Fischer Chairs First Appropriations Hearing

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, convened her first hearing examining the Fiscal Year 2027 budget requests for the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office, and the Government Publishing Office.

Fischer assumed the subcommittee gavel in March. The panel oversees the funding, budget, and operations of the legislative branch of the U.S. government, including the Senate, Capitol Police, Architect of the Capitol, Library of Congress, and the Government Accountability Office.

Fischer's remarks as prepared:

Good morning. The subcommittee will come to order. I'd like to welcome everyone to the first of our fiscal year 2027 budget hearings for the agencies under the jurisdiction of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

This is my first hearing as the Chairman of this subcommittee. I'm grateful for the opportunity to focus on the "First Branch" of government. I'm also appreciative to Chair Collins and Leader Thune for their ongoing commitment to bring appropriations bills to the Senate floor. As a member of this Committee, I am deeply committed to a transparent funding process.

I would like to welcome Ranking Member Heinrich. Senator, you have shared that now-Secretary Mullin and you enjoyed an honest and constructive working relationship as Chair and Ranking Member. I hope we can have a similarly productive partnership in these roles. I'm looking forward to working with you and the other members of this subcommittee in crafting responsible funding legislation that supports Congress and the entire legislative branch.

Today we have with us the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Dr. Phillip Swagel, the Director of the Government Publishing Office, Mr. Hugh Halpern, and the Acting Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office, Ms. Orice Williams Brown. Thank you for joining us today.

Before we get into the specific details of your budget requests, I want to acknowledge that we are entering an uncertain budget cycle. Nebraskans, and the majority of the American people, want to make sure their tax dollars are being used efficiently and effectively. The legislative branch is no exception and must demonstrate it will be a good financial steward of those taxpayer funds. While I believe it's necessary to provide Congress and its support agencies with sufficient resources to fulfill our constitutional duties to oversee the federal government, pass meaningful legislation, and provide constituent services, I also believe that the investments we make must be necessary, strategic, and for the benefit of the nation.

The Congressional Budget Office's mission is to provide nonpartisan budget and economic data to Congress, independent of the executive branch.

The agency's request for fiscal year 2027 is $76.3 million, an increase of $1.5 million above the enacted level.

This request would restore staff capacity to approximately 274 employees and would allow CBO to hire 11 additional staff members, including analysts focused on defense and means-tested programs, dynamic scoring, and transparency and responsiveness efforts. It also includes funding to continue to strengthen the agency's cybersecurity posture and improve IT infrastructure.

The Government Publishing Office publishes trusted information for Congress and the federal government to keep the American people informed. I would like to highlight how long GPO has been dedicated to this mission - GPO recently celebrated its 165th birthday. The agency opened its doors for business on March 4, 1861, the same day that President Lincoln was inaugurated.

For fiscal year 2027, GPO has requested $132 million, which is equal to the enacted level.

The request supports the continued transition to digital products and technologies, which will achieve savings while also increasing accessibility for the American public.

GAO supports Congress in its oversight of the federal government, identifying waste and fraud in government programs and recommending programmatic and operational improvements to executive branch agencies.

For fiscal year 2027, GAO is requesting $860 million, an increase of $48.2 million above the fiscal year 2026 enacted level. Additionally, GAO's budget request includes $50 million in offsets and supplemental appropriations, for a total budget authority of $910 million.

This funding request includes over $6 million to cover critical hiring, mandatory pay-related increases, and other personnel benefits, though the agency would be required to continue workforce reduction efforts.

The request includes funding to continue IT modernization initiatives, optimize space at the headquarters building and field offices, and undertake physical infrastructure enhancements.

Each of your agencies provides important support for the work of the Senate. We rely on the timely, nonpartisan analyses and information that you deliver to assist us in our jobs as legislators.

That expert assistance requires highly talented and trained staff, a need which is reflected in your budget requests. While GPO operates on a business model, human capital costs represent more than 80 percent of CBO and GAO's budgets. It's not uncommon for personnel costs to compromise the vast majority of agency budgets across the legislative branch. This dynamic continues to be a challenge in a constrained fiscal environment.

In the face of this challenge, I look forward to our discussion and learning more about your agencies' priorities for this year.

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