4. CHIEF COUNSEL FOR EMPLOYMENT
The Office of the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment ("SCCE") is a non-partisan office established at the direction of the Joint Leadership in 1993 after enactment of the Government Employee Rights Act ("GERA"), which allowed Senate employees to file claims of employment discrimination against Senate offices. With the enactment of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 ("CAA"), Senate offices became subject to the requirements, responsibilities and obligations of 11 employment laws. The SCCE is charged with the legal representation of Senate offices in all employment law cases at both the administrative and court levels. Also, on a day-to-day basis, the office provides legal advice to Senate offices about their obligations under employment laws. Accordingly, each of the 180 offices of the Senate is an individual client of the SCCE, and each office maintains an attorney-client relationship with the SCCE.
Background
Each of the SCCE attorneys came to the office after having practiced as employment law litigators in major, national law firms representing Fortune 100 corporations. All services the office provides are the same legal services the attorneys provided to their clients while in private practice. The areas of responsibilities of the SCCE can be divided into the following categories:
Litigation (Defending Senate Offices in Federal Court)
Mediations to Resolve Lawsuits
Court-Ordered Alternative Dispute Resolutions
Preventive Legal Advice
Union Drives, Negotiations and Unfair Labor Practice Charges
OSHA/Americans With Disability Act (“ADA”) Compliance
Layoffs and Office Closings In Compliance With the Law
Management Training Regarding Legal Responsibilities
Litigation, Mediations, Alternative Dispute Resolutions
The SCCE represents each of the 180 employing offices of the Senate in all court actions (including both trial and appellate courts), hearings, proceedings, investigations, and negotiations relating to labor and employment laws. The SCCE handles cases filed in the District of Columbia and cases filed in any of the 50 states. The SCCE represents a defendant Senate office from the inception of a case through U.S. Supreme Court review. The office handles all work internally without the assistance of outside law firms or the Department of Justice.
During 2002, the SCCE defended Senate offices against 33 lawsuits, which required approximately 11,000 attorney work hours. No case was lost.
Preventive Legal Advice:
At times, a Senate office will become aware that an employee is contemplating suing, and the office will request the SCCE's legal advice and/or that the SCCE negotiate with the employee's attorney before the employee files a lawsuit. The successful resolution of such matters substantially reduces an office's liability.
Also, the SCCE advises and meets with Members, chiefs of staff, office managers, staff directors, chief clerks and general counsels at their request. The purposes of the advice and meetings are to educate and inform Members, officers and employees and to prevent litigation and to minimize liability in the event of litigation. For example, on a daily basis, the SCCE advises Senate offices on matters such as disciplining/ terminating employees in compliance with the law, handling and investigating sexual harassment complaints, accommodating the disabled, determining wage law requirements, meeting the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act, and management's rights and obligations under union laws and OSHA.
Union Drives, Negotiations, and Unfair Labor Practice Charges
The Office provides the following with respect to a union drive: conducts training sessions for managers and supervisors regarding their legal obligations during a union campaign, negotiates an election agreement with the union, advises the client in selecting its representatives for the election, conducts training sessions for the employer representatives regarding improper conduct at elections, and conducts an investigation to determine whether ground rules exist to challenge the election results.
OSHA/ADA Compliance
The SCCE provides advice and assistance to Senate offices by assisting them with complying with the applicable OSHA and ADA regulations; representing them during Office of Compliance inspections; advising State offices on the preparation of the Office of Compliance's Home State OSHA/ADA Inspection Questionnaires; assisting offices in the preparation of Emergency Action Plans; and advising and representing Senate offices when a complaint of an OSHA violation has been filed with the Office of Compliance or when a citation has been issued. In 2002, the SCCE handled 8 OSHA complaint procedures. Layoffs and Office Closings in Compliance with the Law
The SCCE provides legal advice and strategy to individual Senate offices regarding how to minimize legal liability in compliance with the law when offices reduced their forces.
In addition, pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act ("WARN"), offices that are closing must follow certain procedures for notifying their employees of the closing and for transitioning them out of the office. The SCCE tracks office closings and notifies those offices of their legal obligations under the WARN. In 2002, the SCCE advised 10 Senate offices of their legal obligations under this law.
Management Training Regarding Legal Responsibilities
The SCCE conducts legal seminars for the managers of Senate offices to assist them in complying with employment laws, thereby reducing their liability. In 2002, the SCCE gave 59 legal seminars to Senate offices. Among the topics covered were:
Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace;
The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995: What Managers Need to Know About Their Legal Obligations;
Managers' Obligations Under the Family and Medical Leave Act;
The Legal Pitfalls of Hiring the Right Employee: Advertising, Interviewing, Drug Testing and Background Checks;
Disciplining, Evaluating and Terminating an Employee Without Violating Employment Laws;
Management's Obligations Under the Americans With Disabilities Act; and
Equal Pay for Equal Work: Management's Obligations Under the Equal Pay Act. Administrative/Miscellaneous Matters
The SCCE provides legal assistance to employing offices in preparing and updating employee handbooks, office policies, supervisors' manuals, sample job descriptions, interviewing guidelines, and job evaluation forms to ensure that they are legally compliant.
Technological Advances
The (SCCE) is continuing its implementation of two electronic systems that put the office at the forefront of electronic offices. First, the SCCE has installed and implemented a comprehensive document management system. The system profiles and indexes every document in the office, regardless of whether the document was created internally or received from an outside source. Thus, the office maintains all-electronic files. The system saves hours of time by eliminating electronic directory/folder-type searches, and filing cabinet searches. It also is instrumental in preserving institutional knowledge.
Second, the SCCE continues its conversion to a “paperless” office. It has completed Phases I and II and most of Phase III of the 3-phase process, which involves scanning and OCRing every document the office receives from an outside source. This means that all paper in the office, whether created on our computers or received from outside the office, is electronically accessible. This paperless system saves time and office space. In addition, it allows staff members to access electronically every office document from remote locations, such as a courtroom, and it allows the office to remain fully operational in the event of an unanticipated closing of the Hart building.
