Text of US SB 591 (2025)

II 119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 591 To reform the Federal hiring process, to restore merit to Government service, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, and Mr. TUBERVILLE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- fairs A BILL To reform the Federal hiring process, to restore merit to Government service, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restore Merit to Gov- 4 ernment Service Act of 2025’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the U.S. DOGE 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •S 591 IS Service Temporary Organization, or the head of any 1 successor organization. 2 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means the 3 following: 4 (A) Each of the Executive departments. 5 (B) The Environmental Protection Agency. 6 (C) The Office of Management and Budg- 7 et. 8 (D) The Small Business Administration. 9 (E) The Social Security Administration. 10 (F) The National Science Foundation. 11 (G) The Office of Personnel Management. 12 (H) The General Services Administration. 13 (3) EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS.—The term 14 ‘‘Executive departments’’ has the meaning given the 15 term in section 101 of title 5, United States Code. 16 (4) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Fed- 17 eral Hiring Plan developed under section 4(a). 18 (5) SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE POSITION.— 19 The term ‘‘Senior Executive Service position’’ has 20 the meaning given the term in section 3132(a) of 21 title 5, United States Code. 22 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 23 Congress finds the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •S 591 IS (1) The people of the United States deserve an 1 excellent and efficient Federal workforce that at- 2 tracts the highest caliber of civil servants committed 3 to achieving the freedom, prosperity, and democratic 4 rule promoted by the Constitution of the United 5 States. 6 (2) As of the date of enactment of this Act, the 7 appointment practices of the Federal Government 8 are broken, insular, and outdated and no longer 9 focus on merit, practical skill, and dedication to the 10 Constitution of the United States. 11 (3) Appointments in the Federal Government 12 should not be focused on impermissible factors, such 13 as a commitment to— 14 (A) illegal racial discrimination under the 15 guise of ‘‘equity’’; or 16 (B) the invented concept of ‘‘gender iden- 17 tity’’ over sex. 18 (4) Inserting factors described in paragraph (3) 19 into the Federal appointment process subverts the 20 will of the people of the United States, puts critical 21 Government functions at risk, and risks losing the 22 best-qualified candidates. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •S 591 IS SEC. 4. FEDERAL HIRING PLAN. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 2 date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant to the Presi- 3 dent for Domestic Policy, in consultation with the Director 4 of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of 5 the Office of Personnel Management, and the Adminis- 6 trator, shall develop and submit to the head of each agency 7 a Federal Hiring Plan that brings to the Federal work- 8 force only highly skilled people of the United States who 9 are dedicated to the furtherance of the ideals, values, and 10 interests of the United States. 11 (b) CONTENTS.—The Plan shall— 12 (1) prioritize the recruitment, by agencies, of 13 individuals who are— 14 (A) committed to— 15 (i) improving the efficiency of the 16 Federal Government; and 17 (ii) upholding the rule of law and the 18 Constitution of the United States; and 19 (B) passionate about the ideals of the 20 United States; 21 (2) prevent the appointment, by an agency, of 22 any individual— 23 (A) based on the race, sex, or religion of 24 the individual; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •S 591 IS (B) who is unwilling to defend the Con- 1 stitution of the United States or faithfully serve 2 the executive branch of the Federal Govern- 3 ment; 4 (3) implement, to the greatest extent possible, 5 technical and alternative assessments described in 6 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, of section 7 3304(c)(2) of title 5, United States Code, for use by 8 agencies; 9 (4) establish that the amount of time to appoint 10 an individual to a position in an agency shall be less 11 than 80 days, as measured from the date on which 12 the agency first lists the position; 13 (5) improve communication with candidates for 14 positions in agencies to provide greater clarity re- 15 garding application status, timelines, and feedback, 16 including by providing regular updates on the 17 progress of applications and explanations of appoint- 18 ment decisions, where appropriate; 19 (6) integrate modern technology to support the 20 recruitment and selection process at agencies, in- 21 cluding— 22 (A) through the use of data analytics to 23 identify trends, gaps, and opportunities with re- 24 spect to appointments; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •S 591 IS (B) by leveraging digital platforms to im- 1 prove candidate engagement; 2 (7) ensure that the heads of agencies, or the 3 designees of those agency heads, are active partici- 4 pants in implementing the processes established by 5 the Plan throughout the appointment process; 6 (8) include particularized a plan for each agen- 7 cy to improve the allocation of Senior Executive 8 Service positions within the agency to best facilitate 9 democratic leadership, as required by law, within the 10 agency; and 11 (9) provide specific best practices for the 12 human resources functions within each agency, 13 which the head of each agency shall implement with 14 advice and recommendations, as appropriate, from 15 the Administrator. 16 SEC. 5. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING. 17 The Director of the Office of Personnel Management 18 shall— 19 (1) establish clear performance metrics to 20 evaluate the success of the Plan; 21 (2) on a regular basis, request analysis from 22 the heads of agencies in order to perform the evalua- 23 tions required under paragraph (1); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •S 591 IS (3) consult with the heads of agencies, labor or- 1 ganizations, and other stakeholders to monitor 2 progress with respect to the implementation of the 3 Plan and ensure that the Plan is meeting the needs 4 of candidates and agencies. 5 SEC. 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 6 (a) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 7 may be construed to impair or otherwise affect— 8 (1) the functions of the Director of the Office 9 of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, 10 administrative, or legislative proposals; or 11 (2) the functions of the Board of Governors of 12 the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open 13 Market Committee relating to the conduct of mone- 14 tary policy. 15 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—This Act shall be imple- 16 mented consistent with applicable law and subject to the 17 availability of appropriations. 18 (c) NO CREATION OF RIGHTS OR BENEFITS.—This 19 Act is not intended to, and does not, create any right or 20 benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or 21 in equity by any party against the United States, any 22 agency of the United States, any employee of the United 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •S 591 IS States, any agent of the United States, or any other per- 1 son. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS