Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 172.
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012 - Title I: Legislative Branch - Makes appropriations to the Senate for FY2012 for: (1) expense allowances; (2) representation allowances for the Majority and Minority Leaders; (3) salaries of specified officers, employees, and committees (including the Committee on Appropriations); (4) agency contributions for employee benefits; (5) inquiries and investigations; (6) the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control; (7) the Offices of the Secretary and of the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate; (8) miscellaneous items; (9) the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account; and (10) official mail costs.
(Sec. 1) Authorizes the Secretary of the Senate, if in any fiscal year amounts in any Senate appropriations account for the legislative branch are available for more than one fiscal year, to establish procedures for the payment of expenses with respect to that account from any amounts available for that fiscal year.
Makes appropriations to the House of Representatives for FY2012 for: (1) salaries and/or expenses of the House leadership offices, committees (including the Committee on Appropriations), officers and employees; and (2) Members' representational allowances.
(Sec. 101) Requires deposit in the Treasury of any amounts of a Member's representational allowance remaining after all payments are made, to be used for federal deficit reduction, or, if there is no deficit, federal debt reduction.
(Sec. 102) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2005 to transfer authority to assign responsibilities to the Republican Policy Committee, and direct the obligation and expenditure of its allowance for salaries and expenses, from the chair of the Republican Conference to the Speaker of the House (or, if the Speaker is not a member of the Republican Party, the Minority Leader of the House).
(Sec. 103) Grants authority to the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the House to allocate funds among specified offices.
(Sec. 104) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999 to repeal the requirement for a 50%-50% allocation of funds between the Republican Conference and the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee for training and program development activities.
The summary continues for 19 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on September 15, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 15, 2011: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 172.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ANDER CRENSHAW (R-FL) introduced it on July 15, 2011. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 15, 2011, 5536 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5474 days ago, on September 15, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers