Try, try again

Before the holiday break, Pay and Benefits Watch reviewed the few federal pay and benefits proposals that made it into law in 2001. Far more numerous are those proposals that did not become law, but that lawmakers will likely push toward the President's desk again in 2002. Here is a rundown of bills with broad reach that were introduced but not enacted during the first session of the 107th Congress. We'll delve into some of these bills in more detail in future columns.

• Several bills aimed to eliminate or lessen the effects of two current laws that reduce the income of some federal retirees. Many federal retirees would like to see the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination provisions of Social Security law disappear. The bills that address these issues are S. 611, H.R. 1073, H.R. 848, and H.R. 664.
• A similar provision affects military retirees who receive veterans benefits. There is an offset provision that reduces retirees' income when they get such benefits. The Disabled American Veterans group has been pushing for elimination of the offset provision, but as with the Social Security rules, cost has kept Congress from acting. Bills that would eliminate the provision include H.R. 303, S. 170.
• Federal retirees are hoping to have their health insurance premiums become pre-tax income. Current federal employees don't pay taxes on the money they use for health insurance premiums. The bills that would effect this change are S. 1022 and H.R. 2125.
• The rising cost of health insurance has been hard on both employees' and retirees' wallets. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., wants the government to assume some of the rising costs by paying about 80 percent of employees' health premiums. Currently the government picks up about 72 percent of the health insurance bill. H.R. 1307 addresses this issue.
• The Bush administration is pushing legislation that would make buyout authority permanent. The authority wouldn't require that a position be eliminated for a buyout to be awarded. Instead, buyouts could be offered as a means of letting go people with skills an agency no longer needs so that someone with new skills could be hired. The legislation would also allow federal employees with service prior to 1986 to ease into retirement on a part-time schedule without taking a financial hit, allow agencies to set up alternative personnel systems and boost recruitment, retention and relocation bonuses. This legislation is embodied in S. 1612 and S. 1639.
• Rep. Connie Morella, R-Md., wants federal employees age 50 or older to be able to contribute more money to their Thrift Savings Plan accounts each year. Her proposal, included in H.R. 3340 and H.R. 3354, would make so-called "catch-up" contributions available to federal employees, just as such contributions will be available to enrollees in private sector 401k plans.
• Senior Executive Service members have been complaining for years that their pay is simply too low compared to executives with similar duties in the private sector. Two bills--H.R. 1824 and S. 1129--aim to boost SES compensation.
• Overtime pay for many professionals and managers is capped, so that sometimes managers make less than their subordinates during overtime hours. Other professionals don't get overtime pay at all. Several proposals have been pushed to correct overtime problems. They're encompassed in H.R. 2868, H.R. 512, H.R. 1787 and H.R. 3390.