[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
MAKING APPLICABLE CERTAIN EXCLUSIONARY AUTHORITY RELATING TO TREATMENT 
                        OF REEMPLOYED ANNUITANTS

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3246) to provide that the provisions of chapters 83 and 84 
of title 5, United States Code, relating to reemployed annuitants shall 
not apply with respect to postal retirees who are reemployed, on a 
temporary basis, to serve as rural letter carriers on rural 
postmasters, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3246

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

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF EXCLUSIONARY AUTHORITY.

       Section 1005(d) of title 39, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``(d)'' and inserting ``(d)(1)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) The provisions of subsections (i) and (l)(2) of 
     section 8344, and of subsections (f) and (i)(2) of section 
     8468, of title 4 shall apply with respect to the Postal 
     Service. For purposes of so applying such provisions--
       ``(A) any reference in such provisions to the head of an 
     Executive agency shall be considered a reference to the 
     Postmaster General; and
       ``(B) any reference in such provisions to an employee shall 
     be considered a reference to an officer or employee of the 
     Postal Service.''.

     SEC. 2. ASSIGNMENT AUTHORITY.

       Section 8706(e) of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``Federal judge'' and inserting ``employee 
     or former employee'';
       (2) by striking ``judge's'' and inserting ``employee's or 
     former employee's''; and
       (3) by striking ``purchase'' and inserting ``purchased''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia [Ms. Norton] will be recognized for 20 
minutes, and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] will be 
recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
[Ms. Norton].
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the purpose of H.R. 3246, as amended, is to extend to 
the U.S. Postal Service the authority under the provisions of title 5, 
United States Code, to seek from the Office of Personnel Management 
[OPM] waivers of the annuity offset provisions contained in sections 
8344 and 8468 of title 5.
  Specifically, section 1 of the bill, as amended, would authorize the 
U.S. Postal Service to either request that OPM waive the annuity offset 
provisions of title 5 on a case-by-case basis, or request that OPM 
delegate authority to the Postmaster General to waive the provisions in 
emergency or unusual circumstances.
  Under current law, when Federal retirees are reemployed by the 
Federal Government, their salaries are offset by the amount of their 
annuity payments. Reemployed annuitants continue to receive their 
monthly annuity payments. The reemploying agency then pays the retiree 
the amount of salary in excess of the amount of the annuity, and 
reimburses the Federal retirement trust fund with the amount of the 
annuity. If an agency, however, wishes to have an exemption from these 
rules, it may request a waiver from the Office of Personnel Management 
[OPM]. Currently, the Postal Service does not have the option to 
request such a waiver from OPM.
  On May 12, 1994, the Subcommittee on Commerce and Banking held a 
hearing on H.R. 3246. The subcommittee received testimony from 
Congressman Tom Sawyer, the bills author, as well as OPM, the Postal 
Service, and organizations representing rural letter carriers and rural 
postmasters. The testimony indicated that the Postal Service has 
experienced considerable difficulty hiring substitute letter carriers 
and postmasters in rural areas. These individuals are needed to fill in 
for career employees when they are on leave or sick. Retired postal 
personnel provide a ready pool of trained individuals who can fill 
these positions on a temporary basis. The Postal Service found that 
retired personnel were not inclined to take these jobs because with the 
annuity offset, they would virtually be working for free. Enactment of 
this legislation will help the Postal Service move the mail in rural 
areas in a timely and more efficient manner.
  Section 2 of the bill, as amended, provides that Federal employees 
and retirees may make an irrevocable assignment of incidents of 
ownership in their Federal Employees Group Life Insurance policy. 
Current law provides Federal judges this option. This provision extends 
it to all other participants in the life insurance program.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the approval of this legislation, and I reserve 
the balanced of my time.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my voice in support of 
passage of H.R. 3246, which was introduced by our chairman of the 
Census and Postal Personnel Subcommittee, Tom Sawyer and our ranking 
minority member, John Myers, and cosponsored by myself and a number of 
our colleagues on the Post Office and Civil Service Committee. I 
commend the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia, Ms. Norton, for 
her supporting remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, this measure, I believe, will go a long way toward 
placing the Postal Service back on track with mail delivery 
performance. When the Postal Service offered its early-out retirement 
program 2 years ago it did not anticipate losing the large numbers of 
mail handlers, clerks, and letter carrier's to retirement. In all, some 
49,000 Postal Employees took advantage of the early retirement options. 
As you can imagine that sudden loss of experienced personnel had an 
impact on the ability of the Postal Service to provide the services we 
had come to expect. This is particularly true in our rural areas.
  H.R. 3246 provides the Postal Service with a method for addressing 
some of these shortages of experienced personnel. It does this by 
providing the Postal Service with the option of seeking approval from 
the Office of Personnel Management for an exemption from the annuity 
offset provisions to allow the Postal Service to rehire retired Postal 
