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Essential Employees Pay Certainty Act
To allow Federal employees excepted from furlough during the lapse in appropriations beginning on or around December 22, 2018, to make withdrawals from their Thrift Savings Plan accounts, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill allows federal employees who worked without pay during the government shutdown beginning around December 22, 2018, to withdraw money from their Thrift Savings Plan retirement accounts without penalties. The withdrawal amount is limited to the salary the employee would have received during the shutdown period. These withdrawals are not subject to the usual early withdrawal penalties or Internal Revenue Code restrictions. The bill also allows these employees to replenish their retirement accounts by making catch-up contributions after the shutdown ends, treated as direct transfers for tax purposes.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Meadows, Mark [R-NC-11] (R-NC)
Actions (3)
- Mar 1, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight. · house
- Jan 8, 2019 Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. · house
- Jan 8, 2019 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
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Similar bills (6)
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Text versions (1)
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 8, 2019
Mr. Meadows introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To allow Federal employees excepted from furlough during the lapse in appropriations beginning on or around December 22, 2018, to make withdrawals from their Thrift Savings Plan accounts, 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 “Essential Employees Pay Certainty Act”.
SEC. 2. TSP WITHDRAWALS FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES EXCEPTED FROM FURLOUGH DURING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.
(a) Withdrawal.—
(1) In general.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Federal employee excepted from furlough resulting from a lapse in discretionary appropriations occurring on or around December 22, 2018, may, during such lapse, make a withdrawal from the employee’s account within the Thrift Savings Plan, without penalty and without being treated as violating any requirement of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(2) Amount.—The amount of a withdrawal under paragraph (1) may not be greater than the total amount of annual salary that the employee would have received for the period beginning on the date the employee would have received pay but for such lapse and ending on the date on which the withdrawal is made.
(b) Catch-Up Contributions.—Any employee who makes a withdrawal under subsection (a) may, beginning on the date that the lapse in appropriations with respect to the employing agency ends, make 1 or more contributions in an aggregate amount not to exceed the amount of such withdrawal to the employee’s account within the Thrift Savings Plans. In the case of any such contribution, but only to the extent of the amount thereof, the withdrawal shall be treated in the same manner as having been received in an eligible rollover distribution (as defined in section 402(c)(4) of such Code) and the contribution as having been transferred in a direct trustee to trustee transfer within 60 days of an eligible rollover distribution. <all>
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