Sticking by their pledge to pare down Congress' own budget, House Republicans released a fiscal 2013 spending bill last week that would cut the legislative branch budget by $34 million.

In total, the bill sets a budget of about $3.3 billion to fund everything from lawmakers' offices to congressional travel to a handful of legislative branch agencies. That number excludes Senate-only expenses, which are traditionally set by the upper chamber.

Republicans have made a point in the past two years of cutting the overall legislative branch budget to serve as an example for decreased government spending. The spending limits set in the House's budget resolution have squeezed the spending bill -- which is high on symbolism -- even further.

The bill released last week would result in a 10.5 percent cut in the House's budget since Republicans took over in 2011, according to the House Appropriations Committee. The committee's subpanel on the legislative branch passed it Friday; a full committee markup is expected next week.

"The nation's budget challenges are far from over, and Congress must continue to lead by example and hold the reins on spending wherever possible, including in our own Capitol complex," Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said in a statement. "At the same time, we must maintain the efficacy of the People's House, and ensure the safety and security of the thousands of people who work in and visit our historic buildings every day. This bill balances both of these needs."

The brunt of the cuts come from the Architect of the Capitol's budget, at a time when Architect Stephen Ayers is struggling to fix crumbling buildings while increasing Congress' energy efficiency (Greenwire, Feb. 22). Ayers requested $668 million; his office would get $444 million under the bill.

That's more than a 10 percent cut from the fiscal 2012 budget, which itself was smaller than in previous years. Ayers has told lawmakers that without more money, congressional buildings will fall into disrepair because of a growing list of delayed maintenance (E&E Daily, March 2).

House appropriators found most of the savings by canceling the second phase of the Capitol Dome repair project. But with the very public project already under way -- and a presidential inauguration coming next year -- that cut seems unlikely to make it past a conference with the Senate.

At last week's subcommittee markup, Rep. Mike Honda (Calif.), the panel's top Democrat, highlighted the Dome as one of several sacrifices appropriators had to make to follow the budget resolution supported by House Republicans. But he commended subpanel Chairman Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) for making the most of a tight allocation.

Honda also noted that the spending bill increases the budget for several legislative branch agencies, including the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office. Both agencies have told appropriators that they are struggling to keep up with congressional requests with tight budgets and dwindling staffs (E&E Daily, Feb. 8).

Under the bill, GAO would be funded at $519.8 million, a 2 percent increase above fiscal 2012. CBO would get $44.3 million, a 1 percent boost over this year; that's still about $300,000 less than CBO's request, which Director Douglas Elmendorf said would mean cutting seven employees from a full-time staff of 235 analysts.

The House's budget, meanwhile, would say stagnant, at about $1.2 billion, almost $574 million of which would go to lawmakers' office budgets.