employees on a temporary basis once approval has been granted by the 
Office of Personnel Management, a procedure that is available to other 
Federal agencies.
  The shortage of trained personnel is particularly felt on rural 
delivery routes where routes can be lengthy and trained personnel, who 
are familiar with the nuances of a particular route, are not available 
to take the place of the regular carrier should he or she become sick 
or take a vacation. It goes without saying that when a carrier who is 
unfamiliar with a mail route goes out to deliver that route it will 
take them longer to complete it, which delays delivery times and they 
will make more delivery mistakes, which aggravate the postal customer 
and costs the Postal Service to make redeliveries.
  Having the ability to bring in an experienced carrier who has 
delivered that route in the past would provide a source of continuity 
to both Postal customers and the Postal Service. For that reason, I 
encourage my colleagues in the House to join in supporting the passage 
of H.R. 3246.
  Mr. Speaker, I also would like to address the provision in this bill 
which provides for the irrevocable assignment of Federal Employees' 
Group Life Insurance coverage.
  Initially, I would like to recognize the work that our colleague the 
Gentlewoman from the 8th district of Maryland, [Mrs. Morella], has put 
into this provision. It was part of her bill, H.R. 3297, which was 
heard by the Subcommittee on Compensation and Employee Benefits on 
April 20th this year and approved by the Committee on Post Office and 
Civil Service.
  This is a very important provision, Mr. Speaker, because it provides 
that Federal employees can have the same rights as judges and all 
citizens. This proviso permits any Federal employee insured under the 
Federal Employee Group Life Insurance [FEGLI] to irrevocably assign the 
incidents of ownership in the insurance to another person as a gift. 
This would then exclude the proceeds of the insurance from the 
employees taxable estate.
  This provision, Mr. Speaker, is a common feature under insurance 
today and has been upheld by the Internal Revenue Service as an 
appropriate means for estate planning as long as it is permitted in the 
terms of the insurance policy and applicable State law. The laws in 
every State permit the irrevocable assignment of group life insurance 
ownership. Federal employees had been excluded becuase the law did not 
specfically provide for Federal employees to be included.
  I, therefore, recognize this provision of H.R. 3246 as an important 
matter of equity for Federal employees and thank my colleagues for 
their foresight in the including this provision in the bill before 
us,which I hope all Members will support.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella].
  (Mrs. MORELLA asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I want to applaud the introduction of this 
legislation by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Sawyer], and the 
cosponsorship of so many Members of Congress, including the ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service.
  Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of this legislation, I appreciate the 
time which the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] has yielded to me 
to say a few words in support of H.R. 3246.
  This legislation authorizes the U.S. Postal Service, if and when 
needed, to request a waiver from the Office of Personnel Management 
[OPM], to the same extent as other agencies, when a retired postal 
employee is rehired. This bill will be particularly helpful in rural 
areas. In reference to current Postal Service laws, when an annuitant 
is reemployed, that annuitant's current salary is offset by the amount 
of the annuity received.
  Presently, it is very difficult for rural postal employees to take a 
holiday or a sick day, because trained replacements cannot be found on 
short notice. Postal retirees are qualified to fill the position but 
because of the present law choose not to do so. In reality, the Postal 
annuitant would simply be volunteering his or her time to the Postal 
Service when becoming a reemployed annuitant. This legislation would 
permit OPM to consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether the postal 
employee's salary would be deducted or request that OPM delegate its 
authority to the Postmaster General on this issue.
  This is a sound provision as it would not cost the taxpayer any more 
money, and it would probably cost less, than if an untrained employee 
filled in for an absent rural postal employee. This measure is simply 
permissive and would give the Postal Service the flexibility it needs 
to move the mail in rural areas.
  Section 2 of this bill addresses the assignment authority of Federal 
Employee Group Life Insurance. Mr. Speaker, I would like to 
particularly recognize the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
[Ms. Norton], the chair of the Subcommittee on Compensation and 
Employee Benefits for holding a hearing on my bill H.R. 3297, which 
included this provision. I would also like to thank the chairman of the 
Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, the gentleman from Missouri 
[Mr. Clay], who acted on the measure in a most timely fashion and had 
the foresight to attach the provision to the bill before us. I would 
also like to thank their excellent staffs and recognize the technical 
assistance given to me by the Office of Personnel Management.
  This section, Mr. Speaker, addresses an issue which has benefited the 
population of our country, but has eluded the Federal employee because 
of lack of a specific provision in current law. This measure would 
permit all Federal employees insured under the Federal Employee Group 
Life Insurance [FEGLI] Program to irrevocably assign all incidents of 
ownership in the insurance to another individual as a gift in order to 
exclude the insurance proceeds from the decedent's taxable estate.
  Mr. Speaker, presently, the Internal Revenue Service has upheld the 
validity of irrevocable assignments of life insurance policy proceeds 
