Almost 200 individuals participated in3920our Passport Day earlier this year, and last year the Joint Office of3921Training and Development provided 65 custom trainings, facilitated 103922staff retreats, and hosted the State Staff Conference for 125 staff3923from 42 Senate offices. In addition, 990 staff attended our Wellness3924Fair, 129 participants donated blood at our blood drives, and 82 staff3925participated in health screenings. We also assisted staff with 693926vehicle lockouts, three (3) flat tire repairs, and 14 jump-starts in3927Senate parking lots.3928    To accommodate increasing requests for security assistance, rising3929state office rents, and higher equipment costs for Senate offices under3930a continuing resolution has required some belt tightening. To3931prioritize funding for projects and technology improvements that3932benefit our Senate customers, we have instituted a selective hiring3933freeze, will not provide merit raises or a cost-of-living increase and3934have canceled an internal-to-the-SAA human capital software management3935system. Because we are operating under a continuing resolution, a3936number of our requests for funding increases this year are renewed3937requests from our proposed FY 2025 budget. In addition, six (6) of our393813 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) position requests are renewed requests.3939    For FY 2026, we are requesting $357,381,000, a $46,564,000 increase3940over current funding.3941    Our request includes $130,353,000 for salaries, $14,478,000 over3942the enacted level. The increase includes $3,822,000 for a cost-of-3943living adjustment, 9,393,000 for salary increases and other3944adjustments, and $1,263,000 for new FTE positions. This will provide3945the Sergeant at Arms with a total of 1,050 authorized FTE positions.3946    Six (6) of the new positions will support SAA Support Operations: a3947financial analyst to provide long-range planning, budgeting, and3948project tracking; a technology system solutions specialist to research,3949evaluate, and test technologies for Printing, Graphics and Direct Mail;3950a logistics and operations specialist to support the flag ordering3951process; two digital and graphics designers to support Senate offices'3952digital media projects, e-Publications, and accessible PDF forms; and a3953program management specialist to monitor and communicate project3954statuses for the Program Management and Congressional Transition3955office. Four of these positions were requested in FY 2025; we have3956added a second digital and graphics designer and a program management3957specialist to our renewed requests.3958    The four (4) positions requested for the Office of Security,3959Emergency Preparedness and Continuity will serve the Senate community3960as parking specialists. These are new FTE requests for FY 2026.3961    Two (2) new positions will serve in the Executive and Staff3962Offices. We are renewing our FY 2025 request for a wellness technology3963and communications specialist to help identify and manage technology3964solutions for the Employee Assistance Program. We are making a new3965request for a program manager to support state offices with emergency3966planning, supply and equipment logistics, and event notifications. The3967position will also administer the Temporary Armed Guard Services3968program.3969    We are renewing our FY 2025 request for a continuity communications3970engineer within the office of the Chief Information Officer. This3971position will support the Senate's increasing communication3972capabilities and staff who have specialty communications devices like3973satellite phones and radios.3974    Our request includes $216,528,000 in our five-year expense account,3975$31,086,000 over the enacted level. The increase includes $4,455,000 to3976account for rising costs and $26,631,000 for improved security and3977services for the Senate community.3978    Within that request is $9,552,000 for the Office of Security,3979Emergency Preparedness and Continuity, an increase of $5,099,000 over3980the enacted level. This increase includes renewed requests from FY 20253981for $120,000 to address higher rates for new vehicle leases as well as3982$100,000 for costs associated with Capitol Police support for3983Congressional delegations. The Sergeant at Arms is required to3984reimburse Capitol Police for these expenditures, which have increased3985significantly in recent years.3986    Our request includes a new increase of $800,000 for a mobile and3987web-based duress platform that will allow Senators to alert authorities3988if they feel threatened or unsafe. As with other security programs, use3989of this platform will be voluntary.3990    We request $35,439,000 for the Executive and Staff Offices, an3991increase of $4,872,000 over the enacted level. This increase includes3992renewed FY 2025 requests of $1,032,000 for state office buildouts and3993tenant improvements that help secure Senators' state offices, and3994$1,300,000 to pay rent for state offices in Federal buildings and make3995leasehold improvements in Federal spaces. It includes renewed requests3996of $350,000 for AEDs and related supplies so we can transition from the3997post-9/11 emergency supply kits currently in state offices to a modern3998program that is able to scale and meet emerging requirements. We are3999also renewing our FY 2025 request for $35,000 for an application to4000improve the onboarding process for Senate pages.4001    We requested $395,000 for state office secure reception areas in FY40022025 but are updating that request to $695,000 this year due to4003increasing construction costs and additional Senators adopting our4004recommended security enhancements. We could see some out-of-cycle4005construction due to the General Services Administration's planned4006closure of certain Federal buildings housing Senate state offices, too.4007We also are requesting a new increase of $725,000 to replace security4008equipment in state offices. The work driven by this lifecycle4009replacement program will require the addition of two contract staff;4010funding for those contractors is included in this request.4011    We request $150,894,000 for the Chief Information Officer, an4012increase of $14,922,000 over the enacted level. The increase includes4013several renewed requests from FY 2025. We are renewing our request for4014an increase of $1,500,000 to address the increasing costs of our4015cybersecurity contracts and update our cybersecurity risk assessment4016program. This funding will also provide the ability to mitigate4017potential cyber risks within our supply chain. In addition, we are4018renewing our request for an increase of $1,500,000 for information4019technology (IT) support services. This will provide for a three-month4020transition period when we award a new contract for the Senate IT Help4021Desk and will help ensure there is no impact on service to Senate4022offices. We are renewing our requests for increases of $1,265,000 to4023address Senate offices' growing demands for data warehousing, long-term4024data retention, and file size growth; $1,051,000 for backup, archiving,4025and export capabilities associated with the widespread adoption of4026Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint Online; $218,000 to improve4027Internet services for state offices; $250,000 for the e-Gallery Pass4028program, which will provide Senators with the option of issuing4029electronic Senate gallery passes to constituents; and $50,000 to4030provide Privacy Bee to Senators and their spouses.4031    Our new requests for FY 2026 include an increase of $2,550,000 to4032provide Microsoft Enterprise licenses for Senate offices. In January,4033we used $2,550,000 in available appropriations to cover this cost for4034Senate offices for calendar year 2025. Offices spend an average of $3004035per user for this license, and the SAA covering this expense freed up4036an average of $57,000 per office to fund other IT needs with their4037Economic Allocation Fund (EAF) monies.4038    Our related request for an increase of $3,275,000 for the Economic4039Allocation Fund will further assist Senate offices with the cost of4040technology equipment and software licenses. In FY 2025, we had4041requested an increase of $775,000 for the EAF, but we are increasing4042that request to help offices meet their technological needs.4043    In FY 2026 we also plan to begin our search for a data center4044location to strengthen the Senate's technology posture. The new data4045center will provide the added benefit of faster network speeds for4046state offices that may currently experience a delay on the Senate4047network because an office's geographic distance from a data center4048directly impacts lag time. While this is measured in milliseconds, some4049state offices do notice a delay. We will select a location that gives4050those offices faster access to the Senate's technology resources while4051strengthening the Senate network.4052    Our FY 2026 request includes $11,620,000 for Capitol Operations, an4053increase of $5,985,000 over the enacted level. We are renewing our FY40542025 request for $65,000 to design and build custom IT cabinets for4055state offices. An SAA team collaborated to create these lockable4056cabinets, and this funding would allow us to improve state office4057operations and aesthetics with these cabinets that mask noise and4058neatly secure Senate equipment and wiring.4059    We are seeking a new increase of $5,000,000 for renovations to the4060Senate Recording Studio, which broadcasts Senate floor proceedings and4061hearings and offers individual services to Senators.4062    This modernization will focus on replacing complex equipment that4063is near or past the end of its serviceable life in multiple rooms.4064    We also seek a new increase of $750,000 for Capitol Operations to4065address an expected rise in framing orders from Senate offices. At the4066beginning of this Congress, in coordination with the Committee on Rules4067and Administration, we updated the Senate Frame Shop offerings for the4068first time in 20 years. We increased the number of molding finishes and4069mats available to offices and began to offer mat embossing and cutting.4070We have seen a 4.75 percent (4.75%) increase in orders over the same4071period