[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 50 (Thursday, March 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E607-E608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 1345, THE EQUITY FOR RESERVIST ACT (ERA)

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 27, 2003

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, recently I learned about an extraordinary 
individual, Mr. Gary Kibbee, a firefighter with the South San Francisco 
Fire Department and member of the Navy reserves. Firefighter Kibbee was 
activated shortly after September 11, 2001 and has remained deployed in 
an active duty role since then. He serves his country with honor and 
distinction, and I feel safe knowing that men like him are defending 
our nation.
  I am deeply concerned, however, that while Firefighter Kibbee is 
concentrating on the extraordinarily difficult and dangerous mission he 
had been deployed to perform, he is also being forced to worry about 
the welfare of his wife and two children. For Firefighter Kibbee's 
family has to worry not only about whether he will return, but also 
about how they will make ends meet.
  The Kibbee family is victim of a ``pay gap'' suffered by many of the 
over 200,000 Reservists and National Guardsmen currently activated. 
While he is activated, Firefighter Kibbee receives military pay that is 
significantly less than his civilian pay. This is a sacrifice he, his 
family, and his brothers and sisters serving in the Reserves and 
National Guard should not have to bear.
  Thankfully, for the past year Firefighter Kibbee has been able to 
rely on the generosity of the City of South San Francisco to cover the 
discrepancy between his civilian and military salary. However, South 
City, like so many other cities and towns, is facing looming deficits 
and is unable to continue to cover the difference in salary after 12 
months, even for a two-time ``Firefighter of the Year'' award winner. 
Firefighter Kibbee was recently notified that his activation has been 
extended for another 12 months, taking his total time on active duty to 
the full two years.
  Mr. Speaker, if Firefighter Kibbee's concern was unique it would be 
extremely unfortunate. However, the fact that there are many other 
brave men and women sharing his concerns is truly a tragedy. Too many 
members of our Reserve components are faced with the difficult choice 
of defending their country or providing for their family.
  When a civilian is called up to active duty the Reservist's civilian 
salary is placed on hold and their paycheck now comes from the 
military. Often the amount of military pay is significantly less than 
the amount of their civilian salary. As a result of this discrepancy 
the families of reservists are asked to carry a double burden; a member 
of their family is temporarily absent--as is a portion of his or her 
salary.
  In order to substantially reduce the discrepancy in pay between 
civilian and military salaries for Reservists and members of the 
National Guard who are involuntary activated for more than thirty days, 
I, along with five of my colleagues, have introduced H.R. 1345, ``The 
Equity for Reservists Pay Act.'' I am pleased to report that this bi-
partisan legislation also has the support of both the National Guard 
Association and the Reserve Officers Association. I request that copies 
of both are included in the Congressional Record.
  While the problems caused by this discrepancy in salary has long been 
known, the recent shift in the frequency and length of activations has 
aggravated the salary discrepancy issue. During the Cold War era, the 
Reserve components were hardly utilized, and in fact between 1945 and 
1989 Reservists were involuntarily activated by the federal government 
only four times, an average of less than once a decade. In the 
aftermath of the Cold War our nation has relied more heavily on the 
Reserve components, involuntarily activating Reservists units six times 
since 1990, an average of about once every two years.
  Mr. Speaker, the mobilization of Reservists in the aftermath of the 
September 11th terrorist attacks has been the largest and longest since 
the 1990-91 Gulf War. Currently there are over 210,000 men and women 
Reservists on active federal duty. The average length of deployment 
since September 11th has been, for some, the longest continuous 
activation ever.
  The brave men and women serving in America's Reserve and National 
Guard make tremendous sacrifices for their country. Some are called to 
make the ultimate sacrifice. One sacrifice they and their families 
should not have to make is worrying about their financial security. It 
is the duty of our government to ensure that the men and women of the 
military reserves are not financially burdened when they answer their 
call to duty.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that this bill does not provide 
extra compensation to members of the National Guard and Reserve 
components, but rather ensures that our Guardsmen continue to receive 
the amounts of their civilian salaries.
  It is well known in the Department of Defense that the potential for 
income loss during activation is a major concern for both officers and 
enlisted personnel in the Reserves. Given the Pentagon's increasing 
reliance on the Reserve Component, there exists a valid concern that 
the potential for financial losses would have a negative impact on 
recruiting and retention in the Reserves. Passage of H.R. 1345 would 
alleviate this concern and provides both for the financial security for 
our Reservists as well as security to our nation as a whole.
  Mr. Speaker, this important legislation is designed to ensure that 
federal, state and local government employees and those employed in the 
private sector can continue to defend our country without being forced 
to worry about their families pinching pennies to adjust to a life on a 
reduced salary. The legislation covers members of the Reserves who are 
involuntarily called up for a period of longer than 30 days as defined 
in Section 101(19) of Title 37 United States Code.
  The coverage of Federal employees uses a commonsense and cost neutral 
approach. The bill simply requires the employee's federal agency to pay 
the employee the difference between their military pay as defined by 
Section 101(21) of Title 37 (not including allowances) and their 
civilian base pay. Since Federal agencies and departments have already 
budgeted for their employees' salaries, there should not be additional 
expenditures required to cover any discrepancy the reservist employee 
suffers as a result of his or her involuntary call up.
  In addition to the numerous Federal government employees that this 
bill would cover, I believe that Congress should also assist state and 
municipal governments in providing the difference in salary that their 
Reservist employees face. H.R. 1345 also provides assistance to the 
state and municipal governments who choose to provide financial equity 
to their employees by allowing the states to request a reimbursement of 
50 percent of the expenditures required for the first 9 months. After 9 
months, the participating state and municipal governments are eligible 
for a full 100 percent reimbursement.
  In order to ensure that our government's generosity is not taken 
advantage of, I have included language into this legislation to prevent 
abuse. The anti-fraud provision of this bill, which is analogous to 
California law, requires municipal employees to return to their 
government jobs upon deactivation. An employee who accepts money to 
make up their salary discrepancy and doesn't return will have the 
received funds treated as a loan to be paid back in a manner to be 
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. Additionally, the 
appropriate Secretary has the discretion to waive all or part of the 
loan should an appropriate situation arise.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, in order to provide the necessary incentive for 
non-government employers to make up the discrepancy in income that 
their brave employees encounter as a result of being involuntarily 
activated for more than 30 days, this legislation amends Subpart D of 
Part IV of subchapter A of Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code, 
creating an ``Active-duty Reserve Component Employee Credit.'' This 
credit should provide an incentive for private companies to continue to 
pay their employees. This credit will be equal to 50 percent of the 
compensation paid to the reservist employee to make up the difference 
between their private salary and reservist pay.

