Border Patrol supervisors gain access to higher overtime pay
H.R. 6439 — Border Patrol Supervisors Retention Act · Filed by Tony Gonzales (R-TX) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 4, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill expands special overtime pay eligibility for U.S. Border Patrol supervisors from those at grade GS-12 only to those at grades GS-12 through GS-15. Currently, only GS-12 Border Patrol agents qualify for higher overtime rates under federal law; the bill extends that benefit to supervisors at higher pay grades (GS-13, GS-14, GS-15), making them eligible for the same overtime compensation structure.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward amendment to federal overtime pay law that expands eligibility for a specific class of federal employees (Border Patrol supervisors). It is a compensation/retention measure, not a policy reform or regulatory change.
What the text implies
- Expanding overtime eligibility to higher-grade supervisors may increase total Border Patrol payroll costs beyond the direct overtime premium, as it affects a larger pool of personnel and may incentivize longer hours among supervisory staff.
- The bill does not specify funding source or appropriations cap, leaving the fiscal impact open-ended and dependent on how many GS-13 through GS-15 agents actually work overtime.
- Retention benefit assumes overtime pay is a material factor in supervisor retention; if supervisors leave for reasons unrelated to compensation (burnout, family relocation, career change), the bill's stated purpose may not be achieved.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill increases federal payroll costs for a narrow group of supervisory personnel (Border Patrol agents above GS-12), which is funded by taxpayers. However, it may improve retention of experienced supervisors in a critical law-enforcement role, potentially benefiting border security and reducing costly turnover. The trade-off between public expense and operational benefit is genuine but unclear in magnitude.
Who stands to gain
- U.S. Border Patrol agents at grades GS-13, GS-14, GS-15
Named in the bill
U.S. Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security, 5 U.S.C. § 5550(h), GS pay scale (General Schedule)
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 6 Republicans, 1 Democrats.
- Dec 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Dec 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $20,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 3 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Tony Gonzales, the sponsor, reported $458,550 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Border Patrol Supervisors Association — $20,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (520 characters) on Sep 23, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,784 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-24.
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