I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 3120
To improve the review and effectiveness of the cost of living adjustments
to pay and benefits for members of the Armed Forces and civilian
employees of the Department of Defense whose permanent duty station
is located in the 19th Congressional District of California, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL30, 2025
Mr. P
ANETTAintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To improve the review and effectiveness of the cost of living
adjustments to pay and benefits for members of the
Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Department
of Defense whose permanent duty station is located in
the 19th Congressional District of California, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 May 08, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3120.IH H3120
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
•HR 3120 IH
SECTION 1. REPORT ON COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT. 1
(a) S
ENSE OFCONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-2
gress that— 3
(1) United States military personnel and De-4
partment of Defense civilians should be financially 5
supported as they face frequent relocation over the 6
course of their service, including in high-cost areas 7
that can place financial burdens on these personnel; 8
(2) the United States should provide for the 9
basic needs of these personnel, including by offset-10
ting the rising costs of goods and services, which are 11
considerable in the sate of California, where the 12
overall cost of living is markedly higher than the na-13
tional average, including for housing, transportation, 14
groceries, and healthcare; 15
(3) the current means of calculating cost of liv-16
ing adjustment rates (in this section referred to as 17
‘‘COLA’’) may provide inaccurate or incomplete 18
data, which is a concern as the cost of living in the 19
19th congressional district of California may exceed 20
the 107 percent index used to determine COLA 21
rates; and 22
(4) the means for calculating COLA should be 23
periodically reviewed to ensure accuracy and make 24
certain that the United States appropriately cares 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 May 08, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3120.IH H3120
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
•HR 3120 IH
for military personnel and civilian employees of the 1
Department of Defense. 2
(b) R
EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 3
of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of De-4
fense for Personnel and Readiness shall submit to the 5
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the 6
House of Representatives a report on cost of living adjust-7
ment calculations for purposes of pay and benefits for 8
members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of 9
the Department of Defense whose permanent duty station 10
is located in the 19th Congressional District of California. 11
Such report shall include— 12
(1) an explanation of the methods used to col-13
lect data and the factors used to determine such cost 14
of living adjustment; 15
(2) an assessment of the appropriateness of in-16
cluding in the calculation of such cost of living ad-17
justment the presence of military commissaries or 18
exchanges; 19
(3) the evaluation of the Under Secretary of— 20
(A) whether any locations within the 19th 21
Congressional District of California should be 22
considered a high-cost area for purposes of 23
chapter 67 of volume 7A of the Department of 24
Defense Financial Management Regulation; 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 May 08, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3120.IH H3120
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
•HR 3120 IH
(B) whether the existence of a military 1
commissary in Monterey, California, provides 2
substantial financial support that affects the 3
determination of a cost of living adjustment; 4
and 5
(C) the advisability of providing certain 6
areas within the 19th Congressional District of 7
California with an increased cost of living ad-8
justment; and 9
(4) a comparison of the factors that contribute 10
to a determination of the cost of living adjustments 11
that are applied to Monterey, California, and Santa 12
Clara, California. 13
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 May 08, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3120.IH H3120
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS