[Senate Report 109-158]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-158
_______________________________________________________________________
PROVIDING FOR THE PARTICIPATION OF EMPLOYEES IN THE JUDICIAL BRANCH IN
THE FEDERAL LEAVE TRANSFER PROGRAM FOR DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 1736
PROVIDING FOR THE PARTICIPATION OF EMPLOYEES IN THE JUDICIAL BRANCH IN
THE FEDERAL LEAVE TRANSFER PROGRAM FOR DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES
October 20, 2005.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine, Chairman
TED STEVENS, Alaska JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut
GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio CARL LEVIN, Michigan
NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
TOM COBURN, Oklahoma THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
LINCOLN D. CHAFEE, Rhode Island MARK DAYTON, Minnesota
ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah FRANK LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico MARK PRYOR, Arkansas
JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia
Michael D. Bopp, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Jennifer A. Hemingway, Professional Staff Member
Joyce A. Rechtschaffen, Minority Staff Director and Counsel
Lawrence B. Novey, Minority Counsel
Trina D. Tyrer, Chief Clerk
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-158
======================================================================
PROVIDING FOR THE PARTICIPATION OF EMPLOYEES IN THE JUDICIAL BRANCH IN
THE FEDERAL LEAVE TRANSFER PROGRAM FOR DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES
_______
October 20, 2005.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Collins, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1736]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1736) to provide
for the participation of employees in the judicial branch in
the Federal leave transfer program for disasters and
emergencies, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon without amendments and recommends that the bill do
pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary.............................................1
II. Background......................................................2
III. Legislative History.............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis.....................................3
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation...................................4
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law.........................................5
I. Purpose and Summary
The purpose of S. 1736 is to provide for the participation
of judicial branch employees in the emergency leave transfer
program for major disasters and emergencies, including natural
disasters and emergency situations such as those caused by
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
II. Background
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMERGENCY LEAVE TRANSFER PROGRAM
In 1988, Congress authorized a five-year test of voluntary
leave transfer and leave bank programs within federal
agencies.\1\ The voluntary leave programs were designed to help
employees faced with a medical or family emergency who had
already exhausted all available leave. The leave transfer pilot
program allowed employees to donate their leave directly to
other federal employees and the leave bank pilot program
allowed employees to donate their annual leave to a leave bank,
for use by any member of the bank stricken by a medical
emergency. The five-year demonstration projects were deemed
successful and were subsequently made permanent in 1994.\2\
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\1\ Public Law No. 100-566.
\2\ Public Law No. 103-103.
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In 1991, Congress created a special leave bank under which
federal employees could donate leave for use by their fellow
employees who, as members of the Armed Forces reserves, had
been called to active duty and would benefit from donated leave
upon their return.\3\
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\3\ Public Law No.102-25.
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In 1997, legislation was enacted to create a permanent
emergency leave transfer program for federal employees.\4\
Under this legislation, the new program applied generally to
executive branch agencies and to the Government Accountability
Office. The legislation built upon special procedures that were
developed to assist federal employees in the wake of the
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995. The special procedures that
were developed as part of the emergency leave transfer program
after the Oklahoma City bombing did not require employees to
exhaust all available existing leave before receiving donations
of annual leave for their fellow employees.
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\4\ Public Law No. 105-18.
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ADMINISTRATION OF THE EMERGENCY LEAVE TRANSFER PROGRAM
In the event of major disasters or emergencies declared by
the President that result in adverse effects for a substantial
number of federal employees, the President may direct the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish an emergency
leave transfer program. Once an emergency leave transfer
program is in place, employees in executive branch agencies
(and the Government Accountability Office) may voluntarily
donate annual leave for transfer to employees of his or her
agency. Leave may be donated to approved recipients who, as a
result of the major disaster or emergency, have been adversely
affected to such a degree that the employee's absence from work
is required. In addition, an employee who has a family member
who has been adversely affected by a disaster or emergency and
who does not have reasonable access to other forms of
assistance may receive donated leave under the emergency leave
transfer program. An employee is not required to exhaust other
available leave before receiving donated leave under the
emergency leave transfer program. Employees may not receive
more than 240 hours of donated annual leave at any one time
from an emergency leave transfer program.
When a federal agency notifies OPM that the amount of
annual leave donated by its employees is not sufficient to meet
the needs of its approved emergency leave recipients, OPM has
the authority to coordinate an inter-agency transfer of annual
leave from donating agencies to affected agencies. Since the
creation of the program, inter-agency transfers have not been
necessary as agencies have met their need for emergency leave
transfers internally.
NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
On September 2, 2005, the President authorized OPM to
establish an emergency leave transfer program for employees
affected by Hurricane Katrina.\5\ The Judicial Conference of
the United States subsequently requested legislative authority
in order to provide the judicial branch with the same
flexibility and authority available to the executive branch.
The judicial branch has an existing voluntary leave bank
program and has donated leave to the executive branch.
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\5\ U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Memorandum for Heads of
Executive Departments and Agencies: Emergency Leave Transfer for
Federal Employees Affected by Hurricane Katrina, from Linda M.
Springer, Director, Sept. 2, 2005.
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Most judicial branch employees affected by Hurricane
Katrina have been granted excused absences to cope with the
immediate aftermath of the emergency. The weather-related
administrative absences will be curtailed as the circuits and
districts affected by Hurricane Katrina slowly resume
operations. S. 1736 will ensure an emergency leave transfer
program is in place to assist approved judicial branch leave
recipients as their need for donated leave increases when the
affected courts resume operations and many of the employees who
evacuated in response to Hurricane Katrina remain unable to
return to work.
The Judicial Conference of the United States estimates
several hundred judicial branch employees could potentially
benefit immediately from the emergency leave transfer program.
The Committee is hopeful that Congress will enact the requisite
authority so that the Judicial Conference can work with OPM to
implement the necessary procedures immediately before the
judiciary's existing leave policies are no longer sufficient to
meet the needs of the employees in the circuits and districts
affected by Hurricane Katrina.
III. Legislative History
S. 1736 was introduced on September 20, 2005, and was
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs. The legislation is sponsored by Senators Collins,
Lieberman, Voinovich, Akaka, Landrieu, and Vitter. On September
22, 2005, the Committee considered S. 1736 and ordered the bill
favorably reported without amendment by voice vote. Members
present were Senators Collins, Voinovich, Coleman, Chafee,
Lieberman, Levin, Akaka, Lautenberg, and Pryor.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 amends section 6391 of title 5, United States
Code, to require that the Office of Personnel Management
provide for the participation of judicial branch employees in
any emergency leave transfer program established after a
Presidential declaration of a major disaster or emergency. The
section requires the Office of Personnel Management to consult
with the Administrative Office of the Courts in establishing
procedures to facilitate participation of judicial branch
employees.
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation
S. 1736--A bill to provide for the participation of employees in the
judicial branch in the federal leave program for disasters and
emergencies
S. 1736 would provide for the participation of employees of
the judicial branch in the federal emergency leave transfer
program. CBO estimates that the legislation would have no
significant budgetary impact. Enacting the bill would not
affect direct spending or revenues. S. 1736 contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on
state, local, or tribal governments.
Under current law, judicial branch employees are allowed to
donate annual leave through a leave bank to co-workers who have
exhausted their annual and sick leave as a result of a personal
or family medical emergency. Any unused donated annual leave is
returned to the leave bank. Emergency leave transfer programs
within the executive branch also allow employees to donate
annual leave to be transferred to employees of their own agency
or other agencies in the event of a major disaster or emergency
declared by the President. However, unlike the leave bank
program, any unused annual leave donated to the emergency leave
transfer program is returned to the donor.
S. 1736 would provide the judicial branch with the same
emergency leave transfer authority as the executive branch. The
cost of expanding this authority to the judicial branch would
depend upon the number of times a major disaster or emergency
occurs that results in a Presidential request for a special
leave program and whether the leave donated would have been
donated under current law.
Since 1997, emergency leave transfer authority has been
used for the executive branch three times. It was used after
the African Embassy bombings in 1998, the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
in 2005. Most of the leave donations after the first two events
were returned to their donors.
According to the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts, about 400 displaced judicial branch employees have been
on paid administrative leave for an indeterminate amount of
time since hurricane Katrina struck. CBO expects that any
annual leave donations made under S. 1736 would largely be
annual leave that would otherwise be donated for medical
emergencies. Thus, we expect that enacting S. 1736 would not
have a significant cost.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Matthew
Pickford and Gregory Waring. This estimate was approved by
Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget
Analysis.
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. The
Congressional Budget Office states that there are no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and no costs on state, local or
tribal governments. The legislation contains no other
regulatory impact.
VII. Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic and existing law, in which no
change is proposed, is shown in roman):
TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE
GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
PART III--EMPLOYEES
Subpart E--Attendance and Leave
CHAPTER 63--LEAVE
Subchapter VI--Leave Transfer in Disasters and Emergencies
SEC. 6391. AUTHORITY FOR LEAVE TRANSFER PROGRAM IN DISASTERS AND
EMERGENCIES.
* * * * * * *
(e) Except to the extent that the Office may prescribe by
regulation, nothing in section 7351 shall apply to any
solicitation, donation, or acceptance of leave under this
section.
(f) After consultation with the Administrative Office of
the United States Courts, the Office of Personnel Management
shall provide for the participation of employees in the
judicial branch in any emergency leave transfer program under
this section.
[(f)] (g) The Office shall prescribe regulations necessary
for the administration of this section.