Sponsors (2)
The bill aims to lower federal personnel costs and provide clear staffing limits, but does so by enforcing substantial workforce cuts and restrictions that risk degrading public services, straining employees, and creating administrative and legal friction.
Taxpayers: Federal personnel costs are likely to fall because the bill caps the executive-branch workforce at 90% of its Sept 30, 2025 size beginning in FY2028, reducing long-term payroll spending.
National security and emergency missions: The President can waive the caps for war, national security, or extraordinary emergencies so critical missions can be staffed during crises.
Taxpayers and agencies: The bill bars shifting work to service contracts unless a required cost-comparison shows net savings, which helps limit outsourcing-driven spending.
Federal employees and the public: Mandatory cuts to 90% of 2025 staffing, a 1-for-3 replacement cap through Sept 30, 2027, and related hiring limits will increase workloads, accelerate knowledge loss, and reduce federal career opportunities.
Patients, seniors, and rural communities: Reduced staffing and hiring freezes (plus potential remote-work restrictions on noncompliant agencies) risk degrading critical services and access to care for vulnerable populations.
Federal workers and unions: Remote-work and official-time limits, counting employees on an FTE basis that excludes collective-bargaining considerations, and other personnel rules will reduce employee flexibility, weaken bargaining protections, and worsen recruitment and retention.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Caps Executive-branch federal staffing at 90% of the Sept 30, 2025 level (effective FY2028), imposes a 1-for-3 hiring limit through 9/30/2027, and gives OMB authority to monitor and freeze hiring for noncompliance.
Introduced January 29, 2025 by Ron Johnson · Last progress January 29, 2025
Requires the President, acting through the OMB Director with OPM consultation, to shrink and cap the federal executive-branch workforce so that beginning in FY2028 total Executive-branch employees do not exceed 90% of the workforce counted on September 30, 2025. Agencies must report their Sept. 30, 2025 employee counts to OMB, which will set agency-specific caps by the end of Q1 FY2026. Imposes a 1-for-3 replacement hiring ratio from Q2 FY2026 through September 30, 2027; directs OMB/OPM to continuously monitor agency compliance, notify the President, Congress, and agencies within 14 days when caps are exceeded, and freeze hiring and remote-work approvals for noncompliant agencies until compliance is restored. Allows Presidential waivers for war, national security, or extraordinary emergencies, requires FTE-based counting, and restricts increases in service contracts unless a cost comparison shows net savings.