Last spring, the Republican-controlled House reinstated a rule that allows Congress to target individual federal workers with pay cuts and to cut entire programs. In fact, in 2017 Republicans used the Holman Rule to try to eliminate the Congressional Budget Office’s budget analysis division. (Gee, why would they want to do that?) Well, there’s a new Congress in town, and Democrats are taking the Holman Rule out of play.
The Democrats who represent the greater Washington, D.C., area and its large number of federal workers are leading that push:
“With our first votes, House Democrats — led by members from the National Capital Region — will demonstrate our commitment to restoring support for the federal workforce in Congress. By eliminating the Holman Rule from the House Rules package for the 116th Congress, Democrats will end an underhanded GOP tactic to sneak attacks on federal employees into must-pass bills,” the delegation said in a news release.
“As we remove the Holman Rule, we are also seeking solutions to end Trump’s government shutdown and his 2019 pay freeze for the civil service. Federal employees work in every Congressional district to provide vital services that help keep our nation healthy, safe, and strong, and their ill treatment at the hands of the Trump administration and Republican leaders is one of the most disgraceful elements of the past two years. That era is now over, and we will continue to ensure that House Democrats use our majority to fight for feds.”
There’s so much abuse possible when Congress can single out one federal worker or do away with a division of a federal agency doing politically inconvenient work. This is a needed move to protect due process.