[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 25, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2708-S2710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU:
  S. 442. A bill to provide pay protection for member of the Reserve 
and the National Guard, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I rise today to offer legislation that 
will help our Nation's reservists and members of the National Guard who 
have been called to active duty.
  Since 1991, the U.S. military has significantly scaled down its troop 
levels to reflect the end of the Cold War. With the reduction of active 
duty troops, the military has become increasingly dependent on the 
Reserves and National Guard to supplement troops who have been sent to 
deal with crises all over the world.
  In addition to this, we have had to rely on an increasingly diverse 
group of people to fight our wars. The conflict in Afghanistan was 
heavily reliant on new technologies in the air and personnel intensive 
techniques on the ground. In order to properly execute the war on 
terror, we have relied on highly skilled individuals such as linguists 
and Civil Affairs personnel who have worked closely with the population 
of Afghanistan. We will have to rely on them again in Iraq. Many of 
these men and women have been reservists.
  These two trends reflect a dramatic shift in the structure of our 
armed forces. Gone are the Cold War days when we had a massive military 
positioned all over the globe. We are now reliant on a much leaner 
force, which views the Reserves and National Guard as necessary 
components to any conflict, and not forces of last resort.
  Between 1945 and 1989, a period which encompassed most of the Cold 
War, reservists and Guardsmen were called up four times: during the 
Korean War, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and 
the Vietnam War. A majority of those mobilized during this period were 
called up during the Korean War, when over 800,000 troops were 
activated to supplement the 900,000 active duty forces fighting in 
Korea.
  Between 1990 and today, reservists and Guardsmen have been called up 
six separate times. Over 230,000 reservists and Guardsmen were 
mobilized for the Gulf War, forming nearly half of the force that drove 
Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Since then, reservists and Guardsmen have 
been activated for the Haiti Intervention, the ongoing Bosnian 
Peacekeeping mission, the ongoing patrol of the No Fly Zones in Iraq, 
the Kosovo conflict, and the War on Terrorism which has seen 151,348 
reservists and Guardsmen activated in support of Operations Enduring 
Freedom and Noble Eagle. Many of them are in the Persian Gulf Region 
today.
  Over the past ten years, the OPTEMPO of the Reserves has increased by 
fifty percent.
  This OPTEMPO has had a significant strain on reservists and their 
families. In almost every instance, when a reservist or Guardsman is 
activated, their military salary is significantly smaller then their 
civilian salary. In many cases, service member's income is cut in half. 
This places a particular strain to reservists and Guardsmen as their 
household budget is structured by their civilian salary. The decrease 
in income that activation brings makes it increasingly difficult to pay 
the bills. Whether or not the Nation is at war, mortgages, rent, credit 
card debt, student loans, and other household expenses must be paid.
  When we send our fighting men and women into harm's way, it is 
important that they concentrate on one

[[Page S2709]]

thing: their mission. When Guardsmen and reservists are worried about 
having enough money for rent of the mortgage or whether their children 
have enough to see a doctor, they cannot concentrate on the mission, 
and this becomes a readiness issue.
  Many corporations volunteer to make up the difference between the 
military and civilian salaries of their Guardsmen and reservists. Not 
only do these employers sacrifice important members of their companies 
for national defense, they hold their jobs for them and they 
voluntarily choose to continue paying them. In some instances, 
employers have continued to provide health insurance and other 
benefits. This represents a significant burden that the employer has 
undertaken, in order to ensure that their employees and their families 
are taken care of during times of national emergency.
  In order to alleviate the burden that these employers face and to 
encourage more employers to pay the difference to Reserve and Guard 
employees, I have drafted legislation that would provide an incentive 
for employers to make up the difference between the military and 
civilian pay of activated reservists. The Reservists and Guardsmen Pay 
Protection Act of 2003 provides a tax credit to employers who continue 
paying their service members after they are activated. It also requires 
the Federal Government to make up the difference between civilian and 
military pay for Federal employees who are activated.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 442

       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 ``Reservists and Guardsmen Pay 
     Protection Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. NONREDUCTION IN PAY WHILE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE IS 
                   PERFORMING ACTIVE SERVICE IN THE UNIFORMED 
                   SERVICES.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter IV of chapter 55 of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``Sec. 5538. Nonreduction in pay while serving in the 
       uniformed services

