Saving the Civil Service Act
Sponsored By: Representative Connolly
Introduced
Summary
This bill would lock most federal jobs into the competitive civil service and block broad new excepted-service categories. It centers on protecting competitive civil service jobs by limiting transfers, requiring written employee consent, and tying exceptions to the A–E schedules in effect on September 30, 2020.
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- Agencies: Would be barred from creating new excepted-service categories outside Schedules A–E and could not move occupied positions into Schedule C without prior written approval from the Office of Personnel Management Director. This reduces a department's ability to reclassify roles for political staffing.
- Federal employees: Would gain stronger protection from involuntary moves. An employee could not be moved from competitive to excepted service or between excepted schedules without the employee's written consent.
- Agency-wide limits: Would cap transfers from the competitive into the excepted service to 1% of an agency's workforce or five employees per presidential term, whichever is larger.
- OPM and veterans' positions: The Director would have to issue implementing regulations and the rule would explicitly apply to positions under chapters 73 and 74 of title 38, covering certain Department of Veterans Affairs roles.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Tighter rules for reclassifying federal jobs
If enacted, agencies would only reclassify jobs using Schedules A–E as they existed on September 30, 2020. Moving a filled job into Schedule C would need prior written approval from the OPM Director. During any four-year presidential term, an agency could move at most 1% of staff or five employees, whichever is greater, from the competitive service into the excepted service. Employees would need to give written consent to move from the competitive service into the excepted service, or to shift between excepted-service schedules. These rules would also cover many VA jobs under chapters 73 and 74.
OPM to write rules and definitions
The OPM Director would issue regulations to carry out these limits. The bill would also define who is covered, including what “agency,” “competitive service,” “excepted service,” and “Director” mean.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Connolly
VA • D
Cosponsors
Courtney
CT • D
Sponsored 2/5/2025
Ivey
MD • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Tlaib
MI • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Krishnamoorthi
IL • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Morelle
NY • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Moulton
MA • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Williams (GA)
GA • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
McBath
GA • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Pocan
WI • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Bonamici
OR • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Turner (TX)
TX • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
McGovern
MA • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
McCollum
MN • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Fitzpatrick
PA • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Mfume
MD • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Bacon
NE • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Beyer
VA • D
Sponsored 1/21/2025
Vindman
VA • D
Sponsored 1/21/2025
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 1/22/2025
Sorensen
IL • D
Sponsored 1/22/2025
Elfreth
MD • D
Sponsored 1/22/2025
Brownley
CA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Raskin
MD • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
DeGette
CO • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Scanlon
PA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Brown
OH • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
McClellan
VA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Subramanyam
VA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Costa
CA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Ocasio-Cortez
NY • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Larson (CT)
CT • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Lynch
MA • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Cleaver
MO • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Wasserman Schultz
FL • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Hoyer
MD • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
DelBene
WA • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Case
HI • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Budzinski
IL • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Lieu
CA • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Schakowsky
IL • D
Sponsored 2/5/2025
Carson
IN • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Olszewski
MD • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Quigley
IL • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Norcross
NJ • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Goldman (NY)
NY • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Tonko
NY • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Ross
NC • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Leger Fernandez
NM • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Hoyle (OR)
OR • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Levin
CA • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Mrvan
IN • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Davis (NC)
NC • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Boyle (PA)
PA • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Dexter
OR • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Waters
CA • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
McClain Delaney
MD • D
Sponsored 2/12/2025
Titus
NV • D
Sponsored 2/12/2025
Adams
NC • D
Sponsored 2/12/2025
Garcia (CA)
CA • D
Sponsored 2/18/2025
Sykes
OH • D
Sponsored 2/18/2025
Barragan
CA • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Salinas
OR • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Sewell
AL • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Kelly (IL)
IL • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Thanedar
MI • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Menendez
NJ • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Magaziner
RI • D
Sponsored 3/14/2025
Goodlander
NH • D
Sponsored 3/14/2025
Stansbury
NM • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Ansari
AZ • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Keating
MA • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Figures
AL • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Friedman
CA • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Omar
MN • D
Sponsored 4/29/2025
Craig
MN • D
Sponsored 4/29/2025
Larsen (WA)
WA • D
Sponsored 9/26/2025
Mannion
NY • D
Sponsored 9/26/2025
Evans (PA)
PA • D
Sponsored 9/26/2025
Lawler
NY • R
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Randall
WA • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Bynum
OR • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
McBride
DE • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Bell
MO • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Pallone
NJ • D
Sponsored 10/31/2025
Garamendi
CA • D
Sponsored 10/31/2025
Carbajal
CA • D
Sponsored 10/31/2025
Thompson (CA)
CA • D
Sponsored 10/31/2025
Doggett
TX • D
Sponsored 11/4/2025
Mullin
CA • D
Sponsored 11/10/2025
Chu
CA • D
Sponsored 12/9/2025
Stevens
MI • D
Sponsored 12/17/2025
Casten
IL • D
Sponsored 1/7/2026
Balint
VT • D
Sponsored 2/3/2026
Green, Al (TX)
TX • D
Sponsored 2/11/2026
Pingree
ME • D
Sponsored 2/11/2026
Fletcher
TX • D
Sponsored 2/25/2026
Landsman
OH • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Van Orden
WI • R
Sponsored 3/9/2026
Scott, David
GA • D
Sponsored 3/24/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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