[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            METROPOLITAN POLICE AND FIRE SERVICE ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 21, 2007

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Metropolitan 
Police Service Act of 2007. This bill would conform the federal formula 
for calculating its share of the District of Columbia's Firefighters 
and Police officers pension to the new 20 year threshold adopted by the 
District government.
  The original bill introduced to the D.C. City Council in 1999 set the 
minimum to 20 years of service, but then Chief of Police Charles Ramsey 
asked that the minimum be increased to 25 years. He was concerned that 
300 police officers serving on the Police Department in 1999 who were 
eligible to retire at 20 years might retire en masse. The timeframe for 
these retirees has passed and the DC government has stepped up to take 
care of its firefighters and police officers, by resetting the 
eligibility to 20 years. These firefighters and police officers now 
request that the United States Congress fulfill its promises to these 
first responders.
  The Federal government made a commitment to pay District of Columbia 
firefighters and police officer annuity payments that accrued before 
1997. Thus, it was necessary when the District of Columbia changed its 
formula from 25 to 20 years, that the Federal government make the same 
change for these first responders, so that every first responder has 
the opportunity for the same annuity payments that accrue at the same 
time.
  This legislation is consistent with what happened in 2000. At that 
time, the District first changed the retirement plan for Metropolitan 
Police Department to permit service longevity payments to be considered 
part of the basic compensation used to calculate the retirement 
annuities. Congress then followed suit in 2001, by making the 
adjustment in the Federal Government's share of the payments, namely, 
the share attributable to service provided prior to July 1997. Thus, 
the federal formula for its share of each affected firefighter and 
police officer then mirrored the formula established by the District of 
Columbia government.
  In January of 2007, Mayor Adrian Fenty signed a new law which amends 
the District of Columbia formula to provide that eligible firefighters 
and police officers must complete just 20 years of service to receive 
their long-term annuity. Chief Ramsey did not oppose the lowering of 
the threshold. Congress should now proceed, as it did it 2001, to 
change the federal formula for retirement annuities, so it mirrors the 
District of Columbia's.

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