of time during the 118th Congress, and the new orders are more4072complex because of our increased offerings.4073    Lastly, our request includes $10,500,000 in no-year funds. We seek4074$5,000,000 to continue replacing aging audiovisual equipment and4075systems in Senate hearing rooms. This is a renewed request from FY40762025. We request $5,500,000 for a new State Office Operations Fund. The4077SAA currently spends $1.2 million each month on rent for state office4078space in commercial buildings and $650,000 each month on rent for state4079office space in Federal buildings. Additionally, leasehold improvements4080for state offices in Federal buildings are often delayed due to General4081Services Administration funding constraints and bandwidth, often beyond4082a Senator's term. We are requesting a State Office Operations Fund to4083ensure continuity of monthly rent payments for Senate state offices and4084for leasehold improvements in Federal buildings. We envision this fund4085to be similar to the Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery fund4086that was established by this Committee in the Legislative Branch4087Appropriations Act, 2022.4088    We also request permission to expand the Residential Security4089System Program to provide residential security support for officers of4090the Senate, as defined in 2 U.S.C. Sec. 4101(b), when prudent. Federal4091law authorizes the Capitol Police to provide personal protection for4092officers of the Congress when such protection is necessary, \1\ and we4093recommend that the Residential Security System Program offer similar4094residential security support.4095    This budget will allow us to meet the security needs of the Senate4096and provide the services Senate offices have come to expect, while also4097addressing new and emerging needs.4098    Thank you for working with us on each of these endeavors and for4099the opportunity to discuss our accomplishments and FY 2026 budget4100request.4101---------------------------------------------------------------------------4102    \1\ 2 U.S.C. Sec. 1966.41034104    Senator Mullin. Thank you. Chief.4105                                ------41064107                      UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE41084109STATEMENT OF HON. CHIEF J. THOMAS MANGER, CHIEF OF4110            POLICE, UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE4111    Mr. Manger. Thank you, Chief. Chairman Mullin, Ranking4112Member Heinrich, and Members of the subcommittee, thank you for4113the opportunity to present the United States Capitol Police4114budget request for fiscal year 2026. Over the past 4 years, the4115USCP has experienced tremendous growth. Since 2021 there have4116been significant changes to increase the department's staffing4117levels, enhance our security posture, and modernize technology.4118    So I need to acknowledge at the outset that the4119department's 2026 budget request is substantial, it is close to4120$1 billion. I recognize there are other police departments of a4121similar size whose budgets are not as large as ours, but we are4122not an ordinary law enforcement agency, in fact, our mission4123incorporates elements similar to the FBI, the United States4124Secret Service, and the Federal Protective Services.4125    Moreover, while the officers that you see around our campus4126represent a large portion of the department's workforce, the4127full scope of our duties far exceeds that of officers and4128agents stationed at physical posts. Much of the work performed4129by the department staff, both sworn and civilian, goes well4130beyond Capitol grounds. Significantly, many of the mission4131requirements simply did not exist 4 years ago. I cannot4132sufficiently emphasize that point enough. Following nearly 204133after-action reports and 140 total recommendations, the4134department's mission expanded exponentially and continues to4135expand.4136    The department had to respond to and implement4137recommendations that spanned the gamut in complexity, from4138equipping every officer with riot gear, to developing4139department-wide policies, to expanding operational planning,4140and strengthening the department's training functions.4141    As a result of these recommendations, the department has4142taken on new responsibilities and created new divisions and4143teams that did not previously exist. Member security concerns4144and major operational planning have driven the need for4145additional resources and staffing. The increased threat climate4146is perhaps one of the biggest drivers of the department's4147continuing need for additional resources.4148    This past year alone, we saw threats against Members4149increase to a staggering 9,400 in 1 year. The current threat4150environment has resulted in the continuation of sunset4151protection details and the addition of short-term threat-based4152details. It has resulted in increased requests for Member4153escorts and security monitoring at regional airports,4154additional technical surveillance countermeasure inspections4155which have increased by nearly 400 percent since 2021, Member4156residential security assessments, which have almost doubled4157since 2021, and requests for law enforcement coordination4158assessments, which has increased by 159 percent since fiscal4159year 2022.4160    The department created a new stand-alone Intelligence4161Services Bureau, which didn't exist 4 years ago. Our4162reorganization also created an Office of Standards and Training4163Operations, which allows the department to centralize its4164training, policy development, and inspections functions. All of4165these were recommendations issued by the Inspector General.4166    The Protective Intelligence Operations Center is a state-4167of-the-art fusion center for the intake and coordination of4168Members' threat-related investigations and the newly4169established residential program--residential security program,4170again, another program that didn't exist 4 years ago.4171    None of these components existed 4 years ago. They are all4172new, and they all are must-haves in our current threat4173environment.4174    The department's fiscal year 2026 budget request builds4175upon the accomplishments achieved over the past 4 years, it4176includes, as you said, $687 million to fund salaries and4177benefits: $255 million to fund general expenses and $25 million4178in multi-year funding to support the continuation of the4179department's mutual aid program. I can't stress strongly enough4180that the department's protection responsibilities do not end at4181the Capitol Campus' borders. The department is statutorily4182entrusted with nationwide protective responsibilities of4183Members, requirements that it cannot undertake without the4184support and resources of our partner, law enforcement agencies,4185and that mutual aid funding.4186    The department expects to reach approximately 2,530 sworn4187personnel by the end of fiscal year 2026. While this represents4188an increase in our staffing levels, the department needs to4189continue efforts to balance its workload, specifically between4190the uniformed operations and the protective and intelligence4191operations.4192    By the end of fiscal year 2027, I feel confident that the4193department will reach our target sworn staffing levels. The4194department is tasked with ensuring that Members, the Capitol4195complex staff, and visitors remain safe and secure, and must do4196so on a Campus that is entirely open and accessible to all.4197There is no other Federal Government office building with a4198comparable public access policy.4199    I want to sincerely thank the Members of the Committee for4200your trust and support these past 4 years. It is through our4201joint partnership that the department has achieved such a4202transformational change.4203    Thank you for the opportunity to appear here before you4204today. And I look forward to your questions.42054206    [The statement follows:]4207             Prepared Statement of J. Thomas Manger, Chief,4208                      United States Capitol Police4209    Chairman Mullin, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of the4210Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the United4211States Capitol Police (USCP or Department) budget request for Fiscal4212Year (FY) 2026. As I appear before you for what will likely be my last4213budget hearing, I want to take this opportunity to thank the4214Subcommittee for its consistent support of the women and men of the4215U.S. Capitol Police. They courageously carry out their duties of4216protecting the Members of Congress, the Capitol Complex, and the4217legislative process day in and day out. I am proud of the work they do,4218and of the many accomplishments and improvements the Department has4219undertaken during my tenure. It has been an honor for me to serve as4220their leader.4221    Over the past 4 years, the USCP has experienced tremendous growth.4222Since joining the Department in 2021, I have had the distinct honor of4223leading this organization through significant changes to increase the4224Department's staffing levels, enhance its security posture, modernize4225technology, streamline administrative processes, and boost employee4226morale. This transformation has taken time because the changes have4227been significant. But we are not done yet.4228    I need to acknowledge, at the outset, that the Department's FY 20264229budget request is substantial--it is close to one billion dollars. I4230recognize there are other police departments of a similar size whose4231budget is not as large as ours, but we are not an ordinary law4232enforcement agency. The USCP is not like traditional police4233departments. In fact, our mission incorporates elements of many Federal4234law enforcement agencies. We are part FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and4235Federal Protective Services. Moreover, while the officers that you see4236on and around the Capitol Complex represent a large portion of the4237Department's workforce, the full scope of our duties far exceeds that4238of the officers and agents stationed at physical posts. Much of the4239work performed by the Department's staff--both sworn and civilian--is4240conducted off Capitol Grounds. The Department's responsibilities to4241Members and the