News

Congress makes scant progress on benefits issues

November 29, 1999

When members of Congress passed a $390 billion omnibus fiscal 2000 appropriations bill on Nov. 19 and packed their bags for home, they left behind a lot of unfinished business in the area of pay and benefits for civil servants.

Of the dozens of bills introduced this year on subjects ranging from child care to the Thrift Savings Plan, only a handful made it to the President for his signature. Many of them were tucked into broader bills. For example, the final omnibus spending package included a provision allowing the Agency for International Development to offer buyouts of up to $25,000 to its employees through the end of 2000.

Throughout the year in GovExec.com's weekly Pay and Benefits Watch column, we've tracked the status of bills affecting federal pay and benefits. The table below shows the status of measures introduced this year. Bills that were ultimately signed into law are highlighted in blue.

Bill No.	Purpose	Most recent action
H.R. 28	Require all child care facilities for federal employees' children to be accredited and adhere to a set of safety, health and facility standards.	Approved by House Government Reform Committee.
H. CON. RES. 34	Express sense of the Congress that there should be parity between the compensation of members of the uniformed services and of civilian employees.	Signed into law as part of 1999 emergency spending bill.
H.R. 55	Allow any uninsured individual age 55 to 65 to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 82	Take the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, federal employees' pension fund, off-budget.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 94	Repeal the statute that gives Members of Congress an automatic annual cost-of-living increase.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 95	Prevent members of Congress from participating in the Federal Employees' Retirement System.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 110	Make long-term care group insurance available to federal employees.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 113	Allow more Medicare-eligible military beneficiaries to participate in a demonstration project permitting them to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service, Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
H.R. 205	Allow all Medicare-eligible military beneficiaries to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service, Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
H.R. 206	Make federal employees' child care more affordable.	Approved by the House Government Reform Committee. See H.R. 2490
H.R. 207	Treat federal physicans' comparability allowances as basic pay for retirement purposes.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 208	Allow new federal employees to roll over money from private-sector 401(k) accounts into Thrift Savings Plan accounts and allow them to immediately begin participating in the TSP.	Passed by the House.
H.R. 246	Require the government to list Social Security and Medicare deductions on federal employees' pay checks.	Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
H.R. 279	Require drug tests for new federal employees.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 416	Correct retirement errors for federal employees.	Passed by the House.
H.R. 424	Change the mandatory retirement age for members of the Capitol Police from 57 to 60.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 457	Give employees 30 days of leave for organ or tissue donations.	Signed by President.
H.R. 460	Make the mandatory separation age for federal firefighters the same as the age that applies to federal law enforcement officers.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 483	Lift the annual limit on Thrift Savings Plan contributions to an IRS limit-$10,000 this year.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 582	Improve overtime pay for federal managers.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 583	A bill to provide Assistant United States Attorneys with the same retirement benefits as law enforcement officers.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 602	Make long-term care group insurance available to federal employees.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 742	Eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision.	Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
H.R. 807	Make Federal Reserve employees' pensions portable to other federal agencies.	Passed by the House.
H.R. 809	Improve the pay and benefits of Federal Protective Service police.	Approved by House Subcommittee on Public Buildings.
H.R. 826	Give National Weather Service employees more overtime pay, but limit Sunday premium pay to work performed on Sundays.	Referred to House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 860	Lessen the impact of the Windfall Elimination Provision.	Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
H.R. 877	Treat the basic pay of members of Congress in the same manner as the basic pay of the most adversely affected federal employees.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 915	Authorize a cost of living adjustment in the pay of administrative law judges.	Signed by the President.
H.R. 933	Ensure that coverage of bone mass measurements (for osteoporosis) is provided under the health benefits program for Federal employees	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 993	Allow agencies to spend 50 percent of their year-end surpluses on employee bonuses.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 1000	FAA reauthorization: restores employees' MSPB appeals right.	Conference held.
H.R. 1079	A bill to provide for equitable retirement for military reserve technicians who are covered under the Federal Employment Retirement System or the Civil Service Retirement System.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 1111	Make long-term care group insurance available to federal employees.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service, Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
H.R. 1170	Make available under the health benefits program for federal employees the option of obtaining coverage for self and children only.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 1210	Provide for continued compensation for federal employees during shutdowns.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 1216	Improve pay for Veterans Affairs nurses and other employees.	Referred to the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health.
