Sponsors (7)
Introduced August 1, 2025 by Jared Huffman · Last progress August 1, 2025
The bill preserves Interior employees' jobs and service continuity through FY2026 appropriations at the cost of reducing managerial flexibility and creating potential short-term fiscal pressures for taxpayers.
Federal Department of the Interior employees keep their jobs until full FY2026 appropriations are enacted, avoiding immediate layoffs.
Americans who rely on Interior programs and state/local partners experience continuity of services and preserved institutional knowledge because near-term workforce reductions are prevented.
Career civil servants at the Interior are protected from involuntary separations that are not performance- or misconduct-based, preserving due-process protections for employees.
Interior managers have reduced flexibility to cut headcount or reallocate staff in response to budget shortfalls or organizational needs, which can delay necessary management actions.
Taxpayers may face higher short-term costs if the Department must retain staff funded under rescinded or limited continuing resolutions until full-year appropriations are passed.
Because workforce reductions are constrained except for clear performance/misconduct cases, the Department may be limited in promptly addressing performance problems or restructuring needs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits the Department of the Interior from starting or carrying out any reduction-in-force (RIF) or involuntary separations of covered employees across its agencies and bureaus until after full-year FY2026 Interior appropriations are enacted. The ban covers competitive service employees, career employees in the excepted service, and career Senior Executive Service appointees, but does not bar separations for cause (misconduct, delinquency, or performance).