The Office of the Legislative Counsel of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

is a nonpartisan government organization which assists the House with the drafting and formatting of laws. The Office was first created as the Legislative Drafting Service in 1918 before being chartered as the Office of Legislative Counsel in 1970 via . The Legislative Counsel is appointed by the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

. The current Legislative Counsel, Ernest Wade Ballou Jr., was appointed by Speaker

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...

in July 2016.

History and purpose

The origins of the office lie in a research experiment between Columbia Law professor Middleton Beaman and the House of Representatives in 1916. The Committee on Ways and Means found Beaman's assistance in legislative drafting sufficiently helpful that they formalized the office two years later. The Office was originally established as the Legislative Drafting Service by the

Revenue Act of 1918 The Revenue Act of 1918, 40 Stat. 1057, raised income tax rates War Revenue Act of 1917, over those established the previous year. The bottom tax bracket was expanded but raised from 2% to 6%. The act simplified the tax structure created by the W ...

, charged to "aid in drafting public bills and resolutions or amendments thereto on the request of any committee of either House of Congress". From its creation, the officeholders were specified to be selected "without reference to political affiliations and solely on the ground of fitness to perform the duties of the office." The Office was renamed to the Office of the Legislative Counsel as part of the

Revenue Act of 1924 The United States Revenue Act of 1924 () (June 2, 1924), also known as the Mellon tax bill (after U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon) cut Federal Government of the United States, federal tax rates for 1924 income. The bottom rate, on inc ...

(), to avoid confusion with the

Legislative Reference Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a c ...

. The Office of the Legislative Counsel was chartered 50 years later by the

Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 () was an act of the United States Congress to "improve the operation of the legislative branch of the Federal Government, and for other purposes." The act focused mainly on the rules that governed congres ...

. Its purpose and policy is to:

advise and assist the House of Representatives, and its committees and Members, in the achievement of a clear, faithful, and coherent expression of legislative policies. The Office shall maintain impartiality as to issues of legislative policy to be determined by the House of Representatives, and shall not advocate the adoption or rejection of any legislation except when duly requested by the Speaker or a committee to comment on a proposal directly affecting the functions of the Office. The Office shall maintain the attorney-client relationship with respect to all communications between it and any Member or committee of the House.

In 2009, the House of Representatives agreed to a resolution expressing gratitude to the Office "for its more than 90 years of assistance in the drafting of legislation considered by the House." As of 2020, the Office operates out of the

Ford House Office Building The Ford House Office Building is one of the five office buildings containing U.S. House of Representatives staff in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill. The Ford House Office Building is the only House Office Building that is not connected under ...

and consists of 76 full-time employees, including 55 attorneys.

List of Legislative Counsels

Since its establishment in 1918, the Office has seen eight Legislative Counsels: # Middleton Beaman (1919–1949) # Allan H. Perley (1949–1963) # Edward O. Craft (1963–1973) # Ward M. Hussey (1973–1989) # David E. Meade (1989–1999) # Pope Barrow (1999–2009) # Sandra Strokoff (2009–2017) # Ernest Wade Ballou Jr. (2017-present)

References

External links

* {{authority control Legislative Counsel 1918 establishments in Washington, D.C.