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“SECRET SERVICE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ACT OF 2017” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H9633-H9637 on Dec. 5, 2017.
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SECRET SERVICE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ACT OF 2017
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3731) to provide overtime pay for employees of the United States Secret Service, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3731
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF OVERTIME PAY EXCEPTION THROUGH 2018 FOR
PROTECTIVE SERVICES.
(a) In General.--The Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2016 (5 U.S.C. 5547 note) is amended--
(1) in the section heading for section 2, by striking
``2016'' and inserting ``2016 through 2018''; and
(2) by striking ``during 2016'' each place it appears and inserting ``during 2016 through 2018''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if enacted on December 31, 2016.
(c) Report on Extensions.--Not later than January 30, 2018, and January 30, 2019, the Director of the Secret Service shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the effects of the amendment made by subsection (a)(2). The report shall include, with respect to the previous calendar year--
(1) the total number of United States Secret Service personnel receiving premium pay above the premium pay limitation in subsection (a) of section 5547 of title 5, United States Code;
(2) the total amount of premium pay for that calendar year paid to United States Secret Service personnel above the premium pay limitation in such subsection;
(3) the mean and median amount of premium pay paid to United States Secret Service personnel above the premium pay limitation in such subsection;
(4) the greatest amount paid to United States Secret Service personnel above the premium pay limitation in such subsection and the number of employees who received that amount;
(5) notwithstanding the amendments made by subsection (a), the total number of United States Secret Service personnel who were not fully compensated for service because of the premium pay earnings limitation in section 118 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001 (5 U.S.C. 5547 note);
(6) the total amount of premium pay United States Secret Service personnel would have been paid but for the premium pay earnings limitation in such section; and
(7) a list of United States Secret Service personnel who, within the calendar year, received premium pay above the premium pay limitation in subsection (a) of section 5547 of title 5, United States Code, and separated from the agency, including the type of separation in each case.
SEC. 3. REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED
STATES.
Not later than 1 year after the effective date of this section, the Comptroller General of the United States shall complete a study and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the extent of the progress made by the United States Secret Service in implementing the recommendations of the United States Secret Service Protective Mission Panel, including in particular those items pertaining to training and personnel enumerated in the Executive Summary to Report from the United States Secret Service Protective Mission Panel to the Secretary of Homeland Security dated December 15, 2014.
SEC. 4. RESCISSIONS.
(a) Rescission of Unobligated Balances in the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund.--Of the unobligated balances available under the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund, $10,000,000 is hereby permanently rescinded.
(b) Authorization to Rescind Future Unobligated Balances in the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund.--There is authorized to be rescinded from the unobligated balances available under the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund $7,000,000 in fiscal year 2018 and $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2019.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
{time} 1230
General Leave
Mr. RUTHERFORD. 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 H.R. 3731, currently under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3731, the Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017.
This bipartisan legislation was introduced by my distinguished colleague, Mr. Katko, and negotiated between the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. It would make small, but significant, changes to the Federal law to ensure that the men and women of the United States Secret Service are fairly compensated for performing their duties.
This bill is necessary because, under current law, many Secret Service agents have hit the lawful cap that restricts overtime pay in some circumstances. This means that the brave men and women standing post, for example, at 2 a.m. in the morning are doing so for free. This is, without question, an untenable situation.
H.R. 3731 makes two important changes to the law to address this problem.
First, it raises the overtime cap to ensure that these agents are paid.
Second, it includes a reporting requirement, directing the Government Accountability Office to study the Service's implementation of the recommendations of the Protective Mission Panel, or PMP. This change is intended to help address the recruitment and retention issues at the Secret Service.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation will ensure that the Secret Service is able to recruit and retain an elite group of dedicated law enforcement officers. This is an issue that rises above party affiliation, or ideology. The protection of the President, the First Family, and others is something that, obviously, we all should want as American citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me, first of all, thank my good friend, Mr. Katko, who is the original sponsor; and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation. We serve on the Homeland Security Committee and have oversight over the Secret Service, as does the aspects of this legislation, as relates to Judiciary has oversight as well. So ensuring that our men and women, who put their lives on the line daily, are protected is an important initiative. As I said earlier, I am proud to be an original cosponsor, along with my colleague from New York (Mr. Katko).
The Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017 is intended to provide overtime pay for employees of the United States Secret Service. Currently, the premium pay for protective services, under the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2016, has severe earning limitations, or otherwise caps, which many of these men and women have reached.
Due to earnings limitations put in place through 5 U.S.C. 5547, many Secret Service employees are not receiving timely or full payment for the hours they work. The requirements of protective operations directly contrast with the intent of an annual pay cap, as the protective mission requires continued, uninterrupted coverage for our protectees, beyond the control of the Secret Service. I think that is an important point.
And I want my colleagues to know that I wholly support that our protectees are protected wherever they go. But I would be remiss if I did not express my concern on the number of trips that the Secret Service today has had to make on outings for entertainment, Mar-a-Lago, which I think is over 100 times, and the enormous amount of money and burden that is being placed on the Federal Government.
This does not mean that I do not want these individuals to be compensated. And might I stop for a moment to thank the Secret Service, who I have known and have seen working over the years that I have served in the United States Congress in many different ways. Let me personally thank them for their service and for their professional service, dedicated service, and longstanding service and commitment to sacrificing their life for their protectee.
I would say that this problem often requires individuals to work over the amount of premium pay, for which they are able to be legally paid, due to the annual cap. We have seen the extent to which Secret Service members are stretched in this administration alone. Providing protection for the President, his family members, and other high officials requires depth within the agency to ensure protectees are covered as well as their respective posts when pulled away. As I made the point, these various family members and President go in many ways off of the path of their government service related to the people of the United States.
It is my hope that we are able to eventually work collaboratively on a more permanent fix to this problem since the Secret Service cannot administratively control protective overtime, which is dependent on the schedules of the protectees. Raising the pay cap will aid the Secret Service in reducing attrition rates and retaining personnel, which is what this bill purports to do. I truly want to make sure that happens.
Exit interview data indicates the pay cap issue is the number one concern among employees leaving the Secret Service. We must ensure that we are employing the best available candidates when dealing with the protection of America's highest diplomats. Therefore, pay should not be a deterrence in the recruitment and/or retention of Secret Service agents, and it is crucial that we retain them.
Departing employees said raising the pay cap would have had an effect on their decision to leave, and they would have stayed. They are leaving the Secret Service for other positions in the Federal Government with equal pay and less travel.
The U.S. Secret Service is currently protecting a historic number of protectees--about 25 percent more protectees--than during the Obama administration. In comparison to the previous five Presidential administrations--Bush 41 to Obama--for the first 6 months in office, Trump administration Secret Service protectees had more travel stops and travel days than any other President.
As such, the operational tempo for protective activities have remained higher than normal. Protective overtime hours for special agents are about 15 to 20 percent higher when compared to CY 2015, the last non-Presidential campaign year.
For CY 2017, as of 9-30-17, the Secret Service anticipates approximately 1,200 personnel will exceed the statutory pay cap.
The costs related to protective overtime in excess of the pay cap for CY 2017 is estimated at $10.5 million. The same costs are projected for 2018, if the protective tempo remains unchanged.
I, therefore, support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Any way that we can help protect the protectees, and keep these well-experienced, committed, dedicated agents, willing to sacrifice their lives, from leaving, so that we can also recruit, is a vital step forward. I hope not only is this bill passed by the House, but I also hope passed quickly by the Senate to be able to be signed by the President of the United States.
Ensuring that our men and women, who put their lives on the line daily, are protected is an important initiative. I am proud to be an original co-sponsor along with my colleague Mr. Katko from New York.
``The Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017'' is intended to provide overtime pay for employees of the United States Secret Service.
Currently, the premium pay for protective services under the
``Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2016'' has severe earning limitations, or otherwise caps, which many of these men and women have reached.
Due to earnings limitations put in place through 5 U.S.C. 5547, many Secret Service employees are not receiving timely or full payment for the hours they work.
The requirements of protective operations directly contrast with the intent of an annual pay cap, as the protective mission requires continued, uninterrupted coverage for our protectees, beyond the control of the United States Secret Service.
This often requires individuals to work over the amount of premium pay for which they are able to be legally paid due to the annual cap.
We have seen the extent to which the Secret Service members are stretched in this administration alone. Providing protection for the President, his family members and other high officials require depth within the agency to ensure protectees are covered as well as their respective posts when pulled away.
