[House Report 110-780]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-780
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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
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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.