Senate committee gets $14M to operate for two years.
S.Res. 59 — An original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee on Environment and Public Works. · Filed by Shelley Capito (R-WV) · Introduced Feb 5, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This resolution authorizes the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to spend money on its operations from March 1, 2025, through February 28, 2027. The committee gets $4.1 million through September 2025, $7.0 million for fiscal year 2026, and $2.9 million through February 2027—a total of about $14.1 million—to pay staff, consultants, training, and routine Senate services like mail and copying.
Why we flagged it
This is a standard Senate resolution authorizing routine operational spending for a standing committee. It contains no policy changes, no substantive legislation, and no riders—only budget caps and procedural authority.
Who it affects
The bill is a routine budget authorization for a Senate committee's operations—neither a direct benefit nor a direct cost to ordinary citizens. However, the committee's capacity to investigate environmental and public-works issues affects public accountability and the quality of legislative oversight on matters that do affect citizens (water, air, infrastructure). The authorization itself is neutral; the civic value depends on how the committee uses the funds.
Named in the bill
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Committee on Rules and Administration, Senate contingent fund, Office of the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, Keeper of the Stationery, Postmaster of the Senate, Senate Recording and Photographic Services
Where it stands
- Feb 5, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Feb 5, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Rules and Administration · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. (text: CR S672)”
- Feb 5, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Environment and Public Works. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Capito.”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,600 characters) on Sep 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Senate committee gets $14M to operate for two years.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/sres59 Report an error
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