Sponsors (6)
The bill raises pay and improves retirement calculations for many Bureau of Prisons staff to boost recruitment, retention, and officer safety, but it increases federal payroll and pension liabilities and ties continuation to oversight reviews that could create uncertainty and added administrative costs.
Federal correctional officers and lower-paid BOP Federal Wage System employees receive a roughly 35% increase in base pay (capped at Executive Schedule V), boosting take-home pay and improving recruitment and retention.
Affected Bureau of Prisons staff see higher ‘‘basic pay’’ counted toward retirement annuities and survivor/benefit calculations, increasing long-term retirement and survivor benefits for employees and families.
The bill builds in oversight: a sunset and DOJ OIG review plus required reporting on overtime/augmentation creates accountability and a performance check before making pay changes permanent, helping protect taxpayers from unreviewed long-term costs.
Taxpayers and the federal budget face materially higher payroll and long-term retirement/benefit liabilities from expanded ‘‘basic pay,’’ increasing budgetary pressure and likely requiring offsets or cuts elsewhere.
Linking continuation of the special pay authorities to a 5‑year IG certification risks letting higher pay expire if progress isn’t certified, creating uncertainty and potentially harming recruitment and retention of correctional officers.
Capping increases at Executive Schedule level V may compress pay relationships and limit increases for higher-grade officers, creating internal equity and retention tensions at senior levels.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a 35% special base pay increase for qualifying Federal correctional officers and certain FWS BOP workers (capped), treated as basic pay, with a five‑year sunset tied to an IG review.
Official title: Amend title 5, United States Code, to improve recruitment and retention of Federal correctional officers, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 13, 2026 by Jeanne Shaheen · Last progress January 13, 2026
Creates a temporary special pay rate for Federal correctional officers and certain low‑grade Bureau of Prisons wage employees equal to a 35% increase over their applicable base pay (capped at specified Executive Schedule levels), treats the increase as basic pay for benefits and retirement purposes, and requires a Justice Department Inspector General review. The pay authorities expire after five years unless the IG finds the Bureau has reduced use of non‑custodial augmentation and excessive mandatory overtime, in which case the increase continues.