Coos Bay Wagon Road grant fund, payment to counties..

26, 000

26, 000

Oil Leasing Act, payments to States under..

2,775, 000

2, 775, 000

Potash deposits, royalties and rentals, payments to States from.

165, 000

165,000

Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands, excess payments..

1,000

1,000

Migratory bird conservation fund.

1, 000, 000

1 Includes $1,000,000 for migratory bird conservation fund carried by Budget as a regular annual appropriation.

Total, general and special funds..

FURTHER AMENDING THE CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT ACT, APPROVED MAY 29, 1930, AS AMENDED

APRIL 26, 1944.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. RAMSPECK, from the Committee on the Civil Service, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 1475]

The Committee on the Civil Service, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1475) to further amend the Civil Service Retirement Act, approved May 29, 1930, as amended, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

STATEMENT

The civil service retirement law specifies that in cases where a retired person reenters Federal employment, his annuity shall be terminated until again retired. In other words, when an annuitant is reappointed to Federal employment, he may not receive annuity payments in addition to his salary.

However, cases occasionally arise in the administration of the retirement law wherein an annuitant was reemployed in the Federal service, and, without the knowledge that he had violated some provision of the law, has accepted both his annuity and the salary attached to his position. The belated discovery of these illegal dual payments results in the termination of annuity without right to future annuity payments until the overpayment has been refunded to the Govern

ment.

The Civil Service Commission asks for general administrative authority to pass upon these cases such as was accorded in Private Law No. 525, Seventy-seventh Congress, approved December 1, 1942, which relieved one Earl Carbaugh from repayment of his annuity >therwise illegally paid.

It is the intent of this bill to grant the Civil Service Commission such authority.

For the information of the membership of the House there is printed below a letter from the Civil Service Commission, which is selfexplanatory:

Hon. ROBERT RAMSPECK,

UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION,
Washington, D. C., January 29, 1943.

Chairman, Committee on the Civil Service, House of Representatives.

DEAR MR. RAMSPECK: The Commission desires to refer to H. R. 1475, a bill introduced by you on January 25, 1943, to authorize the waiver of recovery of annuity payments from any annuitant under the Civil Service Retirement Act who, in the judgment of this Commission, is without fault and when, in the judgment of the Commission, such recovery would be contrary to equity and good conscience, and to your recent letter regarding same.

In the administration of the retirement law, cases occasionally arise wherein an annuitant was reemployed in the Federal service without knowledge that he had violated some provision of law or that the annuity could not be paid concurrently with salary for services rendered. Some of these cases involve such reemployment for a number of years with resultant illegal dual payments over that time, and in a few instances the salary is no more or even less than the annuity.

The Commission is making every possible effort to prevent the happening of this eventuality, but the belated discovery that these circumstances have existed in a particular instance creates a difficult situation. The immediate result is, of course, the suspension or termination of annuity with no right to future annuity payments until the overpayment has been recovered. This works a very definite hardship in most cases which the Commission feels is not warranted by the facts in certain instances. Witness the case of Earl Carbauh who, while receiving annuity of $96.50 per month, served under the Government for a period of almost 7 years at a monthly salary of $19.50; in this case, the Seventy-seventh Congress saw the need for remedial legislation and by Private Law 525 (approved December 1, 1942) relieved this annuitant from repayment of the annuity otherwise illegally paid.

This office does not feel that such of these cases as merit similar consideration should require the special attention and time of Congress for individual handling; rather it is believed that general administrative authority should be accorded the Commission to pass upon these cases similar to the authority already granted by law to the Veterans' Administration in cases arising under its jurisdiction. The Commission, therefore, recommends that H. R. 1475 be enacted into law. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there would be no objection to the proposed legislation.

Very sincerely yours,

HARRY B. MITCHELL, President.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, existing law is printed below in roman and that proposed in italics.

Section 17 of the Civil Service Retirement Act, approved May 29, 1930:

SEC. 17. For the purpose of administration, except as otherwise provided herein, the Civil Service Commission is hereby authorized and directed to perform, or cause to be performed, any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this Act into full force and effect. An appeal to the Civil Service Commissioners shall lie from the final action or order of the Civil Service Commission affecting the rights or interests of any person or of the United States under this Act, the procedure on appeal to be as prescribed by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service Commission shall make a detailed comparative report annually showing all receipts and disbursements on account of annuities, refunds, and allowances, together with the total number of persons receiving annuities and the total amounts paid them, and shall transmit to Congress the reports and recommendations of the Board of Actuaries.

The Civil Service Commission shall submit annually to the Bureau of the Budget estimates of the appropriations necessary to finance the retirement and disability fund and to continue this Act in full force and effect.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, there shall be no recovery of annuity payments from any annuitant under this Act who, in the judgment of the Civil Service Commission, is without fault and when, in the judgment of the Civil Service Commission, such recovery would be contrary to equity and good conscience.

O