[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5016-S5017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2723. Mr. PETERS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him 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 end of subtitle A of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1006. ADJUSTMENT RELATED TO TRANSITION RULES FOR CBP
OFFICERS.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Officer Retirement Technical
Corrections Act''.
(b) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``Eligible
Individual'' means any individual who--
(1) received a tentative offer of employment as a U.S.
Customs and Border Protection officer before July 6, 2008;
and
(2) entered into duty as a U.S. Customs and Border
Protection officer on or after July 6, 2008, as a result of
an offer described in paragraph (1).
(c) Treatment of Eligible Individuals.--Eligible
Individuals--
(1) are considered to be individuals serving as U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Officers on July 6, 2008, for
purposes of section 535(e) of the Department of Homeland
Security Appropriations Act, 2008 (division E of Public Law
110-161; 121 Stat. 1844); and
(2) are entitled to--
(A) the minimum annuity amount required under section
535(e)(2)(C) of such Act; and
(B) an exemption from mandatory retirement otherwise
required under section 8425(b)(1) of title 5, United States
Code.
(d) Implementation.--
(1) Submission of information.--Not later than 120 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall--
(A) create a list of all Eligible Individuals;
(B) notify each Eligible Individual of the annuity
correction described in subsection (c); and
(C) provide the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management with all of the information that is necessary for
making annuity corrections with respect to Eligible
Individuals.
(2) Completion of annuity correction.--After receiving the
information described in paragraph (1)(C), the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management shall make the annuity
correction described in subsection (c) with respect to each
Eligible Individual, including a retroactive annuity
adjustment for Eligible Individuals who retired before the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(e) Waivers and Guidance.--
(1) Waivers.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may
retroactively waive the maximum entry age requirement under
3307(g) of
[[Page S5017]]
title 5, United States Code, to the extent necessary, to
ensure that each Eligible Individual is eligible for
immediate retirement with the annuity correction described in
subsection (c).
(2) Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
Security, shall issue appropriate guidance to assist in the
implementation of the annuity correction described in
subsection (c).
(f) Government Accountability Office.--The Comptroller
General of the United States--
(1) shall review U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(referred to in this subsection as ``CBP'') hiring practices,
policies, and procedures related to eligibility for enhanced
retirement benefits referred to in this section by
assessing--
(A) the process for determining whether an employee
qualifies for such benefits, including considering any
potential factors that would make an employee ineligible for
such enhanced retirement benefits;
(B) the internal controls used by CBP to ensure that all
eligible employees, and only eligible employees, receive such
enhanced retirement benefits;
(C) the policies regarding the use of employees' personnel
files to ensure compliance with current laws governing
retirement benefits; and
(D) the adequacy of the training provided to CBP senior
executives regarding human resources and hiring practices at
CBP; and
(2) not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, shall submit a report to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate
and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives that describes the results of the review
conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
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