       ``(a) An employee who is absent from a position of 
     employment with the Federal Government in order to perform 
     service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to 
     receive, for each pay period described in subsection (b), an 
     amount equal to the amount by which--
       ``(1) the amount of basic pay which would otherwise have 
     been payable to such employee for such pay period if such 
     employee's civilian employment with the Government had not 
     been interrupted by that service, exceeds (if at all)
       ``(2) the amount of pay and allowances which (as determined 
     under subsection (d))--
       ``(A) is payable to such employee for that service; and
       ``(B) is allocable to such pay period.
       ``(b)(1) Amounts under this section shall be payable with 
     respect to each pay period (which would otherwise apply if 
     the employee's civilian employment had not been 
     interrupted)--
       ``(A) during which such employee is entitled to 
     reemployment rights under chapter 43 of title 38 with respect 
     to the position from which such employee is absent (as 
     referred to in subsection (a)); and
       ``(B) for which such employee does not otherwise receive 
     basic pay (including by taking any annual, military, or other 
     paid leave) to which such employee is entitled by virtue of 
     such employee's civilian employment with the Government.
       ``(2) For purposes of this section, the period during which 
     an employee is entitled to reemployment rights under chapter 
     43 of title 38--
       ``(A) shall be determined disregarding the provisions of 
     section 4312(d) of title 38; and
       ``(B) shall include any period of time specified in section 
     4312(e) of title 38 within which an employee may report or 
     apply for employment or reemployment following completion of 
     service in the uniformed services.
       ``(c) Any amount payable under this section to an employee 
     shall be paid--
       ``(1) by such employee's employing agency;
       ``(2) from the appropriation or fund which would be used to 
     pay the employee if such employee were in a pay status; and
       ``(3) to the extent practicable, at the same time and in 
     the same manner as would basic pay if such employee's 
     civilian employment had not been interrupted.
       ``(d) The Office of Personnel Management shall, in 
     consultation with Secretary of Defense, prescribe any 
     regulations necessary to carry out the preceding provisions 
     of this section.
       ``(e)(1) The head of each agency referred to in section 
     2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) shall, in consultation with the Office, 
     prescribe procedures to ensure that the rights under this 
     section apply to the employees of such agency.
       ``(2) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration shall, in consultation with the Office, 
     prescribe procedures to ensure that the rights under this 
     section apply to the employees of that agency.
       ``(f) For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) the terms `employee', `Federal Government', and 
     `uniformed services' have the same respective meanings as 
     given in section 4303 of title 38;
       ``(2) the term `service in the uniformed services' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 4303 of title 38 and 
     includes duty performed by a member of the National Guard 
     under section 502(f) of title 32 at the direction of the 
     Secretary of the Army or Secretary of the Air Force;
       ``(3) the term `employing agency', as used with respect to 
     an employee entitled to any payments under this section, 
     means the agency or other entity of the Government (including 
     an agency referred to in section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii)) with 
     respect to which such employee has reemployment rights under 
     chapter 43 of title 38; and
       ``(4) the term `basic pay' includes any amount payable 
     under section 5304.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
     55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
     after the item relating to section 5537 the following:

``5538. Nonreduction in pay while serving in the uniformed services or 
              National Guard.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply with respect to pay periods (as described in 
     section 5538(b) of title 5, United States Code, as added by 
     this section) beginning on or after September 11, 2001.

     SEC. 3. READY RESERVE-NATIONAL GUARD EMPLOYEE CREDIT ADDED TO 
                   GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.

       (a) Ready Reserve-National Guard Credit.--Subpart D of part 
     IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 (relating to business-related credits) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 45G. READY RESERVE-NATIONAL GUARD EMPLOYEE CREDIT.

       ``(a) General Rule.--For purposes of section 38, the Ready 
     Reserve-National Guard employee credit determined under this 
     section for any taxable year is an amount equal to 50 percent 
     of the actual compensation amount for such taxable year.
       ``(b) Definition of Actual Compensation Amount.--For 
     purposes of this section, the term `actual compensation 
     amount' means the amount of compensation paid or incurred by 
     an employer with respect to a Ready Reserve-National Guard 
     employee on any day during a taxable year when the employee 
     was absent from employment for the purpose of performing 
     qualified active duty.
       ``(c) Limitations.--
       ``(1) Maximum period for credit per employee.--The maximum 
     period with respect to which the credit may be allowed with 
     respect to any Ready Reserve-National Guard employee shall 
     not exceed the 12-month period beginning on the first day 
     such credit is so allowed with respect to such employee.
       ``(2) Days other than work days.--No credit shall be 
     allowed with respect to a Ready Reserve-National Guard 
     employee who performs qualified active duty on any day on 
     which the employee was not scheduled to work (for reason 
     other than to participate in qualified active duty).
       ``(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) Qualified active duty.--The term `qualified active 
     duty' means--
       ``(A) active duty, other than the training duty specified 
     in section 10147 of title 10, United States Code (relating to 
     training requirements for the Ready Reserve), or section 
     502(a) of title 32, United States Code (relating to required 
     drills and field exercises for the National Guard), in 
     connection with which an employee is entitled to reemployment 
     rights and other benefits or to a leave of absence from 
     employment under chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, 
     and
       ``(B) hospitalization incident to such duty.
       ``(2) Compensation.--The term `compensation' means any 
     remuneration for employment, whether in cash or in kind, 
     which is paid or incurred by a taxpayer and which is 
     deductible from the taxpayer's gross income under section 
     162(a)(1).
       ``(3) Ready reserve-national guard employee.--The term 
     `Ready Reserve-National Guard employee' means an employee who 
     is a member of the Ready Reserve or of the National Guard.
       ``(4) National guard.--The term `National Guard' has the 
     meaning given such term by section 101(c)(1) of title 10, 
     United States Code.
       ``(5) Ready reserve.--The term `Ready Reserve' has the 
     meaning given such term by section 10142 of title 10, United 
     States Code.''.
       (b) Credit To Be Part of General Business Credit.--
     Subsection (b) of section 38 of such Code (relating to 
     general business credit) is amended by striking ``plus'' at 
     the end of paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end 
     of paragraph (15) and inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at 
     the end the following:
       ``(16) the Ready Reserve-National Guard employee credit 
     determined under section 45G(a).''.

[[Page S2710]]

       (c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
     subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 
     the item relating to section 45F the following:

``Sec. 45G. Ready Reserve-National Guard employee credit.''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
                                 ______