September 9, 2019 
 
Senator Richard Shelby, Chairman 
Senator Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member 
U.S. Senate, Committee on Appropriations  
The Capitol, Room S-128 
Washington, DC 20510 
 

Re: FY 2020 302(b) Allocation for the Legislative Branch 
 
Dear Chairman Shelby, Ranking Member Leahy, and members of the committee: 
  
We encourage you to increase the share of funding for the legislative branch as you decide 
upon 302(b) allocations for FY 2020, especially now that the top line numbers for defense and 
non-defense discretionary spending have been determined. The legislative branch — which 
has suffered from a funding deficit and significant loss of institutional capacity in recent 
decades — is of key importance to the health of our democracy.1  
 
While this letter does not suggest agreement or disagreement with the top line spending 
numbers, we firmly believe that the portion of federal spending that goes to the legislative 
branch must increase.  
 
To fulfill its constitutional role, Congress needs adequate resources to meet its obligations to 
lead in federal policymaking, provide services for constituents, and conduct oversight that 
roots out waste, fraud, abuse, and malfeasance. Unfortunately, Congress struggles to retain 
expert staff, has undermined its support agencies and oversight capacity, and has delegated 
significant policymaking work to the administrative state. 
 
Next year, non-defense discretionary spending will increase by 4.5% to $632 billion.2 To put 
this in context, Congress has cut the percentage of non-defense discretionary appropriations 
for the legislative branch from 0.85% in 2012 to 0.81% in 2019 even while the amount of 
non-defense discretionary appropriations grew by 5.97%. This year’s legislative branch 
appropriations bill, reported out of committee in the House, only increases legislative branch 
funding by 3.6% increase, or $135 m
​ illion​, compared to the overall 4.5% increase.  
 
Congress should increase funding for the legislative branch by an additional $300 million, 
which is only 1% of the ​new​ non-defense spending. While this amount would be a drop in the 
bucket of the new spending, it would help rebuild a devastated Congress. 
 

1

Daniel Schuman and Zach Graves, “The Decline Of Congressional Expertise Explained In 10 Charts,” ​Techdirt​.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20181018/10204640869/decline-congressional-expertise-explained-10-charts.shtml​.
2

​https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/white-house-hill-leaders-agree-two-year-budget-deal

 
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These underlying funding trends have precipitated a crisis. If Congress does not invest more in 
the legislative branch now, it likely will become incapable of serving as a co-equal branch of 
government in the future. Here are just some of the major challenges at Congress’s doorstep. 
 
Congressional modernization:​ There are a number of efforts to make Congress a 21st century 
institution, starting with the recently enacted Congressional Accountability Act, the 
appropriation of funds to pay for interns, and the expansion of child care facilities. These are 
welcome first steps, but they are merely the start of the work that must be done to modernize 
employee benefits to improve retention, to bring congressional information technology up to 
date, to better distribute the workload among a larger base of staff, and to rebuild and improve 
the legislative support offices and agencies. Congress’s needs for cybersecurity and physical 
security alone require significant investment.  
 
Crumbling infrastructure:​ The Architect of the Capitol has made clear it will cost several 
billion additional dollars over the upcoming years for building renovations to keep Congress 
from literally falling apart. Congressional buildings must be safe for visitors and to support the 
conduct of official business. These infrastructure needs will put an undeniable strain on other 
legislative branch functions if the appropriations baseline is not increased. 
 
Science and technology:​ Following high-profile hearings with Mark Zuckerberg and other tech 
CEOs, there has been significant new interest in reversing the decline of congressional policy 
expertise, especially in the area of science and technology. Innovations in science and 
technology are a key driver of economic growth. Additional expertise and capacity in this area 
can help Congress better understand the tradeoffs of different policy approaches and create 
forward-looking policy frameworks and support the federal government’s responsible use and 
adoption of these technologies. 
 
While the Framers envisioned Congress as the first among three co-equal branches, Congress’s 
capacity has declined to the point where it cannot fully meet its constitutional duties. It is also 
facing new challenges that threaten to strain existing resources beyond the breaking point. We 
urge you help reverse this institutional decline and provide Congress with the resources it 
needs to serve the interests of the American people. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Beck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown 
BPC Action 
Campaign for Accountability 
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington 
College to Congress 
Consumer Action 
Courage Campaign 
Data Coalition 
 
2

  
Demand Progress 
Democracy for America 
Government InformationWatch 
GovTrack.us 
Issue One 
Lincoln Network 
Media Mobilizing Project 
NALEO Educational Fund 
National Security Counselors 
National Taxpayers Union 
New America 
Project On Government Oversight 
Protect Democracy 
R Street Institute 
RootsAction.org 
Senior Executives Association 
Social Security Works  
Sunlight Foundation 
Transparency International 
Win Without War 
X-Lab 
 
Cc:
The Honorable Nita Lowey 
The Honorable Kay Granger 

 
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