I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7033 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to improve recruitment and retention 
of Federal correctional officers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 13, 2026 
Mr. GOLDMAN of New York (for himself, Ms. GOODLANDER, Mr. BRESNAHAN, 
Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. BACON, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. LALOTA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CISCOMANI, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. 
LAWLER, Mr. RILEY of New York, Mr. MACKENZIE, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. 
MEUSER, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. STANTON, and Ms. GILLEN) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to improve recruit-
ment and retention of Federal correctional officers, 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 ‘‘Federal Correctional 
Officer Paycheck Protection Act of 2026’’. 
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SEC. 2. SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY FOR FEDERAL COR-
RECTIONAL OFFICERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 53 of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
section 5332a the following: 
‘‘§ 5332b. Special base rates of pay for Federal correc-
tional officers 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘Federal correctional officer’ 
means a correctional officer (without regard to 
whether the position of the individual is classified in 
the 0007 series established by the Office of Per-
sonnel Management)— 
‘‘(A) who is employed by the Bureau of 
Prisons; and 
‘‘(B)(i) the duties of the position of 
whom— 
‘‘(I) primarily relate to the custody, 
control, or supervision of inmates within 
the Bureau of Prisons; or 
‘‘(II) routinely include direct inmate 
contact in a custodial setting; 
‘‘(ii) who, in the case of an employee who 
holds a supervisory or administrative position 
and is subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 
or chapter 84, but who does not qualify to be 
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considered a law enforcement officer within the 
meaning of section 8331(20) or 8401(17), as 
applicable, holds a position, the duties of which, 
if they included routine custodial inmate con-
tact, would be as described in clause (i); or 
‘‘(iii) who, in the case of an employee who 
is not subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 
or chapter 84, holds a position that the Office 
of Personnel Management, pursuant to written 
position classification applicable to the Bureau 
of Prisons, determines would satisfy clause (i) 
or (ii) if the employee were subject to sub-
chapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘General Schedule base rate’ 
means an annual rate of basic pay established under 
section 5332 before any additions, such as a locality- 
based comparability payment under section 5304 or 
5304a or a special rate supplement under section 
5305; and 
‘‘(3) the term ‘LEO special base rate’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 531.602 of title 
5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 
regulation. 
‘‘(b) SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY.— 
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‘‘(1) ENTITLEMENT TO SPECIAL RATE.—Not-
withstanding section 5332, a Federal correctional of-
ficer is entitled to a special base rate of pay, which 
shall— 
‘‘(A) replace the otherwise applicable Gen-
eral Schedule base rate or LEO special base 
rate for the Federal correctional officer; 
‘‘(B) be basic pay for all purposes, includ-
ing the purposes of applying— 
‘‘(i) sections 5304, 5304a, and 5595; 
‘‘(ii) subchapter V of chapter 55; and 
‘‘(iii) chapters 83 and chapter 84; and 
‘‘(C) be computed as provided in para-
graph (2) and adjusted at the time of adjust-
ments in the General Schedule base rate or 
LEO special base rate. 
‘‘(2) COMPUTATION.—The special base rate for 
a Federal correctional officer shall be calculated by 
increasing the applicable General Schedule base rate 
or LEO special base rate for the Federal correc-
tional officer by 35 percent and rounding the result 
to the nearest whole dollar, provided that such spe-
cial base rate does not exceed the rate of basic pay 
payable for level V of the Executive Schedule.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 5332a the following: 
‘‘5332b. Special base rates of pay for Federal correctional officers.’’. 
(c) CERTAIN PREVAILING RATE EMPLOYEES.—Sec-
tion 5343 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘covered em-
ployee’ means an employee— 
‘‘(A) who is described in section 5342(a)(2)(A) 
and is employed by the Bureau of Prisons; 
‘‘(B) the duties of the position of whom— 
‘‘(i) primarily relate to the custody, con-
trol, or supervision of inmates; or 
‘‘(ii) routinely include direct inmate con-
tact in a custodial setting; and 
‘‘(C) the position of whom is classified as not 
higher than grade 9 of the Federal Wage System. 
‘‘(2) The Attorney General shall increase the wage 
rates of each covered employee by 35 percent. 
‘‘(3) An increased wage rate under paragraph (2) 
shall be basic pay for the same purposes as the wage rate 
otherwise established under this section. 
‘‘(4) An increase under this subsection may not cause 
the wage rate of an employee to increase to a rate that 
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would produce an annualized rate in excess of the annual 
rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule.’’. 
SEC. 3. APPLICATION. 
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Federal 
correctional officer’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 5332b(a) of title 5, United States Code, as added 
by section 2 of this Act. 
(b) SUNSET.—Subject to subsection (c), on the date 
that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the authority provided under sections 5332b and 5343(h) 
of title 5, United States Code, as added by section 2 of 
this Act, shall terminate and those sections are repealed. 
(c) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.— 
(1) REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days before 
the expiration of the 5-year period described in sub-
section (b), the Inspector General of the Department 
of Justice (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Inspec-
tor General’’) shall conduct a review, and submit a 
report on that review to Congress, of— 
(A) the extent to which the Bureau of 
Prisons has, pursuant to the authority provided 
under sections 5332b and 5343(h) of title 5, 
United States Code, as added by section 2 of 
this Act— 
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(i) reduced or eliminated the use of 
non-custodial employees to perform the du-
ties of Federal correctional officers (com-
monly known as, and referred to in this 
section as, ‘‘augmentation’’); and 
(ii) reduced excessive mandatory over-
time for Federal correctional officers; and 
(B) the impact of the special base rates of 
pay under sections 5332b and 5343(h) of title 
5, United States Code, as added by section 2 of 
this Act, on recruitment, retention, and institu-
tional safety with respect to Federal correc-
tional officers. 
(2) CONTINUING AUTHORITY.— 
(A) DETERMINATION.—If, under the re-
view conducted under paragraph (1), the In-
spector General determines that the Bureau of 
Prisons has demonstrated measurable progress 
in eliminating augmentation and reducing ex-
cessive mandatory overtime for Federal correc-
tional officers, subsection (b) of this section 
shall have no force or effect and the authority 
provided under sections 5332b and 5343(h) of 
title 5, United States Code, as added by section 
2 of this Act, shall continue to apply. 
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(B) NOTICE.—The Inspector General shall 
include a determination made under subpara-
graph (A) in the report submitted to Congress 
under paragraph (1). 
Æ 
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