{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bacon.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2895", "Bacon, Raskin and Dexter Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Pension Payments for NOAA Corps, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps", "2026-05-12", "2026", "2026-05", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Don Bacon", "B001298", "bacon.house.gov", "bacon", "https://bacon.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "\u201cNOAA Corps and U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers serve our nation in moments of crisis, from hurricane response and environmental disasters to disease outbreaks at home and overseas,\u201d said Rep. Bacon. \u201cThese uniformed officers have answered the call in national emergencies and times of war, and they deserve a retirement structure that recognizes that service. I\u2019m pleased to co-lead the bipartisan Pensions for Uniformed Services Retirees Act with Rep. Raskin to ensure all members of the uniformed services are treated fairly.\u201d\n\n\u201cNOAA Corps officers and USPHS Commissioned Corps officers have made immeasurable sacrifices for the health and safety of our people over decades of public service,\u201d said Rep. Raskin. \u201cOur bipartisan legislation will mean these patriots will get the pensions they earned so they don\u2019t go hungry or struggle to pay their rent or mortgage during a government shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Commissioned Officers Association is pleased to endorse this important legislation, which would provide a stable and reliable financial foundation for retirement pay for members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps,\u201d said CAPT. Jacqueline Rychnovsky, USN (Ret.), Executive Director of the Commissioned Officers Association of the United States Public Health Service. \u201cTransitioning from annual discretionary appropriations to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund \u2014 which currently supports retirement pay for the other six uniformed services \u2014 would help ensure that USPHS and NOAA Corps retirees are never again at risk of missing a paycheck during a government shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll who serve our nation in uniform have earned their benefits, to include consistent and reliable retirement payments,\" said Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, USAF (Ret.), President and CEO of the Military Officers Association of America. \"MOAA strongly supports this legislation, which takes an important step toward ensuring parity across all uniformed services by aligning retirement funding for the USPHS and NOAA commissioned officer retirees with the existing Military Retirement Fund.\u201d\n\nEstablished upon the outbreak of World War I, NOAA Corps Officers command ships and aircraft and support emergency response efforts, including hurricane response and oil spill mitigation. They lead a fleet of vessels and aircraft used for everything from deep ocean research to flying into hurricanes, and they can be brought into the armed services whenever the President requires their expertise.\n\nThe U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps was established in 1889 to root out smallpox and yellow fever and is now the largest public health program in the world. Driven by a passion for public service, the Commissioned Corps officers respond to public health crises and national emergencies such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and terrorist attacks, both at home and overseas.\n\nThe Pensions for Retired Uniformed Servicemembers Act is endorsed by the Military Officers Association of America and the Commissioned Officers Association.\n\nRead the full legislation here.", 1, "2026-05-13T06:12:22Z", "2026-05-13T06:13:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bacon.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2895"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9009246714413166, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}