Providing for the expenses of certain committees of the House of Representatives in the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress.
Summary
H. Res. 198 is a House primary expense resolution that sets the authorized committee expense levels for the 119th Congress. It establishes the maximum amounts available from House accounts for each named committee’s operating expenses, including staff salaries, and divides those totals between the first and second sessions of the Congress. The resolution covers standing committees such as Agriculture, Armed Services, Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, Ways and Means, and others, as well as the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
The resolution also creates a $4 million reserve fund for unanticipated committee expenses, split evenly between the two sessions, and gives the Committee on House Administration authority to allocate those funds. It further authorizes House Administration to make adjustments to committee amounts if needed to comply with presidential sequestration orders under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act or to reflect changes in appropriations. Payments are to be made by voucher and in accordance with regulations prescribed by House Administration.
Impact
This resolution does not change substantive state law, but it directly affects House internal operations by authorizing and limiting federal legislative committee spending for the 119th Congress. It sets binding spending ceilings for committee salaries and expenses, establishes a contingency reserve, and delegates administrative oversight to the Committee on House Administration. The measure governs how House committees may use their allocated funds and provides flexibility for budget enforcement adjustments.
Sentiment
The available record suggests the resolution was noncontroversial and routine. It was adopted without objection, and the motion to reconsider was laid on the table without objection, indicating broad procedural agreement. No committee transcript or recorded vote shows significant opposition or debate in the provided materials.
Contention
No specific points of contention are reflected in the provided record. Because the bill is an internal House funding resolution, any disagreement would likely have centered on committee budget levels, the reserve fund, or the House Administration Committee’s adjustment authority, but no such objections appear in the available discussion or voting history. The absence of recorded opposition suggests the measure was treated as a standard administrative resolution.
Providing amounts for the expenses of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party in the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress.