Legislative Recommendations Index
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Table of Contents
Stafford Act: Tax Exemption for FEMA Deployments
SAMHSA Block Grant: Authorize Mental Health Prevention
Paperwork Reduction Act: Exempt IRB-Approved Research
Social Security: Provisional Benefits During Expedited Reinstatement
Federal Government Innovation Fund
Structural Overhauls: Areas of Consensus
Federal Hiring and Workforce Reform
Procurement and Contracting Reform
Paperwork Reduction Act: Repeal or Substantial Reform
Federal Technology: FITARA Reform and Open-Source Mandate
Human Research Protections: IRB Effectiveness and a National Center
Immigration Enforcement Consolidation
An important note: The recommendations compiled here reflect the individual views and experiences of interview participants. They are not endorsed by POPVOX Foundation, the Partnership for Public Service, the Niskanen Center, the Foundation for American Innovation, Civil Service Strong, or any other organization involved in the Departure Dialogues project.
Introduction
Throughout the Departure Dialogues interviews, participants offered specific, actionable recommendations for how Congress could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs. This index compiles the most concrete of those proposals—organized by the type of legislative effort required, and formatted for working use by congressional staff.
An important note: The recommendations compiled here reflect the individual views and experiences of interview participants. They are not endorsed by POPVOX Foundation, the Partnership for Public Service, the Niskanen Center, the Foundation for American Innovation, Civil Service Strong, or any other organization involved in the Departure Dialogues project.
This index is a companion to the Departure Dialogues Findings paper, the interactive Talk to the City reports, and the full submission archive. The “Structural Overhauls” section in particular is intended as an entry point — readers are encouraged to go deeper in those resources for full context, participant quotes, and detailed legislative starting points.
Actionability Matrix
“Quick Wins” are narrowly scoped changes that could move through existing legislative vehicles with relatively limited committee coordination. “Structural Overhauls” represent areas of strong consensus among participants but require new authorizing legislation, sustained engagement across multiple committees, and broader coalition-building. Full detail on Quick Wins follows in the next section.
Quick Wins
| Recommendation | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Stafford Act tax exemption for FEMA deployments | House T&I / Senate HSGAC in coordination with House Ways and Means / Senate Finance |
| Amend SAMHSA block grant to authorize prevention | House E&C / Senate HELP |
| Exempt IRB-approved research from PRA | House Oversight / Senate HSGAC |
| SSA Expedited Reinstatement provisional benefits | House W&M / Senate Finance |
| Federal innovation fund ($50M) | House/Senate Approps – FSGG |
Structural Overhauls
| Recommendation | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Consolidate hiring into single Merit Service | House Oversight / Senate HSGAC |
| Automate OPM job matching | House Oversight / Senate HSGAC |
| Reform veterans' preference | House Oversight / Senate HSGAC; House VA / Senate VA |
| Consolidate workforce appeals into single court | House Oversight / Senate HSGAC |
| Repeal or substantially reform the PRA | House Oversight / Senate HSGAC |
| Decentralize FITARA / mandate open-source IT | House Oversight / Senate HSGAC |
| Consolidate immigration enforcement (ERO into CBP) | House Judiciary / Senate Judiciary; House Homeland / Senate HSGAC |
| Procurement reform: compliance → value | House Oversight / Senate HSGAC |
| IRB effectiveness studies / National Center | House E&C / Senate HELP |
Quick Wins: Full Detail
Each of the following recommendations is narrowly scoped, has a clear statutory home, and could realistically move through an existing legislative vehicle—a must-pass bill, an appropriations rider, or a targeted amendment. For each we provide the core proposal, the friction it addresses, a starting point for legislative action, and the participant voices behind it.
Stafford Act: Tax Exemption for FEMA Deployments
Jurisdiction: House Transportation & Infrastructure / Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
Proposal
Amend the Stafford Act to provide tax residency exemptions for FEMA personnel during deployments.
The Friction
When FEMA personnel deploy to disaster zones under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. § 5121), extended assignments in states other than their home state can trigger state income tax obligations in the deployment state. This functions as a financial penalty for disaster response—and discourages experienced personnel from accepting deployments.
