Last progress January 29, 2025 (10 months ago)
Introduced on January 29, 2025 by Ron Johnson
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
This bill aims to shrink the federal workforce mainly by not replacing most people who leave. It sets a cap so that, starting in fiscal year 2028, the total number of federal employees across all agencies cannot be more than 90% of what it was on September 30, 2025 . To prepare, each agency must report how many employees it had as of that date, and the Office of Management and Budget will set each agency’s maximum allowed headcount by the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 . From the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 through September 30, 2027, agencies may hire only one person for every three who retire or leave, to help reach the lower staffing level .
Agencies will be tracked to make sure they are on pace, and if an agency goes over its cap after 2027, it faces limits: no filling vacancies, no new positions with any remote work, no increases in remote hours for current staff, and no increases in union “official time,” until it’s back in compliance . The President can grant waivers for war, national security needs, or major emergencies that threaten life, health, safety, or property . Counts are based on full-time equivalents, and the bill says not to increase service contracts because of the cuts unless a cost check shows it saves money; employees can transfer to other agencies that are within their limits .