I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3272 
To provide for a demonstration project under which a basic housing allowance 
will be afforded to Federal law enforcement officers serving in high- 
cost areas, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 13, 2005 
Mr. ROGERS of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Government Reform 
A BILL 
To provide for a demonstration project under which a basic 
housing allowance will be afforded to Federal law en-
forcement officers serving in high-cost areas, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Project to Protect 
America Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that—
(1) the current system of compensation for 
Federal law enforcement officers (hereinafter in this 
section referred to as ‘‘FLEOs’’) must be reformed 
in order to deal with recruitment, retention, and mo-
rale problems associated with assignments to high- 
cost areas; 
(2) as the Office of Personnel Management has 
confirmed, limitations on premium pay are contrib-
uting to the pay compression problem which, in 
turn, may be undermining the efficacy of incentives 
designed to encourage FLEOs to assume greater su-
pervisory and managerial duties; 
(3) the security of the Nation, as the 9–11 
Commission Report confirmed, depends on effective 
Federal law enforcement; this is particularly true of 
large metropolitan areas, which should be staffed 
with FLEOs who are fairly compensated for their 
services; 
(4) the combination of rising living costs and 
lagging compensation threatens to worsen the sig-
nificant recruitment and retention problems already 
facing Federal law enforcement agencies; 
(5) the problems described in paragraph (4) are 
especially serious among law enforcement officers of 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who are re-
cruited and subject to assignment nationwide, and, 
upon assignment, are expected to adjust rapidly; but 
who, particularly in the case of those assigned to 
high-cost areas, often experience significant difficul-
ties in finding adequate and affordable housing; and 
(6) the Office of Personnel Management should 
experiment with innovative approaches to addressing 
compensation problems in the Federal workforce 
and, in the case of FLEOs, should look to the De-
partment of Defense as a model for providing a rea-
sonable housing allowance to assist those assigned to 
high-cost areas. 
SEC. 3. HOUSING ALLOWANCE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Personnel Manage-
ment shall provide for a demonstration project under 
which eligible employees will be paid a basic housing allow-
ance. 
(b) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES.—For purposes of this 
Act, the term ‘‘eligible employee’’ means an employee who 
holds a position that— 
(1) is in or under the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation; 
(2)(A) is classified under chapter 51 of title 5, 
United States Code, as a GS–1811 position; or
(B) if the GS–1811 classification is redesig-
nated or abolished or the qualification requirements 
for the GS–1811 classification are modified after the 
date of enactment of this Act, meets the qualifica-
tion requirements for the GS–1811 classification ei-
ther as then currently in effect or as in effect on 
such date of enactment; and 
(3) is within a high-cost area. 
Such term does not include an employee who is serving 
on a temporary basis or a part-time career employment 
basis (within the meaning of section 3401 of such title 
5) or who is a reemployed annuitant (within the meaning 
of section 8344 or 8468 of such title 5). 
(c) IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH-COST AREAS.— 
(1) CRITERIA.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An area shall, with re-
spect to any calendar year, be considered to be 
a high-cost area for purposes of this Act if, 
with respect to the calendar year last ending 
before the start of such fiscal year— 
(i) the average monthly housing costs 
for that area exceeded the average monthly 
housing costs for the continental United 
States by at least 10 percent (the dollar 
amount of that difference hereinafter in
this Act referred to as the ‘‘housing cost 
differential’’); or 
(ii) such area was one of the 10 areas 
within the continental United States hav-
ing the highest cost of living (identified in 
such manner as the Office of Personnel 
Management shall determine) and for 
which average monthly housing costs ex-
ceeded the average monthly housing costs 
for the continental United States. 
(B) SAME
DIFFERENTIAL
COMPUTATION 
RULE APPLIES.—The housing cost differential 
for any area identified under subparagraph 
(A)(ii) shall be determined in the same manner 
as described in subparagraph (A)(i), but dis-
regarding the 10-percent requirement. 
(2) ANNUAL
DETERMINATIONS.—In order to 
carry out this subsection, the Office of Personnel 
Management shall (for each fiscal year during which 
the demonstration project remains in operation) 
identify which areas satisfy paragraph (1). 
(3) COSTS
OF
ADEQUATE
HOUSING.—Deter-
minations of monthly housing costs under this sub-
section shall be based on the costs of renting ade-
quate housing typically borne by individuals residing