Valadao Remarks at FY25 Legislative Branch Bill Subcommittee Markup

As the new Chairman of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, it has been an exciting few weeks working to present the bill before you today. First, I want to say thank you to the Members of this subcommittee for your respectful input and particularly the cooperation and patience of our Ranking Member, Mr. Espaillat.

I also want to thank the Subcommittee staff on both sides. From the Majority, Michelle Reinshuttle and April Lyman, and from the Minority, Faye Cobb. Thank you all for your thoughtful due diligence and hard work especially during this expedited timeframe.

I am pleased to introduce the Fiscal Year 2025 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill which provides $5.546 billion – a 3.5 percent increase from the fiscal year 2024 enacted House levels. Adding the Senate items, the discretionary allocation totals $7.125 billion, which is 5.6 percent above the fiscal year 2024 enacted level.  The bill supports the Legislative Branch as an essential branch of government that is open to and works for the American people.

Details of the bill and report have been shared with the Subcommittee Members. I will provide a quick summary of the highlights and recommendations before us today.

The bill includes $1.93 billion for the operations of the House. This is $81.6 million more than last year’s enacted level, a 4.4 percent increase. The bill provides level funding for many accounts within the House such as Leadership offices and intern pay while providing the resources needed to do our jobs well, retain staff, best serve constituents, and provide oversight of the Executive Branch.

The bill includes $25 million for Joint Items, including the Joint Economic Committee, which received flat funding, the Joint Committee on Taxation, which received an increase of $896,000, the Attending Physician which decreased 7.3 percent, and the office of Congressional Accessibility Services which increased by $48,000.

The bill includes $830 million for the Capitol Police, a 4.8 percent increase in funding, to allow for the Department’s full sworn officer request and to fill mission critical requirements to keep the Capitol complex, and all who work and visit the Capitol, secure.

The bill provides flat funding for the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights and a 4.7 percent increase from fiscal year 2024 enacted for the Congressional Budget Office.

The bill includes $752 million for the Architect of the Capitol, a 7 percent reduction from the FY24 request. The funding will enable the Architect of the Capitol to maintain and increase the lifespan of facilities and improve services while also addressing deferred maintenance and capital renewal projects and attending to necessary security requirements, code-compliance issues, and historic preservation measures.

The bill provides $883 million for the Library of Congress. This is a 3.7 percent increase of from the enacted level to allow the Library to maintain current operations and support the Copyright Office, Congressional Research Service, and the National Library Service for Blind and Print Disabled.

The bill provides $897 million to the Government Accountability Office, a 10% increase over the FY24 enacted level to continue its oversight across the wide array of government programs and operations. This increase is due to a significant reduction in the offsetting collections for FY25 that the base allocation had to absorb.

Finally, the Government Publishing Office received a 3 percent increase, The Congressional Office for International Leadership received an additional $600,000 in funding, and the Stennis Center for Public Service remained flat.

This bill ensures Congress remains open, safe, and working for the American people and provides the resources necessary for Congress to effectively serve our constituents and conduct our oversight responsibilities.