S.Amdt. 3206

SA 3206. Mr. CURTIS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 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 appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. ___. MODERNIZATION OF THE PAY COMPARABILITY SYSTEM.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Comparability payment.--The term ``comparability
payment'' means a comparability payment payable under section
5304 or 5304a of title 5, United States Code.
(2) General schedule position; pay disparity.--The terms
``General Schedule position'' and ``pay disparity'' have the
meanings given those terms in section 5302 of title 5, United
States Code.
(3) Pay agent.--The term ``Pay Agent'' means the agent
designated by the President under section 5304(d) of title 5,
United States Code.
(b) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Pay Agent, in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense, the Federal Salary Council, and the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall--
(1) conduct a review of the methodologies used to determine
the amounts of comparability payments, which shall include--
(A) an assessment of the extent to which comparability
payments align with real world cost-of-living and labor
market data, as derived from--
(i) the National Compensation Survey conducted by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor;
(ii) the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department
of Labor;
(iii) regional price parity indices published by the Bureau
of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce;
(iv) the House Price Index published by the Federal Housing
Finance Agency;
(v) the National Housing Market Indicators produced by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
(vi) other publicly available indicators, as determined
appropriate by the Pay Agent; and
(B) a specific analysis of--
(i) pay disparities in Utah; and
(ii) regional pay disparities affecting the recruitment and
retention of Federal employees in defense-related roles,
using Utah as a case study for areas undergoing rapid
economic growth; and
(2) establish alternative models for determining the
amounts of comparability payments, including by--
(A) making adjustments based on broader economic
indicators;
(B) comparing the rates of pay payable under General
Schedule positions with the rates of pay payable under
positions in the Federal Government that are not General
Schedule positions; and
(C) using regional housing market trends, with a particular
focus on the markets in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Layton,
Utah.
(c) Pilot Program.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 5304 and 5304a of
title 5, United States Code, the Pay Agent may, during the
period described in paragraph (2), carry out a pilot program
under which the Pay Agent uses the alternative models
established under subsection (b)(2) to determine the amounts
of comparability payments that shall be paid in Utah and each
area in which a pay disparity described in subsection
(b)(1)(B)(ii) exists.
(2) Length of pilot program.--The period described in this
paragraph is a period of not more than 3 years, beginning on
the date on which the Pay Agent completes the requirements
under subsection (b).
(3) Notification.--Before implementing a pilot program
under this subsection, the Pay Agent shall provide notice
regarding, and an explanation of, that pilot program to
Congress and the public.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to limit the authority of an agency under section
5305, 5753, or 5754 of title 5, United States Code, to

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establish special salary rates or offer recruitment,
relocation, or retention bonuses while the Pay Agent is
carrying out the requirements under subsection (b) or any
pilot program under subsection (c).
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