5. GIFT SHOP With each successive year since its establishment, the Senate Gift Shop has continued to provide outstanding products and services that maintain the integrity of the Senate as well as increase the public’s awareness of the mission and history of the U.S. Senate. The Gift Shop provides services to Members, Officers and employees of the Senate, as well as constituents and visitors. Products include a wide variety of souvenirs, collectibles, and fine gift items created exclusively for the Senate. Services include special ordering of personalized products and hard-to-find items, custom framing, gold embossing, engraving, and shipping.
Facilities
For several years, the services offered by the Senate Gift Shop were over-the-counter sales to walk-in customers at a single location. Today, after 10 years in operation, and as a result of extended services and continued growth, the Gift Shop now provides service from three different locations. Services from these locations include walk-in sales, telephone orders, fax orders, mail orders, and a variety of special order and catalog sales.
Sales Activity
The Gift Shop’s gross sales for FY 2002 are recorded at $1,418,065.88. The cost for goods sold during this same period was $1,102,433.12. This accounts for a gross profit of $315,632.76. Records show total gross sales in FY 2001 were $1,585,062.49. This represents a decrease in sales of $166,996.61 from FY 2001 to FY 2002, largely due to the impact of September 11, 2001, and the anthrax incident.
In addition to tracking profit from gross sales, the Senate Gift Shop maintains a revolving fund and a record of on-hand inventory. As of October 1, 2002, the balance in the revolving fund was $880,022.88 with on-hand inventory valued at $1,997,419.86.
At the request of the Secretary, the General Accounting Office will conduct an audit of the FY 2002 transactions of the Senate Gift Shop’s Revolving Fund.
Technology Upgrades
One of the most important objectives for 2003, is replacing our outdated software application, Basic Four, which is more than 20 years old and no longer meets the increasingly unique needs of the Gift Shop. During the first three quarters of 2002, the Secretary of the Senate, through the Senate Gift Shop, and with the assistance of staff from the Senate Offices of Disbursing, and the Customer Support Division of the Sergeant at Arms, studied proposals in search of an outside vendor who would provide and install the most suitable retail and financial management software package. The necessary funds for this upgrade were included in the Secretary’s budget request for FY 2003 and have been appropriated. The selected vendor will provide required technical assistance during implementation, training of Gift Shop staff, and continued technical support of the new system.
Accomplishments and New Products in 2002 ● Official Congressional Holiday Ornaments The year 2002 marked the beginning of the Gift Shop’s third consecutive “four-year ornament series.” Each ornament in the 2002-2005 series of unique collectibles will feature an architectural milestone of the United States Capitol with each image of the Capitol and corresponding historical text taken from the book, History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics by William C. Allen, architectural historian in the office of the Architect of the Capitol.
The 2002 ornament, our 10th annual ornament, pictures the original architectural design of the Capitol by William Thornton. In keeping with tradition, the authentic colors of the original drawing were reproduced onto white porcelain stone and set with a brass frame finished in 24kt gold.
Holiday sales of this ornament in 2002 were strong and additional sales are expected throughout 2003. Revenue from the sale of more than 35,000 of these ornaments has generated more than $40,000 in scholarship funding for the Senate Child Care Center. ● Pickard China Porcelain “Liberty” Box The “Liberty” box is the first in a series of four porcelain boxes that will display different images from the Constantino Brumidi fresco painted on the ceiling of the President’s Room located in the Senate Wing of the United States Capitol. “Liberty” is one of four allegorical figures that represents the foundations of the government – the other three are Executive, Religion, and Legislation. These boxes will be released on an annual basis.
● Temple of Liberty Greeting Cards Peter Waddell, a local artist, created the “Temple of Liberty” collection. His oils on canvas depict the interiors of the Capitol Building, and the visitors to it, as they might have appeared in the 19th century when the Capitol was still in its early years of construction. The Senate Gift Shop secured exclusive rights to reproduce these images onto greeting cards which are now sold as boxed sets. The beautiful tones and colors of Mr. Waddell’s works have been faithfully reproduced on the face of the cards. On the reverse of each of these cards is the artist’s written interpretation of that particular painting. The Gift Shop reviewed the written interpretation to confirm both clarity and factuality.
● Capitol Visitor Center Coins When the U.S. Mint terminated its promotion and sale of the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) coin in June 2002, the Gift Shop, with the assistance and guidance of Senate Legal Counsel, arranged to purchase the balance of the more than 22,000 already minted CVC coins. In order to better promote the CVC and to better showcase the CVC coins, the Gift Shop has successfully incorporated the coin into a variety of appropriate gift items:
○ CVC coins encased in Lucite paperweights have sold well since their development last year.
○ During the latter half of 2002, the Gift Shop worked with a vendor/manufacturer to create ladies’ and men’s wristwatches and pocket watches with CVC coins serving as the face.
○ Other items incorporating the use of the coins are in various stages of development and will be introduced later in 2003.
● Products Created for the Commemorative Joint Session of Congress
The Secretary of the Senate worked with the Senate Gift Shop to create and develop an official gavel and a variety of presentation and gift items suitable for the Commemorative Joint Session of Congress held in New York City on September 6, 2002.
In an attempt to create a unique gavel that appropriately defined this moment in history, the Gift Shop first consulted with the masonry team under the Architect of the Capitol to determine if marble that was once part of the Capitol could be used. Next, the Gift Shop selected a contractor to produce a replica of the original ivory gavel used to preside over Senate proceedings. Upon completion of the prototype of the gavel, the Senate Gift Shop enlisted the assistance of the Senate Office of Conservation and Preservation to modify a wooden box, provided by the Gift Shop, to showcase the commemorative gavel. In the meantime, the Senate Gift Shop researched appropriate historical text and composed custom insert cards that were reproduced with the assistance of the Senate Service Department. A dozen marble gavels were presented at the Commemorative Joint Session.
