[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 209 (Thursday, December 11, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5795-H5802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECT AMERICA'S WORKFORCE ACT
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moolenaar). Pursuant to House Resolution
432, the House will proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R.
2550, which the clerk will report by title.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 432, the bill
is considered read.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2550
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 ``Protect America's Workforce
Act''.
SEC. 2. NULLIFICATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER RELATING TO
EXCLUSIONS FROM FEDERAL LABOR-MANAGEMENT
RELATIONS PROGRAMS.
The Executive order titled ``Exclusions from Federal Labor-
Management Relations Programs'', issued on March 27, 2025,
shall have no force or effect and no Federal funds may be
obligated or expended to carry out such Executive order.
SEC. 3. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.
Any collective bargaining agreement in effect as of March
26, 2025, between any executive branch Federal agency and any
labor organization that is an exclusive representative of
Federal employees shall have full force and effect through
the stated term of the applicable agreement.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill shall be debatable for 1 hour,
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, or their respective
designees.
The gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) and the gentleman from
California (Mr. Garcia) will each control 30 minutes.
The chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2550. Americans pay several
hundred billion dollars in taxes each year to fund the salaries and
benefits of more than 2 million Federal civilian employees. These
workers are paid to carry out the critical mission and functions of the
Federal Government, but the more than 340 million Americans who foot
the bill do not directly manage Federal executive branch employees.
They elect a President to do that.
The President directs the workforce of the executive branch so he can
fulfill his constitutional duty to ensure the laws of the land are
faithfully executed.
When President Trump ran for office last year, he told the American
public that if--if elected, he would return Federal employees to their
offices, reform the bureaucracy, and restore much-needed accountability
to the workforce. The American people chose to elect him to do just
that.
Even before President Trump took office, Federal collective
bargaining legal authorities were weaponized to sabotage what Americans
had voted for. On their way out the door, lameduck Biden administration
officials signed collective bargaining agreements with Federal employee
union bosses specifically designed to tie the hands of incoming
President Trump.
In January, at our very first hearing this Congress, the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform heard testimony from
President Biden's Social Security Commissioner, Martin O'Malley. He cut
a deal with union bosses after the November election and just before
leaving the agency to run for chair of the Democratic National
Committee.
The deal locked in telework levels for tens of thousands of Social
Security Administration employees for the entirety of the incoming
Trump administration. To be clear, this was done specifically to Trump-
proof the workforce and to force the incoming President to continue the
failed management policies the public had just voted to end.
We must ask: Are we going to uphold the President's constitutional
role as head of the executive branch?
Can he truly lead if he is held hostage by union deals to which he
never
[[Page H5796]]
agreed and were intended to undermine his authority?
Should an elected President be unable to bring tax-funded Federal
employees back to work for his entire 4-year term?
The American people do not think so.
That is why the House Committee on Oversight and Reform adopted
legislation that would allow the President to manage the workforce
without being bound by last-minute union agreements designed to
undermine him. That legislation, the Preserving Presidential Management
Authority Act, sponsored by Representative Cloud of Texas, is the bill
we should be debating here today.
It is important to remember that public-sector unions are
fundamentally different from their private-sector counterparts. In
fact, none other than Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a major champion of
private-sector unions, believed that public-sector unions made no
sense. FDR wrote: ``The process of collective bargaining, as usually
understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service.''
Why is that? In the private sector, unions represent workers and sit
across the bargaining table from representatives of businessowners.
However, Federal unions are not negotiating with a profit-seeking
corporation. They are negotiating with the public's elected
representatives.
As FDR put it in the case of the public sector, the employer is the
whole people. Federal unions, in other words, seek concessions not from
private owners but from the taxpayers themselves.
Since Federal salaries and benefits are determined by laws, which
also establish basic civil service protections for employees, what
exactly do Federal unions bargain over? They bargain over conditions of
employment like telework.
Unions also seek contract provisions that limit management's ability
to hold employees accountable through disciplinary procedures or
performance management processes.
{time} 1510
I urge my colleagues to buck Federal union bosses. Put Americans
first and oppose the so-called Protect America's Workforce Act.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
General Leave
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Protecting America's
Workforce Act, which will restore collective bargaining rights for more
than 1 million Federal workers.
I thank Congressman Golden for all his work to bring this bipartisan
bill to the floor and so many Members across our caucus who are
supportive.
We know this bill is a historic win which overcame opposition from
Speaker Johnson and certainly antiworker allies across the government.
In March, President Trump signed an executive order terminating
collective bargaining rights for Federal police officers, firefighters,
nurses, food safety inspectors, and so many more.
The nurses who care for our veterans, the flight safety inspectors at
the FAA, nuclear power plant safety workers, and countless others lost
their right to have representation in the workplace. This is unfair,
and it is wrong. Workers deserve the right to make their voices heard
with a union.
Mr. Speaker, I was the mayor of my city of Long Beach, California,
before I came to Congress. I am so proud to partner with our city
unions, always making sure that the city and services ran effectively.
