with only three additional mail handlers over the period of time that I have been Postmaster. CRS MAIL TO CONGRESS To further explain how we arrived at these figures, a 1977 letter from the Honorable Gilbert Gude, the Director of the Congressional Research Service, stated that his office alone sent some 93,000 pieces of mail to House offices. This CRS mail more than doubled in 1978. None of this CRS Mail goes through the Postal Service and is not reflected in Postal Service figures. By following our direct delivery procedure, we can have mail from the Library or Congress over to our shop within the hour. If our car goes over at 10 o'clock and picks up the mail, the messenger is back before 11 o'clock and Members will receive that mail at 11:00 o'clock. Without this direct delivery, the mail would be handled by the Postal Service, routed through the City Post Office, and it could take as much as 3 days to get here to the Capitol from the Library of Congress just across the street. At the present time we have 98 full-time employees. Of these 98, 3 have administrative duties, 12 provide stamp counter services, 8 operate the X-ray machines, and 75 are involved in mail processing. At the present time we have 6 vacancies. Mr. BENJAMIN. Let me stop you at this point. Do you have any questions of the Postmaster? [Discussion off the record.] BULK MAIL HANDLING PROCEDURES Mr. MICHEL. On the record. You mentioned earlier these different groups that will dump just a jillion tons of mail on you that you then in turn guarantee delivery. Mr. ROTA. Yes, sir, we deliver it that day. Mr. MICHEL. What does that mean, that that mail was postmarked then? Mr. ROTA. Yes, sir. The House Administration Committee in 1972 studied the problem, and at that time said if there weren't some rules or regulations governing the mass mailings coming in, at the rate they were being received, that the Post Office would just be overwhelmed. [Discussion off the record.] Mr. MICHEL. On the record. You don't accept anything directly from a group in your shop and then distribute it to the members, do you? Mr. ROTA. Yes, sir. Mr. MICHEL. You do? Mr. ROTA. Yes, sir. Mr. CONTE. It has got to have postage. Mr. ROTA. That is correct. This is the procedure cleared by the House Administration Committee. [Discussion off the record.] Mr. BENJAMIN. Back on the record. Are there other questions? ORANGE-BAG MAIL Mr. ROTA. Responding to the question raised while we were off the record, we guarantee next-day delivery of "orange-bag" mail if dispatched by 2 p.m. Mr. MICHEL. One other question. On this system that you guarantee what, pickup at such and such an hour and delivery back in our district for next day service? Mr. ROTA. Yes, sir. Mr. MICHEL. Is that thing working all right? Mr. ROTA. Yes, sir. If the "orange-bag service doesn't work, you let me know. Once in a while a district will be confronted with a problem-a delay caused by routing. What we do when we find out what really happened to cause the delay is to reroute the mail. Mr. MICHEL. Is that just an individual service for the Congress between Washington and our congressional district office? Mr. ROTA. Yes, sir. Mr. MICHEL. And it does not cost us? Mr. ROTA. No, sir, it is first-class mail. Mr. MICHEL. It is not like one of these guarantees Mr. ROTA. No, sir, it is not like express mail. Mr. MICHEL [continuing]. By the regular Post Office Department for $8 or whatever it is. Mr. ROTA. I have figures in my statement on express mail. Mr. MICHEL. But it is limited to the congressional office in Washington and anyone of whatever offices he has officially in his district. Mr. ROTA. Yes, sir, and the Postal Service has agreed within the past year to permit certain pre-cancelled stamped mail along with franked mail going to a member's district to be dispatched by "orange-bag". Now if the member for some reason doesn't want to send a franked envelope but would prefer to put postage on his envelope, we will precancel it and send the precanceled letters in the bag also. It can then go to his district. Upon request we have recently set up "orange bag" service for mail from some Congressional district offices to members' offices here in Washington. We have set that up for members who have requested such return service. Mr. BENJAMIN. Are there other questions about the entire postal account? Mr. ROTA. Should I continue with the summary of my statement. Mr. BENJAMIN. We have it for the record, Mr. Postmaster. I do want to thank you on several counts, one, that your level of employment is the same, even though your workload has continuously increased. I want to thank you on the account that since the beginning of this decade you are one of the few agencies if not the only one on this Hill that hasn't more than doubled the size of their budget and I want to thank you on a final account that your average salary appears to be $12,354 compared to the astronomical figures we see. Thank you for a fine statement which will be included in the record. Thank you for the fine performance during the course of the year and we wish you well during the next fiscal year. Mr. ROTA. Thank you, sir. HOUSE DEMOCRATIC STEERING COMMITTEE Mr. BENJAMIN. Let us return to the House Democratic Steering Committee. Mr. HENSHAW. The House Democratic Steering Committee. For salaries and expenses of the