Nov 5, 2020 — The SOPOEA for each Senator is calculated based on three Committee may be found in the Senate Ethics Manual, “Dear Colleague” letters,.
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Congressional Research Service 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 Political Research Quarterly , vol. 66, no. 2 (June 2013), pp. 370 – 384. For a study of House Member spending, see David C.W. Parker and Craig Legislative Studies Qua rterly , vol. 34, no. 4 (November 2009), pp. 493 – 524. 2 P.L. 100 – 137 , Oct. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 814, 2 U.S.C. § 6313. 3 Available at http://www.rules.senate.gov/ public/ index.cfm? p= RulesOfSenateHome . In particular, Rule XXXVIII (Prohibition on Unofficial Office Accounts); Rule XLII (Employment Practices); and Rule XLIII (Representation by Members). 4 Guidelines from the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration may be found in the Senate Handbook , commun Congressional Record , daily edition, June 12, 2012, p. S3970, which contains information on Senate Office Building regulations, in cluding the smoking policy, building hours, and building admission. 5 Guidelines from the Senate Ethics Committee may be found in the Senate Ethics Manual and other committee communications. 6 For example, t he period of availabil ity of funds is addressed in statute and discussed in GAO s Principles of Federal Appropriations Law , which states, Pursuant to law, late – arriving bills may be paid for up to two years follow ing the Chapter 5, Availability of Appr opriations: Time, Page 5 – 76: http://www.gao.gov/ special.pubs/ 3rdEditionVol1.pdf Gross rate of compensation of employees paid by Secretary o f Senate Senate pay adjustments; action by President pro tempore of Senate rates of pay for employees within variou s categories of Senate offices. 7 2 U.S.C. §4108. P.L. 103 – 283 , the FY1995 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, amended this section to require account, stating the total amount of appropriations made available or allocated to the office; any supplemental appropriation, transfer of funds, or rescission; total expenses incurred for salary and office expenses; and the unexpended balance. During con sideration of the FY2010 legislative branch appropriations bill ( H.R. 2918 ), the Senate agreed to an amendment, S.Amdt. 1369 , offered by Senator Coburn, adding a provision to this section searchable, itemized format C
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Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA): History and Usage Congressional Research Service 2 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 included in the law enacted on October 1, 2009 ( P.L . 111 – 68 ). Reports since the period covering April 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011, are available at http://www.senate.gov/ legislative/ common/ generic/ report_secsen.htm . 8 D ata exclude Senators who were not in office for the entirety of the fiscal year. 9 These include funds operated by the Sergeant at Arms, including the Economic Allocation Fund (for information technology and other equipment), the Numeric Allocation Progra m (for telecom equipment) and the Constituent Service System Fund (hardware and software to support approved systems). Rental charges for home state offices are paid for by the Senate Sergeant at Arms. For information on authorization for procurement and p ayment of certain services, including home state office space and furniture, see 2 U.S.C. §6313 et seq. 10 1797 (1 Stat. 533, ch. 13). 11 Senators who were not chairmen of committees were first provided clerical assistance, at a rate of $6 a day when the Senate was in session, in 1884 (23 Stat. 249). Committees had previously been provided staffing assistance ( making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of government for the year ending June 30, ance Committee in particular [ 11 Stat. 103 ] ). 12 June 14, 194 8, ch. 467, 62 Stat. 425 . See also former 2 U.S.C. §52 (repealed) for a list of additional laws. 13 P.L. 100 – 137 , October 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 814, 2 U.S.C. § 6313. 14 Prior to the 1987 legislation, funding for these items was contained within separate line – administrative, clerical and leg agency contributions, s alaries, officers and off administrative, clerical and leg islative assistance to – item was itself a consol idation, effective October 1, 1977 , of two previously separate allowances, the Admini strative and Clerical Assistance Allowance and the Legislative Assistance Allowance. See U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropriati ons, 1978 , report to accompany H.R. 7932. S.Rept. 95 – 338, 95 th Cong., 1 st Sess. (Washington, GPO: 1977 ) ; and P.L. 95 – 94 , 91 Stat. 662 – 663, August 5, 1977. The Senate, in the early 1980s, also provided for limited transfer authority between the accounts (see former section 2 U.S.C. §58b). 15