Legislative Action
Amend the Stafford Act to provide that FEMA personnel on active deployment under a presidential disaster declaration do not establish state tax residency in the deployment state for the duration of that deployment.
“If Congress amended the Stafford Act to provide a targeted tax residency exemption for FEMA personnel during Stafford Act deployments…”
SAMHSA Block Grant: Authorize Mental Health Prevention
Jurisdiction: House Energy & Commerce / Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP)
Proposal
Amend SAMHSA’s block grant authority to explicitly allow states to fund mental health promotion and prevention.
The Friction
The Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health (SUD/MH) Block Grants (42 U.S.C. § 300x) are a primary federal funding stream for state behavioral health services. Current authorizing language—and decades of interpretation—limit how states may use these funds to treatment and crisis response. States cannot use block grant dollars for upstream prevention or mental health promotion, even though early intervention is widely recognized as more cost-effective than crisis care.
Legislative Action
Amend 42 U.S.C. § 300x to explicitly authorize states to use SUD/MH block grant funds for mental health promotion and prevention activities, in addition to existing treatment uses.
“I would encourage amending the authorizing language for the SUD/MH Block grant to allow for mental health promotion services. That block grant funding could be more impactful and effective if it also allowed for mental health promotion programs and activities.”
Paperwork Reduction Act: Exempt IRB-Approved Research
Jurisdiction: House Committee on Oversight & Accountability / Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
Proposal
Amend the PRA to exempt human subjects research already approved by an Institutional Review Board.
The Friction
The Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. § 3501) requires agencies to obtain OMB approval before collecting information from the public—including instruments used in federally funded research. Federally funded research involving human participants already undergoes Institutional Review Board (IRB) review of data collection instruments for ethical compliance. The PRA requires a separate, duplicative OMB review of the same instruments, adding 6–12 months to research timelines for reasons unrelated to participant protection or paperwork burden.
Legislative Action
Amend 44 U.S.C. § 3506 to create a categorical exemption from PRA clearance requirements for information collection instruments that have received IRB approval under 45 CFR Part 46.
“Amend the Paperwork Reduction Act to exclude human subjects research already approved… This is going to restore that six to 12 months to study timelines.”
Social Security: Provisional Benefits During Expedited Reinstatement
Jurisdiction: House Ways & Means / Senate Finance
Proposal
Amend the Social Security Act to authorize provisional benefit payments during Expedited Reinstatement adjudication.
The Friction
Expedited Reinstatement (EXR) is the process by which former Social Security disability beneficiaries can request restoration of benefits after losing eligibility. Under current law (42 U.S.C. § 423(i)), individuals who request EXR may wait months or years for a final determination—with no income in the interim. Many are ultimately found eligible, meaning they suffered an extended gap in benefits while the government worked through its own process.
Legislative Action
Amend 42 U.S.C. § 423(i) to authorize provisional benefit payments for individuals with pending EXR claims, recoverable by SSA if the claim is ultimately denied.
“Congress should change the law on EXRs so people get provisional benefits until SSA makes a decision.”
Federal Government Innovation Fund
Jurisdiction: House & Senate Appropriations – Financial Services & General Government (FSGG)
Proposal
Establish a competitive innovation fund open to federal employees and the public.
The Friction
There is currently no structured mechanism for federal employees or members of the public to propose—and receive funding to implement—specific efficiency improvements to government operations. Good ideas accumulate in individual agencies without any pathway to scale or cross-agency application.
Legislative Action
Appropriate funds (proposed: $50M) in the FSGG appropriations bill to establish a competitive innovation fund, with awards administered by a designated entity such as GSA’s Technology Transformation Services. Eligibility should extend to federal employees and US citizens.
“Create a pot of money ($50M) and make it available to any federal employee or US citizen to submit ideas to make government leaner and more efficient.”
Structural Overhauls: Areas of Consensus
The following areas represent the issues where participants most consistently identified deep, structural barriers to effective government—problems that persisted across agencies, administrations, and policy areas. They are not quick fixes. Each would require new authorizing legislation, sustained engagement across multiple committees, and significant political coordination.
