▶ 0:09:41Now, those of you who
▶ 0:10:39Well, now that I have a gavel, let's let's meeting will come to order or the subcommittee will come to order. The subject today's hearing is fiscal year 2026 budget request for the House of Representatives. I'd like to thank ranking member Espy, committee members and House officers, Mr. Kevin Mr. Bill McFarland and Ms. Katherine Spindor and our other House officials all for being here. Thank you.
▶ 0:11:03I know that all members of this committee share my appreciation for work that you do and each member of your staff do to keep the house operating efficiently and effectively. I want to start by highlighting the excellent work you have already accomplished as we've begun the 119th Congress. You and your teams have each contributed to the several historic events with the organization of the new Congress on 3rd followed by the joint session to count the electoral votes and the lying in state of the former President Carter.
▶ 0:11:32Shortly thereafter, we joined the Senate in hosting the 60th inaugural ceremonies and most recently the presidential joint address. We know that each of these events require months of planning and hours of extra work. Congratulations on each a successful event and we thank you for your continued efforts. Thank you again for joining us today and I look forward to hearing your testimonies and learning more about budget priorities for fiscal year 2026. I now recognize ranking member Espy for his opening remarks.
▶ 0:12:01Thank you Chairman Valadeo and good morning Mr. Spindor, Ms. Spindor, Mr. McFarland and Mr. McCumber. Thank you for joining us to discuss fiscal year 2026 and your budget You all do an exceptional job serving this body and providing a host of services that are necessary for us to represent our constituents and address our country's critical House offices such as the office of the official
▶ 0:12:31legislative counsel and our various technology divisions work behind the scenes to support our operations and I want them to know that we are thankful and really benefit greatly from their hard work.
▶ 0:12:44The overall fiscal year 2026 budget request for the House of Representatives $2.1 billion which in million or 11% above the fiscal year of 2025 enacted level.
▶ 0:13:02Many of the requests the requested increases would have been addressed in a full year enacted bill but due to the failure to complete the 2025 appropriations process were frozen in a full year continuing The 8 billion the 8 million dollar cut to the modernization account came as a surprise to this side of the aisle and of course we want to work in a bipartisan and transparent manner.
▶ 0:13:32Investments in the US House of Representatives are critical to the growth and progress of our democracy. I look forward to hearing each of you and your testimonies and discussing the IT modernization and security efforts included within the request as well as the impacts to Congress and our ability to be transparent and responsive to our constituencies if these efforts are not implemented.
▶ 0:13:59It is important for this committee to continue our investment in building a better institution that is more responsive to the needs of our constituents. The bipartisan work we do on this committee helps to strengthen our government and its capacity to sub serve the American people. I'll yield back Mr. Chairman. Thank you Mr. Espy. The clerk, sergeant at arms and the chief administrative officer are all joined today by Matthew Berry, the House General Counsel, Ms.
▶ 0:14:28Kristin Stevenson, the acting House Inspector General, Mr. Brian Lindsey, the law revision counsel and Ms. Warren Burke, the legislative counsel. All of their testimonies have been submitted for the record and members are welcome to ask questions to any of the House officials here today in addition to our three main witnesses. Mr. McCumber, your full testimony has been submitted for the record and you are now recognized to provide a summary of your written testimony.
▶ 0:14:54Chairman Valadeo, ranking member Espy, members of the subcommittee, thank you for your ongoing support for the office of the clerk and our 222 staff. I'm extremely proud to testify on their behalf about our operations and fiscal year 2026 budget request. I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank my colleagues beside me, Katherine and Bill and the other House officials here in the room.
▶ 0:15:18Their support and collaboration in managing the House's daily operations is absolutely critical for our continued To put the bottom line up front, we are requesting $48,992,000 for fiscal year 2026. This is an 18.18% increase above the fiscal year 2025 enacted funding level. There are several reasons for this increase.
▶ 0:15:43First, like everyone coming before this committee, this reflect this request reflects a two-year compounded need. Second, this level of funding supports our most valued asset, our through mandatory longevities and cost of living adjustments.
▶ 0:16:00In addition, this request follows an assessment of our staffing requirements completed over the last year to ensure we can continue to execute our evolving mission and supports funding for 11 new Four of these new positions will provide the staff needed to support the increase in committee field hearings.
▶ 0:16:20Six will provide appropriate support for our growing technology portfolio and one will support our growing administrative Finally, redevelopment of our legislative information management system or LIMS and other modernization projects necessitate the next largest increase to our request, some of which received initial funding from the House's modern modernization initiatives It is important to note that absent the inclusion of these LIMS and modernization projects,
▶ 0:16:50our budget request is just 1.45% above our fiscal year 2025 enacted We are able to keep this request for necessary funding low due to significant efforts to identify savings and find efficiencies including renegotiating contracts and locking in long-term pricing for recurring non-discretionary services all without sacrificing mission For instance, in seeking a new backup and recovery solution for both our on-prem data center and cloud
▶ 0:17:20environment, we are able to find a modern solution that is $100,000 a year less than our old legacy backup system. We didn't stop there though. Through negotiated pricing, we are able to lock in savings of $55,000 per year for the next three years for our software that manages our our virtual We are committed to doing the necessary work to ensure we are using taxpayer funds responsibly.
▶ 0:17:47This request also supports our work on the eHopper comparative print suite, our ongoing redevelopment of mission-critical LIMS, the centralized committee portal, collaborative legislative drafting tools and the lobbying disclosure project. By including these projects as a part of our budget, we can continue them uninterrupted and stay on track to meet required deadlines. As I mentioned at the outset, staff are our most valued asset.
▶ 0:18:12I want to express my sincere gratitude to our entire clerk team whose work day in and day out provides the necessary support for the House to conduct business. In addition to these daily activities, our staff must be agile, creative and forward-thinking. A good example of this can be seen in our recent change of Congress activities.
▶ 0:18:34Included as part of our planning efforts for the 119th Congress was a discussion about potential outcomes of the presidential election which resulted in a project to preemptively address a need in the event the House was required to elect the president in a contingent As you know, Article 2 Section 1 Clause 3 of the Constitution gives the House the power to choose the president in the event of a tie or if no person receives a majority of electoral votes cast with each state getting one
▶ 0:19:04vote. While the House would determine the specifics of the proceedings, each state with two or more representatives would likely need a ballot box to collect the votes of its representatives to determine which candidate would receive the state's single vote. We worked with the CAO furniture team beginning late last spring to design and build custom boxes for each state at no outside cost, several of which I brought with me today that just so happened to be for the states each of you represent.
▶ 0:19:35While these ballot boxes were not necessary this year, they will be stored for future readiness. Chairman Valadeo, ranking member Espy and subcommittee members, the office of the clerk is committed to ensuring faithful stewardship of taxpayer dollars as we continue our service to this great institution. Thank you again for your continued support for your continued support and for the opportunity to testify. I welcome your questions. Thank you, Mr. McComber, and I now recognize Mr. McFarlane for a summary of your written testimony.
