A bill to amend Civil Service retirement provisions as they apply to certain employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and of the Indian Health Service who are not entitled to Indian employment preference and to modify the application of the Indian employment preference laws as it applies to those agencies.
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Entitles certain employees of Indian tribal organizations, the Indian Health Service (IHS), or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to an annuity if separated from service after completing 25 years of service or after attaining 50 years of age and completing 20 years of service, if such employee is not an Indian entitled to an employment preference by law. States that employees entitled to Indian preference and military preference shall be retained in preference to employees entitled to only military preference during reductions in force within the BIA or the IHS. Declares that reassignments of individuals within the BIA or the IHS shall not be subject to the Indian preference laws where the Commissioner of Indian Affairs determines that the reassignment is necessary to: (1) assure the health or safety of an individual or his family; (2) avoid the displacement of an Indian during a reduction in force; or (3) prevent the deterioration of an individual's operation or of a necessary service to the Indian people. Forbids the application of Indian preference laws to any personnel action respecting an individual if the tribal organization served by the unit in which the position exists grants a waiver of those laws. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and of Health, Education, and Welfare to report annually to Congress on their actions to recruit and train Indians for positions subject to Indian preference laws and to place non-Indian employees of the BIA and the IHS in other Federal positions.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on April 2, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 2, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
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?
JOHN MELCHER (D-MT) introduced it on April 2, 1979, and 10 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 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.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 2, 1979, 17328 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17328 days ago, on April 2, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers