Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018
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. 184.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Highlights:
This bill provides FY2018 appropriations for the legislative branch, including the Senate and Joint Items such as: the Joint Economic Committee, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), and the Office of the Attending Physician.
It also provides appropriations for:
the Capitol Police,
the Congressional Budget Office (CBO),
the Architect of the Capitol (AOC),
the Library of Congress (LOC),
the Government Publishing Office (GPO),
the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and
the Open World Leadership Center.
Pursuant to a longstanding practice under which each chamber of Congress determines its own requirements, the Senate bill does not include funds for the House.
The bill increases overall legislative branch funding above the FY2017 level and includes an increase for the Senate.
For other legislative branch agencies and programs, the bill increases funding above FY2017 levels for the Capitol Police, the AOC, the CBO, the LOC, and the GAO. The bill funds the GPO at the FY2017 levels.
The bill also includes provisions that would prohibit a cost of living adjustment for Members of Congress and require Congressional Research Service reports to be made available to the public.
Full Summary:
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018
TITLE I--LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Provides appropriations to the Senate for:
Expense Allowances;
Salaries, Officers, and Employees;
the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the Senate;
the Office of Senate Legal Counsel;
Expense Allowances of the Secretary of the Senate, Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, and Secretaries for the Majority and Minority of the Senate; and
Contingent Expenses of the Senate.
(Sec. 101) Requires that amounts remaining in the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account be used for deficit reduction or to reduce the federal debt.
(Sec. 102) Exempts agreements, contracts, or purchases by any office of the Senate from the advertising requirement for federal government purchases and sales. (Under the requirement, purchases and contracts for supplies or services for the federal government may only be made or entered into after advertising for proposals for a sufficient time.)
The summary continues for 51 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 without amendment" stage on July 27, 2017. 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 July 27, 2017: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 184.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 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?
James Lankford (R-OK) introduced it on July 27, 2017. 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 27, 2017, 3332 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3332 days ago, on July 27, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers