{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=be776240-91c0-49d6-a5c7-a79990711fc9", "SENATORS JOHN McCAIN AND JON TESTER APPLAUD FINAL PASSAGE OF BORDER PATROL AGENT PAY REFORM ACT OF 2013", "2014-12-10", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "John McCain", "M000303", "www.mccain.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u00ad\u2013 U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jon Tester (R-MT) today praised the House of Representative\u2019s final passage of The Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2013, bipartisan legislation that the Senators introduced to reform the antiquated Border Patrol Agent pay system and save up to $1 billion over 10 years. The bill now awaits the President\u2019s signature before becoming law.\r\n\u201cI am pleased that the House has passed this common-sense solution to provide much-needed stability to our nation\u2019s border patrol pay scale,\u201d said Senator John McCain. \u201cSpending cuts due to sequestration, coupled with an archaic and inefficient pay scale, put at risk the safety of Border Patrol Agents and threaten to reverse much of the progress these agents have made along the border over the last few years. I hope that the President will quickly sign this much-needed reform into law and expedite this effort to improve the security of our borders.\u201d\r\n\u201cTaxpayers want Congress to work together to save money, make government work better and strengthen our national security,\u201d said Senator Tester, chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee that oversees the federal workforce.\u00a0\u201cOur Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act represents the common-sense leadership that should happen every day, and I look forward to seeing the President sign it into law.\u201d\r\nThe legislation reforms a complicated and inefficient overtime pay system and holds the Border Patrol more accountable for how it spends taxpayer money. Under the law, Border Patrol Agents will be able to choose between three pay schedule options and work either 100 hours (20 hours of overtime), 90 hours (10 hours of overtime), or 80 hours (no overtime) per pay period.\r\nBrandon Judd, National Border Patrol Council National President, also praised the House for passing this important legislation: \u201cThe men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol would like to thank Senators McCain and Tester, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Representative Beto O\u2019Rourke (D-TX) for their tireless efforts. We are honored to have worked with these longtime friends and advocates of Border Patrol Agents, our nation\u2019s first line of defense.\u201d\r\nMcCain and Tester\u2019s bill, co-sponsored by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and John Cornyn (R-RX) is available online here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=be776240-91c0-49d6-a5c7-a79990711fc9"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4671238604933023, "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"}