Senate Committee Organizing resolution

Mr. President, I send a resolution to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Funding Levels

Mr. President, I want to engage my colleague, the distinguished majority leader, in a colloquy regarding committee funding. As the majority leader is aware, the current biennial funding authorization for committee funding expires on February 28. Normally, by now the Rules Committee has advised the committees of the budget assumptions for the next biennial period, March 1, 2005 through February 28, 2007, so that they may be preparing their committee authorizing resolutions for the next biennial funding period. However, the Rules committee is awaiting direction from the

leadership. Based on conversations between the majority leader and myself, is the majority leader in a position to announce the funding and allocation assumptions for the next biennial committee funding period?

Is it my understanding that such a freeze will result in aggregate funding levels, subject to appropriations, as follows: March 1, 2005-September 30, 2005: $53,243,918; October 1, 2005-September 30, 2006; $93,467,365; and October 1, 2006-February 28, 2007: $39,782,891, and that such funding levels include, but do not separately allocate, the additional 10 percent allocated to the committees in the 108th Congress?

I thank the majority leader for his comments and assistance in reaching this agreement.

Mr. President, if I could, if the distinguished acting leader would allow me to say a word, what we have just done has been something that is important for the institution. We want to show bipartisanship, and this has been very difficult. Briefly, because I know we have a joint session, let me say the chairmen and ranking members do yeoman's work around here. They work very hard.

What has just been completed is a compromise. I appreciate the cooperation of Senator Frist and Senator McConnell, Senator Lott and Senator Dodd. We have worked hard to arrive at this point, and we have shown some bipartisanship. We on the Democratic side, and I think I can speak for some of my friends on the Republican side, hope that the money the committees are going to get to do their work is not all needed. We didn't use it all last time. I hope we don't need it this time. But at least we have a framework where we have divided the responsibilities of the Senate on a 60-40 basis. I believe that is fair. I hope never in the future of this institution, no matter what party is in control, will it ever change and be any lower.

I am pleased to respond to the inquiry of the Democratic leader. The budget assumptions for the next committee funding biennial period, subject to appropriations, will be an across-the-board freeze budget, with salary baselines adjusted by COLAs of 3.71 percent in 2005, as approved by the President pro tempore this week; and 3.3 percent assumed for 2006 and 3.5 percent assumed for 2007, although both the 2006 and 2007 actual COLA amounts remain subject to the approval of the President pro tempore.

That is correct. With regard to committee personnel salary allocations between the majority and minority staff, the Democratic leader and I have agreed to a 60-40 split of all personnel funds, after allocations for non-designated administrative and clerical staff are agreed to by the chairman and ranking member pursuant to Rule XXVII of the Standing Rules of the Senate. However, the chairman and ranking member of any committee may, by mutual agreement, modify the allocation of personnel funds. The division of committee office space shall be commensurate with this allocation agreement.

Mr. President, I thank my colleague, the Democratic leader, as well. I am glad we were able to work this out.