Calendar No. 362

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1535

[Report No. 103–223]

A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to eliminate

and for other purposes.vide a temporary voluntary separation incentive,narrow restrictions on employee training, to proFEBRUARY 4 (legislative day, JANUARY 25), 1994

Reported with amendments
II

Calendar No. 362

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1535

[Report No. 103–223]

To amend title 5, United States Code, to eliminate narrow restrictions on

employee training, to provide a temporary voluntary separation incentive,

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 7 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 27), 1993

Mr. GLENN (for himself, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. PRYOR, and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

FEBRUARY 4 (legislative day, JANUARY 25), 1994

Reported by Mr. GLENN, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to eliminate narrow

restrictions on employee training, to provide a temporary

voluntary separation incentive, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Workforce Re3 structuring Act of 1993’’.

4 SEC. 2. EMPLOYEE TRAINING.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 41 of title 5, United

6 States Code, is amended—

7 (1) in section 4101(4) by striking out ‘‘fields’’

8 and all that follows through the semicolon and in9 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘fields which will improve in10 dividual and organizational performance and assist

11 in achieving the agency’s mission and performance

12 goals;’’;

13 (2) in section 4103—

14 (A) in subsection (a) by striking out ‘‘In’’

15 and all that follows through ‘‘proficiency’’ and

16 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘In order to assist in

17 achieving an agency’s mission and performance

18 goals by improving employee and organizational

19 performance’’; and

20 (B) in subsection (b)—

21 (i) in paragraph (1) by striking out

22 ‘‘determines’’ and all that follows through

23 the period and inserting in lieu thereof

24 ‘‘determines that such training would be in

25 the interests of the Government.’’;
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1 (ii) by striking out paragraph (2) and

2 redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph

3 (2); and

4 (iii) in subparagraph (C) of paragraph

5 (2) (as redesignated under clause (ii) of

6 this subparagraph) by striking out ‘‘retain7 ing’’ and all that follows through the pe8 riod and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘such

9 training.’’;

10 (3) in section 4105—

11 (A) in subsection (a) by striking out ‘‘(a)’’;

12 and

13 (B) by striking out subsections (b) and (c);

14 (4) by repealing section 4106;

15 (5) in section 4107—

16 (A) by amending the section heading to

17 read as follows:

18 ‘‘§ 4107. Restriction on degree training’’;

19 (B) by striking out subsections (a) and (b)

20 and redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

21 subsections (a) and (b), respectively;

22 (C) by amending subsection (a) (as redes23 ignated under subparagraph (B) of this para24 graph)—
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1 (i) by striking out ‘‘subsection (d)’’

2 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection

3 (b)’’; and

4 (ii) by striking out ‘‘by, in, or through

5 a non-Government facility’’; and

6 (D) by amending paragraph (1) of sub7 section (b) (as redesignated under subpara8 graph (B) of this paragraph) by striking out

9 ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

10 ‘‘subsection (a)’’;

11 (6) in section 4108(a) by striking out ‘‘by, in,

12 or through a non-Government facility under this

13 chapter’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘for more

14 than a minimum period prescribed by the head of

15 the agency’’;

16 (7) in section 4113(b) by striking out all that

17 follows the first sentence;

18 (8) by repealing section 4114; and

19 (9) in section 4118—

20 (A) in subsection (a)(7) by striking out

21 ‘‘by, in, and through non-Government facili22 ties’’;

23 (B) by striking out subsection (b); and

24 (C) by redesignating subsections (c) and

25 (d) as subsections (b) and (c), respectively.
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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

2 The table of sections for chapter 41 of title 5, United

3 States Code, is amended—

4 (1) by striking out the items relating to sections

5 4106 and 4114; and

6 (2) by amending the item relating to section

7 4107 to read as follows:

‘‘4107. Restriction on degree training.’’.

8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

9 this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of

10 this Act.

