SUPPLIES, MATERIALS, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS

Mr. BENJAMIN. Any other questions?

Mr. HENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, if it's all right with you I am going to ask the Deputy Clerk, who works with that all of the time, to continue the statement. Would that be all right?

Mr. BENJAMIN. That would be all right.

Mr. HENSHAW. Do you want to go ahead with that?

RETIREMENT

Mr. MICHEL. Mr. Chairman, back up one minute.

I have one question: I am a veteran, a member of the Federal Civil Service Retirement plan for Members. If I should, when I retire, add my three and one-half years credit of military service to the Civil Service Retirement Fund, do you all pay that or where does that get picked up?

Mr. LAWLER. The Sergeant at Arms administers the retirement program for the Members. We have all of the rest of the employees but, as I understand it, your military service would be included in the computation with your civilian government service work. The percentages that will be used in determining your annuity applying to your various years of military and civilian service I believe are higher for Members of Congress than they may have been in other Federal positions.

Mr. MICHEL. But I was wondering specifically on the contribution to the retirement fund for that amount of military service credited to your total period of time, and we never paid it when we were in the service, but you get credit for it and it has to come from someplace.

Mr. COLLEY. You received credit for it and the Civil Service Commission, when they start paying your retirement, will in effect lump that in with your House service without deposit.

The House has paid a matching contribution for every year you have been here.

Mr. BENJAMIN. In other words, the taxpayer is paying for that? Mr. HENSHAW. Yes, but I just suggest you see Bill Johnson downstairs in the Sergeant at Arms Office, and he can outline it for you.

Mr. MICHEL. I wondered if there was a contingency fund or whatever, an allocation.

Mr. COLLEY. We have an allocation for House employees to pay the government contributions.

Mr. MICHEL. But not for Members?

Mr. COLLEY. It's budgeted in the Sergeant at Arms request for Members, since he makes your salary payments.

Mr. MICHEL. I see.

Mr. BENJAMIN. Would you proceed with the Supplies and Materials.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Mr. COLLEY. For Supplies, Materials, Administrative Costs and Federal Tort Claims, $3,483,600. This item covers a variety of pur

chases for the House other than the supplies and materials utilized by the Property Supply and Repair Service.

In addition to supplies and materials, all administrative costs relative to the operation of support offices for telephone, stationery, postage and lease, purchase and repair of equipment are included in this estimate.

This year we are including $310,179 for reimbursement to the Department of Labor for employee' compensation claims. Also included are funds for the U.S. Code Annotated and the U.S. Code Service for Members; film and related materials for the Office of Finance used in processing House security identification cards; newspaper subscriptions; stationery supplies for House Leadership and Standing Committees and several other items not specifically covered elsewhere in this appropriation bill.

ANALYSIS OF INCREASE

Mr. BENJAMIN. If I understand, this account is going up from $2,578,511 to a request for $3,483,600. Why the sizable increase in this account?

Mr. COLLEY. I think the basic increase is probably not attributable to two or three things, but to several things. My recollection is that the billing we receive from the Department of Labor, for example, for employees' compensations claims is up. I am sure stationery is up.

One of the largest items appears to be the administrative costs for telephone services to the various House offices.

Mr. BENJAMIN. How much is that up?

Mr. COLLEY. I do not have an exact figure but it is noted here. We can put it in the record.

Mr. BENJAMIN. Get the calculation showing how you broke down the 1979 estimate and the 1980 estimate to show the sizable differ

ence.

[The information follows:]

COMPENSATION TYPE

Mr. BENJAMIN. I also ask on the $310,179 for your workmen's compensation, is that workmen's compensation or unemployment compensation?

Mr. COLLEY. It is compensation claims for injuries or deaths on the job. For example, a few years ago we had-

Mr. BENJAMIN. You are talking about under FELA?

Mr. COLLEY. Yes. We had a member's male staff aide killed in a car wreck on official business. That family, for example, received death claim payments, and we are required to reimburse the fund for that.

