Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials: Process for Adjusting Pay and Current Salaries

Contents

• Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials
• Pay Adjustments Since 1991
• Judicial Pay Bill in the 111^th Congress
• Senior Executive Service and Certain Senior-Level Positions
• General Schedule GS-15 Positions

Summary

Leaders and Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Vice President, individuals in positions on the Executive Schedule (EX), and federal justices and judges—all hereafter referred to as federal officials—are to receive an annual pay adjustment under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, P.L. 101-194 (103 Stat. 1716, at 1769, 5 U.S.C. §5318 note). The percentage change in the wages and salaries for the private industry workers element of the Employment Cost Index (ECI), minus 0.5% (December indicator), provides the basis for the pay adjustment. In January 2011, the Vice President and federal officials paid on the EX schedule did not receive a salary increase. Members of Congress also did not receive a pay adjustment in January 2011; P.L. 111-165, enacted on May 14, 2010, denied the adjustment. Federal justices and judges, likewise, did not receive a January 2011 pay adjustment. Section 140 of P.L. 97-92, enacted on December 15, 1981, provides that any salary increase for justices and judges must be specifically authorized by Congress, and this authorization was not provided for 2011.

The pay adjustment for federal officials required under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 would have been 1.3% in January 2012. This adjustment would have been limited to 1.1%, the January 2012 base pay adjustment required under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 for federal civilian white-collar employees paid under the GS. Under Title I, Section 1(a)(2) of P.L. 111-322, enacted on December 22, 2010, GS base pay is frozen through December 31, 2012, so Members of Congress, the Vice President, federal officials paid on the EX schedule, and justices and judges will not receive a pay adjustment in January 2012.

EX pay rates provide limitations on maximum basic pay rates for members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), employees in senior-level (SL) and scientific and professional (ST) positions, and on basic pay, basic pay and locality pay combined, and total compensation for employees in General Schedule positions.

This report will be updated as events dictate.

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Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials: Process for Adjusting Pay and Current Salaries

Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials

A provision in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 provides for an annual salary adjustment for leaders and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Vice President, individuals in positions on the Executive Schedule (EX), and federal justices and judges.¹ The adjustment is based on the percentage change in the wages and salaries (not seasonally adjusted) for the private industry workers element of the Employment Cost Index (ECI), minus 0.5% (December indicator).² It becomes effective at the same time as, and at a rate no greater than, the annual base pay rate adjustment for federal white-collar civilian employees under the General Schedule (GS).³ The adjustment cannot, however, be less than zero or greater than 5%.⁴ While this provision of the Ethics Reform Act sets the rate of the judicial pay adjustment, a 1981 law provides that any salary increase for justices and judges must be "specifically authorized by Act of Congress hereafter enacted."⁵

The legislative, executive, and judicial officials are all hereafter referred to as federal officials in this report.

Pay Adjustments Since 1991

Since the enactment of the Ethics Reform Act, federal officials have received pay adjustments as follow:

1991

Adjustment was 3.6%.⁶ P.L. 101-520, Title III, §321, November 5, 1990; 104 Stat. 2254, at 2285, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

1992

Adjustment was 3.5%. P.L. 102-140, Title III, §305, October 28, 1991; 105 Stat. 782, at 810, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

1993

Adjustment was 3.2%. P.L. 102-395, Title III, §304, October 6, 1992; 106 Stat. 1828, at 1859, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

1994

Projected adjustment was 2.1%. Congress passed legislation freezing salaries for Members of Congress (P.L. 103-6, §7, March 4, 1993; 107 Stat. 33, at 35). Federal officials did not receive a pay adjustment because GS base pay was not adjusted (P.L. 103-123, §517B, §615, October 28, 1993; 107 Stat. 1226, at 1253-1254, 1261-1263).

1995

Projected adjustment was 2.6%, but would have been limited to GS base pay adjustment of 2.0%. Federal officials did not receive a pay adjustment (P.L. 103-329, §630(a)(2), September 30, 1994; 108 Stat. 2382, at 2424).

