Press Releases

Rep. Loudermilk (R-GA) issued the following statement answering President Trump’s call for Congress to empower Cabinet Secretaries with the authority to inject merit back into the federal workforce.

“In Tuesday’s State of the Union Address, the President’s call for congressional action was loud and clear:

“All Americans deserve accountability and respect –and that is what we are giving them. So tonight, I call on the Congress to empower every Cabinet Secretary with the authority to reward good workers –and to remove Federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people.”
-President Trump, SOTU January 30, 2018

“For more than a year I have been laying the groundwork, working with the Administration and my colleagues in the House to fulfill this request. H.R. 559, the Modern Employment Reform, Improvement, and Transformation (MERIT) Act is the answer to the call - to assure the American people are served by a government they trust.

“In June of 2017, the President signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. Through the civil service reforms in that legislation, the VA Secretary has been empowered to cut through destructive red tape and increase employee accountability, resulting in the removal of over 1,400 underperforming employees, and hundreds of employment suspensions or demotions.

”The effect of injecting accountability at the VA has ensured better care and treatment of our veterans. It is time to ensure the same respect and diligence is paid to all Americans by all agencies. The MERIT Act will provide a desperately needed update to federal law to ensure efficiency, transparency, and accountability within the civil service – answering the President's call to empower his team to initiate the changes needed to make American great again.”

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.

Read more about the MERIT Act HERE.