Description:
H.R. 2229 would permanently extend the authority for federal employees to appeal a Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) decision regarding whistleblower cases at any federal court, instead of only at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. Under current law, the authority to appeal at any federal court expires in December 2017.
Based on information from the MSPB and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, CBO expects that allowing appeals to be filed in any federal circuit on a permanent basis would lead to a small increase in the administrative burden of those and other federal agencies. Because many agency offices are located in the Washington, D.C. area, this would include attorney travel costs and costs associated with researching regional circuit courts’ rules and procedures. However, based upon the number of such cases in 2016, CBO estimates that those costs would not be significant.
Enacting H.R. 2229 could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through the annual appropriations (such as the Tennessee Valley Authority); therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effects would be insignificant for each year. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2229 would not significantly increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 2229 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
