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H.R. 491

U.S. House•Introduced

Summary

H.R. 491, the Equal COLA Act, was introduced in the House on Jan 16, 2025 by Rep. Gerald Connolly (D) with 86 co-sponsors. It last saw action on Sep 16, 2025: ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 491, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.

Record

Text

H.R. 491 has 86 co-sponsors.

hb491/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HR 491 IH: Equal COLA Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-01-16
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 491  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   January 16, 2025   Mr. Connolly  (for himself,  Mr. Mullin ,  Ms. Tlaib ,  Ms. Brownley ,  Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania ,  Mr. Cleaver ,  Mr. Davis of North Carolina ,  Mrs. McBath ,  Ms. DelBene ,  Mr. Frost ,  Mr. Cohen ,  Ms. Leger Fernandez ,  Mr. Mrvan ,  Mr. Thanedar ,  Ms. Titus ,  Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick ,  Mr. Raskin ,  Ms. McClellan ,  Mr. Casar ,  Mr. Davis of Illinois ,  Ms. Ocasio-Cortez ,  Mr. Garamendi ,  Ms. Salinas ,  Mr. Lynch ,  Mr. Goldman of New York ,  Ms. Hoyle of Oregon ,  Mr. Takano , and  Mr. Mfume ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Oversight and Government Reform    A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to achieve parity between the cost-of-living adjustment with respect to an annuity under the Federal Employees Retirement System and an annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Equal COLA Act  .
2.
Increase in COLA for FERS annuities
(a)
In general
Paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section 8462 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (c), effective December 1 of each year, each annuity payable from the Fund having a commencing date not later than such December 1 shall be increased by the percent change in the price index for the base quarter of such year over the price index for the base quarter of the preceding year in which an adjustment under this subsection was made, adjusted to the nearest  1/10  of 1 percent.
 .
(b)
Application
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to—
(1)
any cost-of-living adjustment under section 8462 of title 5, United States Code, made after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2)
any annuity covered by such section commencing before, on, or after such date.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-01-16
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Jan 16, 2025

hb491/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (01/16/2025)

Equal COLA Act

This bill applies a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for annuities paid under the Federal Employees Retirement System that is equal to the increase in inflation, regardless of the amount of the increase.

Specifically, for any year in which the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased over the previous year, the COLA amount shall be increased by the change in the CPI from the previous year.

Current law applies an adjustment equal to the change in CPI only if the change is 2% or less. If the change is between 2% and 3%, the adjustment is limited to 2%. If the change is more than 3%, the adjustment is limited to 1% less than the change.

Sponsors

Rep. Gerald Connolly (D) sponsors H.R. 491, and 86 members have co-sponsored it, 27 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 491 went before 1 committee: Oversight and Government Reform.

Oversight and Government Reform
Oversight and Government Reform
Referred To · Jan 16, 2025 · 696 Bills

Actions

H.R. 491 has taken 3 actions since Jan 16, 2025, the latest on Sep 16, 2025.

ChamberAction
Sep 16, 202517:15
House
ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 491, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
Jan 16, 2025
House
Introduced in House
Jan 16, 2025
House
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.Oversight and Government Reform Committee

Votes

H.R. 491 has not gone to a roll call.

1 bill is related to H.R. 491, as Identical bill.

Titles

H.R. 491 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Equal COLA Act — Display Title
  • Equal COLA Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • To amend title 5, United States Code, to achieve parity between the cost-of-living adjustment with respect to an annuity under the Federal Employees Retirement System and an annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System, and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

11 clients hired 10 firms and 52 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 491 in 52 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Government Issues, Budget/Appropriations, Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace, Postal, Retirement, Agriculture, Housing, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIO—District of Columbia19—
AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION AFL-CIO—District of Columbia16—
FEDERAL MANAGERS ASSOCIATION—Virginia16—
NATIONAL ACTIVE AND RETIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION—Virginia16—
NATIONAL POSTAL MAIL HANDLERS UNION—District of Columbia16—
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION—District of Columbia16—
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES—District of Columbia13—
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS—District of Columbia13—
NATIONAL RURAL LETTER CARRIERS' ASSOCIATION—Virginia13—
PROFESSIONAL MANAGERS ASSOCIATIONProfessional organization representing federal managers and supervisorsDistrict of Columbia12$20K
SENIOR EXECUTIVES ASSOCIATIONProfessional organization representing federal career Senior ExecutivesDistrict of Columbia12$20K

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO19—
AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION, AFL-CIO16—
FEDERAL MANAGERS ASSOCIATION16—
NATIONAL ACTIVE AND RETIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION16—
NATIONAL POSTAL MAIL HANDLERS UNION16—
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION16—
SHAW, BRANSFORD & ROTH, P.C. (FORMERLY SHAW, BRANSFORD, VEILLEUX & ROTH, P.C.)24$40K
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES13—
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS13—
NATIONAL RURAL LETTER CARRIERS' ASSOCIATION13—

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill. The 20 named most often, of 52.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
DANIEL HOROWITZ119
ELLIOT FRIEDMAN119
FIONA KOHRMAN119
HERB SMITH119
KEITH ABOUCHAR119
LISA SWIRSKY119
SERGIO ESPINOSA119
ANTHONY LIVINGSTON118
GABRIEL PEDREIRA118
GRANT SCHOTT118
JUSTIN PERPICH118
KEVIN LIDDELL118
RYAN MIMS118
SHANNON FAULK118
STEVEN CAMPISI118
GREG STANFORD116
JENNIFER TYREE116
JOHN HATTON116
JUDY BEARD116
KATHERINE SYBENGA116

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEESAMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES2025 second_quarter$770K2nd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEESAMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES2025 third_quarter$750K3rd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEESAMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES2025 first_quarter$630K1st Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIOAMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO2025 second_quarter$590K2nd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIOAMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO2025 first_quarter$540K1st Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIOAMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO2025 fourth_quarter$450.4K4th Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIOAMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO2026 first_quarter$410K1st Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIOAMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO2026 second_quarter$390K2nd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIOAMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO2025 third_quarter$360.2K3rd Quarter - Amendme…
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIOAMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO2025 third_quarter$360.2K3rd Quarter - Amendme…
AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIOAMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO2025 third_quarter$360.2K3rd Quarter - Report
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNIONNATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION2025 fourth_quarter$350K4th Quarter - Report
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNIONNATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION2025 second_quarter$350K2nd Quarter - Report
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNIONNATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION2026 second_quarter$340K2nd Quarter - Report
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNIONNATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION2026 first_quarter$310K1st Quarter - Report
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNIONNATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION2025 third_quarter$300K3rd Quarter - Report
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNIONNATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION2025 first_quarter$300K1st Quarter - Report
AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION AFL-CIOAMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION, AFL-CIO2025 second_quarter$150K2nd Quarter - Report
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERSNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS2026 second_quarter$140K2nd Quarter - Report
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERSNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS2026 first_quarter$140K1st Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 491 under Government Operations and Politics, one of its 31 policy areas, and gives it 2 legislative subjects.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 491’s is Government Operations and Politics.

hr491/policy-areas.txt
Government Operations and PoliticsAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Legislative Subjects

H.R. 491 carries 2 of CRS’s legislative subjects, from Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management to Inflation and prices.

hr491/subjects.txt
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel managementInflation and prices

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 491, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 9 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. CONNOLLY:H.R. 491.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article 1, Section 8[Page H222]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com