[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 113 (Monday, July 29, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8626-H8627]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AUTHORIZING VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO EMPLOYEES OF AID

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3870) to authorize the Agency for International Development 
to offer voluntary separation incentive payments to employees of that 
agency, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3870

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

     SECTION 1. VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVES FOR EMPLOYEES OF 
                   THE AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

       (a) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act--
       (1) the term ``agency'' means the Agency for International 
     Development;
       (2) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator, 
     Agency for International Development; and
       (3) the term ``employee'' means an employee (as defined by 
     section 2105 of title 5, United States Code) who is employed 
     by the agency, is serving under an appointment without time 
     limitation, and has been currently employed for a continuous 
     period of at least 12 months, but does not include--
       (A) any employee who, upon separation and application, 
     would then be eligible for an immediate annuity under 
     subchapter III of chapter 83 (except for section 8336(d)(2)) 
     or chapter 84 (except for section 8414(b)(1)(B)) of title 5, 
     United States Code, or corresponding provisions of another 
     retirement system for employees of the agency;
       (B) a reemployed annuitant under subchapter III of chapter 
     83 of chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, or another 
     retirement system for employees of the agency;
       (C) an employee having a disability on the basis of which 
     such employee is or would be eligible for disability 
     retirement under the applicable retirement system referred to 
     in subparagraph (A);
       (D) an employee who is to be separated involuntarily for 
     misconduct or unacceptable performance, and to whom specific 
     notice has been given with respect to that separation;
       (E) an employee who, upon completing an additional period 
     of service, as referred to in section 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the 
     Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 (5 U.S.C. 5597 
     note), would qualify for a voluntary separation incentive 
     payment under section 3 of such Act;
       (F) an employee who has previously received any voluntary 
     separation incentive payment by the Government of the United 
     States under this Act or any other authority and has not 
     repaid such payment;
       (G) an employee covered by statutory reemployment rights 
     who is on transfer to another organization; or
       (H) any employee who, during the 24-month period preceding 
     the date of separation, received a recruitment or relocation 
     bonus under section 5753 of title 5, United States Code, or 
     who, within the 12-month period preceding the date of 
     separation, received a retention allowance under section 5754 
     of such title 5.
       (b) In general.--The Administrator, before obligating any 
     resources for voluntary separation incentive payments under 
     this Act, shall submit to the House and Senate Committees on 
     Appropriations and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Government Reform and 
     Oversight of the House of Representatives a strategic plan 
     outlining the intended use of such incentive payments and a 
     proposed organizational chart for the agency once such 
     incentive payments have been completed.
       (2) Contents.--The agency's plan shall include--
       (A) the positions and functions to be reduced or 
     eliminated, identified by organizational unit, geographic 
     location, occupational category and grade level; and
       (B) the number and amounts of voluntary separation 
     incentive payments to be offered; and
       (C) a description of how the agency will operate without 
     the eliminated positions and functions.
       (c) Authority To Provide Voluntary Separation Incentive 
     Payments.--
       (1) In general.--A voluntary separation incentive payment 
     under this Act may be paid by the agency to not more than 100 
     employees of such agency and only to the extent necessary to 
     eliminate the positions and functions identified by the 
     strategic plan.
       (2) Amount and treatment of payments.--A voluntary 
     separation incentive payment under this Act--
       (A) shall be paid in a lump sum after the employee's 
     separation;
       (B) shall be paid from appropriations or funds available 
     for the payment of the basic pay of the employees;
       (C) shall be equal to the lesser of--
       (i) an amount equal to the amount the employee would be 
     entitled to receive under section 5595(c) of title 5, United 
     States Code, if the employee were entitled to payment under 
     such section; or
       (ii) an amount determined by the agency head not to exceed 
     $25,000;
       (D) may not be made except in the case of any employee who 
     voluntarily separates (whether by retirement or resignation) 
     before February 1, 1997;
       (E) shall not be a basis for payment, and shall not be 
     included in the computation, of any other type of Government 
     benefit; and
       (F) shall not be taken into account in determining the 
     amount of any severance pay to which the employee may be 
     entitled under section 5595 of title 5, United States Code, 
     based on any other separation.
       (d) Additional Agency Contributions to the Retirement 
     Fund.--
       (1) In general.--In addition to any other payments which it 
     is required to make under subchapter III of chapter 83 or 
     chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, the agency shall 
     remit to the Office of Personnel Management for deposit in 
     the Treasury of the United States to credit of the Civil 
     Service Retirement and Disability Fund an amount equal to 15 
     percent of the final basic pay of each employee of the agency 
     who is covered under subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 
     84 of title 5, United States Code, to whom a voluntary 
     separation incentive has been paid under this Act.
       (2) Definition.--For the purpose of paragraph (1), the term 
     ``final basic pay'', with respect to an employee, means the 
     total amount of basic pay which would be payable for a year 
     of service by such employee, computed using the employee's 
     final rate of basic pay, and, if last serving on other than a 
     full-time basis, with appropriate adjustment therefor.
       (c) Effect on Subsequent Employment With the Government.--
     An individual who has received a voluntary separation 
     incentive payment under this Act and accepts any employment 
     for compensation with the Government of the United States, or 
     who works for any agency of the Government of the United 
     States through a personal services contract, within 5 years 
     after the date of the separation on which the payment is 
     based shall be required to pay, prior to the individual's 
     first day of employment, the entire amount of the incentive 
     payment to the agency that paid the incentive payment.
       (f) Reduction of Agency Employment Levels.--
       (1) In general.--The total number of funded employee 
     positions in the agency shall be reduced by one position for 
     each vacancy created by the separation of any employee who 
     has received, or is due to receive, a voluntary separation 
     incentive payment under this Act. For the purposes of this 
     subsection, positions shall be counted on a full-time-
     equivalent basis.
       (2) Enforcement.--The President, through the Office of 
     Management and Budget, shall monitor the agency and take any 
     action necessary to ensure that the requirements of this 
     subsection are met.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Engel] 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chairman recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter].
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, the Agency for International Development 
requested this legislation to help them downsize. The Agency for 
International Development, AID, has already trimmed 3,000 positions, 
from 11,000 to