H.R. 1217	Lessen the impact of the Government Pension Offset on federal retirees.	Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
H.R. 1228	Extend law enforcement retirement benefits to IRS collectors, customs inspectors and others.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 1263	Require the government to list Social Security and Medicare deductions on federal employees' pay checks.	Referred to the House Subcommittee on Civil Service.
H.R. 1401	DoD authorization: 4.8 percent military pay raise, targeted officer pay raises, military retirement enhancements	See S. 1059
H.R. 1513	Allow Federal employees to take advantage of the transportation fringe benefit provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that are available to private sector employees.	Referred to House Civil Service Subcommittee.
H.R. 1606	To make certain temporary federal service creditable for retirement purposes.	Referred to House Civil Service Subcommittee.
H.R. 1769	A bill to eliminate certain inequities in the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees' Retirement System with respect to the computation of benefits for law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers, nuclear materials couriers, and their survivors.	Referred to House Civil Service Subcommittee.
H.R. 1770	Raise the cap on federal overtime pay.	Referred to House Civil Service Subcommittee.
H.R. 1827	A bill authorizing up to $150,000 bonuses for federal employees who make "extraordinary contributions" to reducing waste and inefficiency.	House Government Reform Committee approved.
H.R. 1833	Customs authorization: Reduces Customs officers' overtime pay	Passed by the House, Senate.
H.R. 2096	Let federal employees add dependent parents to their health insurance.	Referred to the House Civil Service Subcommittee.
H.R. 2321	To ensure that coverage under the health benefits program for Federal employees is provided for hearing aids and examinations.	Referred to the House Civil Service Subcommittee.
H.R. 2490	Treasury Appropriations: Includes Presidential pay increase to $400,000, 4.8 percent pay raise for federal employees, civilian military pay parity clause, require agencies to offer professional liability insurance, make federal child care more affordable	Signed by President Click here for details.
H.R. 2561	DoD Appropriations: Establishes funding for S. 1059.	Signed by President.
H.R. 2696	To increase overtime pay for federal managers and professionals.	Referred to the House Government Reform Committee.
H.R. 3122	A bill allowing federal employees who are not employees of the legislative branch to enroll their children in the House of Representatives Child Care Center.	Signed by President.
H.R. 3185	Establishing a new method for fixing rates of basic pay for administrative appeals judges.	Referred to the House Government Reform Committee.
H.R. 3194	Consolidated appropriations bill: Gives buyout authority to Agency for International Development, delays paychecks for federal employees and military personnel who are paid on Sept. 29 or Sept. 30 until Oct. 1.	Signed by President.
S. 4	Give military personnel a 4.8 percent raise in 2000, allow military members TSP participation, change military retirement rules.	Passed by the Senate (See S. 1059).
S. 57	Make long-term care group insurance available to federal employees.	Referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs International Security Subcommittee.
S. 102	Disclose the amount of federal retirement benefits due members of Congress.	Referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs International Security Subcommittee.
S. 300	Sec. 504 of the bill would allow Medical Savings Accounts in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.	Referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
S. 450	Authorize special pay for board-certified veterinarians in the Armed Forces and Public Health Service.	Referred to Senate Armed Services Committee.
S. 650	Amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to provide for coverage under that act of employees of the federal government.	Introduced March 17.
S. 717	Lessen the impact of the Government Pension Offset on federal retirees.	Referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
S. 718	Extend law enforcement retirement benefits to IRS collectors, customs inspectors and others.	Referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
S. 772	Protect pensions of federal employees who go part-time toward the end of their careers.	Referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
S. 851	Allow Federal employees to take advantage of the transportation fringe benefit provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that are available to private sector employees.	Referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
S. 865	Make danger pay for federal employees tax-free.	Referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
S. 894	Make long-term care group insurance available to federal employees.	Referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
S. 912	Improve the pay of Border Patrol agents.	Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
S. 940	Give the Veterans Affairs Department temporary buyout authority.	Referred to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Hearings held.
S. 1059	DoD Authorization: Give military personnel a 4.8 percent raise in 2000, allow military members TSP participation, change military retirement rules, buyout authority through 2003, eliminate dual compensation rule.	Signed by President. Click here for details.
S. 1122	DoD Appropriations: Establishes funding for S. 1059.	See H.R. 2561.
S. 1176	Improve child care access for federal employees.	Referred to Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. See H.R. 2490.
S. 1232	A bill to correct retirement coverage errors for federal employees.	Passed by Senate.
S. 1282	Treasury Appropriations: Measures include improved federal child care facilities, congressional pay raise, federal health plan abortion ban.	See H.R. 2490.
S. 1298	Requires federal agencies to pay for half the premiums of professional liability insurance for managers, executives, and law enforcement personnel.	Included in H.R. 2490
S. 1441	Eliminate a temporary increase in retirement payroll reductions.	Referred to Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
S. 1885	Increase overtime pay for federal managers.	Referred to Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

NEXT STORY: Pay and Benefits Watch: 2000 and 2001 holiday schedule