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HR 200 · 119th CongressIn Committee
Federal Freeze Act
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor
Claudia Tenney
Introduced
January 3, 2025
Latest action
January 3, 2025
Legislative Progress
How far this bill has traveled through Congress
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Latest Action
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Plain-Language Summary
AI GeneratedFederal agencies currently operate under civil service laws that generally protect employee positions and allow for salary increases based on merit, longevity, or cost-of-living adjustments. The Office of Personnel Management oversees federal hiring and compensation policies across the government. Agencies have broad authority to hire new employees to meet operational needs and to adjust employee pay within budgeted limits. This framework has been in place for decades and reflects the principle that federal workforces should grow or shrink based on agency missions and resource availability.
The Federal Freeze Act prohibits agency heads from increasing their total workforce beyond current staffing levels for one year from enactment, with narrow exceptions for law enforcement, public safety, or national security positions. The bill also freezes the annual rate of basic pay for all federal employees during that same year—no raises, step increases, or cost-of-living adjustments are permitted. These restrictions override existing civil service rules and compensation schedules. After the initial freeze year, the bill requires each agency to reduce its workforce by 2 percent below baseline levels within two years and by 5 percent below baseline within three years, with agency heads directed to execute these reductions without regard to other laws or regulations.
Implementation begins immediately upon enactment. The hiring freeze takes effect for one year unless an agency head certifies that a specific hire serves law enforcement, public safety, or national security interests. The pay freeze applies to all federal employees for the same one-year period. Starting in year two, agencies must begin workforce reductions to meet the 2 percent target, followed by further cuts to reach 5 percent by year three. The bill provides no new funding and does not specify how agencies should prioritize which positions to eliminate. Existing reduction-in-force procedures and employee protections may be overridden, potentially affecting federal operations across defense, veterans services, Social Security, environmental protection, and other agencies.
Key Provisions
- 1Prohibits federal agency heads from increasing total workforce beyond current staffing levels for one year from enactment, except for positions serving law enforcement, public safety, or national security.
- 2Freezes the annual rate of basic pay for all federal employees for one year from enactment, preventing raises, step increases, or cost-of-living adjustments.
- 3Requires each agency to reduce its workforce by 2 percent below baseline staffing levels within two years of enactment.
- 4Requires each agency to reduce its workforce by 5 percent below baseline staffing levels within three years of enactment, with agency heads directed to execute reductions without regard to other laws or regulations.
★ Why this matters
Federal agencies would be unable to hire new workers or give raises for one year, then must shrink their workforces by 2 to 5 percent over three years. This could slow agency responsiveness to emergencies, reduce service delivery capacity, and create operational bottlenecks across government. Existing federal programs—from Social Security processing to national park management to military support functions—could experience delays or reduced service quality as staffing declines.
● Who this affects
Federal employees across all agencies face pay freezes and potential job losses, with greatest impact on workers in non-excepted positions. Veterans and military families relying on Department of Veterans Affairs services, Social Security beneficiaries dependent on timely claims processing, Medicare beneficiaries served by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the general public using federal services (national parks, passport processing, food safety inspection) would experience reduced agency capacity. Agency heads and the Office of Personnel Management must implement the restrictions.
Bill Text
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<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 200
To impose restrictions on Federal agencies with respect to
appointments, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2025
Ms. Tenney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
A BILL
To impose restrictions on Federal agencies with respect to
appointments, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Freeze Act''.
SEC. 2. FREEZE ON FEDERAL HIRING AND SALARIES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Baseline number.--The term ``baseline number'' means,
with respect to an agency, the number of employees employed by
the agency (including individuals occupying full-time
equivalent positions in the agency), as of the date of
enactment of this Act.
(3) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means an employee of
an agency.
(b) General Prohibitions.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law or regulation, during the 1-year period beginning on the date of
enactment of this Act, the following shall apply:
(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the head of
an agency may not increase the number of employees employed by
the agency beyond the baseline number.
(B) During the 1-year period beginning on the date of
enactment of this Act, the head of an agency may appoint an
individual to a position within the agency, even if appointing
that individual would increase the number of employees employed
by the agency beyond the baseline number, if the agency head
determines that making that appointment serves the interest of
law enforcement, public safety, or the national security of the
United States.
(2) The annual rate of basic pay of an employee, as in
effect on the date of enactment of this Act, may not be
increased.
(c) Reduction in Force.--The head of each agency shall take such
measures, without regard to any other provision of law or regulation,
to ensure that--
(1) as of the date that is 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the number of employees employed by the
agency is 2 percent less than the baseline number; and
(2) as of the date that is 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the number of employees employed by the
agency is 5 percent less than the ba…Party Positions
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