SUMMARY:  The House Government Operations Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the current state of the federal workforce and the actions that are necessary to repair, rebuild, and fortify it for the future.

Yesterday the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing to examine the current state of the federal workforce and the actions that are necessary to improve morale and address the problems federal employees have faced for the past few years.  NTEU submitted written testimony for the record.  In the testimony, I noted that government shutdowns, unnecessary forced relocations and proposed agency closures, disparagement by government leaders, pay freezes and below market pay increases, threatened cuts to employee benefits, efforts to eliminate telework, and efforts to roll back employee collective bargaining and due process rights and protections — while employees have been working through a global pandemic — have taken a toll on the federal workforce. 

 In my statement, I thanked Subcommittee Chairman Gerald Connolly (D-VA) for holding the hearing and for his legislation to provide employees an average 3.2 % pay increase for 2022 (H.R. 392), prevent future administrations from undermining the civil service by creating schemes similar to Schedule F (H.R. 326), and require federal agencies to include certain procedures and policies to ensure workers’ health and safety in their plans to reopen federal offices (H.R. 978).  I also stated NTEU’s strong support for legislation to provide paid family leave (H.R. 564), protect telework even after the pandemic, and provide emergency COVID-related paid leave and COVID-19-related workers compensation protections. 

The majority of witnesses present at yesterday’s hearing and Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Danny Davis (D-IL), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Katie Porter (D-CA), along with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
(D-MD), Donald Beyer (D-VA), and Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), who were permitted to join the Subcommittee for yesterday’s hearing, discussed the need for many of the reforms championed by NTEU.  However, James Sherk, former Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy in the Trump administration, submitted testimony in support of President Trump’s Schedule F Executive Order (EO) and calling for continued efforts to reduce official time and make it easier



to fire federal employees.  Subcommittee Ranking Member Jody Hice (R-GA) used the fact that OPM’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) showed improvement in some of the federal government’s scores through the previous administration to assert that federal employees support the previous administration’s personnel policies, including the anti-union and Schedule F EOs.  Ranking Member Hice and Mr. Sherk also expressed concern over federal employees who are on 100% official time and stressed the need for accountability regarding its use.  Representatives Fred Keller (R-PA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Yvette Herrell (R-NM) also made statements and asked questions in support of Schedule F.  As you may know, last year, Representative Keller introduced legislation to codify Schedule F (H.R. 8711).  Representative Biggs also asked Mr. Sherk how federal employee unions have undermined the merit-based civil service, giving Mr. Sherk the opportunity to reiterate his opinion that unions make it too difficult to fire federal employees.

As Congress and the administration look at ways to revitalize the federal workforce, rest assured that NTEU will continue the fight to ensure that all employees are treated with dignity and respect.  

                                                                                    Anthony M. Reardon

National President