Statement of Barbara J. Sapin, Executive Director Office of Compliance Before the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request July 31, 2015
Madam Chairwoman Capito, Ranking Member Schatz, and Members of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to submit for the record, this statement regarding the budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 for the Congressional Office of Compliance (OOC).
In its 2016 budget request, the OOC seeks an appropriation of $4,020,000 for FY 2016, the same amount as the FY 2015 budget request and an additional $61,000, or 1.5% over the FY 2015 enacted amount. This increase will allow us to make necessary improvements to protect our website www.compliance.gov to comply with existing cybersecurity standards and to build into the site the capacity to host on-demand on-line interactive training modules that we are developing for Congressional employees. The CAA requires the OOC to carry out a program of education for Members of Congress and other employing authorities of the Legislative Branch. As approximately half of Congressional staff members are working in district and state offices instead of on Capitol Hill, our focus has shifted to e-learning as a means of carrying out our statutory educational mandate.1 We recently completed our first on-line module, on sexual harassment, and plan for more on other employment issues, such as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A comprehensive training program, as envisioned in the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA), continues to be one of the most effective investments an employer can make in reducing complaints and improving worker productivity and reducing absenteeism and employee turn-over. With readily available, user-friendly training modules, we expect to reach more employees.
