[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9078-H9080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         BORDER PATROL AGENT PAY REFORM AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2018

  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5896) to amend title 5, United States Code, to modify the 
authority for pay and work schedules of border patrol agents, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5896

       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 ``Border Patrol Agent Pay 
     Reform Amendments Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE BORDER PATROL AGENT PAY REFORM ACT 
                   OF 2014.

       (a) Border Patrol Agent Pay.--Section 5550 of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ``agent'' after 
     ``applicable border patrol'';
       (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``Not later than 30 
     days before the first day of each year beginning after the 
     date of enactment of this section, a border patrol agent 
     shall make an election whether the border patrol agent shall, 
     for that year, be assigned to'' and inserting ``Not later 
     than December 1 of each year, a border patrol agent shall 
     make an election whether the border patrol agent shall, for 
     the next annual period beginning on the first day of the 
     first pay period that commences on or after January 1, be 
     assigned to'';
       (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``Not later than 60 
     days before the first day of each year beginning after the 
     date of enactment of this section'' and inserting in its 
     place ``Not later than November 1 of each year'';
       (C) in subparagraph (D)--
       (i) by amending clause (iv) to read as follows:
       ``(iv) a border patrol agent shall be assigned a basic 
     border patrol rate of pay during the period of initial 
     training (including initial orientation sessions, basic 
     training, and other preparatory activities) prior to the 
     agent's first regular work assignment; and'';
       (ii) in clause (v), by striking ``or the level 2 border 
     patrol rate of pay'';
       (D) in subparagraph (E)--
       (i) in clause (i), by striking ``or the level 2 border 
     patrol rate of pay'';
       (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``the analysis conducted 
     under section 2(e) of the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act 
     of 2014'' and inserting in its place ``a written staffing 
     analysis''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iv) Exclusion of certain employees.--In applying any 
     percentage limit under clause (i) or (ii) to a location 
     population, U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall exclude 
     from such population any border patrol agent who is assigned 
     a basic border patrol rate of pay under subparagraph (D)(iii) 
     or (D)(iv) or who would reach the premium pay cap under 
     section 5547 if assigned a level 1 border patrol rate of pay.
       ``(v) Application frequency.--The 10 percent limit under 
     clause (i) or an alternative percentage limit under a waiver 
     under clause (ii) shall be applied at the beginning of the 
     first pay period beginning on or after January 1 each 
     year.'';
       (E) by striking subparagraph (G);
       (3) in subsection (b)(2)--
       (A) by amending subparagraph (C)(i) to read as follows:
       ``(i) any compensation under this section or any other 
     provision of law in addition to the compensation provided 
     under subparagraph (B); or'';
       (B) in subparagraph (E)--
       (i) by striking ``paid leave'' and inserting ``leave''; and
       (ii) by striking ``absent from work'' and inserting 
     ``excused from work'';
       (C) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking ``and'';
       (D) by amending subparagraph (G) to read as follows:
       ``(G) if the border patrol agent participates in a full day 
     of advanced training but does not perform the entire required 
     amount of scheduled overtime work under subparagraph (A)(ii) 
     on that day, the border patrol agent shall be deemed to have 
     performed scheduled overtime work during nonwork periods to 
     the extent necessary to reach the required amount, but such 
     deemed credit may be applied to no more than 180 hours in a 
     calendar year; otherwise, the agent shall accrue a debt of 
     hours for scheduled overtime not worked on such a day; and'';
       (E) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(H) a border patrol agent may choose to reduce any debt 
     of obligated overtime hours that the agent has incurred by 
     applying any accrued compensatory time off for travel 
     pursuant to section 5550b, and such compensatory time off for 
     travel may be applied towards such debt only after other 
     forms of overtime or earned compensatory time credited to the 
     border patrol agent have been exhausted.'';
       (4) in subsection (b)(3)--
       (A) by amending subparagraph (C)(i) to read as follows:
       ``(i) any compensation under this section or any other 
     provision of law in addition to the compensation provided 
     under subparagraph (B); or'';
       (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``paid leave'' and 
     inserting ``leave'';
       (C) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking ``and'';
       (D) by amending subparagraph (G) to read as follows:
       ``(G) if the border patrol agent participates in a full day 
     of advanced training but does not perform the entire required 
     amount of scheduled overtime work under subparagraph (A)(ii) 
     on that day, the border patrol agent shall be deemed to have 
     performed scheduled overtime work during nonwork periods to 
     the extent necessary to reach the required amount, but such 
     deemed credit may be applied to no more than 90 hours in a 
     calendar year; otherwise, the agent shall accrue a debt of 
     hours for scheduled overtime not worked on such a day; and'';
       (E) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(H) a border patrol agent may choose to reduce any debt 
     of obligated overtime hours that the agent has incurred by 
     applying any accrued compensatory time off for travel 
     pursuant to section 5550b; such compensatory time off for 
     travel may be applied towards such debt only after other 
     forms of overtime or earned compensatory time credited to the 
     border patrol agent have been exhausted.'';
       (5) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
       ``(d) Treatment as Basic Pay.--
       ``(1) In general.--Any overtime supplement in addition to 
     the basic border patrol rate of pay for a border patrol agent 
     resulting from application of the level 1 border patrol rate 
     of pay or the level 2 border patrol rate of pay shall be 
     treated as part of basic pay only--
       ``(A) except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3), for 
     purposes of the definitions in section 8331(3) and 8401(4) 
     and the provisions in chapters 83 and 84 that rely on those 
     definitions (consistent with section 8331(3)(I));
       ``(B) except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3), for 
     purposes of sections 5595(c) and 8704(c);
       ``(C) for the purpose of section 8114(e); and
       ``(D) subject to paragraph (2) and any limitation 
     established under paragraph (3), any other purpose that the 
     Director of the Office of Personnel Management may by 
     regulation prescribe.
       ``(2) Exclusions.--The overtime supplement described in 
     paragraph (1) shall not be treated as part of basic pay for 
     purposes not covered by that paragraph, including the 
     purposes of calculating--
       ``(A) overtime pay, night pay, Sunday pay, or holiday pay 
     under section 5542, 5545, or 5546;
       ``(B) locality-based comparability payments under section 
     5304 or special rate supplements under section 5305; or
       ``(C) cost-of-living allowances in nonforeign areas under 
     section 5941.
       ``(3) Limitations.--
       ``(A) In general.--During the control period described in 
     subparagraph (B), the amount of the overtime supplement that 
     is considered basic pay under paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) 
     may not exceed the amount derived by multiplying the border 
     patrol agent's basic border patrol rate of pay by the 
     percentage representing the agent's career average of 
     assigned overtime supplement percentages (including 0 percent 
     for periods

