HB697 would create a new federal personnel category called Schedule Policy/Career within the excepted service for career positions that are confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating in nature and are not normally expected to change with a presidential transition. The bill directs the Office of Personnel Management to establish the new schedule, issue implementing regulations, and provide guidance for moving agencies from existing appointment processes to the new system. It also requires executive agencies to review covered positions, identify jobs that should be placed in Schedule Policy/Career, and seek OPM/Presidential action to reclassify them where appropriate.
The bill also changes how these positions are treated once classified. It would limit the application of civil service removal protections for most positions in the excepted service, require agencies to consider whether Schedule Policy/Career positions should be excluded from collective bargaining units, and direct agencies to establish rules prohibiting certain personnel practices for these employees. The measure further instructs OPM to rescind or suspend regulations and guidance associated with the 2024 civil service protections rule and to nullify Executive Order 14003, which protected federal workforce rules adopted under the prior administration.
Impact
If enacted, HB697 would significantly alter federal civil service law by expanding the executive branch’s ability to reclassify career federal employees into a new excepted-service category with reduced job protections and greater presidential control. It would affect OPM regulations, agency personnel review procedures, collective bargaining determinations, and removal rules under title 5 of the U.S. Code, while also overriding or suspending certain existing regulations and executive-branch policies related to civil service protections. The practical effect would be to make it easier to move policy-related federal jobs out of the competitive service and into a category more closely tied to presidential administration priorities.
Sentiment
The bill’s framing and title indicate strong support from its sponsor for increasing presidential control over the federal workforce and for making it easier to discipline or replace employees in policy-related roles. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no recorded bipartisan debate or formal vote sentiment in the materials supplied. Based on the text alone, the bill is presented as a reform to improve accountability and staffing flexibility in executive agencies.
Contention
The main point of contention is the bill’s expansion of at-will or reduced-protection employment for federal workers in policy-related roles, which critics would likely view as politicizing the civil service and weakening merit-system protections. Supporters would likely argue that the President needs greater authority over employees who shape or implement policy, especially in sensitive or confidential positions. Additional controversy is likely around the bill’s impact on collective bargaining, its directive to rescind recent civil service protections, and its broad agency review process that could sweep in many existing positions.
Calling for the annulment of the Monroe Doctrine and the development of a "New Good Neighbor" policy in order to foster improved relations and deeper, more effective cooperation between the United States and its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors.
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should resume normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement with Taiwan, and support Taiwans membership in international organizations.