The SERVICE Act requires agencies to report to Congress and the GAO before significant workforce reductions, detailing financial and mission-related impacts, and mandates a GAO review of these reports.
Nikema Williams
Representative
GA-5
The SERVICE Act requires federal agencies to submit a report to the Comptroller General and Congress before reducing their workforce by more than 5% in a fiscal year. This report must detail the anticipated financial and mission-related impacts of the workforce reduction. The Comptroller General then assesses the agency's report and publishes their findings on the Government Accountability Office's website.
SERVICE Act: Feds Must Detail Costs & Service Impacts Before Cutting 5%+ Staff
Think about the last time you dealt with a government agency – maybe waiting for a tax refund, applying for a passport, or visiting a national park. Staffing levels directly impact those services. The SERVICE Act tackles this by setting up a new process for significant workforce reductions in federal agencies.
Essentially, before any agency can cut its workforce by more than 5% within a single fiscal year, they need to hit pause and do some serious homework. This bill mandates they prepare a detailed report outlining the potential fallout. We're talking dollars and cents – estimating severance pay, administrative costs, and crucially, how much it might cost to hire contractors to pick up the slack. It's not just about the budget, though.
Showing Their Work: What's in the Report?
The required report goes beyond just finances. Agencies must specifically describe which job functions, offices, and services will be affected. If any single office is losing more than 5% of its people, that needs extra detail. They also have to provide current performance data for the areas facing cuts – think current wait times or processing speeds – and then analyze how the proposed reduction would likely impact performance, service availability, timeliness, and the overall customer experience. Basically, they need to explain why they think the cuts are justified and what the real-world consequences might be for the services people rely on.
The Watchdog's Review: GAO Steps In
Once an agency submits this report to Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – Congress's investigative arm – the clock starts ticking. The GAO has 180 days to review the agency's homework. Their job isn't to approve or deny the cuts, but to assess whether the agency actually included all the required information and whether their estimates and analyses are based on reasonably complete and credible data. Think of it as a fact-check on the agency's justification. The GAO's final assessment gets sent to key congressional committees and, importantly, published online for anyone to see. This adds a layer of transparency, ensuring the rationale behind significant staffing changes is out in the open before they happen.