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 ‘‘Border Patrol Agent 
Pay Reform Amendments Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE BORDER PATROL AGENT PAY 
REFORM ACT OF 2014. 
(a) BORDER PATROL AGENT PAY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 5550 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(A)
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting 
‘‘agent’’ after ‘‘applicable border patrol’’; 
(B) (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(i) (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘Not later than 30 days before the first day of 
each year beginning after the date of enactment 
of this section, a border patrol agent shall make 
an election whether the border patrol agent 
shall, for that year, be assigned to’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Not later than December 1 of each year, 
a border patrol agent shall make an election 
whether the border patrol agent shall, for the 
next annual period beginning on the first day of 
the first pay period that commences on or after 
January 1, be assigned to’’; 
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(ii) (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘Not later than 60 days before the first day of 
each year beginning after the date of enactment 
of this section’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘Not 
later than November 1 of each year’’; 
(iii) (C) in subparagraph (D)— 
(I) (i) by amending clause (iv) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(iv) a border patrol agent shall be 
assigned a basic border patrol rate of pay 
during the period of initial training (in-
cluding initial orientation sessions, basic 
training, and other preparatory activities) 
prior to the agent’s first regular work as-
signment; and’’; and 
(II) (ii) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or 
the level 2 border patrol rate of pay’’; 
(iv) (D) in subparagraph (E)— 
(I) (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or 
the level 2 border patrol rate of pay’’; 
(II) (ii) clause (ii), by striking ‘‘the 
analysis conducted under section 2(e) of 
the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act 
of 2014’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘a writ-
ten staffing analysis’’; and 
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(III) (iii) by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(iv) EXCLUSION
OF
CERTAIN
EM-
PLOYEES.—In applying any percentage 
limit under clause (i) or (ii) to a location 
population, U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection shall exclude from such population 
any border patrol agent who is assigned a 
basic border patrol rate of pay under sub-
paragraph (D)(iii) or (D)(iv) or who would 
reach the premium pay cap under section 
5547 if assigned a level 1 border patrol 
rate of pay. 
‘‘(v) APPLICATION FREQUENCY.—The 
10 percent limit under clause (i) or an al-
ternative percentage limit under a waiver 
under clause (ii) shall be applied at the be-
ginning of the first pay period beginning 
on or after January 1 each year.’’; 
(v) (E) by amending subparagraph (F) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(F) CANINE CARE.—(i) For a border pa-
trol agent assigned to provide care for a canine 
while not on duty and assigned to the level 1 
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border patrol rate of pay in accordance with 
subparagraph (D)(ii)— 
‘‘(I) that rate of pay covers all such 
care and no other pay shall be paid to the 
border patrol agent for such care except as 
set forth in subclauses (II) through (V); 
‘‘(II) the agent shall be credited with 
1 hour of such care for each calendar day 
on which such care occurs (without regard 
to the actual duration of such care); 
‘‘(III) canine care hours credited 
under subclause (II) on a day when the 
agent performs regular time work under 
paragraph (2)(A)(i) shall— 
‘‘(aa) be counted as up to 1 hour 
of scheduled overtime (as described in 
paragraph (2)(A)(ii)) on that work 
day if the agent has not completed 2 
hours of scheduled overtime (exclud-
ing the canine care hour credited 
under clause (ii)) on that workday; or 
‘‘(bb) be counted as up to 1 hour 
of overtime work that is officially or-
dered or approved in advance of the 
workweek 
under 
section 
5542(g) 
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based on the amount of canine care 
credit for the workday that is not con-
verted to scheduled overtime under 
item (aa); 
‘‘(IV) canine care hours credited 
under subclause (II) on a day when the 
agent does not perform regular time work 
under paragraph (2)(A)(i) shall be counted 
as 1 hour of overtime work that is offi-
cially ordered or approved in advance of 
the workweek under section 5542(g); and 
‘‘(V) 
notwithstanding 
subclauses 
(III)(bb) and (V) (IV), overtime work cred-
ited under those subclauses is subject to 
substitution or application as provided in 
paragraph (2)(F) and subsection (f) as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(aa) Substitution for periods of 
absence during regular time or sched-
uled overtime (as described in para-
graph (2)(A)(ii)) within the same 
work period in which the canine care 
credit was generated. 
