[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1679 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1679

 To modify the conditions that must be met before certain alternative 
   pay authorities may be exercised by the President with respect to 
                           Federal employees.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 1998

  Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Robb) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                   Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To modify the conditions that must be met before certain alternative 
   pay authorities may be exercised by the President with respect to 
                           Federal employees.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Employee Pay Fairness Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE PAY PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 5303(b) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``If, because of national 
emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general 
welfare,'' and inserting ``If, because of a declared state of war or 
severe economic conditions,''.
    (b) Severe Economic Conditions Defined.--Section 5303(b) of title 
5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(4) For purposes of applying this subsection with respect to any 
pay adjustment that is to take effect in any calendar year, `severe 
economic conditions' shall be considered to exist if, during the 12-
month period ending 2 calendar quarters before the date as of which 
such adjustment is scheduled to take effect (as determined under 
subsection (a)), there occur 2 consecutive quarters of negative growth 
in the real Gross Domestic Product.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (2) of section 5303(b) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ``an economic 
condition affecting the general welfare under this subsection,'' and 
inserting ``economic conditions for purposes of this subsection,''.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE LEVEL OF 
              COMPARABILITY PAYMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 5304a of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ``If, because of national emergency 
or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare,'' and 
inserting ``If, because of a declared state of war or severe economic 
conditions,''.
    (b) Severe Economic Conditions Defined.--Section 5304a of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by redesignating subsection (b) as 
subsection (c) and by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) For purposes of applying this section with respect to any 
comparability payments that are to become payable in any calendar year, 
`severe economic conditions' shall be considered to exist if, during 
the 12-month period ending 2 calendar quarters before the date as of 
which such payments are scheduled to take effect (as determined under 
section 5304(d)(2)), there occur 2 consecutive quarters of negative 
growth in the real Gross Domestic Product.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) New Standards Apply Starting With Any Alternative Pay Proposal 
Scheduled To Take Effect After 1998.--The amendments made by this Act 
shall apply with respect to any alternative pay adjustments under 
section 5303(b) of title 5, United States Code, and any alternative 
level of comparability payments under section 5304a of such title 5, 
scheduled to take effect after 1998.
    (b) Transition Provisions.--
            (1) Revised deadline for alternative pay plan required to 
        be submitted in 1998.--For purposes of applying section 5303 of 
        title 5, United States Code, with respect to any adjustment 
        scheduled to take effect in calendar year 1999, subsection (b) 
        of such section (as amended by section 2) shall be applied by 
        substituting ``December 1'' for ``September 1'' in paragraph 
        (1)(A) thereof.
            (2) Effect of an alternative pay proposal submitted based 
        on earlier standards.--Any plan or report submitted under the 
        provisions of section 5303(b) or 5304a of title 5, United 
        States Code, as applicable, relating to any alternative pay 
        adjustments or alternative level of comparability payments 
        proposed to take effect after 1998, if based on the standards 
        specified in such provisions as in effect before the date of 
        enactment of this Act--
                    (A) shall not be implemented; and
                    (B) shall not preclude the submission of any other 
                plan or report under such provisions as amended by this 
                Act.
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