Mr. Chairman, Ms. Murkowski, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, I am honored to appear before you today on behalf of the Office of Compliance (“OOC”). Joining me today are General Counsel Peter Ames Eveleth, Deputy Executive Director Barbara J. Sapin, Deputy General Counsel Susan M. Green, and Budget and Finance Officer Allan Holland. Collectively, we present to you the agency’s request for appropriations for fiscal year 2010, and we seek your support of our request.
Before I get to next year, though, I want to express our appreciation for your support of our Office during FY 2009. The Subcommittee’s support for the mission and efforts of the OOC was reflected in the funding level authorized for the OOC in fiscal year 2009. Thanks to the Subcommittee’s support, the agency is able to increase its efforts to provide technical assistance to employing offices and employees, both on Capitol Hill and in remote offices; offer training programs tailored to the specific needs of the covered community; improve its operational infrastructure; and provide its talented workforce with salary levels that reflect their level of performance. We appreciate the continued support of the Subcommittee and thank you for your assistance in ensuring a fair and safe workplace for our covered community.
Your support continues to demonstrate results. Over the past two Congresses, safety and health hazards in Senate Office Buildings have dropped by over 50%. We expect this progress to continue when we inspect Senate Buildings in the current Congress. Those inspections will begin during the August recess. We attribute these results to your support for our collaborative efforts with the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment, Senate Sergeant at Arms, and the AOC/Senate Superintendent.
For our fiscal year 2010 operations, the Office of Compliance is requesting $4,474,475 ‐ an increase of $402,475 or 9.88% over our fiscal year 2009 funding level. Like all of us in this room, we are mindful of the economic difficulties confronting the country and the federal government. We know that this Subcommittee faces real fiscal constraints. Accordingly, we are not renewing our request for a number of items from our 2009 appropriations request: namely, three FTEs – the fire safety specialist, the trainer, and the ombudsman. We recognize 2 our responsibility to make more efficient our operations to meet the government’s current fiscal challenges while at the same time fulfilling our mission.
