the system to produce all of Supplement V (1981), which consisted of 8 volumes comprising over 11,000 pages. Presently, we are in the process of merging titles 15 to 50 of Supplement V with the 1976 main edition, and updating the data base by incorporating the 1982 laws. It is expected that the first of about 24 volumes of the new edition of the Code, having about 36,000 pages, will be ready in May, with remaining volumes following every 2 to 3 weeks thereafter until completed. By comparision, the 1976 edition consisted of 16 volumes having about 25,000 pages. On completion of each title of the new edition, the data base for that title will be maintained by our Office on a current basis. Benefits resulting from the computer system include timelier publication of the Code, a Code research and retrieval system that has a current data base, and substantial savings in typesetting costs. The Code research and retrieval system, which has been developed and maintained for us on a pilot basis by H.I.S., now contains the data base for the 1976 main edition and Supplement V (1981). As each title of the new 1982 edition is completed, It will immediately replace the data presently in the system for that title. During the pilot stage, access to the system was restricted to this Office and to a very few select users such as the House and Senate Offices of Legislative Counsel. Last fall, we suggested to H.I.S. that there be general access to the system. H.I.S. concurred and advised that those Congressional offices that previously had expressed interest in accessing the system would be given prompt access and training, and that as resources for training and support permit, H.I.S. will provide access to any other Congressional office that requests it. There are now nearly 20 offices with access, which include Members, Committees, the Clerk, the Office of Technology Assessment, CRS and the law library of the Library of Congress, the Copyright Office, and the General Accounting Office. Regarding the preparation of codification bills to enact titles of the Code into positive law, I am pleased to report enactment of 4 bills as follows: H.R. 4623, amending titles 10, 14, 37, and 38 to codify recent law and to improve the Code (P.L. 97-295, approved Oct. 12, 1982). H.R. 6128, enacting title 31, Money and Finance (P.L. 97258, approved Sept. 13, 1982). H.R. 6993, enacting a portion of title 49, Transportation (P.L. 97-449, approved Jan. 12, 1983). H.R. 7378, amending title 31 to codify recent law and to improve the Code (P.L. 97-452, approved Jan. 12, 1983). A bill, H.R. 6754, to enact title 8, Aliens and Nationality, was introduced by the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee on July 14, 1982, and circulated for agency and public comment. A revised title 8 bill that takes into account comments received and incorporates subsequent legislation is nearly completed, and will be transmitted soon to the Judiciary Committee. Work has commenced on a bill to enact title 19, Customs Duties. Our staff level stands at sixteen: eleven are attorney positions, four are clerical, and one is a printing editor. In testimony before the Subcommittee two years, ago, Í advised that we expected additional personnel costs of about $100,000 a year beginning in fiscal year 1983 for five new positions associated with the Code computer system. Last year, our fiscal year 1983 request included $65,000 for three of the five new positions. I then advised you that a request for funding the other two positions would be delayed until fiscal year 1984 to afford us an opportunity to better evaluate our personnel requirements on the basis of experience gained with the system during 1982. Two of the three new positions funded in fiscal year 1983 have been filled, and we now in the process of filling the third. Based on our experience to date, I have concluded that it will be necessary to fill the remaining two of the five new positions in order to meet our objective of maintaining the Code data base on a current basis, and my request includes funding for the positions. We were able to accomplish as much as we did during 1982 because of the excellent training and start-up support provided by the Government Printing Office. This support included on-site services of two terminal operators for six months, a computer operator for nine months, and a graphics specialist for nine months. These support personnel have returned to GPO and we are now on our own except that GPO continues to provide needed technical support. The amount requested for fiscal year 1984 does not include funds to absorb user charges for H.I.S. computer services or amortization of purchased equipment. It is understood that any such charges that may be billed to our Office would be paid from administrative funds of the House rather than from the appropriation for our Office. In the event it is decided that our Office should bear any substantial charges of this nature for fiscal year 1984, it will be necessary to seek a supplemental appropriation to cover them. This completes my prepared statement. I will be happy to respond to any questions you may have. Mr. FAZIO. Thank you, Mr. Willett. We do not have any questions. You seem to be proceeding on the straightforward course you outlined for us in the past. OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, the next item is Office of Legislative Counsel. For salaries and expenses of the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House, $3,085,000. This request includes personnel funding of $2,678,000 and nonpersonnel funding of $407,000. The increase over the fiscal year 1983 appropriation is attributed to the cost-of-living increases granted at the staff and executive levels and to costs associated with the upgrading of their computer system. I would like to insert the table in the record at this point. [The information follows:] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL-APPROPRIATIONS, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES, UNEXPENDED BALANCES Mr. HUSSEY. Mr. chairman, members of the subcommittee, it is a pleasure to appear before you again. I am requesting $3,085,000 for the fiscal year 1984, an increase of $484,000 over the amount appropriated to date for fiscal year 1983 ($2,601,000). Of this increase of $484,000, $169,000 is attributable to the October 1, 1982, pay comparability increase and the recent raising of the ceiling on salaries, and the remainder ($315,000) is attributable to the upgrading of our computer system. This request does not ask for personnel in addition to those provided for by the fiscal year 1983 appropriation. We are not asking for additional attorneys and support personnel even though the number of committee jobs which we completed during the 97th Congress increased by 23 percent over the comparable number for the 96th Congress and even though we anticipate a greater volume of legislation in the 98th Congress than in the 97th Congress. Also, aside from the computer upgrade, we are requesting the same amount for nonpersonnel funding ($92,000) as was appropriated for that purpose for fiscal year 1983. COMPUTER SYSTEM UPGRADE The main reason for the increase in our budget is the $315,000 requested for a computer upgrade. We believe that this improvement in our computer system is desirable for the reasons outlined in my longer statement. These reasons include the ability to make a terminal available to each attorney who drafts by computer, increased functioning and storage capacity of our system, and the possibility of using the computer for some of our functions other than bill and amendment drafting (such as preparing reported bills and Ramseyer rule applications). We believe that this upgrading will rapidly pay for itself in increased efficiency of our legal and support staff and will permit us to handle a larger volume of work without increasing our staff. I shall, of course, be glad to answer any questions. Mr. FAZIO. Thank you. We appreciate your statement. STATEMENT OF Ward M. Hussey, LegislatiVE COUNSEL, U.S. HOUSE OF Mr. Chairman and Members of the subcommittee, it is a pleasure to appear before you again. I am requesting $3,085,000 for the fiscal year 1984, an increase of $484,000 over the amount appropriated to date for fiscal year 1983 ($2,601,000). Of this increase of $484,000 (1) $39,000 is attributable to the October 1, 1982, pay comparability increase, (2) $130,000 is attributable to the raising (by section 129 of Public Law 97-377) of the ceiling on salaries, and (3) $315,000 is attributable to the upgrading of our computer system. Of the increase of $169,000 set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) above, only $27,000 is properly allocable to fiscal year 1984, since $142,000 is more properly allocable to fiscal year 1983 than to fiscal year 1984. That is because the $39,000 item described in paragraph (1) took effect at the beginning of fiscal year 1983; and the ceiling increase described in paragraph (2) above took effect on December 18, 1982, and therefore a little more than 4 of such increase (approximately $103,000) is properly allocable to fiscal year 1983. There is pending a request for a supplemental appropriation of $142,000 to cover these 2 items for fiscal year 1983. The request for fiscal year 1984 for the Office of the Legislative Counsel may be broken down as follows: Personnel funding Nonpersonnel funding: $2,678,000 315,000 92,000 The amount requested for personnel funding is based on 52 employees, which is the number of employees provided for in the 1982 and 1983 appropriations, but 2 fewer than the 54 employees provided for by the 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981 appropriations. This figure of 52 employees includes 34 positions for attorneys, and 18 administrative, technical, and clerical positions. At the present time we have 7 vacancies distributed as follows: 4 attorneys (3 of whom have already been selected and are schedule to begin work this summer); 1 positions for a Ramseyer specialist (that is, a person who prepares copy showing the changes in existing law which will be made by reported bills); 2 positions for legal stenographers. The number of attorneys contemplated by the personnel funding request for 1984 (34) does not represent any numercal increase from fiscal years 1982 and 1983, and indeed represents a numerical decrease from the 36 attorneys authorized for the 4 fiscal years 1978-1981. During the 97th Congress, our Office completed 7,709 jobs for individual Members, which is down 685 from the 8,394 jobs for individual Members completed during the 96th Congress. This decrease in the number of jobs for individual Members followed the pattern of introduced bills and resolutions for the 97th Congress. The total number of introduced bills and all types of House resolutions for the 97th Congress was 9,181, down 1,219 from the comparable figure of 10,400 for the 96th Congress. However, the decrease in our workload for individual Members was more than matched by the increase in the work we did for committees (which takes the major portion of our staff's time). During the 97th Congress we completed 2,031 committee jobs, an increase of more than 23 percent over the 1,649 committee jobs we completed during the 96th Congress. Incidentally, during the 97th Congress we did work for 460 of the 470 individuals who served as Representative, Resident Commissioner, or Delegate during part or all of the 97th Congress. We also did work for all 22 of the standing committees of the House of Representatives. There are preliminary indications that a number of committees of the House plan to be far more active from the standpoint of working on legislation during the current session than they were during the first session of the 97th Congress. Despite these indications, I have not thought it necessary to request funds to increase our staff to our former authorized level (36) or to the recommended level of 40 attorneys contained in the December 1975 report on the staffing of our Office made by the House Commission on Information and Facilities. The amount requested for non-personnel funding other than computer upgrade is the same as it was for fiscal years 1982 and 1983, namely $92,000. The remainder of the nonpersonnel funding, $315,000 is requested to permit us to upgrade our computer system. I believe that our computer capability is rapidly paying for itself through (1) the increased volume of work which our attorneys and clerks can turn out without any increase in personnel, and (2) the use of our tapes by the Government Printing Office in printing bills and resolutions. During the 97th Congress, the Government Printing Office printed 3,096 bills and 120 committee prints by using computer tapes which our stenographers had prepared. According to our records, the total number of printed pages involved was 26,698 (this represents a 10 percent increase over