Projects and New Ideas for 2003 ● United States Senate Fine Art Guide The Gift Shop is working with the Senate Curator in order to secure copies of the forthcoming publication, United States Senate Fine Art Guide. The book will be sold in both the Dirksen and Capitol Gift Shops. ● Capitol Trees During the early construction stages of the CVC, the Senate Gift Shop contracted with a company to recover felled trees from the Capitol grounds. The recovered trees have been milled and kiln dried. The resultant 12,000 board feet of cut lumber is stored in a warehouse in West Virginia. The Gift Shop is in the process of developing products from the recovered trees. Items will include presentation pieces for official use and a variety of commemorative collectors’ items available for sale to the general public.
● 108th Congressional Plate The series of Official Congressional Plates will continue this year with the design, development, and manufacture of the 108th Congressional Plate. The first stage of choosing a design for the 108th Congressional Plate will begin soon. After reviewing proofs and working through the many design changes, the goal is to have a finished product arrive in mid-November, in time for holiday sales.
6. HISTORICAL OFFICE
Serving as the Senate's institutional memory, the Historical Office collects and provides information on important events, precedents, dates, statistics, and historical comparisons of current and past Senate activities for use by Members and staff, the media, scholars, and the general public. The Office advises Senators, officers, and committees on cost-effective disposition of their non-current office files and assists researchers in identifying Senate-related source materials. The Office keeps extensive biographical, bibliographical, photographic, and archival information on the 1,775 former Senators. It edits for publication historically significant transcripts and minutes of selected Senate committees and party organizations, and conducts oral history interviews with key Senate staff. The photo historian maintains a collection of approximately 40,000 still pictures, slides, and negatives that includes photographs and illustrations of most former Senators, as well as news photographs, editorial cartoons, photographs of committees in session, and other images documenting Senate history. The Office develops and maintains all historical material on the Senate website.
FY 2002 and Continuing Editorial Projects
The Senate Leader's Lecture Series: This series brings distinguished speakers to the Senate to present insights about the Senate's recent history and long-term practices. From 1998 through 2002, lectures featuring former Senate presidents and party floor leaders on the topic of Senate leadership were held in the Capitol's historic Old Senate Chamber before an audience of current Senators and invited guests. The Historical Office has provided editorial and production support for the series, including the September 4, 2002, lecture by former Vice President Walter Mondale. Text and video of all nine lectures are available on the Senate’s website, and the Historical Office is preparing a book edition for publication in 2003.
Executive Session Transcripts of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 1953-1954: The Historical Office completed editing and annotating 3,800 pages of previously unpublished executive-session hearing transcripts produced by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) under the chairmanship of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (1953-1954). The Government Printing Office has recently delivered all five volumes to the PSI for a public announcement and press conference within the next few weeks. This publication will allow researchers nationwide to have equal access to these highly sought after and richly revealing historical documents.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: Since the most recent printed edition of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress appeared in 1989, the assistant historian has added dozens of new biographical sketches and has revised and updated most of the database's 1,875 Senate entries. A current version of the database is available online at http://bioguide.congress.gov. The assistant historian has recently completed necessary revisions and additions of data to allow for expanded online search capabilities. Work is proceeding on the next print edition, tentatively planned for publication in 2004.
Administrative History of the Senate: During 2002, the assistant historian revised an earlier chapter structure and focused on the years 1789 to 1861 in this historical account of the Senate’s administrative evolution. This study traces the development of the offices of the Secretary of the Senate and Sergeant at Arms, considers nineteenth and twentieth-century reform efforts that resulted in reorganization and professionalization of Senate staff, and looks at how the Senate’s administrative structure has grown and diversified over the past two centuries.
Documentary History of the Senate: The Historical Office is conducting an ongoing documentary publication program to bring together fundamental source materials that will help explain the development of the Senate's constitutional powers and institutional prerogatives. Currently in production are volumes on Senate impeachment trials, the Senate’s consideration of controversial treaties, and the evolution of the Senate's standing rules. For the impeachment trial volume, working drafts have been prepared to summarize each case, with selection of key documents and writing of textual notes underway. For the controversial treaties volume, much of the research has been completed and major chapters have been drafted. Work on the rules volume has proceeded to provide coverage from 1789 through the 1850s.
“The Senate of the United States”: Between 1988 and 1994, the Government Printing Office published The Senate, 1789-1989, a four-volume reference work by Senator Robert C. Byrd. During 2002, the Historical Office began work on a consolidated, updated, and illustrated one-volume edition of “Byrd’s History.” This work will be available for distribution in 2005 through the Senate Gift Shop.
Senate web site redesign: Historical Office staff played a key role on history content in the redesign of the Senate web site. The history content amounts to about 60 percent of the static content on the site, or more than 5,000 pages. The office has continuing responsibility for expanding and updating the history content and for adding history-based features to illuminate ongoing Senate news events, as well as coordinating efforts among the various content teams.
“Idea of the Senate”: This narrative book will be based on the memoirs of Senators, providing eyewitness accounts of the Senate from its early years to the modern era. Each chapter in the book will focus on the writings of one Senator. Additional primary and secondary sources will be examined for contextual information. The Historical Office’s researcher-writer has completed preliminary project research and has begun drafting the first chapter on John Quincy Adams.
Capitol Visitor Center Exhibition Content Development: The Senate historian assisted in preparing detailed plans for the 20,000 square-foot exhibition gallery of the Capitol Visitor Center. Three staff historians prepared scripts for major exhibitions on the historical role of Congress in helping to realize the nation’s basic aspirations and on the chronological history of the Senate. Member Services: At the request of the Senate Democratic Leader, the Senate historian prepared and delivered a "Senate Historical Minute" at each of thirty-five Senate Democratic Conference weekly meetings during the year. These four-hundred-word Minutes are designed to enlighten members about significant events and personalities associated with the Senate's institutional development, and with familiar objects and places within the Capitol. The nearly 200 Minutes prepared since 1997, are available as a feature on the Senate website.
