[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1783 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                S. 1783

  To provide that transit pass transportation fringe benefits be made 
 available to all qualified Federal employees in the National Capital 
 Region; to allow passenger carriers which are owned or leased by the 
 Government to be used to transport Government employees between their 
    place of employment and mass transit facilities, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 23, 2003

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide that transit pass transportation fringe benefits be made 
 available to all qualified Federal employees in the National Capital 
 Region; to allow passenger carriers which are owned or leased by the 
 Government to be used to transport Government employees between their 
    place of employment and mass transit facilities, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Employee Commuter Benefits 
Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. TRANSIT PASS TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Effective as of the first day of the next fiscal 
year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 
covered agency shall implement a program under which all qualified 
Federal employees serving in or under such agency shall be offered 
transit pass transportation fringe benefits, as described in subsection 
(b).
    (b) Benefits Described.--The benefits described in this subsection 
are, as of any given date, the transit pass transportation fringe 
benefits which, under section 2 of Executive Order 13150, are then 
currently required to be offered by Federal agencies in the National 
Capital Region.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``covered agency'' means any agency, to the 
        extent of its facilities in the National Capital Region;
            (2) the term ``agency'' means any agency (as defined by 
        7905(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code) not otherwise 
        covered by section 2 of Executive Order 13150, the United 
        States Postal Service, the Postal Rate Commission, and the 
        Smithsonian Institution;
            (3) the term ``National Capital Region'' includes the 
        District of Columbia and every county or other geographic area 
        covered by section 2 of Executive Order 13150;
            (4) the term ``Executive Order 13150'' refers to Executive 
        Order 13150 (5 U.S.C. 7905 note);
            (5) the term ``Federal agency'' is used in the same way as 
        under section 2 of Executive Order 13150; and
            (6) any determination as to whether or not one is a 
        ``qualified Federal employee'' shall be made applying the same 
        criteria as would apply under section 2 of Executive Order 
        13150.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
considered to require that a covered agency--
            (1) terminate any program or benefits in existence on the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, or postpone any plans to 
        implement (before the effective date referred to in subsection 
        (a)) any program or benefits permitted or required under any 
        other provision of law; or
            (2) discontinue (on or after the effective date referred to 
        in subsection (a)) any program or benefits referred to in 
        paragraph (1), so long as such program or benefits satisfy the 
        requirements of subsections (a) through (c).

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO USE GOVERNMENT VEHICLES TO TRANSPORT FEDERAL 
              EMPLOYEES BETWEEN THEIR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT AND MASS 
              TRANSIT FACILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 1344 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections 
        (h) and (i), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
    ``(g)(1) A passenger carrier may be used to transport an officer or 
employee of a Federal agency between the officer's or employee's place 
of employment and a mass transit facility (whether or not publicly 
owned) in accordance with succeeding provisions of this subsection.
    ``(2) Notwithstanding section 1343, a Federal agency that provides 
transportation services under this subsection (including by passenger 
carrier) shall absorb the costs of such services using any funds 
available to such agency, whether by appropriation or otherwise.
    ``(3) In carrying out this subsection, a Federal agency shall--
            ``(A) to the maximum extent practicable, use alternative 
        fuel vehicles to provide transportation services;
            ``(B) to the extent consistent with the purposes of this 
        subsection, provide transportation services in a manner that 
        does not result in additional gross income for Federal income 
        tax purposes; and
            ``(C) coordinate with other Federal agencies to share, and 
        otherwise avoid duplication of, transportation services 
        provided under this subsection.
    ``(4) For purposes of any determination under chapter 81 of title 
5, an individual shall not be considered to be in the `performance of 
duty' by virtue of the fact that such individual is receiving 
transportation services under this subsection.
    ``(5)(A) The Administrator of General Services, after consultation 
with the National Capital Planning Commission and other appropriate 
agencies, shall prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out this 
subsection.
    ``(B) Transportation services under this subsection shall be 
subject neither to the last sentence of subsection (d)(3) nor to any 
regulations under the last sentence of subsection (e)(1).
    ``(6) In this subsection, the term `passenger carrier' means a 
passenger motor vehicle, aircraft, boat, ship, or other similar means 
of transportation that is owned or leased by the United States 
Government or the government of the District of Columbia.''.
    (b) Funds for Maintenance, Repair, etc.--Subsection (a) of section 
1344 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), the transportation of an 
individual between such individual's place of employment and a mass 
transit facility pursuant to subsection (g) is transportation for an 
official purpose.''.
    (c) Coordination.--The authority to provide transportation services 
under section 1344(g) of title 31, United States Code (as amended by 
subsection (a)) shall be in addition to any authority otherwise 
available to the agency involved.
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