FCW.com: “The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced a bill that would make it easier to fire federal employees. The Modern Employment Reform, Improvement and Transformation Act, introduced by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), would allow the head of an agency to remove a federal employee “if the head determines the performance or misconduct of the individual warrants such removal.” The bill would also reduce the amount of time employees have to appeal a decision on their removal to the Merit Systems Protection Board to seven days and would reduce the MSPB’s time to adjudicate the decision to 30 days, after which time, the removal would become final. Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) introduced an amendment that would prohibit the protest of “adverse actions” and reductions in force through negotiated grievance procedures. The amendment also requires the benefit annuity of a federal worker convicted of a felony and fired to be reduced and allows the head of an agency to recoup bonuses determined to have been “wrongly paid” to employees. It also extends the probationary period for federal employees from one year to two years…” [h/t Pete Weiss]