Senate Hearing on 2022 Budget for Legislative Support Agencies

• •The Library of Congress diverted $40 million from a planned storage module at Fort Meade to cover emergency security and COVID-19 expenses.
• •The GAO received $107 million specifically for oversight of federal COVID-19 response and recovery funds.
• •The CBO is requesting funding for four new staff members to increase capacity for analyzing infrastructure, energy, and climate change legislation.
• •The Library of Congress is prioritizing IT modernization and cybersecurity to protect sensitive data and prevent unauthorized access to congressional systems.
• •The Library of Congress is continuing the 'Visitor Experience Project,' a public/private partnership to improve public access to collections.
• •The GAO has spent approximately one-third of its $107 million pandemic oversight budget on dozens of specific engagements.
• •The Congressional Research Service (CRS) updated over 1,000 products related to COVID-19 issues.
• •The subcommittee is considering an emergency supplemental appropriation to reimburse agencies for unanticipated pandemic and security-related costs.

This hearing sets the stage for funding decisions that determine the operational capacity of the agencies that provide Congress with economic analysis, government audits, and public access to historical records.

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.