Members’ Office Records Management and Disposition Assistance: The Senate archivist continued to assist Members’ offices with planning for the preservation of their permanently valuable records, with special emphasis on archiving electronic information from computer systems and transferring valuable records to a home state repository. Forming a team with customer support service staff from the Office of the Sergeant at Arms, the archivist worked with all Senators’ offices that closed at the end of the 107th Congress, including the office of Senator Paul Wellstone, to prepare the collections for donation. The handbook entitled “Closing a Senate Office” was updated, and assistance was given in the compilation of “Opening a Senate Office.” The latter was published and also broadcast on the transition office intranet site. As a follow-up to the Congressional Papers Forum that was held in August 2001, the archivist edited The Congressional Papers Forum: The Third Report of the Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress. The archivist began a comprehensive revision of Records Management Handbook for United States Senators and Their Archival Repositories which will be published in 2003.
Committee Records Management and Disposition Assistance: The Senate archivist provided each committee with staff briefings, record surveys, guidance on preservation of information in electronic systems, and instructions for the transfer of permanently valuable records to the National Archives’ Center for Legislative Archives. Over 3,000 feet of records were transferred to the Archives. The Office’s archival staff continued to provide processing assistance to committees and administrative offices in need of basic help with noncurrent files. The archivist worked with the House of Representatives’ archivist to inventory the records of the anthrax contamination cleanup and is working with Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House counsels to develop protocols for the transfer of these records to the Center for Legislative Archives. In 2003, a records disposition guidelines for the offices under the Secretary’s jurisdiction will be published.
Oral History Program During FY 2002: The Historical Office concluded its series of twenty-three debriefing interviews with staff involved with the dislocation following the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the October 2001 delivery of letters containing anthrax to the Hart Senate Office Building. This adds to the already extensive collection of oral history interviews that provide personal recollections of Senate careers dating from 1910 to the present. Oral history interviews were also conducted with Tom C. Korologos, former administrative assistant to Senator Wallace Bennett and White House Senate liaison; Jade West, former staff director of the Republican Policy Committee; and J. Stanley Kimmitt, former Secretary for the Majority and Secretary of the Senate.
Photographic Collections: The photo historian continued to expand the Office's 40,000-item photographic collection by obtaining images of former Senators not previously represented in the collection, and documenting Senate life by photographing historically significant Senate events, including hearings of Senate committees. Digital images of frequently used photographs were created in order to promote their use and safeguard the originals. Images can now be transmitted to patrons via e-mail or CD, or can printed onto photographic paper in the Historical Office. The photo historian also continued to catalog photographic negatives into an image database in order to increase intellectual control over the Office's image collection.
Conference of Congressional Research Center Directors: The Senate Historical Office, the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives, and the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies just completed a conference at the Byrd Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. This first-of-its kind meeting brought together the directors of 20 university-based congressional research centers. Among those who attended were the directors of center associated with the public service careers of the following U.S. Senators: Howard Baker, Bob Dole, Everett Dirksen, Margaret Chase Smith, Strom Thurmond, George Aiken, Thomas Dodd, Wendell Ford, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell, John Stennis, John Glenn and Robert C. Byrd.
Historic Senate Salary and Mileage Ledger, 1790: 1880: The Library of Congress has scanned all 400 pages in an electronic version of this major resource, which documents the administrative operations of the Senate during its first 90 years. It will be available to researchers on senate.gov within the next few weeks.
7. HUMAN RESOURCES
The Office of Human Resources (HR) was established in June 1995, as a result of the Congressional Accountability Act. The Office focuses on the development and implementation of human resources policies, procedures, and programs for the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, both to fulfill the legal requirements of the workplace and to complement the organization’s strategic goals and values.
This includes recruiting and staffing; providing guidance and advice to managers and staff; training; performance management; job analysis; compensation planning, design, and administration; leave administration; records management; employee handbooks and manuals; internal grievance procedures; employee relations and services; and organizational planning and development.
HR also administers the Secretary’s Public Transportation Subsidy program and the Summer Intern Program that offers college students the opportunity to gain valuable skills and experience in a variety of Senate support offices.
Classification and Compensation Review
The Secretary of the Senate is conducting a complete classification and compensation study which entails a thorough review of the entire system. This classification study will include a comprehensive collection of current job classifications and specifications for every position in the Office and the pay plan and bands will reflect the accurate and equitable layout of all staff within the organization. HR staff has conducted job audits/interviews with each incumbent to ensure all roles and responsibilities are accurately factored into the study.
Policies and Procedures
HR will annually update and revise the Employee Handbook of the Office of the Secretary.
Assisting the Secretary and Department Heads
HR continues to work with the Executive Office and department heads to establish objectives that reflect the mission of the Senate and the Secretary’s Office. HR has met with each department head and discussed their departmental and personal objectives, challenges and results of the past year, and to assist each department head in establishing new objectives for this calendar year and beyond.
Attraction and Retention of Staff
HR is responsible for the advertisement of new vacancies or positions, screening applicants, interviewing candidates and assisting with all phases of the hiring process. HR works closely with the applicable department to ensure the process moves smoothly and expeditiously. HR acts as the liaison to the Secretary before any payroll actions are presented, so that the Secretary has ample knowledge of all hiring decisions or recommendations. As new staff joins the office, HR is in charge of the orientation to the office’s policies.
HR is also responsible for the management of performance-related issues. In addition, the HR staff finds ways to solicit suggestions and feedback from the Secretary’s department heads and staff in an ongoing effort to continually improve processes and procedures.