Our Federal unions are the same. They make sure that our civil service
is independent and nonpartisan, serving the citizens and not whichever
party is currently in power.
They make sure we attract and retain highly talented workers, and
they make sure our agencies follow the law.
President Trump is targeting Federal unions to further his power grab
and to continue to push an agenda which leaves working families behind
and, instead, supports billionaires.
Unions make our middle class stronger. They make our government
stronger, and they make our economy stronger. We should be working
every day to strengthen the right to organize and not to undermine it.
This bill is a historic victory.
Mr. Speaker, I commend Congressman Golden and everyone who has worked
on it, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Cloud).
Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R.
2550.
The proposed legislation is designed to nullify President Trump's
lawful executive order to exclude agencies with national security
missions from collective bargaining agreements.
Article II of the Constitution is crystal clear: The executive power
is invested in the President of the United States. Let me repeat: All
authority in the executive branch flows from the people to the duly
elected executive. Anyone operating outside of the pleasure of the
President in the executive branch is simply part of an unconstitutional
fourth branch of government. The President holds the sole authority.
Yet for decades, Federal collective bargaining agreements have been
allowed, and some are even designed to restrict the President's ability
to lead the government we elected him to run.
That is why President Trump, acting fully within the authority
granted by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, amended Jimmy Carter's
1979 executive order, to exempt additional agencies from burdensome
collective bargaining agreements--agencies such as the Departments of
Defense, State, Justice, Homeland Security, the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, as well as many others.
The left's disdain for the Constitution cannot be more clear. We saw
this during Trump administration 1.0 with the resistance movement.
During the Biden administration we saw the auto pen controversy where
they even went around the executive. The Biden administration spent the
final months, even after being voted out of office, frantically signing
union contracts which were explicitly designed to sabotage the incoming
administration and prevent President Trump, elected by the people, from
carrying out the mandate he was given.
These same government unions are not neutral public servants. In the
2023 to 2024 election cycle, the four largest Federal employee unions
spent nearly $1 billion on politics, with 98.8 percent of their Federal
contributions going to the Democratic Party.
Unions like the American Federation of Government Employees, the
National Treasury Employees Union, AFSCME, SEIU, and others affected by
this executive order have made no secret of their intent to resist the
agenda the American people voted for.
As Congress, we need to ensure that the Constitution is upheld. We
need more legislation like the Preserving Presidential Management
Authority Act, which simply reaffirms Article II and ensures that no
future administration can permanently handcuff its successor.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defend Article II, reject this
H.R. 2550, and stand with the American people who sent us here to drain
the swamp, not to protect it.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2550,
bipartisan legislation to restore collective bargaining rights for
hundreds of thousands of unionized Federal employees.
This legislation reaffirms a core principle: A government that serves
the people must also respect the rights of those who serve within it.
Federal employees work tirelessly every day, often behind the scenes.
They process Social Security benefits, safeguard our food and water,
care for our veterans, and respond whenever a disaster strikes. Their
work is essential, and its impact reaches every community across this
Nation.
[[Page H5797]]
Mr. Speaker, by restoring their collective bargaining rights, we
strengthen a system that keeps government effective, stable, and
responsive, all without compromising security or mission readiness.
Reinstating these rights is not a concession. It is a commitment, a
commitment to treat federal workers with dignity, to reinforce a
resilient public service, and to honor the commitment of the men and
women who show up for the American people every single day.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I thank my
friend and colleague from Maine, Jared Golden, for his partnership,
and, more importantly, for his courage in advancing this initiative.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Biggs).
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
This bill would nullify President Trump's Executive Order No. 14251,
which rightly excluded 40 national security agencies from collective
bargaining.
Agencies like FEMA, the Coast Guard, the CDC, and the VA cannot
afford to be paralyzed by union red tape when lives are on the line.
I want to emphasize that this is going to nullify an executive order.
It is going to attack his agenda, the America First agenda, that he was
overwhelmingly elected to enact.
These unions are not neutral actors. The word ``billionaires'' was
mentioned by my colleague from California. I am glad he mentioned the
term ``billion,'' because that is what the partisan machine government
union spent in the last election, just under $1 billion, $980 million
of it going to Democrats, which explains in no small measure the
rationale for the movement of this bill to negate President Trump's
executive order.
In its final days, the Biden administration rushed to lock in long-
term union contracts designed to tie President Trump's hands for a
second term.
H.R. 2550 preserves those deals signed after President Trump was
reelected but before Inauguration Day. That undermines the will of the
voters and the authority of the Commander in Chief. It is legislative
sabotage, and we shouldn't give in to that.
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 explicitly gives the President
authority to exclude agencies from collective bargaining when national
security is at stake. This would undo that.
Presidents from Carter to Reagan to Trump have exercised this
authority. Courts have already sided with President Trump, affirming
that in matters of national security, the President enjoys ``unique
responsibility.''
Arizona knows too well the cost of bureaucratic failure. The Phoenix
VA scandal shows what happens when accountability is lost. Veterans
died waiting for care.
We must not allow unions to dictate policy if it is going to impact
national security, if it is going to affect our borders, if it is going
to affect our energy, and if it is going to affect protecting Americans
during pandemics.
In a State where public safety and national defense are daily
realities, my State, this bill would put union bosses ahead of the
American people and in front of Arizonans.
In 2024 alone, the political arm of the Democratic Party, the four
largest public-sector unions, spent $900 million-plus on progressive
politics, and 86 percent of it came from their member dues. They are
using taxpayer-backed salaries to fund partisan activism, not to serve
the American people.
H.R. 2550 strips the President of his constitutional authority,
undermines national security, and rewards partisan obstruction.
President Trump is trying to fulfill his duty to protect the American
people. Congress should not stand in his way.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with the President, put
America's security ahead of union politics, and vote ``no.''
{time} 1520
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Norcross).
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2550, a
bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for all Federal
employees.
Earlier this year, President Trump launched one of the largest
attacks on labor in the history of the United States, on the working
people who voted to join a union and have a voice.
President Trump suggests that this is a problem of national security.
Quite frankly, it has not been. They cited that there would be strikes.
There hasn't been, and it is illegal to strike. In fact, we are looking
for workers to help build our military at the very time that the
President is trying to beat down those workers.
This is where the real problem is. That executive order stripped
Federal workers of their collective bargaining rights.
The suggestion is that they canceled the contracts. We always deal in
contracts. A collective bargaining agreement is a contract between the
people and the public entity. We do it across the board each and every
day.
Less than 24 hours ago, in this very room, we had a chance to
immediately restore the collective bargaining rights just for the
Department of Defense. They all voted ``no.'' Today, they want to vote
``yes''? A day late and a dollar short is what I am talking about. They
could have voted for a fraction of the people yesterday, and it would
have become law. Today, they vote for it. You can't have it both ways,
Mr. Speaker.
Let me be clear. We want to work together, both sides of the aisle.
This is incredibly important. We need to remember that collective
bargaining agreements are about a vote by the people. Don't steal the
vote.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Gill).
Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me
time on this important issue.
I strongly oppose this bill because it would jeopardize our national
security, and it locks in harmful last-minute agreements from the Biden
administration.
Union bosses love this bill for one reason: It protects their
telework perk. It also shields them from accountability and gives them
effective veto power over a duly elected President with a mandate to
clean up a bloated Federal bureaucracy.
Specifically, this legislation would nullify President Trump's
executive order titled ``Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management
Relations Programs.'' The executive order wisely designated various
agencies as having a national security focus as their primary functions
and exempts them from collective bargaining.
Union officials do not and should not have the right to use their
collective bargaining power to undermine President Trump and jeopardize
our national security.
One example of this just fairly recently is ICE not being able to
modify cybersecurity policies without giving its union bosses an
opportunity to negotiate, delaying needed cybersecurity updates.
In another example, union bosses threatened to block the Office of
Personnel Management from implementing basic IT security controls.
There is a troubling pattern where union bosses block measures that
they don't like, forgetting that they work for the American people and
not the other way around.
The President's executive order also improves care for veterans. On
August 6, 2025, the VA announced that it is terminating most union
contracts to comply with the executive order.
Employees at the VA currently spend 750,000 hours engaging not in
care for veterans but in union activities. That is every single year.
The President's executive order will lead VA employees to spend more
time helping veterans and less time in union activities.
It goes even further. This bill forbids the Trump administration from
unwinding any collective bargaining agreement signed before March 26,
2025.
After Democrats lost the 2024 elections, the Biden administration
hurried to ink multiyear deals that they knew they would never have to
enforce, deliberately tying the hands of their successors and rewarding
union leadership on their way out.
One example is especially egregious: the Social Security
Administration deal that allows maximum telework, prohibits management
from reducing it, and applies to 98.5 percent of the agency's
workforce.
[[Page H5798]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentleman.
Mr. GILL of Texas. The Protect America's Workforce Act is nothing
short of an attempt to prevent President Trump from reforming the
Federal bureaucracy. It undermines national security and rewards union
bosses who think that they run the government. I urge opposition.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the Democratic leader.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank, of course, the distinguished
gentleman from the great State of California, Representative Garcia,
for his leadership, and, of course, I thank Representative Golden for
his leadership in pushing this legislation forward.
I rise today in strong support of the Protect America's Workforce
Act, legislation that will restore the collective bargaining rights of
more than a million hardworking Federal employees, patriotic public
servants who have been targeted viciously by the Trump administration
from the very beginning of his time in office unnecessarily and in ways
that undermine some of the core promises, Mr. Speaker, that Donald
Trump made to the American people last year.
Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they would focus on
lowering costs on day one. Costs have not gone down in the United
States of America. Costs have gone up. Inflation is on the way up.
Housing costs are out of control. Childcare costs are out of
control. Electricity bills are out of control. Grocery costs are out of
control. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing out of control because of
the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Instead of Donald Trump and Republicans, Mr. Speaker, keeping their
core promise to the American people to make their life better, they
have been focusing on a variety of other things that relate simply to
jamming their extreme rightwing ideology down the throats of the
American people, including by targeting organized labor, hardworking
men and women, including those who are part of the Federal workforce.
What is it that Federal employees do each and every day to make sure
that they are providing services to the American people? The list is
too numerous to mention, but we know that hardworking Federal
employees, our public servants, each and every day are working hard to
make sure that hard-earned Social Security benefits are delivered to
the American people, that Medicare benefits are delivered to the
American people, that the food we eat is disease-free, that we can
enjoy our national parks all across the country, and that aviation
safety and the ability to get from your point of departure to your
point of destination, flying in airplanes in order to see your loved
ones, is safe.
Of course, our hardworking Federal employees are working hard to make
sure that veterans receive their earned benefits. Instead of being
targeted by Donald Trump and Republicans, these people should be
supported for the work that they do on behalf of the American people.
We also know that when it comes to improving the quality of life of
everyday Americans, there is a lot of repair work that must occur to
restore the American Dream that is disappearing from folks all across
this country.
The American people know that the Trump administration and Republican
policies have been a disaster.
{time} 1530
In this great country, as Democrats, we believe that when you work
hard and play by the rules, you should be able to live an affordable
life, a comfortable life, and live the good life.
What exactly does that mean: good-paying job; good housing; good
healthcare; good education for your children; and at the end of the
day, a good retirement. That is the good life. That is the American
Dream.
For far too many people, it is out of reach, but we know that perhaps
no force has been more proactive in delivering access to that American
Dream than the men and women of organized labor, decade after decade
after decade.
Why would Donald Trump and Republicans focus, Mr. Speaker, on
targeting hardworking public employees, targeting unions, and targeting
the men and women of organized labor?
Is it because my Republican colleagues are too consumed with enacting
massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors, which is what the one
big, ugly bill was all about, but have zero interest in lifting up the
quality of life of hardworking American taxpayers, including, but not
limited to, the men and women of our Federal workforce?
It was my understanding, Mr. Speaker, that my Republican colleagues
believe in freedom. Well, collective bargaining, essentially, is the
freedom to negotiate the best possible work environment to allow these
public employees to continue to deliver services that are effective and
efficient for the American people.
Yet, instead of focusing on driving down the high cost of living in
America, which is out of control--yes, there is an affordability crisis
in the United States of America, notwithstanding the fact, Mr. Speaker,
that Donald Trump apparently believes it is a hoax. The American people
know it is not a hoax.
Instead of focusing on trying to find commonsense solutions to make
life better for the American people, Donald Trump and my Republican
colleagues continue to just jam their extreme ideology down the throats
of the American people while working overtime to benefit their
billionaire donors.
That is why I am thankful for this bipartisan effort to restore
collective bargaining rights for more than 1 million public servants
who are part of the Federal Government, and I urge a ``yes'' vote.
Do the right thing by the Federal workforce. Do the right thing by
the men and women of organized labor and do the right thing when it
comes to ensuring that everyone has a path to experiencing the American
Dream.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, that was a long minute for the leader of the
Democratic Party to advocate for more work-from-home policies for our
Federal employees.
I think the American people have spoken loud and clear. They support
our Federal employees, like the Republican Party, but we expect them to
show up for work, not get paid to be home and not be accessible by
phone or by computer or by email.
That is what we heard from the leader of the Democratic Party.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi).
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of
H.R. 2550.
This bipartisan bill reverses an illegal executive order that
stripped collective bargaining rights from roughly 67 percent of the
Federal workforce, so more than two-thirds of the Federal workforce.
Removing their limited bargaining rights does not improve efficiency.
It threatens the integrity of our civil service. These rights exist for
one essential reason: to shield Federal employees from political
pressure so that they serve the American people, not the agenda of any
one President or political party.
No worker should have to take a political loyalty test to receive or
keep his or her job. The Protect America's Workforce Act restores a
balanced, targeted framework that respects national security, while
reaffirming the rights of those who serve us.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation and
restore these protections for over 1 million Federal workers. Again,
this particular legislation is about no political loyalty test having
to be administered to workers in the Federal Government. They are
accountable to the American people.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Randall).
Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Garcia and
Congressman Golden for the opportunity to speak on Protect America's
Workforce Act.
Mr. Speaker, I represent 27,000 Federal employees who have been
through
[[Page H5799]]
an incredibly challenging year marked by reckless DOGE firings, chaotic
rehirings, and unprecedented uncertainties.
They have been stripped of their ability to collectively bargain
through President Trump's March executive order. They have been
subjected to harassment and questioning of their political loyalties
for nonpartisan positions. They live in constant fear that they may
lose their jobs due to illegal reduction-in-force efforts that the
administration has been trying to get away with.
