[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[House]
[Pages 32118-32119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PAY AND BENEFITS PARITY ACT OF 2003

  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Committee on Government Reform be discharged from further 
consideration of the Senate bill (S. 1683) to provide for a report on 
the parity of pay and benefits among Federal law enforcement officers 
and to establish an exchange program between Federal law enforcement 
employees and State and local law enforcement employees, and ask for 
its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill as follows:

                                S. 1683

       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 ``Federal Law Enforcement Pay 
     and Benefits Parity Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. LAW ENFORCEMENT PAY AND BENEFITS PARITY REPORT.

       (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``law 
     enforcement officer'' means an individual--
       (1)(A) who is a law enforcement officer defined under 
     section 8331 or 8401 of title 5, United States Code; or
       (B) the duties of whose position include the investigation, 
     apprehension, or detention of individuals suspected or 
     convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the United 
     States; and
       (2) who is employed by the Federal Government.
       (b) Report.--Not later than April 30, 2004, the Office of 
     Personnel Management shall submit a report to the President 
     of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
     and the appropriate committees and subcommittees of Congress 
     that includes--
       (1) a comparison of classifications, pay, and benefits 
     among law enforcement officers across the Federal Government; 
     and
       (2) recommendations for ensuring, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, the elimination of disparities in 
     classifications, pay and benefits for law enforcement 
     officers throughout the Federal Government.

[[Page 32119]]

     SEC. 3. EMPLOYEE EXCHANGE PROGRAM BETWEEN FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 
                   AND EMPLOYEES OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section--
       (1) the term ``employing agency'' means the Federal, State, 
     or local government agency with which the participating 
     employee was employed before an assignment under the Program;
       (2) the term ``participating employee'' means an employee 
     who is participating in the Program; and
       (3) the term ``Program'' means the employee exchange 
     program established under subsection (b).
       (b) Establishment.--The President shall establish an 
     employee exchange program between Federal agencies that 
     perform law enforcement functions and agencies of State and 
     local governments that perform law enforcement functions.
       (c) Conduct of Program.--The Program shall be conducted in 
     accordance with subchapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, 
     United States Code.
       (d) Qualifications.--An employee of an employing agency who 
     performs law enforcement functions may be selected to 
     participate in the Program if the employee--
       (1) has been employed by that employing agency for a period 
     of more than 3 years;
       (2) has had appropriate training or experience to perform 
     the work required by the assignment;
       (3) has had an overall rating of satisfactory or higher on 
     performance appraisals from the employing agency during the 
     3-year period before being assigned to another agency under 
     this section; and
       (4) agrees to return to the employing agency after 
     completing the assignment for a period not less than the 
     length of the assignment.
       (e) Written Agreement.--An employee shall enter into a 
     written agreement regarding the terms and conditions of the 
     assignment before beginning the assignment with another 
     agency.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann 
Davis) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first I want to say that this is an identical bill to 
one that I also introduced into the House, and I am very pleased that 
we are taking up the Senate bill so that we can get it out and do what 
is right for the law enforcement officers.

  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of S. 1683 a bill 
introduced by Senator George Voinovich to require the Federal 
Government to conduct study reviewing the pay and benefits for our 
128,000 federal law enforcement officers.
  This legislation is identical to a bill I introduced this year, H.R. 
3205. We are considering the Senate version of this bill, ``The Federal 
Law Enforcement Pay and Benefits Parity Act of 2003,'' which was 
approved by the Senate shortly before Thanksgiving, in an effort to 
speed up enactment of this important piece of legislation. I want to 
thank the leadership for bringing this matter to the floor today.
  It has become obvious over the last 2 years, but bears repeating: 
Federal law enforcement officers are part of our first line of defense 
in defending the Nation.
  The legislation would require that the government reexamine how we 
compensate these brave men and women--with the goals of eliminating 
disparities among various law enforcement agencies, improving 
recruitment and retention, and ensuring that the Federal Government is 
keeping pace with State and local law enforcement agencies in terms of 
compensation.
  For an example of why we need to investigate this matter, look no 
farther than the creation of the Transportation Security 
Administration, following the September 11th terrorist attacks.
  The TSA needed to hire tens of thousands of people very quickly, and 
the agency wound up cherry picking from other federal agencies, luring 
law enforcement officers with offers of better pay and benefits. This 
left the other agencies short-handed, and many still report recruiting 
problems.
  And very shortly, the Homeland Security Department is slated to 
establish its new pay system, which could once again attract law 
enforcement officers away from other agencies.
  The Civil Service and Agency Organization Subcommittee, which I 
chair, held a hearing on July 23rd on the subject of law enforcement 
compensation. It became clear to us that the Federal Government is 
facing a serious problem in recruiting, retaining and rewarding its law 
enforcement personnel.
  Having the Office of Personnel Management conduct a detailed analysis 
of the problem and offer some possible solutions is the first step 
toward fixing this problem.
  In addition to requiring OPM to review the classification, 
compensation and benefits of federal law enforcement officers, S. 1683 
also requires the establishment of an employee exchange program 
involving Federal, State and local law enforcement agents as a way of 
sharing best practices and maintaining a well-trained force.
  Once again, I want to thank the leadership for bringing this bill to 
the floor today. I urge passage of S. 1683, ``The Federal Law 
Enforcement Pay and Benefits Parity Act of 2003.''
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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