II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1893 

To amend titles 5, 10, and 32, United States Code, to eliminate inequities 

in the treatment of National Guard technicians, to reduce the eligibility 

age for retirement for non-Regular service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2011 

Mr. REED introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend titles 5, 10, and 32, United States Code, to 

eliminate inequities in the treatment of National Guard 

technicians, to reduce the eligibility age for retirement 

for non-Regular service, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘National Guard Tech5 nician Equity Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TITLES 10 AND 32, UNITED STATES CODE, AMEND2 MENTS REGARDING NATIONAL GUARD TECH3 NICIANS AND RELATED PROVISIONS. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY TO EMPLOY TECHNICIAN AS NON5 DUAL STATUS TECHNICIAN AFTER 20 YEARS OF CRED6 ITABLE SERVICE.—Subsection (c) of section 709 of title 

7 32, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(c) A person shall have the right to be employed 

9 under subsection (a) as a non-dual status technician (as 

10 defined by section 10217 of title 10) if— 

11 ‘‘(1) the technician position occupied by the 

12 person has been designated by the Secretary con13 cerned to be filled only by a non-dual status techni14 cian; or 

15 ‘‘(2) the person occupying the technician posi16 tion has at least 20 years of creditable service as a 

17 military technician (dual status).’’. 

18 (b) EXCEPTION TO DUAL-STATUS EMPLOYMENT

19 CONDITION OF MEMBERSHIP IN SELECTED RESERVE.— 

20 Section 10216 of title 10, United States Code, is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘sub23 ject to subsection (d),’’ before ‘‘is required’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘Unless 

25 specifically exempted by law’’ and inserting ‘‘Except 


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1 as provided in section 709(c)(2) of title 32 or as oth2 erwise specifically exempted by law’’. 

3 (c) CONTINUED COMPENSATION AFTER LOSS OF

4 MEMBERSHIP IN SELECTED RESERVE.—Subsection (e) of 

5 section 10216 of title 10, United States Code, is amended 

6 to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(e) CONTINUED COMPENSATION AFTER LOSS OF

8 MEMBERSHIP IN SELECTED RESERVE.—Funds appro9 priated for the Department of Defense may continue to 

10 be used to provide compensation to a military technician 

11 who was hired as a military technician (dual status), but 

12 who is no longer a member of the Selected Reserve.’’. 

13 (d) REPEAL OF PERMANENT LIMITATIONS ON NUM14 BER OF NON-DUAL STATUS TECHNICIANS.—Section 

15 10217 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by 

16 striking subsection (c). 

17 (e) TECHNICIAN RESTRICTED RIGHT OF APPEAL

18 AND ADVERSE ACTIONS COVERED.— 

19 (1) RIGHTS OF GRIEVANCE, ARBITRATION, AP20 PEAL, AND REVIEW BEYOND AG.—Section 709 of 

21 title 32, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) in subsection (f)— 

23 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

24 (1), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding any 


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1 other provision of law and under’’ and in2 serting ‘‘Under’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘a 

4 right of appeal’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to 

5 subsection (j), a right of appeal’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

7 subsection: 

8 ‘‘(j)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (f)(4) or any 

9 other provision of law, a technician and a labor organiza10 tion that is the exclusive representative of a bargaining 

11 unit including the technician shall have the rights of griev12 ance, arbitration, appeal, and review extending beyond the 

13 adjutant general of the jurisdiction concerned and to the 

14 Merit Systems Protection Board and thereafter to the 

15 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 

16 in the same manner as provided in sections 4303, 7121, 

17 and 7701–7703 of title 5, with respect to a performance18 based or adverse action imposing removal, suspension for 

19 more than 14 days, furlough for 30 days or less, or reduc20 tion in pay or pay band (or comparable reduction). 

21 ‘‘(2) This subsection does not apply to a technician 

22 who is serving under a temporary appointment or in a trial 

23 or probationary period.’’. 


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1 (2) ADVERSE ACTIONS COVERED.—Section 

2 709(g) of title 32, United States Code, is amended 

3 by striking ‘‘7511, and 7512’’. 

4 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 7511(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amend6 ed— 

7 (A) by striking paragraph (5); and 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (6) 

9 through (10) as paragraphs (5) through (9), re10 spectively. 

11 (f) TECHNICIAN SENIORITY RIGHTS DURING RIF.— 

12 Subsection (g) of section 709 of title 32, United States 

13 Code, as amended by subsection (e)(2), is amended to read 

14 as follows: 

15 ‘‘(g) Section 2108 of title 5 does not apply to a per16 son employed under this section.’’. 

17 (g) AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN ENLISTMENT, REEN18 LISTMENT, AND STUDENT LOAN BENEFITS FOR MILI19 TARY TECHNICIANS.—Section 10216 of title 10, United 

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(h) ELIGIBILITY FOR BONUSES AND OTHER BENE23 FITS.—(1) If an individual becomes employed as a military 

24 technician (dual status) while the individual is already a 

25 member of a reserve component, the Secretary concerned 


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1 may not require the individual to repay any enlistment, 

2 reenlistment, or affiliation bonus provided to the indi3 vidual in connection with the individual’s enlistment or re4 enlistment before such employment. 

5 ‘‘(2) Even though an individual employed as a mili6 tary technician (dual status) is required as a condition of 

7 that employment to maintain membership in the Selected 

8 Reserve, the individual shall not be precluded from receiv9 ing an enlistment, reenlistment, or affiliation bonus nor 

10 be denied the opportunity to participate in an educational 

11 loan repayment program under chapter 1609 of this title 

12 as an additional incentive for the individual to accept and 

13 maintain such membership’’. 

14 (h) REPEAL OF PROHIBITION AGAINST OVERTIME

15 PAY FOR NATIONAL GUARD TECHNICIANS.—Section 

16 709(h) of title 32, United States Code, is amended by 

17 striking the second sentence and inserting the following 

18 new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary concerned shall pay a tech19 nician for irregular or overtime work at a rate equal to 

20 one and one-half times the rate of basic pay applicable 

21 to the technician, except that, at the request of the techni22 cian, the Secretary may grant the technician, instead of 

23 such pay, an amount of compensatory time off from the 

24 technician’s scheduled tour of duty equal to the amount 

25 of time spent in such irregular or overtime work.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, AMENDMENTS RE2 GARDING NATIONAL GUARD TECHNICIANS 

3 AND RELATED PROVISIONS. 

4 (a) LOWERING RETIREMENT AGE.— 

5 (1) AMENDMENT TO FERS.—Subsection (c) of 

6 section 8414 of title 5, United States Code, is 

7 amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(c)(1) Under the circumstances described in para9 graph (2), an employee who is separated from service as 

10 a military technician (dual status) is entitled to an annuity 

11 if the separation is by reason of either— 

12 ‘‘(A) separating from the Selected Reserve; or 

13 ‘‘(B) ceasing to hold the military grade speci14 fied by the Secretary concerned for the position in15 volved. 

16 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), paragraph 

17 (1) applies to a military technician (dual status) who is 

18 separated— 

19 ‘‘(A) after completing 25 years of service as 

20 such a technician, or 

21 ‘‘(B) after becoming 50 years of age and com22 pleting 20 years of service as such a technician. 

23 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply if separation or 

24 removal is for cause on charges of misconduct or delin25 quency.’’. 


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1 (2) AMENDMENT TO CSRS.—Section 8336 of 

2 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(q)(1) Under the circumstances described in para5 graph (2), an employee who is separated from service as 

6 a military technician (dual status) is entitled to an annuity 

7 if the separation is by reason of either— 

8 ‘‘(A) separating from the Selected Reserve; or 

9 ‘‘(B) ceasing to hold the military grade speci10 fied by the Secretary concerned for the position in11 volved. 

12 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), paragraph 

13 (1) applies to a military technician (dual status) who is 

14 separated— 

15 ‘‘(A) after completing 25 years of service as 

16 such a technician, or 

17 ‘‘(B) after becoming 50 years of age and com18 pleting 20 years of service as such a technician. 

19 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply if separation or 

20 removal is for cause on charges of misconduct or delin21 quency.’’. 

22 (b) ADEQUATE LEAVE TIME FOR MILITARY ACTIVA23 TIONS.—Section 6323(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code, 

24 is amended by striking the last sentence and inserting the 

25 following new sentence: ‘‘Leave under this subsection acVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:10 Nov 19, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1893.IS S1893

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1 crues for an employee or individual at the rate of 30 days 

2 per fiscal year and, to the extent that such leave is not 

3 used by the employee or individual during the fiscal year 

4 accrued, accumulates without limitation for use in suc5 ceeding fiscal years.’’. 

6 (c) IMPROVED HEALTH CARE BENEFITS.— 

7 (1) FEHBP CHANGES.—Subparagraph (B) of 

8 section 8906(e)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is 

9 amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(B) An employee referred to in subparagraph (A) 

11 is an employee who— 

12 ‘‘(i) is enrolled in a health benefits plan under 

13 this chapter; 

14 ‘‘(ii) is a member of a reserve component of the 

15 Armed Forces; 

16 ‘‘(iii) is placed on leave without pay or sepa17 rated from service to perform the active duty or 

18 other duties described in clause (iv); and 

19 ‘‘(iv) is called or ordered to— 

20 ‘‘(I) active duty in support of a contin21 gency operation (as defined in section 

22 101(a)(13) of title 10); 

23 ‘‘(II) active duty for a period of more than 

24 30 consecutive days; 


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1 ‘‘(III) active duty under section 12406 of 

2 title 10; 

3 ‘‘(IV) perform training or other duties de4 scribed under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 

5 502(f) of title 32; or 

6 ‘‘(V) while not in Federal service, perform 

7 duties related to an emergency declared by the 

8 chief executive of a State, the District of Co9 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or 

10 a territory or possession of the United States.’’. 

11 (2) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary of Defense and the Director of the Office 

15 of Personnel Management shall jointly conduct 

16 a study and submit to Congress a report— 

17 (i) evaluating the feasibility of con18 verting military technicians from FEHBP 

19 coverage to coverage provided under the 

20 TRICARE or TRICARE Reserve Select 

21 program (or both); and 

22 (ii) identifying any problems associ23 ated with the conversion of military techni24 cians from FEHBP coverage to coverage 

25 provided under chapter 55 of title 10, 


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1 United States Code, during contingency 

2 operations. 

3 (B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

4 subsection— 

5 (i) the term ‘‘FEHBP coverage’’ 

6 means coverage provided under chapter 89 

7 of title 5, United States Code; and 

8 (ii) the term ‘‘contingency operation’’ 

9 has the meaning given that term in section 

10 101(a)(13) of title 10, United States Code. 

11 SEC. 4. REDUCTION IN ELIGIBILITY AGE FOR RETIREMENT 

12 FOR NON-REGULAR SERVICE. 

13 Section 12731(f) of title 10, United States Code, is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘60 years of age’’ both places it ap15 pears and inserting ‘‘55 years of age’’. 

Æ 


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