▶ 0:20:06Good morning, Chairman Valadeo, Ranking Member Espy, and members of the committee. I appreciate the invitation to appear before you today to testify in the support of the fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Office of the Sergeant at Arms, which totals and 206 full-time equivalents, an increase of 6.5 million or 18.94% and zero FTEs from the FY25 enacted level and a modest 4.7 increase
▶ 0:20:36over the FY24 enacted budget of I would like to thank the committee for its support in funding the Sergeant at at its FY25 requested level. I appreciate the partnership that we've had over the past 2 years, and I look forward to our continued work together to ensure the safety and security of the Capitol Complex, members of Congress, their staffs, and visitors in both Washington, D.C. and in their districts.
▶ 0:21:05As you noted last week, Chairman Valadeo, it is when we all work together that we can ensure the greatest level safety for all of us. When I began as Sergeant at Arms 2 years ago, I shared with the committee a strategic plan to guide our Since then, we've made significant strides, particularly in how we support our staff and deliver service to the House community.
▶ 0:21:25To build on that momentum, we've launched an updated strategic plan for the 119th Congress to align with every effort, initiative, and resource, including our FY26 budget request towards our mission. A central focus of our budget request is continued investment in our workforce. We revised our performance management process so staff can define their own goals in alignment with the strategic plan, allowing them to grow in their roles while contributing meaningful to the mission.
▶ 0:21:56We're also expanding access to industry training and have partnered with the leadership development firm to develop leadership skills in every Sergeant at Arms employee at every level of our We also remain laser-focused on providing outstanding service to the House community with this request.
▶ 0:22:14During the last Congress, we partners partnered with a premier hospitality customer service training organization to improve frontline customer service and have received positive feedback from members and staff in this area. We are continuing to refine the secure member portal, expanding our district security support, and implementing new branding and customer service initiatives that will continue improving the consistency and professionalism of our engagement with the House. We've also worked with the Architect of the Capitol and the U.S.
▶ 0:22:45Capitol Police to implement new physical security enhancements, including hardened doors in key areas of the Capitol. Included in the budget request is funding for the Sergeant at Arms to continue to provide in-person security awareness briefings in members' districts. In conjunct in conjunction with the U.S.
▶ 0:23:02Capitol Police, security awareness briefings provide a security overview for members and staff on how to respond to a typical security issue that an office encounters and includes best practices for district office security, residential security, and for hosting and attending events in their district.
▶ 0:23:20Our request also includes funding to advance innovation, particularly in areas like mobile duress alert systems for members, AI enacted event monitoring tools, and new software to modernize parking Each of these initiatives reflects our goal to anticipate needs before they arise and deliver solutions that support safety, efficiency, and responsiveness.
▶ 0:23:43In closing, the FY2026 Sergeant at Arms budget request has been prepared in the spirit of zero-based budgeting, remain fiscally responsible without jeopardizing mission-critical services provided to the House My office is fully committed to continue delivering top-tier non-partisan security services for our esteemed members, their families, and staff. In my first Congress as Sergeant at Arms, I placed renewed focus in executing the fundamentals.
▶ 0:24:11This Congress, we are fixated on taking that taking the organization to the next level in terms of technology technology and modernization while still striving for excellence in executing the We recognize the immense responsibility entrusted to us and are dedicated to upholding the high standards of professionalism and efficiency. I look forward to working with the committee and my fellow House officers here today, and I welcome any questions you may have. Thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:24:40McFarlane, and I now recognize Ms. Spindorff for summary of your written statement. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Valadeo, Ranking Member Espy, and members of the I appreciate the opportunity to present the CAO's fiscal year 2026 budget totaling $243,184,000.
▶ 0:25:03Since FY23, the CAO has operated with a flat budget without service reductions or Through careful project planning and budget analysis, achieving service improvements and delivering new products. During this time, the cost of software and hardware increased between 30 to 50%.
▶ 0:25:27Along with increased personnel and contractor costs, the CAO's FY26 personnel budget represents $10.8 million increase in personnel costs to support existing COLAs, longevity increases, overtime, active recruitments, and contractor Increases in personnel are offset by planned savings in non-personnel costs of 5.5 million
▶ 0:25:57achieved through the conversion of contractors to full-time We are requesting 6.7 million to replace of the total to replace the House Human Resources and Payroll and Benefits System, which manages official employee records and payroll and benefit administration for members and estimated 12,000 staffers.
▶ 0:26:22The system is over 20 years old and will no longer be supported by the vendor in 2030. Failing to replace the system will jeopardize the continuity of payroll and benefit administration, onboarding and offboarding employees, and the maintenance of official records.
▶ 0:26:42A new system will modernize the payroll disbursement processes and improve user This is a large, multi-year implementation project requiring additional investment over the next 4 We intend to invest 2.5 million in artificial intelligence AI application so House staff can take full advantage of AI technology within the Houses
▶ 0:27:13This is important. Within the Houses secure IT environment. Funding will be used to purchase licenses, AI expertise, and IT infrastructure and tools needed for deployment. We will also administer a robust training initiative to ensure that all House from the top down, staff and staff, are using AI responsibly.
▶ 0:27:41Also, we must continue to update and invest in the current systems that we already have that require some Uh 2.2 million up to upgrade the House campus for our via phone system that we all use to expand call management and improve user experience.
▶ 0:28:011.8 million for server infrastructure and support extended warranties for hardware maintenance and software upgrades to systems used by the House, CAO, the Sergeant at Arms, and the 1.5 million in websites to maintain accessibility features for 508 Contractors for development and testing and performance monitoring and database
▶ 0:28:31and storage resources. 1.2 million in the House's cybersecurity program for the sustainment and expansion of secure cloud and on-premise infrastructure, website protections, and continuous security monitoring.
▶ 0:28:491 million to support Mac computers with a new system management and monitoring system to protect House users and data and expedite the deployment of system updates, including multiple users per Mac device used for interns. Requested for interns.
▶ 0:29:09We have a minute 1 million uh it's so Other requests are for the House data storage infrastructure of 670,000, the House learning management system replacement for 550,000, and 535,000 for the continued development of successful House-wide tools by the Digital Services team.
▶ 0:29:36Failing to fund these critical projects will jeopardize House operations, reduce or critical security issues and could be the result along with system I want to thank the subcommittee along with the modernization subcommittee for their continued support of modernization initiatives.
▶ 0:30:04Over the past 3 years, we have been able to get support that has enabled the implementation of numerous member-driven improvements that strengthened and modernized House operations. The CAO office is dedicated to being a an essential resource for all members and staff. That is our mission.
