David Thomas: “I find it almost fascinating that the gentleman from California [Mr. Fazio], the former chairman of the Subcommittee on…”

“I find it almost fascinating that the gentleman from California [Mr. Fazio], the former chairman of the Subcommittee on Legislative of the Committee on Appropriations is offering an amendment to allow no additional staff. The gentleman indicated that perhaps this particular committee could learn from what occurred to other committees. Let me recite some dollars and cents and numbers for my colleagues. There is one committee in the House of Representatives that is not responsive to House Oversight and the rest of the Members in determining its budget. It is not the Joint Committee on Taxation. It is not the Committee on Ways and Means. It is not the Committee on Agriculture. It is not the Committee on Commerce. It happens to be the Committee on Appropriations. That committee alone determines its own staff and its own budget. Let us return to 1994. The budget for Appropriations was $14.7 million. The budget for the Committee on Ways and Means was $8.1 million. The budget for the Joint Committee on Taxation is $5.7 million. Let us leap ahead 4 years and look at the fiscal year 1998 budget of Appropriations, $18.2 million. From $14.7 million to $18.2 million. That is a 25-percent increase in the budget that the gentleman from California [Mr. Fazio], behind closed doors, determines what is appropriate to do their job.”