The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1736-E1737 on Sept. 25, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
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HON. DARLENE HOOLEY
of oregon
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, September 25, 2001
Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, as part of an effort to reduce the federal work force within the United States Forest Service, Forest Service employees were offered the opportunity to participate in a
``voluntary separation incentive payments'' program a few years ago. This program was included in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1997 (P.L. 104-180). As part of the agreement, employees were paid
$20,000; in exchange, they agreed to retire and not be employed by any federal agency for at least five years; if they were re-employed by the federal government they would have to forfeit all or part of the money from said agreement.
However, there has been a severe shortage of qualified firefighters to combat the extraordinary number of forest fires throughout the country over the past several years, specifically in the West. Many retired Forest Service employees have been asked to help fight many of these blazes, unfortunately many of them cannot without risk of forfeiting the payments they received through the buyout program.
My bill will amend Public Law 104-180 to allow former Federal employees who received voluntary separation incentive payments under the Department of Agriculture program to accept employment with the Federal Government once again, without loss of their payments, as long as their employment is directly related to fighting forest fires.
At a time when we need qualified, willing, well-trained individuals to fight these fires more than ever before, it's egregious if we do not change this law to allow these brave men and women to fight the fires that threaten our forests, wildlife, and our homes without having to worry about forfeiting past reparations they've received from the government.
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