H.R. 3853: Federal Government Reform Act of 2025

This bill, known as the Federal Government Reform Act of 2025, aims to modernize and improve the efficiency of various operations within the federal government. Here are the key components of the bill:

Closure of the Federal Executive Institute

The bill mandates the closure of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, within 90 days of its enactment. It stipulates that no federal funds can be used for any activities related to the Institute after its closure.

Revisions to Probationary Employment

The bill introduces changes to the probationary period for new federal employees. Key points include:

• The first year of service for new competitive service appointees will be considered a probationary period.
• Employees can only complete this probationary period if the employing agency certifies their continued employment as being in the public interest.
• Employees transferring to new positions will have to complete any remaining probationary period associated with their previous role.
• Special provisions apply to employees of the Postal Service regarding their probationary periods.

Regulatory Reforms

The bill seeks to reduce regulatory overreach by implementing measures such as:

• Mandating federal agencies to report any regulations that impose criminal penalties without clear legal authority within a year of the bill's enactment.
• Restricting agencies from issuing new regulations that include criminal penalties unless those penalties are explicitly authorized by law.

Digital Modernization

To address inefficiencies in rule publication and to modernize government operations, the bill includes provisions for:

• The digitization and automation of processes by the Archivist of the United States to speed up rule publication.
• Establishing performance benchmarks for rule publication to ensure compliance with deadlines.
• Annual compliance reporting to Congress regarding the progress of modernization efforts.

Modernizing Treasury Payments

The bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to improve the speed, security, and transparency of transactions managed by the Treasury. This includes:

• Developing new technologies and partnerships to enhance digital payment capabilities.
• Reducing reliance on outdated, paper-based systems.

Implementation and Oversight

To ensure that the provisions of the bill are followed, oversight will be conducted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which will require affected agencies to provide quarterly updates on their compliance and reforms resulting from the bill.

Implementation Report

Within 180 days of the bill's enactment, the Director of the OMB is required to submit a detailed implementation report to Congress that outlines how each agency is adhering to the requirements set forth in the bill.

Definitions

The bill defines terms such as "agency" and "rule" according to existing definitions in federal law.

Relevant Companies

None found.