1996

Projected adjustment was 2.3%, but would have been limited to GS base pay adjustment of 2.0%. Federal officials did not receive a pay adjustment (P.L. 104-52, §633, November 19, 1995; 109 Stat. 468, at 507).

1997

Projected adjustment was 2.3%. Federal officials did not receive a pay adjustment (P.L. 104-208, §637, September 30, 1996; 110 Stat. 3009, at 3009-364).

1998

Projected adjustment was 2.9%. Adjustment was 2.3%, the same as the GS base pay adjustment. P.L. 105-119, Title III, §306, November 26, 1997; 111 Stat. 2440, at 2493, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

1999

Projected adjustment was 3.4%, but would have been limited to GS base pay adjustment of 3.1%. Federal officials did not receive a pay adjustment (P.L. 105-277, §621, October 21, 1998; 112 Stat. 2681, at 2681-518).

2000

Adjustment was 3.4%. P.L. 106-113, Div. B, §1000(a)(1) [Title III, §304], November 29, 1999; 113 Stat. 1501, at 1535, 1501A-36-A37, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

2001

Projected adjustment was 3.0%. Adjustment was 2.7%, the same as the GS base pay adjustment. P.L. 106-553, §1(a)(2) [Title III, §309], December 21, 2000; 114 Stat. 2762 at, 2762A-89, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

2002

Adjustment was 3.4%. P.L. 107-77, Title III, §305, November 28, 2001; 115 Stat. 748, at 783, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

2003

Projected adjustment was 3.3%. Adjustment was 3.1%, the same as the GS base pay adjustment. P.L. 108-6, §1, February 13, 2003; 117 Stat. 10, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

2004

Adjustment was 2.2%. Adjusted temporarily at 1.5% pending enactment of P.L. 108-199. P.L. 108-167, §1, December 6, 2003; 117 Stat. 2031, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

2005

Adjustment was 2.5%. P.L. 108-447, §306, December 8, 2004; 118 Stat. 2809, at 2895, authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

2006

Adjustment was 1.9%. P.L. 109-115, §405, November 30, 2005; 119 Stat. 2396, at 2470 authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

2007

Projected adjustment was 2.0%. Adjustment was 1.7%, the same as the GS base pay adjustment. The Vice President and federal officials paid on the EX schedule received the 1.7% pay increase. Section 115 of P.L. 110-5 denied the Members a pay adjustment in 2007.⁷ Justices and judges did not receive a pay adjustment because Congress did not authorize it as required by law. S. 197, to provide the authorization, passed the Senate by unanimous consent on January 8, 2007, and was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, but no further action occurred.⁸

2008

Projected adjustment was 2.7%. Adjustment was 2.5%, the same as the GS base pay adjustment. P.L. 110-161, Division D, §305, December 26, 2007; 121 Stat. 1844 authorized the judicial pay adjustment.

2009

Adjustment was 2.8%.⁹ The adjustment for legislative and executive officials was provided in P.L. 110-329, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (H.R. 2638) enacted on September 30, 2008 (which provided funds for government operations from October 1, 2008, through March 6, 2009), and H.R. 1105, Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, passed by the House of Representatives on February 25, 2009, on a 245-178 (Roll No. 86) vote and the Senate on March 10, 2009, by voice vote, and signed by President Obama on March 11, 2009 (which provides funds for government operations through September 30, 2009). Division D, Title III, Section 310 of H.R. 1105 authorized the adjustment for justices and judges.

2010

Projected adjustment was 2.1%.¹⁰ Adjustment was 1.5%, the same as the GS base pay adjustment. The Vice President and federal officials paid on the EX schedule received the 1.5% pay increase. Section 103 of Division J of P.L. 111-8 denied the Members a pay adjustment in 2010.¹¹ Justices and judges did not receive a pay adjustment because Congress did not authorize it as required by law. S. 1432, to provide the 2010 authorization, was reported to the Senate by the Committee on Appropriations (S.Rept. 111-43) on July 9, 2009, but no further action occurred.

