Saving the Forest Service's Workforce Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2596 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2596

To institute a reduction in force moratorium at the Forest Service, and 
                          for other purposes.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2025

 Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

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                                 A BILL


 
To institute a reduction in force moratorium at the Forest Service, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Saving the Forest Service's 
Workforce Act''.

SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN FORCE MORATORIUM AT THE FOREST SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--Until on or after the date that full-year 
appropriations for the Forest Service for fiscal year 2026 have been 
enacted into law, the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the 
Chief of the Forest Service) may not--
            (1) initiate or implement any reduction in force at the 
        Forest Service; or
            (2) conduct an involuntary separation of any employee in 
        the competitive service, any career employee in the excepted 
        service, or any career appointee in the Senior Executive 
        Service of the Forest Service except for cause on charges of 
        misconduct, delinquency, or performance.
    (b) Application.--For the purposes of carrying out subsection (a)--
            (1) the terms ``competitive service'', ``excepted 
        service'', and ``career appointee'' have the meanings given 
        those terms in sections 2102, 2103, and 3132(a), respectively, 
        of title 5, United States Code; and
            (2) such subsection shall be in addition to any other 
        authority with respect to adverse personnel actions, including 
        chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code.
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