Saving the Department of the Interior's Workforce Act
- Bill Number
- H.R. 4854
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Government Operations and Politics
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-08-01: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- Last Updated
- 2025-12-05T21:42:14Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The legislation, titled the "Saving the Department of the Interior's Workforce Act," aims to temporarily protect employees of the Department of the Interior (DOI) by prohibiting reductions in workforce or involuntary separations until Congress passes full-year funding (appropriations) for the DOI for fiscal year 2026. This moratorium addresses potential disruptions during budget uncertainties.
Key Provisions
- Moratorium on Reductions in Force (RIF): The Secretary of the Interior is barred from starting or carrying out any RIF—a process where federal agencies reduce staff due to budget cuts, reorganization, or other reasons—at any DOI agency or bureau until full-year appropriations for fiscal year 2026 are enacted.
- Prohibition on Involuntary Separations: No employee in the competitive service (general federal jobs open to public competition), career positions in the excepted service (jobs with special hiring rules, like some technical roles), or career appointees in the Senior Executive Service (high-level managers) can be involuntarily removed from their jobs, except for specific reasons like misconduct, poor performance, or negligence.
- Definitions and Scope: Terms like "competitive service," "excepted service," and "career appointee" are defined under existing federal law (Title 5 of the U.S. Code). The moratorium adds to, but does not replace, other federal rules on employee discipline or adverse actions (e.g., those in Chapter 75 of Title 5).
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- This bill introduces a temporary override on standard federal procedures for workforce reductions under Title 5 of the U.S. Code, which normally allow agencies like the DOI to conduct RIFs during funding shortfalls or reorganizations.
- It limits the Secretary's discretion in personnel management until funding is secured, creating a new layer of protection that did not previously exist for DOI employees in this specific context.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: The DOI and its sub-agencies (e.g., Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service) cannot downsize staff during potential government shutdowns or funding delays for fiscal year 2026, potentially stabilizing operations in areas like land management, wildlife conservation, and energy development.
- On Citizens: Could ensure continuity of public services, such as national park maintenance or environmental permitting, by keeping experienced staff in place and avoiding service disruptions from sudden layoffs.
- On International Relations: No direct impacts, as the bill focuses on domestic federal workforce management without addressing foreign policy or global agreements.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- DOI Employees: Primary beneficiaries, including thousands in competitive, excepted, and senior executive roles, who gain job security against non-disciplinary layoffs.
- Secretary of the Interior and DOI Leadership: Restricted in making personnel decisions, potentially complicating budget adjustments.
- Congress: Gains leverage over executive branch operations by tying workforce actions to appropriations, affecting committees like Natural Resources and Appropriations.
- Taxpayers and Environmental/Industry Groups: Indirectly affected through maintained agency capacity for resource management, which could influence conservation efforts or resource extraction permits.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal Implications: Reinforces federal employment protections under Title 5 but creates enforceable limits on agency authority, potentially leading to lawsuits if the moratorium is challenged as overly restrictive on executive management.
- Constitutional Implications: Aligns with Congress's power of the purse (Article I, Section 9) by conditioning agency actions on appropriations, but could raise separation-of-powers questions if seen as micromanaging the executive branch.
- Political Implications: Introduced by a bipartisan group of House members focused on natural resources, it signals concerns over workforce attrition in environmental agencies amid fiscal debates; if passed, it could set a precedent for similar protections in other departments during budget impasses.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (6)
Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3], Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3], Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2], Rep. Hoyle, Val T. [D-OR-4], Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3], Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3]
Recent Actions
- 2025-08-01: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- 2025-08-01: Introduced in House
- 2025-08-01: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Saving the Department of the Interior's Workforce Act — issued 2025-08-01 — PDF (3 pages)