[[Page E608]]

  This legislation is a common sense solution to the unfortunate 
problem of financial insecurity suffered by the brave men and women of 
the Reserves. We cannot ask courageous men and women like Firefighter 
Kibbee to choose between supporting their families and defending our 
country. Since an extended activation results in financial loss for the 
Reservists and their families, it is only equitable that our government 
limits the financial loss as much as possible. H.R. 1345 is a fair and 
balanced approach to resolve this unacceptable and intolerable 
situation. I urge its expedited passage.
                                      Reserve Officers Association


                                         of the United States,

                                   Washington, DC, March 19, 2003.
     Hon. Tom Lantos,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Lantos: On behalf of the nearly 80,000 
     members of the Reserve Officers Association of the United 
     States, congressionally chartered to ``support the 
     development and execution of a military policy for the United 
     States, that will provide adequate national security,'' I 
     want to thank you for your efforts in introducing the Omnibus 
     Equity for Reservists Pay Act of 2003. The bill is an 
     important step forward in recognizing the contributions of 
     the members of the Reserve components of our Armed Forces to 
     the Total Force and our national defense.
       Today as we wait anxiously for news of whether or when we 
     will go to war with Iraq, more than 200,000 members of the 
     Reserve components of our Armed Forces have been mobilized 
     and/or deployed in anticipation of that event. Since 
     September 11, 2001, a quarter-million citizen-soldiers, 
     sailors, Marines, and airmen have been called to active duty 
     and have left their homes, families, and communities in 
     response to emerging contingencies. By the Department of 
     Defense's own estimate, about one third of these activated 
     reservists are losing money when their civilian paycheck is 
     compared to their military salary (including the tax 
     advantages of various benefits and allowances). Nearly 
     seventy thousand troops is a hefty slice of Total Force 
     assets going broke on active duty, going bankrupt before they 
     even see the enemy they came to fight. The situation is bad 
     and it can only get worse when you consider that Iraq will 
     very likely take several years to be rebuilt, that the 
     Reserve components will probably be supervising the project, 
     and that if recent history is any guide, such occasions will 
     continue.
       The issue here is that if we are serious about the societal 
     benefits of the Total Force policy and the popular support it 
     brings to any military undertaking, we need to reinforce it 
     in every way possible. We cannot allow the compensation 
     aspects of the system to drift so far off center that fully a 
     third of its Reserve component members become economically 
     dysfunctional merely by putting on their uniforms. Bankruptcy 
     is not an effective recruiting or retention tool. With all of 
     the other more immediate (and less tractable) issues 
     mobilized reservists must face, we should do all we can to 
     eliminate or ameliorate financial insecurity caused by post-
     mobilization compensation dysfunction.
       Your bill provides a range of solutions to the problem that 
     has long plagued reservists and by extension the Total Force, 
     and ultimately the nation. We are pleased at your vision in 
     introducing it and we stand ready to assist in any way we 
     can.
           Sincerely,
                                                Jayson L. Spiegel,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                        National Guard Association


                                         of the United States,

                                   Washington, DC, March 19, 2003.
     Hon. Tom Lantos,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Lantos: On behalf of the men and women of 
     the National Guard Association of the United States, I would 
     like to commend you for your efforts in introducing the 
     ``Omnibus Equity for Reservists Pay Act of 2003.''
       Thousands of Guardsmen and women are currently being called 
     to active duty in support of the Global War on Terrorism, 
     defense of the homeland, and the pending war in Iraq, in 
     addition to the multitude of other state and federal 
     operational missions normally performed. Many Guardsmen and 
     women are experiencing financial hardship when they serve 
     their country for extended periods of time due to the 
     difference of income between their civilian and military pay. 
     Your legislation, the ``Omnibus Equity for Reservists Pay Act 
     of 2003'' will help mitigate financial loss by making up the 
     difference between a person's civilian and military salaries.
       The employer credit will encourage private industry to 
     compensate their National Guard employees. The high National 
     Guard is drawing members of the National Guard away from 
     their employers for up to two years at a time. This increased 
     operational tempo places additional financial burdens on 
     employers, to a much greater extent than in past years. 
     Employers should not be expected to bear the increased 
     financial burdens Guard deployments place on them. Assisting 
     employers with tax credit provides the ability to inject 
     those funds back into their businesses in order to offset the 
     effects of the temporary loss of their National Guard 
     employees.
       As always, the NGAUS stands ready to assist you and looks 
     forward to our continued relationship ensuring a strong and 
     viable National Guard. If you have any questions, please do 
     not hesitate to contact my staff or me,
           Respectfully,

                                         Richard C. Alexander,

                                         Major General (RET), AUS,
     President.

                          ____________________