New Programs
HR has initiated development of an Elder Care Fair that will be available for all Senate staff interested in learning more about local and nationwide services available to assist the elderly and those responsible for their care. HR is working closely with the Senate Office of Education and Training and the Employee Assistance Program to identify and contact agencies that may be of assistance to Senate staff.
Training
In conjunction with the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment, HR has worked to prepare training for department heads and staff. Some of the topics include Sexual Harassment, Interviewing Skills, Conducting Background Checks, Providing Feedback to Employees and Goal Setting. These skills will further enhance the ability of our staff to comply with office policies and advance in their professional development.
8. INFORMATION SYSTEMS
The staff of the Department of Information Systems provide technical hardware and software support for the Office of the Secretary of the Senate. Information Systems staff also interface closely with the application and network development groups within the Sergeant at Arms (SAA), the Government Printing Office (GPO), and outside vendors on technical issues and joint projects. The Department provides computer related support for the all LAN-based servers within the Office of the Secretary of the Senate. Information Systems staff provide direct application support for all software installed workstations, evaluate new computer technologies, and implement next generation hardware and software solutions. The primary mission of Information Systems Department is to continue to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction and computer support for all departments within the office of Secretary of the Senate. Emphasis is placed on the creation and transfer of legislation to outside departments and agencies. The Senate chose Windows NT as the standard network operating system in 1997. The continuing support strategy is to enhance existing hardware and software support provided by the Information Systems Department, and augment that support with assistance from the Sergeant at Arms whenever required. The Secretary’s Network supports approximately 300 user accounts and patron accounts in the Capitol, Hart, Russell and Dirksen, along with the Page School.
For information security reasons, Secretary departments implement isolated computer systems, unique applications, and isolated local area networks. The Secretary of the Senate network is a closed local area network to all offices within the Senate. Information Systems staff continue to provide a common level of hardware and software integration for these networks, and for the shared resources of inter-departmental networking. Information System staff continue to actively participate in all new project design and implementation within the Secretary of the Senate operations.
In addition, the staff of Information Systems has continued to expand its responsibilities. Information System staff has helped to backfill the retirement of Senate Library technical personnel. Improved diagnostic practices were adopted to stretch support across all Secretary departments. Several departments, namely Disbursing, Office of Public Records, Chief Counsel for Employment, Office of Public Records, Page School, Senate Security, and Stationery/Gift Shop have dedicated information technology staff within those offices. Information Systems personnel continue to provide first level escalated hardware and software support for these office staff members.
Summary
● Senate Mail Infrastructure Project (SMI) The original plan involved replacing all CC:MAIL servers and gateways with a de-centralized Microsoft Outlook solution. The Secretary’s office previously had six post offices in six different server domains. There was no central Public Address Book for all Secretary employees. Additionally, Secretary mail requirements needed to be refined to insure the implemented solution was both cost-effective and reliable for the Office of the Secretary.
The Microsoft Outlook Client implementation began in August within the Disbursing Office. The SAA scheduled implementation for the remainder of the office staff occurred in December 2002. The initial plan, which outlined all staff employees be enrolled in one central server, was modified to implement three independent Mail servers; the first for Disbursing, the second for Chief Counsel, and all other office staff enrolled in the third post office. Support for each Exchange server is provided by that appropriate office. Five of the six cc:mail post offices were completed in 2002. The Office of Employment Counsel is pending further review by the SAA Design Team. ● Disbursing Office Hardware/Software Upgrade Desktop systems in the Disbursing Office were over 4 years old and required replacement. New hardware and web-based applications, along with several legacy applications were installed in 2002. All workstations, monitors, and printers were replaced for Disbursing office staff.
● Office of Public Records Upgrades FileNet servers were retired in FY2002. This was based on the SAA Application Development Branch rewriting the existing OPR software. Three Microsoft SQL servers were consolidated into one server configuration, and then replicated at the Postal Square location. For archival purposes, a Volkswagen-size optical jukebox was retired and replaced with Quantum snap server Updated scanners. Software was purchased to upgrade existing office equipment. In the event of a possible office relocation, arrangements have been made for the OPR staff to operate and continue their scanning operation.
● Digital Sender Project A Secretary wide-initiative was developed to provide all staff with the ability to scan, save, and electronically capture paper documents in pdf format for archival purposes. In 2002, six additional HP Digital sender scanners were purchased for the following departments: Chief Counsel, Stationery, Gift Shop, Page School, Webmaster, and Bill Clerk.
Hardware and Software Upgrades
Approximately 88% of all department computer workstations were upgraded and all legacy applications migrated to the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system in 2002. These departments include: Disbursing, Human Resources, Public Records, Historian, Chief Counsel, Interparliamentary Services, Bill Clerk, Legislative Clerk, Enrolling Clerk, Parliamentarian, Daily Digest, Executive Clerk, Senate Library, Stationery, Gift Shop, and Webster Hall.
9. INTERPARLIAMENTARY SERVICES
The Office of Interparliamentary Services (IPS) has completed its 21st year of operation. IPS is responsible for administrative, financial, and protocol functions for all interparliamentary conferences in which the Senate participates by statute, for interparliamentary conferences in which the Senate participates on an ad hoc basis, and for special delegations authorized by the Majority and/or Minority Leaders.
The statutory interparliamentary conferences are:
1. NATO Parliamentary Assembly 2. Mexico-United States Interparliamentary Group 3. Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group 4. British-American Parliamentary Group
In May 2002, the 43th Annual Meeting of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group was held in Rhode Island. Arrangements for this successful event were handled by the IPS staff.
Planning is now underway for the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Mexico-U.S. Interparliamentary Group and the British-American Parliamentary Group meetings to be held in the United States in 2003. Advance work, including site inspection, will be undertaken for the 45th annual Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group meeting to be held in the United States in 2004. Preparations are also underway for the spring and fall sessions of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
All foreign travel authorized by the Leadership is arranged by the IPS staff. In addition to delegation trips, IPS provided assistance to individual Senators and staff traveling overseas. Senators and staff authorized by committees for foreign travel continue to call upon this office for assistance with passports, visas, travel arrangements, and reporting requirements.