‘‘(bb) Application towards a debt 
of obligated overtime hours. 
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‘‘(ii) Canine care hours credited under sub-
clauses (III) or (IV) shall not be credited as 
overtime work under any other provision of 
law.’’; and 
(vi) (F) by striking subparagraph (G); 
(C) (3) in subsection (b)(2)— 
(i) (A) by amending subparagraph (C)(i) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(i) any compensation under this sec-
tion or any other provision of law in addi-
tion to the compensation provided under 
subparagraph (B); or’’; 
(ii) (B) in subparagraph (E)— 
(I) (i) by striking ‘‘paid leave’’ and in-
serting ‘‘leave’’; and 
(II) (ii) by striking ‘‘absent from 
work’’ and inserting ‘‘excused from work’’; 
(iii) (C) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by strik-
ing ‘‘and’’; 
(iv) (D) by amending subparagraph (G) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(G) if the border patrol agent participates 
in a full day of advanced training but does not 
perform the entire required amount of sched-
uled overtime work under subparagraph (A)(ii) 
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on that day, the border patrol agent shall be 
deemed to have performed scheduled overtime 
work during nonwork periods to the extent nec-
essary to reach the required amount, but such 
deemed credit may be applied to no more than 
180 hours in a calendar year; otherwise, the 
agent shall accrue a debt of hours for scheduled 
overtime not worked on such a day; and’’; and 
(v) (E) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(H) a border patrol agent may choose to 
reduce any debt of obligated overtime hours 
that the agent has incurred by applying any ac-
crued compensatory time off for travel pursuant 
to section 5550b, and such compensatory time 
off for travel may be applied towards such debt 
only after other forms of overtime or earned 
compensatory time credited to the border patrol 
agent have been exhausted.’’; 
(D) (4) in subsection (b)(3)— 
(i) (A) by amending subparagraph (C)(i) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(i) any compensation under this sec-
tion or any other provision of law in addi-
tion to the compensation provided under 
subparagraph (B); or’’; 
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(ii) (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
‘‘paid leave’’ and inserting ‘‘leave’’; 
(iii) (C) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by strik-
ing ‘‘and’’; 
(iv) (D) by amending subparagraph (G) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(G) if the border patrol agent participates 
in a full day of advanced training but does not 
perform the entire required amount of sched-
uled overtime work under subparagraph (A)(ii) 
on that day, the border patrol agent shall be 
deemed to have performed scheduled overtime 
work during nonwork periods to the extent nec-
essary to reach the required amount, but such 
deemed credit may be applied to no more than 
90 hours in a calendar year; otherwise, the 
agent shall accrue a debt of hours for scheduled 
overtime not worked on such a day; and’’; and 
(v) (E) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(H) a border patrol agent may choose to 
reduce any debt of obligated overtime hours 
that the agent has incurred by applying any ac-
crued compensatory time off for travel pursuant 
to section 5550b; such compensatory time off 
for travel may be applied towards such debt 
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only after other forms of overtime or earned 
compensatory time credited to the border patrol 
agent have been exhausted.’’; 
(E) (5) by amending subsection (d) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(d) TREATMENT AS BASIC PAY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any overtime supplement 
in addition to the basic border patrol rate of pay for 
a border patrol agent resulting from application of 
the level 1 border patrol rate of pay or the level 2 
border patrol rate of pay shall be treated as part of 
basic pay only— 
‘‘(A) except as otherwise provided in para-
graph (3), for purposes of the definitions in sec-
tion 8331(3) and 8401(4) and the provisions in 
chapters 83 and 84 that rely on those defini-
tions (consistent with section 8331(3)(I)); 
‘‘(B) except as otherwise provided in para-
graph (3), for purposes of sections 5595(c) and 
8704(c); 
‘‘(C) for the purpose of section 8114(e); 
and 
‘‘(D) subject to paragraph (2) and any 
limitation established under paragraph (3), any 
other purpose that the Director of the Office of 
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Personnel Management may by regulation pre-
scribe. 
‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—The overtime supplement 
described in paragraph (1) shall not be treated as 
part of basic pay for purposes not covered by that 
paragraph, including the purposes of calculating— 
‘‘(A) overtime pay, night pay, Sunday pay, 
or holiday pay under section 5542, 5545, or 
5546; 
‘‘(B) locality-based comparability payments 
under section 5304 or special rate supplements 
under section 5305; or 
‘‘(C) cost-of-living allowances in nonforeign 
areas under section 5941. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During the control pe-
riod described in subparagraph (B), the amount 
of the overtime supplement that is considered 
basic pay under paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) 
may not exceed the amount derived by multi-
plying the border patrol agent’s basic border 
patrol rate of pay by the percentage rep-
resenting the agent’s career average of assigned 
overtime supplement percentages (including 0 
percent for periods of time during which no 
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overtime supplement was payable). That career 
average percentage is computed without regard 
to the effect of the limitation on premium pay 
under section 5547, but the premium pay limi-
tation remains applicable in determining the 
dollar amount of any overtime supplement com-
puted using the career average percentage. 
‘‘(B) CONTROL PERIOD.—For the purposes 
of applying subparagraph (A), the control pe-
riod described in this subparagraph is the pe-
riod that begins 3 years before the date a bor-
der patrol agent will meet age and service re-
quirements associated with entitlement to an 
immediate annuity and continues throughout 
the remainder of the individual’s career as a 
border patrol agent. 
‘‘(C) ASSIGNED
OVERTIME
SUPPLEMENT 
PERCENTAGES.—For the purpose of applying 
subparagraph (A), a border patrol agent’s ini-
tial career average of assigned overtime supple-
ment percentages is the average for the border 
patrol agent’s career (excluding any period of 
initial training prior to the agent’s first regular 
work assignment) prior to the beginning of the 
control period described in subparagraph (B). 
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During such control period, the career average 
shall be recomputed at the end of each annual 
period (as described in subsection (b)(1)(A)). In 
computing such career average, any periods of 
service as a border patrol agent prior to the 
first day of the first pay period beginning on or 
after January 1, 2016, shall be included, and 
the agent’s assigned overtime supplement dur-
ing such periods shall be deemed to be 25 per-
cent. 
‘‘(4) ANNUAL LEAVE PAYMENT.—For the pur-
pose of computing an agent’s lump-sum annual leave 
payment under section 5551 or 5552, the pay the 
agent is projected to receive shall include a deemed 
overtime supplement derived under this paragraph. 
Such overtime supplement shall be based on the 
lower of the agent’s actual overtime supplement per-
centage in effect at separation or the average per-
centage of the agent’s overtime supplement over the 
26 full biweekly pay periods immediately preceding 
that separation, and shall not exceed the amount 
that is or would be payable under the premium pay 
limitation in section 5547.’’; 
(F) (6) in subsection (f)— 
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(i) (A) in the heading of such subsection, 
by striking ‘‘AND SUBSTITUTION OF HOURS’’ 
and inserting ‘‘DURING REGULAR TIME; AB-
SENCES DURING SCHEDULED OVERTIME’’; and 
(ii) (B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) SPECIAL
RULES
FOR
LEAVE
WITHOUT 
PAY.— 
‘‘(A) AT LEAST 1 WORKDAY.—If a border 
patrol agent takes leave without pay for a pe-
riod of at least 1 workday, the agent shall not 
receive any pay for the hours during which the 
border patrol agent took leave without pay. 
‘‘(B) NO ACCRUAL OF OVERTIME DEBT.— 
A border patrol agent shall not accrue an over-
time debt for any full workdays during which a 
border patrol agent uses leave without pay, re-
gardless of the border patrol rate of pay to 
which the border patrol agent is assigned. 
‘‘(C) CALCULATION OF PAY.—For pay pe-
riods during which a border patrol agent takes 
1 or more full days of leave without pay, the 
amount of border patrol pay that the agent 
would normally receive shall be reduced propor-
tionally by the amount of overtime hours that 
the agent has not worked due to being on leave 
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