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October 31, 2000
(House)

H.R. 207 - Federal Physicians Comparability Allowance
Amendments of 2000
(Rep. Morella (R) Maryland and 25 cosponsors)

The Administration supports reauthorization of the physician comparability allowances (PCA) program, which expired on September 30, 2000. These allowances are payments made by Federal agencies to physicians on top of a eligible physicians' base salary in return for service agreements where physicians agree to continue employment with their agency for a specified time period.

However, the Administration opposes the provision of H.R. 207 that would set a costly and undesirable precedent for the treatment of retention allowances, non-foreign area cost-of-living allowances, and other periodic payments which are not considered basic pay for retirement purposes. Furthermore, the Administration would prefer the three to five year extension as contained in the Administration's bill to allow for periodic review of the authority's effectiveness.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

H.R. 207 would affect direct spending; therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirements of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. OMB's estimate is under development.