U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations

03/03/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/03/2021 12:29

Chair Ryan Statement on Library of Congress FY 2022 Budget Hearing

2021-03-03 12:59
Statement

Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), Chair of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee's hearing on the Library of Congress FY 2022 Budget.

I would like to welcome the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, to present the fiscal year 2022 budget request for the Library of Congress. Dr. Hayden it is always a pleasure. At the beginning of your testimony please introduce your colleagues who will be joining you today.

The mission of the Library is to engage, inspire, and inform. Even amid a pandemic this has not changed. Over the past few years, the Library has made significant strides in the areas of modernizing essential technology and optimizing operations to facilitate easier and robust access for Congress and the public. Considering the continuing restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic the strategic plan to expand access, enhance services, optimize resources is more important now than ever.

Currently, resources for the Library of Congress are a little over 14% of the entire Legislative Branch budget totaling $757.4 million in appropriated funds in fiscal year 2021. For fiscal year 2022, the Library has requested $801 million, which is 5.8 percent or $43.7 million over the fiscal year 2021 enacted total.

I hope you can expand on the budget justification descriptions/requests for programmatic increase in L-CAP and the Integrated Electronic Security System and how these initiatives will position the Library to better adapt to rapidly changing needs, ensure the safety of the collections and the Library workforce. I hope you can also address security operations in the cloud and the necessary upgrade to cellular connectivity in the Library. The Library of Congress is treasure of the United States and it is our duty to protect the valuable collections and preserve the Library's ability to chronicle this great nation and provide access to our history for generations to come.

117th Congress