Legislative Branch FY98 Appropriations bill

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Congressional Operations

Title II: Other Agencies

Title III: General Provisions

Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the legislative branch for FY 1998.

Title I: Congressional Operations - Congressional Operations Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Senate for: (1) expense allowances; (2) representation allowances for the Majority and Minority leaders; (3) salaries of specified officers, employees, and committees; (4) agency contributions for employee benefits; (5) inquiries and investigations; (6) the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control; (7) the Offices of the Secretary, Sergeant at Arms, and Doorkeeper of the Senate; (8) miscellaneous items; (9) the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account; (10) stationery; and (11) official mail costs.

(Sec. 1) Authorizes the Secretary of the Senate to make advance payments under contracts to provide services or deliver articles for the U.S. Government without regard to requirements governing advances under Federal public finance law.

(Sec. 3) Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1973 to raise the limit on authorized mail, telegraph, telephone, stationery, office supplies, and home State office and travel expenses for Senators.

Amends Federal law to make the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account available for the payment of franked mail expenses of Senators, beginning in FY 1998. Repeals a provision of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 which authorized transfers of a limited amount of funds for mass mail to such Account.

(Sec. 4) Increases the aggregate amount authorized for Senate committees by S. Res. 54, 105th Congress.

(Sec. 5) Provides for increases in the aggregate compensation paid to employees in Senate offices.

Makes appropriations for the House of Representatives for: (1) House leadership offices; (2) Members' representational allowances; (3) committee employees; (4) officers and employees; (5) specified allowances and expenses; and (6) the House Child Care Center.

(Sec. 101) Makes permanent certain laws establishing the Calendar Corrections Office and providing a lump sum allowance for the Office.

(Sec. 103) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 to authorize lump sum payments to House employees upon approval of the employing authority. (Current law authorizes such payments for accrued annual leave of separated employees.)

(Sec. 104) Amends the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act to authorize the hiring of clerk hire interns in Members' offices outside of the District of Columbia.

(Sec. 106) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1987 to authorize the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to donate computer-related equipment to public elementary and secondary schools in the District of Columbia in FY 1998 without regard to certain requirements governing donations. Limits the total number of workstations donated to 1,000.

(Sec. 107) Confers certain authorities regarding waivers in reduction of pay for certain former members of the uniformed services and annuities and pay on reemployment on the Committee on House Oversight (currently, the Speaker of the House) with respect to House employees.

(Sec. 108) Authorizes the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to make advance payments under contracts to provide services or deliver articles for the U.S. Government without regard to requirements governing advances under Federal public finance law.

(Sec. 109) Establishes an account in the House for purposes of making payments to the Employees' Compensation Fund.

Makes appropriations for: (1) the Joint Economic, Printing, and Taxation Committees; (2) the Office of the Attending Physician; and (3) the Capitol Police Board.

(Sec. 110) Sets forth administrative provisions regarding the Capitol Police Board and requires the Board to establish unified schedules of rates of basic pay and a unified leave system for members and civilian employees.

Appropriates funds for the Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office and for statements of appropriations.

Makes appropriations for: (1) the Office of Compliance; (2) the Congressional Budget Office; (3) the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) for salaries and expenses, Capitol buildings and grounds, House and Senate office buildings, and the Capitol power plant; (4) the Library of Congress for the Congressional Research Service's (CRS) salaries and expenses; and (5) the Government Printing Office (GPO) for congressional printing and binding.

Title II: Other Agencies - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Botanic Garden; and (2) the Library of Congress for salaries and expenses, the Copyright Office, books for the blind and physically handicapped, and furniture and furnishings.

(Sec. 201) Provides a limited amount of funds for the Library and CRS for attendance at meetings concerned with the function for which an appropriation is made.

(Sec. 202) Prohibits the use of funds by the Library to administer any flexible or compressed work schedule which: (1) applies to any manager or supervisor in a position equal to or higher than a GS-15 grade; and (2) grants such individual the right to not be at work on a workday because of time worked on another workday.

(Sec. 203) Establishes limits on: (1) the number of employees hired by the Library to perform reimbursable work for other agencies; and (2) funds for representation and reception expenses associated with the Library incentive awards program and overseas field offices.

(Sec. 207) Establishes the Cooperative Acquisitions Program Revolving Fund for financing a Library program to acquire foreign publications and research materials on behalf of participating institutions on a cost-recovery basis.

Makes appropriations for: (1) the AOC for Library buildings and grounds; (2) GPO for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Superintendent of Documents; and (3) the General Accounting Office (GAO).

Sets forth authorized uses of, and limits on, such funds.

Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth prohibitions on the use of funds appropriated by this Act.

(Sec. 305) Sets forth Buy American provisions.

(Sec. 306) Authorizes appropriations as necessary to an account for awards and settlements authorized under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.

(Sec. 307) Makes a limited amount of funds available for costs of the Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council.

(Sec. 308) Amends the Federal criminal code to make certain penalty provisions for unauthorized uses of the seals of the United States, President, Vice President, and Senate applicable to seals of the House and the Congress as well.

(Sec. 310) Amends Federal civil service law to apply severance pay provisions to employees of the Senate restaurants, other than temporary employees. Sets forth early retirement provisions with respect to such employees and entitles them to annuities.

Requires the AOC to establish a program under which voluntary separation incentive payments may be offered to up to 50 eligible Senate restaurant employees for voluntary separation, through resignation or retirement, through FY 1999.

Treats any AOC service of certain Senate restaurant employees who are involuntarily separated before FY 2000 as competitive service in the case of employees who apply for executive branch positions.

Authorizes the AOC to establish a program to provide retraining, job placement, and counseling services to current and former Senate restaurant employees (other than reemployed annuitants or temporary employees).

(Sec. 311) Amends Federal law to limit compensation for the Director of Engineering (under the AOC) to a rate considered appropriate by the AOC but not to exceed 90 percent of the highest total rate for the Senior Executive Service for the locality involved. (Currently, such compensation is equal to the rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Schedule.)