	FY2015 Consideration: Overview of Actions

The first section of this report provides an overview of the consideration of FY2015 legislative branch appropriations, with subsections covering each action, including
the initial submission of the request on March 4, 2014; hearings held by the House and Senate Legislative Branch Subcommittees; markups held by the House Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, and House Committee on Appropriations; passage of H.R. 4487 by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 19, 2014; the enactment of continuing appropriations resolutions providing funding for the legislative branch ( P.L. Status of FY2015 Appropriations: Dates of Action, Bill Numbers, and Reports

		Submission of FY2015 Budget Request on March 4, 2014

The FY2015 U.S. Budget submitted on March 4, 2014, contains a request for $4.471 billion in new budget authority for legislative branch activities. By law, the legislative branch request is submitted to the President and included in the budget without change. The mark provided $3.3 billion (not including Senate items, which are determined by the Senate). No amendments were offered, and it was reported to the full committee by voice vote. House Appropriations Committee Markup

On April 9, 2014, the full House Appropriations Committee held a markup of the FY2015 bill. 4487 on May 1, 2014. H.R. 4487 , as amended, was passed by the House by a vote of 402-14. 4487

The Senate Appropriations Committee considered H.R. 113-164 and P.L. 113-203 ) provided funding for the legislative branch until the enactment of funding for the remainder of FY2015 in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, on December 16, 2014 ( P.L. 113-235 ). The act funded legislative branch accounts at the FY2012 enacted level, with some exceptions (also known as "anomalies"), and less across-the-board rescissions required by Section 3004 of P.L. This level was $236.9 million (-5.2%) below the FY2011 enacted level. This level represented a $125.1 million decrease from the $4.668 billion provided in the FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act ( P.L. The House-passed bill would have provided $61.5 million (+3.4%), while the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended an increase of $499 from the FY2014 enacted level. The FY2015 act provided $19.2 million (-1.0%). Congressional Research Service—The FY2014 act provided $105.4 million. H.R. Table 4 through Table 8 provide information on funding levels for the legislative branch overall, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Capitol Police, and the Architect of the Capitol.
The legislative branch appropriations bill provides funding for the Senate; House of Representatives; Joint Items; Capitol Police; Office of Compliance; Congressional Budget Office (CBO); Architect of the Capitol (AOC); Library of Congress (LOC), including the Congressional Research Service (CRS); Government Publishing Office (GPO); Government Accountability Office (GAO); and Open World Leadership Center.
The legislative branch FY2015 budget request of $4.471 billion was submitted on March 4, 2014. By law, the President includes the requests submitted from the legislative branch in the annual budget without change.
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees' Legislative Branch Subcommittees held hearings to consider the FY2015 legislative branch requests.
The House subcommittee held its markup on April 4, 2014, and the full committee held a markup on April 9. One amendment was offered in the full committee, but failed. The bill, which recommended $3.3 billion (not including Senate items), was reported on April 17 (H.R. 4487, H.Rept. 113-417).
The House passed H.R. 4487, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2015, on May 1, 2014, by a vote of 402-14.
The Senate Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 4487, as amended, on June 19, 2014, by voice vote (S.Rept. 113-196). This version would have provided $4.3 billion.
No further action on H.R. 4487 was taken, and legislative branch activities were funded through continuing appropriations resolutions (P.L. 113-164 and P.L. 113-203) until the enactment of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235, enacted December 16, 2014). Division H of this act provides $4.3 billion dollars, an increase of $41.7 million (1.0%) from FY2014 and $164.9 million (-3.7%) less than the request.
Legislative branch funding, which peaked in FY2010, remains below the FY2009 level of $4.501 billion. In FY2014, the funding level was $4.259 billion. The FY2013 act funded legislative branch accounts at the FY2012 enacted level, with some exceptions (also known as "anomalies"), less across-the-board rescissions that applied to all appropriations in the act, and not including sequestration reductions implemented on March 1. The FY2012 level represented a decrease of $236.9 million (-5.2%) from the FY2011 level, which itself represented a $125.1 million decrease (-2.7%) from FY2010.
The smallest of the appropriations bills, the legislative branch comprises approximately 0.4% of total discretionary budget authority.