[House Report 111-173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 111-173
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TO PROVIDE THAT THE USUAL DAY FOR PAYING SALARIES IN OR UNDER THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY BE ESTABLISHED BY REGULATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE
ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
June 19, 2009.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, from the Committee on House Administration,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1752]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1752) to provide that the usual day for paying
salaries in or under the House of Representatives may be
established by regulations of the Committee on House
Administration, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended
do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Add at the end the following:
SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EXERCISE FACILITY FOR
ACTIVE DUTY ARMED FORCES MEMBERS ASSIGNED TO
CONGRESSIONAL LIAISON OFFICE.
House Resolution 1068, One Hundred Tenth Congress, agreed to April
15, 2008, is enacted into law.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to provide that the usual day for paying salaries in or
under the House of Representatives may be established by regulations of
the Committee on House Administration, and for other purposes.
General Discussion
On March 26, 2009, Chairman Brady introduced H.R. 1752, a
bill ``To provide that the usual day for paying salaries in or
under the House of Representatives may be established by
regulations of the Committee on House Administration.'' The
bill only addresses the pay cycle for House Officers and
congressional staff, and will not change or affect the
statutorily set pay date for Members.
On June 10, 2009, the Committee by voice vote, with a
quorum present, ordered H.R. 1752, as amended, favorably
reported to the House. There were no recorded votes taken in
connection with the consideration of H.R. 1752, the amendment,
or ordering the bill reported as amended.
H.R. 1752 would authorize the Committee on House
Administration to change the pay cycle for employees of the
House of Representatives. The committee would promulgate
regulations to pay some or all House staff members, who are
currently paid on a monthly basis, on some other schedule (most
likely bi-weekly or semi-monthly).
The Committee has received and reviewed recommendations
from both the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the House
Inspector General (IG). The IG listed various advantages of
converting to a bi-weekly staff pay cycle with a lag as
follows:
Adoption of standardized processes
Consistent revenue stream (about 50% of current
monthly salary up to 2 weeks earlier)
Deferred taxes
Earlier benefits coverage
$57,000 reduction in payroll accounts receivable
(CY2006)
Earlier W-2 processing and year-end balancing
possible
Overtime arrears could be eliminated
Disadvantages included:
Implementation costs
One-time employee resubmission of forms regarding
tax withholding, TSP loans, additional W-4 withholdings, and
direct deposit allocations
One-time employee rescheduling of EFT deductions
Continued general ledger reconciliation monthly
requirement
Bi-weekly pay frequency with a lag appears to have the
greater number of long-term advantages, including the reduction
or elimination of custom reports, optimal data entry and error
corrections periods, reduction in labor intensive retroactive
transactions, and distribution of personnel actions more evenly
throughout the month. The IG estimates that the business
process engineering required to effectuate any change will take
between a year and 15 months, including the design, testing,
and implementation of a bi-weekly staff pay cycle. This
estimate would be applicable to the implementation of a semi-
monthly pay cycle as well.
A one-time implementation cost will likely be offset by
future operational savings in the Finance Office, including the
reduction of errors and the remedial costs of corrections.
Committee Amendment
The amendment (making permanent the authority for House
military liaisons to use the House Staff Exercise Facility)
which was added by the Committee by voice vote, codifies the
eligibility policy for use of the House Staff Exercise Facility
contained in H. Res. 1068, 110th Congress, which was adopted on
April 15, 2008. The House Staff Exercise Facility is a self-
sustaining operation supporting continued and improved employee
health and welfare, with the attendant benefit to the House
derived from employment retention and fewer and shorter
employee absences due to sickness. Eligibility to join the
Facility was statutorily limited to House employees.
The Committee received Member requests that on-site, active
duty Armed Forces personnel be authorized to utilize the House
Staff Exercise Facility in order to retain and enhance their
fitness for duty. Because of the impracticality of using
alternate military exercise facilities while stationed on the
Hill, the House adopted H. Res. 1068 to slightly expand the
eligible class to include on-site, active duty Armed Forces
personnel.
Since the Facility is fully utilized by House employees
during periods prior to and following the end of each workday,
it is contemplated that the Armed Forces personnel will utilize
the Facility consistent with military policy during off-peak
periods to retain and enhance their fitness for duty when
reassigned.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are as follows: The
Committee believes that the prevalence of bi-weekly and semi-
monthly pay periods throughout the Federal Government and the
private sector, requires the House to consider adjusting to its
current practice. In addition, the Committee's oversight
experience with the procurement of off-the-shelf payroll
software to support a once-a-month payroll system, suggests
that adopting a mainstream approach to House staff pay policy
will save money and reduce the need for customization, and the
inevitable complexity that follows. The House will incur a one-
time cost at the startup of any payroll period change, and the
Committee expects it to be provided by appropriation.
Statement of Budget Authority and Related Items
The bill does not provide new budget authority, new
spending authority, new credit authority, or an increase or
decrease in revenues or tax expenditures and a statement under
clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is not required.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House, the Committee states, with respect to the bill,
that the Director of the Congressional Budget Office provided a
cost estimate and comparison under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which follows.
June 15, 2009.
Hon. Robert A. Brady,
Chairman, Committee on House Administration,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1752, a bill to
provide that the usual day for paying of salaries in or under
the House of Representatives may be established by regulations
of the Committee on House Administration, and for other
purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1752--A bill to provide that the usual day for paying of salaries
in or under the House of Representatives may be established by
regulations of the Committee on House Administration, and for
other purposes
H.R. 1752 would authorize the Committee on House
Administration to change the pay cycle for employees of the
House of Representatives. Assuming that the committee would
promulgate regulations to pay some or all House staff members,
who are currently paid on a monthly basis, on some other
schedule (most likely bi-weekly or semi-monthly), CBO estimates
that one-time costs to modify or purchase required computer
systems would total about $1 million over the next two years,
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Paying staff salaries more often than monthly also could
result in a one-time shift in outlays from one fiscal year to
the next, but CBO estimates that any such change would be small
and would not significantly change spending in fiscal year 2009
or 2010. Enacting H.R. 1752 would not affect direct spending or
revenues. The bill would only apply to employees paid by the
House; payments to Members would not be affected.
H.R. 1752 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states, with respect to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House, that the general
discussion section of this report includes a statement of the
general performance goals and objectives, including outcome-
related goals and objectives, for which H.R. 1752 authorizes a
pay-cycle change and any attendant requirement for funding.
Record Votes
In compliance with rule 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House, with respect to each record vote on a motion to
report H.R. 1752, and on any amendment offered to the
resolution, there were no record votes on the motion to report
the bill or on any amendment offered to the bill.
Earmark Provisions
H.R. 1752 does not include any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, committee reports on a bill or joint
resolution of a public character shall include a statement
citing the specific powers granted to the Congress in the
Constitution to enact the measure. The Committee on House
Administration finds that Congress has the authority to enact
this measure pursuant to its powers granted under article I,
section 8 of the Constitution.
Applicability To the Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law
104-1).
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 116 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002
Sec. 116. (a) Day for Paying Salaries of the House of
Representatives.--The usual day for paying salaries in or under
the House of Representatives shall be the last day of each
month, except that if the last day of a month falls on a
Saturday, Sunday, or a legal public holiday, the Chief
Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives shall
pay such salaries on the first weekday which precedes the last
day. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, the Committee on
House Administration may by regulation provide for the payment
of salaries with respect to a month on a date other than the
date provided under the previous sentence as may be necessary
to conform to generally accepted accounting practices.
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