1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing because I am deeply disturbed by what this administration continues to do to the federal workforce and the agencies Americans depend on every day. The latest example is the IRS decision to prohibit employees from using advanced annual and sick leave. The National Treasury Employees Union has gone to federal court seeking to have the directive declared null and void, arguing that the person who issued it lacked the authority to exercise the powers of the IRS Commissioner. The union also argues that the blanket prohibition is arbitrary and capricious because it eliminates consideration of employees’ individual circumstances. This should be unacceptable. Advanced sick leave exists for a reason. Federal employees are human beings. People experience illnesses, family emergencies, medical crises and unexpected hardships. Federal policy has traditionally allowed agencies to consider requests for advanced sick leave on a case by case basis. Instead, employees are now being told that an across the board prohibition is somehow part of building a high performing workforce. It is difficult to understand how treating employees this way improves government. It doesn’t. It creates fear. It creates instability. It destroys morale. And it sends a message to the people who keep the government functioning that their service and well being are expendable. This is part of a much larger pattern under this administration. Russell Vought and the Office of Management and Budget have been central to the administration’s effort to dramatically reduce and restructure the federal workforce. The federal government has experienced enormous workforce losses, resulting in the departure of hundreds of thousands of federal employees. These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. They represent people’s careers, livelihoods, mortgages, families and futures. They represent decades of institutional knowledge walking out the door. And they represent a government that becomes less capable of serving the American people. At the same time, Scott Kupor at the Office of Personnel Management has been involved in efforts affecting federal employees’ collective bargaining agreements and workplace rights, even as litigation over these actions continues. This is not responsible government management. It is systematic destabilization of the federal civil service. Federal employees should not have to wake up every morning wondering whether their agency will be dismantled, their job eliminated, their collective bargaining agreement terminated, their telework arrangement revoked, their benefits restricted or their basic workplace protections taken away. They should not be traumatized and treated as though they are the enemy simply because they work for the United States government. And agencies should not be deliberately weakened to the point that they cannot effectively perform the missions Congress has assigned to them. I am particularly concerned about the role of Russell Vought and Scott Kupor in this process. Congress has an obligation to exercise meaningful oversight when executive officials are fundamentally reshaping the federal government, diminishing the workforce and weakening employee protections. I urge you to demand congressional oversight of Russell Vought, OMB and Scott Kupor’s actions affecting the federal workforce. I urge you to investigate whether agencies are exceeding their statutory authority when they impose sweeping restrictions on employees’ rights and benefits. I urge you to protect federal employees’ collective bargaining rights and prevent the administration from unlawfully dismantling union contracts. I urge you to demand that agencies follow existing law, regulations and court orders while litigation is ongoing. I urge you to reject efforts to weaken federal agencies through indiscriminate workforce reductions that destroy institutional knowledge and operational capacity. I urge you to protect reasonable workplace flexibility, including telework and legitimate leave policies, rather than allowing them to become tools to punish or intimidate employees. And I urge you to hold administration officials accountable when their actions appear to circumvent the constitutional and statutory safeguards governing federal agencies. Congress must stop treating this as simply an issue of government efficiency. There is nothing efficient about destroying an experienced workforce and then expecting the remaining employees to somehow accomplish more with fewer people, fewer resources and fewer protections. There is nothing efficient about traumatizing public servants until they leave. There is nothing efficient about dismantling the institutional knowledge necessary to operate complex federal programs. And there is certainly nothing efficient about forcing federal employees and their unions to repeatedly go to federal court simply to defend rights and workplace policies that have existed for years. The federal government belongs to the American people. Federal employees are the people who carry out the laws that Congress passes and provide the services Americans rely upon. They deserve stability, dignity and respect. This administration’s continued assault on the federal workforce must stop. I am asking you to use the full authority of your office to conduct meaningful oversight, defend the federal civil service and make clear that Congress will not stand by while federal agencies are systematically weakened and federal employees are traumatized in the process. This should not be happening in the United States of America. Please do not offer me a generic response about efficiency or modernization. I am asking for meaningful congressional action and accountability.