FOREWORD Jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules and Administration Under Rule XXV, paragraph 1(p), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, all proposed legislation "relating to the payment of money out of the contingent fund of the Senate or creating a charge upon the same" shall be referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. While the Committee considers and recommends payments from the contingent fund for various purposes, its most important responsibility under that phase of its jurisdiction relates to requests by Senate committees for funds to finance inquiries and investigations. These requests usually come to the Committee in the form of resolutions authorizing expenditures in stated sums for specific purposes. Purpose of the compilation To provide background information for the consideration and evaluation of resolutions authorizing such expenditures from the contingent fund of the Senate, the staff of the Committee on Rules and Administration has compiled the information contained in the following tables. In this endeavor the staff has had the excellent and complete cooperation of Mr. Robert Brenkworth, Senate Financial Clerk, and his assistants in the Senate Disbursing Office. Fiscal year for Senate inquiries Since at the commencement of a new session of Congress time must be made available for committees to prepare their budgets for investigations and to have resolutions authorizing those investigations considered and approved by the Senate, the fiscal year for senatorial inquiries overlaps the calendar year by 1 month and extends from February 1 through January 31 of the following year. With few exceptions, the authorizations in this compilation are on that basis. Scope of the compilation The following tables indicate all funds authorized by the Senate for inquiries and investigations during the Eighty-eighth and Eightyninth Congresses, and Ninetieth Congress, first session. Expenditures made by the committees pursuant to such authorizations are shown as complete for the Eighty-eighth and Eighty-ninth Congresses, and through December 31, 1967, for the Ninetieth Congress. The compilation embraces all standing, select, and special committees of the Senate, whose expenses are paid from the appropriation for inquiries and investigations, as well as joint committees whose expenses are paid wholly or partially from that appropriation. Authorizations are in the form of simple Senate resolutions, concurrent resolutions, or public laws. EXPLANATION OF THE TABLES The summary, a recapitulation of the statistics which follow, shows grand totals of authorizations and expenditures for committee inquiries and investigations for the three Congresses. In the tables which follow, those totals are divided into subtotals representing committees by category (standing, special, etc.) and committees individually. In addition, where applicable the statistics are further divided into "Routine expenditures" and "Inquiries and investigations" (explained below). While it is believed that the special typographical format makes the tables practically self-explanatory, the following clarifying comments are given: "Routine expenditures".-Under the authority of section 134(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (Aug. 2, 1946, 60 Stat. 831, 832; 2 U.S.C. 190(b)) each standing committee of the Senate is authorized to make expenditures up to $10,000 per Congress for the routine purposes specified in that act. That provision was made applicable to the Select Committee on Small Business by Public Law 759 of the Eighty-first Congress (Sept. 6, 1950, 64 Stat. 595). The funds are provided on a fiscal year basis in the Legislative Branch Appropriation Acts, and are designated in the tables as "Routine expenditures." Authorizations by resolution providing committees with funds "in addition to the amount, and for the same purpose, specified in section 134(a) * * *" are likewise termed "Routine expenditures" and placed in the tables immediately below the general statutory $10,000. From the statutory $10,000, and any increments by resolution thereto, committees pay official travel expenses, per diem allowances, long-distance telephone charges, reporter fees, and for publications, etc. "Inquiries and investigations". The funds designated in the summary for "Inquiries and investigations" are normally used by subcommittees of the standing committees, or by special or select committees, for particular investigations ordered by the Senate. The bulk of such funds is used for the payment of salaries and expenses of the additional personnel needed by the committee to accomplish the purposes customarily stated in the enabling resolution. If such resolution provides general authority to a committee to extend its investigations (within its jurisdiction as set forth in Rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate) with no mention of a specific subject, or if such a resolution lists a variety of subjects (embracing most of its jurisdiction), it is identified in the tables as a "General" investigation. If, however, a specific subject of investigation is identifiable from the text of the resolution-as would normally be the case-that subject is listed as a subentry under the heading "Inquiries and investigation." |