I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 447 
To provide compensation flexibility to address retention and hiring issues 
at the Bonneville Power Administration. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2025 
Ms. PEREZ (for herself and Mr. NEWHOUSE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To provide compensation flexibility to address retention and 
hiring issues at the Bonneville Power Administration. 
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 ‘‘Reliability for Rate-
payers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. COMPENSATION FLEXIBILITY TO ADDRESS RETEN-
TION AND HIRING ISSUES AT THE BONNE-
VILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION. 
Section 10 of the Act of August 20, 1937 (commonly 
known as the ‘‘Bonneville Project Act of 1937’’) (50 Stat. 
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736, chapter 720; 16 U.S.C. 832i), is amended by striking 
the section designation and subsections (a) and (b) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘SEC. 10. EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL. 
‘‘(a) EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
law, rule, regulation, or directive relating to the pay-
ment of Federal employees (other than chapter 83 
of title 5, United States Code), the administrator 
shall develop, implement, and, as appropriate, up-
date, based on the results of an annual review under 
paragraph (4), a compensation plan that specifies 
and fixes the compensation (including salary or any 
other pay, bonuses, benefits, incentives, and any 
other form of remuneration) for employees of the ad-
ministrator, including members of the Senior Execu-
tive Service (as defined in section 2101a of title 5, 
United States Code). 
‘‘(2) INITIAL COMPENSATION PLAN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of the Reliability 
for Ratepayers Act, the administrator shall, in 
consultation with the Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management, and subject to con-
firmation and approval by the Secretary of En-
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ergy, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, 
develop an initial compensation plan under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 1 
year after the date on which the initial com-
pensation plan is developed under subparagraph 
(A), the administrator shall implement the ini-
tial compensation plan. 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—A compensation plan 
developed under paragraph (1) shall— 
‘‘(A) be based on an annual survey of the 
prevailing compensation for similar positions in 
the public sectors of the electric industry; 
‘‘(B) be consistent with the approved an-
nual general and administrative budget of the 
administrator and encourage the widest diversi-
fied use of electric power at the lowest possible 
rates to consumers consistent with sound busi-
ness principles; 
‘‘(C) provide that education, experience, 
level of responsibility, geographic differences, 
and retention and recruitment needs are to be 
taken into account in determining the com-
pensation of employees of the administrator; 
and 
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‘‘(D) provide that the individual total com-
pensation of the administrator and any em-
ployee of the administrator shall be comparable 
to and competitive with similar positions among 
consumer-owned utilities in the Western Inter-
connection. 
‘‘(4) ANNUAL REVIEW.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Annually, the admin-
istrator shall review and update, as appropriate, 
the compensation plan developed under para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(B) COMPENSATION
OF
THE
ADMINIS-
TRATOR.—Notwithstanding any other law, rule, 
regulation, or directive relating to the payment 
of the administrator (other than chapter 83 of 
title 5, United States Code), the Secretary shall 
periodically review and update, as appropriate, 
the compensation of the administrator con-
sistent with paragraph (3)(D). 
‘‘(C) PUBLICATION
OF
INFORMATION.— 
The administrator shall include in the quarterly 
public business review of the administrator or 
any other appropriate public review of the oper-
ations and finances of the administrator infor-
mation on the applicable annual compensation 
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plan review under subparagraph (A), including 
information on the amount of salaries of any 
employees whose annual salaries would exceed 
the annual rate payable for positions at Level 
IV of the Executive Schedule under section 
5315 of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(5) ANNUAL PUBLICATION.—Annually, the ad-
ministrator shall publish the compensation plan de-
veloped under paragraph (1) or updated under para-
graph (4), as applicable. 
‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT; EMPLOYMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The administrator may, as 
the administrator determines to be necessary to 
carry out this Act, subject to applicable civil service 
laws— 
‘‘(A) appoint any officers and employees; 
‘‘(B) employ laborers, mechanics, and 
workers for construction work or the operation 
and maintenance of electrical facilities; and 
‘‘(C) fix the compensation of individuals 
appointed under subparagraph (A) or (B), re-
spectively, consistent with the applicable com-
pensation plan developed under subsection 
(a)(1). 
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‘‘(2) EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 
LAWS.—In carrying out the authority provided by 
paragraph (1), the administrator shall be exempt 
from chapters 34, 43, 51, 53, 57, and 59 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION
OF
MERIT
SYSTEM
PRIN-
CIPLES.—Employees of the administrator are sub-
ject to the application of the merit system principles 
set forth in section 2301 of title 5, United States 
Code, to the extent that the principles apply to a 
wholly owned Government corporation. 
‘‘(4) EMPLOYMENT OF PHYSICIANS.—The ad-
ministrator may employ physicians, without regard 
to the civil service laws (including regulations), to 
perform physical examinations of employees of the 
administrator or prospective employees of the ad-
ministrator who are or may become laborers, me-
chanics, and workers described in paragraph (1)(B). 
‘‘(5) EMPLOYMENT OF EXPERTS.—The admin-
istrator may appoint, without regard to the civil 
service laws (including regulations), any experts that 
the administrator determines to be necessary to 
carry out the functions of the administrator under 
this Act.’’. 
Æ 
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