▶ 0:30:29We have talented and dedicated staff within the CAO prepared to continue providing services for critical House Thank you, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Bindur. Thank you to all our witnesses for testifying before the committee today. For questions, I will call on members based on seniority of those present when the hearing was called to order, alternating between the majority and minority, and then we'll call on members in order of their arrival. Each will have 5 minutes.
▶ 0:30:59I will recognize myself for the first 5 All right, Mr. MacCumber, you are requesting a significant amount of for modernization efforts as noted in your testimony.
▶ 0:31:15This committee has supported and I suspect will continue to support these large-scale modernization efforts as they are critical to the legislative I am curious if your office is also looking at any modernization efforts that do not require any additional Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir.
▶ 0:31:32We routinely look at ways to modernize our processes and operations both to gain better efficiencies and improve our For recent example, members used to have to go to two different places to obtain letterhead depending on if they wanted paper letterhead or digital letterhead, and we consolidated that into one office with one request.
▶ 0:31:56For future efforts, our office of House Employment Counsel needs to update its training videos and has proposed working with the CAO's Congressional Staff House Recording Studio, or Creative Services to develop these updated classes.
▶ 0:32:12And we feel that using internal resources will give OHEC more latitude in creating unique training classes and scenarios more tailored to the House's unique while saving money over utilizing outside vendors to receive the same How are you communicating these modernization initiatives to make sure staff and members know it's all available to them?
▶ 0:32:38So, we communicate all of our services using the available house-wide tools, whether it's the CAO's e-dear-colleague system, the digital posters located throughout campus, various newsletters, and both courses through the Congressional Staff Academy, the House Library offers courses, and we also offer a pretty popular Clerk Services course taught by staff from our Office of Communications to make sure staff are aware of all of our resources.
▶ 0:33:05We have a one-page handout front and back that includes both all of our online resources and all the services that we offer to the community. Thank you. Ms. McFarland, as you know, last week this subcommittee held an oversight hearing with the U.S. Capitol Police Chief Manger to call attention to the recent breaches of House office buildings and the Capitol. We discussed ways in which we could all work together to strengthen the security of the Capitol campus.
▶ 0:33:29In light of these security breaches and given your role as a member of the Capitol Police Board, can you share with us your recommendations you might be you might have for strengthening security on Chairman Valadeo, um as the House Sergeant at Arms is a member of the Capitol Police Board, we have actually listened to the Chief Manger's uh uh strategy to mitigate these security lapses that are happening, and we hope that he's holding the Uniform Services uh at a higher standard uh for
▶ 0:33:59for these lapses. Um one of the recommendations that has come up was we created a security working group for research and development where we utilize technology and AI to uh try to uh be a little bit more proactive in the in the approaches that you know, that might cause some of these security lapses instead of being reactive. So, that's one of the recommendations that we've we've actually put forth. Any timeline on replacing the chief that is now retiring?
▶ 0:34:30Um as it relates to the chief, I can let you know that um the process has started. Uh we're looking at about 10 uh right now. Um that being said, um we're looking for a proven leader uh cuz the Capitol Police has a very unique mission. Um but we're you know, we're wishing Chief Manger well in his retirement. He's offered to stay on.
▶ 0:34:54We appreciate Um as we look forward to the new chief, we are looking forward to um uh a thorough process of of picking the next chief. All right, well thank you. Ms. Bindur, as you might remember, the Library of Congress experienced a cybersecurity breach last year. Was the House affected, probed, or breached in a similar manner? Oh, I'm sorry.
▶ 0:35:19Last year's compromise with this the LOC had their cybersecurity incident uh it just a breach of their their LOC mail system by a threat actor. One that we all know about most of the Uh the House employees have different email system, and that is not connected to the LOC's email system.
▶ 0:35:46Uh our House email system is not was not impacted at all by the LOC issue. we we worked with the LOC, my staff, my cybersecurity staff to do whatever we could to assist them.
▶ 0:36:06we have quite a bit in place on our side that allow us to monitor 7 by 24, 365 days a year our system and be able to quickly determine if something like the attack they had were getting were hap was happening to our system in any way.
▶ 0:36:29are continuing to be available if they would like to work with us and we they need our help in any way. All right, well thank you. And my time's expired, so Mr. Espaillat, you're recognized 5 minutes. Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um Mr. MacCumber, I like those boxes, particularly the one with the New York The question is who will have the key? I I submit to you that a copy of that key should be given to Mr.
▶ 0:36:57Hoyer, who's been around for a long time. I'm sure he will ensure that the proper count is taken. Yes, sir. And the Maryland is the Maryland box is in the back corner, too. We just didn't have room on the table for all the states. We're filling it up Mr. Mr. McFarland, thank you for being here today. Um how many uh security breaches You have a number?
▶ 0:37:27Uh the count right now is I think four, Four security breaches? Correct. How many Go ahead. weapons were weapons, ammunitions, knives If it's ammunition and and guns, we're we're talking three out of the four. Now, um thank you for that.
▶ 0:37:49And and I may add that uh that the men and women of the Capitol Police, I I find them to be in a more proactive mode. So, I want to commend you for whatever it is that you're doing to ensure that more alert in the points of entry into the Capitol grounds. I've seen that first hand myself. Um but I also know that many individuals that were involved in the January 6th riot were pardoned and were allowed back on campus.
▶ 0:38:19It's almost like um if someone um assaulted a family member of yours, and then all of a sudden they're released, and they come back, and they they show up on your block, in front of your house, in front of your apartment building. I'm sure that any family will um alarmed about that.
▶ 0:38:39In fact, I saw one of them uh holding a press conference uh just a short distance away from the Ways and Means room where the men and women of the Capitol Police usher ushered uh members from both sides of the aisle during January 6th to protect them from bodily harm or as if we take into consideration what some of the chants were, maybe even And so, what measures are you taking
▶ 0:39:09to ensure that some of the same Capitol Police officers that were in harm's way during January 6th are not in harm's way again when a violent person with a violent history, obviously, shows up on our campus. Sir, every day we we don't know some of the people that come through our doors. We are open building. It's open to the public. We don't do background checks on everybody that comes through those doors.
▶ 0:39:38So, what we got to do as the members of the Capitol Police is we have to treat everybody the same. Yeah, but you have an you have an intelligence component to your operations. And these guys were pretty open about when they were going to be there and where. Do you take any particular measures to ensure that, you know, nobody's harmed? We actually, if we know about individuals that are coming up to the hill and someone with a record of of such, we're alerted of that if it's on social media.
▶ 0:40:08All right, so what if like the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers announced publicly that they're coming into Rayburn, right outside of here or Longworth, where I saw this individual a press conference with about a dozen cameras. What measures do you take?