[[Page H9079]]

     of time during which no overtime supplement was payable). 
     That career average percentage is computed without regard to 
     the effect of the limitation on premium pay under section 
     5547, but the premium pay limitation remains applicable in 
     determining the dollar amount of any overtime supplement 
     computed using the career average percentage.
       ``(B) Control period.--For the purposes of applying 
     subparagraph (A), the control period described in this 
     subparagraph is the period that begins 3 years before the 
     date a border patrol agent will meet age and service 
     requirements associated with entitlement to an immediate 
     annuity and continues throughout the remainder of the 
     individual's career as a border patrol agent.
       ``(C) Assigned overtime supplement percentages.--For the 
     purpose of applying subparagraph (A), a border patrol agent's 
     initial career average of assigned overtime supplement 
     percentages is the average for the border patrol agent's 
     career (excluding any period of initial training prior to the 
     agent's first regular work assignment) prior to the beginning 
     of the control period described in subparagraph (B). During 
     such control period, the career average shall be recomputed 
     at the end of each annual period (as described in subsection 
     (b)(1)(A)). In computing such career average, any periods of 
     service as a border patrol agent prior to the first day of 
     the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2016, 
     shall be included, and the agent's assigned overtime 
     supplement during such periods shall be deemed to be 25 
     percent.
       ``(4) Annual leave payment.--For the purpose of computing 
     an agent's lump-sum annual leave payment under section 5551 
     or 5552, the pay the agent is projected to receive shall 
     include a deemed overtime supplement derived under this 
     paragraph. Such overtime supplement shall be based on the 
     lower of the agent's actual overtime supplement percentage in 
     effect at separation or the average percentage of the agent's 
     overtime supplement over the 26 full biweekly pay periods 
     immediately preceding that separation, and shall not exceed 
     the amount that is or would be payable under the premium pay 
     limitation in section 5547.'';
       (6) in subsection (f)--
       (A) in the heading of such subsection, by striking ``and 
     Substitution of Hours'' and inserting ``During Regular Time; 
     Absences During Scheduled Overtime''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Application.--
       ``(A) Limitation on substitution.--Notwithstanding 
     paragraph (1), scheduled overtime (as described in paragraph 
     (2)(A)(ii) or (3)(A)(ii) of subsection (b)) may not be 
     substituted for leave without pay on a day when a border 
     patrol agent has a full day of leave without pay.
       ``(B) Leave without pay.--As provided in paragraphs 
     (2)(A)(ii) and (3)(A)(ii) of subsection (b), a border patrol 
     agent shall incur no scheduled overtime obligation on a day 
     when the agent has a full day of leave without pay.''; and
       (7) by adding at the end the following:
       `` (h) Alternative Work Schedules.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision in 
     this section or section 6101, U.S. Customs and Border 
     Protection may assign a border patrol agent an alternative 
     work schedule as described in this subsection, subject to any 
     regulations prescribed by the Director of the Office of 
     Personnel Management. No alternative work schedule may be 
     established under subchapter II of chapter 61.
       ``(2) Level 2 border patrol agent.--A border patrol agent 
     receiving a level 2 border patrol rate of pay may, in lieu of 
     the standard work schedule described in subsection (b)(3)(A), 
     be assigned to an alternative work schedule under the 
     following terms and conditions:
       ``(A) The alternative work schedule shall be a regular tour 
     of duty consisting of 9 workdays per biweekly pay period, 
     with--
       ``(i) 8 workdays including 9 hours of regular time per 
