[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 297 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 297

  To amend title 37, United States Code, to authorize members of the 
 uniformed services to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan; and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 22, 1999

  Mr. Shelby introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
           referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 37, United States Code, to authorize members of the 
 uniformed services to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan; and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. PARTICIPATION OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES IN THE 
              THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN.

    (a) Authority.--(1) Chapter 3 of title 37, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 211. Participation in Thrift Savings Plan
    ``(a) Participation Authorized.--(1) A member of the uniformed 
services may contribute to the Thrift Savings Fund out of basic pay.
    ``(2) An election to contribute to the Thrift Savings Fund under 
paragraph (1) may be made only during a period provided under section 
8432(b) of title 5 for individuals subject to chapter 84 of such title.
    ``(b) Applicability of Thrift Savings Plan Provisions.--Except as 
otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of subchapters III 
and VII of chapter 84 of title 5 shall apply with respect to members of 
the uniformed services making contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund 
as if such members were employees within the meaning of section 
8401(11) of such title.
    ``(c) Maximum Contribution From Basic Pay.--(1) The amount 
contributed by a member of the uniformed services for any pay period 
out of basic pay may not exceed the amount equal to the maximum 
allowable percent of such member's basic pay for such pay period.
    ``(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the maximum allowable 
percent of basic pay applicable to a member with respect to a pay 
period is as follows:
            ``(A) If the member has less than 5 years of service 
        computed under section 205 of title 37 on or before the last 
        day of the pay period, 5 percent.
            ``(B) If the member has at least 5 years of service 
        computed under section 205 of title 37 on or before the last 
        day of the pay period, 10 percent.
    ``(d) Agency Contributions.--Contributions shall be made under 
paragraph (2), but not any other paragraph, of section 8432(c) of title 
5 for the benefit of a member of the uniformed services making 
contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund under subsection (a). For the 
purposes of this subsection, the reference in paragraph (2) of such 
section to contributions under paragraph (1) of such section does not 
apply.
    ``(e) Rules of Construction.--The following rules of construction 
apply for the purposes of this section:
            ``(1) In applying section 8433 of title 5 to a member of 
        the uniformed services who has an account balance in the Thrift 
        Savings Fund, any reference in such section to separation from 
        Government employment shall be construed to refer to the 
        following actions:
                    ``(A) Release of the member from active-duty 
                service (not followed by a resumption of active-duty 
                service within 30 days after the effective date of the 
                release).
                    ``(B) Transfer of the member to an inactive status.
                    ``(C) Transfer of the member by the Secretary 
                concerned to a retired list maintained by the 
                Secretary.
            ``(2) The reference in section 8433(g)(1) of title 5 to 
        contributions made under section 8432(a) of such title shall be 
        treated as being a reference to contributions made to the Fund 
        by the member, whether made under this section or section 8351 
        or 8432(a) of title 5.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``211. Participation in Thrift Savings Plan.''.
    (b) Relationship to Participation Under Other Authority.--Section 
8432b(b)(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after ``section 8432(a)'' the following ``of this title or section 211 
of title 37''.
                                 <all>