Senate Shared Employee Act
Bill: S.422 | Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Senate Shared Employee Act
This bill authorizes Senators and Senate committees, leadership offices, and other offices to share employees, and it establishes certain rules to govern this procedure.
These rules include (1) requiring the office that authorizes any travel for official business to pay for the cost of the travel, and (2) setting the basic rate of pay for an individual serving in more than one of certain qualifying positions to be the total basic pay received by the individual from all such positions.

[117th Congress Public Law 10]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 135 STAT. 259]]

Public Law 117-10
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
To allow Senators, Senators-elect, committees of the Senate, leadership 
  offices, and other offices of the Senate to share employees, and for 
          other purposes. <<NOTE: Apr. 23, 2021 -  [S. 422]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Senate Shared 
Employee Act.>> 
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 2 USC 4501 note.>>  SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Senate Shared Employee Act''.
SEC. 2. ALLOWING SENATORS, COMMITTEES, LEADERSHIP OFFICES, AND 
                    OTHER OFFICES OF THE SENATE TO SHARE 
                    EMPLOYEES.

    (a) In General.--Section 114 of the Legislative Branch Appropriation 
Act, 1978 (2 U.S.C. 4576) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``Notwithstanding'';
            (2) by striking ``position, each of'' and all that follows 
        through the period at the end and inserting the following: 
        ``qualifying position if the aggregate gross pay from those 
        positions does not exceed--
            ``(1) the maximum rate specified in section 105(d)(2) of the 
        Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 (2 U.S.C. 
        4575(d)(2)), as amended and modified; or
            ``(2) in a case where 1 or more of the individual's 
        qualifying positions are positions described in subsection 
        (d)(2)(B), the maximum rate specified in section 105(e)(3) of 
        the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 (2 U.S.C. 
        4575(e)(3)), as amended and modified.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:

    ``(b)(1) For an individual serving in more than 1 qualifying 
position under subsection (a), the cost of any travel for official 
business shall be paid by the office authorizing the travel.
    ``(2) Messages for each electronic mail account used in connection 
with carrying out the official duties of an individual serving in more 
than 1 qualifying position under subsection (a) may be delivered to and 
sent from a single handheld communications device provided to the 
individual for purposes of official business.
    ``(3)(A) For purposes of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.), the rate of basic pay for an individual serving in more 
than 1 qualifying position under subsection (a) shall be the total basic 
pay received by the individual from all such positions.
    ``(B) For an individual serving in more than one qualifying position 
under subsection (a), for purposes of the rights and obligations 
described in, or described in the provisions applied under, title II of 
the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.) 
related to practices used at a time when the individual

[[Page 135 STAT. 260]]

is serving in such a qualifying position with an employing office, the 
rate of pay for the individual shall be the individual rate of pay 
received from the employing office.
    ``(c)(1) If the duties of a qualifying position under subsection (a) 
include information technology services and support, an individual may 
only serve in the qualifying position and 1 or more additional 
qualifying positions under such subsection if the individual is in 
compliance with each information technology standard and policy 
established for Senate offices by the Office of the Sergeant at Arms and 
Doorkeeper of the Senate.
    ``(2) Notwithstanding subsection (a), an employee serving in a 
qualifying position in the Office of the Secretary of the Senate or the 
Office of the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate may serve in 
an additional qualifying position only if--
            ``(A) the other qualifying position is with the other 
        Office; or
            ``(B) the Committee on Rules and Administration of the 
        Senate has approved the arrangement.

    ``(d) <<NOTE: Definition.>>  In this section, the term `qualifying 
position' means a position that--
            ``(1) is designated as a shared position for purposes of 
        this section by the Senator or other head of the office in which 
        the position is located; and
            ``(2) is one of the following:
                    ``(A) A position--
                          ``(i) that is in the office of a Senator; and
                          ``(ii) the pay of which is disbursed by the 
                      Secretary of the Senate.
                    ``(B) A position--
                          ``(i) that is in any committee of the Senate 
                      (including a select or special committee) or a 
                      joint committee of Congress; and
                          ``(ii) the pay of which is disbursed by the 
                      Secretary of the Senate out of an appropriation 
                      under the heading `inquiries and investigations' 
                      or `Joint Economic Committee', or a heading 
                      relating to a Joint Congressional Committee on 
                      Inaugural Ceremonies.
                    ``(C) A position--
                          ``(i) that is in another office (excluding the 
                      Office of the Vice President and the Office of the 
                      Chaplain of the Senate); and
                          ``(ii) the pay of which is disbursed by the 
                      Secretary of the Senate out of an appropriation 
                      under the heading `Salaries, Officers and 
                      Employees'.
                    ``(D) A position--
                          ``(i) that is filled pursuant to section 105 
                      of the Second Supplemental Appropriations Act, 
                      1978 (2 U.S.C. 6311); and
                          ``(ii) the pay of which is disbursed by the 
                      Secretary of the Senate out of an appropriation 
                      under the heading `miscellaneous items'.''.

[[Page 135 STAT. 261]]

    (b) <<NOTE: 2 USC 4576 note.>>  Effective Date.--The amendments made 
by subsection (a) shall take effect beginning on the day that is 6 
months after the date of enactment of this Act.

    Approved April 23, 2021.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 422:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 167 (2021):
            Feb. 24, considered and passed Senate.
            Apr. 16, considered and passed House.

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