[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6822 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6822

  To require appeals of personnel actions involving the officers and 
 employees of the Government Accountability Office to be considered by 
the Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection Board in 
the same manner as appeals of prohibited personnel practices involving 
employees of Executive agencies under title 5, United States Code, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2008

  Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require appeals of personnel actions involving the officers and 
 employees of the Government Accountability Office to be considered by 
the Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection Board in 
the same manner as appeals of prohibited personnel practices involving 
employees of Executive agencies under title 5, United States Code, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Legislative Branch Personnel Appeals 
Procedural Consolidation Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. USE OF OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL AND MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION 
              BOARD FOR APPEALS OF PERSONNEL ACTIONS INVOLVING 
              GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter IV of chapter 7 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 756. Transfer of Authority to Office of Special Counsel and 
              Merit Systems Protection Board
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any provision of this subchapter 
to the contrary, in the case of any personnel action taken with respect 
to an officer or employee of the Government Accountability Office or an 
officer or employee of a participating Federal office--
            ``(1) the Government Accountability Office Personnel 
        Appeals Board shall not have any authority to consider an 
        appeal of the action;
            ``(2) the Office of Special Counsel under chapter 12 of 
        title 5, United States Code, shall have the authority to 
        investigate the personnel action and seek corrective and 
        disciplinary action described in such chapter with respect to 
        the personnel action, in the same manner and subject to the 
        same terms and conditions as if the officer or employee 
        involved were an employee of an Executive Agency under such 
        title and the personnel action were a prohibited personnel 
        practice under such title;
            ``(3) the officer or employee may seek corrective and 
        disciplinary action with respect to the personnel action from 
        the Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection 
        Board under chapter 12 of title 5, United States Code, in the 
        same manner and subject to the same terms and conditions as if 
        the officer or employee involved were an employee of an 
        Executive Agency under such title and the personnel action were 
        a prohibited personnel practice under such title;
            ``(4) the procedures applicable to the appeal shall be the 
        procedures provided under chapter 12 of title 5, United States 
        Code, for the consideration of alleged prohibited personnel 
        actions under such title; and
            ``(5) the remedies available with respect to the personnel 
        action shall be the remedies available under chapter 12 of 
        title 5, United States Code, to an employee of an Executive 
        agency under such title.
    ``(b) Continuing Application of Substantive Rights and 
Protections.--Nothing in subsection (a) may be construed--
            ``(1) to affect the personnel management system maintained 
        by the Comptroller General under subchapter III, the rights and 
        protections described in section 732(b) or otherwise provided 
        under the system to officers and employees of the Government 
        Accountability Office, or the authority of the Comptroller 
        General to prescribe regulations to carry out the system, 
        except to the extent that the system or the regulations are 
        inconsistent with subsection (a); or
            ``(2) to affect the rights and protections provided with 
        respect to personnel actions taken with respect to officers and 
        employees of the Government Accountability Office or officers 
        and employees of a participating Federal office under any law, 
        rule, or regulation.
    ``(c) Participating Federal Office Described.--In this section, a 
`participating Federal office' means an office of the Federal 
government whose employees have the ability (pursuant to an agreement 
between such office and the Government Accountability Office) to have 
appeals of personnel actions considered by the Government 
Accountability Office Personnel Appeals Board.''.
    (b) No Effect on Current Appeals.--If an officer or employee of the 
Government Accountability Office or a participating Federal office (as 
defined in section 756(c) of title 31, United States Code) has 
initiated an appeal with respect to a personnel action with the General 
Counsel of the Government Accountability Office prior to the date of 
the enactment of this Act--
            (1) section 756 of title 31, United States Code (as added 
        by paragraph (1)) shall not apply with respect to the appeal of 
        the personnel action; and
            (2) the appeal of the personnel action shall be considered 
        by the Government Accountability Office Personnel Appeals Board 
        in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 7 of such title 
        (without regard to section 756 of such title).
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