Congressional community include protective details4242nation-wide and abroad, threat investigations, criminal investigations,4243campus-wide physical and technical security measures, intelligence4244analysis and reporting, canine security, offsite delivery screening,4245and hazardous incident response, among others.4246    This work is further supported by the vast array of administrative4247duties that are the foundation of the Department's workforce--to4248include training and wellness programs, policy development and4249implementation, inspections and internal controls, IT services,4250facilities and logistics, fleet management and maintenance, financial4251management, procurement, human resources, and background4252investigations. This work is critical to the Department's functioning4253but is often not seen or appreciated.4254    Significantly, many of these mission requirements simply did not4255exist prior to January 6, 2021. I cannot sufficiently emphasize that4256point. Following the events of that day, the Department's mission4257expanded exponentially and continues to expand. As a result of the 1034258recommendations issued by the U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General4259(OIG), the Department had to respond to and implement recommendations4260that spanned the gamut in complexity, from equipping every officer with4261riot gear, to developing Department-wide policies, to expanding event4262planning and coordination efforts, to strengthening the Department's4263training functions. Recommendations of this scope and magnitude4264typically take years and years to implement; the Department did so on4265an expedited timeline.4266    Other factors have also contributed--and continue to contribute--to4267the Department's expanding mission set. Congress requested that the4268Department undertake a top-to-bottom survey of its operations, and as4269result, the Department commissioned the Concept of Operations (CONOPS)4270assessment, which issued recommendations in three key areas--staffing,4271technology, and training. The Department responded in record time with4272an implementation strategy to make those recommendations a reality.4273    Member security concerns and major event planning have driven the4274need for additional resources and staffing. The increased threat4275climate is perhaps one of the biggest drivers of the Department's4276continuing need for additional resources. The past year alone saw4277threats against Members increase to a staggering 9,400 in 1 year--more4278than double over the past 10 years. That is a huge increase, and given4279the current political climate, one that is likely to continue an upward4280trend. The current threat environment has resulted in additional Member4281protective events, which have increased by 27 percent since 2023;4282continuation of sunset details and the addition of short-term threat-4283based details; increased requests for Member escorts and security4284monitoring at regional airports; additional Technical Surveillance4285Countermeasures (TSCM) inspections, which have increased by nearly 4004286percent since 2021; Member Residential and Capitol Complex security4287assessments, which have almost doubled since 2021; and requests for law4288enforcement coordination assessments, which have increased by 1594289percent since FY 2022.4290    The Department's wholescale reorganization was another OIG4291recommendation that the USCP implemented to increase its mission4292response. The reorganization created a new, stand- alone Intelligence4293Services Bureau, which collects and analyzes all sources of4294intelligence to identify domestic and international threats, and4295coordinates information sharing with the intelligence community. The4296reorganization also created a third office--the Office of Standards and4297Training Operations--which allows the Department to centralize its4298training, policy development, and inspections and controls functions,4299all recommendations issued by the OIG.4300    The Department also created additional operational components, such4301as the Rapid Response Team, which provides a dedicated patrol team that4302can be rapidly deployed to support events and demonstrations, critical4303incidents, or calls for service; additional civil disturbance units4304that allow for increased activations to enhance our security posture;4305and significantly, the Protective Intelligence Operations Center4306(PIOC), a state-of-the art fusion center for the intake and4307coordination of Member threats, related investigations, and the newly4308established residential security program.4309    None of these components existed at the time I became Chief--they4310are all new. And the implementation of each new program required4311staffing, research and analysis, IT support, procurement, budgeting,4312and where appropriate, new equipment, vehicle fleet, and other support4313services, both on the sworn and civilian sides of the Department. All4314these actions were necessary, but not always seen.4315                             i. background4316    To properly evaluate the Department's FY 2026 request, it is4317important to conduct a brief retrospective of the Department's4318evolution these past 4 years. In 2021, the Department faced a trifecta4319of significant challenges: critically low sworn staffing levels, the4320need to re-open the Capitol campus post-pandemic, and remediating over4321one hundred audit recommendations issued by the OIG and other oversight4322entities following the events of January 6. These were large- scale4323challenges the Department had to confront simultaneously and within a4324compressed timeframe, significantly taxing a workforce already severely4325understaffed. Morale and work-life balance suffered significantly.4326    Recognizing the need to prioritize staffing, in FY 2022, the4327Department launched a comprehensive sworn hiring strategy to increase4328its sworn bench strength. The plan evolved into a multi-year hiring and4329training strategy that established a hiring target of 288 new sworn4330recruits each fiscal year that is designed to take into account the lag4331time between recruit hiring and full utility, which is approximately 104332months. An integral part of the strategy is creating and developing a4333``pipeline'' of uniformed officers to support operational requirements4334to allow more experienced officers to qualify for internal, specialized4335positions throughout the Department.4336    The impact of this hiring strategy started to yield results in FY43372022 when sworn hiring began to outpace attrition. However, an4338additional challenge emerged that further impacted Department staffing:4339the expanding threat environment. This dynamic called for enhancements4340to the Department's security posture, and by extension, the need for4341increased staffing in the Department's protective operations. In4342response, the Department expanded its hiring strategy to include 634343additional, external positions to directly support the Protective and4344Intelligence Operations (P&IO) Office. These positions form part of the4345Department's current FY 2026 budget request and focus on the onboarding4346of entry-level agents to support, primarily, dignitary protection and4347investigations.4348                 ii. department's fy2026 budget request4349    The Department's FY 2026 budget request builds upon the4350accomplishments achieved over the past 4 years. It includes $6874351million to fund salaries and benefits, $255 million to fund general4352expenses, and $25 million in multi-year funding to support the4353continuation of the Department's mutual aid program. This budget4354request reflects the Department's priorities in three critical areas:4355(1) Advancing Member Protection, (2) Optimizing the Workforce, and (3)4356Modernizing USCP Security and Technology.4357a. Advancing Member Protection4358    The current climate of threats has reached alarming levels--in FY43592024 alone, the number of threats launched against Members of Congress4360exceeded 9,400. Members of Congress, their families, and staff face a4361range of threats, both on the Capitol campus and in their state and4362district offices, and the Department must be prepared to anticipate,4363mitigate, and respond. Social media and the Internet provide a breeding4364ground for threats that, regardless of their nature, the Department4365must investigate. That effort requires human resources, which if the4366current trend continues, will only add to the need for staffing. This4367is a mission requirement of the highest priority. To maintain a posture4368of optimum readiness, the Department deploys resources that cast a wide4369protective net and requires staffing for: (1) Congressional delegations4370and other special events inside and outside the continental United4371States; (2) security awareness briefings to Member offices; (3)4372criminal investigations; (4) execution of search and arrest warrants4373Nation-wide; (5) TSCM inspections; (6) residential security; (7)4374committee hearing security coverage; (8) deployment of threat-based4375protective details; and other operational mission requirements to keep4376Members, family, and staff out of harm's way.4377    The Department must continue to adapt and take proactive measures4378to stay one step ahead of criminal actors. A significant step in that4379direction was the establishment of the PIOC. It serves as a centralized4380command center for Member protection, integrating intelligence, threat4381assessment, and other related protective operations. The FY 2026 budget4382seeks funding to continue PIOC operations and provide comprehensive and4383effective security measures in response to the current and future4384threat environment.4385    The Department's Member protection responsibilities, however, do4386not end at the Capitol campus' borders. The Department is statutorily4387entrusted with nation-wide protective responsibilities, requirements4388that it cannot undertake without the support and resources of partner4389law enforcement agencies. Thus, the Department is asking Congress to4390renew the mutual aid funding it extended in the Emergency Security4391Supplemental Appropriations Act \1\ to reimburse law enforcement4392partners for providing mutual aid. The Prime Minister