In the News

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement after the House unanimously agreed to include in H.R. 3351 his amendment prohibiting President Trump from carrying out his threat to lay off hundreds of Office of Personnel Management (OPM) employees if Congress does not acquiesce to the Administration’s plan to abolish OPM altogether.

“The federal government’s most essential resource is it’s 2.6 million employees, who make up the most professional, non-partisan civil service in the world – thanks in large part to the work of the dedicated staff at the Office of Personnel Management,” said Connolly. “Yet President Trump is currently threatening Congress with the furlough of 150 OPM employees unless we give his White House direct control of government-wide federal employee policies. This shortsighted gambit would lead to longstanding problems for OPM as it works to recruit the workforce it needs. I will not stand for an Administration playing reckless games with our government and the livelihoods of the men and women who serve it.”

The Administration has proposed abolishing OPM by merging some of its functions with the General Services Administration (GSA) and moving the policy-making arm of OPM to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Trump White House. After the proposal was exposed for lacking merit, justification, and even a coherent rationale, the Administration threatened to furlough 150 OPM employees unless Congress approved the plan. Connolly’s amendment blocks the Trump administration from using furloughs or a reduction in force to target the staff of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Full text of the amendment is available here, and video of Rep. Connolly’s floor statement can be found here.