[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 727 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 727
To correct the inequitable denial of enhanced retirement and annuity
benefits to certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 25, 2025
Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Hawley) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To correct the inequitable denial of enhanced retirement and annuity
benefits to certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Officer Retirement Technical Corrections Act''.
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT RELATED TO TRANSITION RULES.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section the term ``Eligible Individual''
means any individual who--
(1) received a tentative offer of employment as a U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Officer before July 6, 2008; and
(2) entered into duty as a U.S. Customs and Border
Protection officer on or after July 6, 2008, as a result of an
offer described in paragraph (1).
(b) Treatment of Eligible Individuals.--Eligible Individuals--
(1) are considered to be individuals serving as U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Officers on July 6, 2008, for
purposes of section 535(e) of the Department of Homeland
Security Appropriations Act, 2008 (division E of Public Law
110-161; 121 Stat. 1844); and
(2) are entitled to--
(A) the minimum annuity amount required under
section 535(e)(2)(C) of such Act; and
(B) an exemption from mandatory retirement
otherwise required under section 8425(b)(1) of title 5,
United States Code.
(c) Implementation.--
(1) Submission of information.--Not later than 120 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall--
(A) create a list of all Eligible Individuals;
(B) notify each Eligible Individual of the annuity
correction described in subsection (b); and
(C) provide the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management with all of the information that is
necessary for making annuity corrections with respect
to Eligible Individuals.
(2) Completion of annuity correction.--After receiving the
information described in paragraph (1)(C), the Director of the
Office of Personnel Management shall make the annuity
correction described in subsection (b) with respect to each
Eligible Individual, including a retroactive annuity adjustment
for Eligible Individuals who retired before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(d) Waivers and Guidance.--
(1) Waivers.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may
retroactively waive the maximum entry age requirement under
3307(g) of title 5, United States Code, to the extent
necessary, to ensure that each Eligible Individual is eligible
for immediate retirement with the annuity correction described
in subsection (b).
(2) Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
Security, shall issue appropriate guidance to assist in the
implementation of the annuity correction described in
subsection (b).
(e) Government Accountability Office.--The Comptroller General of
the United States--
(1) shall review U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(referred to in this subsection as ``CBP'') hiring practices,
policies, and procedures related to eligibility for enhanced
retirement benefits referred to in this section by assessing--
(A) the process for determining whether an employee
qualifies for such benefits, including considering any
potential factors that would make an employee
ineligible for such enhanced retirement benefits;
(B) the internal controls used by CBP to ensure
that all eligible employees, and only eligible
employees, receive such enhanced retirement benefits;
(C) the policies regarding the use of employees'
personnel files to ensure compliance with current laws
governing retirement benefits; and
(D) the adequacy of the training provided to CBP
senior executives regarding human resources and hiring
practices at CBP; and
(2) not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, shall submit a report to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives that describes the results of the review
conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
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