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To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that a rule relating to a reduction in force is subject to review under chapter 8 of that title, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill amends the Congressional Review Act to subject federal agency reductions in force to congressional review. When a federal agency implements a reduction in force, it must submit a detailed justification that includes the specific reasons, anticipated impact on employees and operations, alternatives considered and rejected, and a summary of consultations with affected employees and their representatives. The justification must also address how the reduction in force will impact veteran employees. The bill expands the definition of "rule" subject to congressional review to include significant agency actions such as workforce restructuring or office closures that materially impact employees or agency operations.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
15 cosponsors
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC)
- Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44] (D-CA)
- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR)
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA)
- Rep. Connolly, Gerald E. [D-VA-11] (D-VA)
- Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2] (D-MN)
- Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10] (D-FL)
- Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-8] (D-CA)
- Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT)
- Rep. Landsman, Greg [D-OH-1] (D-OH)
- Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-7] (D-CA)
- Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10] (D-NJ)
- Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY)
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI)
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Maxine Waters’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- GUSTAR KAPLAN NUSBAUM PLLC $9,900
- INVARIANT $8,300
- SLA WORLDWIDE $6,950
- MINDSET $6,800
- EGAN-JONES RATINGS CO. $6,600
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Maxine Waters → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- May 1, 2025 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. · house
- May 1, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 1, 2025
Ms. Waters (for herself, Mr. Connolly, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Frost, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Tlaib, and Ms. Tokuda) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that a rule relating to a reduction in force is subject to review under chapter 8 of that title, 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 “Reduction in Force Review Act”.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY REDUCTIONS IN FORCE.
Chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in section 801(a)(1)(A)—
(A) in clause (ii), by striking “and” at the end;
(B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
“(iv) if the rule relates to a reduction in force at the Federal agency that is authorized under subchapter I of chapter 35, a detailed justification for the reduction in force, which shall include—
“(I) the specific reasons for the reduction in force;
“(II) the anticipated impact of the reduction in force on the employees and operations of the Federal agency;
“(III) any alternatives to the reduction in force that the Federal agency considered, including the reasons that the Federal agency rejected those alternatives;
“(IV) a summary of the consultations that the Federal agency has held with— “(aa) employees of the Federal agency who will be affected by the reduction in force; and “(bb) representatives of the employees described in item (aa); and
“(V) a summary of how the reduction in force will impact employees of the Federal agency who are veterans.”; and
(2) by amending section 804(3) to read as follows:
“(3) The term ‘rule’—
“(A) has the meaning given the term in section 551; and
“(B) includes—
“(i) a rule or order relating to a reduction in force at a Federal agency that is authorized under subchapter I of chapter 35; and
“(ii) any significant action by a Federal agency that substantially affects the rights or obligations of non-Federal agency parties, such as a workforce restructuring, office closure, or other action by a Federal agency that has a material impact on the employees or operations of the Federal agency.”. <all>
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