[[Page H8627]]

8,000. Unfortunately, AID must reduce its staff at a faster pace and 
institutes a layoff, or reduction in force, of 200 people to meet its 
personnel targets. Rather than lay off all 200 employees, AID would 
like to offer up to 100 employees severance payments, up to $25,000 
each, that they would have been able to receive if laid off. It gives 
AID the flexibility to find volunteers rather than lay off all 200 
people.

                              {time}  1515

  This bill has the support of our Subcommittee on Civil Service 
chairman, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Mica and his counterpart in 
the other body, Mr. Stevens of Alaska. I urge adoption by the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such a time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bill. As has been explained by the 
gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], this bill represents an effort 
to help the Agency for International Development to minimize the 
reductions in force required by budgetary constraints.
  I must say that I regret the budgetary constraints which require the 
reductions in force. I have had occasion, of course, to see the good 
work that AID has done in many countries around the world. I can tell 
you that it is well worth the money and the effort that we put into it. 
But we have to be realists and we understand the budgetary problems and 
constraints. This simply helps AID minimize these reductions. It is 
something that we understand needs to be done. It has bipartisan 
support. Therefore, I urge adoption of this bill.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I joined with the chairman of the Government 
Reform Committee's Civil Service Subcommittee, Chairman Mica, to 
support H.R. 3870, a bill written at the request of the administration 
to allow AID to offer up to 100 employees, who voluntarily resign, 
severance payments up to a cap of $25,000. As you know, in the Foreign 
Service employees are entitled 1 month severance per year of service. 
Civil Service employees are entitled to 1 week severance per year of 
service.
  Over the past few years, AID's personnel reduced in size from 
approximately 11,000 to 8,000 employees, mainly using hiring freezes 
that cause AID to lose approximately 120 employees per year. While the 
Appropriations Committee provided AID with an operating expense 
appropriation level they were assured would prevent layoffs, further 
cuts in the President's own fiscal year 1997 budget request caused AID 
to accelerate personnel reductions. AID is currently in the process of 
laying off 200 employees by conducting a formal reduction in force 
[RIF] of 97 Foreign Service and 103 Civil Service employees.
  Rather than lay off all 200 employees, AID would like to offer up to 
100 employees who voluntarily resign, and are not already eligible to 
retire, the opportunity to receive the severance payment they would 
have received if they had been laid off, up to a cap of $25,000. In 
this way, AID hopes to have 100 volunteers take the place of at least 
half of those people scheduled to be laid off. CBO has stated that this 
bill would cause the Government to collect an additional $1 million in 
mandatory receipts due to payments to Government retirement accounts 
required under the bill--thereby making it a net positive debt 
reduction measure for the purposes of the ``pay-go'' rules. In an 
advisory note, CBO also estimated the bill would cost $3 million in 
discretionary spending, all within the already appropriated level of 
the AID operating expense account.
  This bill is supported by the administration, the American Foreign 
Service Association, Mr. Hamilton, Chairman Mica, and his counterpart, 
the chairman of the Government Affairs Committee, the senior Senator 
from Alaska, Mr. Stevens. Other versions of this language have been 
attached to appropriations bills. We now expect that this free standing 
measure may be enacted as early as possible to allow AID to make the 
best of a bad situation.
  We all support AID becoming a smaller, more efficient operation. This 
bill will help AID achieve that goal, using volunteers instead of 
draftees. I commend the bill to the House and urge its adoption.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Calvert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3870, 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.

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