Law enforcement officers seek higher pay

Federal law enforcement officers would get higher overtime pay under a bill that will be introduced in the House Thursday.

The bill would also put more money in the pockets of officers who work in high-priced cities such as San Francisco and New York.

"We've long held the pay system needs reform because law enforcement is fundamentally different than most other occupations in the government," said Nancy Savage, president of the FBI Agents Association, at a press conference announcing the bill on Wednesday. "Agents join the FBI to fight crime, not their monthly bills."

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who was an FBI agent for 5 ½ years before entering politics, will introduce the legislation.

The bill would:

• Eliminate caps on overtime pay for federal law enforcement officers.
• Increase special pay rates for agents who work in high-cost metropolitan areas.
• Direct the Office of Personnel Management to conduct a study of whether law enforcement officers should be paid under a different system than the General Schedule, the standard pay system for federal workers.

Several other bills pushing for higher pay for groups of employees within the federal government are pending before Congress. One bill (H.R. 3794) would fulfill part of the new bill's goal by boosting law enforcement pay in 18 metropolitan areas Another bill (H.R. 512) would provide overtime pay to National Guard technicians. H.R. 2868 would increase overtime pay for National Weather Service workers. The key problem the bills face is cost. Another problem is the Bush administration's opposition to bills that take a piecemeal approach to addressing federal compensation issues. OPM last year fought a bill that gave the Securities and Exchange Commission authority to set up its own pay system.

A 1993 OPM report suggested that law enforcement officers should be compensated under a different system than the General Schedule, Savage said. But the recommendation never gained momentum.