High Cost of Living Allowance.

Sec. 10. High Cost of Living Allowance. (a) In General.—Under the authority of section 105(d)(2) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1968 (2 U.S.C. 61–1(d)(2)), a Senator from a noncontiguous State may pay a high cost of living allowance to any employee employed in an office of the Senator located in that State.(b) Limitation.—An allowance under this section may not exceed 25 percent of the basic pay of an employee, determined without regard to this section.(c) Basic Pay Treatment.—An allowance under this section shall be treated as part of the basic pay of an employee.(d) Payment.—(1) Aggregate gross compensation.—The amount of any allowance under this section shall not be taken into account for determining the amount of aggregate gross compensation in the table under section 105(d)(1)(A) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1968 (2 U.S.C. 61–1(d)(1)(A)). (2) Appropriations.—Allowances under this section shall be paid from appropriations under the heading “senators’ official personnel and office expense account”.(e) Effective Date.—This section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2004 and each fiscal year thereafter.