Union rallies for bill expanding federal law enforcement status
The largest federal employees union rallied on Capitol Hill Tuesday to support a bill that grants federal law enforcement officer status to certain employees of the Veterans Affairs Department, the IRS and other agencies.
Police officers at the Veterans Affairs Department and revenue officers at the IRS would be able to retire with full benefits at age 50 after 20 years of service, under a bill introduced in May 2001 by Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif. H.R. 1841 would also award law enforcement status for retirement purposes to inspectors at the Immigration and Naturalization Service and police officers at the Federal Protective Service and the Defense Department.
Immigration inspectors and certain federal police officers are not considered law enforcement officers under the government's retirement system. They are currently eligible for retirement after 25 years of federal service, typically at age 55.
The government's interpretation of which groups should be considered law enforcement officers is somewhat dubious, according to Joseph Lopes, a legislative representative for the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that organized Tuesday's rally. For example, Capitol Hill police have federal law enforcement officer status, but the police assigned to the Library of Congress do not, Lopes said.
"We think a federal police officer is a police officer," Lopes said.
The bipartisan legislation would classify as law enforcement officers all federal employees who are authorized to carry firearms and are responsible for apprehending and investigating suspected or convicted criminals. Filner introduced similar bills in the 106th and 105th Congresses, and several other lawmakers have championed the legislation since as long ago as 1988. The House Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Service, Census and Agency Organization is now looking at H.R. 1841.
In February, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., introduced similar legislation (S. 1935) that would allow Immigration and Customs inspectors, canine enforcement officers and IRS revenue officers to retire after 20 years of service. The bill was referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
Tuesday's rally, held during Police Officers Memorial Week, drew about 70 people, including rank-and-file police officers from various federal agencies.