Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4431. This measure would authorize agencies to pay interest on military service deposits in cases in which administrative error causes interest to be due. Military servicemembers who transition to civilian service may elect to have past military service factored into their Federal pensions by making payments to the civilian retirement fund. These payments are intended to align with the contribution to the pension fund the employees would have made for their years of service in the military. Unfortunately, current law requires these payments to be paid within 2 years of starting Federal service. After this date, interest is assessed on any outstanding payments. Sometimes agencies make mistakes calculating the deposit amount that is due. In these cases, it is only fair that the agencies that made the errors should pay the accrued interest. Under current law or regulation, not all agencies have the authority to pay such accrued interest. This bill would close that loophole. I thank Representative Carter and Chairman Gowdy for working with us after committee markup to add provisions in the bill that would make similar changes to title 5 regarding the service and deposits for VISTA and Peace Corps volunteers. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 4431, and I reserve the balance of my time.”