What follows is a brief summary of each area. For full context—including participant quotes, legislative starting points, and the range of voices behind each recommendation—readers are encouraged to consult the Departure Dialogues Findings paper, the Talk to the City interactive reports, and the full submission archive.
Federal Hiring and Workforce Reform
Jurisdiction: House Oversight & Accountability / Senate HSGAC
The federal hiring system’s 120+ overlapping authorities, reliance on self-assessment certifications, and fragmented appeals structure were among the most frequently cited barriers across the entire dataset. Participants proposed consolidating these into a unified Merit Service system with centralized OPM screening, reformed veterans’ preference, and a single court for workforce appeals. This would require amending multiple provisions of Title 5, U.S.C. and represents the kind of fundamental redesign of federal HR that has been discussed for decades without a legislative vehicle capable of carrying it.
Procurement and Contracting Reform
Jurisdiction: House Oversight & Accountability / Senate HSGAC; Armed Services (defense procurement)
Participants across agencies described procurement rules that have accumulated to the point of undermining their own goals—limiting competition, inflating costs, extending timelines to 18–24 months, and making honest contractor evaluation nearly impossible. The core ask: shift the system’s incentive structure from compliance to value. This would require revisiting the Federal Acquisition Regulation and potentially the statutes underlying it, including the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act.
Paperwork Reduction Act: Repeal or Substantial Reform
Jurisdiction: House Oversight & Accountability / Senate HSGAC
Beyond the targeted IRB exemption in the Quick Wins section, multiple participants across FDA, NSF, HHS, and SAMHSA independently called for repeal or fundamental reform of the PRA itself. The compliance burden delays research, blocks program evaluation, and costs agencies hundreds of thousands of administrative hours annually. This is a structural fix—the IRB exemption is a starting point, but participants were clear that the underlying statute needs revisiting.
Federal Technology: FITARA Reform and Open-Source Mandate
Jurisdiction: House Oversight & Accountability / Senate HSGAC
The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act centralized technology decision-making with agency CIOs—pulling authority away from program teams, slowing delivery, and pushing agencies toward proprietary commercial products that create long-term vendor lock-in. Participants proposed decentralizing CIO authority and establishing an open-source-by-default standard for federally funded software. Both would require amending 40 U.S.C. § 11319 and potentially passing new legislation on open-source standards.
Human Research Protections: IRB Effectiveness and a National Center
Jurisdiction: House Energy & Commerce / Senate HELP
Molly Klote, outgoing Director of the HHS Office for Human Research Protections with 37 years of federal service, made a detailed case that the federal IRB system has accumulated 50 years of compliance requirements without ever systematically measuring whether they protect research participants as intended. She proposed commissioning rigorous effectiveness studies and establishing a National Center for Ethical Research Learning to provide ongoing evidence-based guidance. This would require authorizing legislation and dedicated appropriations.
Immigration Enforcement Consolidation
Jurisdiction: House Judiciary / Senate Judiciary; House Homeland Security / Senate HSGAC
Participants with experience at ICE described overlapping enforcement functions between Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) within ICE and the US Border Patrol within CBP, as well as fragmented management of immigration detention across ICE, the Bureau of Prisons, and the US Marshals Service. The proposed consolidation—merging ERO into CBP and unifying detention under a single entity—would require amending the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and touches on some of the most contested jurisdictional terrain in Congress.
A Note on This Document
This index is intentionally narrower than the full Departure Dialogues findings. It is designed to serve as a working reference — a way for legislative staff to quickly identify where participant recommendations map to their committee’s jurisdiction and what kind of effort each would require.
For the full picture — participant quotes, operational context, and the range of voices behind each recommendation — please see:
the Departure Dialogues Key Findings paper,
the Talk to the City interactive reports covering:
the full submission archive.
Recommendations reflect the individual views of interview participants and are not endorsed by any organization involved in the project. Legislative Action lines are starting points for drafting and consultation, not finished bill text.
