Panel approves 4.6 percent raise for House staff

House staffers can breathe a sigh of relief with Friday's subcommittee approval of the spending bill covering House offices and other legislative branch activities in fiscal year 2002. Unlike last year's markup, which saw House funds drastically cut as Congress tried unsuccessfully to stay within tight budget caps (those cuts were eventually restored), the fiscal 2002 legislative branch spending bill includes a 4.6 percent pay raise for House staff. Indeed, total spending for House offices is boosted more than $50 million over the current year, to a total budget of about $882 million. Such fiscal generosity allowed appropriators to approve the $2.14 billion legislative branch bill by a simple voice vote, without any amendments. The whole markup took less than five minutes. "This proves what a decent [spending] allocation can do for efficiency," remarked Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., the ranking member of the legislative branch subcommittee. In addition to the House funds, the bill would provide:

• $123.6 million for Capitol Police, an increase of $16.8 million over fiscal 2001.
• $30.7 million for the Congressional Budget Office, an increase of $2.3 million over fiscal 2001.
• $203.3 million for the Architect of the Capitol, an increase of $53.1 million over fiscal 2001.
• $450 million for the Library of Congress, a decrease of $61.7 million below fiscal 2001.
• $110.6 million for the Government Printing Office, a decrease of $4.4 million below fiscal 2001.
• $421.8 million for the General Accounting Office, an increase of $37.8 million over fiscal 2001.