Sponsors (6)
Bars use of federal funds for RIFs/involuntary separations at the Department of the Interior and USFS through Sept 30, 2030 unless Appropriations Committee approval is obtained; allows separations only for cause.
The bill protects Interior and U.S. Forest Service employees from most involuntary separations and increases congressional oversight, but does so at the cost of reducing managerial flexibility, risking politicization of personnel decisions, and potentially raising taxpayer costs.
Federal employees at the Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service keep protection from reductions in force and involuntary separations through Sept. 30, 2030 except for defined for-cause reasons.
Separations are limited to defined cause standards (misconduct, delinquency, performance), reducing the risk of arbitrary or politically motivated layoffs for those employees.
Requires Appropriations Committee notification, increasing congressional oversight of workforce changes at Interior and the U.S. Forest Service.
Managers may be constrained from rapidly responding to emergencies or reorganizing for efficiency, which could harm service delivery to the public and state partners.
The notification/approval mechanism creates a risk of political intervention in personnel decisions, effectively giving congressional leaders veto-like influence over separations at these agencies.
Requiring Appropriations Committee involvement could delay legitimate workforce reductions and increase personnel costs borne by taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To prohibit any reduction in force or involuntary separation at the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 27, 2026 by Joseph Neguse · Last progress April 27, 2026
Prohibits the use of federal funds to begin or carry out reductions in force (RIFs) or involuntary separations at the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service from enactment until September 30, 2030, unless prior written approval is obtained from the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The bill allows involuntary separations only for cause on grounds of misconduct, delinquency, or performance, and relies on existing civil service definitions for competitive service, excepted service, and career appointees.