| Sponsor | Rep. Lungren, Dan |
| Committee | House Administration |
| Date | February 1, 2012 (112th Congress, 2nd Session) |
| Staff Contact | Andy Koenig |
On Wednesday, February 1, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.Res. 496 under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote for approval. H.Res. 496 was introduced by Rep. Daniel Lungren (R-CA) on December 14, 2011, and was referred to the Committee on House Administration, which reported the bill by voice vote on December 16, 2011.
H.Res. 496 would adjust the limits on the amount of funds authorized for each House of Representatives select and standing committee in the second session of the 112th Congress. The resolution would adjust the amount provided for the expenses of each standing and select committee—including the expense of all staff salaries—for the period beginning at noon on January 3, 2012, and ending immediately before noon on January 3, 2013. The resolution would make an aggregate reduction to the total funding for House committees from the first session of the 112th Congress. However, the resolution would not make reductions at a uniform rate. Some committees would face larger proportional reductions than others. The amounts for each committee in the second session of the 112th Congress are below.
| Committee | Original 2012 Authorization as in H.Res. 147 | 2012 Authorization cut by 6.4% | Revised 2012 Authorization as in H.Res. 496 | Percent Difference from Original 2012 Authorization | Amount of Cut from Original 2012 Authorization |
| Agriculture | $ 6,045,553 | $ 5,658,638 | $ 5,658,638 | -6.4% | $ 386,915 |
| Armed Services | $ 7,525,264 | $ 7,043,647 | $ 7,374,759 | -2.0% | $ 150,505 |
| Budget | $ 6,033,185 | $ 5,647,061 | $ 5,647,061 | -6.4% | $ 386,124 |
| Education and Workforce | $ 8,346,254 | $ 7,812,094 | $ 7,812,094 | -6.4% | $ 534,160 |
| Energy and Commerce | $ 11,428,642 | $ 10,697,209 | $ 10,697,209 | -6.4% | $ 731,433 |
| Ethics | $ 3,043,776 | $ 2,848,973 | $ 3,393,775 | 11.5% | $ (349,999) |
| Financial Services | $ 8,958,018 | $ 8,384,705 | $ 8,384,705 | -6.4% | $ 573,313 |
| Foreign Affairs | $ 8,952,470 | $ 8,379,512 | $ 8,379,512 | -6.4% | $ 572,958 |
| Homeland Security | $ 8,443,724 | $ 7,903,326 | $ 7,903,326 | -6.4% | $ 540,398 |
| House Administration | $ 5,566,837 | $ 5,210,559 | $ 5,169,169 | -7.1% | $ 397,668 |
| Judiciary | $ 8,401,406 | $ 7,863,716 | $ 7,863,716 | -6.4% | $ 537,690 |
| Natural Resources | $ 7,869,766 | $ 7,366,101 | $ 7,366,101 | -6.4% | $ 503,665 |
| Oversight & Gov't. Reform | $ 10,613,054 | $ 9,933,819 | $ 9,933,819 | -6.4% | $ 679,235 |
| Rules | $ 3,391,985 | $ 3,174,898 | $ 3,174,898 | -6.4% | $ 217,087 |
| Science, Space, and Tech. | $ 6,660,637 | $ 6,234,355 | $ 5,986,023 | -10.1% | $ 674,614 |
| Small Business | $ 3,659,109 | $ 3,424,926 | $ 3,383,536 | -7.5% | $ 275,573 |
| Transportation & Infra. | $ 9,915,223 | $ 9,280,649 | $ 9,280,649 | -6.4% | $ 634,574 |
| Veterans Affairs | $ 3,682,512 | $ 3,446,830 | $ 3,446,830 | -6.4% | $ 235,682 |
| Ways and Means | $ 9,801,366 | $ 9,174,079 | $ 9,174,079 | -6.4% | $ 627,287 |
| HPSC on Intelligence | $ 5,153,750 | $ 4,823,910 | $ 4,823,910 | -6.4% | $ 329,840 |
| Totals …………………. | $ 143,492,528 | $ 134,309,007 | $ 134,853,809 | -6.02% | $ 8,638,719 |
According to House Report 112-362, the Committee on House Administration is responsible for an expense resolution to provide the authorized level of funding for House committees. On March 9, 2011, the Committee on House Administration reported H. Res. 147, which set committees funding levels. H.Res. 147 cut an average of 5 percent in funding for each committee from the amount each committee received in the 111th Congress. In addition, the resolution stipulated that none of the funds for the second session may be made available after March 15, 2012, until the Chairs and Ranking Members appeared and presented testimony before the Committee on House Administration to review the use of funds in the first session. On December 14, 2011, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) introduced a second committee funding resolution, H. Res. 496, to adjust committee authorization levels. According to the committee, this resolution would match the authorization levels with the reduced funding levels included in previous appropriations bills.
A number of Democrats on the Committee on House Administration have opposed the reductions contained in this resolution. According to Minority Views provided by Democrats on the Committee on House Administration, “Committee Democrats oppose this unprecedented committee defunding resolution which would reduce budgets by an average of 6.4 percent during the second session. These cuts come just nine months after House Resolution 147 instituted an average cut of 5 percent in funding for each committee.”
A CBO cost estimate for H.Res. 496 was not available as of press time.