[House Report 111-173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    111-173

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TO PROVIDE THAT THE USUAL DAY FOR PAYING SALARIES IN OR UNDER THE HOUSE 
 OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY BE ESTABLISHED BY REGULATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE 
            ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 June 19, 2009.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, from the Committee on House Administration, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1752]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1752) to provide that the usual day for paying 
salaries in or under the House of Representatives may be 
established by regulations of the Committee on House 
Administration, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended 
do pass.
  The amendments are as follows:
  Add at the end the following:

SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EXERCISE FACILITY FOR 
                    ACTIVE DUTY ARMED FORCES MEMBERS ASSIGNED TO 
                    CONGRESSIONAL LIAISON OFFICE.

  House Resolution 1068, One Hundred Tenth Congress, agreed to April 
15, 2008, is enacted into law.

  Amend the title so as to read:

      A bill to provide that the usual day for paying salaries in or 
under the House of Representatives may be established by regulations of 
the Committee on House Administration, and for other purposes.

                           General Discussion

    On March 26, 2009, Chairman Brady introduced H.R. 1752, a 
bill ``To provide that the usual day for paying salaries in or 
under the House of Representatives may be established by 
regulations of the Committee on House Administration.'' The 
bill only addresses the pay cycle for House Officers and 
congressional staff, and will not change or affect the 
statutorily set pay date for Members.
    On June 10, 2009, the Committee by voice vote, with a 
quorum present, ordered H.R. 1752, as amended, favorably 
reported to the House. There were no recorded votes taken in 
connection with the consideration of H.R. 1752, the amendment, 
or ordering the bill reported as amended.
    H.R. 1752 would authorize the Committee on House 
Administration to change the pay cycle for employees of the 
House of Representatives. The committee would promulgate 
regulations to pay some or all House staff members, who are 
currently paid on a monthly basis, on some other schedule (most 
likely bi-weekly or semi-monthly).
    The Committee has received and reviewed recommendations 
from both the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the House 
Inspector General (IG). The IG listed various advantages of 
converting to a bi-weekly staff pay cycle with a lag as 
follows:
      Adoption of standardized processes
       Consistent revenue stream (about 50% of current 
monthly salary up to 2 weeks earlier)
      Deferred taxes
      Earlier benefits coverage
      $57,000 reduction in payroll accounts receivable 
(CY2006)
      Earlier W-2 processing and year-end balancing 
possible
      Overtime arrears could be eliminated
    Disadvantages included:
      Implementation costs
      One-time employee resubmission of forms regarding 
tax withholding, TSP loans, additional W-4 withholdings, and 
direct deposit allocations
      One-time employee rescheduling of EFT deductions
      Continued general ledger reconciliation monthly 
requirement
    Bi-weekly pay frequency with a lag appears to have the 
greater number of long-term advantages, including the reduction 
or elimination of custom reports, optimal data entry and error 
corrections periods, reduction in labor intensive retroactive 
transactions, and distribution of personnel actions more evenly 
throughout the month. The IG estimates that the business 
process engineering required to effectuate any change will take 
between a year and 15 months, including the design, testing, 
and implementation of a bi-weekly staff pay cycle. This 
estimate would be applicable to the implementation of a semi-
monthly pay cycle as well.
    A one-time implementation cost will likely be offset by 
future operational savings in the Finance Office, including the 
reduction of errors and the remedial costs of corrections.

                          Committee Amendment

    The amendment (making permanent the authority for House 
military liaisons to use the House Staff Exercise Facility) 
which was added by the Committee by voice vote, codifies the 
eligibility policy for use of the House Staff Exercise Facility 
contained in H. Res. 1068, 110th Congress, which was adopted on 
April 15, 2008. The House Staff Exercise Facility is a self- 
sustaining operation supporting continued and improved employee 
health and welfare, with the attendant benefit to the House 
derived from employment retention and fewer and shorter 
employee absences due to sickness. Eligibility to join the 
Facility was statutorily limited to House employees.
    The Committee received Member requests that on-site, active 
duty Armed Forces personnel be authorized to utilize the House 
Staff Exercise Facility in order to retain and enhance their 
fitness for duty. Because of the impracticality of using 
alternate military exercise facilities while stationed on the 
Hill, the House adopted H. Res. 1068 to slightly expand the 
eligible class to include on-site, active duty Armed Forces 
personnel.
    Since the Facility is fully utilized by House employees 
during periods prior to and following the end of each workday, 
it is contemplated that the Armed Forces personnel will utilize 
the Facility consistent with military policy during off-peak 
periods to retain and enhance their fitness for duty when 
reassigned.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are as follows: The 
Committee believes that the prevalence of bi-weekly and semi-
monthly pay periods throughout the Federal Government and the 
private sector, requires the House to consider adjusting to its 
current practice. In addition, the Committee's oversight 
experience with the procurement of off-the-shelf payroll 
software to support a once-a-month payroll system, suggests 
that adopting a mainstream approach to House staff pay policy 
will save money and reduce the need for customization, and the 
inevitable complexity that follows. The House will incur a one-
time cost at the startup of any payroll period change, and the 
Committee expects it to be provided by appropriation.

            Statement of Budget Authority and Related Items

    The bill does not provide new budget authority, new 
spending authority, new credit authority, or an increase or 
decrease in revenues or tax expenditures and a statement under 
clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 is not required.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House, the Committee states, with respect to the bill, 
that the Director of the Congressional Budget Office provided a 
cost estimate and comparison under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which follows.

                                                     June 15, 2009.
Hon. Robert A. Brady,
Chairman, Committee on House Administration,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1752, a bill to 
provide that the usual day for paying of salaries in or under 
the House of Representatives may be established by regulations 
of the Committee on House Administration, and for other 
purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
    Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1752--A bill to provide that the usual day for paying of salaries 
        in or under the House of Representatives may be established by 
        regulations of the Committee on House Administration, and for 
        other purposes

    H.R. 1752 would authorize the Committee on House 
Administration to change the pay cycle for employees of the 
House of Representatives. Assuming that the committee would 
promulgate regulations to pay some or all House staff members, 
who are currently paid on a monthly basis, on some other 
schedule (most likely bi-weekly or semi-monthly), CBO estimates 
that one-time costs to modify or purchase required computer 
systems would total about $1 million over the next two years, 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    Paying staff salaries more often than monthly also could 
result in a one-time shift in outlays from one fiscal year to 
the next, but CBO estimates that any such change would be small 
and would not significantly change spending in fiscal year 2009 
or 2010. Enacting H.R. 1752 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues. The bill would only apply to employees paid by the 
House; payments to Members would not be affected.
    H.R. 1752 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. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states, with respect to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House, that the general 
discussion section of this report includes a statement of the 
general performance goals and objectives, including outcome-
related goals and objectives, for which H.R. 1752 authorizes a 
pay-cycle change and any attendant requirement for funding.

                              Record Votes

    In compliance with rule 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House, with respect to each record vote on a motion to 
report H.R. 1752, and on any amendment offered to the 
resolution, there were no record votes on the motion to report 
the bill or on any amendment offered to the bill.

                           Earmark Provisions

    H.R. 1752 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.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, committee reports on a bill or joint 
resolution of a public character shall include a statement 
citing the specific powers granted to the Congress in the 
Constitution to enact the measure. The Committee on House 
Administration finds that Congress has the authority to enact 
this measure pursuant to its powers granted under article I, 
section 8 of the Constitution.

                Applicability To the Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

     SECTION 116 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002

  Sec. 116. (a) Day for Paying Salaries of the House of 
Representatives.--The usual day for paying salaries in or under 
the House of Representatives shall be the last day of each 
month, except that if the last day of a month falls on a 
Saturday, Sunday, or a legal public holiday, the Chief 
Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives shall 
pay such salaries on the first weekday which precedes the last 
day. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, the Committee on 
House Administration may by regulation provide for the payment 
of salaries with respect to a month on a date other than the 
date provided under the previous sentence as may be necessary 
to conform to generally accepted accounting practices.

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