 Hello, I'm Javier Hernandez, reporting from Washington. In order to sustain staffing levels and initiate program enhancements, the federal judiciary is asking for a 7.6 percent budget increase for fiscal year 2009. Judiciary officials proposed a $6.7 billion budget to appropriation subcommittees in both the House and the Senate. The judiciary is requesting $6.7 billion an increase of $475 million over the 2008 enacted level. 86 percent of the increase is for standard pay and non-pay inflationary adjustments and for adjustments to BASE, reflecting increases in space, information technology, defender services and court security programs. Gibbons added, in the near term, the judiciary is in good financial shape, thanks to a emergency support last year. We are particularly appreciative of the $25 million you provided in emergency funding to respond to workload associated with immigration enforcement initiatives. Gibbons, and administrative office director James Duff, testified that an aggressive cost containment program helped the judiciary reduce its appropriations requirements. Gibbons cited innovations in information technology and initiatives to control personnel costs. Duff mentioned a new agreement with the General Services Administration. I signed a memorandum of agreement which was co-signed by GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner that changes the way rent will be calculated for all federally-owned courthouses to be delivered in the future. It also applies to 32 of our existing courthouses. The new agreement ties rent rates to the cost of constructing a building instead of fluctuating market values. That should save the judiciary millions of dollars. The committees will review the request and send it through Congress in the coming months. The 2009 fiscal year begins October 1st. Reporting from Washington, I'm Javier Hernandez.