Federal Reform Act Mandates Agency Efficiency, Ends Paper Checks, and Makes New Federal Jobs Probationary for 'Public Interest'

The “Federal Government Reform Act of 2025” is essentially a massive efficiency and accountability overhaul for how the government runs, covering everything from how federal workers are hired to how quickly new rules are published and how the Treasury pays its bills. If you’ve ever waited for a government check or complained about bureaucratic red tape, this bill touches on those exact pain points.

The Future of Federal Employment: Less Security, More Scrutiny

For anyone considering a career in federal service, Section 2 introduces a major change to the probationary period. Right now, new employees serve a probation period, but this bill adds a significant hurdle: you don't automatically complete your probation after the standard year. Instead, your agency must certify, within 30 days before the period ends, that keeping you employed is “in the public interest.” If they don't, you’re out of the civil service. This moves the goalposts for new hires, making the first year of federal employment less secure and giving agencies a lot of subjective power to decide who stays. Think of it as a year-long, high-stakes performance review where the criteria for success are now tied to a vaguely defined “public interest” standard, which could leave the door open for subjective decisions.

On a different note, the bill permanently shuts down the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, within 90 days of enactment. This training center for federal executives is effectively defunded and closed, which means a specific type of federal leadership training is going away, and those employees will need to find new roles.

Regulatory Cleanup and Digital Deadlines

Section 2 also tackles two major administrative headaches: regulatory over-reach and slow publishing. First, it targets “over-criminalization.” Agencies must now report regulations that impose criminal penalties without clear statutory authority and recommend repealing or changing them. Moving forward, agencies can’t issue any regulation with a criminal penalty unless the statute specifically authorizes it. This is a big win for clarity, potentially reducing the number of ways a person or business could accidentally commit a federal crime based on a rule that didn't explicitly have legislative backing.

Second, the bill forces the Federal Register—the daily journal where all federal rules are published—to modernize. The Archivist of the United States must digitize and automate systems to meet strict performance benchmarks, specifically ensuring rules are published by the statutory deadline or within 24 hours of receipt. For small businesses or industries that need to adapt quickly to new federal rules, this mandate promises faster, more reliable access to the latest regulatory changes.

Treasury Goes Digital: Goodbye Paper Checks

Section 3 addresses the government’s outdated financial plumbing. The Treasury Secretary is mandated to upgrade payment systems to be faster, safer, and easier to track. The goal is two-fold: cut down on using paper checks and old computer systems built before the year 2000, and establish a secure digital way for individuals, businesses, and agencies to handle payments. For anyone receiving government benefits, tax refunds, or managing a business that deals with federal payments, this means saying goodbye to slow, clunky paper processes and moving toward a fully digital, modern experience.

Accountability Runs Through the OMB

Finally, Section 4 centralizes oversight. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) becomes the chief referee, responsible for ensuring every agency complies with these new requirements. Every agency touched by this law must provide quarterly updates detailing their progress on reforms and efficiency improvements. This means the OMB will have a direct, centralized view of how well (or how poorly) the entire federal government is implementing these changes, with a detailed report due to Congress within 180 days of the law taking effect. This structure is designed to prevent agencies from dragging their feet on modernization.