▶ 0:40:24Well, if if it's something that comes in, I I really don't want to go into great detail about our our methods, but if we're if our intelligence section of the Capitol Police alerts us of the situation that's coming up and this is where they're going to be, we will make sure we have extra uniforms in the place and and we'll make sure that we do the proper screening of everybody that comes into the building. Uh I mean, I would I would love for you to find out if in fact that was the case uh on that particular day. But thank you, Mr. McFarland. Real quickly, Ms.
▶ 0:40:52Spindor, how many attempts are there on a daily basis to try to breach our system? It is Every I mean, monthly counts Bill, you're supposed to do that. It was in the millions and millions.
▶ 0:41:20Um I I am so proud of the staff we have, our technical staff, our cybersecurity staff, because we keep evolving our cybersecurity posture. We have a great forensics team. We have people like like I said, that monitor 7 by 24.
▶ 0:41:45And we are able to and have We've had some near misses, I have to tell you. But we were able to react within a 10 minutes, 10 15 minutes to recognize the issue, start first processes we have to to prevent them from moving any further into our systems.
▶ 0:42:13But it is a constant constant battle. we do cybersecurity training, I've mentioned that to a few people lately where they can come to your office and talk to you about some things that you and the people within your office can do to help better protect yourself from being hacked in any way.
▶ 0:42:37So, if you are interested in it, we'd be glad to send someone up, our CISO, who has been going around and doing some of these briefings, would be more than willing to come and talk to you, but it can be as simple as someone you don't know, but you think you know their name, you click on an email, you go to a link, they are into our network.
▶ 0:43:02So, The gentleman's time has expired. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll recognize Mr. LaLota for his 5 minutes. Thank you, Thanks, folks, for being with us here today. Mr. McComb, good to see you. My colleagues, my Republican colleagues and I were anxious about what those boxes were. We see New York and California, we see our great seals. I came to the conclusion that they were boxes for the highest tax state in the nation, that's where you put your high taxes in there, but I guess they're for another purpose.
▶ 0:43:31Uh nevertheless, I want to talk about it, artificial intelligence, with you all. It's reshaping how organizations are doing business on a daily basis, and it should be no exception that that's how we're probably going to proceed here in the House of Representatives. Private industries, universities, hospitals, and local governments are already integrating AI into their routines to improve performance, reduce inefficiencies, and better serve the people that we all represent. As stewards of taxpayer dollars and representatives of the American people, uh we ought to be doing the same thoughtfully and deliberately.
▶ 0:44:02But I think we all agree that we need to proceed with caution and with clear standards in place. And any AI used within the House must meet the highest standards for data security and privacy, and I appreciate your commentary earlier. Um and most importantly, it must never be used in a way that undermines the trust or safety of members, staff, or the American people. Ms. Spindor, it's great to see you again. Thanks for being in my office a couple of days ago.
▶ 0:44:25Um how is your office approaching AI tools that can make internal operations more efficient, things like HR, payroll, and trainings? Thank you for that question. This is something that we've worked on very seriously, of course, AI, since it a a thing, a a product, uh through primarily ChatGPT, which was the first introduction of it, and we've we've worked with many of the offices and their
▶ 0:44:55staff to have responsible ChatGPT usage. And as we move forward, we developed the first of many agencies, I think we were the first agency to to develop our and AI uh position. And our policy on AI and the use cases by which we would agree to use AI.
▶ 0:45:24Um we are looking, as I mentioned in my testimony, at an AI product. It is with a vendor that we are very familiar with, and we have they are in a FedRAMP environment with the product. We would be using it against our secure data and monitoring it thoroughly to make sure it was used appropriately.
▶ 0:45:47But most importantly, with any new product, it's it's a whole lot more than just a product. If you do not go and you do not, as I mentioned before, make sure everybody understands how to use it properly. So, let me ask you a follow-up question then.
▶ 0:46:07Tell me tell us specifically on policies, procedures, protocols, what are you all doing to ensure that we maintain the highest levels of cybersecurity, privacy, and data, things that just make for good business in this quickly evolving space. What are you doing formally to ensure those high standards? Formally, we will take any product that anyone is interested in using that may have AI in it.
▶ 0:46:34We run it through a thorough cybersecurity process to make sure that it does meet the policy that we put out. And which is on House Net, by the way, if anyone would like to to go out and look at it. That's what I'm getting to, ma'am. Is that with specifically with our staffs, committee staffs, what what sort of policies are you promulgating to us to ensure that we are compliant with those high standards? It is the House AI policy that we have released.
▶ 0:47:04And in addition to that, we're available, as I said, to go come out and talk to anyone that would like to delve into it a little bit more, be able to understand what type of products we are looking at to make sure that they are secure for the House.
▶ 0:47:23But we go through a thorough for any product, whether it's AI or otherwise, we go through a thorough review of it before we initiate any implementation of it in our environment. Yeah, I would offer you to continue that interaction, it's healthy, it's productive. The, you know, advance of AI is going to be exponential, and we're going to all have to keep pace, and the more that our offices can communicate with each other on that, the better we'll do our jobs. Yeah. Thank you, Chairman. I yield.
▶ 0:47:55Thank you, Mr. LaLota. I now recognize Mr. Hoyer for his 5 minutes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Um uh glad to be back on this subcommittee two or three decades. And I want to say the reason I came back is because I think the operations of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate and the House of Representatives is critical to the American people.
▶ 0:48:25They don't know any of you, and they don't know any of the people sitting in front of us. Uh but what you do for them is absolutely essential. Uh and it is absolutely essential that we keep the best and the brightest. And when they leave, they retire or leave for some other reason, it is critically important for us to be able to recruit the best and the brightest to deal with some of the complex issues that have been raised by the chairman, Mr.
▶ 0:48:54LaLota, the ranking member. When Speaker Pelosi was speaker, she the salaries from members who have not raised their salaries now in 15 years.
▶ 0:49:15but not with raises, but with COLA I would like each one of you to tell me the impact that has had on your ability to retain and recruit the best and the brightest to serve our institution and the American people. Thank you, Mr. Hoyer. Quite simply, it's allowed us to be able to recruit and retain to keep pace with both the Senate as well as the executive branch.
▶ 0:49:42So, it's Specifically, the Senate and the executive branch, how out of kilter were we with those two uh competitors, if you will? With the Senate, we were at pace with them until we both decoupled and I believe they got 1 year ahead of us until we caught back up.
▶ 0:50:06But, the executive branch has been consistently And prior to that time, I think one of you mentioned to me in my office that we were losing people to the Senate. Yes, sir. So, our terrific official reporters, the when we staff pay as well as the way we handled the leave system for our stenographers, the Senate offered better benefits along those lines.
▶ 0:50:32And so, until we changed the way our leave system worked as well as we're able to increase staff pay, we were consistently losing stenographers to the Senate for those better benefits. And since we've put those in place, we've been able to retain Ms. McFarland and Ms. Bender, would you like to comment on that? Sure.
