Saving the Department of the Interior's Workforce Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2597 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2597

   To institute a reduction in force moratorium at all agencies and 
   bureaus of the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2025

Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

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                                 A BILL


 
   To institute a reduction in force moratorium at all agencies and 
   bureaus of the Department of the Interior, 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 Department of the 
Interior's Workforce Act''.

SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN FORCE MORATORIUM AT ALL AGENCIES AND BUREAUS OF 
              THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.

    (a) In General.--Until on or after the date that full-year 
appropriations for the Department of the Interior for fiscal year 2026 
have been enacted into law, the Secretary of the Interior may not--
            (1) initiate or implement any reduction in force at any 
        agency or bureau of the Department of the Interior; 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 any agency or bureau of the Department of the 
        Interior 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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