As a result, we are losing talented and highly skilled workers at
rates we can't afford. For Naval Base Kitsap, which includes Submarine
Base Bangor and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate
Maintenance Facility, that is a national security issue.
I am a proud former union member and the daughter of union members,
and I will always fight to protect union rights. What is true about
Kitsap, where I grew up, is that we are not red or blue, but we are a
union town. That is why I was proud to cosponsor this bill and a proud
signer of the discharge petition.
Mr. Speaker, today, I will be a proud ``yes'' vote on passage.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Bresnahan).
Mr. BRESNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today not just in support of H.R.
2550, but in support of the right to collectively bargain. This is not
a policy idea. It is a lifeline that ensures fair wages, safe
workplaces, and the basic dignity that every worker deserves.
Unions like AFGE, Laborers, and IBEW stand on the front lines
defending the American Federal workforce.
AFGE represents Federal workers and, in my district, there are 10,000
of them. These men and women care for veterans, help seniors receive
timely Social Security payments, and serve as correctional officers at
Canaan prison, just to name a few.
When their collective bargaining rights are stripped, they are left
without the stability, fairness, and respect they deserve.
Likewise, the Laborers Union, who built and maintained the
infrastructure this country runs on; and the IBEW, who work in
dangerous conditions at military bases and power plants, depend on
these rights to ensure proper training and enforce a safety protocol
that prevents accidents and saves lives.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to help bring the Protect America's Workforce
Act to the floor today, and I look forward to its passage.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler).
Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2550,
Protect America's Workforce Act.
Earlier this year, an executive order changed the collective
bargaining status of tens of thousands of Federal workers. These are
career public servants, many of them veterans, who show up every single
day to serve our country. Every American deserves a voice in the
workplace, and that includes the people who keep our government running
and open.
Ensuring collective bargaining rights strengthens our Federal
workforce and helps deliver more effective, accountable service to the
American people. We must ensure that collective bargaining agreements
already in place remain, as well as ensuring that good government goes
hand in hand with that.
Mr. Speaker, I was proud to join colleagues across the aisle as being
the 218th signature to advance this bill forward.
I thank Congressmen Fitzpatrick and Golden for leading this effort,
as well as my fellow Congressmen here, Mr. Bresnahan, as well as
Congressman LaLota, for their leadership on this front.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Bell).
Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2550, the Protect
America's Workforce Act.
Mr. Speaker, we all count on a Federal workforce that shows up every
day to serve, not to bend to political pressure or wonder if speaking
up will cost them their jobs.
That is exactly the risk if collective bargaining rights are wiped
out. It pushes aside a system that has been built over generations to
protect workers, protect taxpayers, and keep politics out of public
service.
Taking away the voice of Federal workers doesn't make government
stronger. It makes it easier for retaliation, harder for
whistleblowers, and worse for the people who we represent.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to do right by the people who serve
our country every day by restoring basic fairness and bringing us back
to a system that has worked under both parties for decades.
{time} 1540
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Walkinshaw).
Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Protect
America's Workforce Act.
In my community, Mr. Speaker, public service is a way of life. More
than 80,000 of my neighbors work directly for the Federal Government.
These civil servants protect our national security, care for our
veterans, process Social Security claims, advance medical research, and
respond when disaster strikes.
They have also been on the front lines of President Trump and Russ
Vought's Project 2025-inspired efforts to ``traumatize'' the Federal
workforce.
Stripping collective bargaining rights is a direct assault on our
nonpartisan civil service. This bill says: Not on our watch. That is
why I signed the discharge petition on my first day in office.
This bill restores basic rights for Federal employees, defends the
merit-based civil service, and honors the spirit of public service that
defines my community and communities across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus).
Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of the Protect
America's Workforce Act.
Since day one, President Trump has worked to dismantle the
institutions that protect workers and weaken the power of organized
labor. He dismissed commissioners from the Federal agency responsible
for enforcing workforce civil rights, and he stripped the National
Labor Relations Board of its quorum.
Then in March, he moved to take away unionization rights from
thousands of government workers, including those at the Departments of
Defense, State, and Veterans Affairs.
We count on these public servants to be on the front lines, keeping
our communities running and our constituents safe. In return, they
deserve to have their rights protected. That is why I am a strong
supporter of this legislation that will overturn the President's
dangerous and illegal executive order eliminating collective
bargaining.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to do the same and vote in favor of
this important legislation.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford).
Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, despite repeatedly claiming to be the most
pro-worker President and administration in history, since taking
office, President Trump took action earlier this year that stripped
collective bargaining rights from nearly 1 million Federal employees.
These workers are the backbone of our Nation, from nurses caring for
veterans, law enforcement officers keeping our communities safe,
teachers educating the next generation, and countless others who ensure
America runs every day.
That is why I was proud to cosponsor the Protect America's Workforce
Act
[[Page H5800]]
alongside my Congressional Labor Caucus co-chairs and our over 120
members to counter what is arguably the largest act of union busting in
American history.
I urge every Member of this Chamber to join the Congressional Labor
Caucus in supporting this crucial legislation. Let's stand with Federal
workers in restoring their union rights against these unprecedented
attacks on their livelihoods. I urge adoption.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield one minute to the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan).
Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge us to pass this
discharge petition.
Earlier this year, Donald Trump did an illegal executive order,
stripping a million Federal workers from their collective bargaining
rights, rights they have had since 1962.
We have seen this in my home State. In 2011, Governor Scott Walker
launched one of the most aggressive attacks on workers' rights,
stripping collective bargaining rights.
What happened? Our School of Education had a two-thirds drop in
people applying to be teachers. We lost long-term public employees.
That affected services.
This bill will restore longstanding collective bargaining protections
and ensure that any future administration cannot demolish these rights
again.
We hear our Federal employees across the country. We value them, and
we are fighting with them. We stand on behalf of the Federal workers
that are negatively affected by the President's actions.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda).
Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today outraged at the ongoing assault
on the rights and protections of the Federal workers who serve our
Nation, over 48,000 of them in Hawaii alone.
Just yesterday, this House passed the NDAA, meant to strengthen our
national defense. However, the NDAA means nothing if we cut down, take
away rights, and fail to protect the very workforce that makes national
defense possible.
Earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order
dismantling collective bargaining agreements for more than 1 million
Federal employees.
Let's be clear: The healthcare we fight to make affordable and
accessible, the services we promise our veterans, the readiness we
demand of our agencies, none of it is real if we undermine the
employees who deliver these services on the front lines. Without them,
these are just empty promises, just words.
Collective bargaining, grievance procedures, and whistleblower
protections are the foundation of the strong civilian workforce that
our national security, veterans, and communities across this country
rely on.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Newhouse). The time of the gentlewoman
has expired.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30
seconds to the gentlewoman from Hawaii.
Ms. TOKUDA. Our Hawaii Government Employees Association calls the
President's action a direct attack on working Americans. That is why I
stand firmly with our union ``ohana'' ``family'' across the country in
rejecting these union-busting efforts and urging passage of the Protect
America's Workforce Act.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, she mentioned healthcare, and the healthcare system that
she is talking about that she says has failed is ObamaCare, what they
voted for and they created. I just find it ironic.
I hope every taxpayer in America who gets up in the morning, drives
to work, works hard, and pays their taxes is listening to this debate
because there is a difference here.
What the President is trying to do is make government more efficient.
The argument I am hearing here, and I think the people who work hard
and pay taxes are hearing, there is not a single government agency that
is at any time inefficient. Every single Federal employee is at 100
percent efficiency and doesn't need to be held accountable. They can
work from home and do whatever they want.
We support the Federal workforce. We want to make the Federal
workforce hardier. We want the taxpayers to get their money's worth out
of the hard-earned taxes that they send to Washington.
What this legislation is doing and the goal is to try to hinder the
President's ability to get the backs of the American taxpayer and
ensure that every government agency is efficient and every Federal
employee is working hard, just like the taxpayers who work hard and pay
taxes and send their tax dollars here to Congress for us to
appropriate.
I think that is an important part of the discussion that needs to be
mentioned on the floor. I hope that a lot of people in America, working
hard, frustrated with Washington are watching this debate. I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, like Chairman Comer, I also agree, and I hope that the
American public is watching this debate right now. Certainly, what they
would see if they are watching this debate is not just Democrats
advocating for passage, but Republicans advocating for passage. In
fact, this is a bipartisan effort to protect Federal workers in this
country.
We have heard now from multiple Republicans from the chairman's party
who have actually advocated with Democrats to ensure that our President
doesn't strip basic protections from our Federal workers. We are
talking about our Federal nurses, our firefighters, law enforcement,
medical professionals, the men and women who are working across our
airports, that are taking care of our nuclear reactors in this country.
They deserve the right to organize.
I do agree. I hope the American public is watching and listening to
our Republican colleagues and our Democrats support our Federal
workers.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms.
Tlaib).
{time} 1550
Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, our Federal workforce deserves a voice. We
know the executive order was the largest act of union busting in our
Nation's history. It stripped away collective bargaining rights of over
a million Federal employees in over 40 Federal agencies.
The agencies covered by the executive order employ nearly 82 percent
of the unionized Federal workforce. They are workers in every single
congressional district.
These are workers that protect our food, our water, our air, our
skies, and care for our veterans, our children, and our seniors. They
are our neighbors.
Many people in this Chamber know that a union may have helped them
achieve the dream that they have of serving, as well as being able to
take care of their families. Many of us are recipients indirectly or
directly because of unions.
Collective bargaining isn't a privilege, Mr. Speaker, that can just
be signed away. It is a fundamental right. When working people have a
voice on their job, services improve, accountability grows, and we all
benefit. The bill doesn't just restore fairness, Mr. Speaker. It
restores dignity and due process.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support Protect America's
Workforce Act.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, first, I thank Congressman Golden for
bringing us together on this important bill.
As co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus, I know how critical
labor rights are not only for workers in unions but for all American
workers. We are all better off because of unions. Healthcare,
retirement, safe workplaces, holidays, the length of the workweek, and
vacations were negotiated for all of us. We have them because unions
negotiated them.
We are here because President Trump signed an executive order seeking
to end collective bargaining rights for
[[Page H5801]]
unionized Federal employees across several agencies. Congress granted,
not the executive branch, collective bargaining rights for Federal
employees decades ago, and they have been upheld for years by the
administration of both parties and now thousands of workers have had
those rights taken away.
Let's get one thing clear: Our Federal employees are absolutely
essential to keep our country running.
The Speaker pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute
to the gentlewoman from Michigan.
Mrs. DINGELL. They are firefighters, nurses, doctors, air traffic
controllers, food inspectors, law enforcement, and public safety
officials. They impact every part of our lives, and we take them for
granted. We cannot hurt them. We must support them.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my Republican colleagues who have joined us on
this bill and encourage those who have not yet recognized this is an
opportunity for all of us to work together. Let us show government
employees we have their backs.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Mannion).
Mr. MANNION. Mr. Speaker, as our government employees had their
rights violated and were treated poorly, spending is up.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Protect America's Workforce
Act. I am a proud cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation to restore
collective bargaining rights to hundreds of thousands of Federal
workers.
I was raised in Syracuse, New York, in a union household. My mother
was a proud CWA member at New York Telephone, and my father a proud
union member at New York Central Railroad. I also served as the
president of a 400 member teachers' association union representing
teachers, nurses, school psychologists, and social workers.
Those who have a union worker in their family understand the
guarantee that comes with the union card: fair pay, solid benefits, a
secure retirement, and a real path to the middle class.
The indiscriminate stripping of collective bargaining rights through
executive action was an illegal gray area if not outright unlawful.
This legislation ends that ambiguity. It should never have been a
partisan issue.
The Speaker pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30
seconds to the gentleman from New York.
Mr. MANNION. I am grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle for working together toward this meaningful solution. My father
always said that a job is more than a paycheck. It is about dignity.
All work is dignified when providing for your family.
Mr. Speaker, the Protect America's Workforce Act lives up to those
ideals. Behind every family's American Dream is a good job and often a
good union job.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of
my time.
Mr. Speaker, I will be brief.
Congress should be fighting hard for working people all over this
country. We should be tackling the cost of living. We should be
fighting to provide world-class government services, and we should be
fighting for the unions which make all that possible. We should be
working hard to expand the right to organize, not turning back the
clock on working families. This bill is a huge win for the American
people.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Golden for his work, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the President has been fighting back against the deals
that public sector unions have negotiated for themselves at the expense
of the American taxpayer by invoking an existing legal authority.
H.R. 2550 directly threatens that progress by overturning the
President's executive order that exercises one of the few tools
available to him under the law to more effectively manage the Federal
workforce.
Now, it is no secret that accountability problems in the Federal
workforce are legendary. It takes a Herculean effort to fire a poorly
performing Federal worker or one who is engaged in misconduct.
Collective bargaining agreements often create procedural hurdles to
firing such employees, above and beyond steps required in law and
regulation.
For example, unions can bring removals before private arbitrators
instead of appealing to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
The Trump administration is exercising its electoral mandate to
address this problem.
For instance, the President has embarked on an ambitious overhaul of
the performance management system and is pursuing more streamlined
disciplinary procedures.
The reality is that preexisting union agreements the President never
signed onto can subvert these efforts. They provide barriers to
accountability beyond basic employee protections that exist in law.
Perhaps the most inappropriate aspect of Federal collective bargaining
agreements come from provisions governing the use of official time,
which is when Federal employees are paid by taxpayers to do union
business.
Indeed, many Federal employees spend all their time doing union
business. More than 3 million Federal employee work hours were spent
doing union business time in 2024 alone, according to the OPM report.
The cost to American taxpayers in salary and benefits was more than
$200 million. There was an additional $31 million cost for related
expenses, primarily the provision of Federal meeting space. The only
reason we know this is that the Trump administration collected and
reported this 2024 data.
House Oversight Committee Republicans have attempted to legislate
annual public reporting on the use and abuse of official time. However,
Democrats have consistently opposed even this ounce of accountability.
They have another opportunity to change their ways by supporting the
current version of this legislation H.R. 5749, the Official Time
Reporting Act. However, if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
are not interested in supporting legislative reforms to bring
accountability to the Federal workforce and public sector unions, they
should at the very least not roll back existing progress made under
this administration.
