I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 1597
To provide that former civil service employees who were wrongfully fired
are eligible to enroll in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY26, 2025
Mrs. C
HERFILUS-MCCORMICKintroduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
A BILL
To provide that former civil service employees who were
wrongfully fired are eligible to enroll in the Federal
Employee Health Benefits Program, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Compassion for Vul-4
nerable and Struggling Workers Act’’. 5
SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY TO ENROLL IN FEHBP FOR FIRED 6
CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES. 7
(a) E
LIGIBILITYTOENROLL.— 8
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•HR 1597 IH
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 1
provision of law, any individual described in para-2
graph (2) may elect to continue coverage under, or 3
enroll in, a health benefits plan under chapter 89 of 4
title 5, United States Code. 5
(2) I
NDIVIDUALS.—An individual described in 6
this paragraph is any individual who was involun-7
tarily removed from a civil service position during 8
the period beginning on January 20, 2025, and end-9
ing on January 1, 2026 and— 10
(A) who was removed without cause; 11
(B) whose most recent performance review 12
was at least fully successful (or equivalent); 13
(C) who was pregnant at the time of the 14
removal; or 15
(D) who was diagnosed with cancer during 16
the 5-year period preceding the date of removal. 17
(b) C
ONTRIBUTIONS.—The Government and indi-18
vidual contributions for the health benefits of any indi-19
vidual who makes an affirmative election to be covered 20
under such chapter 89 under subsection (a) shall be de-21
rived from any Federal funds saved by the activities of 22
the United States DOGE Service (established by the exec-23
utive order relating to ‘‘Establishing and Implementing 24
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•HR 1597 IH
the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’’’, 1
issued on January 20, 2025). 2
Æ
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