# 119-hr-4854: Saving the Department of the Interior's Workforce Act

119-hr-4854, Saving the Department of the Interior's Workforce Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4854
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4854
- Congress: 119
- Title: Saving the Department of the Interior's Workforce Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-08-01
- Sponsor: Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**A temporary moratorium on reductions in force across the Department of the Interior.** The bill would bar any Interior agency or bureau from starting or carrying out layoffs or involuntary separations of covered employees until full-year FY2026 appropriations for the Department are enacted. Removals remain allowed only for cause on charges of misconduct, delinquency, or performance. - Interior competitive-service employees would be protected from involuntary separations except for cause. - Career employees in the excepted service and career Senior Executive Service appointees would have the same protection, while agencies may still use other adverse-action authorities, including chapter 75 of title 5, for cause. - Department managers and bureaus would be prohibited from initiating or implementing any reduction in force until full-year FY2026 Interior appropriations are enacted.

## Cosponsors (6)

- Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3] (D-MD), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] (D-NM), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hoyle, Val T. [D-OR-4] (D-OR), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3] (D-OR), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Temporary job protections for Interior employees: benefit, medium. The Secretary of the Interior would be barred from layoffs and forced separations at Interior agencies. This would start upon enactment and last until full-year FY2026 Interior appropriations are enacted into law. It would cover competitive-service employees, career excepted-service employees, and…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-4854 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4854)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4854 (as of 2026-04-21).