1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I urge you to support and actively promote the Saving the Civil Service Act, which would permanently secure federal job protections against the administration's new Schedule Policy/Career classification. This final rule, published by the Office of Personnel Management this week, threatens to strip civil service protections from an estimated 50,000 career federal employees in policy-influencing positions. The administration claims this change addresses performance management challenges, but the public response tells a different story. Of the over 40,000 comments submitted during the 45-day comment period, 94% opposed the regulation. Federal unions, employee organizations, good government groups, and individual federal employees warned that Schedule Policy/Career would politicize the federal workforce and undermine the non-partisan nature of career civil service. This rule fundamentally dismantles the merit-based system that has protected our government from corruption since the 19th century. As Senator Chris Van Hollen noted, the administration wants to convert positions currently based on qualifications, knowledge, and experience into positions where political appointees can be installed regardless of expertise. Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, stated clearly that this action has nothing to do with restoring merit in federal employment. The consequences are severe. Reclassified employees lose their ability to appeal disciplinary actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board and cannot even challenge their reclassification. The rule also shifts whistleblower retaliation investigations from the independent Office of Special Counsel to individual agencies, eliminating crucial oversight protections. This new designation can be used to remove expert career federal employees who place the law and service to the public ahead of blind loyalty and replace them with political supporters. The American Federation of Government Employees warns this will increase politicization, weaken protections against leadership retaliation, and leave essentially no procedural safeguards that have long protected government operations. I ask you to co-sponsor the Saving the Civil Service Act and work to ensure this dangerous policy does not go unchallenged. Our government's integrity depends on civil servants who serve the public interest based on expertise, not political allegiance.