▶ 0:50:57Um just to let you know, we've actually taken some people from the Senate side, so I feel better about that. Um we've actually um we've been able to retain I think one thing that I can say from my personal experience of leaving and coming back is the fact that I saw what it's like in the private sector.
▶ 0:51:16I saw where um it for Catherine's purposes, cybersecurity folks, and how much they make on the outside compared to where they are in the government is is, you know, a large contrast. So, that's something that that should be looked at. sort of a guess of what the company Sure.
▶ 0:51:36I I think when you take a look at the the company that I worked for, there is system security administrators that were making $200,000 a year, and they were, you know, working from home. And we were paying similar people And we were we weren't paying someone similar, maybe $100,000 or $120,000 a year. Am I correct on that? Depends on their position. Could be making a little bit more, but You you have a unique somewhat unique.
▶ 0:52:06You worked for uh Sprint and Nextel and Sprint Nextel. compare the quality of people that we have with the quality of people you worked with in the private sector. From their dedication and the quality of the individuals on what they do, I would put it right next to anything that I have seen in my career in the in the public sector private sector, quite frankly.
▶ 0:52:36It is we have individuals that probably could retire if they wanted to. But, and when I asked them, I said, you know, how much longer do you think you might be here? We we value and they usually say, we're here because we love this place. We're here because we're serving the American people. And that is exactly how my staff feels. They are talented.
▶ 0:53:05They are some of the best technicians I've ever worked with. And uh yes, they make a little less than what they probably make if they were with the a firm outside of the government, but they have such a dedication to what they do, the mission they serve, um they they stay and they're they're uh the bedrock of of our organization.
▶ 0:53:32I'm over time and and I'll go back at when we do the second round some other questions, but the bottom line is all three of you, particularly those of you who have worked in the private uh would compare our employees not only favorably, but uh as good as anybody you can find in the private sector. Is that accurate? That is most certainly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Hoyer. Uh now recognize Mr. Strong for his 5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. uh Chairman, Ranking Member.
▶ 0:54:01I want to start by thanking the witnesses and their staff for their hard work and dedication to the U.S. House of Representatives. Each of your jobs and your teams are vital to ensuring that our nation's legislative process runs smoothly. With this being said, everyone understands with a $26 trillion national debt, each of us are required to maximize the expenditure of every taxpayer dollar.
▶ 0:54:24I gratefully appreciate each of your uh visit to my office to present your update uh on your budget and your vision for the days ahead. Ms. uh Spindor, you mentioned that the CAO has faced a 30 to 50% increase in cost of House purchase software and hardware since FY23.
▶ 0:54:45Have these rising costs impacted your ability to maintain and upgrade the House's IT infrastructure, and how will your FY26 request address these I can say we've managed, okay? And the way we've managed is that some of the projects that we have planned during those years, we were not able to do.
▶ 0:55:10We go through a thorough prior project prioritization process to look at, can we extend this just a little bit longer? And what is serious, what is necessary to be done at a particular point in Uh we meet quarterly to review all of our projects to see if the prioritization needs to change.
▶ 0:55:33So, we've been able to manage through with a lot of um But, we're at the point after 3 years that that we just we can't with the price increases and everything I spoke Okay. We just cannot do that. Thank you. some of these projects have got to be done. If they aren't, then we will start having problems with our systems. Ms.
▶ 0:56:01Spindor, in your opening statement, you mentioned overtime cost uh overtime costs versus full-time salaried employees. Has there been a cost comparison to evaluate at what point the cost break is established with uh salaried employees versus your overtime Uh we look at that on a regular basis and on uh we Uh look at it usually every time we do a budget.
▶ 0:56:26A lot of the overtime cost are uh individuals at some of the lesser salary levels, okay? So, um they're not extraordinary. Uh we try to limit those. It's time we see a lot of overtime is during transition. Has there been consideration to reorganize uh either uh these departments through attrition and technical upgrades that would strengthen each of your organizations?
▶ 0:56:57Uh we look at that on a regular basis. Yes. Thank you. Also understand the Select Committee on Modernization of Congress worked with the CAO to identify areas that would benefit from modern modernization initiatives. Ms. Spindor, can you share some of the recommendations provided by the committee that you have implemented? Yes, there's quite a few uh that we have done.
▶ 0:57:20Uh we um we developed um for uh the uh House a House Cow, which is a House Calendar that's acceptable to show you this in session, and any any a full calendar that you can select and look at as to what might be going on on any particular day.
▶ 0:57:45We also have a uh product that we are working on now, which I think has huge potential. Um one it is called uh a case Let me get the exact name right. Case Compass Project.
▶ 0:58:04And um what this is is is a pilot program with the support of the subcommittee uh that collects and anonymizes case work across 40 offices that we that have volunteered to be part of this. And what that does, it ingests case work data and breaks it down by federal agency, sub agency, and what the problem is. Thank you, Ms. Ms. Spindor. Thank you. Switching gears, Mr.
▶ 0:58:32McFarland, I know the Sergeant of Arms office takes steps to ensure readiness for uh whether due to natural disaster, civil unrest, or other threats. Can you expand on why the requested funding is necessary to maintain and improve Sir, if you take a look, um our what we've asked for for emergency management basically is a 20% of the escape hoods.
▶ 0:58:59Instead of going for a a large portion of the budget uh that we used to do once every 5 years where it would cost 7.5 million, we're now taking 20% of the escape hoods and replacing them at that time. That way we're not gouging, you know, a big number to you every year every 5 years. Uh we're just giving it to you now where it's going to be a steady flow of uh $1.5 million. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. Thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:59:29Strong, and I now recognize Ms. Malloy for uh 5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One of the great things about being new on a committee is all the good questions get asked before they get to you. So, I may not even need my full 5 minutes. Thank you all for your efforts at modernization. As someone who was a staffer on the Hill and is now a member of Congress on the Hill, I can see the need to update a lot of the things we do. We're We're operating on old technology a lot. Mr.
▶ 0:59:58MacCumber, you came and talked to me yesterday and we talked about comparative print suite. I'm just going to give you a minute to brag. Will you just explain what that is and why it's going to make all of our lives so much better? Yes, ma'am. Thank you for the question. So, the comparative print suite has been a years-long effort. I should add it's is the Thank you. website at the link to be able to access it for currently it's only available to members and staff on in the House.
▶ 1:00:29But, it allows you to do a real-time redline comparison of a bill-to-bill comparison, bill to existing law, changes to existing law. You can pull out various sections of a bill and compare it to drafts and it takes a lot of the effort that uh may that had to be expended previously and it just uh takes it right down, drills it right down, and pulls out exactly what you're looking for using, I should add, a form of AI uh
▶ 1:00:59natural language processing. And it's been a really helpful tool both to members, I know, committees, and staff uh to be able to have that real-time comparison. Thank you. As a former legal counsel on the Hill, I would have loved to have had that. There were a lot of times I was trying to explain what a bill would do to an existing law and I'd always say it would be so nice to have a redline. So, I appreciate that. Mr.