It is my hope that we are able to eventually work collaboratively on a more permanent fix to this problem since the Secret Service cannot administratively control protective overtime, which is dependent on the schedules of the protectees.
Raising the pay cap will aid the Secret Service in reducing attrition rates and retaining personnel, which is what this bill purports to do.
Exit interview data indicates the pay cap issue is the number #1 concern among employees leaving the Secret Service. We must ensure that we are employing the best available candidates when dealing with the protection of America's highest diplomats. Therefore, pay should not be deterrence in the recruitment and/or retention of Secret Service agents.
Departing employees said raising the pay cap would have had an effect on their decision to leave the agency. (They are leaving the Secret Service for other positions in the federal government with equal pay and less travel.)
The USSS is currently protecting a historical high number of protectees--about 25 percent more protectees than during the Obama Administration.
In comparison to the previous five presidential administrations (Bush 41 to Obama), for the first six months in office, Trump Administration Secret Service protectees had more travel stops and travel days than any other.
As such, the operational tempo for protective activities has remained higher than normal. Protective overtime hours for special agents are about 15 to 20 percent higher when compared to CY 2015--the last non-
presidential campaign year.
For CY 2017, as of 9/30/17, the Secret Services anticipates approximately 1,200 personnel will exceed the statutory pay cap.
The costs related to protective overtime in excess of the pay cap for CY 2017 is estimated at $10.5 million. The same costs are projected for CY 2018, if the protective tempo remains unchanged.
I therefore, support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, we must do everything we can to protect our United States Secret Service personnel and ensure an effective process for recruitment and retention of these agents.
These agents play a vital role in our democratic system both here at home and abroad. Their keen attention to details and adequate response to dangerous situations around the world cannot be measured in dollar signs.
Beyond protecting the President, Vice-President, their families and other identified individuals, the Secret Service plays a vital role in representing the United States interest around the world through criminal investigation activities that span the gamut from anti-
counterfeiting operations to now encompassing financial crimes, identity theft, counterfeiting, computer fraud, and computer-based attacks on the nation's financial, banking, and telecommunications infrastructure, among other areas.
For all these reasons, I therefore, support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko), my good friend, and sponsor of the bill.
Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3731, the Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017, because I believe in the need to pay the hardworking men and women of the United States Secret Service for the critical work that they perform in dedication to the security of America's leaders.
While most Americans know the Secret Service for its role in protecting the President and First Family, many are unaware of the additional substantial roles and countless hours worked by special agents, uniformed division officers, technical personnel, and intelligence professionals. These jobs require extensive travel, often on short notice, as well as sometimes working multiple weeks in a row without a day off, because the security of our Nation's leaders depend on our constant vigilance.
This legislation demonstrates an important recognition of the men and women who wake up every day to dedicate their lives to the protection of America's leadership and financial systems. This agency has struggled to improve employee morale in recent years, due, in large part, to strict overtime pay caps that prevent adequate compensation for their work. It is very common, nowadays, in the Secret Service for agents, starting as early as June, to be working multiple hours a week of overtime, and sometimes as many as over 100 hours a month for free because they have reached the cap.
This, in turn, leads to challenges in retention and recruitment, further exacerbating staffing shortages. In 2017, the agency estimates that 1,200 employees at Secret Service will exceed the statutory pay cap, losing approximately $10 million in overtime pay, unless we, in Congress, step up.
I wish to thank each of the bipartisan cosponsors for their support of this bill, which took the cooperation of multiple committees to bring to the floor. And I want to thank my colleague, Ms. Jackson Lee, for her continued support on bipartisan measures. It is a sign that when you join hands across the aisle, good things can happen.
In particular, I thank Chairman Goodlatte of the Judiciary Committee for bringing this legislation up today, as well as Chairman Gowdy and Ranking Member Cummings of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee for their support. I also thank my colleague, Mr. Rutherford, for managing this bill on the floor today. And I thank Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Thompson, and Ranking Member Watson Coleman of the Homeland Security Committee for their recognition of this legislation's importance to the Secret Service and for their support.
Further, I would like to explicitly thank two staffers who were truly instrumental in coordinating the movement of this bill: Kevin Ortiz of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Robert Parmiter of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Speaker, this bill provides overdue relief to an agency whose dedication knows no bounds. As we enjoy this holiday season, I can think of no better Christmas gift to the hardworking men and women at the Secret Service than the fair compensation that is owed to them for their hard work in securing our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, for this reason, I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I urge the Senate to quickly take up and pass this bill.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3731. This bill would raise the cap on overtime pay for Secret Service agents through next year.
These agents pursue the unique dual role of the Secret Service, which consists of protective and investigative functions. Secret Service agents are most commonly known for their role in protecting the President, Vice President, their families, and other dignitaries. Their duties, however, also involve rotations into units that investigate threats against our financial system, certain types of identity theft, and related cybercrimes.
This bill before us today is before us because the demands on these agents have increased significantly under the Trump administration. President Trump seems to travel to properties in Florida, New Jersey, and Virginia almost every weekend, and the number of individuals in the Trump administration under Secret Service protection has exceeded 40, in comparison to just over 30 under the Obama administration. Protective overtime hours for special agents are 15 to 20 percent higher than those during the last non-Presidential campaign year.
Because of the increased workload, many Secret Service personnel will hit the statutory pay cap this year, and next. This bill would raise the cap through calendar year 2018. This change is necessary to allow Secret Service agents to be compensated for the extraordinary rigors and time demands placed upon them as they work diligently to fulfill their critical mission. The adjustment is necessary for the retention of well-trained agents and the recruitment of new ones.
I also note that the bill would require GAO to conduct a study of the Secret Service's implementation of recommendations concerning training and personnel made 3 years ago by the Secret Service Mission Panel. Congress will benefit from receiving a progress report on this effort.
The various provisions of this bill will help make the Secret Service a more effective agency in pursuing its dual mission.
Mr. Speaker, I, therefore, support H.R. 3731 and ask that my colleagues do the same.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice), who is a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, we all know that the United States Secret Service is one of the Federal Government's premier law enforcement agencies.
The agency's critical mission is to protect the President, his family, and other senior government officials. Agency personnel may also provide protection at high-profile events. It has a zero-fail mission; therefore, it is vital that the Secret Service is fully staffed with nothing but the best.
Unfortunately, the agency has faced tremendous staffing problems. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a bipartisan report in 2015, finding the Secret Service has faced challenges related to hiring and retaining personnel.
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The report states that the staffing crisis threatens to jeopardize its critical mission. Staffing issues have persisted, although the agency has implemented a series of reforms to help get its hiring and attrition problems under control.
The consequence of these hiring and attrition problems is that the agency does not have enough personnel to fulfill its zero fail protective mission. This means existing personnel are working excessive overtime.
With all the overtime, many Secret Service personnel have reached the cap on premium pay set in law. As a result, agents are not paid for overtime hours if doing so would result in compensation above the cap during any biweekly pay period. These max-outs, as they are known, contribute to the agency's low morale and unsurprisingly cause the rate of attrition to spike.
Congress first lifted the pay cap for the Secret Service in 2016 to help the agency handle the demands of staffing the Presidential campaign. However, nearly 1,300 employees are at risk of exceeding the pay cap in 2017.
Due to the extraordinary staffing problems facing the agency, this bill extends the pay cap waiver provided last year until the end of 2018. Employees will receive compensation up to the basic pay currently given to members of the Executive Schedule, Level II.
Every Secret Service employee who has exceeded the cap or who is at risk of doing so because of excessive overtime will receive additional compensation under this bill.
I want to be clear. This bill is narrowly targeted to fix a problem currently facing the agency and does so in a timely manner.
The Secret Service cannot continue to rely on expensive overtime, and Congress fully expects the agency to get its hiring attrition problems under control. To this end, the bill also requires a report by the Government Accountability Office focused on the Secret Service's implementation of recommendations found in the 2014 Protective Mission Panel report.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia.
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the recommendations, which include reforming the recruiting and hiring process, hiring additional personnel, and implementing a zero tolerance disciplinary system, are instructive and will help the Secret Service develop a world class human resource system.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank the House Judiciary Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, along with the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on putting forth this important legislation and bringing it to the floor in a timely manner.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the extra time and I urge all Members to support this bill.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), the chairman and ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I rise to support H.R. 3731, the Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017, which Congressman Katko and I cosponsored.
The bill would authorize an increase in the annual salary and the overtime limit for the men and women of the Secret Service so they can be paid for the significant overtime they have already worked in 2017 and will be working in 2018.
Last year, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform unanimously passed the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2016. The bill authorized overtime pay for more than 1,400 Secret Service agents and the thousands of hours they worked in the 2016 Presidential campaign year.
Although non-campaign years are usually significantly less demanding, the size of President Trump's family, their frequent travel, and the need to secure their multiple residences have caused more than 1,000 Secret Service agents to reach the annual pay cap in 2017. These demands on the Secret Service will remain extremely high and require substantial resources.
In December 2015, the Oversight Committee unanimously adopted a report concluding that the Secret Service``. . . is experiencing a staffing crisis that threatens to jeopardize its critical mission.''
Our report found that this was due in large part to ``. . . significant cuts imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011.''
The report recommended that Congress ensure that the Secret Service has sufficient funds to restore staffing to the required levels.
Providing this much-needed overtime pay relief is an essential step towards fulfilling the committee's recommendation. The hardworking men and women of the Secret Service put their lives on the line every day and make tremendous personal sacrifices for our country.
We cannot expect the Secret Service to recruit and retain the best of the best and be the elite of the elite if they are not even being compensated for the hours that are demanded of them.
Congress has a responsibility to provide the resources they need. I am proud to join my colleagues in this bipartisan effort to do just that, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I have no other Members to speak on this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me acknowledge Mr. Cummings for his leadership on this legislation. I believe the combination of Members who are sponsoring this legislation and the work of the Oversight and Government Reform, Homeland Security, and Judiciary Committees clearly speak to almost the crisis of the issue and what we are dealing with.
As we come to a close, Mr. Speaker, I am hoping that my colleagues will vote for this legislation in resounding numbers and I hope that the Senate will hotline this legislation so that it can immediately get to the desk of the President.
I would also ask that we recognize that we must do everything we can to protect our United States Secret Service personnel and ensure an effective process for recruitment and retention of these agents.
I am glad there is an element in this legislation that will allow for a review of all of these issues and that the Congress will have a role in assessing how we can work with the Secret Service agency to improve its performance, its retention, and certainly to say to those hardworking agents that we appreciate them, by way of compensation.
These agents play a vital role in our democratic system both here at home and abroad. Their keen attention to details and adequate response to dangerous situations around the world cannot be measured in dollar signs.
Beyond protecting the President, Vice President, their families, and other identified individuals, the Secret Service plays a vital role in representing the United States' interests around the world through criminal investigation activities that span the gamut from anticounterfeiting operations to now encompassing financial crimes; identity theft, which has exponentially grown in the United States; counterfeiting; computer fraud; and computer-based attacks on the Nation's financial, banking, and telecommunications infrastructure, among other areas.
Congress is standing up to make its voice known and to make appropriate changes.
I think it is appropriate for the administration in this instance, the Commander in Chief, to stand up as well and review the extensive travel and the burdens that are being placed on the Secret Service agents and their families. They are not complaining, but I think it behooves any good leader to look at what can be improved and what can be corrected in order to ensure the astuteness, the excellence, and the safety and security of the protectees and those agents who are out there on the line sacrificing or willing to sacrifice their life.
For all of these reasons, I therefore support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote for this legislation, H.R. 3731, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Texas for helping to bring this bill to the floor today. I congratulate my good friend from New York, Mr. Katko, on this legislation. It is going to be very important to our men and women of the Secret Service who put their lives on the line every day in dedication to their service.
Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 3731, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I support the passage of H.R. 3731 today to strengthen the resolve of our men and women in the Secret Service to continue performing their essential duties in protecting the President while receiving the appropriate compensation for their efforts which go beyond normal working hours. This legislation ensures that a pay cap is no longer a barrier to paying Secret Service agents who stand watch at all hours of the night, often racking up significant overtime. The current pay cap restricts the Secret Service from paying their employees what is due to them.
Director Alles believes this legislation to be such an important initiative to pass that he personally came to discuss it with me as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee with oversight of the Secret Service. I am glad that we are, in a bipartisan way, enabling the men and women of the Secret Service to now receive the necessary compensation for the significant overtime work they perform.
The GAO reporting requirement in the legislation will also provide to Congress important analysis of how well the Secret Service has implemented the recommendations of the Protective Mission Panel. Knowing these results will help in conducting crucial oversight of the agency.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3731, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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