The U.S. Secret Service will be able to pay more than a third of its workforce overtime for hours worked in 2017 and 2018 under a newly signed law originally introduced by U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY).
“The men and women of the Secret Service put their own lives on the line every day for our country and make tremendous personal sacrifices. These men and women have been working overtime without pay, and this measure will ensure that they are justly compensated,” said Rep. Katko.
As chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, oversight of the Secret Service falls under his jurisdiction.
The U.S. Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2018, H.R. 3731, which President Donald Trump signed into law on April 3, amends the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2016 to exempt Secret Service employees performing “protective services” from a statutory cap on premium pay that applies to other federal employees after the maximum annual salary is reached for their pay rate under GS-15 guidelines, according to a summary from the congressman’s office.
“We cannot expect the Secret Service to recruit and retain the best of the best if their agents are not being compensated for the additional work that is demanded of them,” said Rep. Katko, who introduced the bipartisan H.R. 3731 on Sept. 11, 2017 along with U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
H.R. 3731 also directs the Government Accountability Office to review steps the Secret Service has taken to implement recommendations of the U.S. Secret Service Protective Mission Panel related to training and personnel issues, according to Rep. Katko’s staff.
The funding for the new law was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, H.R. 1625, which became law on March 23 and funds the federal government through Sept. 30. The omnibus spending package provides the Secret Service with $2.007 billion, including $9.9 million for overtime worked without pay in 2017.
U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), John Ratcliffe (R-TX), Dan Donovan (R-NY), Susan Brooks (R-IN), and Mike Bishop (R-MI) were among the other cosponsors of H.R. 3731, now a two-year stop-gap law that Rep. Katko has said is expected to cost at least $10 million.