11 SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVES.

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

13 term—

14 (1) ‘‘agency’’ means an Executive agency, as

15 defined under section 105 of title 5, United States

16 Code, but does not include the Department of De17 fense, the Central Intelligence Agency, or the Gen18 eral Accounting Office; and

19 (2) ‘‘employee’’ means an employee, as defined

20 under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code,

21 of an agency, serving under an appointment without

22 time limitation, who has been currently employed for

23 a continuous period of at least 12 months, including

24 an individual employed by a county committee estab25 lished under section 8(b) of the Soil Conservation
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1 and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)),

2 but does not include—

3 (A) a reemployed annuitant under sub4 chapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title

5 5, United States Code, or another retirement

6 system for employees of the Government; or

7 (B) an employee having a disability on the

8 basis of which such employee is or would be eli9 gible for disability retirement under the applica10 ble retirement system referred to in subpara11 graph (A).

12 (b) AUTHORITY TO MAKE PAYMENT.—(1) In order

13 to assist in the restructuring of the Federal workforce

14 while minimizing involuntary separations, the head of an

15 agency may pay, or authorize the payment of, a voluntary

16 separation incentive payment to employees—

17 (A) in any component of the agency;

18 (B) in any occupation;

19 (C) in any geographic location; or

20 (D) on the basis of any combination of the fac21 tors described under subparagraphs (A) through

22 (C).

23 (2) In order to receive an incentive payment under

24 paragraph (1), an employee shall separate from service
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1 with the agency (whether by retirement or resignation)

2 during the 90-day period described under paragraph (3).

3 (3) The head of an agency shall designate a continu4 ous 90-day period for purposes of separation under this

5 subsection for such agency or any component thereof.

6 Such 90-day period shall begin no earlier than the date

7 of the enactment of this Act and shall end no later than

8 September 30, 1994.

9 (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (2)

10 and (3), an employee may receive an incentive payment

11 under this section and delay a separation from service if—

12 (A) the agency head determines that it is nec13 essary to delay such employee’s separation from

14 service in order to ensure the performance of the

15 agency’s mission; and

16 (B) no later than 2 years after the date of the

17 last day of the 90-day period designated under para18 graph (3), such employee separates from service in

19 the agency.

20 (c) VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAY21 MENT.—A voluntary separation incentive payment—

22 (1) shall be paid in a lump sum after the em23 ployee’s separation;

24 (2) shall be equal to the lesser of—
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1 (A) an amount equal to the amount the

2 employee would be entitled to receive under sec3 tion 5595(c) of title 5, United States Code, if

4 the employee were entitled to payment under

5 such section; or

6 (B) $25,000;

7 (3) shall not be a basis for payment, and shall

8 not be included in the computation, of any other

9 type of Government benefit;

10 (4) shall not be taken into account in determin11 ing the amount of any severance pay to which an

12 employee may be entitled under section 5595 of title

13 5, United States Code, based on any other separa14 tion; and

15 (5) shall be paid from appropriations or funds

16 available for the payment of the basic pay of the em17 ployee.

18 (d) SUBSEQUENT EMPLOYMENT AND REPAYMENT OF

19 INCENTIVE PAYMENT.—(1) An employee who has received

20 a voluntary separation incentive payment under this sec21 tion and accepts employment with the Government of the

22 United States within 5 years of the date of the separation

23 on which payment of the incentive is based shall be re24 quired to repay the entire amount of the incentive pay25 ment to the agency that paid the incentive payment.
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1 (2) If the employment is with an Executive agency

2 (as defined under section 105 of title 5, United States

3 Code), the Director of the Office of Personnel Manage4 ment may, at the request of the head of the agency, waive

5 the repayment if the employment is in a position for which

6 there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting a qualified em7 ployee.

8 (3) If the employment is with an entity in the legisla9 tive branch, the head of the entity or the appointing offi10 cial may waive the repayment if the employment is in a

11 position for which there is exceptional difficulty in recruit12 ing a qualified employee.

