S 316 RFH
102d CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 316
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 9, 1992
Referred to the Committe on Post Office and Civil Service
AN ACT
To authorize the garnishment of Federal employees' pay, and for other purposes.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
  States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  This Act may be cited as the `Garnishment Equalization Act of 1992'.
SEC. 2. GARNISHMENT OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' PAY.
  (a) IN GENERAL- Subchapter II of chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code,
  is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:
`Sec. 5520a. Garnishment of pay
  `(a) For purposes of this section, the term--
  `(1) `agency' means each agency of the Federal Government, including--
  `(A) an Executive agency, except for the General Accounting Office;
  `(B) the United States Postal Service and the Postal Rate Commission;
  `(C) any agency of the judicial branch of the Government; and
  `(D) any agency of the legislative branch of the Government, including the
  General Accounting Office, each office of a Member of Congress, a committee
  of the Congress, or other office of the Congress;
  `(2) `employee' means an employee of an agency or member of the uniformed
  services as defined under section 2101(3);
  `(3) `legal process' means any writ, order, summons, or other similar
  process in the nature of garnishment, that--
  `(A) is issued by a court of competent jurisdiction within any State,
  territory, or possession of the United States, or an authorized official
  pursuant to an order of such a court or pursuant to State or local law; and
  `(B) orders the employing agency of such employee to withhold an amount
  from the pay of such employee, and make a payment of such withholding to
  another person, for a specifically described satisfaction of a legal debt of
  the employee, or recovery of attorney's fees, interest, or court costs; and
  `(4) `pay' means--
  `(A) basic pay, premium pay paid under subchapter V, any payment received
  under subchapter VI, VII, or VIII, severance and back pay paid under
  subchapter IX, sick pay, incentive pay, and any other compensation paid
  or payable for personal services, whether such compensation is denominated
  as wages, salary, commission, bonus, pay or otherwise; and
  `(B) does not include awards for making suggestions.
  `(b) Subject to the provisions of this section and the provisions of
  section 303 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1673) pay
  from an agency to an employee is subject to legal process in the same
  manner and to the same extent as if the agency were a private person.
  `(c)(1) Service of legal process to which an agency is subject under this
  section may be accomplished by certified or registered mail, return receipt
  requested, or by personal service, upon--
  `(A) the appropriate agent designated for receipt of such service of
  process pursuant to the regulations issued under this section; or
  `(B) the head of such agency, if no agent has been so designated.
  `(2) Such legal process shall be accompanied by sufficient information to
  permit prompt identification of the employee and the payments involved.
  `(d) Whenever any person, who is designated by law or regulation to accept
  service of process to which an agency is subject under this section, is
  effectively served with any such process or with interrogatories, such person
  shall respond thereto within thirty days (or within such longer period as
  may be prescribed by applicable State law) after the date effective service
  thereof is made, and shall, as soon as possible but not later than fifteen
  days after the date effective service is made, send written notice that
  such process has been so served (together with a copy thereof) to the
  affected employee at his or her duty station or last-known home address.
  `(e) No employee whose duties include responding to interrogatories
  pursuant to requirements imposed by this section shall be subject to
  any disciplinary action or civil or criminal liability or penalty for,
  or on account of, any disclosure of information made by such employee in
  connection with the carrying out of any of such employee's duties which
  pertain directly or indirectly to the answering of any such interrogatory.
  `(f) Agencies affected by legal process under this section shall not be
  required to vary their normal pay and disbursement cycles in order to
  comply with any such legal process.
  `(g) Neither the United States, an agency, nor any disbursing officer
  shall be liable with respect to any payment made from payments due or
  payable to an employee pursuant to legal process regular on its face,
  provided such payment is made in accordance with this section and the
  regulations issued to carry out this section.
  `(h)(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), if an agency is served
  under this section with more than one legal process with respect to the
  same payments due or payable to an employee, then such payments shall be
  available, subject to section 303 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act
  (15 U.S.C. 1673), to satisfy such processes in priority based on the time of
  service, with any such process being satisfied out of such amounts as remain
  after satisfaction of all such processes which have been previously served.
  `(2) A legal process to which an agency is subject under sections 459, 461,
  and 462 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 659, 661, and 662) for the
  enforcement of the employee's legal obligation to provide child support
  or make alimony payments, shall have priority over any legal process to
  which an agency is subject under this section.
  `(i) The provisions of this section shall not modify or supersede the
  provisions of sections 459, 461, and 462 of the Social Security Act
  (42 U.S.C. 659, 661, and 662) concerning legal process brought for the
  enforcement of an individual's legal obligations to provide child support
  or make alimony payments.
  `(j)(1) Regulations implementing the provisions of this section shall
  be promulgated--
  `(A) by the President or his designee for each Executive agency, except--
  `(i) with regard to members of the armed forces as defined under section
  2101, the President or, at his discretion, the Secretary of Defense shall
  promulgate such regulations; and
  `(ii) with regard to employees of the United States Postal Service, the
  President or, at his discretion, the Postmaster General shall promulgate
  such regulations;
  `(B) jointly by the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker
  of the House of Representatives, or their designee, for the legislative
  branch of the Government; and
  `(C) by the Chief Justice of the United States or his designee for the
  judicial branch of the Government.
  `(2) Such regulations shall provide that an agency's administrative costs
  in executing a garnishment action may be added to the garnishment, and
  that the agency may retain costs recovered as offsetting collections.'.
  (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- (1) The table of chapters for
  chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after
  the item relating to section 5520 the following:
`5520a. Garnishment of pay.'.
  (2) Section 410(b) of title 39, United States Code, is amended--
  (A) by redesignating the second paragraph (9) (relating to the Inspector
  General Act of 1978) as paragraph (10); and
  (B) by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:
  `(11) section 5520a of title 5.'.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
  The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180 days after the date
  of enactment of this Act.
Passed the Senate September 24 (legislative day, September 23), 1992.
Attest:
WALTER J. STEWART,
Secretary.