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Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA): History and Usage Congressional Research Service 3 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Senators Official Personnel and Office Expense Account S. 1574 , 100 th Cong., 1 st sess., Jul y 30, 1987, S.Rept. 100 – 134 (Washington: GPO, 1987). 16 For legislation introduced in the Senate mentioning the SOPOEA, see, for example , the following : in the 115 th Congress, S. 2917 , S. 2236 , and S. 2872 ; in the 114 th Congress, S. 3327 ; in the 112 th Congress, S. 81 ; in the 111 th Congress, S. 1808 and S. 3335 ( S.Rept. 111 – 365 ); in the 110 th Congress, S. 1 (w hich became P.L. 110 – 81 ); in the 108 th Congress, S. 3741 ; and in the 103 rd Congress, S. 1287 . Other bills have been introduced in the House that would affect both House and Senate allowances, for example: in the 116 th Congress, H.R. 577 and H.R. 1626 ; in the 115 th Congress, H.R. 839 , H.R. 2951 , and H.R. 6640 ; in the 114 th Congress, H. R. 1873 and H.R. 5741 ; and in the 113 th Congress, H.R. 4872 and H.Con.Res. 113 Appropriations Acts: Administrative Provisions and Report Language Related to Unexpended Balances 17 and that offici al notification of member budgets is issued by the Financial Clerk of the Senate after enactment of this U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropri ations, 2020 , report to accompany S. 2581 , S.Rept. 116 – 124 , 116 th Cong., 1 st sess., (Washington: GPO, 2019), p. 24. 18 Agency contributions include a ny government contributions as an employer t oward health and life insurance, retirement individual authorization. 19 For example, see U.S. Congress, Senate Comm ittee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropri ations, 2020 , report to accompany S. 2581 , S.Rept. 116 – 124 , 116 th Cong., 1 st sess., (Washington: GPO, 2019), p. 24. 20 For example, see the FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act ( P.L. 111 – 68 , Oct. 1, 2009, 1 23 Stat. 2026) and the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act ( P.L. 111 – 8 , March 11, 2009, 123 Stat. 814). Additional adjustments authorized in the Order of the President pro Temp ore. For additional adjustment information, including a history of adjustments in the appropriations acts and in the Orders, see notes accompanying 2 U.S.C. §4575. See also a general provision in P.L. 116 – 94 adjust ing the maximum rates of compensation for certain congressional staff . 21 P.L. 76 – 641, June 18, 1940, 54 Stat. 464. 22 P.L. 90 – 57, July 28, 1967, 81 Stat. 141 – 144; 2 U.S.C. §4575. The Senate Appropriations Committee report from that year discusses the changes and contains a table for the allowances for the various population categories as well as has Sena Legislative Branch Appropriations, 1968 , report to accompany H.R. 10368, 90 th Cong., 1 st sess., June 29, 1967, S.Rept. 90 – 393 (Washington: GPO, 1967), pp. 5 – 8). 23 2 U.S.C. §4575.
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Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA): History and Usage Congressional Research Service 5 Figure 1 . SOPOEA Allowances : Maximum, Minimum, Average, and Median FY1996 – FY2020, not adjusted for inflation Source: CRS calculations based on tables included in the Senate Appropriations Committee reports accompanying the annual legislative branch appropriations bill. Since the FY1996 report, these reports have generally provided preliminary information on the S OPOEA allocation for Senators from each state for the F or example, U. S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropri ations, 2020 , report to accompany S. 2581 , S.Rept. 116 – 124 , 116 th Cong., 1 st sess., (Washington: GPO, 2019), pp. 24 – 25. ) The Senate Appropriations Committee did not issue a committee report for FY2009. The FY2011 Senate report preceded the reductions included in P.L. 112 – 10 . The Senate Appropriations Committee has not issued a FY2021 legislative branch appropriations report, and the legislative branch is operating on a continuing appropriations resolution through December 11, 2020 ( P.L. 116 – 159 ). N ote : Because the Senate has an even number of SOPOEA levels (representing the 50 states, with this level provided to each of the Senators from that state), the median is the average of the two middle values (i.e., the states with the 25 th and 26 th values ).
