THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1984. CONSIDERATION OF MARCH 15 REPORT TO THE BUDGET COMMITTEE Mr. FAZIO. The Committee will now take up the requirement the House Budget Committee imposes on us for the March 15 report. This contains the report and estimates on the fiscal 1985 budget. We have circulated a draft of the March 15 Report to the Members of the subcommittee. Unless there are any further comments, I would, without objection, rule that the March 15 report is approved for release to the Full Committee. Hearing none, I also ask unanimous consent that the Clerk may be authorized to make technical corrections and summarize the report for Full Committee use. I appreciate receiving that unanimous consent. Thank you. [A copy of the March 15 report follows:] MARCH 15 REPORT TO THE BUDget Committee, SUBMISSION TO FULL COMMITTEE, BY THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SUBCOMMITTEE The fiscal year 1985 appropriation request and other items under the Legislative Branch Subcommittee's jurisdiction totals $1,631,710,000 in budget authority and $1,630,903,000 in projected outlays including the Senate items that will be left for consideration by the other body. The outlays are estimates only and will result from fiscal year 1985 appropriations as well as appropriations enacted in prior years which will be expended in fiscal year 1985. The outlay estimates also include the fiscal year 1985 effects of pending supplemental requests for fiscal year 1984. Therefore, the ceilings on budget authority and outlay for items within the jurisdiction of the Legislative Subcommittee for Budget Act purposes should be $1,631,710,000 and $1,630,903,000, respectively. Hearings are currently underway and undoubtedly some downward adjustments may be made. The Subcommittee believes, however, that the overall targets should be based on the budget figures. BUDGET FUNCTIONS Commerce and housing credit (Function 370) This function deals with commercial and housing credit activities of the federal government. The Copyright Office and Copyright Royalty Tribunal are the two items in the bill that fall within this function. There are no known needs beyond the $11,350,000 requested in the budget for budget authority and the $11,282,000 in estimated outlays. Education, training, employment, and social services (Function 500) All the Library of Congress activities except for the Copyright Office and Congressional Research Service are included in this function. At this time, the fiscal year 1985 request of $176,764,000 in budget authority and the estimated $174,442,000 in outlays seems sufficient. General government (Function 800) The general housekeeping programs of the federal government, including legislative and legislative-support activities, are included in this function. Most of the items within the Subcommittee's jurisdiction are contained in the General Government function. Included are the budgets for the House and Senate, other joint items, the Congressional Research Service, Office of Technology Assessment, Congressional Budget Office, the General Accounting Office, Government Printing Office, and the Architect of the Capitol. The appropriation request for fiscal year 1985 budget authority is $1,398,818,000; outlays are estimated at $1,400,415,000. Fiscal Year 1984 Supplemental The budget request for fiscal year 1984 supplementals (Senate items included) is $199,679,000 in budget authority which is expected to spend out $65,297,000 in fiscal year 1984 outlays. MARCH 15 REPORT TABLE-SUBCOMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1984. JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION WITNESSES HON. DAN ROSTENKOWSKI, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS DAVID H. BROCKWAY, CHIEF OF STAFF RICHARD A. GORDON, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF MICHAEL W. COOK, CHIEF CLERK Mr. FAZIO. We will now come to order and consider the budget reguest for the Joint Committee on Taxation of $3,622,000 for fiscal year 1985. Mr. Chairman, thank you for joining us. We will be very brief, because your budget is very austere, as usual. If you would like to make a statement to the subcommittee, we would be happy to have it at this time. Mr. ROSTENKOWSKI. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I would like to submit my statement for the record and answer any questions. [The statement of Mr. Rostenkowski follows:] STATEMENT OF HON. DAN ROSTENKOWSKI, VICE CHAIRMAN, JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION Mr. Chairman, I am here today to discuss with your Subcommittee the fiscal 1985 budget request for the Joint Committee on Taxation. OVERVIEW As indicated in the letter to the Subcommittee dated January 19, 1984, the Joint Committee's fiscal 1985 budget request is $3,622,000, comprised of $3,101,500 for personnel and $520,500 for nonpersonnel costs. This is a $150,000 increase over the fiscal 1984 budget request; $129,500 of this increase is for personnel and $20,500 of this increase is for nonpersonnel costs. The $129,500 increase for personnel is attributable to the effects of fiscal 1984 pay adjustments, and meritorious promotions. The $20,500 net increase in the non-personnel funding total reflects decreases in consultant and equipment rental expenses, as well as expected increases in price and processing of computer services, increased costs of publications, and in miscellaneous expenses. EXPLANATION OF FISCAL 1985 BUDGET REQUEST General Mr Chairman, the fiscal 1985 budget request for the Joint Committee on Taxation of $3,622,000 compares to the fiscal 1984 appropriation amount of $3,472,000. The fiscal 1985 increase is thus $150,000, reflecting the fiscal 1984 Federal pay adjustments, and meritorious promotions of $129,500 and a net increase in non-personnel costs of $20,500. This is summarized as follows: (471) Estimated fiscal year 1985 increase over fiscal year 1984 appropriation level (Public Law 98-51) A. Personnel increases: 1. Fiscal 1984 Federal pay adjustment and meritorious promotions... $129,500 Subtotal, fiscal year 1985 personel increase over fiscal year 1984.......... 129,500 Subtotal, fiscal year 1985 non-personnel increase over fiscal year 20,500 150,000 Total increase in fiscal year 1985 over fiscal year 1984 Personnel costs The increased funds requested for personnel are for the fiscal 1984 Federal pay adjustment and meritiorious promotions. There is no request for increased number of personnel for fiscal 1985, which would remain at the fiscal 1984 authorization level of 68 staff positions. Non-Personnel costs The increase in the non-personnel funding total reflects expected increases in price and processing of computer services, in increased costs of publications, and increases in miscellaneous expenses. The non-personnel funding total also reflects decreases in consultant and equipment rental expenses. SUMMARY OF FISCAL 1984 AND 1985 BUDGET AMOUNTS In summary, Mr.Chairman, the Joint Committee's present budget estimates for fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are as follows: As of the present time, we do not foresee additional program needs for the four fiscal years folowing fiscal 1984. However, this may change if added personnel or additional computer-related tax analysis are necessary to meet the Joint Committee's future workload. ATTACHMENT-COMPARISON OF ESTIMATED FISCAL 1984 NONPERSONAL COSTS FOR THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION |