Congressman Hoyer warns federal budget uncertainty is harming employees and services

Rep. Steny Hoyer, U.S. representative for Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District, told the Southern Maryland delegation on Feb. 21 that rapid federal personnel and spending changes instituted by the new administration have created “chaos and crisis” for agencies and thousands of federal workers.

Hoyer said new Office of Management and Budget policies and hurried staffing changes have the effect of cutting programs without a considered review. “What was done and what is being done is to simply go in and with a, an ax effectively, perform what ought to be performed with a scalpel,” Hoyer said. He argued that the administration’s interpretation of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 — described in the meeting as allowing the executive to withhold or sharply reduce spending that…