Sponsors (2)
Introduced November 10, 2025 by Herbert C. Conaway · Last progress November 10, 2025
The bill preserves Hatch Act enforcement and accountability during government shutdowns, benefiting oversight and public trust, while imposing modest taxpayer costs and raising fairness/precedent concerns about which federal roles are excepted during lapses.
Federal employees and taxpayers: OSC investigators and staff can continue investigating alleged Hatch Act violations during government shutdowns, so enforcement of prohibitions on partisan use of official authority is preserved even during lapse periods.
Taxpayers and the public: keeping OSC Hatch Act activity excepted reduces the risk that misconduct goes unchecked during shutdowns, helping preserve accountability and public trust in federal agencies.
Taxpayers: designating OSC Hatch Act enforcement as 'excepted' may legally justify paying staff during a lapse, producing modest additional costs to the Treasury.
Federal employees: narrowly carving out OSC Hatch Act work as excepted could be viewed as inconsistent with other agencies' shutdown staffing rules, raising fairness and precedent concerns about differential treatment of the federal workforce.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Treats OSC work on alleged violations of 5 U.S.C. §§ 7323 and 7324 as emergency/excepted services during a lapse in appropriations so those duties can continue during a shutdown.
Treats work by Office of Special Counsel (OSC) staff on alleged violations of two Hatch Act provisions (5 U.S.C. §§ 7323 and 7324) as emergency/excepted services during a lapse in appropriations. That classification lets OSC officers and employees continue those specific duties during a government shutdown even when other work stops, but applies only to those Hatch Act matters and only for the duration of the lapse.