IPS receives and prepares for printing the quarterly financial reports for foreign travel from all committees in the Senate. In addition to preparing the quarterly reports for the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, and the President Pro Tempore, IPS staff also assist staff members of Senators and committees in filling out the required reports.
Interparliamentary Services maintains regular contact with the Office of the Chief of Protocol, Department of State, and with foreign embassy officials. Official foreign visitors are frequently received in this office and assistance is given to individuals as well as to groups by the IPS staff. The staff continues to work closely with other offices of the Secretary of the Senate and the Sergeant at Arms in arranging programs for foreign visitors. In addition, IPS is frequently consulted by individual Senators' offices on a broad range of protocol questions. Occasional questions come from state officials or the general public regarding Congressional protocol.
On behalf of the Leadership, the staff arranges receptions in the Senate for Heads of State, Heads of Government, Heads of Parliaments, and parliamentary delegations. Required records of expenditures on behalf of foreign visitors under authority of P.L. 100-71 are maintained in the Office of Interparliamentary Services.
10. LIBRARY The Senate Library provides legislative, legal, business, and general reference services to the United States Senate. The Library’s comprehensive legislative collection consists of congressional documents dating from the Continental Congress. In addition, the Library maintains executive and judicial branch materials and an extensive book collection on politics, history, and biography. These sources, plus a wide array of online systems, assist the Library staff in providing nonpartisan, confidential, timely, and accurate information services. Information Services Patron Services
Information Services responded to 40,359 requests during 2002, a 4.6 percent increase above the 2001 total. This total included 24,205 phone, fax, and e-mail requests and 10,145 walk-in visits by Senate staff who used resources in the Library. Tabulated for the first time are the 6,009 times Hill staff accessed the Hot Bills List on LIS. Patrons borrowed 1,952 books and documents and 4,467 information packages were delivered to Senate offices.
The Library’s request totals have increased at an annual rate of four percent over the past two years. The Senate’s information needs are dramatically changing with desktop access to major online services and research products. The Library has responded to these changing information needs by offering new services and products and by continuing an aggressive outreach program to the Senate community. New services include the LIS training sessions, regularly scheduled, two-hour sessions which utilize the librarians’ extensive online skills and considerable legislative experience. The Library’s LIS telephone help line provides continuing assistance. The Library has also made many key sources available through the Senate Intranet, such as Information Resources in the Senate Library, a 55-page annotated bibliography that is tailored to the needs of Hill offices; and Presidential Vetoes, a two-volume set that traces the legislative history of every veto since 1789. The provision of this effective database training and valuable access to resources quickens the transition for new Senate staff in particular. Additional indicators that reflect the continued strong activity are the 3,847 faxes sent and the 132,903 photocopies produced by the Library. In addition, the Micrographics Center produced 4,421 printed pages from the extensive collection of newspapers, magazines, and executive branch and congressional materials. 2002 Information Services Phone, Fax, E-mail 24,205 Walk-in Visitors 10,145 Hot Bills List on LIS 6,009 TOTAL REQUESTS 40,359
Client Relations
Public relations has always been an integral part of the Library’s activities. The constant arrival of new staff underscore the importance of successful outreach programs. Senate staff were introduced to the many Library services during the 44 tours and seminars conducted during 2002. The schedule includes the quarterly “Services of the Senate Library Seminars,” two “State Fairs,” five “District-State Seminars,” and eight “New Staff Seminars.” In addition, the Library conducted two special seminars for the Senate Page School. The success of these efforts can be seen in the 364 new Library accounts that were established for Senate staff during 2002.
The Library regularly assists researchers, authors, and academics, and gives special tours to professional groups and students. During 2002, scholars from Tokyo University and the University of Cairo conducted research in the Library. Researchers from England included Paul Lennon, a House of Commons staff member, and author Dr. Michael Dunne from Cambridge University. Special tours were given to staff from the State Department, Government Printing Office, Congressional Research Service, Justice Department, and Trinity College, and to Parliament librarians from India and representatives from Tokyo’s Far Eastern Booksellers.
For the fifth year, the Library hosted activities in honor of National Library Week. The events for 2002, included an open house, dessert reception, and a book discussion. The guest speaker for the book discussion was Senator Bill Frist, who discussed his book When Every Moment Counts: What You Need to Know about Bioterrorism from the Senate’s Only Doctor. Forty-seven staff attended the book discussion and 125 attended the afternoon dessert reception. These annual events are an excellent public relations tool that appeal to frequent users and also introduce new Senate staff to the wide array of Library services.
The Russell Building corridor displays continue to be popular, informative, and educational. The displays provide staff and visitors an excellent opportunity to enjoy rare and unique books from the Senate’s rich collection. During 2002, the displays included The Nine Capitals of the United States; Montgomery C. Meigs, Capitol Builder; and one honoring African-American History Month.
A major goal is to provide the Library’s online catalog through Webster, the Senate’s Intranet site, to the entire Senate community. The catalog has more than 150,000 items providing access to the books, legislative documents, periodicals, newspapers, and legal materials. With funds appropriated for FY 03, new Oracle-based software will be purchased, as soon as it is available, to move this project along. Patron access to library catalogs is a standard service and the Library will continue to work to make the catalog available to every Senate office. In other outreach activity, the Library received a new Webster address that makes it easier for Senate staff to access the valuable information posted on the site (webster.senate.gov/library).
LIS
A major Library objective is to increase and improve access to the wealth of data and information on the Legislative Information System (LIS). Two key sources were added to the LIS homepage: the Hot Bills List and the FY88 to FY03 Appropriations Tables. These two sources list legislation and key documents associated with the legislation, along with links to the full text of documents. The availability of LIS to every Capitol Hill office ensures that all congressional staff will be able to access these resources.
