[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 25 (Monday, February 13, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS AND PUBLIC DEFENDER 
          SERVICE VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 13, 2017

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia 
Courts and Public Defender Service Voluntary Separation Incentive 
Payments Act. The bill, which passed the House in the 114th Congress, 
would make a small but important change to the authorities of the 
District of Columbia Courts (D.C. Courts) and the Public Defender 
Service for the District of Columbia (PDS), placing these entities in 
the same position as their federal counterparts for more effective 
management and operation.
  The bill would give the D.C. Courts and PDS the same authority 
federal agencies and federal courts already have to offer voluntary 
separation incentive payments, or buyouts, to their employees. The 
fiscal year 2016 omnibus bill already gives D.C. Courts buyout 
authority, but my bill would make this authorization permanent, and 
would extend it to PDS in addition to the D.C. Courts. Buyouts would 
allow the D.C. Courts and PDS to respond to future administrative and 
budget needs, and would provide the flexibility to extend buyout offers 
to their employees.
  The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has determined that 
voluntary separation incentive payments may be made only where 
statutorily authorized. Federal agencies and federal courts already 
have the statutory authority to offer buyouts, and PDS and the D.C. 
Courts need the same express authority in order to manage their 
workforce as budget conditions and needs change.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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