CONGRESS FOR VOTERS

RepublicanSecond Degree Amendment · S.Amdt. 3697· Senate(119-SAMDT-3697)

To require a review of the methodologies used to determine the amounts of locality-based comparability payments and to require the President's Pay Agent to conduct a pilot program establishing alternative models for determining the amounts of those payments.

Rep. Curtis
Age: 66 years
Utah
Introduced
9/2/2025
Last activity
10/9/2025 — Amendment SA 3697, under the order of 10/9/2025, not having achieved 60 votes in the affirmative, not agreed to in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 51 - 46. Record Vote Number: 564.
Sponsored by
John Curtis
Cosponsors
Republican - 1Democrat - 0
Changes amendment
119-SAMDT-3748
On the bill
119-S-2296 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
  1. Introduced
  2. Failed

What this amendment would do

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Curtis, aims to add a section to bill S. 2296 focused on the modernization of the pay comparability system.

The purpose is to require the Pay Agent to contract with the National Academy of Public Administration to review how comparability payments are determined. This review must assess how these payments align with labor market data and cost-of-living indicators, such as the Consumer Price Index and various housing market indices.

The amendment specifically requires:

  • Analysis of Disparities: A specific look at pay disparities in Utah and regional disparities affecting the recruitment and retention of Federal employees in defense-related roles, using Utah as a case study for fast-growing economic areas.

  • New Recommendations: The development of alternative models for determining payment amounts. This includes considering broader economic indicators, comparing General Schedule positions to non-General Schedule positions (like the AcqDemo Project), and focusing on housing trends in areas like Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Layton, Utah.

  • Pilot Program: The creation of a pilot program to use these alternative models to determine comparability payments in Utah and other areas with similar pay disparities. This program will last for 3 years after the review is completed and requires notice to the public and Congress.

The amendment clarifies that it does not limit an agency's authority to offer bonuses or special salary rates and specifies that alternative models cannot be used after the pilot program ends.

What Congress actually voted on

One recorded vote has been taken on this amendment.

  • The Senate: a vote on a proposed change to the billAmendment Rejected 51–46

    A vote on one change, not on the bill. A bill can collect dozens of these, and losing one does not stop it.

    10/09/2025 · Roll call 564 · recorded as “On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3697 to S.Amdt. 3748 to S. 2296 (No short title on file)”