U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Retirement Technical Corrections Act

Subjects: Government Operations and Politics, Congressional oversight, Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management, Government studies and investigations, Law enforcement officers

Summary:  <p><b>U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Retirement Technical Corrections Act</b></p> <p>This bill modifies the calculation of retirement benefits for certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.</p> <p> Under current law, effective July 6, 2008, CBP officers are entitled to an enhanced retirement benefit, subject to certain mandatory retirement requirements. CBP officers who were employed as of July 6, 2008 are entitled to a transitional enhanced retirement benefit without the corresponding mandatory retirement requirements (i.e., proportional annuity).</p> <p> The bill specifies that CBP officers who accepted an offer of employment before July 6, 2008, and who started work on or after that date, are entitled to this proportional annuity. The Office of Personnel Management must correct annuity calculations for these officers, including retroactively, based on a list compiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS may also retroactively waive mandatory retirement requirements for these officers so that they may receive the proportional annuity.</p> <p>The Government Accountability Office must report on CBP's policies and procedures related to enhanced retirement benefits.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 311 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 311

 To correct the inequitable denial of enhanced retirement and annuity 
    benefits to certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 9, 2023

Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Hawley) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To correct the inequitable denial of enhanced retirement and annuity 
    benefits to certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
Officer Retirement Technical Corrections Act''.

SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT RELATED TO TRANSITION RULES.

    (a) Defined Term.--In this section the term ``Eligible Individual'' 
means any individual who--
            (1) received and accepted an offer of employment as a U.S. 
        Customs and Border Protection Officer before July 6, 2008; and
            (2) entered into duty as a U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection officer on or after July 6, 2008, as a result of an 
        offer described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Treatment of Eligible Individuals.--Eligible Individuals--
            (1) are considered to be individuals serving as U.S. 
        Customs and Border Protection Officers on July 6, 2008, for 
        purposes of section 535(e) of the Department of Homeland 
        Security Appropriations Act, 2008 (division E of Public Law 
        110-161; 121 Stat. 1844); and
            (2) are entitled to--
                    (A) the minimum annuity amount required under 
                section 535(e)(2)(C) of such Act; and
                    (B) an exemption from mandatory retirement 
                otherwise required under section 8425(b)(1) of title 5, 
                United States Code.
    (c) Implementation.--
            (1) Submission of information.--Not later than 120 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security shall--
                    (A) create a list of all Eligible Individuals;
                    (B) notify each Eligible Individual of the annuity 
                correction described in subsection (b); and
                    (C) provide the Director of the Office of Personnel 
                Management with all of the information that is 
                necessary for making annuity corrections with respect 
                to Eligible Individuals.
            (2) Completion of annuity correction.--After receiving the 
        information described in paragraph (1)(C), the Director of the 
        Office of Personnel Management shall make the annuity 
        correction described in subsection (b) with respect to each 
        Eligible Individual, including a retroactive annuity adjustment 
        for Eligible Individuals who retired before the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (d) Waivers and Guidance.--
            (1) Waivers.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may 
        retroactively waive the maximum entry age requirement under 
        3307(g) of title 5, United States Code, to the extent 
        necessary, to ensure that each Eligible Individual is eligible 
        for immediate retirement with the annuity correction described 
        in subsection (b).
            (2) Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Personnel 
        Management, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security, shall issue appropriate guidance to assist in the 
        implementation of the annuity correction described in 
        subsection (b).
    (e) Government Accountability Office.--The Comptroller General of 
the United States--
            (1) shall review U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
        (referred to in this subsection as ``CBP'') hiring practices, 
        policies, and procedures related to eligibility for enhanced 
        retirement benefits referred to in this section by assessing--
                    (A) the process for determining whether an employee 
                qualifies for such benefits, including considering any 
                potential factors that would make an employee 
                ineligible for such enhanced retirement benefits;
                    (B) the internal controls used by CBP to ensure 
                that all eligible employees, and only eligible 
                employees, receive such enhanced retirement benefits;
                    (C) the policies regarding the use of employees' 
                personnel files to ensure compliance with current laws 
                governing retirement benefits; and
                    (D) the adequacy of the training provided to CBP 
                senior executives regarding human resources and hiring 
                practices at CBP; and
            (2) not later than 18 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, shall submit a report to the Committee 
        on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 
        the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives that describes the results of the review 
        conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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