as an appropriate instrument for estate planning, provided such action 
is permitted by both the terms of the insurance policy and applicable 
State law. Laws in each State permit irrevocable assignment of group 
life insurance ownership. It is a matter of equity that Federal 
employees should have access to this mechanism, which is a common 
feature under insurance policies throughout the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3246, which, I may 
add, is a product of true bipartisan cooperation.
  Mr. Speaker, again I thank the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman], 
who is such a leader in these matters.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio 
[Mr. Sawyer], the author of the bill and the chair of the Subcommittee 
on Census, Statistics and Postal Personnel of the Committee on Post 
Office and Civil Service.
  (Mr. SAWYER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SAWYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the measure that 
is before us. This seems to fit the requirement that our former 
colleague, the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Udall, used to offer to us 
when he would suggest that everything that can be said about this bill 
has been said. It is just that not everybody has had the chance to say 
it. I intend to take this opportunity to say it today, Mr. Speaker, 
although I do not intend to take longer than 5 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the H.R. 3246, legislation that I 
introduced to help the U.S. Postal Service meet temporary personnel 
needs in rural areas.
  At the outset, I want to thank Congressman Bill Clay, chairman of the 
Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, for moving this legislation 
through the committee in a timely manner. I also want to recognize the 
valuable support of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, chairperson of 
the Subcommittee on Compensation and Employee Benefits. I am enormously 
grateful for the time she and her staff have taken to review this bill 
thoroughly, and move it through the subcommittee so quickly. Finally, I 
particularly want to thank Congressman John Myers and Tom Petri, who 
are original cosponsors of H.R. 3246.
  The Postal Service sometimes needs to hire employees on a temporary 
basis. This is particularly true in rural areas. In some rural 
communities, the Postal Service often has trouble attracting temporary 
employees to fill in when the regular postmaster or rural letter 
carrier is absent from work.
  There are far fewer postal employees working in rural areas than in 
larger metropolitan communities. Therefore, those areas have more 
trouble hiring trained temporary employees for extended periods of 
time. When career postal employees in rural areas are sick, on 
vacation, on detail, or otherwise off from work, there often aren't 
knowledgeable employees who are familiar with the routes and who 
understand customer needs to take their place in the short term.
  An example of this situation occurs when a postmaster in a rural post 
office is on annual leave. Because there are far fewer postal employees 
in rural post offices than in larger facilities, there are no 
supervisory or management employees to serve as acting postmaster. As a 
consequence, the Postal Service often will hire an untrained local 
resident to fill in for the postmaster. I believe that a better 
alternative would be to hire--on a temporary basis--a retired postal 
employee who may be living in the community, who does not need 
training, and who understands postal regulations and procedures.
  Another concern is that some temporary employees, such as rural 
carrier reliefs, in rural areas stay in their positions for only a 
short period of time. They are likely to accept a temporary position 
only until they find permanent employment, and then they move on. A 
high turnover rate among temporary postal employees in rural areas does 
not promote efficient service.
  I introduced H.R. 3246 to help the Postal Service meet temporary 
personnel needs in rural areas. As originally drafted, the bill 
exempted retired postal employees from provisions of law that require 
them to forfeit a portion of their annuity if they go back to work for 
the Federal Government. The exemption would have only applied to postal 
retirees who are hired temporarily as rural postmasters or rural letter 
carriers.
  Mr. Speaker, during the committee's consideration of H.R. 3246, 
concerns were raised about providing the Postal Service with a direct 
waiver from the dual compensation prohibition contained in title 5, 
United States Code, and the precedent that approach might set. In an 
effort to address those concerns, the committee amended the bill to 
bring the Postal Service under the same provisions of title 5 as all 
other Federal agencies, with respect to the ability to seek a waiver 
from the Office of Personnel Management [OPM] from the annuity offset 
provisions.
  H.R. 3246, as amended, would allow the Postal Service, like other 
Federal agencies, either to ask OPM to waive the annuity offset 
provisions of title 5 on a case-by-case-basis, or to ask OPM to 
delegate authority to the Postmaster General to waive the provisions in 
emergency or unusual circumstances. This approach accomplishes the same 
goal as the original bill text and is acceptable to all of the parties 
involved.
  The Postal Service's primary goal is to move the mail in a timely, 
efficient, and courteous manner. Even when a rural postmaster or rural 
letter carrier is not scheduled to work, the Postal Service must 
continue to meet the needs of its customers.
  Enactment of H.R. 3246 will not require the Postal Service to hire 
its retirees. It simply will give the agency the flexibility to turn to 
a pool of trained and experienced individuals when no one else is 
available to fill a position temporarily in a rural area.
  I believe that at a time when the Postal Service is facing rising 
operational expenses, passage of this legislation would be the fiscally 
smart thing to do. I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 
3246.

