Section 90107 would reestablish a broad, executive reorganization authority that expired in 1984 - that can be used as long as it does not increase the size or cost of an agency. Image: Katherine Welles/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffFollowing is an overview of legislative text to be considered as part of Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill, with cuts and savings its sponsors say could amount to $24 billion over 10 years. The provisions aim to increase federal workforce accountability, streamline operations, reduce administrative waste, and crack down on FEHB enrollment.
From restructuring federal employee retirement contributions to reforming payroll deductions and incentivizing cost-saving behavior across agencies, Subtitle B – coming out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – touches on several areas close to the federal workforce.
The measures also address oversight of pandemic spending and would rollback parts of the USPS electric vehicle program.
90101 – Election for At-Will Employment and Lower Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) Contribution for New Federal Civil Service Hires
For years, federal employees have benefitted from perks and protections unattainable for a vast majority of the American workforce working in the private sector. Not only do these employees benefit from a protected status, but federal employees now have enshrined protections preventing new administrations or agency heads from firing them except for in certain extreme circumstances. This has created a bureaucratic state where certain federal employees lack any incentive to perform and face no recourse for a lack of performance. To make matters worse, the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), which provides retirement benefits way beyond what the private sector typically offers, lacks solvency and costs more to administer than what federal employees are required to contribute.
This provision solves two problems at once. For every new hire after the date of enactment, federal hires must choose either to serve at-will or remain as an employee with current Title 5 protections. A new hire that chooses to keep cu1Tent Title 5 protections will be subject to a JO-percentage point increase in their FERS contribution rates, whereas a new hire that chooses to serve at-will, forgoing the protections afforded to current federal employees, would only be subject to a 5-percentage point increase in FERS contributions. This provision will generate over $20 billion over the next IO-years and yield a more productive and accountable federal workforce.
90102 – Filing Fee for Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) Claims and Appeals
Unlike much of the private sector, federal workers that have workplace grievances can appeal to the MSPB with no fee to file a claim. This provision imposes a fee of $350, the same as the fee to file for civil matters in district courts, on MSPB claims and appeals. The fee would ensure all costs of proceedings are recovered rather than subsidized. Additionally, the fee is returned to the individual if they prevail in their claim, so legitimate claimants will be reimbursed, while those with baseless claims will be disincentivized to waste the government’s time and resources.
90103- Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) Improvements
The lax enrollment process for family members on FEHB plans has created substantial fraud by government employee healthcare beneficiaries. This provision requires the implementation of a process to verify the eligibility of family members added to FEHB plans upon enrollment, imposes an audit on the FEHB program for ineligible family members receiving benefits, and requires the disenrollment of any ineligible beneficiaries. By disenrolling ineligible beneficiaries that are fraudulently receiving benefits, taxpayers will save over $2 billion.
90104 – Deductions from the Pay of Federal Employees
Currently, the government incurs costs to create and facilitate payroll deductions for federal employees, For elective payroll deductions to organizations like federal government labor unions, the government should at least break even, This provision imposes a 10 percent fee to cover administrative costs for any optional payroll deductions made by federal employees to certain tax-exempt organizations. Contributions from employees to organizations via methods that don’t require government resources, such as writing a check or moving money via ACH, would not be affected.
90105 – Bonuses for Cost Cutters
Federal government expenditures increase significantly at the end of each fiscal year because of the perverse incentives created by the government budgeting process. Agencies have adopted a “use it or lose it” mentality and spend exorbitant amounts of funds on otherwise wasteful or unnecessary expenditures. This provision aims to solve this problem by creating a fund to reimburse agency Inspectors General (IG) for cash bonuses to federal employee identifying surplus salaries and expenses certified by the agency IG as unnecessary. Instead of aggressively spending funds to justify larger appropriations, federal employees now will have a financial incentive to flag these funds and be rewarded for doing so.
90106 – Charging Labor Organizations for the Use of Federal Resources
Federal union representatives can currently use official working hours and government resources for union activities. This time and these resources are subsidized by the taxpayer. This provision requires unions to reimburse the government when official time and resources are used for union activities instead of the work these representatives were hired to do for the American people. Union representatives can still engage in union activities fo1· free outside of working hours and without using federal resources.
90107 – Executive Reorganization Plans
Prior to 1984, the President exercised reorganization authority that allowed him to develop plans for reorganizing, closing, or consolidating portions of the federal government that he identified as wasteful, unnecessary, or duplicative. This authority, which was used over 100 times between 1932 and 1984, expired in 1984 despite multiple administrations requesting its renewal. This provision would reestablish the authority for a president to reorganize government as long as these plans do not result in an increase in federal agencies and the plan does not result in an increase in federal spending. Any president should have the ability to clean the waste he or she has identified without obstruction.
90108 – Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC)
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” spends hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds. This provision would extend the authority and appropriates $88 million to the PRAC to continue the ongoing oversight of Pandemic funds and expands the PRACs authority to ensure that the funds provided in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act are not misspent.
90109 – Rescission of the Inflation Reduction Act’s green postal vehicle funds and directs the sale of purchased green vehicles.
USPS posted a loss of an astounding $6.5 billion in fiscal year 2023 and followed it with an even more horrific year by losing $9.4 billion. USPS is on the path to financial collapse at the expense of the American taxpayer. This provision aims to cut unnecessary costs and focus USPS on delivering mail and not achieving the environmental initiatives pushed by the Biden Administration. This provision attempts to reverse USPS’s financial decline, raising over $1 billion by rescinding over $1 billion in funds appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to USPS for purchasing Electric Vehicles (EVs) and infrastructure. This provision would also direct USPS to sell these remaining EVs and unused infrastructure to focus on the most efficient and productive means of deliver mail to the American people.
Agency RIFs, Reorganizations Starting to Take Shape
Order Formally Launches ‘Schedule Policy/Career,’ Adds Category of Appointees
Top 10 Provisions in the Big Beautiful Bill of Interest to Federal Employees
A Pre-RIF Checklist for Every Federal Employee, From a Federal Employment Attorney
Work Longer or Take the FERS Supplement Now: Which is Better?
See also
Alternative Federal Retirement Options; With Chart
Primer: Early out, buyout, reduction in force (RIF)
Retention Standing, ‘Bump and Retreat’ and More: Report Outlines RIF Process
