mr. chairman , i rise today against mr. hefley 's amendment to h.r. 2985 the legislative branch appropriations for fiscal year 2006 , which would reduce this spending bill by 1 percent . 
the hefley amendment is inappropriate at this time when funding needs have already been neglected in this appropriation . 
truly , the committee had difficult decisions to make , but cutting even 1 percent more from this legislation would be a tremendous mistake . 
the total funding for this legislation is $ 2.87 billion which is only 2 percent more than current levels and $ 270 million ( 9 percent ) less than requested by the various legislative offices and agencies . 
this bill appropriates $ 1.1 billion for operations of the house of representatives which is only $ 13 million ( 1 percent ) more than current funding and $ 35 million ( 3 percent ) less than requested . 
it is unfortunate that these appropriations are so tight , when the cost of operating the house of representatives is in fact getting higher . 
these costs are becoming higher because the needs of our constituencies are becoming greater . 
if the hefley amendment is to pass it will be our constituents who suffer . 
regardless of any possible cuts , congress will continue to function properly and we will serve our constituents proudly , but these cuts in our funding undermine our efforts . 
in addition to insufficient funding to the house of representatives , the greatest reason to reject the hefley amendment can be found in the legislative branch agencies that directly or indirectly support congressional operations . 
this funding is only $ 32.6 million ( 2 percent ) more than current levels and a staggering $ 234.8 million ( 12 percent ) less than requested . 
funding for the capitol police , who are entrusted with protecting the capitol complex and all those who work and visit here actually received $ 2 million ( 1 percent ) less than in fy 2005 , and $ 50.4 million ( 17 percent ) less than requested in this appropriation . 
the architect of the capitol who have worked so hard in the last year to make the capitol complex more accessible to visitors received only $ 317.3 million , $ 16.7 million ( 6 percent ) more than current funding but a full $ 123.6 million ( 28 percent ) less than requested . 
the government printing office ( gpo ) which serves the demanding printing needs of hundreds of legislators every year received only $ 122.6 million which is $ 2.8 million ( 2 percent ) more than current funding but $ 8.5 million ( 6 percent ) less than requested . 
indeed , even the library of congress , i urge all my colleagues to reject the hefley amendment as its passage will only make it more difficult for us to meet the needs of the american people . 
cutting 1 percent from the legislative appropriations will not lead to any dramatic monetary savings , but it will hinder efforts to provide the best congressional support services possible . 
it takes a lot to keep the great halls of congress going and it is our responsibility to ensure that all of it is properly funded . 