of Israel's visit4393in July 2024 illustrated the effectiveness of this program, when4394hundreds of officers from ten different law enforcement agencies joined4395with the USCP to secure the Joint Meeting of Congress. The mutual aid4396program also provides additional protective detail coverage to enhance4397Members' security in their home districts by coordinating with state4398and local law enforcement to provide residential security and support4399events.4400b. Optimizing the Workforce4401    The Department has made unprecedented efforts to increase its sworn4402workforce, and we are extremely grateful to Congress for the support4403that made it possible. But if the Department is to perform the vast4404range of services the Congress rightfully expects, the Department needs4405the resources to properly do the job. Thus, the Department can only4406carry out its 24/7, no-fail mission through the dedicated commitment of4407all Department employees--sworn and civilian. The Department's civilian4408workforce supports not only administrative functions, including4409procurement, budget and financial management, logistics and fleet4410management, human resources, background investigations, information4411technology, policy, internal controls, and training, but also fills4412critical operational functions within the Department, including roles4413that support the Command Center, event planning and emergency response,4414hazardous incident response, vehicle screening, training, physical4415security and technical countermeasures, threat assessments, and4416intelligence and investigative analysis. Although rarely seen, the4417civilian workforce is the invisible hand that supports every aspect of4418the Department's operations.4419    The Department has made tremendous strides in hiring since I4420arrived at the USCP, and it was accomplished through your direct4421support. As a result of the hiring strategy that I implemented when I4422first arrived, the Department has hired over 900 officers, resulting in4423a net increase of approximately 375 sworn personnel after factoring in4424attrition. By continuing this strategy, the Department expects to reach4425approximately 2,530 sworn personnel by the end of FY 2026. While this4426represents optimal staffing levels, the Department needs to continue4427efforts to balance its workload, specifically between Uniformed4428Operations and Protective and Intelligence Operations. By the end of FY44292027, I feel confident that the Department will reach target sworn4430staffing levels across its organizational entities.4431c. Modernizing USCP Security and Technology4432    The FY 2026 budget seeks fundings for the continued maintenance of4433existing security systems, investment in new technologies,4434cybersecurity, and stakeholder priorities. The demand for security4435measures across the Capitol Complex has increased and requires funding4436to ensure access controls, video surveillance, intrusion alarms,4437duress, and other systems are effectively designed, installed, and4438maintained. The increasingly complex and dynamic nature of the4439Department's physical and technical security program requires the4440Department to conduct research into new technologies, including the4441appropriate use of artificial intelligence to enhance security4442capabilities across the Capitol Complex. The FY 2026 budget request4443seeks funding to continue these critical modernization initiatives.4444                            iii. conclusion4445    The Department is tasked with ensuring that Members, the Capitol4446Complex, staff, and visitors remain safe and secure, and must do so on4447a campus that is entirely open and accessible to all. There is no other4448Federal government building with a comparable public access policy. The4449Department must be positioned to meet the needs of Members and the4450security of the Capitol Complex on a no-fail basis. I recognize the4451fiscal environment we are in, but the Department cannot provide all the4452services requested and required if it is not sufficiently funded.4453    In just a few years, the Department will celebrate its 200th4454anniversary, and I have every confidence that, with continued4455commitment, planning, strategic vision, and Congressional support, the4456Department will continue its upward trajectory of excellence in the4457fulfillment of its protective mission over Congress, Members, staff,4458visitors, and the legislative process.4459    I want to sincerely thank the Members of this Committee for your4460trust and support these past 4 years. It is through our partnership4461that the Department has achieved such transformational change.4462    Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I look4463forward to your questions.4464---------------------------------------------------------------------------4465    \1\ Public Law 117-31.44664467    Senator Mullin. Thank you, for you both, and thanks for the4468testimony. I will skip my question for now and go to Ranking4469Member Heinrich.4470    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.4471    Chief, one of the things I want to ask you about is talk a4472little bit about the Intelligence Services Bureau and how the4473posture there has changed over the course of the last few4474years?4475    Mr. Manger. Four years ago--sorry, 4 years ago, one of the4476biggest failures in January 6th was our intelligence failure.4477And we have gone from an agency that consumed intelligence,4478where the FBI, would inform us of things, and DHS, we are now a4479major player in the intelligence community in this region. We4480have folks assigned to different task forces, and we have folks4481working directly with the FBI and DHS.4482    And we not only still consume intelligence, but we gather4483intelligence, we analyze the intelligence, we operationalize4484that intelligence. It allows us to do better operational4485planning for things that occur on our Campus. And most4486importantly, we disseminate that intelligence. We disseminate4487it to our own folks, and we share it with other agencies in the4488intelligence community.4489    Senator Heinrich. As you mentioned in your testimony, there4490have been just very significant increases in the number of4491threats to senators and Members of Congress. I think you said4492in your testimony that there were more than 9,400 incidents in44932024. Just talk a little bit generally, about how Capitol4494Police has responded to that and what the increase in4495protection response looks like under the current threat4496environment?4497    Mr. Manger. So one of the biggest challenges was to keep up4498with that caseload. For some period of time after I got here,4499we had the same number of agents that were investigating the4500threats, and yet the number of threats had tripled, quadrupled.4501And so we had to add, and we continue to add folks in our4502Investigations Division. And not only do I think they do a good4503job at investigating those cases, but where we were still, I4504think, falling short of the mark was in terms of our being4505responsive back to the reporting parties.4506    The good news is that really through the efforts of the4507Sergeant at Arms, along with the Capitol Police, we have gotten4508Members to report everything. And this is good, but it is now4509up to us to make sure that we are responsive and that we get4510back to the reporting parties and let them know what progress4511we have made in the investigation, what we found out, those4512kinds of things. And we, for a long time, have fallen short on4513that. We have our Protection Investigative Intelligence4514Operations Center up and running 24/7 now, and that operations4515center will go a long way in making sure that not only are4516threats acted on immediately and that they get the appropriate4517attention, but that we are better at getting back to Members4518with the information that we are able to gather through those4519investigations.4520    Senator Heinrich. I have seen firsthand the shift from sort4521of a one-way communication to more of a partnership, so I4522think, on behalf of a lot of Members, we appreciate that very4523much.4524    I understand you only have a few weeks left before your4525retirement. Of all the changes that you have implemented in the4526department, which ones do you think had the greatest impact on4527moving the needle, improving security?4528    Mr. Manger. I think getting the appropriate staff together.4529I mean, if you look at the--and I read every single one of the4530after-action reports--that, you know, in 2021, many of them4531pointed out that the Capitol Police were woefully understaffed4532and had been historically understaffed. Getting the staffing up4533to where it should be so that we can have the number of posts4534that we really need to have, so we have enough screening4535entrances to handle the folks that come here to work, come here4536to visit.4537    To be able to respond quickly, and one of the things I am4538most proud of is our Rapid Response Team, where when there is a4539disruption anywhere on this Campus, there is a quick response4540by Capitol Police and it is an effective response. And so I4541think that we are ready for anything, whereas before it was4542always: Well, we have got a problem here, let us find a few4543people that we can pull off of a post to respond. We are light4544years ahead of that with our operational planning now. And I4545think that this Campus is much safer because of it.4546    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chief.4547    Senator Mullin. Thank you. Thank you both for being here.4548    Ms. Hemingway, I would like to start with you. You know,4549when we start looking at the budget, obviously there is a lot4550of concerns because everybody has got to have a haircut at this4551point. It is hard to find anything that we can increase because4552we have a $37 trillion deficit and growing. At the same time,4553we have got to make sure that those that are visiting the4554Capitol and those that work here are also safe along the ways.4555    And so we all have different things we have got to look at.4556Talking about safety, I recently had an opportunity to speak4557with Deputy Jason Bell, and I brought up some serious security4558concerns, to which I see there are just