I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2487

To amend title 5, United States Code, to allow periods of certain service

performed as an employee under certain Federal-State cooperative programs to be creditable for purposes of civil service retirement.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 17, 1995

Mr. ROSE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to the Committees

on Agriculture, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to allow periods of

certain service performed as an employee under certain

Federal-State cooperative programs to be creditable for

purposes of civil service retirement.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agricultural Extended

5 Retirement Credit Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to extend creditable service, for purposes of

2 the Civil Service Retirement System, for periods of

3 service in certain qualified Federal-State cooperative

4 programs which had agricultural or related pur5 poses;

6 (2) to expedite the retirement of certain Fed7 eral Government employees, thereby mitigating po8 tentially adverse effects of deficit control measures

9 on the welfare of those and other employees of the

10 Department of Agriculture; and

11 (3) to effect savings in budget authority and

12 outlays in the Department of Agriculture in such a

13 manner that the potential for adverse effects on pro14 gram effectiveness is minimized.

15 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CREDITABLE SERVICE.

16 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 8331 of title 5, United

17 States Code, is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

19 end of paragraph (25);

20 (2) by striking the period at the end of para21 graph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

22 (3) by adding after such paragraph (26) the

23 following:
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1 ‘‘(27) ‘extended credit’ means creditable service

2 for periods of service in Federal-State cooperative

3 programs under section 8332(b)(17).’’.

4 (b) CREDITABLE SERVICE.—Section 8332(b) of title

5 5, United States Code, is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

7 end of paragraph (15);

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of para9 graph (16) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

10 (3) by adding after such paragraph (16) the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(17) subject to sections 8334(c) and 8339(i),

13 service performed before January 1, 1984, by an in14 dividual in the employ of a State who performed du15 ties related to the carrying out of a Federal-State

16 cooperative program described in subsection (o)(1)

17 of this section—

18 ‘‘(A) only if (i) the individual was later em19 ployed in a position which at that time was sub20 ject to this subchapter, and (ii) the individual,

21 or the individual’s survivor, makes application

22 for certification of credit for such service on or

23 before the 150th day following the date of the

24 enactment of the Agricultural Extended Retire25 ment Credit Act; and
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1 ‘‘(B) if the individual is an employee of the

2 Federal Government on the date of enactment

3 of the Agricultural Extended Retirement Credit

4 Act, other than as a reemployed annuitant, and

5 if, after having received extended credit, the in6 dividual is, or becomes eligible for immediate

7 retirement on or before August 1 of the fiscal

8 year in which the ‘hiring limitation period’

9 (within the meaning of section 4 of the Agricul10 tural Extended Retirement Credit Act) ends,

11 only if the individual retires either on or before

12 the 240th day following the date of enactment

13 of the Agricultural Extended Retirement Credit,

14 or on or before the 60th day following the date

15 on which eligibility for immediate retirement is

16 attained, whichever occurs later.’’.

17 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 8332(b) of title 5,

18 United States Code, is further amended by adding at the

19 end the following: ‘‘The Office of Personnel Management

20 shall accept the certification of the Secretary of Agri21 culture, or his designee, concerning service for the pur22 poses of this subchapter of the type described in para23 graph (17).’’.
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1 (d) DESCRIPTION OF FEDERAL-STATE COOPERATIVE

2 PROGRAMS.—Section 8332 of title 5, United States Code,

3 is amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(o)(1) The Federal-State cooperative programs de5 scribed in this subsection for which creditable service is

6 allowable under subsection (b)(17) of this section are as

7 follows:

8 ‘‘(A) The Federal-State cooperative program of

9 agricultural research of the State agricultural exper10 iment stations as defined in section 1 of the Act en11 titled ‘An Act to consolidate the Hatch Act of 1887

12 and laws supplementary thereto relating to the ap13 propriation of Federal funds for support of agricul14 tural experiment stations in the States, Alaska, Ha15 waii, and Puerto Rico’, approved August 11, 1955,

16 as amended (69 Stat. 671).

17 ‘‘(B) The Federal-State cooperative program of

18 forestry research at eligible institutions of the State

19 as defined in section 2 of the Act entitled ‘An Act

20 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to encour21 age and assist the several States in carrying on a

22 program of forestry research, and for other pur23 poses’, approved October 10, 1962, as amended (76

24 Stat. 806), and popularly referred to as the

25 McIntire-Stennis Act.
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1 ‘‘(C) The Federal-State cooperative program of

2 agricultural research for the fiscal year ending June

3 30, 1967, and later fiscal years at the 1890 land4 grant colleges, including Tuskegee Institute, as de5 fined in section 1445(a) of the Act entitled the ‘Na6 tional Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teach7 ing Policy Act of 1977’, approved September 29,

8 1977, as amended (91 Stat. 1009).

