Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Chaffetz, for not only coming forward to manage this bill, but I thank him because he is the sponsor of a bipartisan bill very similar to the bill before us today, H.R. 3463; and I rise in strong support of S. 1691, the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Tester and McCain.

S. 1691 would enhance the Custom and Border Protection's ability to secure and patrol more than 6,000 miles of our Nation's borders between Mexico and Canada, and 2,000 miles of our coastal waters surrounding Florida and Puerto Rico. It would also respond to the growing threat of cyber attacks. This legislation, which is supported by the administration and the Border Patrol Council, would also save the American taxpayers about $100 million annually, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The bill would dramatically simplify the current pay system for our country's more than 21,000 courageous Border Patrol agents by eliminating compensation for overtime through what is called administratively uncontrollable overtime. Under a newly created pay system, Border Patrol agents would have three work schedule and compensation options. They could choose to, one, work 100 hours for each pay period and receive an increase in base salary by 25 percent; two, work 90 hours each pay period and receive an increase in base salary by 12.5 percent; or three, work 80 hours per pay period with no overtime. All unscheduled overtime worked beyond these hours would be treated as compensatory time off, with an annual maximum of 240 hours.

The legislation would also set a minimum staffing requirement requiring that at least 90 percent of Border Patrol agents in any given location work 100 hours every pay period to ensure that Customs and Border Protection has the man-hours it needs to respond to threats and to secure the border.

Under this new system, Border Patrol agents would work millions of hours longer than they do today, which equates to adding 1,500 agents to patrol the Nation's borders.

S. 1691 would require Customs and Border Protection to submit to Congress a staffing plan detailing the agency's operational and staffing requirements to ensure hours worked matched the agency's needs. The Government Accountability Office would also be required to review the plan as an independent check.

This bill would also address concerns regarding past abuses by prohibiting agents at headquarters and training academies and fitness instructors from working more than 80 hours per pay period unless the staffing plan shows a need for these employees to work additional hours.

The legislation would also provide Customs and Border Protection with flexibility to lower the staffing floor set by the bill if the staffing plan shows that the agency can meet its operational requirements in a given location with fewer man-hours.

S. 1691 would also require Customs and Border Protection, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management, to develop a plan to prevent Border Patrol agents from artificially boosting their retirement annuities by selecting a higher rate of pay than they had historically within 3 years of being eligible to retire. The Government Accountability Office would be required to review this plan and to report to Congress on its effectiveness.

An amendment introduced by Senator Carper also would add provisions allowing the Department of Homeland Security to recruit and retain cyber professionals by granting authority to hire qualified experts on an expedited basis and to pay them competitive salaries, wages, and incentives. The legislation also would require the Department to report annually on the program's progress.

S. 1691 would provide much-needed reform to the compensation of Border Patrol agents and ensure that the Department of Homeland Security has the personnel it needs to deal with increasing cyber attacks.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source