major holes. And so4559before I really get into the budget questions, I want to know4560if you believe we should have a complete wholesale review of4561the Senate security posture, and if you do, if you would commit4562to working with me and working with others on actually4563evaluating, not just what we have always done, but what we can4564do different?4565    Ms. Hemingway. Yes, Senator. I look forward to partnering4566with you in that effort. I think 4 years after January 6th and4567after additional resources have been allocated for security4568measures, it is an appropriate time to take a look at our4569Campus security posture to see what additional vulnerabilities4570we need to address, and perhaps what changes we need to make to4571our visitor management system in order to keep senators, staff,4572and our visitors who are here in the buildings safe.4573    Senator Mullin. Right. And one concern, there are multiple4574concerns, and one I will just air out here that I have is, you4575know, during votes, the plaza is wide open, and there is not a4576more vulnerable time than when Members are getting out of their4577vehicles, walking to their cars. We were told at one time that4578the plaza would be closed when the vote was called. Problem is,4579you can go out there right now when the vote is called and the4580plaza is not closed.4581    People are all over it. People are going through with baby4582strollers, riding their bikes across with backpacks, carrying4583backpacks, carrying suitcases. And we understand what can4584easily be concealed in those. And I want, I want the American4585people to have access to their Capitol as much as anyone, but4586at the same time we know there is a huge threat, especially a4587growing threat, on public figures that are in public offices.4588    And I think there needs to be a serious look at what we do4589at the plaza during votes, regardless if the House or the4590Senate is open, because you cannot just close half of it4591because people continue to walk and continue to ride bikes.4592    And I think that would be one start, but there other issues4593that I would like to discuss too, because as I said, it is not4594just protecting us, but it is also protecting those that are in4595uniform and those that are out of uniform. So thank you so much4596for that.4597    Can you explain to us the demand for personal offices and4598committees for additional funding for their technology needs?4599    Ms. Hemingway. Yes, thank you for the question. This year4600we are asking a $3.3 million increase for the Economic4601Allocation Fund. The Economic Allocation Fund provides money to4602Senate offices and committees at the beginning and midpoint of4603each senator's term or after the organization of a Committee4604each Congress. Leadership and the institutional offices also4605receive that same funding at the start of the Congress.4606    If you take a look back 6 years and think about when a4607senator may have started, at that point a laptop cost $600.4608That same laptop today costs, on average, $1,500. We also now4609have staff and senators who are increasingly reliant on4610technology in order to do their work, and that trend will4611continue. In addition, coming out of COVID, many of us carry4612multiple devices. We now have a desktop, we have a laptop, we4613have a tablet, and we may have multiple phones. All of that4614taken together has led to an increase in demand, combined with4615increased prices. Our request for this increase will help4616ensure that Senate offices can get the equipment that they need4617and require.4618    Senator Mullin. Thank you. And Ms. Hemingway, I do realize4619that the Senate continues to ask you for--ask your office to do4620more and more, and take on more and more responsibilities. With4621that being said, with the tough budget year, can you kind of4622hit--send me your priorities, what are the must-dos?4623    Ms. Hemingway. Yes, my top three priorities are the $54624million increase that we request for our Office of Security,4625Emergency Preparedness, and Continuity that will allow us to4626respond directly to increased threats against Members. Last4627year was an election year, but we saw an 83 percent increase in4628threats against Members of Congress and a 38 percent increase4629in directions of interest.4630    My second priority is the Economic Allocation Fund that we4631just discussed, along with a $2.55 million increase for the4632Sergeant at Arms to buy Microsoft Enterprise licenses for4633offices. This year, using available funds, we bought those4634licenses for Senate offices. We would like the funding to4635continue to provide those licenses.4636    My third priority is the $5.5 million for the State Office4637Operations Fund that I discussed. It would allow us to pay4638rents if regular appropriations were not available, and would4639also ensure that we can more quickly accomplish leasehold4640improvements for Senate State offices.4641    Senator Mullin. Thank you.4642    Ms. Hemingway. Thank you.4643    Senator Mullin. Senator Murray.4644    Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Chair Mullin, Senator4645Heinrich. I look forward to working with both of you on this4646Committee. And thank you to both of our witnesses today.4647    And I especially want to thank your staffs. They are4648dedicated and hardworking public servants, they keep this place4649humming, and they protect everyone who works in and visits the4650Capitol. So I want to thank both of you and all your staffs. We4651really rely on the tireless public service of men and women who4652do extraordinary jobs under increasingly difficult4653circumstances, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, weekends, and4654holidays throughout the year.4655    So thank you to all of them as well, particularly the men4656and women in uniform who guard our doors and patrol the complex4657and keep us safe. I look forward to talking with you about how4658we can--what we can do to make sure that we are providing the4659necessary resources to allow them to keep doing that job.4660    Chief Manger, I also want to acknowledge your retirement4661and thank you for your tremendous service. You took over as4662Chief in a very dark and difficult moment following the4663horrific attack on the Capitol on January 6th, thank you for4664answering the call and taking on that responsibility.4665    And I do want you to know I am going to keep pushing for us4666to finally hang the plaque that honors all the officers who4667protected the Capitol on that day. We know the plaque was made.4668We know it is here in the Capitol somewhere, and I have yet to4669see one good reason why the Speaker hasn't put it up yet, so I4670want you to know I am going to keep pressing till we get that4671done. But thank you, especially, for your service.4672    And finally, before I turn to my questions, I do want to4673mention, as Senator Heinrich did, about the outrageous firing4674of Carla Hayden, of the Library of Congress, who sat before4675this very subcommittee just last week. She served honorably.4676She served capably. She made sure our Nation's history was4677accessible and engaging, and that all of our communities had4678their stories told and heard. And that abrupt firing, without4679cause, without notice to Congress, is not only an affront to4680this incredible public service, but it really is an affront to4681the independence of this Congress.4682    So I am outraged. I hope our Republican colleagues join us4683in that.4684    Chief Manger, I want to ask you to give us an update on the4685staffing within the Dignitary Protection Division. These are4686highly trained personnel. They serve in critical and4687increasingly difficult roles. In your budget request, you are4688requesting additional protection agencies. How are you hiring4689the protective personnel and procuring the resources to support4690the division and meet your mission?4691    Mr. Manger. You know, it is funny, but when Senator Mullin4692asked the Sergeant at Arms about the top priorities, dignitary4693protection is number one for us in terms of the need and a4694priority in our budget. We are asking for, again, the ability4695to hire 288 new positions. This allows us to continue the flow4696into the agency, and the opportunity for people who want to go4697from Uniform Services Division to Dignitary Protection without4698diminishing the uniformed officer's ability to continue to do4699their job.4700    So that is the first way we do it. We are also bringing4701folks in directly to become DPD agents and hiring them directly4702and training them. So we have got, and we are allowing for4703lateral hires as well. So these are strategies that we did not4704use before, and it is helping us make progress. But we have got4705to get the number up to, right now, we believe 530 DPD agents4706is what is needed.4707    And you touched on it in terms of the hours that these4708individuals have to work, we have got to get the staffing up so4709that we are not making people work double shifts, and canceling4710days off, and all that sort of thing. It is the DPD agents who4711are the ones that are constantly bumping up against the maximum4712allowable pay rate. And so getting the staffing up will solve4713that problem.4714    Senator Murray. Yes, and you and I have talked before about4715the problem of retaining sworn law enforcement personnel, these4716are really demanding, high-stress jobs. In recent years, we4717have authorized retention bonuses and student loan repayment4718programs. Is there any data in if that has been effective?4719    Mr. Manger. Well, I can just tell you that our attrition4720rates are lower than they were before we had those, so I think4721that is evidence. And just anecdotally, you talk to a lot of4722cops, and that is keeping them here, especially at a critical4723time for some of these folks that would be at a time in their4724career where: Well, I am either going to stay--if I keep4725staying, then I am just invested now to stay through the end.4726Versus or: Are there other opportunities somewhere else? So I4727think it is a very effective way to keep people here.4728    I know that this year, we are going to hopefully be able to4729offer some retention bonus, but it is not going to be near what4730we have