9 ‘‘(D) The Federal-State cooperative program of

10 agricultural extension work authorized by the Act

11 entitled ‘An Act to provide for cooperative agricul12 tural extension work between the agricultural col13 leges in the several States receiving the benefits of

14 an Act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and of

15 Acts supplementary thereto, and the United States

16 Department of Agriculture’, approved May 8, 1914

17 (38 Stat. 372), and Acts supplementary thereto.

18 ‘‘(E) The Federal-State cooperative program of

19 vocational education, including, but not limited to,

20 State programs of instruction in vocational agri21 culture and home economics, authorized by the Act

22 entitled ‘An Act to provide for the promotion of vo23 cational education; to provide for cooperation with

24 the States in the promotion of such education in ag25 riculture and the trades and industries; to provide
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1 for cooperation with the States in the preparation of

2 teachers of vocational subjects; and to appropriate

3 money and regulate its expenditure’, approved Feb4 ruary 23, 1917 (39 Stat. 929), and Acts supple5 mentary thereto.

6 ‘‘(F) The Federal-State cooperative program in

7 marketing service and research authorized by the

8 Act entitled the ‘Agricultural Marketing Act of

9 1946’, approved August 14, 1946 (60 Stat. 1087),

10 and predecessor programs, including, but not limited

11 to, programs to inspect, certify, and identify the

12 class, quality, quantity, and condition of agricultural

13 products shipped or received in interstate commerce.

14 ‘‘(G) The Federal-State cooperative program

15 for the control of plant pests and animal diseases

16 authorized by the subheading ‘Federal Horticulture

17 Board’ under the heading ‘Department of Agri18 culture’ of the Act entitled ‘An Act making appro19 priations to supply urgent deficiencies in appropria20 tions for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1918, and

21 prior fiscal years, on account of war expenses, and

22 for other purposes’, approved October 6, 1917 (40

23 Stat. 374); by section 102 of the Act entitled the

24 ‘Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944’,

25 approved September 21, 1944 (58 Stat. 734); by the
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1 joint resolution entitled ‘Joint resolution making

2 funds available for the control of incipient or emer3 gency outbreaks of insect pests or plant diseases, in4 cluding grasshoppers, mormon crickets, and chinch

5 bugs’, approved April 6, 1937 (50 Stat. 57); by the

6 Act entitled ‘An Act to provide for regulating, in7 specting, cleaning, and, when necessary, disinfecting

8 railway cars, other vehicles, and other materials en9 tering the United States from Mexico’, approved

10 January 31, 1942 (56 Stat. 40); by the Act entitled

11 ‘An Act to regulate the importation of nursery stock

12 and other plants and plant products; to enable the

13 Secretary of Agriculture to establish and maintain

14 quarantine districts for plant diseases and insect

15 pests; to permit and regulate the movement of

16 fruits, plants, and vegetables therefrom, and for

17 other purposes’, approved August 20, 1912 (37 Stat.

18 315); by the first paragraph under the subheading

19 ‘Enforcement of the Plant-Quarantine Act’ under

20 the heading ‘Miscellaneous’ of the Act entitled ‘An

21 Act making appropriations for the Department of

22 Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30,

23 1914’, approved March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 853), inso24 far as such paragraph relates to the importation of

25 certain plants for scientific purposes; by the second,
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1 third, and fourth paragraphs under the subheading

2 ‘Enforcement of the Plant Quarantine Act’ under

3 the heading ‘Miscellaneous’ of the Act ‘An Act mak4 ing appropriations for the Department of Agri5 culture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1916’,

6 approved March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 1113); and by

7 section 11 of the Act entitled ‘An Act for the estab8 lishment of a Bureau of Animal Industry, to prevent

9 the exportation of diseased cattle, and to provide for

10 the suppression and extirpation of pleuropneumonia

11 and other contagious diseases among domestic ani12 mals’, approved May 29, 1884 (23 Stat. 31).

