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.
Show full summary
- 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
Rep. Courtney, Joe [D-CT-2]
CT • D
Sponsored 2/5/2025
Ivey
MD • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8]
IL • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25]
NY • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6]
MA • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5]
GA • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
McBath
GA • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
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
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
PA • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Mfume
MD • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]
NE • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8]
VA • D
Sponsored 1/21/2025
Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7]
VA • D
Sponsored 1/21/2025
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 1/22/2025
Rep. Sorensen, Eric [D-IL-17]
IL • D
Sponsored 1/22/2025
Elfreth
MD • D
Sponsored 1/22/2025
Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26]
CA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8]
MD • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1]
CO • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5]
PA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11]
OH • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
McClellan
VA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10]
VA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Costa
CA • D
Sponsored 1/28/2025
Ocasio-Cortez
NY • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Rep. Larson, John B. [D-CT-1]
CT • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8]
MA • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5]
MO • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]
FL • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Hoyer
MD • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
DelBene
WA • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]
HI • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Budzinski
IL • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36]
CA • D
Sponsored 1/31/2025
Schakowsky
IL • D
Sponsored 2/5/2025
Carson
IN • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Olszewski, Johnny [D-MD-2]
MD • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
IL • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Norcross
NJ • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10]
NY • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20]
NY • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]
NC • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3]
NM • D
Sponsored 2/7/2025
Rep. Hoyle, Val T. [D-OR-4]
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
Rep. Boyle, Brendan F. [D-PA-2]
PA • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3]
OR • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]
CA • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6]
MD • D
Sponsored 2/12/2025
Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]
NV • D
Sponsored 2/12/2025
Adams
NC • D
Sponsored 2/12/2025
Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42]
CA • D
Sponsored 2/18/2025
Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13]
OH • D
Sponsored 2/18/2025
Barragan
CA • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6]
OR • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Sewell
AL • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2]
IL • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]
MI • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Rep. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ-8]
NJ • D
Sponsored 3/3/2025
Rep. Magaziner, Seth [D-RI-2]
RI • D
Sponsored 3/14/2025
Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2]
NH • D
Sponsored 3/14/2025
Stansbury
NM • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3]
AZ • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Keating
MA • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2]
AL • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Friedman
CA • D
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]
MN • D
Sponsored 4/29/2025
Craig
MN • D
Sponsored 4/29/2025
Rep. Larsen, Rick [D-WA-2]
WA • D
Sponsored 9/26/2025
Mannion
NY • D
Sponsored 9/26/2025
Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3]
PA • D
Sponsored 9/26/2025
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
NY • R
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Randall
WA • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Rep. Bynum, Janelle S. [D-OR-5]
OR • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
McBride
DE • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1]
MO • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Pallone
NJ • D
Sponsored 10/31/2025
Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-8]
CA • D
Sponsored 10/31/2025
Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24]
CA • D
Sponsored 10/31/2025
Thompson (CA)
CA • D
Sponsored 10/31/2025
Rep. Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-37]
TX • D
Sponsored 11/4/2025
Mullin
CA • D
Sponsored 11/10/2025
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]
CA • D
Sponsored 12/9/2025
Rep. Stevens, Haley M. [D-MI-11]
MI • D
Sponsored 12/17/2025
Casten
IL • D
Sponsored 1/7/2026
Rep. Balint, Becca [D-VT-At Large]
VT • D
Sponsored 2/3/2026
Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9]
TX • D
Sponsored 2/11/2026
Pingree
ME • D
Sponsored 2/11/2026
Fletcher
TX • D
Sponsored 2/25/2026
Rep. Landsman, Greg [D-OH-1]
OH • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3]
WI • R
Sponsored 3/9/2026
Scott, David
GA • D
Sponsored 3/24/2026
Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52]
CA • D
Sponsored 3/26/2026
Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10]
IL • D
Sponsored 4/2/2026
Soto
FL • D
Sponsored 4/9/2026
Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3]
NY • D
Sponsored 4/9/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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