Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, the President has been fighting back against the deals that public sector unions have negotiated for themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer by invoking an existing legal authority. H.R. 2550 directly threatens that progress by overturning the President's executive order that exercises one of the few tools available to him under the law to more effectively manage the Federal workforce. Now, it is no secret that accountability problems in the Federal workforce are legendary. It takes a Herculean effort to fire a poorly performing Federal worker or one who is engaged in misconduct. Collective bargaining agreements often create procedural hurdles to firing such employees, above and beyond steps required in law and regulation. For example, unions can bring removals before private arbitrators instead of appealing to the Merit Systems Protection Board. The Trump administration is exercising its electoral mandate to address this problem. For instance, the President has embarked on an ambitious overhaul of the performance management system and is pursuing more streamlined disciplinary procedures. The reality is that preexisting union agreements the President never signed onto can subvert these efforts. They provide barriers to accountability beyond basic employee protections that exist in law.”