Patrick Leahy: “I rise to introduce, with my good friend Senator Hatch, the Federal Prosecutors' Retirement Benefit Equity Act of 2001.…”

“I rise to introduce, with my good friend Senator Hatch, the Federal Prosecutors' Retirement Benefit Equity Act of 2001. This bill would correct an inequity that exists under current law, whereby Federal prosecutors receive substantially less favorable retirement benefits than other nearly all other people involved in the Federal criminal justice system. The bill would increase the retirement benefits given to Assistant United States Attorneys by including them as ``law enforcement officers'' ``LEOs'', under the Federal Employees' Retirement System and the Civil Service Retirement System. The bill would also allow the Attorney General to designate other attorneys employed by the Department of Justice who act primarily as criminal prosecutors as LEO's for purposes of receiving these retirement benefits. The primary reason for granting enhanced retirement benefits to LEOs is the often dangerous work of law enforcement. Currently, Assistant United States Attorneys, ``AUSAs'', and other Federal prosecutors are not eligible for these enhanced benefits, which are enjoyed by the vast majority of other employees in the criminal justice system. This exclusion is unjustified.”