Advocates for federal employees and scientists are urging Congress to pass legislation against Schedule F

Nearly 50 good government organizations, federal employee groups and other policy advocates on Thursday urged congressional leaders to pass a measure before the end of the legislative session in December, blocking a Republican-led effort to strip tens of thousands of career federal employees from their civil service protections .

In the final days of his administration, then-President Trump signed an executive order creating a new Schedule F within the federal government’s exempt services for federal workers in policy-related jobs and exempting the positions from most civil service rules. The executive order instructs agencies to identify positions that would be eligible for this new job classification and to convert employees in those jobs to Schedule F, effectively making them at-will employees.

Although two agencies presented plans to reclassify some of their workforces — including the Office of Management and Budget, which designated 68 percent of its employees for conversion — ultimately no positions were reclassified before President Biden took the oath of office, which moment the executive order was quickly rescinded.

But earlier this year, reports indicated that conservative activists continued to work on Schedule F and planned to be ready to reintroduce the measure as soon as the next Republican president was elected. The news sparked a renewed push by Democrats in Congress to pass the Patronage Prevention Act, which would require congressional approval before establishing a new classification of jobs in the exempt service, including Schedule F.

The House included the legislation as part of its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023, and Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced an amendment that would attach the bill to Version Senate Defense Policy Legislation. Senators are also reportedly exploring the possibility of including the legislation as part of an omnibus spending package needed to keep the government open beyond Dec. 16.

On Thursday, the National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington led 48 organizations — including federal employee unions and management associations, good government and policy advocacy groups, and a dozen academics — in sending a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are urging them to send the anti-Schedule F bill to Biden’s desk before Congress ends in December.

“Each administration possesses the authority to exercise its executive power as appropriate,” the groups wrote. “But these powers are limited by the constitution and laws of the United States. If public servants owe their jobs more to personal or political allegiance than to merit, they will be more beholden to the party in power instead of the law of the land.

The letter argues that the emergence of List F could simply create a massive recurring logistical nightmare, causing agencies to grind to a halt after each change in administration.

“The normal due process safeguards guaranteeing termination for cause will no longer apply, and these positions may be filled with handpicked and potentially unqualified individuals,” they wrote. “These appointments and firings, even on a small scale, would cause significant disruptions to government operations, forcing any new administration to spend additional weeks, if not months, dealing with the fallout from its predecessor’s decisions.”

And repeatedly hiring and firing those employees would lead to a long-term erosion in the quality of service for agencies across the federal government because of the brain drain caused by each quadrennial exodus, federal employee advocates said.

“More significant staff turnover from one administration to another would also result in a loss of institutional knowledge and expertise across government,” the letter states. “It would increase dysfunction and uncertainty in the distribution of government responsibilities, including national security, health and safety, economic policy, and the management of trillions of dollars in annual federal spending.” Staff shortages due to turnover and delays in hiring and training each new administration’s new staff could cause additional problems.”