Preventing a Patronage System Act of 2021

Preventing a Patronage System Act of 2021 or the PPSA Act of 2021

This bill prohibits executive agency positions in the competitive service from being placed in the excepted service, unless such positions are placed in Schedules A through E as in effect on September 30, 2020. The bill also prohibits positions in the excepted service from being placed in any schedule other than the aforementioned schedules.

On October 21, 2020, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service. The order placed executive agency positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character, and that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition, under a new schedule in the excepted service (Schedule F) instead of the competitive service. The order also required any such positions in the excepted service to be reclassified to Schedule F. The order was revoked by President Joe Biden on January 22, 2021.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov