Press Releases

Rep. Loudermilk (R-GA) issued the following statement after introducing a bill to drain the swamp of federal government agencies:

“While there are scores of hardworking Americans employed by the federal government, there are also those so entrenched in the bureaucracy, they have learned to game the federal employment system to their advantage. Under current employment policies, it takes over 300 days to remove an employee who is underperforming, unqualified, or has committed acts of misconduct.

“A recent Congressional investigation uncovered the fact that the Department of Homeland Security has paid $380 million in salary and benefits for employees who have lost their security clearance due to disciplinary actions. Because it takes so long to process them off the federal payroll, some of these employees were paid to stay at home for up to two years.

“The American people expect the government to be held to the same laws and standards they are held to; however, current employment law protects bad employees, while good employees have to take up their slack. The MERIT act will provide a desperately needed update to federal law to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability within the civil service.”

Background

The Modern Employment Reform, Improvement and Transformation (MERIT) Act, H.R. 559, offers an alternative dismissal protocol for all government agencies. It gives federal managers the option to expedite the dismissal process of bad employees, while still allowing administrators to choose to use the current system.

Supporters of this legislation include: Americans for Prosperity, The R Street Institute, Council of Citizens Against Government Waste, Americans for Tax Reform, Campaign for Liberty, FreedomWorks, Less Government, National Taxpayers Union, and Taxpayers Protection Alliance.