▶ 1:01:22McFarlane, uh we talked about the secure member portal app without disclosing anything proprietary, can you explain how that works and how often it's being used? Sure. So, um every member of Congress voluntarily, we offer them what we call the secure member portal and now we've created an app to go with that portal.
▶ 1:01:47So, when members of Congress are needing the law enforcement coordination back in their home districts cuz they're having town hall, uh whether or not um they want residential security or they want cyber security or uh they need a they need some air operations uh help during the airports when you guys go home, fly home, um this member app now uh is on your phone that you can utilize it a lot quicker.
▶ 1:02:15Um I can say right now we have a very good portion of the members, over 75% of the members are using this. So, I'm very happy. I'm in the 25% that didn't know about it till yesterday. So, We'll sign you up today, ma'am. We'll make that 76% soon. Um thank you for doing that. Uh Ms.
▶ 1:02:33Spindor, we're talking about these AI functions and you said in your testimony that that you're working on how to use more AI and make sure we're using it responsibly and with 12,000 employees and a lot of turnover on the Hill, can you just talk a little bit about how you're going to be able to get 12,000 young, ambitious employees to be smart with AI? Well, it's going to take a lot of training.
▶ 1:02:59It is going to take met with Gartner not too long ago and and I two and a it was a two-day session that we talked about AI AI and responsible use of AI.
▶ 1:03:15And they made it very clear all of the individuals I've worked with with out doing a dedicated education program across the board from the top of the organization down on AI and constantly providing additional It is you have to do that if you're going to implement AI. You have to. Or it will not be successful.
▶ 1:03:46So, I asked my staff about a month ago after I came back from meeting with Gartner that we needed to to start our planning now, our strategy now for how when we roll out a product, how we're going to do the training and train and train and train. And um that's what we're going to do. We have to.
▶ 1:04:15Um I don't want to see a major investment in any product that we make go unused or not used correctly when there's so much to to use the data that we can garner from it. Thank you. I'm just about out of time. Mr. Chairman, can I have 30 more seconds cuz I've got two quick questions? Ms. Malliotakis recognized. I'll be fast. Um so, to all of you, thank you for being here.
▶ 1:04:43Um one question I want to ask it's not even a question, you don't have to respond. I'll be fast. We have so many forms we have to fill out from your offices and they all have to be signed by a member. Um and I would just request that you look at some of the forms you require us to fill out and see if a chief's signature would satisfy something like a request to remove junk from our offices. Um and then the only other thing I I talked to some of you yesterday about um coming in in a special election and trying to get through some of these processes outside of the normal freshman orientation.
▶ 1:05:13Please let my office help you improve that. We've got two people being sworn in today and I would like them to have a better experience than I had. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you, Ms. Malliotakis, and I now recognize Mr. Moore for 5 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all for being here. Just want to start off real quick touching on what Mr. Hoyer had talked about a little bit as it relates to retention. Is Is some of that Have we seen a dramatic change over the years?
▶ 1:05:42They stick all the former staffers on the end. I was I worked here, too. Is there been a change as it relates to the benefits here for the staff that you all employ on the Hill over time? Is Does that relate to all the retention issues that you have? We've actually increased some of our Okay. Uh in the past couple of years uh for um education, outside education, being able to go and get loans. Right.
▶ 1:06:12Uh officer. It's on. Oh, it's on. I'm sorry you didn't hear me. I've got hearing aids so I can hear myself really good. So, uh uh but uh we um we have rolled out a number of the new initiatives in the past two or three years to help staff with their education costs and being able to get private loans now, which is new.
▶ 1:06:41And um I'll be honest with you, in my organization, we don't see a huge retention issue. Okay. Well, that's good. Um and then Ms. McFarlane, I'd like to ask you a quick and thank you for coming by my office there the other day.
▶ 1:07:00and we talked a little bit about this, the the need for increasing the number of uh MOUs with law enforcement partners around the country to try to keep members and their families safe. Uh could you talk a little bit more about some of the challenges around that because there there has been some increased issues out there in people's districts where folks are camped out in front of people's houses, people's spouses are being chased around um and it feels
▶ 1:07:30like perhaps there might be a uh growing threat um but you would know better than I, but maybe you could talk a little more about those MOUs and challenges that you face. Obviously, Capitol Police can't be everywhere in every district every moment, but uh maybe you could expand on that a little bit. Sure.
▶ 1:07:46Um the memorandums of understandings that we uh that the Capitol Police partner with uh local law enforcement, state law enforcement, even the federal law enforcement agencies um in every in every state and um over the time it's it's been very small number and we're hoping that uh something that the new chief I hope will uh will start expanding that to reaching out to at least every state organization and trying to get some help.
▶ 1:08:15Um there's a lot of members of Congress that are home in their districts and yes, I can give you residential security and yes, I can give you cyber security with the help of uh of Katherine's uh shop. Um but the thing the reality is you're right.
▶ 1:08:30There's um member spouses that are at home that all of a sudden a pop-up demonstration Um I've actually it it when I went out for both the RNC and the DNC, I actually made it a point to go thank some of the agencies that were around those areas that for their assistance. But, not only that, but also talked to the uh the locals that were right next to the members' houses. Um we see a great support from local law enforcement when we're asked to do it.
▶ 1:08:59I just hope that uh the next chief coming in has a vision that um this is a top priority. Thank you. Um and then I just want to echo what she said. I really wish the redline uh capability was around when I was a staff member, but uh that's great that that's there now. So, um I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Moore.
▶ 1:09:22Uh I believe there's a couple of us that want to have a second round of questions and those who don't have questions uh just let me know and I'll uh skip you. But I'll start off with my first 5 minutes. When a member of Congress dies or resigns from office, I understand that is a responsibility of your office, Mr. McConville, to take over that office until a new member of Congress has been elected and sworn into office. How many of these vacant offices have you already taken over in the 118th? How many were taken over at once?
▶ 1:09:52And what are responsibilities do you take on in these vacant offices and how do you plan on plan and budget for these activities and how do you maintain constituent services cuz I feel like that's probably the most important part of this. Yes, sir. No. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We agree with you that maintaining constituent services are is our highest priority. So in the 118th Congress, we managed 18 vacant offices. We had seven at one time. It was for a short period of time. We had four that we had for a pretty long while.
▶ 1:10:24Thankfully, the budgets for these offices are maintained by the members MRA and so it doesn't have any impact to the clerk's organization budget. We work very closely with the CAO and her team to maintain office operations. and again, agreeing with you that maintaining those constituent services is our number one priority.