Mr. BENJAMIN. We would like to see a breakdown on that. [The information follows:]

The amount of $310,179 is for compensation claims for injury or death while on the job. The Department of Labor provides medical service, makes payments to employees who are temporarily or permanently disabled for injury sustained while on the job. In addition, payments are made to the spouse or children where a loss of life is involved. In effect this money is required for reimbursement to the Department of Labor for payments made by them on behalf of the House.

There are no monies in this bill for unemployment compensation. Unemployment compensation claims are filed in the district office where the individual was employed. Workmen's compensation claims are filed with the Department of Labor. Mr. BENJAMIN. Do you have workmen's compensation too?

Mr. COLLEY. Yes, and we have unemployment compensation. I assume the workmen's compensation, you are referring to job injuries, that sort of thing?

Mr. BENJAMIN. That is right.

Could you give us a breakdown on all three of those accounts? It seems to be a little bit out of line.

Mr. COLLEY. We receive a regular billing from the Department of Labor on an annual basis. We can provide a summary for the record of that cost.

Mr. CONTE. How about that tort claim? Is that somebody getting hurt on House property?

Mr. COLLEY. Yes. We have a very small number of those. Somebody falls on the steps, somebody losing a camera, this type of claim.

Mr. CONTE. But it is very nominal?

Mr. COLLEY. It is nominal. There is a handful every year of miscellaneous incidents.

OFFICE SUPPLY SERVICE OPERATIONS

Mr. BENJAMIN. What is your computation stationery for?

Mr. COLLEY. Are you talking about the operation of the Office Supply Service?

Mr. BENJAMIN. That is right.

Mr. COLLEY. The employees for the Office Supply Service are under the Clerk of the House, and are in the personnel section of the Clerk's budget.

Mr. BENJAMIN. Are there any other expenses associated with that operation?

Mr. COLLEY. We have expenses of day-to-day operation, telephone, purchase of equipment, that sort of thing

Mr. BENJAMIN. You do not have a separate account for that?

Mr. COLLEY. No, sir.

Mr. BENJAMIN. Do you know if you are making a profit in that store?

Mr. COLLEY. We are making a slight profit in the stationery store, very little.

Mr. BENJAMIN. Do you calculate profit as you would in a private enterprise?

Mr. COLLEY. No, sir.

Mr. BENJAMIN. In other words, the employees are chargeable-Mr. COLLEY. To the House personnel cost.

Mr. BENJAMIN. So you are not recovering for that. You are talking about profit in the sense that you sell the goods for more than you pay for them.

Mr. COLLEY. It is slightly more. During the past year one of the new activities is the service charge that we have on nonofficial purchases. When your employee makes a nonofficial personal purchase, there is a ten percent charge. During the three months that has been in operation, October, November and December, service charges of $33,350 were accumulated to help offset the cost of providing this service.

Mr. BENJAMIN. It would run out to about $132,000 for the year? Mr. COLLEY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BENJAMIN. Would $132,000-how much does that pay towards the cost of the telephone, the lights, the employees?

Mr. COLLEY. The cost of the building, the heat, light, water, electricity, are funded in the Architect's budget for the House office buildings. Our cost would be personnel, equipment, telephone, stationery, and miscellaneous supplies.

Mr. BENJAMIN. What is your cost of personnel for that operation? Mr. COLLEY. We have approximately 29 people there. We can give total figures on salaries if you like.

DEVELOPMENT OF SURCHARGE

Mr. BENJAMIN. How did you come up with the ten percent surcharge?

Mr. COLLEY. This was evolved between the supervisor of the Office Supply Service, the Clerk's office, our staff, and the Committee on House Administration.

Our proposal to initiate the taking of cash and checks for employees to simplify the operations went to the Committee on House Administration. My recollection is that we also consulted with the General Accounting Office. The decision was that ten percent was a reasonable service charge. The committee approved and directed the Clerk to start charging this.

Mr. BENJAMIN. Well, are the charges that are made per item in the so-called stationery store the cost of the item or how much margin do you run on that?

Mr. COLLEY. Basically the cost. We endeavor to buy on a bid invitation basis or comparative prices and to obtain the best price for the Members.

Mr. BENJAMIN. What you are saying is that members and staff can buy it for ten percent over cost?

Mr. COLLEY. Correct.