Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, reintroduced the Equal COLA Act. The legislation aims to bring equity to the way the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is determined under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Ranking Member Connolly previously introduced the legislation in the 116th, 117th, and 118th Congresses.
“Federal retirees served our country with patriotism and honor, regardless of which retirement system they fall under,” said Ranking Member Connolly. “The economic conditions that necessitate cost-of-living adjustments affect retirees in the same way, whether they are on CSRS or FERS. It is high time we recognized that reality. The Equal COLA Act will rectify the unfair two-tiered process we have in place now and will bring parity to a federal retirement system that has unjustly penalized certain retirees for too long.”
The Equal COLA Act would make the annual COLA for both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) equivalent to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). This change would institute long-overdue parity between the two federal retirement systems and result in a more just retirement benefits system for all federal workers.
The Equal COLA Act is cosponsored by the following Members of Congress: Mullin, Tlaib, Brownley, Boyle, Cleaver, Don Davis, McBath, DelBene, Frost, Cohen, Leger Fernandez, Mrvan, Thanedar, Titus, Cherfilus-McCormick, Raskin, McClellan, Casar, Danny Davis, Ocasio-Cortez, Garamendi, Salinas, Lynch, Goldman, Hoyle, Takano.
The Equal COLA Act is endorsed by the following organizations: The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Federal Managers Association (FMA), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).
Text of the Equal COLA Act is available here.