▶ 1:10:50We meet with the staff of the vacant office within a week or so of when it becomes vacant. Obviously, we have conversations with them as soon as it happens, but a more formal meeting with myself included and I make sure every one of them has my cell phone number in case they need to reach me directly if they're not getting the assistance that they need from our staff. And really stress the importance of we will stay out of your way.
▶ 1:11:19You guys know your district better than I ever will or that our staff ever will and we are here to support you and that we stressed that maintaining those constituent services is our highest priority and should remain their highest priority. Does the staff at that point have the ability to do any sort of outreach to constituents to help clarify that the office is still able to do provide these constituent services?
▶ 1:11:45Yes, and so shortly after the vacancy, there's a letter that goes out for existing casework that letting them know is this something you'd still like to continue? staff can still accept new casework requests. Staff still attend town halls.
▶ 1:12:02If there's anything where they can learn something that will affect their constituents, whether it's with going to a town hall from another federal department that's coming to visit or just going to other town councils and hearing and seeing, you know, what's going on in the area that they can then share that information with the with the constituents.
▶ 1:12:19I guess I meant by that was if they're able to send out any sort of like mass mail or some sort of post on social media, something more Are they allowed to do that with without a member in place? So we have not typically. When there are natural disasters that happen in the in the district, we've they come through us and say is this something we can post.
▶ 1:12:45We're very concerned about making sure that while the services constituent services are still in place that we're not taking any sort of a position on anything one way or another.
▶ 1:12:58And so things like a natural disaster or preparations or where to get resources, we've we've allowed them to make those posts and and to make sure that those that Yeah, I just imagined that some constituents might be a little bit concerned if they have a case and they're obviously if there's any pending case, that's one issue, but if they have a case that comes up, do they feel comfortable reaching out?
▶ 1:13:19And I was just curious if they had the ability to send out an email saying, "Hey, even though this happened, we still have the ability to take care of folks, so feel free to reach out." But I imagine you guys would have to approve that on a case-by-case basis, but That's casework is something I've always taken pretty serious and I know a lot of my colleagues do as well and and it's something our constituents depend on and if if they're not able to do that as staff, I imagine those constituents are are troubled by that. Ms.
▶ 1:13:47Bender, so I noticed a lot of new hardware around the building mounted and I assume we've updated a lot of our hardware for some of our house public networks. Is there ever a conversation about having two? Separating one for the public and one for members themselves and staff or go down that path so that you don't have one that gets bogged down by a lot of visitors, I guess. It's certainly something we can look into.
▶ 1:14:16We we have not had a request for that. We have the Wi-Fi system that is for the general public, the house public Wi-Fi system as opposed to you know, what we would use internally, but our networking always taxed to make sure that everything is working.
▶ 1:14:40We've replaced some of the network components over the years simply because it's it's it's complicated in the house buildings to have good connectivity all the time because of the age of them and other things, but we can look into that if that is something that that you all would like us to do and what the cost would be for it.
▶ 1:15:05It would be an additional expenses as far as network switching, connectivity and everything, but but it no one has asked, but I'll be glad to look into it. Yeah, I've had a few people complain about sometimes the system getting bogged down during I think higher traffic times, so it was just something that's been brought up brought to my attention. So it would be interesting to get some feedback on that. And my time's expired, so I'll recognize Mr. Espy out 5 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr.
▶ 1:15:35McFarland, I think we've had a conversation in the past where I've shared with you my concern about perhaps what I view as the most vulnerable time for members of Congress, which is when we're coming out from votes and we got to catch a flight or make a meeting. We have someone picking us up in front of the Capitol. We're somewhat distracted and and I think that that's a vulnerability.
▶ 1:16:01But also at Union Station or at the airports, you know, when we're trying to make a flight or or trying to catch Amtrak and we we may be somewhat distracted and and open to an attack.
▶ 1:16:18And and first I wanted to know if there's been any consideration for related security in the Capitol campus that would ensure that we're a little bit more protected. I also I'm concerned that as we're getting swept by the dogs, the canine unit, you know, people are just walking right by us with backpacks, cyclists, runners, hundreds of them.
▶ 1:16:48And and yet, you know, we're dutiful in making sure that the cars don't go through with any threat, but there's dozens of folks that are just walking right by us as as we enter. So I I know there must be some technology that gives us greater protection for that scenario.
▶ 1:17:10And and also I want to know what has happened in the airports and in Union So sir, I I can say right now some of the mitigation factors that we put in place when there's a vote on besides the sweeping of the cars, we lock down the plaza. So we lock down the plaza that it's only for staff and it's only for members to go through. We do not let the public come through that area without being being searched.
▶ 1:17:40That said, I personally can tell you that I saw this just the other day. We have vapor dogs and the vapor dogs will go by people to make sure to see if they have any explosives. Those dogs are patrolling the the plaza at any given day at any given time. It's not a set time, but we I actually watched it.
▶ 1:18:02They actually were testing the dogs out and they went through a large group of school kids at 8:00 in the morning and the vapor dog found the found the backpack right away. it was it was a good success story from just watching it happen. We're like I said, we just started the secure working group for R&D and AI and technology to help us out.
▶ 1:18:24I can tell you that as far as the metal detectors have gone as well as the x-ray machines, we've we've added AI tools to those. We've actually purchased electronic screening procedures that you see at the airports. As it relates to Union Station, we haven't really given if there's an incident, Capitol Police will respond to Union Station.
▶ 1:18:49Our focus has been mostly at the airports and we've actually increased officers at the airports on flying in days and fly out just to make sure that the members can get gate to gate without any incidents happening. I encourage you to take a look at Union Station as well as as uh many of our members don't fly, they take Amtrak and and so Yes, sir. I think that will be a smart thing to do.
▶ 1:19:16And I've seen the the greater attention at the airports, so I thank you with that for that. Thank you. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Espy. Now, I recognize Ms. Malloy for a second round of 5 I apologize, Mr. Chairman. If I'd have realized we're having a second round, I would not have gone over in my first Now, I'm going to prove I can use time wisely. Um Mr. Burke, would you be willing to come up to the mic for a I read your testimony.
▶ 1:19:46By the way, congratulations on your appointment as legislative counsel for the House. I read your testimony and you talked about the large increases in your office's workload in helping draft bills and get them ready for introduction. And will you just share with my colleagues some of the trends you're seeing and what you're doing to address them? Yes, Congresswoman. Thank you for that question. You are exactly right.
▶ 1:20:11My office has seen over years now a trend in the increase in legislation. I actually um included in my written testimony a chart, which you might look at on the fifth page of my written testimony. And one thing it will show you is that if you were to go back to the 114th Congress, there was 6,563 bills introduced in the House.