I, therefore, call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
stand with the American taxpayer by supporting the administration's
efforts to bring accountability to the executive branch's workforce and
oppose H.R. 2550.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 432, the previous question is ordered on
the bill.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 231,
nays 195, not voting 7, as follows:
[Roll No. 332]
YEAS--231
Adams
Aguilar
Amo
Ansari
Auchincloss
Bacon
Balint
Barragan
Beatty
Bell
Bera
Beyer
Bishop
Bonamici
Bost
Boyle (PA)
Bresnahan
Brown
Brownley
Budzinski
Bynum
Carbajal
Carson
Carter (LA)
Casar
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Cherfilus-McCormick
Chu
Cisneros
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Conaway
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Craig
Crockett
Crow
Cuellar
Davids (KS)
Davis (IL)
Davis (NC)
Dean (PA)
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Deluzio
DeSaulnier
Dexter
Dingell
Doggett
Elfreth
Escobar
Espaillat
Evans (CO)
Evans (PA)
Fields
Figures
Fitzpatrick
Fletcher
Foster
Foushee
Frankel, Lois
Friedman
Frost
[[Page H5802]]
Garamendi
Garbarino
Garcia (CA)
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Gillen
Golden (ME)
Goldman (NY)
Gomez
Gonzalez, V.
Goodlander
Gottheimer
Gray
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Harder (CA)
Hayes
Himes
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Hoyle (OR)
Huffman
Ivey
Jackson (IL)
Jacobs
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (TX)
Joyce (OH)
Kamlager-Dove
Kaptur
Kean
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy (NY)
Khanna
Krishnamoorthi
LaLota
Landsman
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latimer
Lawler
Lee (NV)
Lee (PA)
Leger Fernandez
Levin
Liccardo
Lieu
Lofgren
Lynch
Mackenzie
Magaziner
Malliotakis
Mannion
Matsui
McBath
McBride
McClain Delaney
McClellan
McCollum
McDonald Rivet
McGarvey
McGovern
McIver
Meeks
Menendez
Meng
Mfume
Miller-Meeks
Min
Moore (WI)
Morelle
Morrison
Moskowitz
Moulton
Mrvan
Mullin
Neal
Neguse
Norcross
Nunn (IA)
Ocasio-Cortez
Olszewski
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pelosi
Perez
Peters
Pettersen
Pingree
Pocan
Pou
Pressley
Quigley
Ramirez
Randall
Raskin
Riley (NY)
Rivas
Ross
Ruiz
Ryan
Salinas
Sanchez
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell
Sherman
Simon
Smith (NJ)
Smith (WA)
Sorensen
Soto
Stansbury
Stanton
Stauber
Stevens
Strickland
Subramanyam
Suozzi
Sykes
Takano
Thanedar
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Tran
Turner (OH)
Underwood
Valadao
Van Drew
Van Orden
Vargas
Vasquez
Veasey
Velazquez
Vindman
Walkinshaw
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Whitesides
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)
NAYS--195
Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei (NV)
Arrington
Babin
Baird
Balderson
Barr
Barrett
Baumgartner
Bean (FL)
Begich
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Biggs (AZ)
Biggs (SC)
Bilirakis
Boebert
Brecheen
Buchanan
Burchett
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Carey
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Comer
Crane
Crank
Crawford
Crenshaw
Davidson
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Downing
Dunn (FL)
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
Estes
Ezell
Fallon
Fedorchak
Feenstra
Fine
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fleischmann
Flood
Fong
Foxx
Franklin, Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Gill (TX)
Goldman (TX)
Gonzales, Tony
Gooden
Gosar
Graves
Greene (GA)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Hamadeh (AZ)
Haridopolos
Harrigan
Harris (MD)
Harris (NC)
Harshbarger
Hern (OK)
Higgins (LA)
Hill (AR)
Hinson
Houchin
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunt
Hurd (CO)
Issa
Jack
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (PA)
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kennedy (UT)
Kiggans (VA)
Kiley (CA)
Kim
Knott
Kustoff
LaHood
LaMalfa
Langworthy
Latta
Lee (FL)
Letlow
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luna
Luttrell
Mace
Maloy
Mann
Massie
Mast
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McDowell
McGuire
Messmer
Meuser
Miller (IL)
Miller (OH)
Miller (WV)
Mills
Moolenaar
Moore (AL)
Moore (NC)
Moore (UT)
Moore (WV)
Moran
Murphy
Nehls
Newhouse
Norman
Obernolte
Ogles
Onder
Owens
Palmer
Patronis
Perry
Pfluger
Reschenthaler
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rose
Rouzer
Roy
Rulli
Scalise
Schmidt
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Self
Sessions
Shreve
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smucker
Spartz
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Strong
Stutzman
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Van Duyne
Van Epps
Wagner
Walberg
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Westerman
Wied
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke
NOT VOTING--7
Diaz-Balart
Donalds
Gimenez
Nadler
Rutherford
Salazar
Swalwell
{time} 1643
Messrs. ALLEN, WEBSTER of Florida, CRAWFORD, STUTZMAN, RESCHENTHALER,
EMMER, WALBERG, DAVIDSON, COLE, BABIN, ROUZER, CRANE, and GOSAR changed
their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mses. PRESSLEY, SCHAKOWSKY, OMAR, and Mr. DAVIS of Illinois changed
their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________