Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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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.

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