13 ‘‘(H) The Federal-State cooperative programs

14 of forest protection, management, and improvement

15 performed under authority of the Act entitled ‘An

16 Act to provide for the protection of forest lands, for

17 the reforestation of denuded areas, for the extension

18 of national forests, and for other purposes, in order

19 to promote the continuous production of timber on

20 the lands chiefly suitable therefore’, approved June

21 7, 1924 (43 Stat. 653); of the ‘Cooperative Forest

22 Management Act’ approved August 25, 1950 (64

23 Stat. 473); and of the ‘Forest Pest Control Act’, ap24 proved June 25, 1947 (61 Stat. 177); and the pred-
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1 ecessor programs of any Act referred to in this sub2 paragraph.

3 ‘‘(I) The Federal-State cooperative programs of

4 emergency relief, including, but not limited to, State

5 rural rehabilitation corporation programs, estab6 lished for the purposes of the Federal Emergency

7 Relief Act of 1933, approved May 12, 1933 (48

8 Stat. 55); the Act entitled ‘An Act making an addi9 tional appropriation to carry out the purposes of the

10 Federal Emergency Relief Act of 1933, for continu11 ation of the civil works program, and for other pur12 poses’, approved February 15, 1934 (48 Stat. 351);

13 and title 11 of the Act entitled ‘An Act making ap14 propriations to supply deficiencies in certain appro15 priations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1934,

16 and prior fiscal years, to provide supplemental gen17 eral and emergency appropriations for the fiscal

18 years ending June 30, 1934, and June 30, 1935,

19 and for other purposes’, approved June 19, 1934

20 (48 Stat. 1021).

21 ‘‘(J) The Federal-State Cooperative Veterans’

22 educational programs, including, but not limited to,

23 part-time instruction in on-the-farm training pro24 grams, as provided for in title II, chapter IV, ‘Edu25 cation of Veterans’, of the ‘Serviceman’s Readjust-
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1 ment Act of 1944’, approved June 22, 1944 (58

2 Stat. 287), and subsequent amendments and Acts

3 pertaining thereto.

4 ‘‘(K) The Federal-State cooperative programs

5 in wildlife restoration and in fish restoration and

6 management authorized respectively by the Acts en7 titled ‘An Act to provide that the United States shall

8 aid these States in wildlife restoration projects, and

9 for other purposes’, approved September 2, 1937

10 (50 Stat. 917) and popularly referred to as the Pitt11 man-Robertson Act, and ‘An Act to provide that the

12 United States shall aid the States in fish restoration

13 and management projects, and for other purposes’,

14 approved August 9, 1950 and popularly referred to

15 as the Dingell-Johnson Act (64 Stat. 431) and the

16 program of animal damage control authorized by the

17 Act entitled ‘An Act to authorize the Secretary of

18 Agriculture to carry out his ten year cooperative

19 program for the eradication, suppression, or bring20 ing under control of predatory and other wild ani21 mals injurious to agriculture, horticulture, forestry,

22 animal husbandry, wild game, and other interests,

23 and for the suppression of rabies and tularemia in

24 predatory or other wild animals, and for other pur-
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1 poses’, approved March 2, 1931 (46 Stat. 1468) as

2 amended and supplemented.

3 ‘‘(2) Within 60 days following the date of enactment

4 of the Agricultural Extended Requirement Credit Act, the

5 Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe specific

6 instructions to be followed by the Secretary of Agriculture

7 in determining eligibility for extended credit for periods

8 of service in the Federal-State cooperative programs enu9 merated in paragraph (1), and by individuals in making

10 application for such extended credit.’’.

11 (e) ANNUITY ADJUSTMENTS.—Section 8345 of title

12 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

13 the following:

14 ‘‘(m) If the Secretary of Agriculture certifies to the

15 Office of Personnel Management creditable service for

16 purposes of this subchapter of the type described in sec17 tion 8332(b)(17) in response to application by an annu18 itant or survivor annuitant, then the annuity of the annu19 itant or survivor annuitant shall be adjusted on the first

20 day of the month following the date of enactment of the

21 Agricultural Extended Retirement Credit Act so that the

22 amount of the annuity shall be the same as if the total

23 creditable service of the employee or Member, on whose

24 creditable service the annuity was computed, had included,
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1 on the original date on which the annuity was computed,

2 the amount of service certified.’’.

3 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON REPLACEMENT OF RETIREES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, except as provided in subsection (b), an ap6 pointment may not be made to a position of civilian em7 ployment in the Department of Agriculture on any day

8 during the hiring limitation period, unless the full-time

9 employee equivalent of the total number of civilian employ10 ees in the Department, after such appointment on such

11 day does not exceed the maximum authorized full-time em12 ployee equivalent number determined for such day, as pro13 vided in subsection (e)(2).

