First Responder Fair RETIRE Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 129 To permit disabled law enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers, nuclear materials couriers, members of the Capitol Police, members of the Supreme Court Police, employees of the Central Intelligence Agency performing intelligence ac- tivities abroad or having specialized security requirements, and diplomatic security special agents of the Department of State to receive retirement benefits in the same manner as if they had not been disabled. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. TESTER (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To permit disabled law enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, firefighters, air traffic control- lers, nuclear materials couriers, members of the Capitol Police, members of the Supreme Court Police, employees of the Central Intelligence Agency performing intelligence activities abroad or having specialized security require- ments, and diplomatic security special agents of the De- partment of State to receive retirement benefits in the same manner as if they had not been disabled. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 129 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘First Responder Fair 2 Return for Employees on Their Initial Retirement Earned 3 Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘First Responder Fair RETIRE 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 (1) it is in the best national and homeland se- 8 curity interests of the United States for Federal 9 agencies to retain the specialized knowledge and ex- 10 perience of individuals who suffer an injury or illness 11 while serving in a covered position (as defined under 12 the amendments made by this Act); and 13 (2) Federal agencies should ensure, to the 14 greatest extent possible, that an individual who can 15 no longer carry out the duties of a covered position, 16 and is reappointed to a position in the civil service 17 that is not a covered position, is reappointed within 18 the same Federal agency, in the same geographic lo- 19 cation, and at a level of pay commensurate to the 20 position which the individual held immediately prior 21 to such injury or illness. 22 SEC. 3. RETIREMENT FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. 23 (a) CSRS.—Section 8336(c) of title 5, United States 24 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 25 ‘‘(3)(A) In this paragraph— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 129 IS ‘‘(i) the term ‘affected individual’ means an in- 1 dividual covered under this subchapter who— 2 ‘‘(I) is performing service in a covered po- 3 sition; 4 ‘‘(II) while performing official duties, be- 5 comes ill or is injured as a direct result of the 6 performance of such duties before the date on 7 which the individual becomes entitled to an an- 8 nuity under paragraph (1) of this subsection or 9 subsection (e), (m), or (n), as applicable; 10 ‘‘(III) because of the illness or injury de- 11 scribed in subclause (II), is permanently unable 12 to render useful and efficient service in the cov- 13 ered position held by the employee, as deter- 14 mined by the agency in which the individual 15 was serving when such individual incurred the 16 illness or injury; and 17 ‘‘(IV) is appointed to a position in the civil 18 service that— 19 ‘‘(aa) is not a covered position; and 20 ‘‘(bb) is within an agency that regu- 21 larly appoints individuals to supervisory or 22 administrative positions related to the ac- 23 tivities of the former covered position of 24 the individual; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 129 IS ‘‘(ii) the term ‘covered position’ means a posi- 1 tion as a law enforcement officer, customs and bor- 2 der protection officer, firefighter, air traffic con- 3 troller, nuclear materials courier, member of the 4 Capitol Police, or member of the Supreme Court Po- 5 lice. 6 ‘‘(B) Creditable service by an affected individual in 7 a position described in subparagraph (A)(i)(IV) shall be 8 treated as creditable service in a covered position for pur- 9 poses of this chapter and determining the amount to be 10 deducted and withheld from the pay of the affected indi- 11 vidual under section 8334, unless— 12 ‘‘(i) the affected individual files an election de- 13 scribed in subparagraph (C); 14 ‘‘(ii) there is a break in service exceeding 3 15 days before the affected individual transitions to the 16 position described in subparagraph (A)(i)(IV); or 17 ‘‘(iii) the service occurs after the affected indi- 18 vidual— 19 ‘‘(I) is transferred to a supervisory or ad- 20 ministrative position related to the activities of 21 the former covered position of the affected indi- 22 vidual; or 23 ‘‘(II) meets the age and service require- 24 ments that would subject the individual to man- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 129 IS datory separation under section 8335 if the af- 1 fected individual had remained in the former 2 covered position. 3 ‘‘(C) In accordance with procedures established by 4 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, an 5 affected individual may file an election to have any cred- 6 itable service performed by the affected individual treated 7 in accordance with this chapter without regard to subpara- 8 graph (B). 9 ‘‘(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 10 to apply to an affected individual any other pay-related 11 laws or regulations applicable to a covered position.’’. 12 (b) FERS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8412(d) of title 5, 14 United States Code, is amended— 15 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 16 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 17 (B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘An em- 18 ployee’’; and 19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(2)(A) In this paragraph— 21 ‘‘(i) the term ‘affected individual’ means an in- 22 dividual covered under this chapter who— 23 ‘‘(I) is performing service in a covered po- 24 sition; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 129 IS ‘‘(II) while performing official duties, be- 1 comes ill or is injured as a direct result of the 2 performance of such duties before the date on 3 which the individual becomes entitled to an an- 4 nuity under paragraph (1) of this subsection or 5 subsection (e), as applicable; 6 ‘‘(III) because of the illness or injury de- 7 scribed in subclause (II), is permanently unable 8 to render useful and efficient service in the cov- 9 ered position held by the employee, as deter- 10 mined by the agency in which the individual 11 was serving when such individual incurred the 12 illness or injury; and 13 ‘‘(IV) is appointed to a position in the civil 14 service that— 15 ‘‘(aa) is not a covered position; and 16 ‘‘(bb) is within an agency that regu- 17 larly appoints individuals to supervisory or 18 administrative positions related to the ac- 19 tivities of the former covered position of 20 the individual; 21 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘covered position’ means a posi- 22 tion as a law enforcement officer, customs and bor- 23 der protection officer, firefighter, air traffic con- 24 troller, nuclear materials courier, member of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 129 IS Capitol Police, or member of the Supreme Court Po- 1 lice. 2 ‘‘(B) Creditable service by an affected individual in 3 a position described in subparagraph (A)(i)(IV) shall be 4 treated as creditable service in a covered position for pur- 5 poses of this chapter and determining the amount to be 6 deducted and withheld from the pay of the affected indi- 7 vidual under section 8422, unless— 8 ‘‘(i) the affected individual files an election de- 9 scribed in subparagraph (C); 10 ‘‘(ii) there is a break in service exceeding 3 11 days before the affected individual transitions to the 12 position described in subparagraph (A)(i)(IV); or 13 ‘‘(iii) the service occurs after the affected indi- 14 vidual— 15 ‘‘(I) is transferred to a supervisory or ad- 16 ministrative position related to the activities of 17 the former covered position of the affected indi- 18 vidual; or 19 ‘‘(II) meets the age and service require- 20 ments that would subject the affected individual 21 to mandatory separation under section 8425 if 22 the affected individual had remained in the 23 former covered position. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 129 IS ‘‘(C) In accordance with procedures established by 1 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, an 2 affected individual may file an election to have any cred- 3 itable service performed by the affected individual treated 4 in accordance with this chapter without regard to subpara- 5 graph (B). 6 ‘‘(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 7 to apply to an affected individual any other pay-related 8 laws or regulations applicable to a covered position.’’. 9 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND- 10 MENTS.— 11 (A) Chapter 84 of title 5, United States 12 Code, is amended— 13 (i) in section 8414(b)(3), by inserting 14 ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 15 (ii) in section 8415— 16 (I) in subsection (e), in the mat- 17 ter preceding paragraph (1), by in- 18 serting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 19 and 20 (II) in subsection (h)(2)(A), by 21 striking ‘‘(d)(2)’’ and inserting 22 ‘‘(d)(1)(B)’’; 23 (iii) in section 8421(a)(1), by insert- 24 ing ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 129 IS (iv) in section 8421a(b)(4)(B)(ii), by 1 inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘section 8412(d)’’; 2 (v) in section 8425, by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ 3 after ‘‘section 8412(d)’’ each place it ap- 4 pears; and 5 (vi) in section 8462(c)(3)(B)(ii), by 6 inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 7 (B) Title VIII of the Foreign Service Act 8 of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4041 et seq.) is amended— 9 (i) in section 805(d)(5) (22 U.S.C. 10 4045(d)(5)), by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘or 11 8412(d)’’; and 12 (ii) in section 812(a)(2)(B) (22 13 U.S.C. 4052(a)(2)(B)), by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ 14 after ‘‘or 8412(d)’’. 15 (c) CIA EMPLOYEES.—Section 302 of the Central In- 16 telligence Agency Retirement Act (50 U.S.C. 2152) is 17 amended by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYEES DISABLED ON DUTY.— 19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 20 ‘‘(A) the term ‘affected employee’ means 21 an employee of the Agency covered under sub- 22 chapter II of chapter 84 of title 5, United 23 States Code, who— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 129 IS ‘‘(i) is performing service in a position 1 designated under subsection (a); 2 ‘‘(ii) while performing official duties 3 in the position designated under subsection 4 (a), becomes ill or is injured as a direct re- 5 sult of the performance of such duties be- 6 fore the date on which the employee be- 7 comes entitled to an annuity under section 8 233 of this Act or section 8412(d)(1) of 9 title 5, United States Code; 10 ‘‘(iii) because of the illness or injury 11 described in clause (ii), is permanently un- 12 able to render useful and efficient service 13 in the covered position held by the em- 14 ployee, as determined by the Director; and 15 ‘‘(iv) is appointed to a position in the 16 civil service within the Agency that is not 17 a covered position; and 18 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered position’ means a 19 position as— 20 ‘‘(i) a law enforcement officer de- 21 scribed in section 8331(20) or 8401(17) of 22 title 5, United States Code; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 129 IS ‘‘(ii) a customs and border protection 1 officer described in section 8331(31) or 2 8401(36) of title 5, United States Code; 3 ‘‘(iii) a firefighter described in section 4 8331(21) or 8401(14) of title 5, United 5 States Code; 6 ‘‘(iv) an air traffic controller described 7 in section 8331(30) or 8401(35) of title 5, 8 United States Code; 9 ‘‘(v) a nuclear materials courier de- 10 scribed in section 8331(27) or 8401(33) of 11 title 5, United States Code; 12 ‘‘(vi) a member of the United States 13 Capitol Police; 14 ‘‘(vii) a member of the Supreme Court 15 Police; 16 ‘‘(viii) an affected employee; or 17 ‘‘(ix) a special agent described in sec- 18 tion 804(15) of the Foreign Service Act of 19 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4044(15)). 20 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF SERVICE AFTER DIS- 21 ABILITY.—Creditable service by an affected em- 22 ployee in a position described in paragraph 23 (1)(A)(iv) shall be treated as creditable service in a 24 covered position for purposes of this Act and chapter 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:43 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 129 IS 84 of title 5, United States Code, including eligi- 1 bility for an annuity under section 233 of this Act 2 or 8412(d)(1) of title 5, United States Code, and de- 3 termining the amount to be deducted and withheld 4 from the pay of the affected employee under section 5 8422 of title 5, United States Code, unless— 6 ‘‘(A) the affected employee files an election 7 described in paragraph (3); 8 ‘‘(B) there is a break in service exceeding 9 3 days before the affected employee transitions 10 to the position described in paragraph 11 (1)(A)(iv); or 12 ‘‘(C) the service occurs after the affected 13 employee is transferred to a supervisory or ad- 14 ministrative position related to the activities of 15 the former covered position of the affected em- 16 ployee. 17 ‘‘(3) OPT OUT.—An affected employee may file 18 an election to have any creditable service performed [Text truncated for display. 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