The top Democrat on the House Rules Committee is hopping mad that Republicans revived a 19th-century rule allowing lawmakers to essentially fire individual civil servants and eliminate entire federal programs when they approved the rules package governing the 115th Congress on a party-line vote earlier this month.
New York Rep. Louise Slaughter said inclusion of the Holman Rule, first approved in 1876, in the package is a way for Republicans to punish federal workers for implementing laws with which they don't agree.
Under the Holman Rule, members of Congress can tack amendments onto appropriation bills that would cut the number of federal workers in a particular agency, slash a worker's salary to as little as $1, or eliminate an entire program.
"Reinstating this rule represents yet another effort by the Republican majority to scapegoat federal employees, make cuts to the federal workforce, and politicize the civil service system that was established to professionalize agencies and offices," Slaughter said on the House floor Jan. 3.
She said it's particularly troubling in light of the Trump transition team's request for the names of all Energy Department scientists who attended environmental conferences focused on global warming.
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05.05.2024