[Senate Report 116-263]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 526
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-263
_______________________________________________________________________
CONTINUITY FOR OPERATORS WITH NECESSARY TRAINING REQUIRED FOR ATC
CONTRACT TOWERS ACT OF 2019
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 2898
September 8, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
99-010 WASHINGTON : 2020
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred sixteenth congress
second session
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROY BLUNT, Missouri AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska TOM UDALL, New Mexico
CORY GARDNER, Colorado GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
MIKE LEE, Utah JON TESTER, Montana
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
RICK SCOTT, Florida
John Keast, Staff Director
David Strickland, Minority Staff Director
Calendar No. 526
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-263
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CONTINUITY FOR OPERATORS WITH NECESSARY TRAINING REQUIRED FOR ATC
CONTRACT TOWERS ACT OF 2019
_______
September 8, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Wicker, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2898]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 2898) to amend title 5, United
States Code, to provide for a full annuity supplement for
certain air traffic controllers, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of S. 2898, the Continuity for Operators with
Necessary Training Required for ATC Contract Towers Act of 2019
(CONTRACT Act of 2019), is to amend title 5 of United States
Code to provide for a full annuity supplement for certain air
traffic controllers.
Background and Needs
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Federal Contract
Tower (FCT) Program, established in 1982, allows the FAA to
contract out the operation of certain low-activity ATC towers.
Currently, 256 air traffic control (ATC) towers participate in
the FCT Program. FAA controllers face mandatory retirement at
age 56, and are eligible for retirement without a reduction in
their basic annuity after either 25 years of service at any age
or after 20 years of service if they are at least 50 years old.
Historically, many retired FAA controllers continue their
careers with towers within the FCT Program. However, under the
Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), retired FAA air
traffic control specialists under the age of 62 who receive a
FERS supplement annually have an annuity offset penalty when
they earn more than $17,640 annually (the Social Security
earnings limit in the 2019 tax year) until they reach age
62.\1\ This has resulted in fewer retired FAA controllers
entering the hiring pool for the FCT Program, even though
demand for FCT Program controllers continues to increase.
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\1\See Tammy Flanagan, ``The FERS Supplement: Q&A,'' Government
Executive, May 16, 2019 (https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2019/05/
fers-supplement-q/157077/) (accessed Jun. 23, 2020).
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In 2016, President Obama signed Public Law 114-251, which
exempted retired FAA air traffic controllers who serve as ATC
instructors on-site at FAA facilities, including the FAA
Academy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from the Social Security
annuity offset penalty. The CONTRACT Act of 2019 would expand
this exemption to allow eligible retired FAA controllers to
serve as controllers in the FCT Program without including an
annuity offset penalty to ensure that there is a sufficient
trained workforce to staff the FCT Program.
Summary of Provisions
The CONTRACT Act of 2019 would allow retired air traffic
controllers to receive an exemption from the supplement offset
penalty in their FERS annuity if they work as controllers at an
air traffic control (ATC) tower operated under the FAA FCT
Program. Retired FAA air traffic controllers are currently
authorized to receive this exemption if they work as ATC
instructors on-site at the FAA's training academy or other
facility.
Legislative History
S. 2898 was introduced on November 19, 2019, by Senator
Inhofe (for himself and Senators Moran and Murray) and was
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate. There are 42 additional
cosponsors. On December 11, 2019, the Committee met in open
Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 2898 reported
favorably without amendment.
Estimated Costs
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
Air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) must retire by age 56--six years before
reaching age 62, the age at which people can qualify for old-
age insurance benefits under title II of the Social Security
Act. Depending on when they entered federal service, air
traffic controllers earn retirement benefits either through the
Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees
Retirement System (FERS). Under current law, retired air
traffic controllers covered by FERS who are younger than 62
receive supplemental annuity payments if their incomes do not
exceed $18,240. That income threshold is adjusted annually for
inflation. For every $2 in earnings above the threshold,
retirees' supplemental annuity benefits are reduced by $1.
Those payments are disbursed from the Civil Service Retirement
and Disability Fund and are recorded in the budget as direct
spending. (CSRS retirees, whose benefit structure differs
significantly from FERS retirees, are not eligible for such
payments.)
S. 2898 would exempt certain retired air traffic
controllers from the income limit; thus, those air traffic
controllers would receive full annuity supplements even if
their income exceeded the statutory limit. Specifically, the
bill would exempt those retired controllers covered by FERS who
are also employed under federal contracts as controllers at FAA
contract towers.\1\
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\1\Contract towers are air traffic control towers that are staffed
by private contractors instead of FAA employees.
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According to information from the FAA and industry groups,
about 1,500 people are currently covered under such contracts,
and about 10 percent of those contractors are FERS retirees who
receive reduced supplemental annuity benefits because their
earnings exceed the threshold. In recent years, the average
annual benefit reduction for those retirees was about $10,000
to $12,000. In general, the other contractors are either
covered under CSRS, work part-time to ensure that their income
remains below the threshold, or do not otherwise qualify for
supplemental benefits.
CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted in fiscal year
2020. On that basis, and using the information from industry
groups, CBO estimates that exempting retired air traffic
controllers who work at FAA contract towers from the earnings
limit would increase supplemental annuity payments, and thus
direct spending, by an insignificant amount in 2020 and by a
little more than $1.5 million each year over the 2021-2030
period.
The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-
reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting
direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays that
are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in
Table 1.
TABLE 1.--CBO'S ESTIMATE OF THE STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS OF S. 2898, THE CONTRACT ACT OF 2019, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON
COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ON DECEMBER 11, 2019
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2020-2025 2020-2030
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Net Increase in the Deficit
Pay-As-You-Go Effect...................... 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 8 15
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Components do not sum to totals because of rounding.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aaron Krupkin.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Statement
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
number of persons covered
The population of persons covered by S. 2898 is limited to
certain retired FAA air traffic controllers serving as air
traffic controllers under the Federal Contract Tower program.
economic impact
S. 2898 is not anticipated to adversely impact the Nation's
economy, as it enables retired FAA air traffic controllers
working as air traffic controllers under the Federal Contract
Tower program to not receive an annuity offset penalty.
privacy
S. 2898 is not anticipated to have a negative impact on the
privacy rights of individuals.
paperwork
S. 2898 is not anticipated to require additional paperwork.
Congressionally Directed Spending
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the
rule.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title.
This section would provide that the bill may be cited as
the ``Continuity for Operators with Necessary Training Required
for ATC Contract Towers Act of 2019'' or the ``CONTRACT Act of
2019''.
Section 2. Annuity supplement.
This section would amend title 5 of United States Code to
allow eligible retired FAA air traffic controllers to receive
an exemption from the FERS supplement annuity penalty if those
controllers serve as air traffic controllers under the FAA's
FCT Program.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
material is printed in italic, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
* * * * * * *
PART III--EMPLOYEES
* * * * * * *
Subpart G--Insurance and Annuities
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 84--FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM
* * * * * * *
Subchapter II--Basic Annuity
* * * * * * *
Sec. 8421a. Reductions on account of earnings from work performed while
entitled to an annuity supplement
(a) * * *
(b) * * *
(c) This section shall not apply to an individual described
in section 8412(e) during any period in which the individual,
after separating from the service as described in that section,
is employed [as an air traffic] as an--
(1) air traffic control instructor, or supervisor
thereof, under contract with the Federal Aviation
Administration, including an instructor or supervisor
working at an on-site facility (such as an airport)[.];
or
(2) air traffic controller pursuant to a contract
made with the Secretary of Transportation under section
47124 of title 49.
(d) * * *
* * * * * * *