Reader Comment – More on Deferred Resignation Program

This weekend an anonymous reader left a comment on my post about the introduction of HR 3026, the Protecting America’s Cybersecurity Act. With respect to HR 3026, the reader makes an important point:

“For any legislation to be effective DRP needs to be addressed before October and employees currently on administrative leave need to get back to work because every day that passes is another day for our adversaries to strengthen and our country becomes less secure.”

Employee by-out programs have a long history, both inside and outside of government. Typically, these programs have a tendency to self-select the most effective employees for termination. Those employees generally feel that they have good prospects for finding a new job, so they have the most to gain from a buy-out. The anonymous reader points out that that might not be the case here:

“The catch 22 is this was anything but voluntary and all made the decision under extreme duress created by management.”

Threatening folks with widespread (and indiscriminate) reductions in force certainly would encourage a wide number of people to accept this deferred resignation process. The self-selection process would still apply, but you would also tend to see larger participation by people who feel that they have less attractive prospects for finding a new job. Still, a large number of people remaining (not all by any means) are going to be coming from the lower portion of the employee bell curve because they will feel that they have very low prospects of finding a new job.

Review – HR 3026 Introduced – CISA Reinstatement

Last month Rep Torres (D,CA) introduced HR 3026,  the Protecting America’s Cybersecurity Act. The bill would require the reinstatement of CISA employees, restrict future bulk firings, and limit the operation of DOGE within CISA. No new spending would be authorized by this legislation.

Moving Forward

Torres is not a member of the House Homeland Security Committee to which this bill was assigned for primary consideration (nor to either of the two other committees). This means that there is almost certainly not enough influence to see the bill considered in Committee. I do not expect that any of the Republicans in any of the three committees would be willing to go against the President on actions taken to date by DOGE.

 

For more details about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-3026-introduced-cisa-reinstatement - NO SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED.

Review - Bills Introduced – 4-24-25

With the House and Senate meeting in the last pro forma session of their Spring Break, there were 55 bills introduced. Two of those bills may receive additional attention in this blog:

HR 3001 To advance commonsense priorities. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [Rep.-R-PA-1] 

HR 3026 To reinstate employees removed from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to limit the removal of employees from such Agency, to prohibit DOGE employees from working at such Agency, and for other purposes.

Space Geek

As part of the limited Space Geek coverage in this blog I would like to call attention to the following bill:

HR 2984 ASTRO Act Babin, Brian [Rep.-R-TX-36] (Text available here)

 

For more information on these bills, including legislative history for similar bills in the 118^th, as well as two bills mentioned in passing, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-4-24-25 - subscription required.