2011

Projected adjustment was 0.9%.¹² This was the same as the January 2011 base pay adjustment required under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 for federal civilian white-collar employees paid under the GS.¹³ P.L. 111-165 denied the Members a pay adjustment in 2011.¹⁴ The Vice President, federal officials paid on the EX schedule, and justices and judges also did not receive a pay adjustment in January 2011 because GS base pay was not adjusted (Title I, Section 1(a)(2) of P.L. 111-322, December 22, 2010). The Budget of the U.S. Government included President Barack Obama's order to freeze pay for senior political officials—the Vice President; individuals serving in EX positions or in positions whose rate of pay is fixed by statute at an EX level and serving at the pleasure of the President or other appointing official; a chief of mission or ambassador at large; a noncareer appointee in the Senior Executive Service; any employee whose rate of basic pay (including locality payments) is at or above EX level IV who serves at the pleasure of the appointing official; and senior White House staff with salaries of more than $100,000. The budget also reiterated that the policy prohibiting political appointees from receiving bonuses continued.¹⁵

2012

Projected adjustment would have been 1.3%.¹⁶ This adjustment would have been limited to 1.1%, the January 2012 base pay adjustment required under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 for federal civilian white-collar employees paid under the GS.¹⁷ GS base pay is frozen through December 31, 2012, so Members of Congress, the Vice President, federal officials paid on the EX schedule, and justices and judges will not receive a pay adjustment in January 2012 (Title I, Section 1(a)(2) of P.L. 111-322, December 22, 2010).

Table 1, below, shows the salaries for federal officials from January 2004 to January 2011.

Judicial Pay Bill in the 111^th Congress

The Federal Judicial Fairness Act of 2009, S. 2725 was introduced, but saw no further action, in the 111th Congress. Introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein on November 3, 2009, and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the bill would have repealed the provision of law, codified at 28 U.S.C. §461 note, that requires Congress to specifically authorize any salary increases for justices and judges. It also would have amended 28 U.S.C. §461(a) to provide that justices and judges would receive the same overall average percentage pay adjustment as is authorized each year for the GS, the pay schedule that covers federal white-collar civilian employees in pay grades GS-1 through GS-15.

Senior Executive Service and Certain Senior-Level Positions

Maximum basic pay rates for members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and certain senior-level positions are tied to the Executive Schedule. An individual in an SES position (1) directs the work of an organizational unit; (2) is held accountable for the success of one or more specific programs or projects; (3) monitors progress toward organizational goals and periodically evaluates and makes appropriate adjustments to such goals; (4) supervises the work of employees other than personal assistants; or (5) otherwise exercises important policy-making, policy-determining, or other executive functions.¹⁸ Salaries for members of the SES are determined annually by agency heads "under a rigorous performance management system," and range from the minimum rate of basic pay for a senior level (SL) employee (120% of the minimum basic pay rate for GS-15; $119,554, salary became effective in January 2010) to either EX Level III ($165,300, salary became effective in January 2010) in agencies whose performance appraisal systems have not been certified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as making "meaningful distinctions based on relative performance," or EX Level II ($179,700, salary became effective in January 2010) in agencies whose performance appraisal systems have been so certified.¹⁹ Total compensation²⁰ for members of the SES in agencies whose performance appraisal systems "as designed and applied" have been certified by OPM may be up to the Vice President's salary ($230,700, salary became effective in January 2010)²¹ and up to EX Level I ($199,700, salary became effective in January 2010) in agencies whose performance appraisal systems have not been so certified.²² Table 2, below, shows January 2004 through January 2011 salaries for the SES.

The minimum rate of basic pay for certain senior-level positions—positions classified above GS-15 (SL pay schedule) and scientific or professional positions (ST pay schedule)—is 120% of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-15 ($119,554, salary became effective in January 2010).²³ SL and ST employees in agencies whose performance appraisal systems have been certified by OPM as making meaningful distinctions in performance, may receive basic pay up to Level II of the Executive Schedule ($179,700, salary became effective in January 2010). In agencies whose performance appraisal systems have not been so certified by OPM, SL and ST employees may receive basic pay up to Level III of the Executive Schedule ($165,300, salary became effective in January 2010). SL and ST employees no longer receive locality pay.²⁴ Total compensation for SL and ST employees in agencies whose performance appraisal systems "as designed and applied" have been certified by OPM may be up to the Vice President's salary ($230,700, salary became effective in January 2010)²⁵ and up to EX Level I ($199,700, salary became effective in January 2010) in agencies whose performance appraisal systems have not been so certified.²⁶

Table 3, below, shows January 2004 through January 2009 salaries for SL and ST employees in the Washington, DC, and "Rest of the United States" locality pay areas²⁷ and nationwide for January 2010 and January 2011.

General Schedule GS-15 Positions

The GS is the basic pay schedule for federal white-collar employees. It is divided into grades of difficulty and responsibility of work. There are 15 grades and 10 steps within each grade. The duties attached to positions at each grade are stated in statute at 5 U.S.C. §5104. Those for a GS-15, the top level of the schedule, are these:

(A) to perform, under general administrative direction, with very wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment, work of outstanding difficulty and responsibility along special technical, supervisory, or administrative lines which has demonstrated leadership and exceptional attainments;

(B) to serve as head of a major organization within a bureau involving work of comparable level;

(C) to plan and direct or to plan and execute specialized programs of marked difficulty, responsibility, and national significance, along professional, scientific, technical, administrative, fiscal, or other lines, requiring extended training and experience which has demonstrated leadership and unusual attainments in professional, scientific, or technical research, practice, or administration, or in administrative, fiscal, or other specialized activities; or

(D) to perform consulting or other professional, scientific, technical, administrative, fiscal, or other specialized work of equal importance, difficulty, and responsibility, and requiring comparable qualifications.²⁸

GS employees receive an annual adjustment to basic pay and a locality-based comparability payment. EX pay rates provide limitations on GS pay. Basic pay cannot exceed EX Level V ($145,700, salary became effective in January 2010); basic pay and locality pay combined cannot exceed EX Level IV ($155,500, salary became effective in January 2010); and total compensation cannot exceed EX Level I ($199,700, salary became effective in January 2010).²⁹ GS-15 employees at the upper end of that pay grade in 18 locality pay areas are currently affected by the EX Level IV cap on basic pay and locality pay combined as follows:

• Employees at step 10 in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX; Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL; Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI; Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD; Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA; Sacramento­ Arden-Arcade­ Yuba City, CA-NV; and Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA, locality pay areas.
• Employees at steps 9 and 10 in the Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH-RI-ME; Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI; Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI; Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT-MA; San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA; and Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, locality pay areas.
• Employees at steps 8, 9, and 10 in the Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA; and New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA, locality pay areas.
• Employees at steps 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA, locality pay area.³⁰

Table 4, below, shows January 2004 through January 2011 salaries for employees at GS grade 15 in the Washington, DC, and "Rest of the United States" locality pay areas.³¹

Footnotes

1.	P.L. 101-194, §704, November 30, 1989; 103 Stat. 1716, at 1769; 5 U.S.C. 5318 note. The law amended 2 U.S.C. §31(2), 3 U.S.C. §104, 5 U.S.C. §5318, and 28 U.S.C. §461(a). For an analysis of pay adjustments for Members of Congress, see CRS Report 97-1011, Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables, by [author name scrubbed] and CRS Report 97-615, Salaries of Members of Congress: Congressional Votes, 1990-2010, by [author name scrubbed].
2.	The term "base quarter" means the three-month period ending on December 31 of a year. The ECI for the last base quarter is reduced by the ECI for the second to last base quarter, the resulting difference is divided by the ECI for the second to last base quarter, and the quotient is multiplied by 100.
3.	footnote 1 and Government Management Reform Act of 1994, P.L. 103-356, Title I, §101(4), October 13, 1994; 108 Stat. 3410, at 3411. Under 5 U.S.C. §5318(a), salaries are rounded to the nearest multiple of $100 (or if midway between multiples of $100, to the next higher multiple of $100).
4.	Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States provides that "The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office." The pay adjustment set under the Ethics Reform Act would not apply to the extent that it would reduce the salary of any individual whose compensation may not be diminished under Article III, Section 1. (28 U.S.C. §461(b).)
5.	P.L. 97-92, §140, December 15, 1981; 95 Stat. 1183, at 1200; 28 U.S.C. 461 note. The law provides "[t]hat nothing in this limitation shall be construed to reduce any salary which may be in effect at the time of enactment of this joint resolution nor shall this limitation be construed in any manner to reduce the salary of any Federal judge or of any Justice of the Supreme Court." Congress enacted this provision of law in the wake of a court decision (U.S. v. Will, 449 U.S. 2000 (1980)) brought by several judges on behalf of the entire Judiciary which resulted in the restoration of two (1976 and 1979) of four (1976-1979) judicial pay adjustments that Congress had rejected. The provision was made permanent in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, The Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002, P.L. 107-77, Title VI, §625, November 28, 2001; 115 Stat. 748, at 803.
6.	Under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194, §703, November 30, 1989; 103 Stat. 1716, at 1768, 5 U.S.C. 5318 note), federal officials (but not Senators) also received a 25% pay adjustment which was compounded with the 3.6% annual pay adjustment. The Senate later passed legislation (Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1992, P.L. 102-90, August 14, 1991; 105 Stat. 450-451) which became effective on the day of enactment and provided Senators with the same pay as Representatives. For a discussion of the Senate action, see, CRS Report RL30014, Salaries of Members of Congress: Current Procedures and Recent Adjustments, by Paul Dwyer (available from CRS).
7.	P.L. 110-5, §115, February 15, 2007, 121 Stat. 8, at 12; 2 U.S.C. §31 note. H.J.Res. 20 was introduced by Representative David Obey on January 29, 2007, and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations. The House passed the resolution on a 286 to 140 vote (Roll No. 72) on January 31, 2007. (The rule on consideration of the resolution was passed on a 225 to 191 vote (Roll No. 67) the same day.) The Senate passed H.J.Res. 20 on an 81 to 15 vote (No. 48) on February 14, 2007. The resolution continued appropriations through September 30, 2007.
8.	S. 197 was introduced on January 8, 2007, by Senator Patrick Leahy, for himself, and Senators John Cornyn, Dianne Feinstein, Harry Reid, and Arlen Specter.
9.	U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index—December 2007 (Washington: January 31, 2008), pp. 2, 15. The calculation is 3.3% minus 0.5% = 2.8%.
10.	U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index—December 2008 (Washington: January 30, 2009), pp. 2, 17. The calculation is 2.6% minus 0.5% = 2.1%.
11.	P.L. 111-8, §103, Division J, March 11, 2009, 123 Stat. 524, at 988; 2 U.S.C. §31 note.
12.	U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index—December 2009 (Washington: January 29, 2010), pp. 2, 17. The calculation is 1.4% minus 0.5% = 0.9%.
13.	U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index-September 2009 (Washington: October 30, 2009), pp. 2, 18. The calculation is 1.4% minus 0.5% = 0.9%.
14.	P.L. 111-165, May 14, 2010, 124 Stat. 1185; 2 U.S.C. §31 note. Senator Russell Feingold introduced S. 3244 on April 22, 2010, and the Senate passed the bill under unanimous consent the same day. Representative Harry Mitchell introduced H.R. 5146 on April 27, 2010, and the House passed the bill on a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill on a vote (Roll No. 226) of 402-15, the same day. The Senate passed the bill under unanimous consent on April 28, 2010. President Barack Obama signed H.R. 5146 into law as P.L. 111-165 on May 14, 2010.