▶ 1:20:38But then you jump ahead to the 118th Congress, and that number leaps all the way up to For every bill that's introduced, we draft about two in my office, and this trend does not seem to be changing in the 119th.
▶ 1:21:00You can also see a couple stats on the chart that show that in the first 60 days of this Congress, uh my front desk has actually received a 72% increase in requests, which surprised me. I did not expect it to be that high. And also there has been a 34% increase in the number of bills introduced during those 30 days.
▶ 1:21:27but I will say that, you know, this has been a long trend now, so my office has come up with a plan. We are, in fact, taking steps to address this. We have a three-part plan. The first part is, well, in direct response to requests by this subcommittee and leadership and members over the years, which is to properly staff our teams um at the capacity they need to be. We're on 11 attorneys this fiscal year, 25.
▶ 1:21:55in the past when we've discussed this, when my predecessor discussed this, you know, I know there's been discussion of the training bottleneck. Yes, because we work in small, specialized teams of two to six attorneys. I can't just take a team of three that's overwhelmed and add three more attorneys to fix the problem, because those three attorneys, the team would be crushed, not helped by the addition of three. You know, they're spending hours on the day training.
▶ 1:22:21But this year, the way we're doing it, the way we're addressing that training bottleneck is of the 11, I have an ace up my sleeve, up the 11 we're we're we're on boarding this year, four are former ledge counsel attorneys. They don't need to be trained. They can hit the ground running day one, and they've all agreed to to actually be trainers themselves. We're also a second step we're taking is um we're trying to do a better job of triaging requests for what's the desired level of review.
▶ 1:22:50As you know, not not every member wants full level legal review for every request. Sometimes they want their words fast. And so for that, we've created a new formatting only track, where member can submit a request and just get their words back in XML. And it's going to be messy.
▶ 1:23:10I have to warn you, the quality is is going to go down for those, but it will be very fast, and it will help us to give us time to focus our time on the requests where the members do want full legal review. A third thing I would like to do, but I haven't been able to do yet, is uh establish a new, first-ever floater team, which would be two to three attorneys who would not have a specialization, who could be moved around according to the needs of the House.
▶ 1:23:35You know, if if if my health finance team is super busy on a markup in the the bills in that area for introduction are backing up, you know, I can I could shift over this floater team. That would allow us to be more nimble uh than we ever have been. So, I mean, so again, thank you for the question. I mean, cuz as my office is, you know, both drafting and training at record all-time record levels right now, we really appreciate the support. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I yield back with a few seconds left.
▶ 1:24:05Thank you, Ms. Malloy. Now, recognize Mr. uh Hoyer. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Uh I'm going to I want you You engendered a question. we we froze you for fiscal year '25 at existing levels. I'm going to ask all of you this question. but obviously your workload has substantially increased as a result of members of Congress Yes, sir.
▶ 1:24:38first of all, I want to ask a question. How what's your breakout? How many Democrats, how many Republicans, what Congress subjects the thing matter? Do you have that broken out in terms of uh um the number the what, 1,700? Is that what you said? One from 1,000 to 10,000?
▶ 1:24:59Oh, we No, we don't really provide Of course, all of it's public on congress.gov, but we treat as confidential who's requested what. So, that creates a barrier for us disclosing what's not already public on congress.gov. Yeah, I'm not talking about individual members. Mhm. What I'm talking about is a gross uh uh you you you say there's been a very substantial increase over the last few Congresses. There has.
▶ 1:25:27Uh and what I'm trying to get at is what engendered that increase. Yes, it's a good question, which I I admit I cannot fully explain the increase, but I do have some theories, some factors that are contributing to it.
▶ 1:25:42Most notably, of course, we have the Supreme Court's decision in Looper Bright last last year, where now, you know, there is uh that's an increase in workload, not necessarily an increase in requests, but an increase in workload to the extent bills need to be drafted in greater detail than they were before. And also, I would say outside stakeholder text proliferates, messaging bills. Those are Those are are are probably part of the answer, but not the full answer for why it's increasing. You said messaging bills?
▶ 1:26:13Yes, sir. I understand what messaging bills are. I I'd like all of you to answer that question. You were frozen at fiscal year '25. Uh you you and I know, Ms. Bender, at essentially at uh o- thir- 23 numbers. You're working at 23 numbers.
▶ 1:26:31What I want to ask you, if you continue to be frozen, or better said, what was the effect of freezing you at fiscal year uh '25 numbers in terms of what we didn't get, which is sort of like the question uh that uh uh um Mr. um Strong asked, but I'd like to have a broader aspect of what What do we pay for that? Not doing that.
▶ 1:26:56What do we Well, we lose possibly hiring some additional people. Um we lose the jettisoning a lot of people at the federal level, unfortunately, without, in my opinion, Yeah. knowledge of the consequences of those reductions. 10,000 people were fired yesterday without A despicably inhumane, stupid way to operate.
▶ 1:27:25Um but we froze you, all of you, Yes. without, I think, a full understanding of the impacts of that freeze. And what's what I'm trying to get at. for us, it just prevented us from doing some of the additional projects and things that we had hoped to do.
▶ 1:27:47Um that we're we're trying very, very hard, with the help of the modernization committee and other, to modernize our technology, to make it available so that people don't go out and look for an alternative AI tool that they use and and they don't fully understand what the security of it is and things like that. So, we we were hoping over the past 3 years to have done more of that than what we've done.
▶ 1:28:17Our team is outperformed, they've done a great job. We've got new tools, but it's not all we wanted to do. we're now just and this isn't part of your question, but I just want to reemphasize, we're now in a situation where we have to have more money to be able to maintain the critical systems that we have.
▶ 1:28:44Sir, um I can say that for the first 2 years as Sergeant at Arms, I took a 25% total 25% decrease. Um I'm just now starting to see the pendulum swing the other way um based off of technology and and modernization. Um when I take a look at our our budget, if we were frozen, I would have to go back and you know, talk to my executive team where we need to make the cuts. Um but that affects the security that we're providing for you.
▶ 1:29:14So, um that would be something that I would really need to take a long long hard look at and see what where we can make the cuts. Thank you, sir. I would just add as well that we've made some really good progress on our modernization initiatives using seed money from the modernization initiatives account. And should we stay flat for FY26, that would have some pretty significant impacts on our ability to keep that momentum going and be able to continue to provide these requested services to the house both to the members and the staff.
▶ 1:29:44So, it would have a pretty significant impact that we'd have to go back and revisit our timelines and and really prioritize the projects working with this committee and others. Thank you. Well, if there are no further questions, I'd like to thank Mr. McCumber, Mr. McFarlane, and Ms. Bender and all of our house official officials for being here today. Members may submit additional questions for the record, and the committee now stands adjourned. Thank you all.
▶ 1:30:14I'm going to ask Bender, so.