Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4361, which is yet another Republican attack on the Federal workforce and labor organizations.

This bill is, essentially, an attempt to micromanage the government. The bill is a collection of measures that undermine due process protections, that prevent the Obama administration from finalizing rules during its last 2 months in office, and that override collective bargaining rights for Federal employees.

The bill would bar most regulations from being finalized by, virtually, every Federal department or agency during the last 2 months of the Obama administration, regardless of when they were proposed or how long they have been in the rulemaking process. Additionally, H.R. 4361 exempts from civil service collective bargaining requirements any agency action limiting access to any Web site the agency determines presents a current or a possible future security weakness to its information systems.

The bill's language is unnecessary because current law already authorizes Federal agencies to ``ensure that all personnel are held accountable for complying with the agency-wide information security program.''

In practice, this provision could allow agencies to cut off Federal employees' ability to communicate with childcare providers or to get information on a weather emergency in the event of their children's schools closing early, with there being no opportunity to negotiate alternative arrangements. The provision could also be selectively invoked to block access to the official Web sites of Federal unions.

Under current law, there is no right to bargain over the substance of agency information systems decisions, only over appropriate arrangements in the event that those decisions create an adverse impact on employees. In addition, agencies can take any action without bargaining in advance if there is an emergency. Agencies currently have broad authority in this area, making any additional limitation on employees' ability to have a voice in their working environments unnecessary.

Further burdening Federal workers, H.R. 4361 would extend the probationary period for newly hired General Schedule employees from 1 year to 2 years. For positions requiring formal training, the 2-year time period would only commence after the required formal training. This is unnecessary as the current 1-year probationary period allows sufficient time for agency management to assess and determine whether an employee is suitable for most positions and is capable of performing his duties.

In the Statement of Administration Policy, the President's senior advisers stated that they would recommend he veto this bill.

As I said before, this bill is, essentially, an attempt to micromanage the government, which is not this body's purpose, and we should get on with the business of what Congress is supposed to do.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source