All Circuit Review Extension Act
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The All Circuit Review Extension Act (; ) is an Act that extended for three years the authority for federal employees who appeal a judgment of the
Merit Systems Protection Board The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent quasi-judicial agency established in 1979 to protect federal merit systems against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices and to ensure adequate protection for fed ...
(MSPB) to file their appeal at any federal court, instead of only the U.S. Court of Appeals. This was a pilot program established in the
Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
to last only two years. The bill was introduced into the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
during the
113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Presidency of Barack Obama, Barack Obama's presiden ...
. The bill was signed into law.


Background

The pilot program was established in the
Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
(WPEA) to last only two years. The
Government Accountability Project The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or publi ...
(GAP) calls the program "landmark" and says that it was "the WPEA's most significant structural reform."


Provisions of the bill

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the
Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...
, a
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
source.'' The All Circuit Review Extension Act extended from two to five years after the effective date of the
Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
(i.e., December 27, 2012), the period allowed for: (1) filing a petition for judicial review of
Merit Systems Protection Board The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent quasi-judicial agency established in 1979 to protect federal merit systems against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices and to ensure adequate protection for fed ...
decisions in
whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
cases, and (2) any review of such a decision by the Director of the
Office of Personnel Management The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the United States federal civil service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight, and support, a ...
(OPM).


Congressional Budget Office report

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the
Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. I ...
, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 12, 2014. This is a
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
source.'' The
Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. I ...
(CBO) estimates that enacting H.R. 4197 would have no significant effect on the federal budget. The legislation could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through the annual appropriations (such as the
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); therefore,
pay-as-you-go Pay as you go or PAYG may refer to: Finance * Pay-as-you-go tax, or pay-as-you-earn tax * Pay-as-you-go pension plan * PAYGO, the practice in the US of financing expenditures with current funds rather than borrowing * PAUG, a structured financial ...
procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net increase in spending by those agencies would not be significant. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. H.R. 4197 would extend for three years the authority for federal employees who appeal a judgment of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to file their appeal at any federal court, instead of only the U.S. Court of Appeals. Based on information from MSPB and the
Office of Special Counsel An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a po ...
, CBO expects that allowing appeals to be filed in any federal circuit would lead to a small increase in the administrative burden of the MSPB and federal agencies. We estimate, however, that the costs associated with that increase would not be significant. H.R. 4197 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA''(pdf)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1995-title2/html/USCODE-1995-title2-chap25.htm (text)] restricts the federal government of the United States, federal imposition of unfunded mandate ...
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.


Procedural history

The Al Circuit Review Extension Act was introduced on March 11, 2014, by Elijah Cummings, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D, MD-7). The bill was referred to the
United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...
, the
United States House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...
, and the
United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust is a subcommittee within the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Subcommittee's equivalent in the Senate is the Senate Judiciary Subcommitte ...
. On July 14, 2014, it was reported alongside House Report 113-519 part 1. The House voted on July 14, 2014, to pass the bill in a
voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...
.


Debate and discussion

The organization
Government Accountability Project The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or publi ...
(GAP) supported the legislation, arguing that an extension of the pilot program was needed in order to ensure that the
Government Accountability Office The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the s ...
(GAO) and Congress had enough time to see the results of the program before deciding whether to make it permanent. Federal Employed Women (FEW) and the Make It Safe Coalition supported the passage of the bill. They argued that "all circuit review is a sorely needed provision to ensure that the WPEA is enforced as Congress intended" because "during its 1982-2012 monopoly the Federal Circuit rewrote and gutted congressionally-passed whistleblower rights repeatedly." The Coalition reported that "the Federal Circuit had a 3-226 record against whistleblowers for decisions on the merits since October 1994, making it all but impossible for a whistleblower to prevail in court." Rep. Elijah Cummings, who introduced the bill, said that this program is important to extend because it "allows whistleblowers to file appeals where they live rather than being limited to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals." He also said that the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has "an abysmal track record in whistleblower cases." Rep.
Darrell Issa Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 48th congressional district. He represented the 50th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A memb ...
also supported the bill, arguing that "whistleblowers are a critical asset for congressional oversight" and that extending the pilot program would give
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
"more time to gauge the impact of an 'all circuit' review."


See also

*
List of bills in the 113th United States Congress The bills of the 113th United States Congress list includes proposed federal laws that were introduced in the 113th United States Congress. This Congress lasted from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015. The United States Congress is the bicamer ...
*
Whistleblower protection in the United States A whistleblower is a person who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization that is either private or public. The Whistleblower Protection Act was made into federal law ...


References


External links


Library of Congress - Thomas H.R. 4197beta.congress.gov H.R. 4197GovTrack.us H.R.4197OpenCongress.org H.R. 4197Congressional Budget Office's report on H.R. 4197
{{DEFAULTSORT:All Circuit Review Extension Act (H.R. 4197 113th Congress) Acts of the 113th United States Congress Whistleblower protection legislation