Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Saving the Civil Service Act restricts when and how federal positions may be excepted from the competitive service. It limits permitted exception schedules to A–E as of September 30, 2020, requires OPM approval for some transfers (notably into Schedule C), caps transfers from competitive to excepted service during a presidential term, requires employee written consent for certain transfers, applies to specified VA positions, mandates annual OPM reporting to Congress, and directs OPM to issue implementing regulations within 90 days.
Extent of permissible Schedule C political appointments.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a focused substantive statute that establishes specific prohibitions and procedural requirements governing the excepted and competitive service.
The Saving the Civil Service Act restricts when and how federal positions may be excepted from the competitive service.
It limits permitted exception schedules to A–E as of September 30, 2020, requires OPM approval for some transfers (notably into Schedule C), caps transfers from competitive to excepted service during a presidential term, requires employee written consent for certain transfers, applies to specified VA positions, mandates annual OPM reporting to Congress, and directs OPM to issue implementing regulations within 90 days.
Narrow, administrative focus helps, but limits on executive staffing and potential separation-of-powers concerns reduce probability.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a focused substantive statute that establishes specific prohibitions and procedural requirements governing the excepted and competitive service. It is technically specific and integrates clearly with existing statutory and regulatory authorities, and it creates discrete accountability requirements (OPM regulations, annual reports).
Extent of permissible Schedule C political appointments.
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Extent of permissible Schedule C political appointments.
Likely broadly supportive as a measure to protect merit-based hiring and to reduce politicization of federal jobs.
Values the employee-consent rules and the required public reporting as transparency and worker protections.
Some implementation impacts are uncertain and would need careful OPM regulations.
Generally favorable but pragmatic, viewing the bill as restoring civil service norms while potentially constraining needed managerial flexibility.
Will seek balanced OPM guidance, narrowly tailored exceptions, and careful phasing to avoid operational disruptions.
Concerns about implementation timing and small-agency impacts are likely.
Likely skeptical or opposed because the bill constrains executive and agency discretion to place trusted personnel.
Views the caps and consent requirements as undermining presidential appointment authority and operational responsiveness.
Some may accept transparency goals but oppose strict limits.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Narrow, administrative focus helps, but limits on executive staffing and potential separation-of-powers concerns reduce probability.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Extent of permissible Schedule C political appointments.
Narrow, administrative focus helps, but limits on executive staffing and potential separation-of-powers concerns reduce probability.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a focused substantive statute that establishes specific prohibitions and procedural requirements governing the excepted and competitive service. It is technically…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.