13 (4) If the employment is with the judicial branch, the

14 Director of the Administrative Office of the United States

15 Courts may waive the repayment if the employment is in

16 a position for which there is exceptional difficulty in re17 cruiting a qualified employee.

18 (e) REGULATIONS.—The Director of the Office of

19 Personnel Management may prescribe any regulations

20 necessary for the administration of this section.

21 (f) JUDICIAL BRANCH PROGRAM.—The Director of

22 the Administrative Office of the United States Courts

23 may, by regulation, establish a program consistent with

24 the program established by subsections (a) through (d) of

25 this section for employees of the judicial branch.
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1 (g) REDUCTION GOALS.—It is the sense of Congress

2 that—

3 (1) employment in the executive branch should

4 be reduced by not less than one full-time equivalent

5 position for each 2 employees who are paid voluntary

6 separation incentives under this Act; and

7 (2) each agency should adjust its employment

8 levels to achieve such result.

9 (g) REDUCTION OF FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSI10 TIONS.—(1) The President or his designee shall take such

11 action as he determines necessary to ensure that, no later

12 than September 30, 1995, employment in the executive

13 branch is reduced by at least 1 full-time equivalent position

14 for each voluntary separation incentive payment paid

15 under this section.

16 (2) No later than December 1, 1995, the President or

17 his designee shall report to the Congress on the implementa18 tion of this subsection.

19 (h) LIMITATION ON PROCUREMENT OF SERVICE CON20 TRACTS.—The President shall take appropriate action to

21 ensure that there is no increase in the procurement of serv22 ice contracts by reason of the enactment of this section ex23 cept in cases in which a cost comparison demonstrates such

24 contracts would be to the financial advantage of the Federal

25 Government.
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1 SEC. 4. SUBSEQUENT EMPLOYMENT AND REPAYMENT OF

2 SEPARATION PAYMENT.

3 (a) DEFENSE AGENCY SEPARATION PAY.—Section

4 5597 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding

5 at the end thereof the following new subsection:

6 ‘‘(g)(1) An employee who receives separation pay

7 under this section on the basis of a separation occurring

8 on or after the date of enactment of the Federal

9 Workforce Restructuring Act of 1993 and accepts employ10 ment with the Government of the United States within

11 2 5 years of the date of the separation on which payment

12 of the separation pay is based shall be required to repay

13 the entire amount of the separation pay to the defense

14 agency that paid the separation pay.

15 ‘‘(2) If the employment is with an Executive agency

16 (as defined under section 105 of title 5, United States

17 Code), the Director of the Office of Personnel Manage18 ment may, at the request of the head of the agency, waive

19 the repayment if the employment is in a position for which

20 there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting a qualified em21 ployee.

22 ‘‘(3) If the employment is with an entity in the legis23 lative branch, the head of the entity or the appointing offi24 cial may waive the repayment if the employment is in a

25 position for which there is exceptional difficulty in recruit26 ing a qualified employee.
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1 ‘‘(4) If the employment is with the judicial branch,

2 the Director of the Administrative Office of the United

3 States Courts may waive the repayment if the employment

4 is in a position for which there is exceptional difficulty

5 in recruiting a qualified employee.’’.

6 (b) CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY SEPARATION

7 PAYMENT.—Section 2(b) of the Central Intelligence Agen8 cy Voluntary Separation Pay Act (Public Law 103–36;

9 107 Stat. 104) is amended by adding at the end thereof

10 the following: ‘‘An employee who receives separation pay

11 under this section on the basis of a separation occurring

12 on or after the date of the enactment of the Federal

13 Workforce Restructuring Act of 1993 and accepts employ14 ment with the Government of the United States within

15 2 5 years of the date of the separation on which payment

16 of the separation pay is based shall be required to repay

17 the entire amount of the separation pay to the Central

18 Intelligence Agency. If the employment is with an Execu19 tive agency (as defined under section 105 of title 5, United

20 States Code), the Director of the Office of Personnel Man21 agement may, at the request of the head of the agency,

22 waive the repayment if the employment is in a position

23 for which there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting a

24 qualified employee. If the employment is with an entity

25 in the legislative branch, the head of the entity or the ap-
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1 pointing official may waive the repayment if the employ2 ment is in a position for which there is exceptional dif3 ficulty in recruiting a qualified employee. If the employ4 ment is with the judicial branch, the Director of the Ad5 ministrative Office of the United States Courts may waive

6 the repayment if the employment is in a position for which

7 there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting a qualified em8 ployee.’’.

