To provide for the continued operation of the Hatch Act Unit of the Office of Special Counsel during a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill ensures that the Office of Special Counsel's Hatch Act Unit can continue enforcing federal employee political activity restrictions even during government shutdowns. It does this by classifying their services as "emergency" services that are exempt from shutdown furloughs.
Who Benefits and How
- Office of Special Counsel employees in the Hatch Act Unit can continue working and receiving pay during shutdowns instead of being furloughed.
- Whistleblowers and complainants can continue to file Hatch Act complaints during shutdowns without service interruption.
- Federal employees accused of violations benefit from continued due process during shutdown periods.
Who Bears the Burden and How
- Taxpayers bear minimal additional cost as these employees would be paid retroactively anyway after shutdowns end.
- No significant new compliance burdens are imposed on any party.
Key Provisions
- Deems Hatch Act enforcement services as emergency services under 31 USC 1342
- Applies specifically to sections 7323 and 7324 of title 5 (political activity restrictions)
- Allows Office of Special Counsel to continue Hatch Act operations during appropriations lapses
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Ensures the Office of Special Counsel Hatch Act Unit can continue operating during government shutdowns by classifying their services as emergency services.
Who Benefits
- Office of Special Counsel employees
- Federal ethics enforcement
- Whistleblowers filing Hatch Act complaints
Who Bears Costs
- None significant - administrative classification change
Key Policy Areas
Government Operations, Federal Employment, Ethics
Primary Purpose
Ensures the Office of Special Counsel Hatch Act Unit can continue operating during government shutdowns by classifying their services as emergency services.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Ensure continued enforcement of federal ethics laws during government shutdowns"
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Conaway introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "office_of_special_counsel"
- → Office of Special Counsel (independent federal agency)
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology