I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 370 

To amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to extend comparability pay 

adjustments to members of the Foreign Service assigned to posts abroad, 

and to amend the provision relating to the death gratuity payable to 

surviving dependents of Foreign Service employees who die as a result 

of injuries sustained in the performance of duty abroad. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2009 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. PAYNE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 

in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 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 the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to extend comparability pay adjustments to members of the Foreign 

Service assigned to posts abroad, and to amend the 

provision relating to the death gratuity payable to surviving dependents of Foreign Service employees who die 

as a result of injuries sustained in the performance of 

duty abroad. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Service Over3 seas Pay Equity Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. OVERSEAS COMPARABILITY PAY ADJUSTMENT. 

5 (a) OVERSEAS COMPARABILITY PAY ADJUSTMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of the Foreign 

7 Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3961 and following) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 415. OVERSEAS COMPARABILITY PAY ADJUSTMENT. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Service who is 

11 designated class 1 or below for purposes of section 403 

12 and whose official duty station is neither in the continental 

13 United States nor in a non-foreign area shall receive, in 

14 accordance with the phase-in schedule set forth in sub15 section (c), the same locality-based comparability payment 

16 under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code (stated 

17 as a percentage) as would be payable to such member if 

18 such member’s official duty station were in the District 

19 of Columbia. 

20 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT AS BASIC PAY.—The amount of 

21 any locality-based comparability payment which is payable 

22 to a member of the Service by virtue of this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) shall be considered to be part of the basic 

24 pay of such member— 


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1 ‘‘(A) for the same purposes as provided for 

2 under section 5304(c)(2)(A) of title 5, United 

3 States Code; and 

4 ‘‘(B) for purposes of chapter 8; and 

5 ‘‘(2) shall be subject to any limitations on pay 

6 applicable to locality-based comparability payments 

7 under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code. 

8 ‘‘(c) PHASE-IN.—The locality-based comparability 

9 payment payable to a member of the Service under this 

10 section shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) beginning on the first day of the first pay 

12 period beginning on or after the date that fiscal year 

13 2010 appropriations are made available by enact14 ment of the Department of State, Foreign Oper15 ations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 

16 2010, or April 1, 2010, whichever is earlier, be equal 

17 to 33.33 percent of the payment which would other18 wise apply under subsection (a); 

19 ‘‘(2) beginning on the first day of the first pay 

20 period in fiscal year 2011, be equal to 66.67 percent 

21 of the payment which would otherwise apply under 

22 subsection (a); and 

23 ‘‘(3) beginning on the first day of the first pay 

24 period in fiscal year 2012 and each subsequent fiscal 


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1 year, be equal to the payment determined under sub2 section (a). 

3 ‘‘(d) NON-FOREIGN AREA DEFINED.—For purposes 

4 of this section, the term ‘non-foreign area’ has the same 

5 meaning as is given such term in regulations carrying out 

6 section 5941 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

7 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

8 contents set forth in section 2 of such Act is amend9 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 414 

10 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 415. Overseas comparability pay adjustment.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO THE

12 FOREIGN SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS.— 

13 (1) CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FUND.—Effective 

14 as of the first pay period beginning on or after Octo15 ber 1, 2011, section 805(a) of the Foreign Service 

16 Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4045(a)) is amended— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘7.25 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘7 percent’’; 

20 and 

21 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

22 ‘‘The contribution by the employing agen23 cy’’ through ‘‘and shall be made’’ and in24 serting ‘‘An equal amount shall be contrib25 uted by the employing agency’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 

3 plus an amount equal to .25 percent of 

4 basic pay’’; and 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

6 ‘‘, plus an amount equal to .25 percent of 

7 basic pay’’; and 

8 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking all that 

9 follows ‘‘Code’’ and inserting a period. 

10 (2) COMPUTATION OF ANNUITIES.—Section 

11 806(a)(9) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 4046(a)(9)) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘is outside the continental 

13 United States shall’’ and inserting ‘‘was outside the 

14 continental United States during the period begin15 ning on December 29, 2002, and ending on the day 

16 before the first day of the first pay period beginning 

17 on or after October 1, 2011 (or during any portion 

18 thereof) shall, to the extent that such computation 

19 is based on the salary or pay of such member for 

20 such period (or portion thereof),’’. 

21 (3) ENTITLEMENT TO ANNUITY.—Section 

22 855(a)(3) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 4071d(a)(3)) is 

23 amended— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘section 8414’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘section 8415’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘is outside the continental 

2 United States shall’’ and inserting ‘‘was outside 

3 the continental United States during the period 

4 beginning on December 29, 2002, and ending 

5 on the day before the first day of the first pay 

6 period beginning on or after October 1, 2011 

7 (or during any portion thereof) shall, to the ex8 tent that such computation is based on the sal9 ary of such member for such period (or portion 

10 thereof),’’. 

11 (4) DEDUCTIONS AND WITHHOLDINGS FROM

12 PAY.—Section 856(a)(2) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 

13 4071e(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(2) The applicable percentage under this sub15 section shall be as follows: 

‘‘Percentage Time Period 

7.5 Before January 1, 1999. 

7.75 January 1, 1999, to December 31, 1999. 

7.9 January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2000. 

7.55 January 11, 2003, to the day before the first day of the 

first pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2011. 

7.5 Beginning on the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2011.’’. 

16 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 

18 2011, the Secretary of State shall submit to the ap19 propriate congressional committees an assessment of 

20 all allowances provided to members of the Foreign 

21 Service under the Foreign Service Act of 1980 or 


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1 under title 5, United States Code, and in particular, 

2 how such allowances have been or will be affected by 

3 the amendments to the Foreign Service Act of 1980 

4 made by this Act. 

5 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub6 section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit7 tees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

8 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

9 Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

10 SEC. 3. DEATH GRATUITY. 

11 The first sentence of section 413(a) of the Foreign 

12 Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973(a)) is amended by 

13 striking ‘‘at the time of death’’ and inserting ‘‘at level II 

14 of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, 

15 United States Code, at the time of death, except that for 

16 employees compensated under local compensation plans 

17 established under section 408, the amount shall be equal 

18 to the greater of 1 year’s salary at the time of death or 

19 1 year’s salary at the highest step of the highest grade 

20 on the local compensation plan from which the employee 

21 was being paid at the time of death’’. 

Æ 


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