15.	U.S. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the U.S. Government Fiscal Year 2011 (Washington: GPO, February 2010), p. 41. U.S. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the U.S. Government Fiscal Year 2011 Appendix (Washington: GPO, February 2010), p. 15.
16.	U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index—December 2010 (Washington: January 28, 2011), pp. 3, 16. The calculation is 1.8% minus 0.5% = 1.3%.
17.	U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index-September 2010 (Washington: October 29, 2011), pp. 3, 16. The calculation is 1.6% minus 0.5% = 1.1%.
18.	5 U.S.C. §3132(a)(2).
19.	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, P.L. 108-136, Div. A, Title XI, §1125(a)(2), November 24, 2003; 117 Stat. 1392, at 1638-1639; 5 U.S.C. §5382. The Office of Personnel Management published interim regulations on January 13, 2004, proposed regulations on July 29, 2004, and final regulations on December 6, 2004, to implement the pay system. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, "Senior Executive Service Pay and Performance Awards," Federal Register, vol. 69, no. 8, January 13, 2004, pp. 2047-2052. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, "Senior Executive Service Pay and Performance Awards and Aggregate Limitation on Pay," Federal Register, vol. 69, no. 145, July 29, 2004, pp. 45535-45546. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, "Senior Executive Service Pay and Performance Awards; Aggregate Limitation on Pay," Federal Register, vol. 69, no. 233, December 6, 2004, pp. 70355-70367. See CRS Report RL33128, Senior Executive Service (SES) Pay for Performance System, by [author name scrubbed], for an analysis of the SES pay adjustment process.
20.	The term total compensation as used in this report refers to the aggregate of allowances, differentials, bonuses, awards, or other similar cash payments, and basic pay. It does not include advance payments, payments to missing employees, or back pay. The term also does not include travel and transportation allowances, except for recruitment, relocation, and retention bonuses, supervisory differentials, and expenses to obtain professional credentials, or allowances, generally, except for foreign area post differentials and danger pay, nonforeign area post differentials, and physicians comparability allowances. (5 U.S.C. §5307(a)).
21.	Homeland Security Act of 2002, P.L. 107-296, Title XIII, §1322, November 25, 2002; 116 Stat. 2135, at 2297-2298; 5 U.S.C. §5307(d) provided for OPM certification of agency performance appraisal systems with the concurrence of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). See footnote 19 for the regulations implementing the provision. An agency's certification is for a period of two calendar years, but may be terminated at any time upon a finding that the agency has not conformed with applicable requirements.
22.	5 U.S.C. §5307(a)(1).
23.	Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 1991, P.L. 101-509, Title V, §529 [Title I, §102(a)(1)], November 5, 1990; 104 Stat. 1389, at 1427, 1443; 5 U.S.C. §5376.
24.	P.L. 110-372, October 8, 2008, 122 Stat. 4043-4046; 5 U.S.C. §5376.
25.	Homeland Security Act of 2002, P.L. 107-296, Title XIII, §1322, November 25, 2002; 116 Stat. 2135, at 2297-2298; 5 U.S.C. §5307(d) provided for OPM certification of agency performance appraisal systems with the concurrence of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). See footnote 19 for the regulations implementing the provision. An agency's certification is for a period of two calendar years, but may be terminated at any time upon a finding that the agency has not conformed with applicable requirements.
26.	5 U.S.C. §5307(a)(1).
27.	There are 32 locality pay areas for the purposes of the locality-based comparability payments—31 discrete pay areas and a "Rest of the United States" pay area covering all employees not in one of the 31 areas. Salary information for SL and ST employees in all 32 locality pay areas for January 2004 through January 2009 is available on the Internet at http://www.opm.gov.
28.	5 U.S.C. §5104(15).
29.	5 U.S.C. §5303(f), 5 U.S.C. §5304(g)(1), and 5 U.S.C. §5307(a)(1). See CRS Report RL34463, Federal White-Collar Pay: FY2009 and FY2010 Salary Adjustments, by [author name scrubbed], for an analysis of the pay adjustment process for General Schedule positions.
30.	For an analysis of the pay cap, see CRS Report RL34380, The Executive Schedule IV Pay Cap on General Schedule Compensation, by [author name scrubbed].
31.	Salary tables for GS-15 employees in all 32 locality pay areas are available on the Internet at http://www.opm.gov.