Comer: OPM’s Final Rule Insulates the Federal Workforce from Accountability

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued the following statement on the Office of Personnel Management’s final rule, “Civil Service Protections and Merit System Principles,” which insulates federal workers from accountability:

“OPM’s final rule is yet another example of the Biden Administration’s efforts to insulate the federal workforce from accountability. The federal workforce exists to serve the American people, yet many Americans have a deep and growing distrust of the federal bureaucracy. The Biden Administration’s rule will further undermine Americans’ confidence in their government since it allows poor performing federal workers and those who attempt to thwart the policies of a duly elected President to remain entrenched in the federal bureaucracy. We need more accountability for the unelected federal bureaucracy, not less. However, with this rule, the Biden Administration believes it is more important to protect the federal bureaucracy, rather than taking steps to increase the American people’s confidence in it. The House Oversight Committee will continue to conduct rigorous oversight of the federal workforce and will examine legislative solutions to make the unelected, unaccountable federal workforce more accountable to the American people.”