                              {time}  1310

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Boehlert].
  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3246, a bill that helps the 
Postal Service meet temporary personnel needs in rural areas, and urge 
my colleagues to approve it.
  As our committee report finds, the Postal Service has a need to hire 
qualified individuals on a temporary basis, particularly in rural 
areas, when regular postmasters or letter carriers are absent from 
work.
  As a cosponsor of H.R. 3246, I believe the bill is a common sense, 
carefully crafted solution to a continuing problem.
  This is not an assault on the concept of annuity offsets, nor is it 
the committee's intent that postal retirees take employment from 
individuals seeking career opportunities with the Postal Service.
  When an emergency need arises, the better alternative would be to 
hire, on a temporary basis, a retired postal employee living in the 
community, who does not need training and who understands postal 
regulations and procedures.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill, and I urge the House to suspend the 
rules and pass it.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House is moving 
expeditiously on H.R. 3246, a bill which provides incentives for the 
U.S. Postal Service to temporarily hire retired Postal Service workers 
and thereby provide experienced and quality service when career 
postmasters and rural carriers are ill, on vacation, or otherwise 
unavailable to work.
  Title 5, United States Code, section 8344 currently prohibits a 
Postal Service annuitant from receiving a full annuity if that retiree 
is temporarily employed by the U.S. Postal Service. Under current law, 
that retiree would need to take a reduction in pay to offset any 
annuity payments received while he or she is reemployed. Thus, the 
retirees are discouraged from lending their valuable skills and 
knowledge to the Postal Service.
  H.R. 3246 provides an exemption to section 8344 for postal retirees 
who are hired to fill temporary positions. The bill, which pertains to 
postmaster reliefs and rural carrier reliefs, limits this temporary 
service to 90 days in a year, with a 180-day lifetime limit. Thus 
Postal retirees will not take away opportunities from individuals 
seeking careers with the Postal Service, but simply offer trained 
assistance to the Postal Service in a time of need.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill will enable the Postal Service to more 
effectively meet its goal of moving mail in a timely and efficient 
manner, particularly in rural and remote areas where there are fewer 
career Postal workers. This bill allows the Postal Service, and 
ultimately every American, to benefit from the experience of trained 
Postal employees. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation and 
I urge my colleagues to support its passage.
  Ms. LAMBERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3246, a 
bill that will greatly help postal workers in rural areas.
  Currently, post offices in rural areas have problems finding 
experienced substitute workers to fill in for workers who are ill or on 
vacation. This bill will alleviate this problem by waiving offsets in 
annuity payments for retirees who temporarily replace postal workers in 
these instances.
  The Postal Service often must hire employees on a short-term basis, 
but it is difficult for rural areas to hire trained temporary employees 
for long periods of time. When rural postal employees are sick, on 
vacation, or off from work for other reasons, it is hard to find 
experienced employees who are familiar enough with the routes or with 
particular customer needs to take their places temporarily.
  Currently, if postal retirees go back to work for a short time, they 
are required to give up a large portion of their annuity. But with the 
enactment of H.R. 3246, the annuity offset can be waived in emergency 
or unusual circumstances. Therefore, the Postal Service will be able to 
more easily attract applicants for temporary assignments from a well-
trained labor pool that will be familiar with postal procedures and 
regulations.
  Mr. Speaker, it is extremely critical that the Postal Service be able 
to deliver the mail in a timely and friendly manner. Therefore, I urge 
my colleagues to support this worthwhile bill that will enable rural 
post offices to do this job well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Montgomery). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia [Ms. 
Norton] that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3246, 
as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read:

       A bill to amend title 39, United States Code, to make 
     applicable with respect to the United States Postal Service 
     certain exclusionary authority relating to the treatment of 
     reemployed annuitants under the civil service retirement 
     laws, and for other purposes.

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________