Individual office spending and actions, however, may be as varied as the states Senators represent. Senators operate their offices with funding from the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA). The allowance is provided on a fiscal year basis (October 1-September 30). Senators have a high degree of flexibility to operate their offices in a way that supports their congressional duties and responsibilities, although they must operate within a number of restrictions and regulations. Additional guidelines and regulations may be provided by Senate rules, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, the Senate Ethics Committee, and statute. Senate expenses, including those supported by the SOPOEA, are reported biennially in the Report of the Secretary of the Senate and available online. This report provides a history of the SOPOEA and overview of recent developments, including recent funding. It also analyzes actual SOPOEA spending patterns in selected years (fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2012) for all Senators who served for a defined period. For a similar analysis of Member budgets in the House of Representatives, see CRS Report R40962, Members' Representational Allowance: History and Usage , by [author name scrubbed]. The SOPOEA allocation for each Senator is calculated based on three components: 
administrative and clerical assistance allowance . legislative assistance allowance . The three components result in a single SOPOEA authorization for each Senator that can be used to pay for any type of official expense. The SOPOEA allocation formula results in varying levels depending on the state from which a Senator is elected. For FY2016, SOPOEA levels range from $3,008,288 to $4,760,211. As seen in Figure 2 , this appropriations account has decreased in recent years, from a high of $422.0 million in FY2010 to $390.0 million in FY2014, a decrease of 7.6%, not adjusted for inflation. 114-113 ) continued the FY2014 level. The Senate has taken actions to reduce this account both directly—for example, the FY2011 Continuing Appropriations Act stated that "each Senator's official personnel and office expense allowance (including the allowance for administrative and clerical assistance, the salaries allowance for legislative assistance to Senators, as authorized by the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1978 ( P.L.
The Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA) is available to assist Senators in their official duties. The allowance is provided on a fiscal year basis (i.e., October 1-September 30). Funding is provided in the annual legislative branch appropriations bills.
Senators have a high degree of flexibility to use the SOPOEA to operate their offices in a way that supports their congressional duties and responsibilities, and individual office spending may be as varied as the states from which the Senators are elected.
This appropriations account has decreased in recent years, from a high of $422.0 million in FY2010 to $390.0 million in FY2014, a decrease of 7.6%. The appropriation remained at the FY2014 level in the FY2015 and FY2016 appropriations acts.
The SOPOEA for each Senator is calculated based on three variables—the administrative and clerical assistance allowance, the legislative assistance allowance, and the official office expense allowance. The formula results in a single, consolidated allowance for each Senator that can be used to pay for any type of approved official expense, subject to any regulations or limitations established by statute, Senate rules, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and the Senate Ethics Committee.
A preliminary list of SOPOEA levels shows a range in FY2016 of $3,008,288 to $4,760,211, depending on the state. The average allowance is $3,263,940.
Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §4108, Senate expenses are reported online biennially on a fiscal year basis in the Report of the Secretary of the Senate.
This report provides a history of the SOPOEA and overview of recent developments, including funding levels. It also analyzes actual SOPOEA spending patterns in selected years (fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2012).
For a similar analysis of Member office budgets in the House of Representatives, see CRS Report R40962, Members' Representational Allowance: History and Usage, by [author name scrubbed].