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Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA): History and Usage Congressional Research Service 6 Figure 2 . Fiscal Year Appropriations for the SOPOEA : Current and Constant Dollars (FY1996 – FY2020 ) Source: CRS calculations based upon annual legisla tive branch appropriations acts, including supplemental appropriations and rescissions. Constant dollars calculated using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI – U, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor). Base year = 2020.
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Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA): History and Usage Congressional Research Service 7 30 31 The amount recommended by the Committee for the SOPOEA is less than would be required to cover all obligations that could be incurred under the authorized allowances for all Senators. The Committee is able to recommend an appropriation of a lesser amount than potentially necessary because Senators typically do not obl igate funds up to the absolute ceiling of their respective allowances. 32 30 P.L. 97 – 51 , 9 5 Stat. 966, September 11, 1981 . 31 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropri ations, 2020 , report to accompany S. 2581 , S.Rept. 116 – 124 , 116 th Cong., 1 st sess., (Washington: GPO, 2019), pp. 24 – 25. 32 P.L. 114 – 113 , December 18, 2016. A similar administrative provision was previously included in the Senate H.R. 2250 ). Avail ability of Appr opriations: Principles Of Federal Appropriations Law provides some background information on Treasury operations and the treatment of closed appropriations: We commonly talk about returning appropriation b alances to the Treasury. In point of fact, for the most part, they never leave the Treasury to begin with. An appropriation does not represent cash actually set aside in the Treasury. Government obligations are liquidated as needed through revenues and bor rowing. Thus, the reversion of funds to the Treasury is not a movement of actual cash, but a bookkeeping adjustment that in the various ways discussed in the text, affects the government s legal authority to incur obligations a United States General Accounting Office, Principles o f Federal Appropriations Law , Third Edition, vol. I, January 2004, http://www.gao.gov/ special.pubs/ 3rdEditionVol1.pdf , pp. 5 – 73. A similar a which supports office operations for Members of the House has been included in the House of Representatives section of the appropriations acts for many years. For additional i Appropriations Acts: Administrative Provisions Related to Unexpended Balances CRS Report R40962, , by Ida A. Brudnick .
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Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA): History and Usage Congressional Research Service 8 33 34 35 33 P.L. 111 – 68 , 2 U.S.C. §4108. Reports since the period covering April 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011, are available at http://www.senate.gov/ legislative/ common/ generic/ report_secsen.htm . Each report contains information on the prior two fiscal years, so the initial report allows for the ca pturing of FY2009 and FY2010 data. 34 The two – year period for late receipts for Congress is shorter relative to annual appropriations for much of the rest of the federal government, which is subject to a five – year period (31 U.S.C. § 1551 et al. ). This is di scussed in the Principles o f Federal Appropriations Law. For appropriations of the House and Senate, unobligated balances more than two years old cannot be used short of an act of Congress. Inste ad, obligations chargeable to appropriations that have been expired for more than 2 years shall be liquidated from any appropriations for the same general purpose, which, at the time of payment, are available for United Sta tes General Accounting Office, Principles o f Federal Appropriations Law , Third Edition, vol. I, January 2004, http://www.gao.gov/ special.pubs/ 3rdEditionVol1.pdf , pp. 5 – 76 – 5 – 77. 35 See U.S. Office of Management and Budget, OMB Circular A – 11 , 2020 edition, https://www.whitehouse.gov/ omb/ information – for – agencies/ circulars/ .
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