What This Bill Does · Plain English
Summary · Congress.gov
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.
Action Timeline
2025-09-16
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 requ
2025-01-16
Introduced in House
2025-01-16
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
2025-01-16
Introduced in House
Frequently Asked Questions
Did HR.491 pass?
HR.491 is still alive. Current stage: PASSED_ONE. Pass likelihood: 30%.
What does HR.491 do?
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…
Who sponsored HR.491?
HR.491 was sponsored by Gerald Connolly (D-Virginia).
Full Bill Text
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.
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