The Library’s role in LIS development continues to expand as staff work closely with the Congressional Research Service, Senate Computer Center, and Senate staff. The Library teamed with CRS on major redesigns of the bill summary and status pages; provided definitions and documentation for the Amendment Tracking System; and initiated a numbering system for issues of the Senate Executive Calendar. Other ongoing projects include improvements in the Congressional Record search requirements, LIS Alert Service training, and a proposed database tracking congressional committee hearings. In all of these efforts, the Library’s 28 years of experience in legislative systems (starting with Aquarius 1975) is invaluable to the success of LIS.
Senate.gov
The 2002 redesign of senate.gov involved extensive participation by Library staff. The Library has developed and maintains more than 200 site pages that provide informative text and hundreds of information links to additional source material. The staff’s extensive knowledge of the legislative process was critical to the success of Active Legislation, a selective listing of key legislation with electronic links to the full text of all related documents through Thomas and GPO Access. The Virtual Reference Desk is an online vertical file that traces 200 years of American history, congressional activity, and legislative initiatives. Other contributions include annotated bibliographies on a variety of subjects including books by current Senators, Capitol art and architecture, and key sources on Congress and politics. Informative How To guides have been expertly developed to assist researchers identify and locate government documents online and through local libraries.
Technical Services Acquisitions
The Library acquired 9,797 new items in 2002, which includes books, congressional and executive branch documents, and microforms. This represents a 4 percent increase over the previous year. Included in the new items were 628 books and reference volumes (an 80 percent increase from last year), 5,799 congressional documents, and 3,370 executive branch publications. The 80 percent increase in new book arrivals was due to the fourth quarter 2001 mail delivery embargo and the resulting large number of arrivals during the first quarter of 2002.
Two major acquisitions were the Unpublished U.S. Senate Committee Hearings, 1977-1980 and Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations, 1921-1983. The 1,040 unpublished Senate hearings were previously only available at the National Archives, and the executive orders completes a collection that totals more than 58,000 presidential documents. These titles, which provide the full text of the documents with excellent indexes, are important additions to the permanent collection. The Acquisitions Librarian selected several titles for the Library’s collection throughout 2002. Works on the early republic, constitutional history, biographies of the founders, and American expedition were very prominent. Representative titles include Journals of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1795-1820; Latrobe’s View of America, 1795-1820; John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court; Aaron Burr: Conspiracy to Treason; Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806; John Adams and the Founding of the Republic; Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics; and John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patriot. New acquisitions are announced in the monthly New Books List. The list is available through the Library’s Intranet site and distributed to Senate offices.
In other acquisitions activity, the Congressional Documents Clerk captured 2,000 pages from committee Web sites. Congressional sites are carefully monitored for those elusive materials that are only available online and often only available for a limited time. The Senate Finance Committee made a significant addition to the permanent collection by donating materials dating from the 1930s, and the Clerk prepared five volumes of hearings and 11 volumes of committee prints from these previously unavailable materials. The Library received 100 committee print volumes from the House Appropriations Committee following the loss of their storage area due to the Capitol Visitor Center construction. These volumes were reviewed, prepared and added to the Senate’s collection.
Cataloging
The cataloging team added a total 4,558 new titles to the Library’s catalog, which included 3,451 congressional publications. Efforts focused on rare Senate treaties, executive reports, and older committee hearings. The Senate Library is often the only depository for these rare items and the cataloging requires great skill and considerable experience with legislative materials. This original cataloging is extremely time consuming and demands great care to meet the Library’s quality standard. As the important retrospective cataloging project continues, the overall cataloging totals will decline, which occurred during 2002 with a 22 percent decline.
Government Publications Collection
Although the total number of government documents received during 2002 was virtually unchanged from the previous year’s level, a dramatic change did take place: there is a one-third decline in paper documents in favor of electronic dissemination. The Cataloguing Technician and the Reference Librarians are reviewing the list of electronic titles provided through GPO. Once selections are finalized, URL links to the documents will be added to the Library’s online catalog.
This is the second year of the Library’s ongoing review of executive branch publications received through the Federal Depository Library Program. In this two-phase project, librarians review every title received and then evaluate the existing holdings. The review team is headed by the Cataloging Technician, who is joined by the Government Documents Clerk and the Head of Information Services. In 2002, 6,730 outdated, superseded, or surplus items were withdrawn from the collection, and 4,385 of these items were offered to other federal depository libraries. It was gratifying that 2,587 items (59 percent) were claimed and delivered to requesting libraries. During the second phase, 185 item numbers were deselected from the Library’s depository selection list. Retention or removal decisions are determined by patron use and alternative access, primarily online availability.
Warehouse
A detailed review of the Library’s offsite storage requirements was submitted to the Sergeant at Arms in September 2002. The proposal considered growth for both ten and twenty years, utilized fixed shelving, and provided for industry standard environmental controls and security. Current storage facilities are less than optimum, creating some potential risk to our rare collections. However, the Library continues to work with the Sergeant at Arms to address this issue.
Library.Solution, the Library’s Integrated Online Catalog
The Library’s computerized catalog, Library.Solution, provided by The Library Corporation (TLC), was installed in January, 2000. The system houses 152,149 items containing bibliographic records to legislative and legal materials, books, periodicals, serials, and microforms. Through the watchful oversight and perseverance of the Head of Technical Services, the system’s performance has dramatically improved. In 2002, there were several new software upgrades for circulation and serials that improved module flexibility and functionality. The increased functionality reduced daily maintenance and improved search capabilities (regular catalog maintenance is necessary for efficient and accurate retrieval). During 2002, 25,495 maintenance transactions were recorded, which included creating and editing authority headings, editing existing records, barcoding new volumes, editing PURLS from electronic resources, and withdrawing records for discarded materials.
Collection Maintenance, Preservation, Binding, and Equipment
Maintenance and preservation projects have resulted in a better-organized and environmentally protected collection. The Library’s historic collection of more than 125,000 volumes requires constant monitoring of environmental conditions. The prevention of mold is accomplished by maintaining temperatures below 70 degrees and humidity levels below 50 percent. However, these levels can be very difficult to achieve in the Russell Building location. Dehumidifiers operate 24 hours a day and satisfactorily control the humidity, but the ventilation system is not always capable of maintaining acceptable air quality and temperature levels. Another major concern is the crisscrossing maze of century-old water pipes hovering just a few feet above the historic collection. To mitigate this concern, constant monitoring is necessary and historic volumes have been moved to safer areas. The Library has begun to develop in-house expertise in regard to bookbinding and paper conservation. The Congressional Documents Clerk works closely with the Secretary’s Department of Conservation and Preservation to learn basic skills.
In response to the Senate’s transition to electronic access to information, the Library acquired a book scanner and a second microform reader printer. It is now possible to scan documents from text sources and microform and electronically transmit those images to any workstation anywhere. The versatility of this technology cannot be overstated since images can be stored, edited, or reproduced to meet the individual needs of the user. Staff Development
During 2002, Library staff participated in 58 training sessions, workshops, and professional development seminars. New Library staff have a particularly active training schedule and veteran staff are required to maintain and upgrade skill levels. Database training sessions included Lexis-Nexis, Westlaw, OCLC, Excel, CQ Online, PhotoShop, and Web publishing. Technical Services staff attended several skill enhancement classes including copy cataloging, Library of Congress subject headings, serial holdings, and cataloging concepts. Reference Librarians completed the CRS Advanced Legislative Process Institute in November, and other staff completed Documentum Web Publishing Training in October. Other activities included seminars on the legislative process, bookbinding techniques, legal research, disaster recovery, effective writing, and several seminars focused on Capitol history.
UNUM, Newsletter of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate
UNUM, Newsletter of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate was published four times during 2002. The Chief Editor continues to lead a team of talented volunteers and cope with constant deadlines and revised text. Joined by two experienced co-editors, along with other contributors from the Library staff, the newsletter includes detailed profiles of offices and individuals within the Secretary’s Office, institutional histories and book reviews, in addition to other current and pertinent topics of interest to the Senate community.
Other Projects
The Library continued to support the Friends of Tyler School, a tutoring program for Capitol Hill’s Tyler Elementary School, by making weekly donations of unneeded magazines. These are basic educational resources that would be unavailable to most of the children. Other surplus magazines were sent to the Senate Page School for inclusion in the packages sent to soldiers stationed overseas.
The Senior Reference Librarian proofread and copyedited the soon-to-be published catalog of the Office of Senate Curator.
Budget
The sixth year of aggressive budget reviews delivered reductions totaling $12,511.52. The targeted expenditure categories were subscriptions and standing orders ($5,011.52) and online service contracts ($7,500.00). The reductions for the past six years total $59,205.34, and these efforts have been critical in offsetting cost increases for core materials. The Senate’s ever-changing information needs require comprehensive annual reviews of collection expenditures. These evaluations can be difficult, but they ensure that the Senate will receive the highest level of service using the latest technologies and the best available resources. These considerable goals will be accomplished within budget and without compromising service.
Major Library Goals for 2003
Major 2003 goals are the continuation of the active client relations program and personalized service that have been key to the Library’s success. Our long-term goal of 40,000 annual requests was reached in 2002. The goal now is to build on this success with an additional 3 percent increase in 2003.
The aggressive budget review program will continue in 2003, with the target for another three percent reduction. During the six years of budget reviews, most of the major reductions have been implemented, so future reductions will be less substantial. The key to all reductions is that they not comprise information services to the Senate.
Document preservation is a critical issue, and the Library will continue working with the two major recovery firms, BMS Catastrophe and Munters. These firms can restore critical working papers and historic documents that have suffered from fire or water damage.
The senate.gov design team will continue to maintain existing pages and expand the offerings made available to the public. The site will provide many new products, including several that will provide a greater understanding of Congress, the legislative process, and representative democracy.
Teams from Technical Services and Information Services will continue the review of executive branch materials and significant portions of that collection will be deaccessioned. The titles will be discontinued from Library’s depository selections list and deleted from the online catalog. All deaccessioned holdings will be offered to other libraries and information centers. 11. SENATE PAGE SCHOOL
The United States Senate Page School provides a smooth transition from and to the students’ home schools. The pages are given as sound a program, both academically and experientially, as possible during their stay in the nation’s capital, balancing a unique work situation with the Senate’s demanding schedule.
Summary of Accomplishments
Accreditation for the page school continues until December 31, 2008. The Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools reviewed the progress report filed by the U.S. Senate Page School and determined no further reports are required.
In the last school year, two page classes successfully completed their semester curriculum. Closing ceremonies were conducted on June 7, 2002, and January 24, 2003, the last day of school for each semester. Extended educational experiences were provided to pages. Nineteen field trips, seven guest speakers, opportunities to compete in writing contests, to play musical instruments, and to continue foreign language study with the aid of tutors were all afforded pages. Twelve field trips to educational sites were provided for summer pages as an extension of the page experience. National tests were administered for qualification in scholarship programs as well.
Given the uniqueness of the pages’ roles, greater coordination of communication among all responsible parties – the Secretary’s Office, the Sergeant at Arms, Page Program, Page School, and Cloakrooms – has been established. In addition, an evacuation plan and COOP have been completed. Pages and staff have practiced evacuations to primary and secondary sites. Escape hood training is provided to all pages, staff, and tutors and staff have been retrained in CPR.
Faculty have also pursued professional development opportunities with additional courses. A community service project has been embraced by pages and staff, now for three classes. Items for gift packages were collected , assembled, and shipped to military personnel in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman, Germany, Japan and the USS Essex. Pages included letters of support to the troops participating in Operation Enduring Freedom. In gratitude
