Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Chairman, I thank Ranking Member Cummings.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 4361.

Clearly, my colleagues on the other side have good intentions, but they need to be informed and corrected and understanding. I served 30 years as a Federal employee. During that time, I served as an EEO investigator. I looked at actions that were made against Federal employees that were not in compliance. I understand the undue burden that this legislation will put on Federal workers and labor organizations. H.R. 4361 combines proposals attacking Federal employees with regulatory measures, many of which hinder the performance of one of our Nation's largest workforces.

When we considered this legislation in committee, I offered an amendment to strike the provisions in title III of H.R. 3023, and require each employing agency to make an affirmative decision in writing near the end of an employee's probationary period stating that the individual's performance is acceptable, which the Office of Personnel Management considers a best practice in managing the performance of employees.

Mr. Chairman, instead of debating legislation that would undermine due process provisions, we should be looking at how we can protect our citizens through commonsense gun control legislation and maintain access to affordable health care for all Americans.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source