[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]

 
  AMENDING DEFENSE DEPARTMENT OVERSEAS TEACHERS PAY AND PRACTICES ACT

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3499) to amend the Defense Department Overseas Teachers Pay 
and Personnel Practices Act, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3499

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

     SECTION 1. LEAVE FOR DODDS TEACHERS.

       Section 6 of the Defense Department Overseas Teachers Pay 
     and Personnel Practices Act (20 U.S.C. 904) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ``(or, if such teacher 
     is employed in a supervisory position or higher, not less 
     than ten and not more than thirteen)'' after ``ten'';
       (2) in subsection (d) by striking ``of the military 
     department concerned'' and inserting ``of Defense''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(h) The Director of Dependents' Education, in 
     consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel 
     Management--
       ``(1) shall establish for teachers a voluntary leave 
     transfer program similar to the one under subchapter III of 
     chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code; and
       ``(2) may establish for teachers a voluntary leave bank 
     program similar to the one under subchapter IV of chapter 63 
     of title 5, United States Code.

     Only leave described in the last sentence of subsection (c) 
     of this section (relating to leave that may be used by a 
     teacher for any purpose) may be transferred under any program 
     established under this subsection.''.

  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, Congressman Frank McCloskey, chair of the Subcommittee 
on Civil Service, introduced H.R. 3499, on November 10, 1993. The bill, 
as amended, provides for the establishment of voluntary leave transfer 
and leave bank programs for Department of Defense Dependent Schools 
[DODDS] teachers. These programs already exist for Federal employees 
generally. They permit Federal employees to transfer and receive annual 
leave donated by their coworkers when either they or their coworkers 
are experiencing medical emergencies requiring extended absence from 
the workplace. However, since by definition, DODDS teacher leave is not 
considered annual leave, a voluntary leave sharing program may not be 
established for them without providing new statutory authority.
  In addition, H.R. 3499, as amended, also authorizes 3 additional days 
of leave for teachers employed in supervisory or higher positions 
because such employees generally work 222 days per school year compared 
to the 190 days required of regular teachers.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  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, it is my privilege to speak in support of 
H.R. 3499, a bill introduced by our colleague from Indiana [Mr. 
McCloskey]. This is a humanitarian bill and one which will benefit 
those who teach in our overseas schools which affect so many of the 
children of our military personnel.
  This legislation was considered by the Subcommittee on Compensation 
and Employment Benefits and approved as amended by the Committee on 
Post Office and Civil Service in June 1994.
  H.R. 3499 institutes a voluntary leave transfer program and a 
voluntary leave bank program for teachers employed by the Department of 
Defense. It would permit these employees to donate and transfer 
accumulated annual leave to those Federal employees whose own annual 
and sick leave has been exhausted because of protracted illness.
  Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, this legislation authorizes the Department 
of Defense to grant three additional days of leave to DOD supervisory 
teachers as their school year is 222 work days in contrast with 190 
days for nonsupervisory teachers.
  I believe that this provision will increase good morale throughout 
the overseas teachers community and, thus, will create a positive 
atmosphere in our Department of Defense school system.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Indiana [Mr. McCloskey], the author of this bill and the chair of the 
Subcommittee on Civil Service.
  Mr. McCLOSKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3499, a bill to 
establish a leave transfer program for Department of Defense 
dependents' school teachers. I want to take this opportunity to thank 
Chair Eleanor Holmes Norton and her staff for their hard work on this 
legislation.
  This bill also allows DODDS the discretion to establish a leave bank 
to administer and distribute the leave under the transfer program. In 
order to ensure that this bill does not allow teachers to transfer sick 
leave to another teacher to which the director of DODDS objected due to 
the budgetary impact, the bill specifically states that only the 3 days 
of any purpose leave may be transferred under the program.
  During hearings on H.R. 3975, a similar bill to H.R. 3499, the 
overseas education association which represents a majority of the DODDS 
teachers, indicated that there have been numerous cases in the past 
where teachers wished to donate leave to a colleague but could not do 
so. Jack Rollins, the president of OEA discussed a case where a teacher 
had breast cancer and had to go on 2 months leave without pay in order 
to obtain treatment for her cancer in the United States. This obviously 
resulted in an extreme economic hardship for the teacher to have no 
income for 2 months.
  This bill would help alleviate such circumstances and is the 
equitable thing to do. Leave sharing and transfer is a useful tool to 
help retain employees, improve morale, and would significantly improve 
the working conditions of DODDS teachers at virtually no cost.
  H.R. 3499 has bipartisan support and was unanimously reported from 
the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. I urge my colleagues to 
support H.R. 3499.
  Mr. FORD of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3499, 
the Overseas Defense Teachers Leave Programs, which was referred to 
both the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service and the Committee 
on Education and Labor. The Post Office and Civil Service Committee 
eliminated a number of provisions during its consideration of the 
measure, including a provision to amend the Defense Dependents' 
Education Act of 1978, which falls within the jurisdiction of the 
Committee on Education and Labor. Therefore, the Committee on Education 
and Labor took no formal action on H.R. 3499.
  The bill before us today would establish a voluntary leave transfer 
program and leave bank program for the Defense Department teachers 
working overseas. Teachers who work for the Department of Defense are a 
part of our civilian work force. Until now, these civilian workers have 
had no opportunity, like many of their civilian counterparts, to donate 
accumulated leave for use by another employee who is facing a medical 
emergency. The bill would rectify this inequity and, in the process, 
the provision could have the salutary effect, according to the 
Congressional Budget Office, of reducing direct spending due to smaller 
Government payments for retirement annuities to teachers who would 
accrue less leave time should they become donors.
  H.R. 3499 would also authorize teachers in supervisory positions with 
3 additional days of leave per year, to reflect the greater number of 
days per year they generally work, when compared with other teachers.
  I consider both of these provisions to be provisions to simply 
provide equity to teachers working overseas. I wholeheartedly support 
these provisions, which are long overdue. I urge my colleagues to 
approve H.R. 3499 without delay.

                              {time}  1320

  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. 3499, 
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.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________