Sponsor
Edward John Markey
Senator · D-MA
Senator · D-MA
The bill prioritizes preserving SBA staffing and uninterrupted services to small businesses (including rapid reinstatement and back pay for removed employees) at the cost of higher taxpayer spending, added administrative burdens, and reduced agency flexibility.
Small-business owners (including rural communities) keep uninterrupted access to SBA counseling, lending oversight, disaster relief, and contracting-certification services because staff cuts are blocked and removed employees can be returned, preserving operational capacity.
SBA employees in counseling, lending, disaster-relief, and contracting-certification offices maintain or regain job security because the bill prevents RIF-based removals and requires rehiring to prior positions/pay.
Federal employees who were removed via SBA RIFs receive reinstatement to prior positions and back pay, restoring lost income and financial stability for those workers.
Taxpayers bear higher costs because preventing staff reductions and requiring rehiring plus back pay increases federal personnel expenditures.
The SBA's ability to reorganize, reallocate personnel, and pursue efficiency savings is constrained, potentially impeding managerial flexibility and long-term workforce planning.
The 60-day reinstatement requirement and related rehiring/back-pay processes impose administrative, legal, and HR processing strain on the agency, increasing operational burdens and short-term costs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Bars RIFs at certain SBA offices and requires rehiring and back pay for SBA employees separated by RIFs between Jan 20, 2025 and enactment.
Official title: Amend the Small Business Act to prohibit certain offices of the Small Business Administration from undertaking a reduction in force, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 10, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress July 10, 2025
Prohibits any reduction-in-force (RIF) at Small Business Administration (SBA) offices that deliver counseling, training, lending oversight, disaster relief, or contracting certifications, and requires the SBA Administrator to rehire and provide back pay to any employee who was separated by a RIF between January 20, 2025 and the law's enactment. Rehired employees must get the same position and rate of basic pay they held when removed, and rehiring must occur within 60 days of enactment.