offered in years past.4731    Senator Murray. Okay, thank you. My time is out. I do have4732additional questions I would like to submit for the record.4733Thank you.4734    Senator Mullin. And just for a reminder, because the4735librarian has been brought up twice here, I really didn't want4736to get into that in this hearing. But for the history of4737understanding the librarian and how this came about to begin4738with, if we go back to when the conception of the librarian was4739formed by Thomas Jefferson in 1902, it was a lifetime4740appointment. It was a lifetime appointment until President4741Obama changed it in 2015 and made the librarian where it was at4742the service and at the will of the President.4743    There was no objection by this side at that time when that4744was taken care of. So that was well within the President's4745authority to be able to let go the librarian. There is no4746separation of powers because that appointment for the librarian4747has always been appointed by the President of the United4748States. So just for historical purposes, I didn't want to get4749into it, but it has been brought up twice. I think that is--4750that is an important piece of information that is being left4751out here.4752    Chief, you just said that your objection is to hire----part4753of your reason for asking for the increase is to hire 288 new4754officers; is that correct?4755    Mr. Manger. That is correct.4756    Senator Mullin. Your recruiting classes are full month4757after month; is that correct?4758    Mr. Manger. They are, yes.4759    Senator Mullin. Okay, so you are not having a recruiting4760issue, right?4761    Mr. Manger. We are not.4762    Senator Mullin. And really, if you break down the 2884763employees, you have 996- roughly, overtime hours, actually over4764996,000 actually overtime hours that you paid out last year to4765the tune of 84----let us just round the number--$84.3 million.4766Just quick math, if you did 288 employees and you times it by476752, which they don't work 52 weeks a year, but just times it by476852, and you give them 50 hours a week, that just comes up to4769748,000 hours right there.4770    So if we not having a recruiting issue, then we have all4771your classes are full, we can get there underneath the current4772budget you have right now. Put an additional 288 people on the4773force, they still are able to get overtime at a tune of 504774hours a week, that is including with your officers you have4775today. Because your officers you have today, if you take that4776and divide it up, they average right at 50 hours a week, 40.84777hours, actually.4778    And I know this is different from protective service guys4779that are doing protective work versus the uniform, but my point4780is, if we look at restructuring it, rather than just asking for4781us to throw more money at it, it is saving the taxpayer4782dollars. But we can't do it because your recruiting classes are4783completely full, and you only--we are only able to go through4784the recruiting classes, you have two places that you put these4785things--that you put your recruits through, right?4786    Mr. Manger. FLETC in Shelton--FLETC in Georgia and then4787Shelton.4788    Senator Mullin. And we are limited on numbers there. Have4789we looked at having an additional place? Because obviously,4790like I said, you are not having a recruiting number--a4791recruiting issue because your classes are full, so we can't4792ever get to the 288 if we are at maximum capacity right now. So4793what is our option?4794    Mr. Manger. One of the findings in a recent training needs4795assessment that we completed is that the facilities are the4796choke point for us.4797    Senator Mullin. Right, but I mean, have we looked at4798getting a different facility, a different place to send our4799recruits to?4800    Mr. Manger. Yes, well, we could look at that. I mean, FLETC4801has just historically been----4802    Senator Mullin. Historically, yes.4803    Mr. Manger [continuing]. And Federal Law Enforcement4804Training Center is where we train all Federal law enforcement4805officers.4806    Senator Mullin. But if they are not able to meet the need,4807then the definition of insanity is doing the same thing4808expecting different results. If they are not able to meet the4809need, and they are not able to recruit fast enough, we have to4810change. Because instead, you are paying out 996,000 hours of4811overtime, which is a tune of $84-plus million, and you could4812easily get the other 288 officers in place with the budget you4813have right now by just cutting down people's overtime, which4814would also help their quality of life, because they are not--4815they are going to be able to be home a little bit more, at the4816same time, still get the overtime at 50 hours a week.4817    And so there is math here that actually works, but we can't4818do it unless you are willing to change and look outside what we4819have always done.4820    Mr. Manger. Well, the change that I am dealing with is the4821growing caseload. I mean, this is not a static workload that4822does not change every year. It is increasing every year.4823    Senator Mullin. The growing caseload, you would need 2884824additional officers, right?4825    Mr. Manger. And we are trying to make up for deficits that4826continue, especially in the----4827    Senator Mullin. But you can't get there, that is what I am4828getting at. If your recruiting classes are 100 percent full,4829you will never be able to get there unless we look at a4830different place to start putting these recruits through, the4831different class.4832    Mr. Manger. I understand what you are saying, but we are4833making progress in terms of getting ahead of attrition every4834year with the 288 people that we are putting through.4835    Senator Mullin. By what numbers?4836    Mr. Manger. Typically, our attrition numbers, and I can get4837them to you, are around usually 130, 140 people who leave. So4838we are coming out----4839    Senator Mullin. But if it is just----4840    Mr. Manger [continuing]. Just estimating, we are coming out4841at least 100 officers ahead each year.4842    Senator Mullin. So at that rate, if you kept the current4843load and your current assessment, risk assessment stays, it4844would still take you 3 years to get hired up?4845    Mr. Manger. I estimate that by the end of fiscal year 2027,4846we would be close.4847    Senator Mullin. But you can't do that. Your recruiting4848classes are full, and your attrition rate is at 134, and you4849are bringing in 220, I thought 220-some, new recruits every4850year, you are less than 100, you need 288. Just simple math4851there says it is going to take over 3 years. In fact, it is4852going to take three and a half years.4853    Mr. Manger. Well, we are making progress every year in4854terms of getting closer to the staffing.4855    Senator Mullin. But why have we not looked at getting a new4856place to send the recruits, is what I am getting at? Just4857because we are--and this is what, it is like I am going in4858circles here. I don't understand why we are not trying to find4859new places to put the recruits through so we can have a higher4860amount hired each year. If we need 288 today, then what are we4861going to need in 3 years from now? You are never going to get4862caught up with that.4863    Mr. Manger. If there is someplace that will give us the4864certificate--that allows us to certify these police officers as4865Federal law enforcement officers, another facility, I am happy4866to look at it.4867    Senator Mullin. I am good with it too. And I think we can4868help you find one. We just need to start looking. I yield.4869    Senator Heinrich. Mr. Chairman, I would be very happy to4870work with you, and we just happen to have a Federal Law4871Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, that we4872would love to make sure meets the requirements of the U.S.4873Capitol Police.4874    Senator Mullin. Honestly, let us look at it.4875    Senator Heinrich. Absolutely. I am not saying----4876    Senator Mullin. I mean, if we want to take a full hearing4877there, let us go.4878    Senator Heinrich [continuing]. I am not saying that to4879jest. They do great work. I know that the first----4880    Senator Mullin. If we had one in Oklahoma, I would offer it4881too, by the way.4882    Senator Heinrich. There are some very specific requirements4883for the Capitol Police, and I am not sure if we currently meet4884all of those, but we would be happy to work on it, so.4885    Ms. Hemingway, you serve on the Capitol Police Board that4886provides oversight to the U.S. Capitol Police. It is also4887responsible for selecting the next Chief. What is the status of4888that selection process, and just sort of bring us up to date4889and talk about the time line a little bit?4890    Ms. Hemingway. Sure. Thank you for that question. Following4891Chief Manger's announced retirement, effective May 29th, the4892Capitol Police Board engaged with the Police Executive Research4893Forum to assist in a competitive search. We are in the middle4894of actively interviewing a well-qualified pool of applicants.4895We are on track to make a decision, as a Board, by the end of4896this month, and provided we do not deviate from that time line,4897I look forward to introducing you to the new Chief of Police in4898June.4899    Senator Heinrich. Great. Chief, in your view, what should4900be the primary focus in the first month of the incoming Chief's4901tenure?4902    Mr. Manger. Well, I think that depending on where they come4903from, whether it is an internal candidate or external, but4904certainly any external candidate, there are two big challenges4905in this job: one, of course, you have to know how to run a4906large police organization, and some of us came in with that4907ability. But then you have to learn Capitol Hill and how that--4908--4909    Senator Heinrich. The uniqueness of this particular4910environment?4911    Mr. Manger. Yes. And that is like nothing else. And so to4912make sure that you have the staff in place, and you know, the4913right guidance to make sure that you are navigating Capitol4914Hill in an effective way so that you can be effective on day4915one when you get in here. And that is what a new chief should4916focus on if they don't have that experience