[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA POLICE RETIREMENT EQUALITY ACT OF 2000

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 2000

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the District of Columbia 
Police Retirement Equality Act of 2000, a bill to provide equity in 
retirement benefits for Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers. 
This bill would correct an inequity by granting MPD officers and 
increase in retirement benefits based on the value of longevity bonus 
pay comparable to those received by D.C. firefighters.
  Longevity pay, adopted by the District in 1972, is a bonus granted to 
both police officers and firefighters, in addition to base salary, as a 
retention incentive after officers reach milestones in service of 
fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, and thirty years. A D.C. firefighter, 
whose retirement benefits are identical in every other aspect to those 
of a MPD officer, receives a retirement annuity based on the combined 
value of base salary and longevity bonus pay. An MPD officer's 
retirement annuity is based only on base salary, not the longevity 
bonus, and is therefore lower than that of a D.C. firefighter. This 
benefit was negotiated by D.C. firefighters as part of a 1993 
collective bargaining agreement. By 1995, MPD officials were not able 
to negotiate the same benefit because the District had entered into 
financial crisis and was essentially insolvent. The District has 
recovered and has had balanced budgets and surpluses for three years. 
MPD officers attempted to gain equal retirement benefits with D.C. 
firefighters through the 1997 Revitalization Act, in which the federal 
government assumed full responsibility for the District's unfunded 
pension liability for teacher's, firefighters and police officers. At 
that time, Representative Connie Morella, who is an original cosponsor 
of this bill and has constituents affected by this inequity, introduced 
legislation similar to the bill I introduced today. That bill was not 
adopted at that time.
  Since then, the Council, the Mayor, and the control board have agreed 
to pay for this increased annuity benefit if the federal government 
agrees to pay for the portion of the program that would have been 
incurred prior to the 1997 Revitalization Act and therefore assumed by 
the federal government as is the case with firefighters.
  This bill amends the 1997 Revitalization Act by authorizing the 
federal government to pay for the additional pension liability accrued 
prior to 1997 for police officers. The city will pay for the increased 
benefits accrued since the 1997 Revitalization Act. All officers 
retiring before enactment of the Police Retirement Act will receive the 
retirement benefits at the current level. Only officers retiring after 
this legislation is passed would be eligible for the increased annuity.
  There was no intention to leave police officers worse off than 
firefighters in this city. Police officers should not have lower 
retirement pay because their collective bargaining agreement was 
negotiated at a low point in the city's financial picture, while the 
firefighters got in just under the wire. At a time when Chief Charles 
Ramsey is upgrading the quality of police officers, and even bringing 
in experienced officers on a lateral basis, we need true equity if we 
want a first-class police department. The retirement pay differential 
may be an anomaly, but its resulting unfairness hurts not only 
individual officers but public safety in the city. The city is willing 
to pay its share to correct this inequity. The Congress must do the 
same.
  I would like to thank Representative Tom Davis, Chairman of the 
District of Columbia Subcommittee, Representatives Steny Hoyer, Connie 
Morella, and Al Wynn for being original cosponsors of this bill to 
restore basic parity to the retirements of District police officers and 
firefighters, and urge swift passage.

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