COMPTROLLER GENERAL COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF MILITARY AND PRIVATE-SECTOR PAY AND BENEFITS.

SEC. 606. COMPTROLLER GENERAL COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF MILITARY AND PRIVATE-SECTOR PAY AND BENEFITS.(a) Study Required.—The Comptroller General shall conduct a study comparing pay and benefits provided by law to members of the Armed Forces with pay and benefits provided by the private sector to comparably situated private-sector employees to assess how the differences in pay and benefits effect recruiting and retention of members of the Armed Forces.(b) Elements.—The study required by subsection (a) shall include, but not be limited to, the following:123 STAT. 2352(1) An assessment of total military compensation for officers and for enlisted personnel, including basic pay, the basic allowance for housing (BAH), the basic allowance for subsistence (BAS), tax benefits applicable to military pay and allowances under Federal law (including the Social Security laws) and State law, military retirement benefits, commissary and exchange privileges, and military healthcare benefits.(2) An assessment of private-sector pay and benefits for civilians of similar age, education, and experience with similar job responsibilities and working conditions as officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces, including pay, bonuses, employee options, fringe benefits, retirement benefits, individual retirement investment benefits, flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts, and any other elements of private-sector compensation that the Comptroller General considers appropriate.(3) An identification of the percentile of comparable private-sector compensation at which members of the Armed Forces are paid, including an assessment of the adequacy of percentile comparisons generally and whether the Department of Defense goal of compensating members of the Armed Forces at the 80th percentile of comparable private-sector compensation, as described in the 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, is appropriate and adequate to attract and retain quality individuals to serve in the Armed Forces.(c) Report.—The Comptroller General shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the study required by subsection (a) by not later than April 1, 2010.