SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Service Over-
seas Pay Equity Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. OVERSEAS COMPARABILITY PAY ADJUSTMENT. 
(a) OVERSEAS COMPARABILITY PAY ADJUSTMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of the Foreign 
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3961 and following) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 415. OVERSEAS COMPARABILITY PAY ADJUSTMENT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Service who is 
designated class 1 or below for purposes of section 403 
and whose official duty station is neither in the continental 
United States nor in a non-foreign area shall receive, in 
accordance with the phase-in schedule set forth in sub-
section (c), the same locality-based comparability payment 
under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code (stated 
as a percentage) as would be payable to such member if 
such member’s official duty station were in the District 
of Columbia. 
‘‘(b) TREATMENT AS BASIC PAY.—The amount of 
any locality-based comparability payment which is payable 
to a member of the Service by virtue of this section— 
‘‘(1) shall be considered to be part of the basic 
pay of such member— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:29 Jan 12, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H370.IH
H370
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
‘‘(A) for the same purposes as provided for 
under section 5304(c)(2)(A) of title 5, United 
States Code; and 
‘‘(B) for purposes of chapter 8; and 
‘‘(2) shall be subject to any limitations on pay 
applicable to locality-based comparability payments 
under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(c) PHASE-IN.—The locality-based comparability 
payment payable to a member of the Service under this 
section shall— 
‘‘(1) beginning on the first day of the first pay 
period beginning on or after the date that fiscal year 
2010 appropriations are made available by enact-
ment of the Department of State, Foreign Oper-
ations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 
2010, or April 1, 2010, whichever is earlier, be equal 
to 33.33 percent of the payment which would other-
wise apply under subsection (a); 
‘‘(2) beginning on the first day of the first pay 
period in fiscal year 2011, be equal to 66.67 percent 
of the payment which would otherwise apply under 
subsection (a); and 
‘‘(3) beginning on the first day of the first pay 
period in fiscal year 2012 and each subsequent fiscal 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Jan 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H370.IH
H370
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
year, be equal to the payment determined under sub-
section (a). 
‘‘(d) NON-FOREIGN AREA DEFINED.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘non-foreign area’ has the same 
meaning as is given such term in regulations carrying out 
section 5941 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 
contents set forth in section 2 of such Act is amend-
ed by inserting after the item relating to section 414 
the following: 
‘‘Sec. 415. Overseas comparability pay adjustment.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO THE 
FOREIGN SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS.— 
(1) CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FUND.—Effective 
as of the first pay period beginning on or after Octo-
ber 1, 2011, section 805(a) of the Foreign Service 
Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4045(a)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in the first sentence, by striking 
‘‘7.25 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘7 percent’’; 
and 
(ii) in the second sentence, by striking 
‘‘The contribution by the employing agen-
cy’’ through ‘‘and shall be made’’ and in-
serting ‘‘An equal amount shall be contrib-
uted by the employing agency’’; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:29 Jan 12, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H370.IH
H370
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 
plus an amount equal to .25 percent of 
basic pay’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘, plus an amount equal to .25 percent of 
basic pay’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking all that 
follows ‘‘Code’’ and inserting a period. 
(2) COMPUTATION
OF
ANNUITIES.—Section 
806(a)(9) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 4046(a)(9)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘is outside the continental 
United States shall’’ and inserting ‘‘was outside the 
continental United States during the period begin-
ning on December 29, 2002, and ending on the day 
before the first day of the first pay period beginning 
on or after October 1, 2011 (or during any portion 
thereof) shall, to the extent that such computation 
is based on the salary or pay of such member for 
such period (or portion thereof),’’. 
(3) 
ENTITLEMENT
TO
ANNUITY.—Section 
855(a)(3) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 4071d(a)(3)) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘section 8414’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘section 8415’’; and 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:29 Jan 12, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H370.IH
H370
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(B) by striking ‘‘is outside the continental 
United States shall’’ and inserting ‘‘was outside 
the continental United States during the period 
beginning on December 29, 2002, and ending 
on the day before the first day of the first pay 
period beginning on or after October 1, 2011 
(or during any portion thereof) shall, to the ex-
tent that such computation is based on the sal-
ary of such member for such period (or portion 
thereof),’’. 
(4) DEDUCTIONS
AND
WITHHOLDINGS
FROM 
PAY.—Section 856(a)(2) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 
4071e(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) The applicable percentage under this sub-
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 begin-
ning on or after October 1, 2011.’’. 
(c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 
2011, the Secretary of State shall submit to the ap-
propriate congressional committees an assessment of 
all allowances provided to members of the Foreign 
Service under the Foreign Service Act of 1980 or 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:29 Jan 12, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H370.IH
H370
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
under title 5, United States Code, and in particular, 
how such allowances have been or will be affected by 
the amendments to the Foreign Service Act of 1980 
made by this Act. 
(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit-
tees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate. 
SEC. 3. DEATH GRATUITY. 
The first sentence of section 413(a) of the Foreign 
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973(a)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘at the time of death’’ and inserting ‘‘at level II 
of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, 
United States Code, at the time of death, except that for 
employees compensated under local compensation plans 
established under section 408, the amount shall be equal 
to the greater of 1 year’s salary at the time of death or 
1 year’s salary at the highest step of the highest grade 
on the local compensation plan from which the employee 
was being paid at the time of death’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:29 Jan 12, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H370.IH
H370
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS