And we’re not seeing a whole lot of TV coverage.
House Republicans this week reinstated an arcane procedural rule that enables lawmakers to reach deep into the budget and slash the pay of an individual federal worker — down to $1 — a move that threatens to upend the 130-year-old civil service.
The Holman Rule, named after an Indiana congressman who devised it in 1876, empowers any member of Congress to propose amending an appropriations bill to single out a government employee or cut a specific program.
The use of the rule would not be simple; a majority of the House and the Senate would still have to approve any such amendment. At the same time, opponents and supporters agree that the work of 2.1 million civil servants, designed to be insulated from politics, is now vulnerable to the whims of elected officials.
Basically, they want to punish federal employees who tell them anything they don’t want to hear. Handy!
Sounds like a bill of attainder, which is unconstitutional.
I’m not yet convinced that reactivating a 140 year-old law negates existing personnel law, without their repeal. But whatever, fear and coercion are the methods of the 21st Century Republican Party.