[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 19, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3557-H3558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AUTHORIZATION TO INCREASE RETIREMENT AGE FOR MEMBER OF THE CAPITOL
POLICE
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(S. 4530) to amend chapters 83 and 84 of title 5, United States Code,
to authorize an increase of the retirement age for members of the
Capitol Police.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 4530
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION TO INCREASE RETIREMENT AGE FOR
MEMBER OF THE CAPITOL POLICE.
(a) Civil Service Retirement System.--Section 8335(c) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ``becomes
60 years of age'' and inserting ``attains an age determined
by the Board, which shall be not less than 57 years of age
and not more than 62 years of age''.
(b) Federal Employees' Retirement System.--Section 8425(c)
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking
``becomes 60 years of age'' and inserting ``attains an age
determined by the Board, which shall be not less than 57
years of age and not more than 62 years of age''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Steil) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.
General Leave
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today was drafted to address staffing
shortages with the United States Capitol Police.
Currently, officers are forced to retire at age 57, unless they
receive a waiver from the Capitol Police Board. With a waiver, an
officer may continue working until they are age 60. S. 4530 extends the
waiver timeline.
Under this bill, the Capitol Police Board will have the authority to
grant waivers to sworn officers until they turn 62. Right now, nearly
60 sworn officers are working with a waiver.
Unless we pass this statutory change, each of these officers will be
forced to retire within the next few years. These forced retirements
will only compound the staffing shortage issue that we are facing
within the Capitol Police force.
Notably, there is past precedent for this policy change. On two
occasions, Congress has temporarily raised the mandatory Federal law
enforcement retirement age to 65 to address staffing issues at the FBI.
I will also note that this bill gives the Capitol Police Board
discretion when deciding who is still fit for the job.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 4530, a bill that would increase
the age to which Capitol Police officers may continue to serve from 60
to 62 when granted a retirement age waiver by the Capitol Police Board.
Importantly, this bill does not change the statutory retirement age.
Rather, it gives the Capitol Police Board flexibility to allow willing
and able officers to remain with the force.
I said it when the House recently passed its version of the
legislation,
[[Page H3558]]
and I want to reiterate that the officers of the United States Capitol
Police have one of the most critical and demanding jobs in the
legislative branch.
Last week, we celebrated Police Week here in Washington. At a time
when payouts and pardons are being handed to the people who savagely
attacked the Capitol Police in this very building just 5 years ago,
they need to know we have their backs; not just with words, but with
actions.
The force has come a long way since then, and I commend Chief
Sullivan and former Chief Manger for working to rebuild the force and
grow its ranks. We cannot stand in the way of that progress.
Threats against Members, our families, staff, people who visit here,
and threats against our democratic institutions are growing by the day,
and they show no signs of relenting, so we must confront this scourge
head-on.
We can do that by helping to advance the interests that Capitol
Police continue to deal with the challenges they have in terms of
recruitment, and we can do it by passing this bill.
I thank Chairman Steil, my colleague and friend, and all those
members of the Committee on House Administration for making sure that
we are able to get this passed. I also thank our colleagues in the
Senate for giving us the chance to do this a second time, but I very
much appreciate it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the leader of the Republican
Conference.
Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Steil), the chairman of the committee and my friend, for yielding. I
thank him for the hard work he has put in to first passing an important
bill over to the Senate, and now seeing this bill come back to address
an important issue, and that is to make sure that we give the Capitol
Police Board the flexibility so that we don't have to lose more good
officers on the Capitol Police force.
I know personally the heroism and bravery of the great men and women
in the United States Capitol Police. I would not be here without their
heroism and bravery. We have some of them who are in the prime of their
career who would be forced to retire if we don't pass this legislation.
At a time, as was brought up, where we have shortages, we need to
make sure that we not only can keep attracting new officers to the
force, but when you have officers in the prime of their career that
everybody agrees are worthy of keeping on, that they have that
flexibility. That is what this bill does, gives the Capitol Police
Board that flexibility.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the adoption of the legislation and urge
all my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the majority leader for sharing his tragic
experience. I am grateful to him for his leadership on these important
issues. Again, this is, in my mind, a commonsense way to make sure that
we continue to have the backs of the members of the Capitol Police who
do such an extraordinary job protecting this entire Capitol complex,
the men and women who serve here, our staffs, our families, and all the
American citizens who get to come and participate in this great
democracy.
I urge the passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I just thank my colleague, Mr. Morelle, for his work in moving this
bill through quickly as well as the leadership of the Senate Committee
on Rules and Administration for also engaging this, as well as Leader
Scalise. I think we all recognize the hard work that the men and women
of the United States Capitol Police force do day in and day out to make
sure that this institution is open and accessible to the people and
those who visit here, as well as staff and Members are kept safe.
This bill is a real opportunity to make sure that those individuals
who have crossed the age of 60 but still are ready, prepared, and able
to serve in the United States Capitol Police are able to do that.
I appreciate the work of all of my colleagues in moving this through.
I encourage all of our colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 4530.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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