[House Report 110-780]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-780

======================================================================



 
           ELECTRONIC PAY STUBS OPTION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

                                _______
                                

 July 28, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Waxman, from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 6073]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 6073) to provide that Federal 
employees receiving their pay by electronic funds transfer 
shall be given the option of receiving their pay stubs 
electronically, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Legislative History..............................................     2
Section-By-Section...............................................     2
Explanation of Amendments........................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Rollcall Votes...................................................     2
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................     3
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................     3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     3
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     3
Federal Advisory Committee Act...................................     3
Unfunded Mandates Statement......................................     3
Earmark Identification...........................................     3
Committee Estimate...............................................     3
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate...     4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     4

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 6073 was introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx on May 15, 
2008. H.R. 6073 directs the Office of Personnel Management 
(OPM) to allow all federal employees who receive their pay by 
electronic funds transfer to receive their pay stubs 
electronically.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The increased use of electronic funds transfer to deliver 
pay to federal employees was mandated by the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996, codified at 31 U.S.C. Sec. 3332. 
Electronic funds transfer is more secure and costs less than 
printing and distributing paper checks. Employees also have 
access to their funds sooner, because they do not have to 
deposit or cash their checks. However, many federal agencies 
still print and distribute paper pay stubs for their employees, 
limiting the gains in efficiency from using electronic funds 
transfer. This legislation seeks to provide additional savings 
for the federal government by requiring OPM to take measures to 
ensure that federal employees have the opportunity to receive 
electronic pay stubs.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 6073, a bill to provide that federal employees 
receiving their pay by electronic funds transfer shall be given 
the option of receiving their pay stubs electronically, was 
introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx on May 15, 2008, and referred 
to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
    The full Committee held a business meeting to consider H.R. 
6073 on July 16, 2008, and ordered the bill to be favorably 
reported by a voice vote.

                           SECTION-BY-SECTION

Section 1: Electronic pay stubs

    Subsection (a) directs OPM to take such measures as may be 
appropriate to ensure that all employees who receive their pay 
by electronic funds transfer shall be given the option of 
receiving their pay stubs electronically.
    Subsection (b) refers to the definition of ``electronic 
funds transfer'' in 31 U.S.C. Sec. 3332, defines ``employee'' 
as an individual employed in or under an executive agency, and 
refers to the definition of ``executive agency'' in 5 U.S.C. 
Sec. 105.

                       EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

    No amendments were offered to this legislation.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    On Wednesday, July 16, 2008, the Committee ordered H.R. 
6073 to be favorably reported to the House by a voice vote.

                             ROLLCALL VOTES

    No rollcall votes were held.

              APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch where the bill relates to terms and conditions of 
employment or access to public services and accommodations. 
This bill relates to the distribution of pay stubs for 
executive branch employees and therefore does not relate to 
employment or access to public services and accommodations for 
the legislative branch.

  STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
(2)(b)(1) of Rule X of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of 
this report, including the need to reduce costs associated with 
distributing pay stubs for federal employees.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance 
goals and objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions 
of this report, including ensuring that federal employees have 
the opportunity to receive electronic pay stubs.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Under clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee must include a statement 
citing the specific powers granted to Congress to enact the law 
proposed by H.R. 6073. Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the 
Constitution of the United States grants the Congress the power 
to enact this law.

                     FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish 
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within 
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b).

                      UNFUNDED MANDATES STATEMENT

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement on 
whether the provisions of the report include unfunded mandates. 
In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received 
a letter from the Congressional Budget Office included herein.

                         EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

    H.R. 6073 does not include any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                           COMMITTEE ESTIMATE

    Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 6073. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 
that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has 
included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the 
bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

     BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received 
the following cost estimate for H.R. 6073 from the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office:

                                                     July 21, 2008.
Hon. Henry A. Waxman,
Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6073, a bill to 
provide that federal employees receiving their pay by 
electronic funds transfer shall be given the option of 
receiving their pay stubs electronically.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 6073--A bill to provide that federal employees receiving their pay 
        by electronic funds transfer shall be given the option of 
        receiving their pay stubs electronically

    H.R. 6073 would require the Office of Personnel Management 
(OPM) to provide federal employees that receive their pay 
through electronic transfer with the option of also receiving 
their pay stubs electronically. CBO estimates that implementing 
H.R. 6073 would have no effect on the federal budget because, 
according to OPM, all federal employees already have this 
option.
    H.R. 6073 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    No changes to existing law are made by H.R. 6073, as 
reported.

                                  
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