14 (b) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Agriculture or his

15 designate may waive the application of subsection (a) in

16 the case of a position or a category of positions in the

17 Department of Agriculture if the Secretary (or his des18 ignee) determines that the estimated aggregate cost of

19 such position or positions during the hiring limitation pe20 riod does not exceed the estimated aggregate amount of

21 user fees that will be collected by the Federal Government

22 for services performed under a Federal Government pro23 gram or programs during such period by an employee in

24 such position or employees in such positions.
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1 (c) INAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION TO INTER2 AGENCY TRANSFER.—Subsection (a) does not prohibit the

3 transfer of employees within the Department of Agri4 culture for the purpose of filling a vacancy in a Depart5 ment of Agriculture position.

6 (d) INAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION DURING A PE7 RIOD OF WAR OR NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—Subsection

8 (a) shall not apply during a period of war declared by the

9 Congress or for a period of national emergency declared

10 by the Congress or the President.

11 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec12 tion—

13 (1) the term ‘‘employee’’ has the same meaning

14 as provided in section 2105 of title 5, United States

15 Code;

16 (2) the term ‘‘maximum authorized full-time

17 employee equivalent number’’ means the excess of—

18 (A) the smaller of the full-time employee

19 equivalent number that describes the total num20 ber of employees employed in positions in the

21 Department of Agriculture on the day before

22 the hiring limitation retirement period com23 mences, or the full-time employee equivalent

24 number that describes the maximum number of

25 employees authorized to be employed in the De-
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1 partment of Agriculture under authority of the

2 Act appropriating funds to the Department of

3 Agriculture for the fiscal year in which occurs

4 the day for which the maximum authorized full5 time employee equivalent number is computed,

6 over,

7 (B) the full-time employee equivalent num8 ber that describes the total number of such em9 ployees who, on or before the day for which the

10 maximum authorized number is computed, have

11 retired during such period and who received ex12 tended credit under provisions of this Act; and

13 (3) the term ‘‘hiring limitation period’’ means

14 the period beginning on the date 60 days after the

15 date of enactment of this Act and ending at the end

16 of the fourth fiscal year which begins on or after the

17 first day of such period.

18 SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON USE OF SAVINGS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) None of the budget authority

20 and outlays saved in any fiscal year by reason of the re21 duced pay and other personnel costs and by reason of re22 duced direct support costs for personnel resulting from the

23 implementation of this Act and the amendments made by

24 this Act may be obligated or expended for any purpose.

25 For purposes of this paragraph, ‘‘reduced direct support
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1 costs for personnel’’ shall be 60 percent of pay and other

2 personnel costs.

3 (2) The total amount of budget authority and outlays

4 saved in any fiscal year (as described in paragraph (1))

5 shall, at the end of that fiscal year be carried to the sur6 plus fund of the Department of Agriculture and deposited

7 by the Secretary of Agriculture in the Treasury of the

8 United States to the credit of the Civil Service Retirement

9 and Disability Fund, as a contribution of the United

10 States Government to such Fund, under such procedures

11 as the Comptroller General of the United States may pre12 scribe.

13 (3) The total amount of budget authority and outlays

14 saved in any fiscal year (as described in paragraph (1))

15 shall be credited against any amount of pay and other per16 sonnel and direct support costs required to be sequestered

17 in such fiscal year under the Balanced Budget and Emer18 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–177).

19 (b) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United

20 States shall notify Congress, in writing, of each non21 compliance with the requirements of subsection (a).

22 SEC. 6. PROGRAM REPORT.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

24 first day of the extended credit retirement period, the Di25 rector of the Office of Personnel Management shall trans-
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1 mit to Congress a report containing an evaluation of the

2 extended credit retirement program and the limitation on

3 replacement of retirees provided in this Act.

4 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report under sub5 section (a) shall include the following matters:

6 (1) The number of employees who retired under

7 the extended credit retirement program, stated by

8 age group of the retirees, and by grade or other po9 sition classification of the retirees.

10 (2) The amount of savings in pay, other person11 nel costs, and direct costs that have resulted, before

12 the date of the report, from the implementation of

13 this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

14 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION.—The Director of

15 the Office of Personnel Management may obtain from any

16 agency of the Federal Government such information as the

17 Director determines necessary to prepare the report re18 quired by subsection (a).

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