[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S4740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2414. Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. Moran, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Scott 
of Florida, Mr. Budd, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Ossoff, 
and Mr. King) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to 
the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. FLEXIBILITIES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WHO ARE ARMED 
                   FORCES OR FOREIGN SERVICE SPOUSES.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Agency.--The term ``agency''--
       (A) means each agency, office, or other establishment in 
     the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Federal 
     Government; and
       (B) includes--
       (i) each nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the United 
     States, including each instrumentality described in section 
     2105(c) of title 5, United States Code; and
       (ii) the United States Postal Service.
       (2) Armed forces.--The term ``Armed Forces'' has the 
     meaning given the term ``armed forces'' in section 2101 of 
     title 5, United States Code.
       (3) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual'' 
     means an individual who--
       (A) is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces or the 
     Foreign Service;
       (B) is an employee; and
       (C) relocates because the spouse of the individual, as 
     described in subparagraph (A), is subject to a permanent 
     change of station.
       (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Office of Personnel Management.
       (5) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means an employee of 
     an agency.
       (6) Permanent change of station.--The term ``permanent 
     change of station'' means, with respect to a member of the 
     Armed Forces or the Foreign Service--
       (A) a permanent change of duty station; or
       (B) a change in homeport of a vessel, ship-based squadron 
     or staff, or mobile unit.
       (7) Permanent employee.--The term ``permanent employee'' 
     does not include an employee who is serving under a temporary 
     appointment or a term appointment.
       (b) Requirement.--Not later than 30 days after receiving a 
     request from a covered individual, the head of the agency 
     employing the covered individual shall--
       (1) authorize the covered individual to work remotely full-
     time if that agency head determines that the duties of the 
     covered individual do not require the regular physical 
     presence of the covered individual in the workplace;
       (2) transfer the covered individual, if qualified, to a 
     position of equal grade in the agency and in the commuting 
     area of the new duty station or homeport of the spouse of the 
     covered individual;
       (3) transfer the covered individual, if qualified, to a 
     remote position of equal grade in the agency; or
       (4) in the case of a covered individual who is not 
     authorized to work remotely under paragraph (1), or to be 
     transferred under paragraph (2) or (3), place the covered 
     individual into a nonpay and nonduty status for the greater 
     of--
       (A) the duration of the service of the spouse of the 
     covered individual at the new duty station or homeport of 
     that spouse, as described in paragraph (2); or
       (B) the period of 36 consecutive months following the 
     permanent change of station of the spouse of the covered 
     individual.
       (c) Non-Encumbered Nonpay and Nonduty Status.--A position 
     held by a covered individual placed into nonpay and nonduty 
     status under this section--
       (1) shall not be considered to be encumbered; and
       (2) may be backfilled by a permanent employee.
       (d) Reports.--
       (1) Agency reports to opm.--For each of the first 5 full 
     fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the head of each agency shall, not later than 180 days 
     after the last day of that fiscal year, submit to the 
     Director--
       (A) a list of each request received by that agency head 
     under subsection (b) during the applicable fiscal year; and
       (B) the action taken by the agency head under subsection 
     (b) with respect to each request described in subparagraph 
     (A).
       (2) Report to congress.--With respect to the information 
     received by the Director under paragraph (1) for a fiscal 
     year, the Director shall, not later than 195 days after the 
     last day of that fiscal year, submit to Congress a report 
     containing all of that information for that fiscal year, 
     which shall be sorted by agency.
                                 ______