Speech #1130125415

Under AUO. most agents earn up to 25 percent of their base salary for time worked in excess of 80 hours in a pay period. Agents may earn additional overtime compensation that is generally paid at 50 percent above the regular rate. Total overtime costs for Border Patrol agents. including pay and benefits. was $627 million in 2013 while total compensation costs for those agents was $3.1 billion in that same year. During the hearing. it became clear that AUO is illsuited to be meet the needs of todays Border Patrol. In response. I joined with Senators TESTER and MCCAIN in introducing legislation to provide Border Patrol a costeffective and flexible overtime system called the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act. DHS pledged to work with the committee to find a solution at an affordable cost. and that is why we are here today. Mr. Speaker. under current law. Border Patrol agents who work beyond 85.5 hours to meet mission requirements are generally paid time and a half. Under the bill. agents will annually elect one of three pay options: number one. work 100 hours per biweekly pay period and increase their base salary by 25 percent. work 90 hours and receive a 12.5 percent base salary increase. or work no overtime at all. Unscheduled overtime will be treated as comp time with no monetary compensation. The bill eliminates Fair Labor Standards Act overtime which results in significant savings to the taxpayer. The Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act generally requires 90 percent of Border Patrol agents to work 100 hours each per pay period while CBP expects that most remaining agents would work 90 hours per pay period. This staffing floor will allow supervisors to more effectively plan border security operations. To help ensure accountability. the bill requires the Border Patrol to undertake a detailed assessment of its operational requirements and staffing needs at every Border Patrol station within 1 year of enactment and submit it to Congress for review. The GAO will examine CBPs methodology and analysis and within 90 days submit a report to Congress indicating whether GAO concurs with CBPs assessments. Border Patrol has flexibility in the staffing floor based on the results of that assessment. The bill grants CBP management authority to unilaterally assign agents to work additional hours if the security situation along the border necessitates it. The bill reflects months of negotiation and congressional review and is supported by the National Border Patrol Council. I personally cannot thank the National Border Patrol Council enough for their good work. tenacity on this issue. and their deep desire to make the agents lives better. They represent some 17.000 agents. CBO estimated that implementing the Senate bill. S. 1691. would save roughly $100 million per year. Costs would decline under Senate bill S. 1691 mostly because Border Patrol agents would no longer receive compensation required under the FLSA. This is an important bill. Mr.