H.R. 3120 — 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.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) calculations for pay and benefits should accurately account for high living costs in California's 19th congressional district—including housing, transportation, groceries, and healthcare—and periodically reviewed for military personnel and Department of Defense (DOD) civilians. It directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to submit to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, not later than one year after enactment, a report on COLA calculations for Armed Forces members and DOD civilian employees with permanent duty stations in that district, including (1) an explanation of data collection methods and determination factors; (2) an assessment of including military commissaries or exchanges in those calculations; (3) the Under Secretary's evaluation of whether district locations qualify as high-cost areas under ch. 67 of vol. 7A of the DOD Financial Management Regulation, the Monterey commissary's financial impact on COLA, and the advisability of increased COLAs for certain areas; and (4) a comparison of COLA factors for Monterey and Santa Clara, California.