To require a review of the methodologies used to determine the amounts of locality-based comparability payments and to require the President's Pay Agent to conduct a pilot program establishing alternative models for determining the amounts of those payments.

SA 3697. 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.

[[Page S5634]]

(b) Requirement.--The Pay Agent shall enter into a contract
with the National Academy of Public Administration under
which, not later than 380 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the National Academy of Public Administration, in
consultation with the Pay Agent, 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 cost-of-living and labor market data, as
derived from--
(i) salary data from the National Compensation Survey and
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programs
administered 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 Federal indicators or reputable 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) recommend 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, such as rates of pay established under
the AcqDemo Project of the Department of Defense carried out
under section 1762 of title 10, United States Code; and
(C) using regional housing market trends, with a particular
focus on the markets in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Layton, Utah,
and other similarly fast-growing areas, as determined by the
Pay Agent.
(c) Pilot Program.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 5304 and 5304a of
title 5, United States Code, after the National Academy of
Public Administration completes the review described in
subsection (b), the Pay Agent shall carry out a pilot program
under which the Pay Agent, after consideration of the
alternative models recommended under subsection (b)(2), uses
alternative models 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 pilot program under this
subsection shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after
the date on which the National Academy of Public
Administration completes the review 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
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).
(e) Limitation.--Nothing in this section shall be construed
as granting authority to use alternative models to determine
the amounts of comparability payments after the termination
of the pilot program under subsection (c)(2).
______