House Democratic Steering Committee, $323,000. This is an increase of $14,100 over the amount appropriated for fiscal year 1979, which is attributed to pay increases. [The information follows:] APPROPRIATIONS, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES, UNEXPENDED BALANCES EXPLANATION OF INCREASE IN AVERAGE SALARY Mr. BENJAMIN. On that particular one, would you please provide for the record an explanation for the increase in the average salary of employees of the House Democratic Steering Committee which was $25,601 in 1978 to $37,647 estimated in fiscal 1980, which I calculate out to be about 47 percent. I would also appreciate for the record an explanation if they have replaced these photographers that have been transferred to other positions, and, if so, what other positions. [The information follows:] STATEMENT OF S. ARIEL WEISS The Committee has asked for an explanation of the projected increase in average employee salaries. As this increase is entirely the result of payraises granted before my selection as Director of the Committee, I have asked the previous two Directors for an explanation. They inform me that in fiscal year 1978 there were twelve Committee employees with an average salary of $25,601, including six photographers, of whom four received salaries of $20,000 or less. Effective October 1, 1978, these photographers were transferred to the Office of the Doorkeeper. This transfer and the October 1978 cost-of-living increase account, I am told, for the increase in average salary. The Committee has also asked for an explanation of the effect of the photographers' transfer on the Steering and Policy Committee budget. My predecessor informs me that in response to the transfer of this $150,000 "payroll" the subcommittee agreed to this request to reduce the Steering and Policy Committee budget by $100,000. I understand that the minority was granted an equivalent $50,000 increase in its budget. HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS Mr. BENJAMIN. Go ahead to the Caucus. Mr. HENSHAW. House Democratic Caucus. For salaries and expenses of the House Democratic Caucus $85,600. This represents an increase of $2,000 over the amount appropriated for fiscal year 1979, which is attributed to pay in creases. [The information follows:] APPROPRIATIONS, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES, UNEXPENDED BALANCES Mr. BENJAMIN. Proceed. Mr. HENSHAW. House Republican Conference. For salaries and expenses of the House Republican Conference, $566,900. This increase of $24,400 over the amount appropriated for fiscal year 1979 is attributed to pay increases. [The information follows:] APPROPRIATIONS, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES, UNEXPENDED BALANCES EQUALITY BETWEEN DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS Mr. MICHEL. Is that amount for the House Republican Conference supposed to match the total of the Democratic Steering Committee and Democratic Caucus? It doesn't quite, I guess, does it? How do you arrive at that figure for the conference, with the unofficial rule of thumb around here that whatever one side gets the other side gets? Mr. HENSHAW. I can answer that. I know that they have kept pretty close to parallel in the expenditure in that amount. I was just going to refer here a little further to the Democratic photographers who were transferred from the House Democratic Steering Committee to the Office of the Doorkeeper. Therefore, the amounts funded for the Democratic Steering Committee, Democratic Caucus, and the portion of the Doorkeeper's funds which pertain to the photographers are equal to the funds for the Republican Conference. Mr. MICHEL. So if you took the amount of the photographers—— Mr. HENSHAW. When you switch back over. Mr. MICHEL. with the Doorkeeper, add that to the Steering Committee and the Caucus, then you come up to what the Republican Conference figure is? Mr. HENSHAW. Yes, sir. Mr. MICHEL. Do you have a breakdown for the record? Mr. HENSHAW. Yes, sir. Mr. CONTE. Could we ask for a breakdown of both of those? [The information follows:] Statement of equality-House Democratic Steering and Caucus to House House Democratic Steering House Democratic Caucus Transfer of funds $150,000 in fiscal year 1979. Total House Republican Conference... 'Transferred to the Office of the Doorkeeper and adjusted for cost of living. "A rounded estimate for Budget purposes. 2 Estimate $323,000 85,600 1158,250 566,850 2 566,900 JOB LEVELS AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS OF DEMOCRATIC STEERING, DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS AND REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE Mr. CONTE. I would like to see the breakdown of that budget, both Democrats and Republicans. Mr. BENJAMIN. Do obtain that and put that in the record. You are speaking of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, the Democratic Caucus, and the Republican Conference? Mr. CONTE. Exactly. Mr. COLLEY. You want something other than in the Subcommittee Print? The jobs are listed on page 42 of the Subcommittee Print. It shows the various things they expend their funds for, other than personnel. We could try to get an estimate for those items. Mr. BENJAMIN. Let's go ahead and put it into the record by job level, job description. [The information follows:] |