First Responder Fair RETIRE Act
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 117-225.
First Responder Fair Return for Employees on Their Initial Retirement Earned Act or the First Responder Fair RETIRE Act
This act allows disabled federal first responders (e.g., law enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, and firefighters) to continue receiving federal retirement benefits in the same manner as though they had not been disabled.
Under current law, federal first responders are subject to a mandatory retirement age of 57. To facilitate this earlier retirement, federal first responders are required to pay a greater percentage of their salary towards retirement. Additionally, their annuity amount is calculated at a higher rate than other federal employees.
This act allows a federal first responder to remain in the accelerated retirement system if they are placed in another civil service position outside of that system after returning to work from a work-related injury or illness. Further, if such an employee is separated from service before they are entitled to receive an annuity, they may receive a refund of their accelerated contributions.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on December 9, 2022. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on December 9, 2022: Became Public Law No: 117-225.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Gerald Connolly (D-VA) introduced it on January 28, 2021, and 26 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 20 Democrats, 6 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HousePassed
- SenatePassed
- PresidentSigned into law