Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2023

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3427) to extend the authority to provide employees of the United States Secret Service with overtime pay beyond other statutory limitations, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on this measure.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3427, the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2023.

As we all know, the members of the Secret Service are tasked with protecting Presidents, other high-ranking government officials, and their families from harm.

They staff public events, providing a visible police presence, securing vital property in our Nation's Capital and nationwide.

They are trained and prepared to act at the first sign of danger.

While this career can be extremely rewarding, the job itself is challenging and stressful, with agents and officers often working long hours around the clock, including on holidays and weekends.

Through these sacrifices, Secret Service agents and officers commit their lives to public service and deserve to be fairly compensated for their work, which is why in 2016, Congress authorized allowing Secret Service officers and agents to earn overtime pay above their GS pay scale level.

Unfortunately, on December 31 of last year, the Secret Service's authority to pay special agents and uniformed division officers adequate overtime expired, compromising the ability to pay many commensurate with their duties.

With the upcoming elections and other high-profile events of global significance this year and beyond, the Secret Service will be called upon to help protect events and people serving in positions vital to national security.

That is why I am pleased that the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act, which would renew the authority needed to provide Secret Service members with the respect, gratitude, and compensation that they deserve, is before us today.

This bill has been endorsed by the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.

Madam Speaker, I thank my House colleagues, Homeland Security Committee Chairman Green, and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson, for leading the bipartisan companion in the House.

I also thank House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin for their work addressing this important U.S. Secret Service workforce issue, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues on both sides of the aisle to unite behind the brave men and women of the Secret Service and support this commonsense bipartisan bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I submit to the Senate a budget scorekeeping report. The report, which covers fiscal year 2024, was prepared and submitted as a letter by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 308(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. This information assists the Senate Budget Committee in determining if budgetary points of order lie against pending legislation.

CBO's report shows the effect on spending and revenues of congressional action through April 15, 2024. Between CBO's last report on December 13, 2023, and April 15, 2024, Congress passed eight pieces of legislation with effects on direct spending or revenue. These include two appropriations bills passed in March, P.L. 118-42 and P.L. 118-47, that completed the fiscal year 2024 appropriations cycle in line with the bipartisan agreement enacted last summer.

CBO's report included three tables, tables 1, 2, and 3. Tables 1 and 2 show that current budgetary levels are within allowable amounts for budget authority and outlays. The allowable levels include an adjustment for the Senate-passed national security supplemental, P.L. 118-50, which had not yet

been enacted into law when the table was prepared. These tables also show that revenue is below the allowable amount, due to the rescissions of IRS mandatory funding in the last appropriation bill, P.L. 118-47, which reduces revenue and increases the deficit.

Table 3 shows the Senate's Pay-As-You-Go scorecard, which reflects $36.4 billion of net deficit increase, entirely due to IRS funding rescissions.

The Democratic staff of the Budget Committee prepared three addendum tables to supplement CBO's report, tables A, B, and C.

Table A compares the mandatory spending of each authorizing committee against the enforceable allocations under section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act. It shows that 11 of the 16 authorizing committees are compliant with their allocations, either because no legislation with significant budgetary costs was enacted, the legislation was deficit-neutral and qualified for an allocation adjustment that was subsequently filed, or the legislation reduced spending.

Table B updates CBO's table 1, the Senate current level report for spending and revenues, to reflect the enactment of P.L. 118-50, the national security supplemental, which was passed by the House and Senate and was signed into law by the President after CBO prepared its report.

Table C updates CBO's table 3, updating the Senate Pay-As-You-Go scorecard to reflect six bills that have passed by the House and Senate since the release of CBO's report, five of which have been signed into law by the President.

I ask unanimous consent that CBO's letter, accompanying tables, and the addendum be printed in the Record.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to support S. 3427, the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act. The legislation would see to it that Secret Service agents who work overtime get paid for the time they have worked.

The bill authorizes an extension of the Secret Service's current pay cap level of level II of the Executive Schedule through 2028 so that agents are permitted to receive compensation for the hours of overtime they work. Without this legislation, the pay of Secret Service agents would be capped at GS-15 level.

The Presidential campaign years place great challenges and strain on Secret Service personnel. According to the most recent data available, in 2022, nearly 1,600 agents worked so many hours that they maxed out their annual overtime in salary.

The amount of overtime worked resulted, on average, in more than $11,000 per agent.

This bill also includes extensive reporting requirements, including both quarterly and annual reporting on the number of individuals receiving overtime and estimates for future years.

This will help keep the agency focused on its personnel management problem, and keep Congress informed on the issue and funding needs of the agency.

This elevated pay cap for Secret Service agents has been in place since 2016. While the agency has made some progress in recruiting, this is, in essence, a management problem. The Secret Service must be able to pay its people in order to attract and retain the best talent that is available. The Secret Service needs to hire more people to reduce its heavy overtime expenses.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 3427 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.

Mr. Speaker, on January 29, 2024, I did not vote on Roll Call votes 20 and 21 as my flight was significantly delayed. Had I been present I would have voted: AYE on Roll Call No. 20, H.R. 5528, the Safe and Smart Federal Purchasing Act; and AYE on Roll Call No. 21, S. 3427, the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act.