Since January 8, 2017, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) has lacked a quorum. During this unprecedentedly long stretch without a quorum, the MSPB has been unable to issue final rulings on thousands of federal employment cases, including whistleblower retaliation cases. As the MSPB’s lack of quorum passes the five year mark, whistleblower advocates are renewing calls for an immediate Senate vote on the nominees for the Board.
On October 6, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs voted to advance President Biden’s three nominees for the Board: Cathy Harris, Raymond Limon, and Tristan Leavitt. A full Senate vote has yet to be scheduled, however, and the MSPB remains unfunctional.
“The failure to confirm these MSPB nominees is a huge disappointment,” said Siri Nelson, Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center (NWC). “The MSBP is critical to government whistleblowers, and every day that the Board goes without quorum is a day Congress has failed the American people. If the Senate really cares about government oversight they will make it a priority to vote on these nominations right away.”
NWC issued an action alert calling on individuals to urge the U.S Senate to confirm the nominees immediately. Other whistleblower advocates have singled out Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the figure responsible for scheduling a vote on the nominees.
“The Senate majority leader needs to immediately schedule ‘floor time...
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