     workday and 1 additional hour of scheduled overtime for each 
     day the agent performs work during regular time; and
       ``(ii) 1 workday including 8 hours of regular time per 
     workday and 2 additional hours of scheduled overtime when the 
     agent performs work during such regular time.
       ``(B) Subparagraphs (B) through (H) of subsection (b)(3) 
     shall continue to apply to an agent assigned to an 
     alternative work schedule under this paragraph. References in 
     this section to regular time under subsection (b)(3)(A)(i) 
     and scheduled overtime under subsection (b)(3)(A)(ii) shall 
     be deemed to be references to regular time and scheduled 
     overtime described in subparagraph (A), respectively.
       ``(3) Basic border patrol agent.--A border patrol agent 
     receiving a basic border patrol rate of pay may, in lieu of 
     the standard work schedule described in subsection (b)(4)(A), 
     be assigned to an alternative work schedule that is a regular 
     tour of duty consisting of 4 workdays per week with 10 hours 
     of regular time per workday.
       ``(4) Sunday pay; premium pay.--A border patrol agent 
     assigned to an alternative work schedule under this 
     subsection, may receive, as applicable--
       ``(A) Sunday pay for no more than 8 hours of regular time 
     associated with a given Sunday, consistent with section 
     5546(a);
       ``(B) premium pay for work on a holiday for no more than 8 
     hours of regular time associated with a given holiday, 
     consistent with section 5546(b); and
       ``(C) basic pay for all regular time hours that qualify for 
     holiday time off pay when an agent is relieved or prevented 
     from working during such regular time on a day designated as 
     a holiday by Federal statute or Executive order.
       ``(5) Application.--For purposes of administering sections 
     6303(a), 6304, 6307(a) and (d), 6323, 6326, 6327, and 
     8339(m), in the case of an employee assigned to an 
     alternative work schedule under this subsection, references 
     to a day or workday (or to multiples or parts thereof) 
     contained in such sections shall be considered to be 
     references to 8 hours (or to the respective multiples or 
     parts thereof).
       ``(i) Regulations.--The Director of the Office of Personnel 
     Management shall promulgate regulations to carry out this 
     section, including regulations governing--
       ``(1) elections and assignments of a border patrol rate of 
     pay for newly hired border patrol agents who complete initial 
     training during an annual period;
       ``(2) situations in which an agent receives more than one 
     type of border patrol rate of pay in a biweekly pay period or 
     is employed as a border patrol agent for only part of a 
     biweekly pay period; and
       ``(3) the treatment of hours that are substituted for 
     nonpay status hours during regular time.''.
       (b) Overtime Rates.--Section 5542(g)(5) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``leave year'' and 
     inserting ``an annual period, as described in section 
     5550(b)(1)(A)''; and
       (2) by amending subparagraph (E) to read as follows:
       ``(E) shall not receive credit towards computation of the 
     border patrol agent's annuity based on unused compensatory 
     time off; and''.
       (c) Premium Pay Cap.--Section 5547(c) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended by inserting after ``duty,'' the 
     following: ``or to border patrol agents who receive an 
     overtime supplement for overtime hours within their regular 
     tour of duty under section 5550,''.
       (d) Basic Pay for Retirement.--Section 8331(3)(I) of title 
     5, United States Code, is amended by adding before the 
     semicolon at the end the following: ``, subject to the 
     limitation prescribed in section 5550(d)(3)''.
       (e) Scheduled Overtime Work.--Section 2(c)(2) of the Border 
     Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-277) is 
     amended by inserting after ``scheduled overtime work'' the 
     following: ``(other than scheduled overtime work within the 
     regular tour of duty)''.

     SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by section 2 shall take effect on the 
     first day of the first pay period beginning on or after the 
     day that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H.R. 5896, the Border Patrol Agent Pay 
Reform Amendments Act of 2018, introduced by my friend, the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Hurd).

                              {time}  1930

  The U.S. Border Patrol is vital to the Nation's security interests. 
Border Patrol agents secure the international land border and the 
coastal waters of the United States. They protect the American public 
from dangerous people and dangerous materials.
  Previous human capital management systems at the agency resulted in 
uncertain hours and overtime pay abuses. In 2014, Congress passed the 
Border Patrol Agency Reform Act to create a new pay system. This new 
system was designed to help the Border Patrol meet its mission by 
increasing the number of hours worked by agents, providing more 
reliable schedules and paychecks for agents and saving taxpayers around 
$100 million, annually.
  Since enactment, several organizations have identified problems with 
the law's implementation, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Border Patrol 
Council.
  H.R. 5896 seeks to address some of these implementation changes. It 
gives the Border Patrol additional flexibility to meet its staffing 
needs at specific locations. It removes the disincentive for agents to 
receive advanced training by

[[Page H9080]]

allowing them to incur an overtime debt in lieu of a decrease in pay 
and by raising the amount of training an agent can receive before the 
debt accrues. H.R. 5896 allows agents to apply compensatory time off 
accrued for travel toward the overtime debt.
  To prevent gaming the system, the bill retains limitations on 
overtime pay during an agent's control period, which is the period of 
highest pay, generally just prior to retirement. However, the bill 
switches from the current system, where the CBP controls the agent's 
schedule, to a method which lets the agent work any of these three pay 
levels, but with only a portion of their overtime pay computed into 
their retirement.
  The bill allows agents to take leave without pay, often used for 
fulfilling National Guard and Reserve training requirements, without 
incurring an overtime debt that they must make up, as they do under the 
current system.
  It allows Border Patrol agents at the level 2 and basic rates of pay 
to work compressed schedules, as they did prior to the 2014 pay system 
change. Agents will still work the required number of overtime hours 
ordered under the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act.
  Finally, the bill makes a series of final changes resulting from OPM 
and CBP experiences in implementing the law.
  I would like to thank Representative Hurd for his enormous work on 
this important legislation. In addition, I would like to thank the CBP, 
OPM, and the National Border Patrol Council for working with the 
committee to get the bill where it is today.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5896 would address issues that arose from 
implementation of the 2014 version of the bill by making technical and 
clarifying changes. The bill would require that newly hired workers 
receive the basic rate of pay until they complete initial training. It 
would also allow workers to elect to perform 90 or 100 hours per pay 
period and receive premium pay above their basic rate. This would help 
incentivize workers to move into these important positions.
  The bill would also remove the requirement that the agency limit a 
worker's tour of duty to control retirement benefits. In exchange, it 
would limit the amount of overtime treated as retirement-credible basic 
pay during the period used to calculate annuities.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Hurd), the sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. HURD. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Oklahoma 
yielding.
  Since the birth of our Nation, brave, selfless, and patriotic 
individuals have committed to putting their lives on the line to keep 
America safe, including along the border. No matter which side of the 
aisle you are on, there is no debating the fact that our selfless 
Border Patrol agents play a vital role in our national security. We, as 
lawmakers, owe a debt of gratitude to ensure our Border Patrol agents 
are treated fairly.
  As a Member of Congress who represents a district with over 800 miles 
of the southern border, I am all too aware of the day-to-day dangers 
and obstacles our Border Patrol agents face. As a result of 
bureaucratic inefficiencies, many Border Patrol agents are not 
receiving the pay they have rightfully earned and, in some cases, are 
being forced to work dangerously long shifts to make up for the onerous 
and arcane regulations handed down to them from OPM. The purpose of the 
Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Amendments Act of 2018 is to fix this 
broken system and allow our agents to receive the pay they have earned.
  I want to thank my colleagues on the House Oversight and Government 
Reform Committee for recognizing the urgency of these problems and 
passing this bill with a voice vote in May.
  Additionally, I appreciate the willingness of Customs and Border 
Protection, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Border Patrol 
Council to sit down and work out an agreement on these pressing issues.
  I have to thank my colleagues Martha McSally and Filemon Vela for 
their support and work on this piece of legislation.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.
  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Higgins of Louisiana). The question is 
on the motion offered by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5896, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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