Preventing A Patronage System Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding to me. And I appreciate her correction of the prior speaker on the other side who repeatedly said that Federal employees could not be fired, ignoring the figures that the Chair had given of 10,000 employees fired last year.

This is a civil service system. It is not a private system. It rules under the Constitution and under the rule of law. That is the difference between working for the Federal Government and working for a private employer.

I speak in strong support of the Preventing a Patronage System Act-- note that word--Patronage System Act, of which I am a cosponsor.

This bill would prevent a future President from reimposing the schedule F scheme that would move tens of thousands of career employees into positions that would essentially be a new form of political appointment. The nonpartisan, apolitical civil service system is critically important to how our government functions.

President Trump attempted to--former President Trump attempted to illegally create this new class of Federal employees, in contravention of the Constitution and, more specifically, these employees' rights.

We need to encourage the best to join the Federal Government, and this type of ploy by the prior administration would hinder that effort; instead, allowing an administration to engage in a patronage system. The government needs experts, not political cronies.

I appreciate Congressman Connolly for introducing this important bill, and I am pleased to be able to speak in support of it.

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