A Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the annual federal financial services and general government funding bill would give approximately 5 percent less than the president's request but nonetheless appropriate more than the fiscal 2011 enacted amount and the House's recommendation.

In the committee's Sept. 15 markup, Senate appropriators reccomend $44.6 billion in mandatory and discretionary appropriations, compared to the House's July 7 recommendation of $41.4 billion.

Senate appropriators recommend $90.8 million for the Office of Management and Budget, less than the $91.8 million enacted in fiscal 2011 and the $91.7 million requested by the president but more than the $82.6 million recommended by House appropriators.

The committee's Executive Office of the President recommendation includes $10.7 million to "stabilize and modernize" EOP's information technology infrastructure. Appropriators suggest this funding will help update IT infrastructure, strengthen disaster recovery and "integrate mobile devices while complying with security and records management requirements." As part of the effort, lawmakers ask EOP to work closely with the National Archives and Records Administration on maintaining and formatting electronic records that will eventually be turned over to NARA.

If the Senate bill were to become law, NARA would receive $378.8 million for fiscal 2012 funding. The House recommended $360.9 million for NARA, while $339.1 million was enacted by the agency in 2011 and $403.7 million was requested by the president. The Senate recommends NARA "continue to develop, build, and expand the IT infrastructure to conduct the business of the National Declassification Center."

Under the bill the General Services Administration's office of government-wide policy would receive $61.8 million in fiscal 2012, a number slightly less than the House recommendation of $64.8 million and the fiscal 2011 enacted amount of $66.5 million but far less than the president's fiscal 2012 request of $105.1 million. Among its other roles, OGP collaborates with agencies to improve public access to policy information and support data, and improve transparency, notes the Senate report.

Much like the House recommendation approved June 16, Senate appropriators, seek to move the interagency "electronic government'' or "egov'' budget line into another line. Under the House and Senate bills, e-gov and the "Federal Citizen Services Fund" are combined into the "Information and Engagement for Citizens" fund. The Senate would dedicate $39,084,000 to the fund in fiscal 2012.

Under the fiscal 2012 House appropriations bill, the fund would receive $50 million fiscal 2012. The appropriation would be $7.8 million more than the combined fiscal 2011 budgets for the Information and Engagement for Citizens fund, at $34.2 million, and the E-Gov fund, at $8 million. In June, Daniel Schuman, policy counsel at the Sunlight Foundation estimated that under the House recommendation the E-Gov fund would get $13 million, somewhat more than the $8 million appropriated in fiscal 2011.

For more:
- go to the THOMAS page for the House fiscal 2012 Financial Services and General Government spending bill (H.R. 2434)
- go to the THOMAS page for the Senate fiscal 2012 Financial Services and General Government spending bill (S.1573)
- read our coverage of the fiscal 2012 appropriations process

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