118 STAT. 812 PUBLIC LAW 108–271—JULY 7, 2004 thirty six month period preceding the date of separation, performed service for which a student loan repayment ben efit was or is to be paid under section 5379 of title 5, United States Code.’;’’. SEC. 3. ANNUAL PAY ADJUSTMENTS. (a) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES GENERALLY.—Paragraph (3) of section 732(c) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(3) except as provided under section 733(a)(3)(B) of this title, basic rates of officers and employees of the Office shall be adjusted annually to such extent as determined by the Comptroller General, and in making that determination the Comptroller General shall consider— ‘‘(A) the principle that equal pay should be provided for work of equal value within each local pay area; ‘‘(B) the need to protect the purchasing power of officers and employees of the Office, taking into consideration the Consumer Price Index or other appropriate indices; ‘‘(C) any existing pay disparities between officers and employees of the Office and non Federal employees in each local pay area; ‘‘(D) the pay rates for the same levels of work for officers and employees of the Office and non Federal employees in each local pay area; ‘‘(E) the appropriate distribution of agency funds between annual adjustments under this section and performance based compensation; and ‘‘(F) such other criteria as the Comptroller General considers appropriate, including, but not limited to, the funding level for the Office, amounts allocated for perform ance based compensation, and the extent to which the Office is succeeding in fulfilling its mission and accom plishing its strategic plan; notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, an adjustment under this paragraph shall not be applied in the case of any officer or employee whose performance is not at a satisfactory level, as determined by the Comptroller General for purposes of such adjustment;’’. (b) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE OFFICE SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—Subparagraph (B) of section 733(a)(3) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(B) adjusted annually by the Comptroller General after taking into consideration the factors listed under section 732(c)(3) of this title, except that an adjustment under this subparagraph shall not be applied in the case of any officer or employee whose performance is not at a satisfactory level, as determined by the Comptroller Gen eral for purposes of such adjustment;’’. (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 732(b)(6) is amended by striking ‘‘title 5.’’ and inserting ‘‘title 5, except as provided under subsection (c)(3) of this section and section 733(a)(3)(B) of this title.’’. SEC. 4. PAY RETENTION. Paragraph (5) of section 732(c) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(5) the Comptroller General shall prescribe regulations under which an officer or employee of the Office shall be entitled to pay retention if, as a result of any reduction in force or Regulations.
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