2002 Legislative Issues

FY2003 TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS

President Bush released his $2.1 trillion FY03 budget yesterday providing Congress with $750 billion in discretionary budget authority (9% increase over FY02). However, growth in non-defense discretionary spending is limited to 2 percent. President Bush's budget would produce a $106 billion deficit in FY02 and a $80 billion deficit in FY03.

The FY03 overall budget request for the FAA of $14 billion is 1.6% less than FY02 budget resources due to the transfer of security functions to the newly-created Transportation Security Administration. The Administration's request is consistent with the capital and operating funding levels authorized in AIR-21, and allocates $700 million of the $14 billion for ATC modernization. The 2003 budget includes $7.482 billion for FAA operations, $3 billion for F&E, $3.4 billion for Airport Grants, and $127 million for research. The budget provides $107 million for the development and use of new runway incursion technology and an additional $122 million to improve pilot and controller training and increase visibility through improved runway surface markings.

NATCA supports the Federal Air Traffic Controllers Annuity Computation Act (S. 871) which was introduced on May 10, 2001 by Senator Max Cleland (D-GA). The bill would change the CSRS annuity computation to give air traffic controllers the same annuity that is afforded to both federal firefighters and law enforcement officers. Specifically, S.871 would allow controllers to receive a two percent annuity for years of service after twenty. This would provide the necessary incentive to these individuals to continue to work beyond their date of retirement eligibility, and therefore help alleviate the FAA's impending air traffic controller retirement crunch. The measure, which has 13 cosponsors, was referred to the Senate Government Affairs Committee where no further action has been taken.

NATCA supports the Truthfulness, Responsibility and Accountability in Contracting Out (TRAC) Act that would simply correct the longstanding inequities and problems in the contracting out process. Specifically, the bill would temporarily suspend new federal service contracting until agencies establish reliable reporting systems to track costs and savings from contracting out, prevent contracting without public-private competitions, and subject contractor work to public-private competition. H.R. 721 was introduced by Congressman Albert Wynn (D-MD) and was referred to the House Government Reform Committee where a hearing was held on June 28. The bill has 187 cosponsors.

Similar legislation, S. 1152, was introduced in the Senate by Richard Durbin (D-IL) and referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. S. 1152 has 18 cosponsors.

The Administration continues to pressure agencies to open up more jobs to contractor competition. The Office of Management and Budget has directed each agency to contract out five percent of eligible jobs in FY02 and 10 percent in FY03.

President Bush's FY03 budget request provides for a 4.1 percent raise for the military but only a 2.6 percent pay raise for federal civilian workers. Last year, the White House proposed a 3.6 percent raise for federal civilian workers and a 4.6 percent raise for the military. The House and Senate FY2002 Budget Resolution and the FY02 Treasury Postal Appropriations Act, however, provided for a 4.6 percent pay raise for federal workers. Pay parity between military and civilian sectors has been the tradition for most of the past 20 years.

On February 27, 2002, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) introduced a resolution (H. Con. Res. 42) expressing the sense of the Congress that rates of compensation for federal civilian employees should be adjusted at the same time, and in the same proportion, as the rates of compensation for members of the uniformed services. The measure has 88 cosponsors.

Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) reintroduced legislation (H.R. 2523) which would allow air traffic controllers under CSRS or FERS who have completed twenty years of service but are not eligible to retire and are involuntarily separated from service (not for cause) to retire and receive an enhanced annuity.

Under both CSRS and FERS, air traffic controllers are eligible to retire immediately and receive an enhanced annuity if they meet certain age and service requirements (20 years of service at age 50 or 25 years of service at any age). H.R. 2523 addresses the problem faced by air traffic controllers who have completed their 20 years of service but have not reached 50 years of age, and are forced to retire because of a disability or are involuntarily separated (not for cause) from service. The bill would amend CSRS and FERS to allow these controllers to receive the enhanced annuity.

In addition, the bill provides for a refund of the additional 0.5 percent retirement contribution, with interest, when air traffic controllers under FERS retire before attaining eligibility for the enhance annuity. Controllers under CSRS do not contribute more than other federal employees. Therefore, a FERS air traffic controller who has not completed his 20 years of service, but is forced to retire because of a disability or is involuntarily separated (not for cause) from service would receive a refund for his/her additional 0.5 percent contribution. The bill becomes effective immediately but is not retroactive. It applies only to individuals separated from service after such date of enactment.

H.R. 2523 has 13 cosponsors and has been referred to the House Government Reform Committee where no further action has taken place.

Under the Social Security System, a person cannot receive both his/her own earned benefit plus a full spousal benefit. This is often referred to as the "dual entitlement" rule. Therefore, if a woman is eligible for her own Social Security benefit, then that amount offsets dollar for dollar what she can get as a spouse from her husband's Social Security. The GPO, which was enacted in 1977, treats government pensions and annuities like Social Security benefits and thus subjects them to the dual entitlement rule. In 1983, Congress reduced the dollar for dollar offset to a two-thirds offset. The GPO reduces or eliminates the Social Security spousal or survivor benefit for a federal retiree who did not pay Social Security taxes. The Social Security benefit is reduced by an amount equal to two-thirds of the retiree's CSRS annuity. Approximately 305,000 Social Security recipients are affected by the GPO.

Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) introduced H.R. 664 which would exempt anyone whose combined government pension/annuity and spousal Social Security benefit is $1,200 or less per month from the GPO offset. The bill, which has 289 cosponsors, has been referred to the Ways and Means Committee where no further action has been taken. Similar legislation (S. 611) was introduced in the Senate by Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). S. 611 has 28 cosponsors.

The Social Security Amendments of 1983 included a provision that reduces the Social Security benefit of a retired or disabled worker who also receives a government annuity based on his or her own earnings. It applies to anyone who turns 62 after 1985 and becomes eligible for his/her government annuity after 1985. There are two bills in the House to change the WEP. Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) bill, H.R. 1073, would modify the WEP, while Rep. Max Sandlin's (D-TX) bill, H.R. 848, would repeal it.

On May 22, 2001, Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) introduced legislation (H.R. 1939) to allow FERS employees who leave government service early to buy back their retirement contribution if they return. Under CSRS, employees can pay back their contributions plus interest if they return to government service but under FERS there is no redeposit option. The bill, which has 9 cosponsors, was referred to the House Government Reform Committee where no further action has been taken.

Legislation (H.R. 2125, S. 1022) to allow federal retirees to pay their Federal Employees Health Benefits Program premium with pre-tax dollars has been introduced in the House and Senate. In October 2000, executive branch employees became eligible for the "premium conversion" arrangement but retirees were excluded. The tax break is worth approximately $400 annually.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced legislation (H.R. 3915) that would allow federal employees to take six weeks of paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child. This time would not come out of the employee's accrued sick leave. Currently, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows federal employees to take up to 13 days of paid sick leave to care for newborns, and up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity or paternity leave. The bill, which has 14 cosponsors, was referred to the House Government Reform Committee where no further action has been taken.