No payment shall be made from the contingent fund of the Senate unless sanctioned by the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate. Payments made upon vouchers or abstracts of disbursements of salaries approved by said Committee shall be deemed, held, and taken, and are declared to be conclusive upon all the departments and officers of the Government: Provided, That no payment shall be made from said contingent fund as additional salary or compensation to any officer or employee of the Senate.

The Committee on Rules and Administration may authorize its chairman to designate any employee or employees of such Committee to approve in his behalf, all vouchers making payments from the contingent fund of the Senate, such approval to be deemed and held to be approval by the Committee on Rules and Administration for all intents and purposes.

Appropriations made for contingent expenses of the Senate shall not be used for the payment of personal services except upon the express and specific authorization of the Senate in whose behalf such services are rendered. Nor shall such appropriations be used for any expenses not intimately and directly connected with the routine legislative business of the Senate, and the Government Accountability Office shall apply the provisions of this section in the settlement of the accounts of expenditures from said appropriations incurred for services or materials.

The Secretary of the Senate and the Sergeant at Arms on and after June 27, 1956, are authorized and directed to protect the funds of their respective offices by purchasing insurance in an amount necessary to protect said funds against loss. Premiums on such insurance shall be paid out of the contingent fund of the Senate, upon vouchers approved by the chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Payments from the contingent fund of the Senate for materials and supplies (including fuel) purchased on and after July 8, 1935, through the Administrator of General Services shall be made by check upon vouchers approved by the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate.

If at the close of any fiscal year there is an unexpended balance of funds which were appropriated for such year (or for prior fiscal years) and which are subject to disbursement by the Secretary of the Senate for any purpose, then, if such unexpended balance is by law rescinded, any unpaid obligations chargeable to the balance so rescinded (or to appropriations for such purpose for prior years) shall be liquidated from any appropriations for the same general purpose, which, at the time of payment, are available for disbursement.

No part of the appropriations made under the span “Contingent Expenses of the Senate” on and after June 27, 1956 may be expended for per diem and subsistence expenses (as defined in section 5701 of title 5) at rates in excess of the rates prescribed by the Committee on Rules and Administration; except that (1) higher rates may be established by the Committee on Rules and Administration for travel beyond the limits of the continental United States, and (2) in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, reimbursement for such expenses may be made on an actual expense basis of not to exceed the daily rate prescribed by the Committee on Rules and Administration in the case of travel within the continental limits of the United States. This section shall not apply with respect to per diem or actual travel expenses incurred by Senators and employees in the office of a Senator which are reimbursed under section 6314 of this title.

Effective July 1, 1979, there is authorized an expense allowance for the Office of the Secretary of the Senate and the Office of Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate which shall not exceed $30,000 each fiscal year for each such office. Payments made under this section shall be reimbursements only for actual expenses (including meals and food-related expenses) incurred in the course of conducting orientation seminars for Senators, Senate officials, or members of the staffs of Senators or Senate officials and other similar meetings, in the Capitol Building or the Senate Office Buildings. Such payments shall be made upon certification and documentation of such expenses by the Secretary and Sergeant at Arms, respectively, and shall be made out of the contingent fund of the Senate upon vouchers signed by the Secretary and the Sergeant at Arms, respectively. Amounts received as reimbursement of such expenses shall not be reported as income, and the expenses so reimbursed shall not be allowed as a deduction, under title 26.

It shall be the duty of the Secretary and Sergeant at Arms of the Senate to cause to be sold all waste paper and useless documents and condemned furniture that may accumulate, in their respective departments or offices, under the direction of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate and cover the proceeds thereof into the Treasury.

On and after October 1, 1982, receipts from the sale of used or surplus furniture and furnishings shall be deposited in the United States Treasury for credit to the appropriation for “Senate Office Buildings” under the span “Architect of the Capitol.”