Pay, Retirement System Language Included

The Senate measure also includes language to guarantee that federal employees who are called to active military duty continue would receive pay equal to what they have been receiving in their federal positions; in many cases, mobilized employees take a pay cut, often a substantial one, because they are at lower military ranks. That proposal has been under consideration for many years but never has progressed this far, mainly due to cost concerns; employing agencies would have to continue paying the salaries and in many cases would have to pay the salary of people brought in to fill in for the individual’s duties as well. The report further says the committee is "extremely concerned about whether OPM is effectively managing its retirement systems modernization program" in light of GAO reports of problems with the system’s accuracy in calculating benefits, an issue that in May forced OPM to suspend that aspect of the RetireEZ program. The bill orders another GAO study of the program.