the 24,124 pages recorded for the 96th Congress). However, in order for us to make full use of our computer system, a number of changes are necessary. Most important of these is the need for additional terminals. Many of our attorneys do their drafting directly on a computer terminal. They find that this permits them to get quick printouts of their current product and also permits quick rearrangements of various provisions of a bill as the policy changes or a clearer method of expressing the policy becomes apparent. However, at the present time our computer system will support only 28 terminals. Since 10 of these terminals must be reserved for other uses (9 for legal stenographers and 1 for maintenance), only 18 terminals are available for the attorneys in the Office, forcing some of the attorneys to use another more inefficient method of drafting or to wait their turn. Also, we believe that additional terminals will be needed in the fairly near future for use by our paralegal staff. In this connection, we are exploring the possibility of using computers to prepare reported bills and Ramseyer rule applications and to store and retrieve information with respect to jobs currently being worked on or which have been worked on in the past. It has been suggested that our present computer system, which is known among computer specialists as "Release 2", be upgraded to a system called "Release 4". To add more terminals to our Release 2 system raises some difficult problems. In the first place, the manufacturer no longer produces this type of hardware, and it has been estimated that to acquire it from other sources (presumably used hardware) will cost us in excess of $500,000. Furthermore, it would be difficult to fit this new hardware into our computer room, and its addition to our system might cause functioning problems (primarily the loss of materials). Release 4 would allow us to double the number of terminals because of a built-in feature called a "multi-processor bus." This feature permits the full use of all terminals (without danger of lost material) by providing a lock-in of the material so that, although the same material may be simultaneously viewed on more than 1 terminal, changes can be made on only 1 terminal at a time. There are a number of other features of Release 4 (in addition to the increased number of terminals which would be available) which would improve our computer capability: (A) Release 4 has 16 modes (or type fonts), which is twice as many as the 8 modes Release 2 has. The additional modes could be used, for example, for highlighting changes made in a particular draft from the previous draft. Also, we are exploring the possibility of devoting some of these new modes to cancelled type (also known as linetype), which would aid us in preparing reported bills and in preparing that part of committee reports which shows the changes made in existing law by a bill as reported. The modes involved would be cancelled type for roman, boldface, and capitals type. (B) Release 4 has a memory (or functioning) capability which is 300 percent greater than the memory capability of Release 2. The need for this increased ability to take commands will be critical if our terminals are increased, because even with the present number of terminals the system will at times refuse to obey commands because it is overloaded. (C) Release 4 would permit the increase of our storage capacity, doing away with our frequent (and time consuming) taping and hand storage in a tape rack of files we are not currently using in order to make room for new material. (D) Release 4 would simplify the entering and editing of material. Under Release 2 a file may be searched only from the beginning (or from the point then on the screen) to the end of the file. Under Release 4 a search may be made backward or forward from any point in a file. In addition, under Release 4 there is a capability of searching for a word or phrase in a particular type font. (E) Release 4 also has features which allow the machine to diagnose and fix many of the problems which arise during its operation. To the extent that the machine can solve its own problems, we would not be faced with downtime while we are attempting to locate, and secure the services of, a maintenance person. Although there are numerous other advantages of Release 4 over Release 2, at the present time those items listed above seem to be the ones which would be most important to our Office. It has been estimated that this upgrading would cost at least $315,000. (The exact cost for fiscal 1984 would depend on negotiations with the supplier and on how rapidly we add to our computer system additional storage capacity and terminals). However, I believe that this upgrading, as have previous investments in the computer system, will rapidly pay for itself in increased efficiency of our legal and support staff and will permit us to handle a larger volume of work without increasing our staff. I shall, of course, be glad to answer any questions. OTHER VARIOUS ACCOUNTS UNDER "SALARIES, OFFICERS AND Mr. FAZIO. Mr. Guthrie. EMPLOYEES" Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I would like to place in the record pages of my statement, which are a group of authorized employees. Basically, increases relate to the pay comparability and lifting of the pay cap for the executive level people. [The information follows:] SIX MINORITY EMPLOYEES For payment of salaries of the Six Minority Employees, $404,000. The increase of $52,000 over the FY '83 appropriation is entirely attributed to the increase in Executive Level salaries. 6 MINORITY EMPLOYEES-APPROPRIATIONS, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES, UNEXPENDED BALANCES THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC STEERING COMMITTEE AND CAUCUS For salaries and expenses of the House Democratic Steering Committee and Caucus, $542,000. The amount requested includes $524,700 for personnel and $17,300 for nonpersonnel items. An increase of $31,000 over the FY '83 appropriation is attributed to the October 1982 Federal Pay Comparability increase and the lifting of the pay cap for Executive Levels in December 1982. The House Democratic Steering Committee and the House Democratic Caucus are each entitled to a Lump Sum Allowance and a Statutory Allowance. For the purpose of illustration, I have included the consolidated and individual tables which show actual and estimated appropriations and expenditures. |