H.R. 2249, Preserving Presidential Management Authority Act

H.R. 2249 would allow a new President to terminate provisions of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) for public-sector unions that were in effect before the President’s term began, but would not apply to agreements signed during the President’s term. A CBA is an agreement between an employer and a union outlining the terms and conditions of employment. The bill also would clarify that any CBA provision that conflicts with existing Executive Orders, Presidential Memorandums, or related agency guidance would not be binding.

If the President exercised this authority, federal agencies would be responsible for implementing the terminations. Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that administering such terminations would cost less than $500,000. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Enacting H.R. 2249 could affect direct spending by some agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.

H.R. 2249 would impose a private-sector mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by granting the President authority to terminate provisions of public- sector union CBAs. Such unions are considered private-sector entities under UMRA. The cost of the mandate would depend on the use of the authority by the President. Because CBO has no basis to estimate when and to what provisions the authority may be applied, CBO cannot determine whether the cost of the mandate would exceed the annual private-sector threshold established in UMRA ($206 million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).

The bill would not impose any intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Emma Uebelhor (for federal costs) and Andrew Laughlin (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.