To improve the review and effectiveness of the cost of living adjustments to pay and benefits for members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Department of Defense whose permanent duty station is located in the 19th Congressional District of California, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3120 would require a formal, focused review of how cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) are calculated for members of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense (DoD) civilians whose permanent duty station is in California’s 19th Congressional District. The bill opens with a “sense of Congress” that reflects concerns about high living costs in California and the need to ensure COLA calculations accurately reflect those costs. Within one year of enactment, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness would must submit a report to Congress detailing the methods and factors used to determine COLA for personnel in the 19th District, including whether military commissaries or exchanges should be included in COLA calculations, whether any locations in the district should be designated as high-cost areas under the DoD Financial Management Regulation, and whether the existence of a Monterey commissary affects COLA. The report would also compare the factors used for Monterey with those used for Santa Clara, and assess whether some areas within the district should receive higher COLA. The bill does not itself change COLA amounts or authorize new spending; it creates a reporting requirement intended to inform future policy.