The Merit Systems Protection Board filed a bypass request with Congress seeking $46.8M in funds for 2020, reflecting a $4.6M increase from the president’s proposed budget. MSPB said in its congressional budget justification the president’s budget request of $42.3M represents a 10 percent cut to the board’s current funding level and would result in a workforce reduction if enacted.
The proposed budget cut will affect several MSPB operations and programs including the board’s information technology modernization efforts, average processing time for petitions for review and initial appeals and the board’s assessment of the Office of Personnel Management’s rules and regulations and actions.
The board cited some of its IT modernization initiatives that will be affected by the budget cut, including efforts to develop a new case management workflow system to process and monitor each PFR and initial appeal and upgrades of laptop computers and peripherals.
Another internal challenge MSPB faces is the lack of a quorum of board members. Mark Robbins’ term as vice chairman expired in February, and the president’s two nominees for chairman and member positions still await Senate confirmation, leaving the board with no members at the time of the request.