Fast but Fair Federal Firing: Balancing Speed and Due Process when Removing Employees for Cause
A functional civil service requires a single transparent removal process; meaningful metrics; a centralized case-management system; reforms to reduce bad-faith abuse of worker protections; trained and accountable HR and legal staff; clear performance standards; and a truly independent adjudicatory body capable of resolving appeals quickly and impartially.
Firing a Federal Employee For Cause: The Actual Process, Explained
In this video, we walk through a draft process map built from the real experiences of 10 federal managers who handled 22 performance and conduct cases. The resulting diagram (3×10 feet when printed!) shows a system with no single, standard process, where the path can vary by agency, bureau, collective bargaining agreement, and the particular HR and legal officials involved.
How to Fix Congress
In our last post, we described the two primary drivers of Congressional dysfunction: over-centralization of decision-making, and lack of capacity. Party leaders have monopolized the procedural tools for considering legislation that should be available to all Members. And after decades of inadequate investment in its own capacity, Congress has deprived itself of the resources necessary to fulfil its role as a co-equal branch of government. Here, we lay out the solutions; the […]
Our Goal: A Congress Able to Effectively Oversee and Fund a Functional Federal Government
Part Two: Congressional Reform Blog Series In Part One of the We the Doers’ Congressional Reform blog series, we laid out why we’re committed to tackling Congressional reform. In this post, Part Two, we will delve into the role of Congress in creating the conditions for the federal government to effectively deliver the results that […]
Why We’re Bucking Conventional Wisdom and Going All-in on Congressional Reform
When we meet with stakeholders, potential partners, and potential funders, we get lots of nods as we talk about our plans to “measure what matters” and reform federal hiring, firing, technology development, and procurement.
But when we get to the aspects of our platform that require Congressional action — biennial budgeting and appropriations, an end to government shutdowns, the creation of a feedback loop between civil servants and Congress, and big structural reforms to address the root causes of executive branch dysfunction — the nodding stops. Brows furrow.
Former Civil Servants Speak: How to Achieve Real Government Reform in a Post-DOGE World
As the one-year anniversary of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) approached, We the Doers, a new organization of reform-minded former civil servants, convened a panel to answer a single question: “What would it actually take to deliver the federal government the American people deserve – in an efficient, cost-effective manner?” This group’s recommendations, drawn from a combined 88 years of federal leadership experience and described in detail in this report, were far-reaching and innovative: