Democratic bills would rehire axed National Parks and Forest Service employees

National Park Service and Forest Service employees who have lost their jobs since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term would get their positions back under legislation put forward on May 21 by House Democrats. 

Along with the reinstatements, the two measures — the Protect our Parks Act (H.R. 3555) for NPS and Save Our Forests Act (H.R. 3559) for FS — would respectively require the Interior and Agriculture departments to maintain adequate staffing levels to safeguard public lands under their jurisdictions and visitors as well as continue projects that were authorized or received funding under laws like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act. 

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., whose district includes national parks and forests, sponsored the pair of bills with the support of other senior Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee.

“The Trump administration's federal funding and purging of the workforce have made our national parks and forests less safe and more prone to disaster. This is simply unacceptable,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “With the summer months fast approaching, we must act to reinstate terminated employees at our land management agencies to protect communities across the West.” 

Neguse’s bills are companion legislation to measures that Senate Democrats introduced in March (S. 949, S. 950).   

The Interior Department was expected to layoffs thousands of employees, including at NPS, but a May 22 court order has put reductions in force at most major agencies on hold. Job cuts at FS, as well as reassignments and voluntary separation incentives, have also impacted the agency’s operations. 

Both measures are backed by the League of Conservation Voters, Environment America and the National Federation of Federal Employees.