,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bgdi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #e1     
#bjaf ,ms4 ,ayotte 7for herself1 ,ms4   
,collins1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mr4 ,kaine1   
,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4      
,schatz1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,warner1  
,mr4 ,king1 and ,mr4 ,rounds7 introduced
 the following bill2 which was read     
twice and referred to the ,committee on 
,armed ,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide
 an exception from the reduced flat rate
 per diem for long-term temporary duty  
under ,joint ,travel ,regulations for   
civilian employees of naval shipyards   
traveling for direct labor in support of
 off-yard work1 and for other purposes4 
#a4 ,findings ,congress makes the       
following findings3 7#a7 ,the           
,department of ,defense has instituted a
 new flat rate per diem policy that     
reduces the reimbursement rate for      
personnel traveling on temporary duty   
7,,tdy7 longer than #cj days4  7#b7 ,in 
its report to accompany ,s4 #acgf       

7#aadth ,congress71 dated ,may #ai1     
#bjae 7,report #aad-di71 the ,committee 
on ,armed ,services of the ,senate      
expresses concern that the new policy   
should not discourage civilian workers  
from volunteering for important         
temporary duty assignments4 ,the        
,committee also expresses its view that 
the ,department should ensure that those
 who volunteer for mission essential    
travel are fully supported and          
encouraged4  7#c7 ,on ,january #ai1     
#bjaf1 the ,commander of ,naval ,sea    
,systems ,command 7,,navsea71 ,admiral  
,william ,hilarides1 wrote a letter     
expressing concerns about the long-term 
temporary duty per diem policy of the   
,department4 ,in the letter1 ,admiral   
,hilarides states that the new policy   
has already had a negative impact on the
 ,naval ,shipyards' ability to          
effectively and efficiently conduct     
,navy ship maintenance4 ,as the officer 
who oversees all four public shipyards1 
he also said that the policy has the    

potential to increase the end cost of   
projects4  7#d7 ,in the letter1 ,admiral
 ,hilarides requests an immediate waiver
 from and permanent change to the       
long-term temporary duty per diem policy
 of the ,department under the ,joint    
,travel ,regulations of the ,department 
for all naval shipyard workers who      
support ,navy ship maintenance4  7#e7   
,on ,march #ae1 #bjaf1 the ,vice ,chief 
of ,naval ,operations1 ,admiral         
,michelle ,howard1 testified that the   
temporary duty policy for civilian      
public shipyard workers may end up      
costing more money4 ,she also expressed 
concern that any policy should reflect  
the commitment of the ,navy to these    
artisans and their skillsets and ensure 
public shipyard workers are not paying  
money out of their pockets for          
appropriate expenses4  #b4 ,sense of    
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that-- 7#a7 ,department of ,defense     
civilian public shipyard workers play a 
critical role in maintaining the ships  

and submarines of the ,united ,states1  
ensuring our sailors and the commanders 
of the combatant commands have the safe 
and combat-ready naval vessels required 
to protect the economic and national    
security interests of the ,united       
,states2  7#b7 the ,department must     
continue to scrutinize costs carefully  
in order to eliminate waste1 but in a   
well-intentioned effort to save money1  
the ,department has pursued a misguided 
one-size-fits-all approach to its       
long-term temporary duty 7,,tdy7 per    
diem policy1 which has adversely        
affected shipyard workers while         
potentially costing more and harming the
 naval readiness of the ,united ,states2
 and  7#c7 in order to reduce temporary 
duty expenses1 the ,department should   
eliminate unnecessary temporary duty and
 not cut the reimbursement rate for     
workers undertaking temporary duty that 
is essential to sustain military        
readiness1 such as temporary duty in    
support of ship and submarine           

maintenance1 modernization1 and repair4 
#c4 ,exception from reduced flat rate   
per diem for long-term temporary duty   
under ,joint ,travel ,regulations for   
civilian employees of naval shipyards   
traveling for direct labor in support of
 off-yard work  7a7 ,modification of    
,joint ,travel ,regulations ,the ,joint 
,travel ,regulations 7,,jtr7 of the     
,department of ,defense shall be        
modified to provide that the reduced    
flat rate per diem for long-term        
temporary duty 7,,tdy7 otherwise imposed
 under paragraph #dbej of section #d of 
part ,b of chapter #d of the ,joint     
,travel ,regulations shall not be       
imposed on civilian employees of naval  
shipyards traveling on such duty for    
direct labor in support of off-yard work
 and such employees shall be paid the   
full per diem rate for such travel4  7b7
 ,inapplicability of current regulations
 ,the per diem rate payable to any      
employee described in subsection 7a7 for
 travel described in that subsection    

that occurs during the period beginning 
on the date of the enactment of this    
,act and ending on the effective date of
 the modification required by subsection
 7a7 shall be the rate provided for as a
 result of the modification4