9 SEC. 5. FUNDING OF EARLY RETIREMENTS IN CIVIL SERV10 ICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8334 of title 5, United

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

13 following new subsection:

14 ‘‘(l) In addition to any other payments required by

15 this subchapter, an agency shall remit to the Office for

16 deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the credit

17 of the Fund an amount equal to 9 percent of the final

18 rate of basic pay of each employee of the agency who re19 tires under section 8336(d).’’.

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

21 this section shall apply with respect to retirements occur22 ring on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 6. REDUCTION OF FEDERAL FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT

2 POSITIONS.

3 (a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

4 term ‘‘agency’’ means an Executive agency as defined under

5 section 105 of title 5, United States Code, but does not in6 clude the General Accounting Office.

7 (b) LIMITATIONS ON FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSI8 TIONS.—The President, through the Office of Management

9 and Budget (in consultation with the Office of Personnel

10 Management), shall ensure that the total number of full11 time equivalent positions in all agencies shall not exceed—

12 (1) 2,095,182 during fiscal year 1994;

13 (2) 2,044,100 during fiscal year 1995;

14 (3) 2,003,846 during fiscal year 1996;

15 (4) 1,963,593 during fiscal year 1997;

16 (5) 1,923,339 during fiscal year 1998; and

17 (6) 1,883,086 during fiscal year 1999.

18 (c) MONITORING AND NOTIFICATION.—The Office of

19 Management and Budget, after consultation with the Office

20 of Personnel Management, shall—

21 (1) continuously monitor all agencies and make

22 a determination on the first date of each quarter of

23 each applicable fiscal year of whether the require24 ments under subsection (b) are met; and

25 (2) notify the President and the Congress on the

26 first date of each quarter of each applicable fiscal
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1 year of any determination that any requirement of

2 subsection (b) is not met.

3 (d) COMPLIANCE.—If at any time during a fiscal year,

4 the Office of Management and Budget notifies the President

5 and the Congress that any requirement under subsection (b)

6 is not met, no agency may hire any employee for any posi7 tion in such agency until the Office of Management and

8 Budget notifies the President and the Congress that the total

9 number of full-time equivalent positions for all agencies

10 equals or is less than the applicable number required under

11 subsection (b).

12 (e) WAIVER.—Any provision of this section may be

13 waived upon—

14 (1) a determination by the President of the exist15 ence of war or a national emergency; or

16 (2) the enactment of a joint resolution upon an

17 affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of each

18 House of the Congress duly chosen and sworn.

19 SEC. 7. REDUCTION IN DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS.

20 The Director of the Office of Management and Budget

21 shall, upon enactment of this Act, reduce the discretionary

22 spending limits set forth in section 601(a)(2) of the Con23 gressional Budget Act of 1974 for fiscal years 1994 through

24 1998 as follows:
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1 (1) for fiscal year 1994, for the discretionary

2 category: $329,000,000 in new budget authority and

3 $314,000,000 in outlays;

4 (2) for fiscal year 1995, for the discretionary

5 category: $2,423,000,000 in new budget authority and

6 $2,330,000,000 in outlays;

7 (3) for fiscal year 1996, for the discretionary

8 category: $4,267,000,000 in new budget authority and

9 $4,184,000,000 in outlays;

10 (4) for fiscal year 1997, for the discretionary

11 category: $6,313,000,000 in new budget authority and

12 $6,221,000,000 in outlays; and

13 (5) for fiscal year 1998, for the discretionary

14 category: $8,545,000,000 in new budget authority and

15 $8,443,000,000 in outlays.

16 SEC. 8. STANDARDIZATION OF WITHDRAWAL OPTIONS FOR

17 THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN PARTICIPANTS.

18 (a) PARTICIPATION IN THE THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN.—

19 Section 8351(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amend20 ed—

21 (1) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol22 lows:

23 ‘‘(4) Section 8433(b) of this title applies to any

24 employee or Member who elects to make contributions

25 to the Thrift Savings Fund under subsection (a) of
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1 this section and separates from Government employ2 ment.’’;

3 (2) by striking out paragraphs (5), (6), and (8);

4 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (9), and

5 (10) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively;

6 (4) in paragraph (5)(C) (as redesignated under

7 paragraph (3) of this subsection) by striking out ‘‘or

8 former spouse’’ in both places it appears;

9 (5) by amending paragraph (6) (as redesignated

10 under paragraph (3) of this subsection) to read as fol11 lows:

12 ‘‘(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), if an em13 ployee or Member separates from Government employ14 ment and such employee’s or Member’s nonforfeitable

15 account balance is $3,500 or less, the Executive Direc16 tor shall pay the nonforfeitable account balance to the

17 participant in a single payment unless the employee

18 or Member elects, at such time and otherwise in such

19 manner as the Executive Director prescribes, one of

20 the options available under subsection (b).’’; and

21 (6) in paragraph (7) (as redesignated under

22 paragraph (3) of this subsection) by striking out

23 ‘‘nonforfeiture’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘non24 forfeitable’’.
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1 (b) BENEFITS AND ELECTION OF BENEFITS.—Section

2 8433 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

3 (1) in subsection (b) by striking out the matter

4 before paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu thereof

5 ‘‘Subject to section 8435 of this title, any employee or

6 Member who separates from Government employment

7 entitled to an annuity under subchapter II of this

8 chapter or any employee or Member who separates

9 from Government employment is entitled and may

10 elect—’’;

11 (2) by striking out subsections (c) and (d) and

12 redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) as

13 subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g), respectively;

14 (3) in subsection (c)(1) (as redesignated under

15 paragraph (2) of this subsection) by striking out ‘‘or

16 (c)(4) or required under subsection (d) directly to an

17 eligible retirement plan or plans) (as defined in sec18 tion 402(a)(5)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code of

19 1954)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘directly to an

20 eligible retirement plan or plans (as defined in sec21 tion 402(c)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)’’;

22 (4) in subsection (d)(2) (as redesignated under

23 paragraph (2) of this subsection) by striking out ‘‘or

24 (c)(2)’’; and
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1 (5) in subsection (f) (as redesignated under

2 paragraph (2) of this subsection)—

3 (A) by striking out paragraph (1) and re4 designating paragraphs (2) and (3) as para5 graphs (1) and (2), respectively; and

6 (B) in paragraph (1) (as redesignated

7 under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph)—

8 (i) by striking out ‘‘Notwithstanding

9 subsections (b) and (c), if an employee or

10 Member separates from Government employ11 ment under circumstances making such an

12 employee or Member eligible to make an

13 election under either of those subsections,

14 and such employee’s or Member’s’’ and in15 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘Notwithstanding

16 subsection (b), if an employee or Member

17 separates from Government employment,

18 and such employee’s or Member’s’’; and

19 (ii) by striking out ‘‘or (c), as applica20 ble’’; and

21 (C) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated

22 under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph) by

23 striking out ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’ and in24 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph (1)’’.
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1 (c) ANNUITIES: METHODS OF PAYMENT; ELECTION;

2 PURCHASE.—Section 8434(c) of title 5, United States Code,

3 is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding an elimination of a method of

5 payment by the Board an employee, Member, former em6 ployee, or former Member may elect the eliminated method

7 if the elimination of such method became effective less than

8 5 years before the date on which annuity commences.’’.

9 (d) PROTECTIONS FOR SPOUSES AND FORMER

10 SPOUSES.—Section 8435 of title 5, United States Code, is

11 amended—

12 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A) by striking out ‘‘sub13 section (b)(3), (b)(4), (c)(3), or (c)(4) of section 8433

14 of this title or change an election previously made

15 under subsection (b)(1), (b)(2), (c)(1), or (c)(2)’’ and

16 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (b)(3) or (b)(4) of

17 section 8433 of this title or change an election pre18 viously made under subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2)’’;

19 (2) by striking out subsection (b);

20 (3) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), (f),

21 (g), (h), and (i) as subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f),

22 (g), and (h), respectively;

23 (4) in subsection (b) (as redesignated under

24 paragraph (3) of this subsection) by amending para25 graph (2) to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply, if—

2 ‘‘(A) a joint waiver of such method is made,

3 in writing, by the employee or Member and the

4 spouse; or

5 ‘‘(B) the employee or Member waives such

6 method, in writing, after establishing to the sat7 isfaction of the Executive Director that cir8 cumstances described under subsection (a)(2) (A)

9 or (B) make the requirement of a joint waiver

10 inappropriate.’’; and

11 (5) in subsection (c)(1) (as redesignated under

12 paragraph (3) of this subsection) by striking out ‘‘and

13 a transfer may not be made under section 8433(d) of

14 this title’’.

15 (e) JUSTICES AND JUDGES.—Section 8440a(b) of title

16 5, United States Code, is amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (5) by striking out ‘‘Section

18 8433(d)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Section

19 8433(b)’’; and

20 (2) by striking out paragraphs (7) and (8) and

21 inserting in lieu thereof the following:

22 ‘‘(7) Notwithstanding paragraphs (4) and (5), if

23 any justice or judge retires under subsection (a) or (b)

24 of section 371 or section 372(a) of title 28, or resigns

25 without having met the age and service requirements
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1 set forth under section 371(c) of title 28, and such jus2 tice’s or judge’s nonforfeitable account balance is

3 $3,500 or less, the Executive Director shall pay the

4 nonforfeitable account balance to the participant in a

5 single payment unless the justice or judge elects, at

6 such time and otherwise in such manner as the Exec7 utive Director prescribes, one of the options available

8 under section 8433(b).’’.

9 (f) BANKRUPTCY JUDGES AND MAGISTRATES.—Sec10 tion 8440b of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

11 (1) in subsection (b)(4) by amending subpara12 graph (B) to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(B) Section 8433(b) of this title applies to

14 any bankruptcy judge or magistrate who elects to

15 make contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund

16 under subsection (a) of this section and who re17 tires before attaining age 65 but is entitled, upon

18 attaining age 65, to an annuity under section

19 377 of title 28 or section 2(c) of the Retirement

20 and Survivors Annuities for Bankruptcy Judges

21 and Magistrates Act of 1988.’’;

22 (2) in subsection (b)(4)(C) by striking out ‘‘Sec23 tion 8433(d)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Section

24 8433(b)’’;
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1 (3) in subsection (b)(5) by striking out ‘‘retire2 ment under section 377 of title 28 is’’ and inserting

3 in lieu thereof ‘‘any of the actions described under

4 paragraph (4) (A), (B), or (C) shall be considered’’;

5 (4) in subsection (b) by striking out paragraph

6 (8) and redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph

7 (8); and

8 (5) in paragraph (8) of subsection (b) (as redes9 ignated under paragraph (4) of this subsection)—

10 (A) by striking out ‘‘Notwithstanding sub11 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4), if any

12 bankruptcy judge or magistrate retires under cir13 cumstances making such bankruptcy judge or

14 magistrate eligible to make an election under

15 subsection (b) or (c)’’ and inserting in lieu there16 of ‘‘Notwithstanding paragraph (4), if any bank17 ruptcy judge or magistrate retires under cir18 cumstances making such bankruptcy judge or

19 magistrate eligible to make an election under

20 subsection (b)’’; and

21 (B) by striking out ‘‘and (c), as applicable’’.

22 (g) CLAIMS COURT JUDGES.—Section 8440c of title 5,

23 United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (b)(4)(B) by striking out ‘‘Sec2 tion 8433(d)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Section

3 8433(b)’’;

4 (2) in subsection (b)(5) by striking out ‘‘retire5 ment under section 178 of title 28, is’’ and inserting

6 in lieu thereof ‘‘any of the actions described in para7 graph (4) (A) or (B) shall be considered’’;

8 (3) in subsection (b) by striking out paragraph

9 (8) and redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph

10 (8); and

11 (4) in paragraph (8) (as redesignated under

12 paragraph (3) of this subsection) by striking out

13 ‘‘Notwithstanding paragraph (4)(A)’’ and inserting

14 in lieu thereof ‘‘Notwithstanding paragraph (4)’’.

15 (h) JUDGES OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF VET16 ERANS APPEALS.—Section 8440d(b)(5) of title 5, United

17 States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘A transfer shall

18 be made as provided under section 8433(d) of this title’’

19 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Section 8433(b) of this title

20 applies’’.

21 (i) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

22 Chapters 83 and 84 of title 5, United States Code, are

23 amended—

24 (1) in section 8351(b)(5)(B) (as redesignated

25 under subsection (a)(3) of this section) by striking out
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1 ‘‘section 8433(i)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec2 tion 8433(g)’’;

3 (2) in section 8351(b)(5)(D) (as redesignated

4 under subsection (a)(3) of this section) by striking out

5 ‘‘section 8433(i)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec6 tion 8433(g)’’;

7 (3) in section 8433(b)(4) by striking out ‘‘sub8 section (e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection

9 (c)’’;

10 (4) in section 8433(d)(1) (as redesignated under

11 subsection (b)(2) of this section) by striking out ‘‘(d)

12 of section 8435’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘(c) of

13 section 8435’’;

14 (5) in section 8433(d)(2) (as redesignated under

15 subsection (b)(2) of this section) by striking out ‘‘sec16 tion 8435(d)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

17 8435(c)’’;

18 (6) in section 8433(e) (as redesignated under

19 subsection (b)(2) of this section) by striking out ‘‘sec20 tion 8435(d)(2)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

21 8435(c)(2)’’;

22 (7) in section 8433(g)(5) (as redesignated under

23 subsection (b)(2) of this section) by striking out ‘‘sec24 tion 8435(f)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

25 8435(e)’’;
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1 (8) in section 8434(b) by striking out ‘‘section

2 8435(c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

3 8435(b)’’;

4 (9) in section 8435(a)(1)(B) by striking out

5 ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sub6 section (b)’’;

7 (10) in section 8435(d)(1)(B) (as redesignated

8 under subsection (d)(3) of this section) by striking out

9 ‘‘subsection (d)(2)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sub10 section (c)(2)’’;

11 (11) in section 8435(d)(3)(A) (as redesignated

12 under subsection (d)(3) of this section) by striking out

13 ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sub14 section (b)(1)’’;

15 (12) in section 8435(d)(6) (as redesignated under

16 subsection (d)(3) of this section) by striking out ‘‘or

17 (c)(2)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or (b)(2)’’;

18 (13) in section 8435(e)(1)(A) (as redesignated

19 under subsection (d)(3) of this section) by striking out

20 ‘‘section 8433(i)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec21 tion 8433(g)’’;

22 (14) in section 8435(e)(2) (as redesignated under

23 subsection (d)(3) of this section) by striking out ‘‘sec24 tion 8433(i) of this title shall not be approved if ap25 proval would have the result described in subsection
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1 (d)(1)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 8433(g)

2 of this title shall not be approved if approval would

3 have the result described under subsection (c)(1)’’;

4 (15) in section 8435(g) (as redesignated under

5 subsection (d)(3) of this section) by striking out ‘‘sec6 tion 8433(i)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

7 8433(g)’’;

8 (16) in section 8437(c)(5) by striking out ‘‘sec9 tion 8433(i)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

10 8433(g)’’; and

11 (17) in section 8440a(b)(6) by striking out ‘‘sec12 tion 8351(b)(7)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

13 8351(b)(5)’’.

14 (j) INTERIM PROVISION.—Section 8433(d) of title 5,

15 United States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘shall

16 transfer the amount of the balance’’ and inserting in lieu

17 thereof ‘‘may transfer the amount of the balance’’.

18 (k) EFFECTIVE DATES.—(1) Except as provided in

19 paragraph (2), the provisions of this section shall take effect

20 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act or upon such

21 other date as the Executive Director of the Federal Retire22 ment Thrift Investment Board shall provide in regulation.

23 (2) The provisions of subsection (j) of this section shall

24 take effect upon the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 9. AMENDMENTS TO ALASKA RAILROAD TRANSFER

2 ACT OF 1982 REGARDING FORMER FEDERAL

3 EMPLOYEES.

4 (a) APPLICABILITY OF VOLUNTARY SEPARATION IN5 CENTIVES TO CERTAIN FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—

6 Section 607(a) of the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982

7 (45 U.S.C. 1206(a)) is amended by adding at the end there8 of the following new paragraph:

9 ‘‘(4)(A) The State-owned railroad shall be in10 cluded in the definition of ‘agency’ for purposes of

11 section 3 (a), (b), (c), and (e) and section 5 of the

12 Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1993 and

13 may elect to participate in the voluntary separation

14 incentive program established under such Act. Any

15 employee of the State-owned railroad who meets the

16 qualifications as described under the first sentence of

17 paragraph (1) shall be deemed an employee under

18 such Act.

19 ‘‘(B) An employee who has received a voluntary

20 separation incentive payment under this paragraph

21 and accepts employment with the State-owned rail22 road within 5 years of the date of separation on

23 which payment of the incentive is based shall be re24 quired to repay the entire amount of the incentive

25 payment unless the head of the State-owned railroad

26 determines that the employment is in a position for
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1 which there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting a

2 qualified employee and waives the repayment.’’.

3 (b) LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS.—Sec4 tion 607 of the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982 (45

5 U.S.C. 1206) is amended by striking out subsection (e) and

6 inserting in lieu thereof the following:

7 ‘‘(e)(1) Any person described under the provisions of

8 paragraph (2) may elect life insurance coverage under

9 chapter 87 of title 5, United States Code, and enroll in a

10 health benefits plan under chapter 89 of title 5, United

11 States Code, in accordance with the provisions of this sub12 section.

13 ‘‘(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall apply to

14 any person who—

15 ‘‘(A) on the date of the enactment of the Federal

16 Workforce Restructuring Act of 1993, is an employee

17 of the State-owned railroad;

18 ‘‘(B) has 20 years or more of service (in the civil

19 service as a Federal employee or as an employee of

20 the State-owned railroad, combined) on the date of re21 tirement from the State-owned railroad; and

22 ‘‘(C)(i) was covered under a life insurance policy

23 pursuant to chapter 87 of title 5, United States Code,

24 on January 4, 1985, for the purpose of electing life
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1 insurance coverage under the provisions of paragraph

2 (1); or

3 ‘‘(ii) was enrolled in a health benefits plan pur4 suant to chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code, on

5 January 4, 1985, for the purpose of enrolling in a

6 health benefits plan under the provisions of para7 graph (1).

8 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this section, any person described

9 under the provisions of paragraph (2) shall be deemed to

10 have been covered under a life insurance policy under chap11 ter 87 of title 5, United States Code, and to have been en12 rolled in a health benefits plan under chapter 89 of title

13 5, United States Code, during the period beginning on Jan14 uary 5, 1985, through the date of retirement of any such

15 person.

16 ‘‘(4) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply

17 to any person described under paragraph (2) until the date

18 such person retires from the State-owned railroad.’’.

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