[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17453]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE HOMELAND DEFENSE OPERATIONS PAY EQUITY ACT

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                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2010

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, today I introduced a bill, the Homeland 
Defense Operations Pay Equity Act, which aims to address an oversight 
in statute that does treat members of the National Guard or Reserves, 
who are also federal civil servants, with pay parity during periods of 
activation in support of domestic operations.
  The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-8) established 
Section 5538 of Title 5. The intent of this provision was to ensure 
that any member of the National Guard or Reserves who was called to 
active duty and who works as a federal civil servant does not incur a 
significant loss of income as a result of their activation to active 
duty service under Title 10. This was in direct response to the major 
activations for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. 
Numbers of Guardsmen and Reservists who work for the federal government 
were suffering significant losses of income as a result of the 
activations to support Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi 
Freedom. To address this disparity, Congress passed Section 5538 to 
ensure that the federal government, under specific regulations, pays 
the difference between their active duty pay and their federal salary.
  However, Section 5538 does not cover a Coast Guard Reservist or 
National Guardsmen who was called to service in support of homeland 
defense operations under Title 32 or Title 14.
  Since 9/11, our National Guardsmen and Reservists have answered the 
call to duty on numbers of domestic operations including Operation 
Noble Eagle, security at our airports, Hurricane Katrina operations, 
Operation Jump Start on the southwest border and most recently for BP 
oil spill clean-up. We should encourage, not penalize, our federal 
civil servants who perform domestic operations in the National Guard or 
Reserves. The Homeland Defense Operations Pay Equity Act would correct 
this oversight and ensure that Reservists and Guardsmen do not incur a 
significant loss of income in their service to our country.
  I urge that this bill be passed, so that our dedicated Guardsmen, 
Reservists, and their families, do not face financial hardship while 
answering the call to service.

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