III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 51 

Recognizing the contributions of Federal employees and pledging to oppose 

efforts to reduce Federal workforce pay and benefits, eliminate civil 

service employment protections, undermine collective bargaining, and increase the use of non-Federal contractors for inherently governmental 

activities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2017 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. CARPER, 

Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. MURRAY, and Ms. CANTWELL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the contributions of Federal employees and 

pledging to oppose efforts to reduce Federal workforce 

pay and benefits, eliminate civil service employment protections, undermine collective bargaining, and increase 

the use of non-Federal contractors for inherently governmental activities. 

Whereas Federal agencies are tasked with the fundamental 

responsibility of serving to protect, promote, and preserve 

the rights and interests of the people of the United 

States; 


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•SRES 51 IS 

Whereas the activities of the Federal Government encompass 

a broad range of activities, including— 

(1) conducting and supporting military operations; 

(2) protecting the homeland, including transportation, communications, financial, and other systems; 

(3) preserving and enhancing public health; 

(4) supporting the least fortunate; 

(5) defending the rights and interests of individuals 

and consumers; 

(6) enhancing and preserving the environment of the 

United States; and 

(7) promoting and facilitating commerce; 

Whereas, to achieve these objectives, many Federal agencies 

conduct operations 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 

and 365 days per year; 

Whereas, according to the Office of Personnel Management, 

the Federal Government directly employs approximately 

2,100,000 individuals to carry out the functions of the 

Federal Government; 

Whereas, in the past 50 years, the population of the United 

States increased from approximately 198,000,000 individuals to more than 321,400,000 individuals, while the 

Federal workforce actually decreased from approximately 

2,200,000 employees to approximately 2,100,000 employees; 

Whereas the Federal Government functions most effectively, 

and the interest of the public is served, when the Federal 

Government offers fair compensation, including pay, 

health, retirement, and other benefits, to attract and retain qualified, diverse, and dedicated Federal employees; 


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•SRES 51 IS 

Whereas, to ensure the integrity of the Federal civil service, 

it is essential that Federal employees have access to constitutionally protected due process rights and the ability 

to bargain collectively; 

Whereas full- or part-time Federal employees should primarily be responsible for the activities and functions of 

the Federal Government; 

Whereas the effective functioning of the Federal Government 

and the integrity of the civil service have been undermined by efforts to decrease pay and benefits and reduce 

rights with respect to due process and collective bargaining; 

Whereas, through these efforts, Federal employees have already contributed more than $180,000,000,000 to the reduction of the Federal deficit, primarily in the form of 

higher retirement contributions and foregone wages; 

Whereas reductions to pay and benefits, the removal of collective bargaining rights, and the elimination or degradation 

of civil service due process rights would make it harder 

for the Federal Government to attract the best and 

brightest to public service; 

Whereas reinstatement of the ‘‘Holman Rule’’ by the House 

of Representatives as part of the resolution entitled ‘‘Resolution adopting rules for the One Hundred Fifteenth 

Congress’’, approved January 3, 2017, presents a direct 

threat to the employment and compensation of Federal 

employees, will not result in substantial savings to the 

Federal Government, and serves primarily to undermine 

the morale of the Federal workforce; 

Whereas the Federal hiring freeze ordered by the President 

on January 23, 2017, will impact the ability of the FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Feb 07, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR51.IS SR51

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•SRES 51 IS 

eral Government to provide services across the United 

States, including the ability to process the payment of 

Social Security and other benefits and conduct workplace, 

food, and product safety inspections; and 

Whereas it is in the interest of Congress and the United 

States for the Federal Government to be able to attract 

a diverse, dynamic, and dedicated workforce in order to 

serve the people of the United States: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate will deny the passage of 

2 any legislation, and challenge any action of the executive 

3 branch, that— 

4 (1) erodes fair compensation for Federal em5 ployees, including by reducing wages, unjustifiably 

6 raising health insurance premiums, and unneces7 sarily or irresponsibly reducing the overall Federal 

8 workforce, such as an appropriations bill passed by 

9 the House of Representatives that contains a provi10 sion adopted by the House of Representatives under 

11 section 3(a) of the resolution entitled ‘‘Resolution 

12 adopting rules for the One Hundred Fifteenth Con13 gress’’, approved January 3, 2017; 

14 (2) undermines the value of employee retire15 ment programs, including by reducing earnings on 

16 retirement savings, unjustly increasing employee 

17 contribution levels, or seeking to transition fully to 

18 a private-sector styled plan consisting solely of cash 


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•SRES 51 IS 

1 or deferred arrangements described in section 

2 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

3 (3) diminishes the ability of Federal employee 

4 unions to effectively represent and protect the rights 

5 of employees; 

6 (4) reduces fundamental protections for civil 

7 servants, including the right to due process; or 

8 (5) increases the use of nongovernmental con9 tractors to perform inherently governmental func10 tions. 

Æ 


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