[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 132 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5048-S5049]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3206. Mr. CURTIS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2026 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. ___. MODERNIZATION OF THE PAY COMPARABILITY SYSTEM.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Comparability payment.--The term ``comparability 
     payment'' means a comparability payment payable under section 
     5304 or 5304a of title 5, United States Code.
       (2) General schedule position; pay disparity.--The terms 
     ``General Schedule position'' and ``pay disparity'' have the 
     meanings given those terms in section 5302 of title 5, United 
     States Code.
       (3) Pay agent.--The term ``Pay Agent'' means the agent 
     designated by the President under section 5304(d) of title 5, 
     United States Code.
       (b) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Pay Agent, in consultation with 
     the Secretary of Defense, the Federal Salary Council, and the 
     Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall--
       (1) conduct a review of the methodologies used to determine 
     the amounts of comparability payments, which shall include--
       (A) an assessment of the extent to which comparability 
     payments align with real world cost-of-living and labor 
     market data, as derived from--
       (i) the National Compensation Survey conducted by the 
     Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor;
       (ii) the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 
     published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department 
     of Labor;
       (iii) regional price parity indices published by the Bureau 
     of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce;
       (iv) the House Price Index published by the Federal Housing 
     Finance Agency;
       (v) the National Housing Market Indicators produced by the 
     Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
       (vi) other publicly available indicators, as determined 
     appropriate by the Pay Agent; and
       (B) a specific analysis of--
       (i) pay disparities in Utah; and
       (ii) regional pay disparities affecting the recruitment and 
     retention of Federal employees in defense-related roles, 
     using Utah as a case study for areas undergoing rapid 
     economic growth; and
       (2) establish alternative models for determining the 
     amounts of comparability payments, including by--
       (A) making adjustments based on broader economic 
     indicators;
       (B) comparing the rates of pay payable under General 
     Schedule positions with the rates of pay payable under 
     positions in the Federal Government that are not General 
     Schedule positions; and
       (C) using regional housing market trends, with a particular 
     focus on the markets in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Layton, 
     Utah.
       (c) Pilot Program.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 5304 and 5304a of 
     title 5, United States Code, the Pay Agent may, during the 
     period described in paragraph (2), carry out a pilot program 
     under which the Pay Agent uses the alternative models 
     established under subsection (b)(2) to determine the amounts 
     of comparability payments that shall be paid in Utah and each 
     area in which a pay disparity described in subsection 
     (b)(1)(B)(ii) exists.
       (2) Length of pilot program.--The period described in this 
     paragraph is a period of not more than 3 years, beginning on 
     the date on which the Pay Agent completes the requirements 
     under subsection (b).
       (3) Notification.--Before implementing a pilot program 
     under this subsection, the Pay Agent shall provide notice 
     regarding, and an explanation of, that pilot program to 
     Congress and the public.
       (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
     construed to limit the authority of an agency under section 
     5305, 5753, or 5754 of title 5, United States Code, to

[[Page S5049]]

     establish special salary rates or offer recruitment, 
     relocation, or retention bonuses while the Pay Agent is 
     carrying out the requirements under subsection (b) or any 
     pilot program under subsection (c).
                                 ______