IFPTE, Federal Unions Join Senators Kaine, Hirono, Warner, Van Hollen, and Cardin to Make Last Push to Pass Saving the Civil Service Act, Anti-Schedule F Bill
On Tuesday, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) was joined by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to advance the IFPTE-backed Saving the Civil Service Act, S.399, on the floor of the Senate through a unanimous consent procedure. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Kaine, protects the nonpartisan federal civil service and merit system principles from presidential directives to move federal employees from the nonpartisan competitive service to a new excepted service category called Schedule F that would make tens of thousands of federal workers at-will political hires.
The Senators’ attempt to move the Saving the Civil Service Act toward passage through unanimous consent meant that any Senator could object to granting unanimous consent and halt the bill’s advancement. Senators Kaine, Warner, and Van Hollen floor speeches to recount the origin of our modern civil service and how the nonpartisan apolitical basis of the U.S. civil service protect the American public from corruption, theft of public resources, favoritism, and undemocratic and unethical practices.
The effort to pass the bill was halted when a Republican Senator blocked further consideration. Read GovExec’s article, “Last-ditch effort to block Schedule F’s return thwarted by Senate Republicans,”
Earlier in the day, just before the Senators made a final push on Saving the Civil Service Act, IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson spoke at a press conference on Capitol Hill with Senators Cardin (D-MD) and Hirono (D-HI) joining the other Senators on why preventing a Schedule F is a critical democracy-protecting priority. American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley and National Federation of Federal Employees Executive Director Steve Lenkhart also spoke at the press conference.
Senator Kaine’s press release regarding the attempt to pass the Saving the Civil Service Act and opposition to the bill’s passage can be read on the Senator’s website.
IFPTE’s press statement on the final push to pass the anti-Schedule F Saving the Civil Service Act and a press conference video are below.
Congress Must Pass the Saving the Civil Service Act to Prevent Corruption, Cronyism, and Politicization of Government Functions and Services
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson speaks at the Saving the Civil Service Act press conference with Senator Tim Kaine behind her.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), issued the following statement urging the Senate to pass the Saving the Civil Service Act, legislation that limits the presidential administration’s ability to convert civil service positions into excepted service positions, undermine merit system principles, and fundamentally undermine public services.
IFPTE President Matthew Biggs:
“IFPTE applauds Senator Kaine, Senator Warner, Senator Van Hollen and the scores of Senators who have been working towards the passage of the Saving the Civil Service Act. For our union, this bill is as important as it gets because it protects the nonpartisan competitive civil service so that it continues to serve the best interests of the American public, including our national security – not personal loyalty and political allegiance. On day one of his administration, President Biden revoked the previous administration’s unilateral effort to create a new excepted service, called Schedule F, which would have caused tens of thousands of federal employees to lose due process protections and turned their nonpartisan civil service jobs into political appointments. The Saving the Civil Service Act is an anti-corruption and pro-democracy measure that is desperately needed to make sure a president cannot undermine the professionalism of our federal government, circumvent merit principles, put in jeopardy our national and homeland security, and threaten the continuity of the nonpartisan federal civil service across changing administrations.”
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:
“IFPTE members working in the federal government play critical roles in supporting national defense, economic security, scientific research, and public safety, and providing essential services that Americans count on. Just as civil service employees have clear prohibitions on their ability to participate in partisan political activity in their workplace, so too should there be strong protections to make sure that no presidential administration can turn the clock back to the spoils system era when government jobs were awarded through political patronage, corruption, and unethical practices. The Saving the Civil Service Act is common-sense legislation that upholds a key institution of our democracy — the federal civil service — one that is essential to ensuring transparency, due process, good governance throughout federal agencies, and the efficient and accountable use of taxpayer dollars.”
IFPTE is a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 workers in the federal, public, and private sectors.
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