Correcting Miscalculations in Veterans' Pensions Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4431) to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for interest payments by agencies in the case of administrative error in processing certain annuity deposits for prior military service, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H.R. 4431, the Correcting Miscalculations in Veterans' Pensions Act, introduced by Congressman Carter of Georgia.

Civilian Federal employees earn an annuity as a part of their service to the country. Newly hired civil servants with prior Federal service, such as members of the military or the Peace Corps, can pay a deposit to count their prior service toward that annuity. This allows an individual to increase their pension upon retirement by counting previous, noncivilian service in the annuity calculation.

Under Federal retirement rules, there is a set period of time in which the individual can pay the service deposit. If a deposit isn't paid within this period of time, interest is assessed.

For example, someone wishing to pay a military service deposit must do so within 2 years of starting civilian service. On the third anniversary of civilian employment, interest will begin to accrue annually until the deposit is paid in full.

From time to time, agencies make mistakes that can cause an individual to be assessed interest that would not otherwise be owed. Most commonly, the problem arises when an agency provides inaccurate information about the amount or due date of the deposit. But under current law, agencies cannot fix those mistakes, meaning the civil servant has to pay the cost of the agency's mistake.

A 1996 opinion by the Government Accountability Office found the Department of Energy was prohibited from paying the interest assessed as a result of an agency's mistake on a military service deposit without a change in the law. The agency made a mistake, and the agency wanted to pay the difference. But under the restrictions of current law, the individual had to cover the interest payments that accrued through no fault of his own.

This bill fixes that problem to ensure civil servants do not pay the cost of agencies' mistakes. Specifically, the bill authorizes Federal agencies to pay interest assessed on military service deposits, AmeriCorps service deposits, and Peace Corps service deposits, if the interest is a result of an agency error.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia, my friend, Mr. Carter, for his work on this important bill. I look forward to hearing from him in a moment.

I would also like to thank Chairman Harper from the Committee on House Administration for their support in bringing this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and

Government Reform,

Washington, DC, June 26, 2018.

Hon. Gregg Harper,

Chairman, Committee on House Administration, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: On November 16, 2017, the Committee on

Oversight and Government Reform ordered reported H.R. 4431,

the Correcting Miscalculations in Veterans' Pensions Act

without amendment, by voice vote. The bill was referred

primarily to the Committee on Oversight and Government

Reform, with additional referral to the Committee on House

Administration.

I ask you allow the Committee on the House Administration

to be discharged from further consideration of the bill to

expedite floor consideration. This discharge in no way

affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of the

bill, and it will not serve as precedent for future

referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bill be

necessary, I would support your request to have the Committee

on House Administration represented on the conference

committee. Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter

and any response in the bill report filed by the Committee on

Oversight and Government Reform, as well as in the

Congressional Record during floor consideration, to

memorialize our understanding.

Thank you for your consideration of my request.

Sincerely,

Trey Gowdy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), who is the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4431, the Correcting Miscalculations in Veterans' Pensions Act and urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation.

I introduced this legislation after one of our veteran constituents in the First Congressional District of Georgia brought his own story to my office. In this case, he was a veteran who, after his service in the military, continued to serve our country by working in the Federal Government. Veterans who work for the Federal Government can have their Active Duty time in the military count toward their civil servant retirement pension if they pay a military service deposit.

In the case of our constituent, the employing agency made a mistake in calculating his military service deposit, but the Federal Government did not notice the mistake for more than 10 years. Years later, the Office of Personnel Management, OPM, told the constituent that he must pay the miscalculated amount plus the mistakenly accrued interest on the military service deposit that the employing government agency had miscalculated.

When he tried to fight the situation, the employing agency said that they had no ability to either waive the payment or pay it on behalf of the veteran employee.

We have found multiple occurrences just like this one for veterans working in our Federal Government. More often than not when these situations happen, the costs balloon to tens of thousands of dollars, leaving our veterans on the hook to pay. This legislation seeks to improve this situation by clarifying that the Federal agencies, in the case

of a miscalculation, are able to pay the interest that accrues on the military service deposit on behalf of the veteran, which, over time, ends up being the bulk of cost.

Our veterans risked their lives to protect our country, and they deserve the best when they return home.

It is unfortunate to me that our Federal Government cannot follow through with this commitment for even its own veteran employees. It is even more worrisome that these Federal agencies are putting off their responsibility, instead making their own employees--veteran employees-- take the huge financial hit.

With this legislation, we can support our veterans working in the Federal Government.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4431. This measure would authorize agencies to pay interest on military service deposits in cases in which administrative error causes interest to be due.

Military servicemembers who transition to civilian service may elect to have past military service factored into their Federal pensions by making payments to the civilian retirement fund. These payments are intended to align with the contribution to the pension fund the employees would have made for their years of service in the military.

Unfortunately, current law requires these payments to be paid within 2 years of starting Federal service. After this date, interest is assessed on any outstanding payments. Sometimes agencies make mistakes calculating the deposit amount that is due. In these cases, it is only fair that the agencies that made the errors should pay the accrued interest. Under current law or regulation, not all agencies have the authority to pay such accrued interest. This bill would close that loophole.

I thank Representative Carter and Chairman Gowdy for working with us after committee markup to add provisions in the bill that would make similar changes to title 5 regarding the service and deposits for VISTA and Peace Corps volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 4431, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4431 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.