S.Amdt. 5922

SA 5922. Mr. BOOZMAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle A of title VI, add the following:

SEC. 606. REPORT ON ADEQUACY OF COST-OF-LIVING ALLOWANCE.

Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report--

(1) reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the cost-of-living allowance paid under section 403b of title 37, United States Code, to members of the uniformed services living in high cost areas in the continental United States, taking into consideration--

(A) the rising costs of non-housing-related expenses, such as utilities, childcare, and other expenses incurred by such members; and

(B) units in living areas known to be high cost that may not otherwise be identified as meeting the current qualifications for the cost-of-living allowance;

(2) assessing--

(A) the methods the Secretary of Defense uses to determine the appropriate price index to use as the basis for determining the amount of the cost-of-living allowance; and

(B) whether or not those methods should be changed periodically to adjust for periods of inflation;

(3) reviewing the feasibility of the 8 percent threshold requirement under subsection (c) of section 403b of title 37, United States Code, to determine if adjustments should be made to that threshold in order to accurately capture additional high cost areas; and

(4) making recommendations with respect to the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).