Fedweek

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., center, talks with panel chair James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, during hearing titled "Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter's Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story." The bills are part of the new House leadership’s focus not just on political appointees but also on career federal employees. Image: Carolyn Kaster/AP/Shutterstock

UPDATED: The House has approved on a party-line vote a bill to bar federal employees from using their official authority to engage in actions that it characterizes as “censorship” of free speech or to promote or influence such actions by a third party such as a social media company.

The bill (HR-140) is the latest move by the new Republican leadership on that committee and in the House in general for what they call greater accountability of the workforce.

It would create a Hatch Act-like enforcement scheme in which penalties for violations could range from as little as a reprimand to firing with a ban against reemployment by the government. Those decisions would be made by the MSPB on a request for disciplinary action from the Office of Special Counsel.

Under the bill, employees could not remove or suppress lawful speech on, add a disclaimer or other alert to lawful speech to, or remove or restrict a person’s access to an interactive computer service. They further could not advocate that any third party, including a private entity take any action to take such actions nor knowingly censor or discourage the exercise of speech of any person or party that has pending business before that agency.

There would be exceptions for law enforcement purposes but Congress would have to be notified in advance.

During floor consideration, Republican amendments were approved to require training on the provisions; to require agency IGs to report on related tips they receive and the outcome of their investigations; to raise the maximum post-employment bar from five years to 10; and to set a maximum civil penalty of $50,000 for violations by senior officials, compared with the $10,000 maximum for others.

The bill is part of the new House leadership’s approach regarding oversight of government agencies: to focus not just on those—largely political appointees—who make policy decisions with which they disagree—but also on those—largely career federal employees—who carry out those decisions.

Previously in the early weeks of this Congress the House voted mainly or completely on party lines to rescind additional funding for the IRS approved last year and to roll back federal telework practices to those in effect before the pandemic. Like those bills, the “Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act” is considered to have little to no chance of moving through the Democratic-controlled Senate but like them sends a message regarding the GOP leadership’s priorities.

The oversight committee also has approved a companion bill (HR-1162) to require a government-wide report to Congress of instances over the last five years of the sorts of actions that HR-140 would apply to. However, that bill currently isn’t scheduled for a full House vote.

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