already.4917    Senator Heinrich. The Sergeant at Arms has also increased4918its focus on Member protection, as you mentioned, including4919security concerns for our families and staff. In your4920testimony, you referred to more than 5,700 requests in 2024 for4921security travel and public events. In broad terms, what has the4922Sergeant at Arms done to increase its focus on Member4923protection both here in D.C., but also back in people's home4924districts and home States?4925    Ms. Hemingway. Both here in D.C. and in home States, we now4926offer, thanks to this Committee, the Residential Security4927System Program. We have 41 senators who are actively4928participating in this program, through which we are able to4929provide a security assessment, work with the senator on4930security recommendations, and once those recommendations are4931agreed to, we cover the cost of implementation, monitoring, and4932maintenance. I am very proud of that accomplishment over the4933past few years with this Committee's support.4934    With respect to law enforcement coordination to help4935address the threats, we encourage senators to let us know about4936events that are upcoming so we can do an intelligence threat4937assessment, and based on that assessment, we recommend a level4938of law enforcement support.4939    Thanks to this Committee again, Capitol Police has money to4940reimburse State and local agencies for mutual aid law4941enforcement support. If law enforcement support is not4942appropriate, we have several training classes and offer tips4943and coordinate with staff to make sure that they are well4944prepared to support senators.4945    For our State offices we also offer the AlertMedia tool,4946which State offices staff, senators, and spouses can use to4947maintain situational awareness about events near them. We also4948harden State offices, including with ballistic glass and secure4949reception rooms. We put security equipment in state offices,4950and part of this budget request includes funding for the4951lifecycle replacement of that equipment. Those are just a few4952highlights that I would offer to you.4953    Senator Heinrich. Great. Thank you.4954    And thank you, Chairman. I am going to offer the rest of my4955questions for the record today, but I very much appreciate the4956hearing.4957    Senator Mullin. Thank you. Chief, I want to--something was4958brought to my attention, we are talking about budgets, and we4959are looking at ways to either increase or save money. What is4960OEI?4961    Mr. Manger. Office of Equity and Inclusion.4962    Senator Mullin. And the purpose?4963    Mr. Manger. The purpose in the Capitol Police is to----it4964is designed to promote a culture of teamwork and shared4965commitment to our mission. Every member of the Capitol Police,4966I want them to feel like they are part of the team and4967committed to our mission. And our OEI reports directly to me4968because I think that what they do is that important. It is less4969than 1 percent of our budget and----4970    Senator Mullin. It is the tune of $1 million for 9 people,4971is how much it costs, $1 million?4972    Mr. Manger. Yes. Some of those are contractors and----4973    Senator Mullin. And you have nine personnel; four civilian4974and five contractors?4975    Mr. Manger. Right.4976    Senator Mullin. That is a hefty payroll for nine people.4977    Mr. Manger. Yes, and we can certainly look at ways to pare4978some of the expenses down if need be.4979    Senator Mullin. What does your average officer make a year?4980    Mr. Manger. Well, the starting salaries right after you are4981out of the academy is about mid-80s.4982    Senator Mullin. Mid-80s?4983    Mr. Manger. Yes. But the average officer is probably making4984in the--probably just over six figures.4985    Senator Mullin. Okay. So you could hire at least ten new4986officers. Now, once again, obviously you are not having a4987recruiting issue, but I am having a hard time because OEI4988sounds a lot like DEI, and it is on the--I mean, when you4989literally go onto your front website, it is literally there,4990and in fact, recently they were having a fair, which looked4991like it was a fair for grade schoolers, and I was going to put4992a stencil up and show it because it was actually, I mean, they4993are talking about having raffle tickets, and giving away4994prizes, and they are going to have snacks for everybody. And I4995am going: Really? I have a hard time justifying that.4996    Mr. Manger. Well, we have got--if you look at the programs4997that----4998    Senator Mullin. And it talks about where everybody feels4999comfortable going to, and it talks about--talking about their5000diversity. And then it also has a chart on there, and it shows5001how many officers are White, and the ethnic groups that are5002there. But it specifically shows White officers, and I go:5003Really? This is what we need in the workplace?5004    Because that is called division, because if we are trying5005to hire the best and brightest based on merit, then why would5006that chart even need to be in the OEI?5007    Mr. Manger. Well, I will tell you that all over this5008country, people in every community want to know if their police5009department is reflecting the diversity and the experience of5010their community.5011    Senator Mullin. But also, everybody here wants to be safe.5012And that is why we want to hire based on merit.5013    Mr. Manger. And that is number one, and if you heard what I5014said before.5015    Senator Mullin. Yes.5016    Mr. Manger. I mean, this team is designed to promote a5017culture of teamwork, where everybody feels like they are part5018of the team.5019    Senator Mullin. That is not what the----5020    Mr. Manger. And that is important to me.5021    Senator Mullin [continuing]. That is not what the website--5022--5023    Mr. Manger. And if you have an organization that is large5024as mine----5025    Senator Mullin[continuing]: That is not what the website,5026sir----5027    Mr. Manger[continuing]: You want people to have----5028    Senator Mullin. Chief, read website that is not what that5029says.5030    Mr. Manger. I have read the website. They do a lot of5031different things.5032    Senator Mullin. It does not say that. What you are5033describing, it does not say. I don't want to get in a tit for5034tat for you, but if you want to get in an argument about it, we5035can. This is a good way to make sure----5036    Mr. Manger. I am not arguing with you.5037    Senator Mullin. Well, you are. This sounds----5038    Mr. Manger. I am telling you what the substance of this--5039you asked me what the purpose of the team was.5040    Senator Mullin. Did it--why doesn't it say that on the5041website, because it doesn't. There is nowhere on that website5042that it says anything that you are saying. So you can tell me5043what it may--supposed to be. I can tell you what the website is5044saying. So which one is it?5045    Mr. Manger. It is what I tell you.5046    Senator Mullin. Well, there need--then the website--then5047the website is dead wrong.5048    Mr. Manger. Because that is what I--that is the direction I5049have given that team.5050    Senator Mullin. Well, then you are not looking over it very5051well, because they are spending a million dollars for nine5052people, and you don't even know what the website says.5053    Mr. Manger. I do know the website says.5054    Senator Mullin. And the job--and the fair that they have,5055that they are going to have for whatever it is, it does not say5056that. It says: Come to make sure everybody feels comfortable5057and included. And then, once again, it breaks down every race.5058I believe you are pretty diversified.5059    I get along with your officers. Love your officers. I think5060they are awesome. Get along with every one of them. I go by,5061there is not a single time that I don't go by and I shake their5062hands and tell them, thank you, and I joke and kid with them.5063And I don't see there is a diversity issue, but OEI is making5064it an issue.5065    Mr. Manger. That is not true.5066    Senator Mullin. Then why would they have a chart that5067showed every ethnic group there?5068    Mr. Manger. That they do----5069    Senator Mullin. And then it talks about diversity, and it5070talks about what their goal is and how important diversity is5071to get----5072    Mr. Manger. When we talk about diversity, the diversity of5073experience that brought everybody to be on Team USCP.5074    Senator Mullin. When you read--when you read your website,5075it doesn't talk about that. Because it starts to talk--it talks5076about diversity goals, and your diversity goals are based on5077race. So once again, Chief, you are not accurate.5078    Mr. Manger. I don't--I don't believe that is the case.5079    Senator Mullin. Okay. Well, I can go back and I can quote5080it, because it talks about diversity on female officers, it5081talks about diversity on different races, and it talks about5082what your goals are to get there. So it does. And I don't--you5083know, if that is what you are at, then just own it, and instead5084of saying----5085    Mr. Manger. Well, it is not. It is not. We do not have5086quotas, we do not--our diversity efforts are not: Oh, let us5087hire this--this kind of person, not that kind of person. That5088is not the case.5089    Senator Mullin. Well, it says that if you want to--which I5090don't care if they--if everybody is on merit-based hire the5091best people, so I don't care about it. I am not trying to get5092in tit for tat for it.5093    Mr. Manger. We are doing----5094    Senator Mullin. But it does say in there that you are5095trying to diversify the force to 30 percent females, which, I5096don't care. It does not bother me so----5097    Mr. Manger. That is a national program called ``30 for509830'', where there is an effort to increase the number of women5099in policing.5100    Senator Mullin. So there is a quota.5101    Mr. Manger. No, it is not a quota. No. I mean, it is a5102goal. It is not a quota for us.5103    Senator Mullin. Okay. We have a lot of work to do. I want5104to make sure that everybody here at the Capitol is safe. I want5105to make sure that everybody that comes and visits us, and5106everybody that comes here to work, goes home to their families,5107and that is including all the officers, that is my number one5108goal. At the same time, I want to be a good steward of the5109dollars we are spending and make sure they are going to that5110goal.5111    And I want to look at the way we do things. Just because we5112do things a certain way and we have done it for 10 years5113doesn't mean we can't get better at it. And my goal as the5114chair is to do that. And we can do that through one, if we are5115financing a program, I want to make sure it is a program that5116is actually being effective in every way possible, every way5117possible.5118    So I look forward to working with you, Chief. I do5119appreciate your service. We don't always agree on every issue,5120but where you have taken the department in a few short years is5121commendable. I think there are a lot more changes that need to5122be happen--or that needs to happen, but you have done a pretty5123good job walking into a very difficult situation. So thank you.5124    Unless the Ranking Member has anything else to say, I will5125close the Committee.5126    Senator Heinrich. I just want to thank you both. I have5127seen measurable improvements to both of your organizations. And5128that is not lost on me, and I think it is not lost on most of5129the Members. And please be sure that your workforces understand5130how much we appreciate them.5131    Senator Mullin. This concludes the Legislative Branch5132Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing regarding fiscal year 20265133funding for the Sergeant at Arms and the United States Capitol5134Police.5135    Thank you, Ms. Hemingway; and thank you, Chief, for5136testifying today. We appreciate the information you provide and5137look forward to working with each of your agencies as we5138continue to evaluate the security needs of Congress.51395140                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS51415142    Senator Mullin. The hearing record will be open for 7 days,5143allowing members to submit statements and/or questions for the5144record, which will be sent to the subcommittee for close of5145business on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.51465147                         CONCLUSION OF HEARINGS51485149    Senator Mullin. The subcommittee stands adjourned.5150    [Whereupon, at 3:58 p.m., Wednesday, May 14, the hearings5151were concluded, the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene5152subject to the call of the Chair.]51535154       LIST OF WITNESSES, COMMUNICATIONS, AND PREPARED STATEMENTS51555156                              ----------5157                                                                   Page51585159Austin, Thomas E., Architect, Architect of the Capitol:5160    Prepared Statement of........................................    645161    Statement of.................................................    6251625163Dodaro, Hon. Gene L., Comptroller General of the United States5164  Government Accountability Office:5165    Prepared Statement of........................................    165166    Statement of.................................................    145167Donfried, Karen, Director, Congressional Research Service,5168  Prepared Statement of..........................................    5851695170Halpern, Hon. Hugh N., Director, Government Publishing Office:5171    Prepared Statement of........................................    295172    Statement of.................................................    275173Hayden, Hon. Carla D., Librarian of Congress:5174    Prepared Statement of........................................    505175    Statement of.................................................    495176Heinrich, Senator Martin, U.S. Senator From New Mexico, Opening5177  Statement of51785179Hemingway, Honorable Jennifer A., United States Sergeant at Arms5180  and Doorkeeper of the Senate:5181    Prepared Statement of........................................    985182    Statement of.................................................    9751835184Manger, Hon. J. Thomas, Chief of Police, United States Capitol5185  Police:5186    Prepared Statement of........................................   1045187    Statement of.................................................   1035188Mullin, Senator Markwayne, U.S. Senator From Oklahoma,Opening5189  Statement of51905191Perlmutter, Shira, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S.5192  Copyright Office, Prepared Statement of........................    5351935194Swagel, Ph.D., Hon. Phillip L., Director, Congressional Budget5195  Office:5196    Prepared Statement of........................................     55197    Statement of.................................................     351985199                             SUBJECT INDEX52005201                              ----------52025203                                                                   Page52045205                        ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL52065207I. Overview......................................................    645208II. Prioritizing Physical Security & Life Safety.................    645209III. Supporting the Senate Community.............................    655210IV. Modern Management of Aging Infrastructure....................    655211V. Workforce Investments & Meeting Mission Requirements..........    655212VI. Conclusion...................................................    655213                               __________52145215                      CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE52165217CBO's Budget Request and Its Consequences for Staffing and Output     65218Enhancing Transparency...........................................    105219Funding Request for Personal Costs and Consequences for Staffing.     75220Requested Information and Authorities............................     85221Strengthening Responsiveness.....................................    105222                               __________52235224                    GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE52255226Appendix I:Summary of Resources and Staffing.....................    245227Connect with GAO.................................................    265228FY 2026 Budget Request...........................................    205229GAO Highlights...................................................    175230GAO's:5231    Mission......................................................    265232    Work Improves Government Efficiency and Effectiveness........    195233Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony....................    265234                               __________52355236                      GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE52375238GovInfo..........................................................    335239GPO's FY 2026 Appropriations Request.............................    315240OIG Request......................................................    335241XPub.............................................................    325242                               __________52435244                          LIBRARY OF CONGRESS52455246Committee Questions Asked During the Hearing--Library of5247  Congress:5248    Meeting Room Utilization in Library of Congress Buildings....    775249        Caveats..................................................    795250        New Event Space in the John Adams Building...............    795251        Public Event Space.......................................    775252        Results..................................................    785253Committee Questions Asked During the Hearing--Register of5254  Copyrights and Director:5255    Streamlining Copryight Royalty Proceedings...................    805256        Accountability for Performance...........................    825257        Adding Another Panel of Judges Specifically for5258          Distribution Proceedings...............................    805259        Assigning Additional Tasks to A Single Copyright Royalty5260          Judge..................................................    825261        Disputes Regarding Representation of Claimants; Sanctions5262          on Participants........................................    815263        Efficiencies That Would Likely Require Statutory Change..    815264        Internal Efficiencies to Streamline the Process..........    815265        Larger Advance Partial Distributions.....................    815266        Target Completion Dates..................................    815267Committee Questions Asked During The Hearing--Copyright Royalty5268  Litigation:5269    Length of Copryight Royalty Proceedings......................    925270Congressional Support for Copyright Royalty Fee Distribution.....    695271Continuous Development of Information Technology.................    555272Continuous Development of The Enterprise Copyright System (ECS)..    525273Copyright Royalty Litigation.....................................    715274CRS Service to Congress in Fiscal 2024...........................    585275Fiscal 2025 Re-Submissions.......................................    525276Fiscal 2026 Budget Request and Program Increase..................    585277Funding and Update to the Fiscal 2026 Budget Request.............    565278Key Accomplishments Over the Past Year...........................    535279Meeting Room Utilization in the Jefferson and Madison Buildings..    785280Preservation Object Storage Upgrade..............................    515281Space Utilization at the Library of Congress.....................    665282Status of Copyright Royalty Fee Distribution.....................    675283Status of the Visitor Experience Project.........................    695284Strategic Initiatives............................................    595285Web Application Delivery and Management Improvements.............    515286                               __________52875288                      UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE52895290Additional Committee Questions...................................   1195291I. Background....................................................   1065292II. Department's FY2026 Budget Request...........................   1065293III. Conclusion..................................................   10752945295                                   [all]