Attachment J-16 - Post-Election Office Moves.docx

Section J Attachment J-16 Post-Election Office Moves

1. Post-election

a. After the election, the Secretary of the Senate identifies the winners of all the Senate elections. The winner of the election is called a Senator-elect.

b. Prior to January 3, each Senator-elect is allowed two paid employees to assist in their transition to the Senate.

c. The Constitution directs that a new Congress convene at noon on January 3 unless the preceding Congress has by law designated a different day. The Senate Majority Leader determines when the swearing-in ceremony will be scheduled.

b. The Senator-elect’s New Member Suite is equipped with three computers and printers that are connected to a LAN server maintained by the SAA. The LAN has access to e-mail and the Internet. Senate WiFi may be authorized as well. SAA teams oversee the New Member Suites.

c. The SAA staff forecasts the potential number of Senators-elect and orders the anticipated number of computers and printers for the New Member Suites. Additional computers and printers are generally ordered to cover any election surprises.

d. The installation of the LAN, computers and printers usually takes place 1-2 weeks prior to the election. The ITSC Contractor will be responsible for setting up and installing IT equipment and providing additional IT support until the office has hired a Systems Administrator (SA). The ITSC System Consultant(s) shall fulfill the office IT support functions until the SA is hired and ready to assume the role. See Section C.4.8.1. SAA staff will notify the ITSC Contractor of the timeframe.

3. Suite Selection Process

a. All Senators, including new Senators, are eligible to move to new suites after the election. In recent years, elections have resulted in up to sixteen new Senators. The maximum possible new Senators per election is thirty-four.

b. Senators are assigned suites in the Dirksen, Hart or Russell building through the Rules Committee’s suite selection process. Suite selection is based on the Senator’s seniority and begins after the general election in November. The available suites are those vacated by retiring or defeated Senators. The Rules Committee starts with the most senior Senator. Using the Senate Suites application, the Senator selects from the available suites. If a Senator decides not to move, the Rules Committee proceeds to the next Senator in seniority. If a Senator decides to move to new suite, the selected suite is removed and the Senator’s current suite is added. After a suite is selected, the Senate Superintendent’s Office coordinates a meeting with designated staff and assigns an official move date.

c. Newly elected Senators will occupy their New Member Suite until they are contacted by the Rules Committee. The time period is dependent on a number of variables that include the number of Senators that elect to move and the Senate Superintendent’s move schedule.

d. Additional IT hardware is installed in the New Member Suite by the ITSC Contractor to accommodate staff hired in January. Some supported hardware may be ‘inherited’ from the Senator’s predecessor. The SAA determines which supported hardware on the predecessor’s inventory is appropriate to be offered to the new member. The new member has the option of keeping none, some, or all of the supported hardware.

e. If there is a change in the majority political party, all Committees will have approximately one-third of their IT equipment moved by the ITSC Contractor, and the Senate leadership offices in the Capitol will require equipment to be moved by the ITSC Contractor.

f. All IT equipment is moved to the Senator’s new suite by the Contractor. Moves are coordinated by SAA staff and involve many Senate departments.

4. Opening a New State Office

Each Senator is authorized to lease office space in their home state. The office space may be either in a Federal building or commercial space. SAA staff will assist offices in obtaining the office space and all necessary items (furniture, phone, IT systems, etc). The Senator determines the number of home-state offices they will have based on square footage allotment. Depending on requirements and decisions on occupying existing Senate offices, the Senator may be able to access space as early as January. SAA staff will work with the Senator’s designee to determine official opening dates.

5. Closing a Senate Office

a. Retiring or defeated Senators must close their offices by the end of their term, usually January 2nd. The home-state offices may close as early as the beginning of December. The office will work with the SAA to coordinate closing of the office.

b. IT hardware in the state offices shall be uninstalled and packed up by the ITSC contractor. The SAA provides the packing materials. The SAA arranges shipment of the IT hardware to Washington DC for redeployment to the succeeding Senator or moved to SAA storage. Some IT hardware may be deemed too outdated to be inherited by the new Senator. That hardware is generally excessed to GSA in the state or may be returned to DC to be wiped and excessed. Equipment being excessed to GSA will be uninstalled and packed by the ITSC Contractor. Pick-up and any associated costs are the responsibility of the Government. Efforts associated with the closing of state offices are coordinated by SAA staff.

6. General time frames are shown in the table below.

Mar.

Permanent Office

X

Opening State Office(s)

X

Closing State Office(s)