Some GOP officials say Trump administration’s federal workers buyout program is illegal

Many federal workers saw an email first thing Monday morning when they arrived at their desks that offered more details of the deferred resignations program. 

Some lawmakers have noted the offer of pay through Sept. 30 violates the Anti-Deficiency Act, a law that prevents the government from promising or spending money in excess of what Congress has made available. Congress has funded the government only through mid-March, not through the end of the fiscal year at the end of September. 

A spokesperson for the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management stressed that no federal employees’ pay will be guaranteed with the deadline looming.

The new email, with “Fork in the Road” in the subject line, is the third sent by OPM on the resignation plan. It reads:

Q: The current funding bill for the federal government expires on March 14. Will I still receive full pay and benefits if the money runs out? 

A: Any government shutdown could potentially affect an employee’s pay regardless of whether he or she has accepted the deferred resignation offer. Moreover, if you accept the deferred resignation offer, you would still be entitled to backpay under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act.

One Republican said in a text message, “Anybody else would be walked out of an agency for going $1 beyond appropriated dollars. Back of the napkin math of offering to pay all federal employees for 6.5 months beyond current appropriations is about $50 billion — not everyone will take the offer, but it was offered to all of them, thus it incurs an obligation.” 

Two lawmakers said the Trump administration’s offer to pay any federal employees who accept the resignation proposal is not within OPM’s power. They say the proposal, which gives workers until Thursday to accept the buyout terms paying them through September, incurs a cost on behalf of the government that has not been authorized by Congress.